All you need to know about The devil tarot card. Meanings, messages and how to use it to create your dream life
What’s the devil card?
The Devil is the 15th card of the Major Arcana. It is generally represented by a half human, half animal figure, with wings and with two figures tied on the pedestal on which it is presented.
In principle the Devil represents the forces of evil, but not everything is as negative as it seems.
It is true that the Devil symbolizes evil, but it also symbolizes animal instinct, power and will.
Successful people can be reflected in this tarot card without having to be bad people, since the Devil is also interpreted as a break with the established.
The devil : Image and Representation
Despite the different illustrations, the basic scheme of the tarot is always the same: three figures are represented, standing, of which a central one representing the devil, and two lateral ones representing two persons, of opposite sex (a man and a woman), in the act of facing each other.
The two people are linked to the devil by a chain tied around the neck, which symbolizes demonic domination. Both people have horns.
The devil is represented as a hermaphrodite, because he has female breasts and male genitals. The head has goat horns, and so also the legs are covered with hair recalling the classic symbolism of the devil.
The color is varied: the legs are yellow, the chest is red, the hips are blue and the head is white to symbolize the four elements, powerful forces but not easy to contain.
The meaning of the card concerns the human passions, which are not easy to contain and which can lead to shackle man, pushing him almost to an animal level.
The devil is one of the few tarot cards that indicates a good omen when upside down, while it indicates a worse omen when straight.
Divinatory meaning of the devil Card: The devil keywords
Keywords when upright:
- darkness,
- passion,
- slavery,
- ties,
- obsession,
- self-destruction,
- jealousy,
- anger,
- denial,
- confusion,
- seduction,
- magnetism,
- selfishness,
- resentment,
- trauma,
- absurdity,
- rivalry,
- revenge,
Inverted:
- Feeling of sadness,
- anger and depression invade us, perhaps hidden from conscience but effective.
- frustration,
- limitation,
- discord,
- contradictions,
- disagreements and deceptions
- self-destruction
- hatred
- violence
- corruption
The most positive qualities about the devil card
The Devil in love card symbolizes sexual urges. Perhaps you are going to find yourself in a purely passionate relationship where feelings do not come into play and pleasure is prioritized.
At work, the Devil’s card represents success, effort, tenacity and commitment to your own projects. It is the card of creative people who believe in themselves no matter how crazy their ideas may seem to others.
The Devil is very capable of defeating destiny. You may have to use certain magical powers, but you are an autonomous and independent person with enough resources to live your way.
When the Devil’s card comes out in a positive sense, it is very possible that you begin a stage of your life in which you are surer of yourself and in which you let out all the charisma and magnetism that you have within.
The Devil is a strong, powerful, free being, who does not follow the conventions and who sets his own rules. Can you imagine a life like this? It may be time to let go of the weight and live your own life.
The most negative qualities about the devil card
Although it is not a warning card of misfortunes, the Devil can reflect the negative influence of the toxic people around you. Or maybe you are a toxic person yourself. It is important that you think about it.
There are some very negative characteristics of the Devil, such as lack of responsibility, lack of commitment, disloyalty or lies. It also indicates a certain immaturity, but it’s up to you to find out if he’s talking about you or someone close to you.
Anything goes for the Devil. The end justifies the means and that means that you can use all that power you have to get what you want, yes, but at the cost of hurting others. Are you willing
Unscrupulous people, tyrants, despots and narcissists are reflected in the Devil’s card. Malevolent seducers and foul play in love come from the hand of the Devil.
And the temptations. Beware of addictions, alcohol, drugs, gambling. Maybe sex too. In any case, this card reflects a nosedive, letting yourself be carried away by impulses, turning off the voice of reason.
As we always warn, tarot cards are not sentencing or dogmas, they are just symbols that you can interpret to know a little more about yourself. But your future is not written in these negative cards, your future is written by yourself.
The positive meaning of the devil card when upright
The positive response of the Devil’s card is when the card is reversed.
The devil represents a chain, and this chain can be broken and allows you to be guided by your passions, as well as to break an oppressive situation.
It is thus possible to find a liberation, but also to resist temptations and to find the way not to act “on the gut” in our choices.
It is a freedom, but freedom has a price: it is not easy to find one’s way in freedom, and to follow the passions that lead to successes, but also to failures, in one’s life.
The reverse devil also indicates gambling and audacity: a propensity to take risks, to invest, to throw oneself into something new, but also to present an opportunity not to be missed, because such a one may not happen.
It can also indicate the overcoming of an obstacle, understood both in a psychological sense (a “chain for the mind”, a different way of thinking, a problem for which you cannot find the solution), and in a physical sense (overcoming a difficulty, a difficult moment such as a birth or surgery), to which is added professional success, for example of an economic nature.
On the emotional level, the reverse devil indicates new and exciting encounters, perhaps an extra-marital relationship, with the constant that everything is based solely on pleasure, charm, attraction, leaving the mold. In this sense, the conquest in love can be caused not by an emotional question, but by one linked to passion, success, money.
By connecting this last meaning to the breaking of the chains, the Devil in reverse could mean the breaking of an old relationship that now does not satisfy us, but that in the past we did not have the courage to break.
In summary, the meaning can be understood:
Love: new and pleasant encounters, but linked exclusively to pleasure and not to affection, conquests achieved thanks to money and success.
Work and money: Willingness to pursue a career, unexpected earnings, professional or financial success
Health: More marked physical form than normal, overcoming of obstacles related to health considered insurmountable
People: the Devil’s card indicates people with a lot of charisma, particularly passionate about their work, competent in their profession and guided by their passions.
The negative meaning of the devil card when reversed
The negative meanings of the Devil are linked to the addiction that chains us, and are represented by the devil’s tarot on the straight.
We are attached to someone and something and our goal is to get rid of it, even if it won’t be easy. We easily give in to temptation, we are addicted to a passion, we are experiencing something wrong even if we cannot do without it.
It therefore represents all types of addiction, from those related to money, gambling, alcohol, drugs, through to se*ual addictions.
For those who are not experiencing them, or are coming out of them, it indicates the possibility of a relapse and therefore represents a warning not to be ignored, because the possibility of falling again into temptation is very close. This could lead to a change in the balance we have achieved in our life.
In addition to temptations, we must also consider the possibility of having moral or physical falls, for example a serious error, which we will necessarily have to repent of.
We must evaluate our choices well, understand if what we are about to do is really correct: the devil’s card is in fact linked to rebellion, revolt, to social struggle, on the interpersonal level, while on the personal one the onset of a disease, of an infection, problems on the physical level (related to health), from which the tarot warns us.
Not only negative meanings, however: the tarot invites us to examine ourselves, trying to understand not only what are the temptations that afflict us, but also to investigate their origin, to find out more about ourselves, to avoid the negative consequences that can affect our life.
If we have set the request not for our own judgment but for others, the answer is that a person is close to us moved only by their passions.
It can seek gratification, it can be interested in our money, it can be interested in our weak points to overwhelm us; in this sense, the charter warns us of the conduct of other people, from which we must watch our backs.
Love: Love linked exclusively to lust, extramarital encounters that could lead to a crisis with the partner, practices that are not commonly accepted.
Work and money: failure, professional problems with the people you work with, competitiveness, goals not achieved.
Health: arrival of a disease, or complication, or failure to improve an existing disease. Illnesses can affect not only the physical level, but also the psychological level, linked in particular to the development of addictions.
People: when compared to people, it indicates opponents (at work, in love), negative people, loved ones who make bad choices.
Combination with other major arcanas cards and what can the devil card mean
The Devil + The Fool: Ruled by desires, happy without thoughts. Be careful though! You don’t worry about the consequences, you are fearless. You make enemies easily.
The Devil + The Magician: Greedy and successful person in finances / in love. “Being obsessed with someone, stalking”. “Strong attraction to the other sex”. “Success”. Devil upside down with the Magician quick and definitive change.
The Devil + The High Priestess: Having faith in the future, knowing that something is coming. Greed, but also spirituality. In love: A very spiritual person is tempted by desire, but this helps him to grow. It represents a researcher, a scientist.
The Devil + The Empress: A lot of sex, unprotected. The Empress is already a sensual card, together with the Devil it can indicate a night of sex, a night that brings consequences, in fact the
Empress is also a pregnancy card. Someone too young could be expecting a baby, or be infected with a sexual disease. Devil upside down with the Empress: new love.
The Devil + The Emperor: Strong attraction and positive outcome in the question asked.
The Devil + The Hierophant: Desire to make things official, to be practical. Thinking about sex and trying to reach the goal.
The Devil + The Lovers: Strong sexual attraction towards this person, strong relationship. The only flaw is that the partner may not be right for you in the long run.
The Lovers is the card of true love, of the soul mate; flanked by the Devil indicates a strong attraction and passion, which if not careful can be dangerous.
The Devil + The Chariot: Strong attraction + going fast + willpower to do.
In a reading on s*x, he indicates a one-night meeting, a forging ahead. It also indicates the danger given by speed, risk of road accidents. For health: Drug addiction, chronic illness.
The Devil + Justice: Material justice that comes if you have always behaved honestly.
But beware, the sword of Justice can also cut your neck if you have been dishonest. You will get an apology, things will work out.
Justice is often slow card. Devil upside down with justice: political interests, organization, diplomacy.
The Devil + The Hermit: Your life becomes one of sex / drinking / drugs pursuit and this can lead to bad choices.
You must first love yourself to restore order to your life. It represents a researcher, a scientist.
The Devil + The Wheel of Fortune: Attraction, but inability to materialize due to karmic changes.
You are not in control, you have to wait. In love: relationship that begins thanks to destiny, blessed.
The Devil + Strength: Strong sexual desire, strong action. It is a bit of an animal.
The Devil + The Hanged Man: The time is good to get rid of that bad habit that has dominated your mind for a long time! Things don’t go as planned. It is likely that you want someone who refuses you.
Expenses, resource consumption, without earnings. “Physical pleasures in this person’s life …”. “Greed and isolation”. “Feeling trapped by desires”. “Having become materialistic”. “Tendency to anger, to sadness if you don’t get what you want”. “Slave to the desires of others”. “Little awareness”. “Having the tail between the legs”.
The Devil + Death: Both very greedy cards = s*x, a lot of s*x. Mind-blowing sex that transforms the person or both, especially if for example they have had bad experiences in previous relationships.
Se*ual encounter that will totally change your future. You won’t look back. Relationship that breaks. The negative meaning is to contract a sexual disease that kills you. Liberation. Life changing events. Infidelity.
The Devil + Temperance: Period of calm and balance. Win over temptations and desires, and this brings you joy. Harmony in the house, but perhaps not a lot of money.
The Devil + The Tower: Often indicates a painful realization. Love is not love, but only attraction and illusion.
Attraction without control. An unsustainable situation must be closed. Dangers.
The Devil + The Star: Obsessive, painful emotions and sensations. Live according to your wishes, period of renewal in your life.
Possible outings in clubs and sexual encounters. In finance: thoroughness, you are aware of how things are going.
The Devil + The Moon: Enjoying sensuality and emotions (Earth + Water). Very sensual and natural love story, like an animal.
Sensual creature. Natural person + emotional person. Physical attraction + following your emotions. Try to meet the “special person”.
The Devil + The Sun: Getting drunk, having sex after a night out. Success in all matters, you get what you want by controlling your drives.
On the other hand: selfishness, even if there is physical attraction it is not worth it. Great sexual passion.
The Devil + Judgment: Physical attraction to someone / something. Decision to be made, about love or money. This decision will lead to rebirth. Severe illness.
The Devil + The World: Start of a relationship, end of addictions. You get everything you always dreamed of! Period of great morality.
How to use The devil to create your dream life?
In the Major Arcana, the figure of the Devil invites us to reflect on our shadow side, that is, those inner forces that prevent the person from being free.
If the Devil comes out of reading the cards, we should ask ourselves if we are faced with a relationship addiction or unhealthy behavior.
Someome may wonder if he is experiencing excessive behavior for the satisfaction of a momentary pleasure, at the expense of his own psycho-physical integrity.
It would be necessary to recognize the negative impact that such situations have on one’s person and implement a sort of internal rebalancing process.
The questions to ask are: what do I submit to? Who or what do I want to subdue and control? Who or what do I depend on?