The Devil
The Devil shines a light on habits or attachments that feel hard to escape. Once you notice the chains are looser than they seem, they begin to fall away.
You're starting to break free from the habits, people or fears that have been holding you down for a while.
The card's advice: Look honestly at one thing that keeps you stuck.
The Devil: reading the picture
Flames lick out of dark rock, and in their middle a horned figure sits on a square stone block. Bat wings fan out behind him, one hand is raised, and his gaze down at the pair below is unhurried. Ourunse swapped the older goat head for a human face with horns, which makes the temptation feel closer to home. A man and a woman in hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, sit on either side of the block, gold collars at their necks and chains running to the stone. Follow the chains: they sag. Notice the color, too. Rusty iron you'd want off; shiny gold is easy to forget you're wearing.
The Devil in love, work and money
- Love and relationships
Strong attraction or clinging can pull you into acting unlike yourself. If you're tangled in a relationship that binds you both too tightly, remember the chains are looser than they look, and take a step back.
- Work and study
You may ask whether money or conditions are keeping you in work that doesn't suit you. Break even one draining habit, like procrastinating or constant late nights, and you'll breathe easier.
- Money
Watch out for habits you know you should drop, like impulse buys, installment plans and little leaks. Write down honestly what pulls you into spending, and you'll find a thread to follow out.
Waiting for one more stock vest
A 41-year-old sales director had dreaded Mondays for a year but kept telling himself he'd leave after the next stock vest. Then the next one. When he drew The Devil, he almost laughed at the gold chains. He finally did the math he'd been dodging: what the remaining shares were likely worth after taxes, set against what the job was costing him in weekends and sleep. The number was smaller than the story he'd been telling himself. He updated his resume that night and picked a date to start returning recruiters' calls.
Questions to ask yourself after drawing The Devil
- What do you keep around because it shines, even though you'd never put up with it if it looked like iron?
- What does this attachment give you in the moment, and what does it take back by the end of the week?
- Who would notice first if you took the collar off, and is their reaction part of what keeps it on?
The Devil as a yes or no
No Obsession or temptation can cloud your judgment now, so pushing ahead as things stand may leave you with regrets.
Easy to confuse with The Lovers
The two cards mirror each other: a large figure above, two people below. In The Lovers a winged angel spreads its arms over a couple standing face to face, free to choose. In The Devil a bat-winged figure sits on a block, and the pair beneath are chained to it. The same pull can free people or hold them in place.
A common misreading of The Devil
People often hear this card as a warning about a bad person nearby. Its focus is usually closer to home: habits and wants you can't seem to put down. Upright, it asks you to notice the attachment. Reversed, it often reads as the chains starting to come off, which is welcome news.
Symbols in The Devil
A horned figure with bat wings perches on a pedestal with its right hand raised, embodying the power of desire that holds people fast. The two people with chains around their necks seem bound, but the chains are loose, showing they could lift them off whenever they choose.
How we drew The Devil
- Kept from the 1909 card
bat wings and horns, the figure seated on a pedestal, the raised right hand, two people with loose chains around their necks
- What we changed
A horned human face replaces the goat's head, and the inverted star on the forehead and the torch are left out. The two people have no horns or tails and wear hanbok. The heart of this card, that the chains are loose enough to remove yourself, stays the same.