Name: Love
Italian Name: Amore
Playing Card: 4♥
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: Love, positive feelings | a positive context, a context where the querent feels loved and safe
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral to Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Homosexuality | Lack of love, Lack of feelings | breakups, rifts | Sexual depravity

Card Description: a blindfolded Cupid soars in the air, unbound by the laws of mortals.

Suit and Number: all fours in the Vera Sibilla are connected to the context that the querent finds or will find himself or herself in. The suit of Hearts, being positive, shows that the querent will find himself in a context where they will feel loved, appreciated and taken care of, and all contexts where the querent’s emotions are heightened (usually in a positive sense).

UPRIGHT 4♥

General: the main and obvious meaning of this card is that of love. Traditionally, however, this card is described as signifying an irrational force that is impossible to tame, so this may on occasion apply. Normally it symbolizes love, positive feelings and strong attachments. There is, however, a certain sense of lively wildness about this card, which contrasts with the sense of disciplined reliability of the other main love card of the deck, the Nine of Hearts. We can say that, while in practice it usually signifies love, the Four of Hearts is connected to all contexts that elicit a strong emotional reaction.
A specific function of this card is that, sometimes, when it comes up at the beginning of a sequence, it loses its meaning of love, and it simply shows that the situation described by the following cards is what the querent is attracting to himself or herself in the near future. With negative cards, if we are not talking about love, it shows deep disappointment due to excessive emotional involvement in a situation that doesn’t end well.

Love and Relationships: this is obviously the  area where the influence of this card is most direct. As most questioners come to us asking about relationship issues, the literal meaning of the Four of Hearts, that is, love, normally comes to the fore. In itself, the Love card tells of genuine feelings, requited love and deep connection. The card, however, is easily influenced by strong positive or negative cards. Especially cards that tell of disruption or of cheating can easily taint its meaning. Furthermore, if both significators (querent and love interest) are present, their reciprocal relation and their relation to the Love card must be carefully studied to see who is more committed, who may be cheating, etc. The same is true for the Nine of Hearts, by the way.
In general, even when love is not an issue, the Love card foretells harmony and a deep connection with someone, whether it be a relative, a sibling, a friend, etc. The card qualifies all contexts as deeply positive and nourishing for the querent, and shows a deep bond of affection from the querent to the context in question.
Again, I should stress that the Four of Hearts has a rather undisciplined energy, so if the overall energy of the spread is one of flightiness, the Love card may show a flash in the pan or a relationship that is unlikely to survive the first hurdles. Cards showing thought, planning, faithfulness, consistency, effort etc. all tend to stabilize the Love card, turning the deep but capricious feeling it can signify into a deeply rooted feeling.

Work and Money: the 4♥ is not a money card. It can, of course, show love of money, though in general this is signalled by other more negative cards. It is more likely that it signifies support by loved ones, and in general the idea of being in a love-filled environment where one’s wants and needs are taken care of. It can show the ability to attract money and resources.
In career readings, it may signify a deep love of one’s chosen career path. More negative cards around it may suggest an eccessive devotion to one’s career or an eccessive emotional attachment to it. Because it’s a card of expansive feelings, for merchants and business owners the Love card can sometimes show expanding their business, though this is not a common meaning. The Four of Hearts can, of course, suggest careers surrounding topics like love and feelings.

Other: psychologically, the card indicates deep intuition and also a certain wild (but kind) spirit. It also highlights emotionality and the ability to form deep connections. Spiritually, this is one of the cards that can indicate the soul. Artistically it points to great inspirations, but with negative cards it may highlight a certain lack of discipline.

Important Combinations:
4♥ + A♣ = a marriage of love
4♥ + 3♦ + 7♠ = end of love due to different characters (the 3♦ is connected to one’s “gift” and therefore to one’s specificity as a person)
4♥ + 2♥ = living together as a couple
K♦ + 4♥ = can be a job you love or love found at work, or a positive work environment
2♦ + 10♣R + 4♥ = these days, it can easily mean finding love on a dating app

REVERSED 4♥R

General: traditionally, the main meaning of this card when it comes up reversed is that of homosexuality. Bear in mind that this oracle was devised back when everything except joyless, reproduction-oriented sexual intercourse was considered a perversion, and homosexuality was seen as the main representative of the class of perversions. Nowadays, the card can still signify homosexuality, especially if it’s relevant to the question. However, it is my experience that when a gay querent consults the cards who is at peace with themselves and is not in the closet, the 4♥, when it shows up at all, it shows up upright, and if it does come up reversed it’s to signify other things, such as a breakup or unfaithfulness or some kind of sexual perversion, since the latter remains a core meaning of this card.* Additionally, the reversed Love card can signify rifts in the couple that are hard to mend, lack of love or an unhealthy expression of feelings.

Love and Relationships: as said, this card can be a symbol of homosexuality, although it tends to take on this meaning today only in specific instances. Otherwise, the easiest way to understand this card is that it shows love problems. These can vary, based on the gravity of the surrounding cards, from arguments to unrequited love to deep rifts in any relationship to cheating and false love. It can also signify feelings of love having ended.

Work and Money: the card does not speak much about these issues, although it can show an unhealthy attachment to money. In general, it discourages investments and business ventures as the querent is not seeing things properly, possibly due to emotional turmoil or due to putting the whim of the moment before careful reasoning. It can show prostitution, but this is rarely seen as a legitimate career when represented by this card, which tends to highlight the more negative emotional side of it. Sometimes it signifies that the querent works in a context where he or she doesn’t feel loved, or worse.

Other: the card is a staple of combinations highlighting perversion and sexual debauchery (regardless of whether the querent is straight or gay). On the other hand, psychologically it can show someone who feels deeply unloved or someone whose emotional reactions are spiralling out of control. Spiritually, it shows a soul bogged down by disempowering emotions or tainted in some way, if you choose to be preachy. It can show someone who is blundering from mistake to mistake.

Important Combinations:
A♦R + 4♥R = coming out or outing
4♥R + 7♥R = sexual deviant
4♥R + 5♦ = sadness due to unfulfilling love life | it can mean not accepting one’s homosexuality
4♥R + K♦ = a bad work environment that is not nurturing and we don’t like
2♥ + 4♥ + A♣ = living together despite the lack of feelings

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Fours

* I must stress this: do NOT consult the cards for a validation of your own personal moral code. Cartomancy was born with humans, it evolves with humans and will die with humans, and while the fact that the Sibilla was devised in the XIX century implies that sexual perversion is one of the main meanings of the 4♥R, this doesn’t mean that the moral code of XIX century Italian burgeoisie is the absolutely right one and you should live by it. Nor does it imply that your own moral standards are the right ones, nor those of your neighbor, or those of the Japanese or the Native Americans. I can’t swing a dead cat without coming by readers online who use the cards to try to prove that Orange Man Bad or that Hillary belongs in jail or that abortion is right or wrong, depending on their particular political leanings. This is nothing short of psycho-political onanism. In reality, these people are just fooling themselves and projecting their canned opinions onto the cards, which kind of defeats the purpose of using divination. Everyone thinks the universe is woven according to their moral prejudices, but, guess what, you are not that special, Rhonda.