Tarot Deep Dive: The Major Arcana
Card # 15
“THE DEVIL”
This card is very personal for me. So actually, whether I post this one first or not, it is the first one I am diving deep into, as it has come up again for me a lot recently.
I want to state first, and with every blog I do on the Tarot, that Tarot is so much more than just the images on the cards and the ‘basic meanings’ we have learned. Tarot was meant to be an esoteric tool of higher knowledge. It was never meant to just be a ‘game’ of fortune telling. It goes way beyond just helping you to make the right decision on your next job, or telling you if your current partner is ‘the one’ for you, or if you will come into a large sum of money soon. Yes, it can help indicate these things, it can help guide you, and it can be really fun. I’m personally obsessed with tarot, as I have been for many years. And is it extremely fun to collect different decks, it is a passion of mine. But I think you will find, as I did, that the more years you study, practice and work with them, how much deeper of an understanding you will gain, way beyond just the images and the meanings in the little booklets.
I could go on and on about the practice of Tarot in general, all the history, folklore, and controversy. However, that may have to be for another blog. My goal in each of these blogs is to introduce you to some of the more profound meanings of the cards as they relate specifically to the paths on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. You may have already studied many occult and esoteric practices and subjects as I have, or you may be relatively new in the practice of Tarot. Either way, I hope to explain it in a succinct and easy way that will encourage you to continue with your own research and dive into each card, its related path, and how it may resonate for you in your life.
With that being said, being raised as a Protestant, or ‘born-again Christian’, it was not an easy path for me to release the religious programming and find my way to the Druid path I am on now. As many others can relate, I’m sure, it takes many years to release those layers of fear, guilt and trauma. I spent most of my childhood and young adult life thinking there were demons under my bed or that the ‘Devil’ or ‘Satan’ was going to come and drag me to Hell for even the slightest infraction, like lying to my parents. So as you can imagine, seeing ‘The Devil’ card in Tarot has always been a trigger for me. In fact, just Tarot itself was ‘of the Devil’ according to my Mother. So even when I first started out with the Angel Tarot by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine, which was all ‘love and light’, I still had fear inside me when trying to learn to work with tarot for the first few years. Can you believe now that I have many ‘dark’ and ‘light’ decks, The Thoth Deck, The Rider Waite, The Green Witch Tarot, even the “Goetia: Tarot in Darkness” deck?! I’ve come a long way in the last 20 some years. And trust me, this is after doing tons of shadow work and studying every philosophy and religion you could imagine, from Buddhism to Taoism, to Thelema, Rosicrucianism, Qabbalah, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and more.
But in every deck, I found I was being triggered by this darn ‘Devil’ card. Especially if the image was a ‘scary’ one. For example, I have the Kawaii Tarot deck, which I highly recommend, if you like cute stuff. But in that deck, the Devil is a cute little bat, so it does not trigger me. But in the Tarot de Marseilles or Rider Waite Decks, the image would trigger me. About 6 years ago, I also began to work with my patron god Pan, which as many of you may know, the Christian church used to create the Christian ‘Devil’ unfortunately. So this made it harder for me to accept this card for a while because I did not want to associate Pan with the Devil, or Cernunnos, or any of the horned gods. Because these are nature gods, they symbolize fertility and the duality of nature and the creative male force. These gods were not ‘demonized’ until the rise of Christianity/Catholicism and the Roman Catholic Church.
So what does ‘The Devil’ card stand for and what does it have to do with the Tree of Life?
In some of it’s most basic meanings, ‘The Devil’ represents restriction, addictions, and that which we may need to overcome or free ourselves from. Structure. Limitations. Trickster archetype. Attachment to the material world. Thinking you are trapped. Not being able to get past your limited ways of thinking or negative beliefs. Your shadow side or subconscious fears or shortcomings. It is also associated with the astrological sign of Capricorn, the goat-fish in the zodiac, the element of Earth and the Planets of Saturn and Mars.
The Devil is Path #26 or ‘Ayin’ on the Tree of Life. The Tree has 32 paths we must go through to reach enlightenment. There are 10 Sephiroth or ‘spheres’ on the tree which each correspond to a planet. And there are the 22 paths between them, thus making the ‘32 paths of wisdom.’ Again this is a very basic explanation of the Tree and the paths. There have been countless books and videos made discussing the meanings of the Q(K)abbalistic Tree, and it can take years of study, so I highly recommend further research if this subject interests you. Here is a great beginner video on the Tree of Life by one of my favorite Youtubers ‘Spirit Science’:
Path Number #26 on the Tree of Life connects the 6th Sephiroth, Tipareth (The Sun) to the 8th Sephiroth, Hod (Mercury). This path in a nutshell is the bridge between The Ego and The Soul. It takes us from individual consciousness to spiritual consciousness. To release the Ego ‘survival mind’ and to realize that we are Divine Creators and we can move to ‘thriving’ instead of just ‘surviving.’ It moves us out of the ‘misconception’ that our material world is ‘reality’. The path of ‘The Devil’ combines knowledge with true understanding.
It is interesting to note that the words ‘devil’ and ‘divinity’ came from the same root word ‘devi’ or ‘deva’ which meant God and then became ‘deava’ (devil) in Persian. Gods and ‘Devils’ were often confused with one another, or one term was used for both. We did not have a separation of one ‘God’ and one ‘Devil’ until Christianity. In Qabbalah, ‘The Devil’ is not seen as its own evil entity but rather a mystery of the subconscious, an archetype, to be explored and understood before we can know our Higher Selves or become enlightened. One must explore and conquer every path on the tree. ‘The Devil’ also represents illusion, as in the illusion created by slavery type religions. Monotheistic religions created an all around ‘evil bad guy’ to control the masses by fear of punishment and eternal torment.
For an even deeper dive into the background of this card, including information on Qabbalah and Thelema, the Thoth Tarot, and more check out this website’s very in-depth article here:
The most groundbreaking thing I learned personally from the path of ‘The Devil’ was, ‘the very thing that binds you is the very thing that sets you free.’ I would say this is one of the most profound things I have learned in my spiritual journey thus far. And I have found it to be 100% true. I have suffered through many narcissistic relationships, first with my parents, then with many romantic partners. The first and last relationship being the worst, causing me to consider taking my own life. The first was my ‘first love’ at 16. The second was much later in life and was the one that finally woke me up. After 7 years being single now, to make sure to face my ‘demons’ and heal, I realized that the last man, was in essence, ‘the devil’ and he broke me free of the codependent-narcissistic trauma bond I had been in with various people throughout my whole life. This is just one example of how the archetype of “The Devil” was the very thing that broke me free of my own misery. Had I not experienced those situations, I would never had woken up to the trauma cycle I was repeating, to the self loathing I still had, or to the negative thoughts that I was not good enough to be worthy of love. I also suffered from addiction to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol for a number of years because of my struggle with anxiety and depression. Each time I overcame one of those things, this path of ‘The Devil’ was breaking me free once again.
In conclusion, ‘The Devil’ card is not a symbol of the Christian Devil; the big red guy with a tail coming to get you and drag you to Hell because you had sex before marriage or are homosexual or didn’t come to confession to tell some hypocritical clergy member your deepest darkest ‘’sins’ and throw your last $20 in the basket like a ‘good devout Christian/Catholic’. It is some of these very beliefs that the Path of ‘The Devil’ tries to break you free from. To free you from your own limiting beliefs and nightmares in your own head that keep you stuck in negative patterns. From religious indoctrination, from stagnation, from dependency on your material world to validate your worth. It can be our greatest teacher. Nothing and no one can steal your soul or lock you away for eternity!
Either the Left Hand (Self-Realization) Path or the Right Hand (Unity Consciousness) Path can lead you back to Source. Both paths lead back to Source. Source/God/Creator is ALL ONE MIND. It is Source Consciousness from which we all came and to which we will all return. Source is all encompassing, both good and evil, light and dark, ‘God’ and ‘The Devil’, the left pillar of Severity and the right pillar of Mercy. You cannot have one without the other. Yin and Yang. We must walk through all 32 paths to ascend the Tree of LIfe to true Knowledge and Enlightenment. This is why I feel it is so important to look deeper into each card in the Tarot and how it relates to each path on the Qabalistic Tree of Life.
Thank you for reading my friends! Join me for my next blog in our Tarot Deep Dive series. I will start back at the beginning now with ‘The Fool’ card which is Number Zero in the Major Arcana. But ‘The Devil’ card was a ‘hot’ issue for me (pun intended) recently and I felt it needed to be posted now. I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to share your thoughts, knowledge or experiences, in a positive and constructive manner, for the higher good of all, anytime! Be good to yourselves and each other! Until next time, Blessed Be!
Also **** I DO OFFER PERSONAL TAROT READINGS. BUT MY WEBSITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A TAROT READING PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON IG @grove_witch_ and DM ME THERE!****** THANK YOU!
A.F. – The Grove Witch –
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