Tarot Cards for the 5 Love Languages
The Heart Tarot - Lo Scarabeo
Many of you are probably familiar with the book “The 5 Love Languages – The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman. It’s been out now for a number of years and is quite popular. Dr. Chapman is a prominent marriage counselor who also run seminars. In his book he talks about how one of the biggest challenges for couples is that they may often speak different ‘languages’ when it comes to how they express love and don’t know how to verbalize what would make them feel loved in return. Some are ways of speaking and others are actions. He divides these love communication styles into five groups:
Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch
With Valentine’s Day upon us, I thought it would be interesting to choose some cards from the Tarot to represent each love language. These choices are simply the ones I’m making; you may or may not have chosen the same cards. I encourage you to play with this concept and see if you agree or if not, see what cards you would select. Here are mine:
#1 - Words of Affirmation – Sun
Described in the book as words that build up, verbal compliments, and statements of affirmation; they are encouraging and kind. I chose the Sun for this because in the classic Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the adoration that the sun and the sunflowers have for the little child riding naked and free to the world is so prominent to me. No matter what deck I use the energy of the RWS version permeates my interpretation of that card. (Incidentally, I have used the Heart Tarot for today’s illustration for obvious reasons).
#2 - Quality Time – Queen of Cups
This is time spent focused on one another, truly listening to one another as opposed to watching Netflix together or playing tennis doubles where your attention is on the show or the sport. The key to this love language appears to be the ability of each partner to focus on the other and make them feel seen and heard. I think the empathetic Queen of Cups, who has mastered her own emotions, does this quite well.
#3 - Receiving Gifts – Knight of Pentacles
Gifts are visible symbols of love. They do not need to be costly but they are given with intention of expressing love and concern for the loved one. I’m using the Knight of Pentacles here because as a reader, I often see knights as suitors and as a member of the Pentacles court, he has a strong ability to manifest. He would be the most likely suitor to show up with a gift and to value one received.
#4 – Acts of Service – Six of Pentacles
Acts of service are about pleasing your partner by doing things for them that are supportive and meaningful. The key with this one is that the act one partner does is truly a service the other partner needs and can value. One tarot card that depicts well this is the Six of Pentacles; it shows those in need having their needs met.
#5 - Physical Touch - Lovers
Physical touch may be anything from a hug or a reassuring pat on the shoulder to the passion of making love, but the emphasis here is on the day-to-day touches that communicate love. For this I choose one of the cards of the tarot which we all associate with love and passion – The Lovers. This card conveys the touching, feeling energy of connection as well as passionate love.
These are not the only cards that can represent the 5 Love Languages. My guess is that if I had 10 other readers here, we might select a few of the same, but many choices would differ. For fun, take a minute and figure out what card you would select for each love language. Now that I’ve decided on mine, I’m going to look for them in my upcoming readings.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
