The Tarot Twos; division and union

The Twos cards in the tarot are about balance, two sides that need to come into equilibrium. Twos are oppositions, seemingly completely different but as we learn as astrologers, the key with an opposition aspect is to learn to integrate both ends, because both are equally important, equally needed. There is tension in the opposition, in the Two, the movement of polarities brings energy. It goes back and forth, up and down, in and out, dynamic and then still and then dynamic again. Eventually, it will build up enough force to bring something new into being, to create the Three. But for now, the ebb and the flow. Growth cannot happen without division, without one becoming aware of the other.

I see the Twos as a liminal stage when we are aware of the other but have yet to integrate it. They are a process rather than a single point. The Two of Wands is a decision, a liminal point between two actions or choices, a process of deciding which path to follow, which of course means missing out on the other one. The Two of Cups finds us poised on the edge of connection, a process of relating which hasn’t quite developed into a relationship in its own right yet. The Two of Swords is also a liminal point before making a decision or refusing to choose and thus paralysing ourselves. Ideas are going back and forth, arguments and discussions. And the Two of Pentacles is the liminal point before something tangible manifests, the process of keeping the material in balance.

Twos can also be projecting, denying the inner union by only claiming part of ourselves and giving the rest away. What do we see as inner and what as outer? What are we happy to claim and what do we prefer to deny? The Two of Cups highlights our relationships, prime vehicles for projection and therefore for soul growth. For so long we’ve been taught that dualities are how the world works - good and evil, dark and light, inner and outer - but I don’t think that’s true. I think we, and the world, are a lot more complex than that. Shades of grey, not black and white. We don’t divide the world into good and evil as much as we used to, even into male and female. We acknowledge that there are more than two genders, that “good” and “bad” behaviour is complex. But there’s still so much “them and us” thinking, encouraged no doubt by those in power because it’s in their interests to keep us divided (anything to stop us noticing what a complete mess they are making). By integrating our own polarities and bringing ourselves into balance, we flow into union with ourselves. And then we can flow into union with the whole world, the whole universe, with all of creation.