The Devil

The Devil tarot card is the fifteenth card of the Major Arcana and is a card of Capricorn. Both know how to manipulate their way to achieve what they aim for. Ruled by Saturn, Capricorn may feel restricted by the expectations of not only people around them, but also expectations of themselves. Saturn also represents evil and misfortune. The Devil card too, is about feeling trapped or stuck. Capricorn, being an Earth Sign, is all about being possessive about material objects and The Devil, too portrays obsession of sorts.

Represents

The Devil Tarot represents desire, excess, obsession, temptation, materialism, power, manipulation, inner demons, enslavement.

Description

In the Rider Waite deck, The Devil Tarot shows a creature that is half man, half goat(Baphomet - the Horned Goat of Mendes). It supports the wings of a vampire bat(symbolic of sucking the lifeblood out of its prey when you give in to your raw desires) and above him is depicted an inverted pentagram(sign of the darker side of magic and occultism). He holds a large, lit torch in his left hand and his right hand is raised in the position of a Jewish blessing. He has a hypnotic stare, which is stern and frightening, entrancing people towards him to bring them under his power.

At the foot of The Devil, stand a naked man and a woman who are loosely chained to his podium(Implying that they have the freedom to move away if they wish).Both have small horns on their head, indicating that the longer they stay here the more they will turn ‘Devilish’.The grapes on the woman’s tail indicate addiction and the fire on the man’s tail signify pleasure and lust.

The card has a black background indicating the shadows that The Devil creates, reducing your ability to see light and truth.

Meaning

When The Devil card comes up in a general reading, you need to figure the root cause of what is blocking you from moving ahead in life. Is it a person or some substance abuse or your ways of thinking. Break away from the chains of dependency. You have the power in you to do so.

The Devil Tarot card meaning changes when the card comes reversed. The Devil then tells you to succumb to your temptations and seek the path of lowest resistance.

In a business reading

When The Devil comes up in a business reading, it suggests that there could be someone on your back behaving like a ‘Devil’ and blocking you from moving forward in your career. Or, you yourself must be addicted to some old habit that is hindering your work. Sometimes The Devil is also indicative of the fact that you or a colleague is in a questionable practice.

The Devil points out sometimes that you maybe in a job that you hate but are too scared to make a move to change it.
This can also be a card of a workaholic who is so caught up in his career that he invariably neglects other important areas of his life.

In relationships

When The Devil comes up in a relationship reading, it indicates that you may be in a destructive relationship which is not good for you and from which you are not willing to move because you are unwilling to make the change. There could be power play in progress and the relationship is kept alive because of lust, substance abuse or a controlling partner(could be financially).

And when The Devil comes up for singles, it suggests that you have too many bindings and you will feel trapped if you start a relationship now.

In Health

In a health reading when The Devil comes up, it warns you of future health risks if you give in to any kind of indulgence, overdo and abuse of certain substances. This includes over-eating, too much drinking, following unsafe sex practices, taking drugs etc . Being a card of addiction and vices, it cautions you about spending too much time thinking about trivial matters, inviting unnecessary mental anguish.