Lust is card XI of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of life force, passion, courage and ecstasy. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Teth, path 19 of the Tree of Life between Chesed and Geburah, the element Fire and Leo in astrology.
life force · passion · courage · ecstasy · integration
What does Lust mean?
Put passion and courage into what you do: your vitality is your main resource. A moment of creative strength and magnetism.
Everyday meaning
Strength, courage, passion, vitality. It points to success achieved not by repressing the instincts but by riding them with enthusiasm.
Psychological meaning
The joy of your own life energy, accepted and integrated; the end of the inner war between spirit and instinct.
Initiatic meaning
Path 19 from Chesed to Geburah, the letter Teth (the serpent, 9) and Leo, the house of the Sun: the horizontal path joining Mercy and Severity. Solar force, welcomed without fear, becomes creative ecstasy.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals excess, domination of the impulses, pride, a destructive use of force.
Lust reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Energy that is repressed, or discharged without measure; fear of your own power, or its abuse.
Lust in love, work and spirit
In love
Intense passion, physical attraction, a vital relationship; avoid possessive dynamics.
At work and career
Bold initiatives, charisma, the ability to carry others along with enthusiasm.
In spiritual practice
Ecstasy as a path: life force made holy instead of fought.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of Lust
Teth ט (9) · path 19: Chesed – Geburah · Fire · Leo
Crowley on Lust
Crowley replaces Strength with Lust, understood as joyful vigour rather than vice: Babalon rides the seven-headed Beast in ecstasy and raises the flaming Grail. The card takes the number XI, giving VIII to Adjustment.
Frequently asked questions
What does Lust mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Put passion and courage into what you do: your vitality is your main resource. A moment of creative strength and magnetism.
What does Lust mean in love?
Intense passion, physical attraction, a vital relationship; avoid possessive dynamics.
What does Lust mean for work and career?
Bold initiatives, charisma, the ability to carry others along with enthusiasm.
What does Lust mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Energy that is repressed, or discharged without measure; fear of your own power, or its abuse.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of Lust?
In the Golden Dawn system Lust corresponds to the Hebrew letter Teth, path 19 of the Tree of Life between Chesed and Geburah, the element Fire and Leo in astrology.
