The Devil, Tarot Major Arcana XV

This is one of those cards that the beginning tarot reader can find upsetting at first.  But, it’s not totally bad.  Let’s talk about both sides of this card.

Challenges Of The Devil Tarot Card 

In a word – addictions.  And they can come in any type or form, and sneak up on a person when they are distracted.

What is distracting them?  

All the other, secondary but nonetheless powerful, challenging aspects of The Devil.  With Pride being at the top of that list.  You can rank and write in the remainder of The Seven Deadly Sins to complete said list.

Pride comes into play here when a person knows in their heart and soul that what they are doing is either going to harm them (and possibly others too) if they don’t take control pronto – but instead of doing that they tell themselves, “I have this.  There isn’t a problem.”  That’s Pride at work in the worst way.

That is how a person can fall into the trap of addictions without even realizing that they crossed the line.  And  so The Devil card always, always, always, sends us the message that we need to closely examine what we are doing and check for any kind of repetitive patterns that are out of the norm.

Benefits Of The Devil Card 

In another word – pleasure.  Naturally whatever is addictive in this world is going to be pleasurable, or it would not tempt us to no end.

But when there is a strong enough measure of self-control in place, it’s safe to say that a person can indulge in the pleasures of this Earth without becoming a slave to any or all of them.

The Devil Correspondences 

In Astrology, The Devil is associated with the sign of Capricorn, which is something I myself don’t find very logical, with the exception of the animal symbol, the goat, bringing together the card and the Astrological sign.  Other than that, I find that Capricorn is a poor fit, and that in fact, one sign probably can’t fit such a complex card as The Devil.

Instead, I associate The Devil with the planet Neptune, which naturally rules addictions, and all things that lurk beneath the surface in our lives.  Neptune rules the 12th House in Astrology, and that’s a house that includes all the skeletons hidden away in the attics of our existence and frankly, I can’t see a better placement for The Devil.  Totally His domain, if you ask me.

In Numerology, The Devil is card number XV, which can be broken down to a six (1+5).  That automatically puts the emphasis on balance, as sixes neatly place 3 things on either side of any scale.  Once again, The Devil sends us all a strong message about keeping a handle on what we are doing and how often we do it.

Spiritual Messages 

• Enjoy yourself without reaching the point of causing harm to yourself and/or others.
• You are in danger of becoming addicted to something or someone.  Take appropriate action to avoid that.
• Nothing in your life has power over you.  You are the captain of your own ship.
• If you have trouble saying “no”, you should avoid placing yourself in a position of temptation until you can.

Tarot readings come into my CounterClockwise Paranormal Romance Series beginning with book #2 “Connie and Richard”.