We all have inner demons to fight, we call these demons, fear and hatred and anger. If you do not conquer them then a life of one hundred years is a tragedy. If you do, then a life of a single day can be a triumph.

Yip Man

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Overview and Common Meanings of The Devil Tarot Card

The devil card often appears when you feel that you are trapped and controlled by the darker influences in your life – unhealthy relationships, addictions, etc., and serves as a reminder that you are only as stuck as you believe, and that you do have the power to overcome.  To break free is to acknowledge the hold these bad situations have over you and how that is impacting your life in a negative way.  For it is only by holding this up to the bright light of truth that you will be able to break free and move into a healthier place.  

Alternative names in varying tarot decks are Pan, Temptation, Demon, Torment, Shadow, Conditioning.

Common Meanings

You may be feeling trapped by a situation or relationship that was once pleasurable but has reversed and is no longer healthy.  When the devil shows up, you are seeing the reality of the situation for what it is.  This could manifest in many ways:  At home – living with domineering people or a toxic landlord, difficult relationships, unhealthy situations, affairs, financial dependence keeping you tied to the past, or in an untenable work situation.   

Another side of the devil is sexual, and it may indicate that you are ready to experiment sexually.  The devil reminds us to not let that experimentation dip into the dangerous waters of obsession.  Like last week’s card of temperance, moderation in all is called for.

The Many Faces of The Devil

Since the upright presentation of this card represents your shadow side, the shadow side – or reversal – of the devil indicates that while you are feeling trapped, you can see that things are not as bad as you thought, and you are not as stuck as you have come to believe. Cycles of ill health, addiction, and feeling trapped are starting to ease. This is an indication that you need to deal with and let go of these old patterns and situations in order to move to the newer and better life you envision.  You must face the dark places before you can reach for the light.  Even the dark places where you hide secret shame.  Now is the moment to make your change!

The Journey of The Devil

The Devil is the first card of the third and final septenary of the Major Arcana, which is about the spiritual world and attainment of enlightenment.  This final septenary begins with the facing of one’s demons (the devil), for it is only through facing and conquering them that you can complete your spiritual journey towards spiritual enlightenment.

Description of the Devil tarot card

A red winged and horned figure, top that of a man, bottom that of a goat ending in feet like bird talons sits perched like a bird upon a black stone plinth with a heavy ring in its center.  His left hand is downward and carries a flaming torch, and his right is upwards, the first two fingers together and the last two together to form a V.  Above his head is a pentagram upside down.  At his feet, chained loosely about the neck by the same chain that passes through the ring on the plinth, are two nude figures – a male and a female.  Both have fiery hair and horns and tails.  The man’s tail is fire, and the woman’s tail is a bunch of grapes, which her hand reaches towards. The background of the card is black, and the overall feeling is ominous. 

Themes of the devil

• Addiction
• Dark nature
• Destructive Patterns
• Limiting Beliefs
• Feeling trapped
• Negative thinking
• Restriction
• Sexuality
• Soul searching
• Toxic Environments – external or internal

The Number 15

Concepts and beliefs are urging you to make some much needed alterations in your life. It is time to make more positive life choices.  The long-term results will be of great assistance to you and others. Remove old restraints and constraints and make room for new and better in your life. 

Elements of the Devil Card and Associated Symbolism

• The Devil – inner or outer repression; base impulses rather than higher self
• The Tails – lower instincts in our life; the woman’s tail ends in fruit, indicating temptation, the mans forked fiery tale indicates corruption.
• Chains – the chains that bind us, control, dependency, material and emotional habits that feel like change, but are in the end not necessary. 
• The torch – the power of enlightenment, here held by the devil – controlling the power of knowledge.
• Inverted Pentagram – cruelty and dark influences

Herbs for The Devil

• Black Pepper – Banishing negativity, exorcism, protection from evil
• Blessed Thistle – Purification, protection against negativity and evil
• Blue Cohosh – love breaking and driving away evil.
• Chrysanthemum – Defense, ward off malevolent forces.
• St John’s Wort – works like an anti-depressant and helps with compulsion

Questions that the Devil tarot card asks us

• What traps have you created in your life – marriage, job, relationships, addictions – that you know are not good for you, and how can you take steps to free yourself from these traps?
• Are you afraid to take the steps to move in a new direction, because the “devil you know is more” is more familiar, and if so, how is that working out for you?

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That is the Devil of the Tarot, a call to wrestle those inner demons to the ground and finally break free to live the life you imagine.  Wishing you a week in which you take steps to do just that, and in which you acknowledge even the smallest move in that direction. 

Thank you for reading and as always, please leave comments, ask questions, or contact me for a personal reading.

Please Join me next week for The Tower!