The Lovers Card and Paris

The Story of Paris

The Lovers card from the Tarot Oil Tarot Deck

Paris was a young prince who was chosen by Zeus to settle a contest between three goddesses. Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and strategy, and Hera, the goddess of family, marriage, and childbirth, were competing for a golden apple, which was secretly the Apple of Discord.

The competition was to see which of them was most beautiful. It wasn’t an easy thing to settle, for all goddesses were far more beautiful than mortals. At first, they’d asked Zeus himself but he didn’t want to cause strife by making his choice. And so, it fell on Paris to do it.

The goddesses each promised Paris something if he chose them. Hera promised him wealth and power. Athena promised him knowledge and flawless strategy in battle. And Aphrodite promised that he could have the most beautiful mortal woman on earth for his bride.

Each of these gifts were enticing, but Aphrodite’s caught his fancy most, and so he chose her as the most beautiful of the three goddesses.

Not all of us will have to make a choice like that – and certainly not among divine beings. But this is a theme that often comes up in readings. A man sometimes has to choose between two women, or between his wife or lover and his mother.

As Paris’s story shows, the outcome of such a decision can be disastrous. It turns out that the most beautiful mortal woman he was promised was Helen of Troy, who was already married. When Paris took her for his own, it started a chain of events that ultimately led to the Trojan War!  In our own lives, making the wrong choice can also have devastating outcomes, so we must choose carefully.

If you'd like to see how The Lovers shows up on the Wheel of the Year, it's the guardian card for Beltane — read more here.