THE DEVIL
"Transcending Limitation"
Rider Waite Tarot
Pamela Coleman Smith
1909
Earth – Capricorn
- upright -
· Attachment
· Misery
· Sexuality
· Slave of Desire
· Obsession
· Oppression
· Addiction & Dependency
· Indulgence & Temptation
· Powerless & Limitation
· Lack of Fulfillment
· Hedonism
· Materialism
· Shadow Self
· Attempt to Break Loose
· Moving Towards Liberation
· Released
· Escape from Oppression
· Reclaim Control of Self
· Ending Co-Dependency
· Feeling Empowered
· Breaking Bad Habits
· Exploring Dark Thoughts
· Detachment
- Reversed -
Earth – Capricorn
Rider Waite Tarot
Pamela Coleman Smith
1909
- upright -
· Attachment
· Misery
· Sexuality
· Slave of Desire
· Obsession
· Oppression
· Addiction & Dependency
· Indulgence & Temptation
· Powerless & Limitation
· Lack of Fulfillment
· Hedonism
· Materialism
· Shadow Self
- reversed -
· Attempt to Break Loose
· Moving Towards Liberation
· Released
· Escape from Oppression
· Reclaim Control of Self
· Ending Co-Dependency
· Feeling Empowered
· Breaking Bad Habits
· Exploring Dark Thoughts
· Detachment
People who see the essence of the world can make fun of everything.
When you are freed from all moralistic limitations,
You will surrender with utter sensuality to the enjoyment of earth,
Discovering ecstasy in every manifestation, tasting the divine in everything.
Realize what you demonize is only but a projection of your own fears and attachments.
Accept what life gives you.
Keep your feet on the ground!
Do you have wishes or desires you don’t admit to yourself?
What can you learn once you release all moral judgments on your desires?
How can you free yourself from any entrapping circumstances or relationships?
I am the master of my life.
The formula of this card is the complete appreciation of all existing things. He rejoices in the rugged and the barren no less than in the smooth and the fertile. All things equally exalt him. He represents the finding of ecstasy in every phenomenon, however naturally repugnant; he transcends all limitations; he is Pan, he is All.
— ALEISTER CROWLEY, The Book of Thoth (1944)
Amano Tarot
Yoshitaka Amano
2000
01. The Devil demands honesty in all self-assessment and requires a confrontation and acceptance of one’s raw desires.
He forces admission of addiction, impulse, and manipulation. He is a signifier of entrapment, lack of fulfillment, reliance on the material rather than the spiritual. To move past him, one must go deep, face faults, and find forgiveness.
He welcomes indulgence, gluttony, and temptation. And yet, the Devil can be embraced as well. He offers fertile soil for creativity, igniting passion, and fueling the glowing pyre of ideas and imagination. In the dark spaces, there emerges the poetry of shadows. We place the chains around our own necks. To be freed of the Devil’s shackles, we must remove our masks and face our demons.
02. The Devil represents a force of illusion and oppression.
The main illusion is materialism, a term which we usually think of as an over-concern with money, but more properly means the view that nothing exists beyond the world of the senses.
Denying any spiritual component to life, the materialist pursues only personal desires – monetary, sexual and political. Since such narrowness often leads to unhappiness, the Devil has come to symbolize misery. The reversed pentacle above him indicates letting your desires overpower your judgment.
The Muse Tarot
Chris-Anne
2020
Waite Trinick Tarot
John B. Trinick
1921
03. The Devil shows that you have feelings of entrapment, emptiness, and lack of fulfillment in your life.
It might also mean that you are a slave to materialism and opulence. You may be at the effect of negative habits, dependencies, behaviors, thought patterns, relationships, and addictions. You may think you have no control over your shadow self, and that you can never break free from their hold.
You need to, first of all, acknowledge the power they have over you, so you can then take action to free yourself.
04. The Devil signifies being the slave of your desires. It can mean a controlling obsession, where the person feels drawn to committing acts he or she finds morally repugnant. Addiction to substances or material pleasures can also be the reason for your feelings of powerlessness and entrapment.
In the worst scenario, The Devil indicates the acceptance of a bad situation. Eventually, we come to view our unhappy conditions as normal, and may even fight against change.
Re-Imagined Tarot
Ohni Lisle
2018
Circo Tarot
Marisa de la Pena
2016
05. On the more positive side, The Devil can also show a powerful attachment between two people.
But be careful, this healthy attachment can turn into an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship if you lose connection with your inner guidance or don’t protect your personal boundaries.
Modern Witch Tarot
Lisa Sterle
2019
Anima Mundi Tarot
Megan Wyreweden
2017
- Turn Around -
06. Reversed Devil indicates an attempt to break loose from some misery or bondage, either real or psychological. You no longer accept your current situation and move towards liberation. It can be the moment when you become self-aware and break all of the chains that come with addiction and poor habits.
07. The Devil Reversed often appears when you are on the verge of a breakthrough. You are being called to your highest potential, but first, you must let go of fear and release any self-imposed limiting beliefs standing in the way of your growth.
Confront your inner fears and anxieties to free yourself from the chains that bind you to your limiting beliefs and unhealthy attachments. Take this opportunity to bring about positive change in your life by staying focused on the ultimate goal of freedom.
08. The Devil Reversed invites you to practice the principle of detachment, a state in which you overcome your attachment to your desire and free yourself from any restrictions. It doesn’t mean you don’t care for people or things, but that you release your dependence on them.
Card Gallery
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