The Devil (XV)

Meanings according to Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Pluto as a sign of dark power.

THE DEVIL Of all the Tarot Arcana, the Devil seems the most difficult to understand, because for each person it is different. Perhaps the only thing common to all is the situation of dependence on someone or something, weakness of will, the shameful failure of good intentions, as well as actions committed against one's own convictions. The Devil seems to personify the dark side of several cards: for the Magician it is black magic, for the Priestess it is part of her negative archetype, for the Hierophant it is sanctimony, acquisitiveness under the guise of a holy man, for the Lovers it is a power struggle or the degeneration of partnership relations into pure sex, lust without the slightest sign of love, for Justice it is corruption or the inability to admit one's own wrongdoing. He also personifies excessive greed as the reverse side of Strength, intemperance as the opposite of Temperance, and rules over various areas of the Unknown realm of the Moon card. As a tempter, he most often appears before us under one or another attractive guise. One way or another, this card shows that we are playing with fire and must be devilishly (!) careful not to get burned. On a deeper level, he means that our question concerns, above all, the shadow sides of our personality.

From the book: Hajo Banzhaf. THE TAROT HANDBOOK. Translation from German by E. Kolesov. Publisher: Center for Astrological Research, 1999.

15 - THE DEVIL Capricorn The fifteenth card of the MAJOR ARCANA is called THE DEVIL and depicts a creature resembling Pan with the horns of a Stag, the arms and torso of a man, and the legs of a goat (or with a dragon's tail). The figure stands upon a cubic stone, to which two satyrs are chained. In the hands of the DEVIL, a candle (sometimes a torch) serves as a scepter. The figure is a symbol of the magical forces of the astral light, or the universal mirror, in which the divine forces are reflected into the reverse, or lower, state. The Demon has the wings of a bat, emphasizing his belonging to the nocturnal or shadow sphere. The animal nature of man is expressed in the form of the masculine and feminine principles chained to the cube. The torch in the DEVIL's hand is the false light leading unenlightened souls to their own destruction. The Moon is the planet of the immortal soul. Dying and being reborn again in the firmament, it awakens in the human soul the idea of immortality and is associated with the image of the celestial Eye, surveying the Earth by night. But at night all earthly things are immersed in sleep, and the unsleeping Eye has no one with whom to share what it has seen, and so it only sees, but does not speak. Yet its sight is keen and penetrates into the darkest corners of matter, knowing all its essence and foundation. To preserve the old at the birth of the new is the traditional function of the Moon. And for dense matter, where this memory is recorded, the sign of Capricorn is responsible. One could say that if Sagittarius affirms a new vision of the world, then Capricorn, as its compensation, is bound to the old, to its most rigid and conservative foundations, which is why the card "THE DEVIL" (whose astrological equivalent is the sign of Capricorn) is associated with service to matter, which brings inner (spiritual) desolation. On the Fifteenth arcanum of the TAROT, the ruler of human desires, Baphomet, is usually depicted with a third eye in the middle of his forehead and an inverted five-pointed star — a symbol of the active descent of spirit into matter. Beside Baphomet are a man and a woman in loose chains: they could throw them off, but do not do so, having yielded to the temptation of the creation of the material world. With this card is also correlated the concept of astral light, as the universal creative principle, astrologically corresponding to Mars (the planet exalted in the sign of Capricorn). Of course, in everyday interpretations this card means nothing good: the world binds man with chains. People become such as this manifest world accepts them, forcing them to fight for their existence. But for a developed personality this card may be interpreted differently. The man and the woman are chained to each other and to the throne of Baphomet by the force of that rationality which is contained within matter and remembers its evolution. And their task is to use this force in order to renew the forms of being according to their own discretion. And then — they will be able to command Baphomet, who will lose his power and become merely the executor of their wishes. Therefore THE DEVIL ARCANUM, in certain situations, may also symbolize man — as the only divine creation which, by uniting perfection with rationality (Sun, Mercury), is able to command even Demons. Let us recall Solomon, whom the Demon Amadeus helped to build the temple. But... let us not forget: — that there is a time to build and a time to destroy... The Fifteenth ARCANUM is the dark side of all things, of all ARCANA, of all signs of the Zodiac. Evil is a constituent part both of the essence of man and of life in general. In the shadow of light hides the DEVIL, but not to walk into the shadow is cowardice; man must be able to see the DEVIL and not be afraid to enter into struggle with him (or better still — into dialogue).

Upright position the card may speak of the fact that you are taking on faith that which cannot be proved. Remembering evil, one should not forget that fire can be both light and hell. In addition, the card "THE DEVIL" may symbolize a tormenting thirst for material or purely physical well-being, as well as the desire to dominate over others. In certain cases it also signals slavish dependence upon erotic desires.

Reversed position the card speaks of the abuse of power, of the concentration of efforts exclusively upon the attainment of material goods. If the card falls among good ones — then one may also assume a successful amorous adventure or a situation in which you will manage successfully to "dodge" retribution, or, to put it quite plainly: debauchery without unpleasant consequences. In the sphere of spiritual knowledge, the reversed card signals that you have realized the limitation of forms and strive to be free of them. It is also possible that, having recognized the divine spark within yourself, you are beginning to comprehend yourself through disidentification.

"Try to revalue your spiritual values and decide — to which gods do you bow? It is better to be a pagan than to be 'neither a candle to God nor a poker to the devil.'" Papus