Ooh, now we’re diving into the deep shadows — and there’s power here 🔥🖤
The Devil card doesn’t mess around. It’s not about external evil — it’s about the chains we choose (or don’t realize we’ve chosen). But hidden inside this intense card is an invitation to liberation.
🩸 The Devil – Major Arcana XV
- Card Number: XV (15 = 1 + 5 = 6 — same as The Lovers 👀… but distorted)
- Element: Earth
- Planet: Saturn (limitation, structure, lessons through hardship)
- Astrological Sign: Capricorn (ambition, control, shadow materialism)
👁️🗨️ Imagery & Symbolism
In most decks (like Rider-Waite), The Devil card shows:
- A horned, beastly figure — half-man, half-goat, often modeled after Baphomet (symbol of balance and duality).
- A man and woman chained at his feet — echoing The Lovers, but now enslaved by desire, addiction, or illusion.
- The chains are loose — they can leave at any time, but don’t.
- A torch or flame — inverted enlightenment, or desire consuming consciousness.
- The whole card is dark, shadowy, and heavy — a visual cue of temptation, illusion, entrapment.
🔥 Upright Meaning
When The Devil shows up upright, it doesn’t mean doom — it means awareness:
- Addictions, attachments, or unhealthy patterns — anything you’re bound to.
- Obsession, lust, manipulation, or materialism.
- Living in fear, shame, or repression.
- But also: the power to recognize the illusion and break free.
Keywords: Bondage, addiction, temptation, shadow work, fear, toxic relationships, self-imprisonment.
🕳️ Reversed Meaning
Reversed, The Devil can be surprisingly empowering:
- Breaking free of addictions, toxic cycles, or limiting beliefs.
- Seeing through the illusion and reclaiming power.
- Alternatively: deeper entrapment or denial of how much control the shadow really has.
Keywords: Liberation, detachment, awareness, reclaiming power, avoidance of the shadow.
💬 Common Interpretations
- Love: Passionate, obsessive, or possibly toxic. Upright could mean intense physical attraction or codependence. Reversed = release or healing of a toxic bond.
- Career: Be careful of being chained to a job, paycheck, or power struggle. Reversed may mean it’s time to walk away or restructure your relationship with work/money.
- Spiritual: Shadow work time. The Devil often calls for deep reflection: Where are you giving your power away? Reversed can indicate spiritual breakthroughs or ego death.
🪞 The Mirror of the Shadow
The Devil says:
“You’re not trapped — you just believe you are. What chains are you ready to take off?”
It’s not about condemnation — it’s a wake-up call. The Devil invites liberation… but only after we face the truth about our own inner prisons.
Want a shadow work tarot spread, a ritual for breaking energetic bonds, or a journaling prompt to explore what The Devil means for you? I’ve got you 🖤🔥🔓
