We investigate the propagation of an optical vector vortex weakly interacting with a coherently prepared atomic medium (phaseonium) in a three-level $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ configuration. The vector beam consists of vortex pulse pairs with right- and left-circular polarizations, corresponding to opposite spin angular momenta (SAMs) and carrying opposite orbital angular momentum (OAM) charges $\pm l$. We show that during the propagation of the vortex pairs, analytically obtained in the linear regime, the medium inherits the topology of the vortex pair, mapping the OAM onto a spatially structured atomic coherence. This mapping produces $2\left|l\right|$-fold azimuthal transparency structures that reshape the beam intensity from a ring into a petallike pattern. The OAM-structured atomic coherence induces a corresponding optical anisotropy within the medium, which feeds back into the propagating vector beam, resulting in optical spin-orbit coupling manifested as SAM exchange, rotation, and evolution of polarization textures. Depending on the initial ground-state population of the phaseonium, the polarization state evolves between left-circular, linear, and right-circular polarizations.

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• Angular momentum of light
• Coherent control
• Light-matter interaction
• Quantum optics