Tarot Tuesday - The Devil
The Devil comes in at number 15 in the Major Arcana and is associated with the element of Earth and the planet Saturn.
History
Whilst the meaning of The Devil card has had some consistency throughout Tarot, the imagery has changed somewhat over time. Decks like the Tarot de Marseille depicted The Devil with breasts, bat like wings, a stomach painted with eyes, antlers, the feet of a lion and male reproductive parts. The Rider-Waite Deck took inspiration from an illustration from 1855 by Eliphas Levi of Baphomet and swapped antlers for horns and lion feet for Harpy feet. Most modern Decks take inspiration from the Satyr for The Devil but that really depends on the individual Deck.
Pictured above...
The purpose of this section is to help you with your own interpretations.
In the card pictured above, we can see a fearsome winged gargoyle like creature with 3 red eyes. The creature is kneeling on some kind of ornate, carved, stone pedestal and is holding a winged lady in its clawed hands. The lady's bottom half is clad in a light brown garment while a single piece of material barely covers her top half. Her wings are a similar shade to the garment and are feathered. Her hair is long, black and wavy and is adorned with jewels, she appears to be in a state of slumber. In the background, we can see what looks like a church window but there's no strained glass, only a red light.
Meaning
The Devil switches things around here. The upright meaning of this card is actually very negative, brutal and is not for the faint of heart!
- This first thing this card will detect is any and all fear in relation to your question, refer to the other cards in your reading or a specific one for how to overcome this fear
- You are very materialistic and this is hindering you from moving forward and being your true self as you have become lost in keeping up appearances and the supposed value of possessions
- You have been enslaved into your situation and have either yet to realise it or you have realised it and have started to react negatively to said situation but you do not have a safety net in place
- You easily succumb to temptations and it is easy for people to tempt and manipulate you, whether you know it or not. You are also prone to addiction, which people will also use to manipulate you
- If you are asking about a relationship of any kind, this card means that said relationship is unhealthy for either, yourself, your situation or both
- You are feeling trapped and bound to your current situation and are unsure of how to escape, even though you need to
Reversed Meaning
The reversed Devil is slightly more positive. It can symbolise that you have started to or you have the strength to start breaking free of your addictions. Moving away from said addictions will be a tough journey, seemingly through Hell itself, but you will come out of it as a better, stronger person and you can finally move forward and build your own life. It can also mean that you have broken free from harmful restraints or that freedom from them will come. At first, this freedom will be confusing and you may feel like it is a trap, use caution as you move forward and expect people to start treating you differently, you may loose some along the way but you were meant to loose those people. Remember that you are owed this freedom, let it come naturally and don't try to force it. If you are asking about a relationship, it will signify either a breakup or a divorce but this will be in your favour as the relationship was unhealthy and was hindering you. There will be resistance from the other party but you will get your freedom.
Everyone has their own interpretation of Tarot. Interpretations differ from person to person.
I hope you've enjoyed this post! We'll have more Major Arcana next week!
Blessings,
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