What is the meaning of the Devil in Tarot Cards?

The card of the seven deadly sins. This card has its own meaning for everyone. The Major Arcana Tarot card Devil is fear, materialism, animal instincts, a dark past, addictions, bad habits. Weak will, tendency to addictions, shame, frustration, actions are performed contrary to their beliefs. In this article, we will consider the description and meaning in the relationship of a straight and inverted card, interpretation and combination with other cards in the spreads of love, health, career and work.
The Devil Tarot is a harmless card in and of itself. To a greater extent, it indicates that you live by material values, easily succumb to all sorts of temptations or do not keep bad habits under control. It can also appear as a warning that you have taken a wrong turn. If you do not fix everything in time, you are in danger of falling into an abyss. It will be difficult to get out of it later.
Carl Jung called these qualities our dark “shadow” nature.
The fact that we feel so uncomfortable alone with our base nature means that we usually project it onto other people so we don’t have to face them. It brings more devastation to our souls and causes more problems than if we dared to openly admit our vices and shortcomings.
When we manage to unblock those parts of our psyche that disgust us, we release a powerful stream of positive energy.
This card reveals the third septenary of the Major Arcana. It corresponds to the zodiac sign of Capricorn. But Capricorn is not the opposite of Gemini on the sky, but constitutes an aspect of the quincunx with him, meaning rather constructive interaction, creative union than confrontation. The Devil’s card symbolizes “temptations”. These are attractions that are often forgotten on purpose or simply do not want to recognize, so then they make themselves felt in the most unexpected way. The only way to deal with this is not to avoid the “forbidden”, but to accept it as it is, go through it and leave it behind. The Devil is not as bad as he is depicted.

In the center of the card is the Devil, he sits on a stone, to which a man and a woman are chained.
(For a detailed depiction, analysis of the Symbols and all Elements of the The Devil Tarot Card, click here)

Meaning of the Card

Do you think the Devil has captured your soul? Does it seem to you that it is impossible to break out of the vicious circle? But look at the card: the chain does not squeeze the necks of the people depicted on it, but lies free. Just remove it and the end of captivity! Whatever this chain represents for you: sex, play, alcohol or something else, you imposed it on yourself. And you can also take them off. You can start a new stage in life and leave your old hobbies behind.
In the old days, it was believed that the Devil is the Devil with horns, interfering in human affairs and pushing his victims to evil deeds (“the demon beguiled”). Now this card is considered a symbol of a test, a challenge, a kind of exam that a person must pass in order to test their strengths and rise to a new level of awareness of themselves and the world.
Anything can become such an exam or test – a risky venture, a decision to aggravate the conflict, or, indeed, alcohol, drugs, adultery. The trick is that you need to pass the exam, you need to go through it consciously. If the card is in a straight position, this will only contribute to growth and release from temptations for the future.
The Devil Tarot embodies all the dark sides of other Tarot Arcana: black magic, lust, corruption, greed, temptation, and an attractive shell. You are offered a quick solution to your problems. If you are impatient enough to agree, you may see your hopes and plans destroyed. Succeed on your own. Resist the temptation to cut the corner and do not be intimidated by the hard work. Continue it alone.
Be careful. The power you take over your people is intoxicating, and you may enjoy manipulating, controlling, and even playing with their lives. But the real Devil has one destination – to hell.
Devil Tarot is the antithesis of good, symbolizes forces that seek to disrupt the harmony of existence. It’s not just individualism or a desire to go his own way that makes him the embodiment of evil. The Tarot Magician also tries to impose his will on the world, and in fact, the result of completing the Tarot path is your ability to truly control your own destiny.
The allegory here is not an independent will, but a mind working to destroy the divine balance. Its goal is to overthrow the Divine law and plunge the world into a state of chaos.
The ancients taught that there is an order for the world in which all living things are able to find their best destiny. Divine law is called to establish and maintain this order. The Devil Tarot seeks to break and subdue it. He may act as a tempter or rule through fear, but in any case, his goal is to mislead.
As the Tarot teaches, the true path is to approach divine power. At this stage of spiritual development, you are sufficiently dedicated to become a valuable servant of the forces of evil. It is at this point that you can choose whether to continue the path to the final goal or follow another path that ends here. At this moment, the temptation for the seeker is especially great. You just have to wait for your tasks to complete (Moderation). The Devil seems to indicate a way to achieve the same goal without waiting and without labor.
The offered power is enormous, but the price is even higher. Remember that you can achieve your goal without the help of the Devil. He is only interested in you because your potential is far beyond anything he hoped to get by stopping you.
You are not offered an easy road. For the power that the Devil Tarot offers, you will have to give up your free will.

Enslavement. Imprisonment. Indulgence. Addiction. Falling into your own grip. Obsession with power, sex, or money. Sadism. Cruelty. The conflict between material and spiritual well-being. Primitive desires. Uncontrollable passions. Abuse. Perversions. Sexual instincts. Suppressed fears. Your Achilles’ heel. Jung’s Shadow concept.

You feel that you have fallen into a trap, which, most likely, you set up for yourself. Perhaps you have some kind of strong hobby. Do you refuse to end your problematic relationship? Is it difficult for you to refuse when you feel like it really needs to be done? When the Devil appears in the scenario, it is worth thinking: perhaps you are too attached to the material world or you are overwhelmed by unbridled passions, maybe you are not in the best relationship with someone, or are you too concerned about financial well-being? Fear and negative thinking poison your life.
Take a close look at reality. Perhaps your life is like slavery? Perhaps you are entangled in a web of unhealthy attachments? Are you acting out of greed or fear of losing material wealth? Are you using money to buy love? Are you maintaining a relationship that you yourself understand will not lead to anything good? Are you busy pursuing material happiness? Are you haunted by obsessive thoughts about your health or sex? Do you allow your life to be dependent on drugs, alcohol or other addictions?

Persons designated by Upright The Devil Tarot Сard

Those who are too preoccupied with money. Those with unhealthy passions. Greedy, petty people. Those who are ruled by base passions. Destructive people. The women who are beaten, and the men who beat them. Those whose life is to some extent directly related to slavery or dependence.

The Main Meanings of the Card In a Reversed Position

Key Words and Phrases

Positive values
Taming your own fears. Liberation from addiction. Throwing off the shackles. End interdependence. The power of positive thinking. Overcoming temptation. The search for enlightenment.

Negative values
Indecision. Obstinacy. Excessive ambition. Excessive greed. Instability. Clinging to something. Addiction. Loop around the neck. Will-suppressing relationships. Abuse of power. Perversion. Inhumanity. Using people in their own interests, for the purpose of enrichment. Completely corrupt absolute power.

You are freed from the influence of negative thinking. You are ready to throw off the burden of a difficult situation.

Devil Card Negative Aspect:
In an inverted position, it indicates that you may be acting selfishly. Most of your actions are dictated by greed. Perhaps you need to choose between money and happiness. Your desire for material wealth or power can turn into a mania. Perhaps someone is controlling or manipulating you. You will not overcome depression until you release the shackles that hold you back. Many obstacles have been created by you, but you do not want to notice it. The Devil card in an inverted position warns that you can be drawn into dirty sexual relations. You see no way out of a hopeless situation.

Persons designated by the Reversed The Devil Tarot Сard

Negative values
People with a tendency to sadism, manipulation. Angry people. Petty people. Sexual offenders.

Positive values
People who have freed themselves from their fears.

In the Spreads

Devil Tarot is a blade running Arcane. A little more and the person will get bogged down in negativity, lose his moral character.
The card itself does not mean a strictly defined direction of bad predictions. This is not necessarily sexual relations with perversion, or drug addiction, or abuse of loved ones. Arcana simply indicates the following on a dangerous path, which can lead to irreversible consequences.
To fully understand the answer of the card, it is almost always necessary to refer to other cards in the spread or pull out additional ones.
The questioner does not control the situation and, because of this, will incur a lot of problems. Man has entered the path of degradation and self-destruction. Indulging in his weaknesses and desires will lead to the destruction of his personality. The card indicates the abuse of their power and strength. There is a dependence on something or someone that will not lead to anything good.
In the life of the questioner, there is a person who suppresses him and deprives him of freedom, self-expression, as well as a strong dependence on something. An overwhelming situation. The man has fallen into bad company and is engaged in bad deeds.
Devil Tarot, the meaning of the card indicates that a person has gone astray. Thoughts and actions lead to the destruction of order and the direction of life goes in the wrong direction. Under the influence of fear, temptation and pressure, a person ignores the rules. Indulging your whims, not wanting to work and endure, to follow the righteous path. Man plays with fire. The shadow side of the questioner manifests a bad influence.
The Devil is a warning card. It is urgent to take action and take the true path, otherwise a person will pay for his sins. You need to get away with your feet while there is time and opportunity.
The card personifies a feverish obsession, a strong hobby that harms a person. Lack of conscience, dishonest acquisitions, loss of self-control due to temptations and desires. It may also indicate the irreversibility of addiction (drug addiction).
The Devil’s card is quite difficult to understand, and in an inverted version it can mean absolutely opposite things. Its interpretation largely depends on the position of the Arcana and other cards dropped out in the spread.

In an Upright Position

This card shows that at the moment you are concerned with worldly, material affairs. It can also mean that you have limited beliefs or values ​​that keep you from moving forward. You are held back by your fears and do not trust your inner spirit guide.
You may be prone to various temptations, unethical behavior, and inappropriate use of force. You have become a victim of your vanity and pride.
The upright position of the card is easier to understand than the inverted one. It usually means either your wrong immoral behavior, or a tendency to sexual and other temptations and addictions, or limited values ​​and excessive materialism.
Of all the Arcana Tarot, the Devil is the most difficult to understand. Everyone has his own sins. Common to all, perhaps, can be considered only a situation of dependence on someone or something, a weak will, a shameful failure of good intentions, as well as actions performed contrary to their own convictions. The card speaks of material dependence, intrigue and temptation, excesses. The illusion of being forced to act in spite of or against will. The card testifies that at the moment, the main goals in life are by no means spiritual goals. The values ​​that you yearn to acquire are of an exclusively material nature. The card claims that the goals that you are pursuing are false and it is better to abandon them now, while you have not yet been sucked into this completely. You should not, however, take this as a threat: in front of you is just a warning from Destiny. Either way, this card shows that you are playing with fire and must be careful not to burn yourself. At a deep level, it means that the question affects, first of all, the shadow sides of the personality.

In a personal scenario, it indicates that at the present time you are focused only on material values. The Minor Arcana surrounding the card will tell you whether you get what you want or not. Remember that by forgetting about the spiritual in your pursuit of the material, you risk gradually sinking much lower than you are now.

In the Spreads for Different situation

In an Upright Position:
The Devil who has fallen on the situation hints that you are in a cage. Perhaps because of the addictions, or weaknesses, or because of an overly materialistic view of what is happening. You should slow down and think about how to live on and how to get out of the current circumstances.
Arcana also warns of possible temptations, which are difficult to refuse and leading to immoral behavior and serious consequences. Be careful.
Temptation by personal weaknesses, an illusory vision of the situation, indulgence of desires will lead to collapse, risky activities are likely not to succeed.

In a Reversed Position:
Inverted 15 Arcana Tarot in questions on the situation is a negative card. It indicates your powerlessness in the circumstances. You will have to show persistence and wait until the situation changes in your favor.
Be wary of making the wrong choices and making big decisions at the moment.

In the Spreads for Relationship

In an Upright Position :
Relationships based on physical passion, oppression of a partner, obsession with him, deception and betrayal, hatred, attempts to buy love. In addition, the Devil’s card indicates that comfort and money are more loved than your person.
The Devil personifies important issues that can be difficult in a relationship if you are not careful and honest. The card often denotes the dependence of one of the partners on the other in an everyday, financial or psychological sense, due to which the emotional and spiritual side of the union suffers. Difficulties in relationships can be associated with excessive immersion in matters of a material nature, and the pursuit of dubious pleasures. This Arcana often means temptation, indulgence and pursuit of desires at any cost. The Devil is also often associated with the sphere of intimate relationships and can sometimes mean infidelity, betrayal, love affairs without obligation.
The value of the direct Devil in love matters is, in general, obvious. This includes everything related to temptations, seductions, and sexual spheres. And not in a very good sense. This can be a relationship on the side, the presence of a lover / mistress, deviations and perversions of a sexual nature, strong jealousy, dominance over a partner, pathological dependence on the chosen one.
In a relationship under the Devil’s card, love does not bring happiness and harmony. Most often, partners simply torture each other with such a connection.

In a Reversed Position:
In a reversed position, the Devil tells that the relationship is at an impasse, the parters are tired of each other. Sometimes it indicates that the couple is incompatible, either spiritually or physically.
On a relationship in an inverted position means either the end of any of the possible situations. For example: a partner left his mistress / lover and returned to the family; one from the couple coped with the unhealthy expression of feelings and stopped hurting the other, etc.
But also, in some cases, the card can mean an aggravation of the situation. It is always necessary to refer to the neighboring Arcana or lay out the card on top for clarification.
Indifference to the needs of a partner, jealousy, difficulty in communicating due to obsession with one’s own person, the inability to break an established and already burdened connection, quarrels, blackmail and manipulation.

In the Spreads for Dates

In an Upright Position :
If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants sex and you don’t feel ready for it, don’t give up.
Let no reason force you to do what you don’t want to do. Every such action then has to be regretted.
In a Reversed Position:
Do you feel like you are constantly thinking about sex? Maybe you sleep with just anyone? If so, look again at the picture of the Devil. The fact is that excess is always harmful, no matter what it is about.

In the Spreads for Family

In an Upright Position:
Perhaps someone in your family has a secret, or the person is simply upset and depressed. He needs professional help.
In a Reversed Position:
If a loved one encourages you to do things that you really don’t want to do, or humiliates you, convince yourself to talk about it with an adult you trust. Ask for advice and help. If you are ashamed, that is false shame.

In an Upright Position:
At school, you may be the target or witness of bullying and ridicule. Tell a trusted teacher about this – it’s important not to let this situation drag on.
In a Reversed Position:
The ability to make a burst of laughter is a valuable talent, but don’t waste it. You are trying too hard to please people. Pay a little less attention to others and a little more to yourself.

In the Spreads for Career

In an Upright Position:
In working matters, 15 Arcana does not carry such a negative meaning. It most often points to a test of your moral convictions. You may be offered illegal activity or fraud. Perhaps there will be a need for submission to the person in power. Or one of the colleagues will go for tricks or will play a foul game. How to behave in this case is up to you.
There is a high probability of being deceived by your own colleagues, being drawn into other people’s intrigues. It is not the best time to make decisions and implement plans.
Here the Devil shows that moral strength, convictions and good intentions are severely tested, temptated. In this case, we can even talk about profitable deeds, but only due to the inexperience or gullibility of the business partner. In some cases, Arcana indicates that a person is involved in dubious transactions.

In a Reversed Position:
When the 15th Major Arcana Tarot falls to work in an inverted position, it will mean the end of dubious cases, exit from illegal business or change of position to a “cleaner” one.
Lack of understanding with colleagues, conflicts and intrigues based on the desire for money and fame.
In an inverted position, the card most often indicates the loss of profit, money, income. A deal or project that had high hopes for it will not generate the expected profit.

In the Spreads for Health

In an Upright Position:
In spreads on health, the value of the Arcana is obvious. This is the whole range of addictions and bad habits that are harmful to health: drug addiction, alcoholism, self-destruction and self-mutilation. This includes diseases associated with sex life: sexually transmitted diseases and genital infections.
Self-destruction: drug addiction, alcoholism, smoking addiction.

In a Reversed Position:
Devil Tarot in an inverted position will mean successful getting rid of bad habits or addictions, if the adjacent cards are positive. If they are negative, then the situation has become even more deplorable.
Difficult start of recovery, risk of poisoning.

In the Perspectives

Be on the lookout. You may be tempted to do something that you don’t really want to do. You may become confused, dependent, and manipulated.

You should not use your position or influence to manipulate other people. You have fallen into your own trap, and now is the time to face your fears and what is holding you back. Your hopelessness and the belief that nothing can be changed is holding you back. Why are you so sure that your destiny is only to suffer? Fight with your shadow. This will allow you to develop further. According to Jung, the Shadow denotes the dark side of our personality and the most difficult aspects (our fears, indecision) which we must resist and which we must tame. Only after that we can find integrity.

Self-Development Lesson

The Devil personifies our own ignorance and delusion, our false dependence on worldly customs. The Devil can block our path to spiritual awakening, but only if we ourselves allow him to do it.

Key Ideas

It may seem to you that you are firmly stuck in a negative situation, but there is a solution to the problem, you just have not seen it yet.
The card encourages you to accept responsibility for what happened, stop lashing at other people or events, and have the courage to free yourself.

Psychological (Personality) Meaning of the Arcana

Type of person in an upright position:
A handsome but empty person; Miss World; Mister Universe.
The card means a person who, in one way or another, seeks to manipulate people, regardless of their interests. At the same time, outwardly bright, attractive, charming in communication, which does not immediately allow you to discern his face. The woman on this card is seductive and defiantly sexy.

Type of person in an reversed position:
Excessive moralist; a person who ignores his body, naked sex; Satanist; sexual pervert; member of a mafia group; alcoholic and drug addict; gambler.
The man who became the prey of the Devil. Greedy, selfish, vengeful. Often this is an alcoholic, drug addict, gambler. Sexually preoccupied, not knowing withholding in search of perversions. He is characterized by paranoid moods, a tendency to disfigure himself, thoughts of suicide.

Psychological significance of the Arcana:

Do you really think that the Devil has finally taken possession of your soul and now it is impossible to break out of the vicious circle? What if you once made a mistake or stupidity, then forever mired in it? It is not true! Being exposed to temptation and sinning, you yourself put on the chains, but you yourself can throw them off. Whatever it is: gambling, alcohol, sex, drugs, dealing with it is in your hands. Believe in yourself and see how strong you are. You can break your shackles with one movement and become a free man again! But temptations will accompany you all your life, and only by learning to deal with them, you will retain your freedom. Of course, a person should have pleasures, but you need to know when to stop and not allow them to completely capture you.

Final Advice of Arcana

In an Upright Position:
If the goal is not an opportunity to satisfy your basic instincts, there is a chance to realize it. Forget about yourself and move forward.
In a Reversed Position:
Could you imagine for a minute that your every wish came true? Maybe you should moderate your appetites? This is the meaning of the Tarot card Devil in this scenario.

Conclusion

Of all the Arcana of the Tarot, the Devil seems to be the most difficult to understand, because everyone has his own sins. Perhaps, only a situation of dependence on someone or something can be considered common to all, a weak will, a shameful failure of good intentions, as well as actions performed contrary to their own convictions. The Devil, as it is, personifies the dark side of several cards: for the Magician it is black magic; for the Priestess it’s a part of her negative archetype; for the Priest it’s the hypocrisy, money-grubbing under the guise of a saint; for the Lovers it’s a struggle for power or the degeneration of partnership into pure sex, lust without the slightest signs of love; for Justice it’s the corruption or inability to admit one’s own wrong. He also personifies exorbitant greed as the reverse side of the Strength, immoderation as opposed to Moderation, and rules various areas of the Unknown Edge of the card of the Moon. As a tempter, he most often appears before us under one or another attractive guise. Either way, this card shows that we are playing with fire and must be damn careful not to get burned. At a deep level, it means that our question affects, first of all, the shadow sides of our personality.

Discover other Major Arcana: