[ » Hermetic Library « ]

[ » TAROT DIVINATION « ] [ » TAROT CORRESPONDENCES « ]

Depending on the nature of all the Tarot cards, the Devil is the most difficult to grasp because it shows a different face to everyone. In his experiences, the common feature is the addiction, the willlessness, the failure of good intentions, and the actions that contradict our conviction.

The Devil corresponds to the Dark Side of many Tarot Cards: Unlike Magus (I), he is the Black Magician. Part of the dark side of the High Priestess (II), he is the hypocrite of the High Priest (V), the admirer of the material world; He embodies the unbridled greed of Lust (XI), he is the opposite of Temperance (XIV), the inferiority, he dominates the other parts of the Moon (XVIII). As haunting, of course, it often appears in an attractive form. The card shows that we are playing with the fire and we have to pay attention to hell (!) to avoid burning ourselves. At a deeper level of interpretation it means that we have to face our own shady side of the question.

XV. THE DEVIL

This card is attributed to the letter ‘Ayin, which means an Eye, and it refers to Capricornus in the Zodiac. In the Dark Ages of Christianity, it was completely misunderstood. Eliphaz Levi studied it very deeply because of its connection with ceremonial magic, his 4 favourite subject; and he re-drew it, identifying it with Baphomet, the ass-headed idol of the Knights of the Temple. [The Early Christians also were accused of worshipping an Ass, or ass-headed god. See Browning, The Ring and the Book (The Pope).] But at this time archaeological research had not gone very far; the nature of Baphomet was not fully understood. (See Atu 0, above.) At least he succeeded in identifying the goat portrayed upon the card with Pan.

On the Tree of Life, Atu XIII and Atu XV are symmetrically placed; they lead from Tiphareth, the human consciousness, to the spheres in which Thought (on the one hand) and Bliss (on the other) are developed. Between them, Atu XIV leads similarly to the sphere which formulates Existence. (See note on Atu X and arrangement.) These three cards may therefore be summed up as a hieroglyph of the processes by which idea manifests as form.

This card represents creative energy in its most material form; in the Zodiac, Capricornus occupies the Zenith. It is the most exalted of the signs; it is the goat leaping with lust upon the summits of earth. The sign is ruled by Saturn, who makes for selfhood and perpetuity. In this sign, Mars is exalted, showing in its best form the fiery, material energy of creation. The card represents Pan Pangenetor, the All-Begetter. It is the Tree of Life as seen against a background of the exquisitely tenuous, complex, and fantastic forms of madness, the divine madness of spring, already foreseen in the meditative madness of winter; for the Sun turns northwards on entering this sign.

The roots of the Tree are made transparent, in order to show the innumerable leapings of the sap; before it stands the Himalayan goat, with an eye in the centre of his forehead, representing the god Pan upon the highest and most secret mountains of the earth. His creative energy is veiled in the symbol of the Wand of the Chief Adept, crowned with the winged globe and the twin serpents of Horus and Osiris.

“Hear me, Lord of the Stars, 
For thee have I worshipped ever 
With stains and sorrows and scars, 
With joyful, joyful Endeavour. 
Hear me, O lilywhite goat 
Crisp as a thicket of thorns, 
With a collar of gold for thy throat, 
A scarlet bow for thy horns.”

The sign of Capricornus is rough, harsh, dark, even blind; the impulse to create takes no account of reason, custom, or foresight. It is divinely unscrupulous, sublimely careless of result.

“thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.” (AL. I, 42-4.)

It is further to be remarked that the trunk of the Tree pierces the heavens; about it is indicated the ring of the body of Nuith. Similarly, the shaft of the Wand goes down indefinitely to the centre of earth.

“If I lift up my head, I and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom, then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.” (AL. II, 26).

The formula of this card is then the complete appreciation of all existing things. He rejoices in the rugged and the barren no less than in the smooth and the fertile. All things equally exalt him. He represents the finding of ecstasy in every phenomenon, however naturally repugnant; he transcends all limitations; he is Pan; he is All.

It is important to notice some other correspondences. The three vowel-consonants of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, Yod, ‘Ayin, these three letters form the sacred name of God, I A O. These three Atu IX, Atu 0, and Atu XV, thus offer a threefold explanation of the male creative energy; but this card especially represents the masculine energy at its most masculine. Saturn, the ruler, is Set, the ass-headed god of the Egyptian deserts; he is the god of the south. The name refers to all gods containing these consonants, such as Shaitan, or Satan. (See Magick pp. 336-7). Essential to the symbolism are the surroundings - barren places, especially high places. The cult of the mountain is an exact parallel. The Old Testament is full of attacks upon kings who celebrated worship in “high places”; this, although Zion itself was a mountain! This feeling persisted, even to the days of the Witches’ Sabbath, held, if possible, on a desolate summit, but (if none were available) at least in a wild spot, uncontaminated by the artfulness of men.

Note that Shabbathai, the “sphere of Saturn”, is the Sabbath. Historically, the animus against witches pertains to the fear of the Jews; whose rites, supplanted by the Christian forms of Magic, had become mysterious and terrible. Panic suggested that Christian children were stolen, sacrificed, and eaten. The belief persists to this day.

In every symbol of this card there is the allusion to the highest things and most remote. Even the horns of the goat are spiral, to represent the movement of the all-pervading energy. Zoroaster defines God as “having a spiral force”. Compare the more recent, if less profound, writings of Einstein. [Compare Saturn, at one end of the Seven Sacred Wanderers, with the Moon at the other: the aged man and the young girl - see “The Formula of Tetragrammaton”. They are linked as no other two planets, since 32=9, and each contains in itself the extremes of its own idea. (See also Appendix: Atu XXI.)]

XV. THE DEVIL

Saturn at his dark side Planet: Moon Tree of life: From Tiphareth to Hod Element: Earth Number: 15 as the number of the full moon, the cross sum of 15 is 6 (!)

Reducing the long story of the Devil to its roots, there was an archangel called Lucifer (lightbringer) who said 'I'm born to be free - I don't serve!' 

Later on there was a despotic religion that annihilated everything else, destroyed age old cultures and beliefs, and surpressed natural wisdom and science. Then, the world was provided with perverted rags like Dantes' 'Divine Comedy', while everything scientific landed in the fire. But for all the 'evil' there was a perfect scapegoat - the devil.. 

In the Tree of Life the Devil goes from consciousness and harmony to intellect and logic - against all dogma, never caring for rules, freely uncompromising and independent. There are no restrictions, no limitations, nothing is forbidden. The Devil is aware of the darkness, he knows all the shadows and will go on researching even at a high price. 

In a positive aspect, the Devil tells us to go ahead with whatever we want, even when the results won't be comfortable. Never forget that half of the great scientists in history ended up on a scaffold or were accused of 'heresy'. 

Therefore, the negative aspect of the card can mean loneliness, misunderstanding, or that someone is outcast and damned. 
On the other hand of course, it could mean that applying a little restriction here and there wouldn't have been the worst solution. 

By the way, I don't mean that you should see the Devil as a person, or take the plain image of someone with horns and hoof seriously. The little paragraph above is just to help you to see and use the powerful potential of trump XV in its intended manner. 
Baudelaire once wrote that: "the devil's best trick was to convince us he doesn't exist". It could certainly be said that the devil has done a good job when we recognize that there actually isn't one...

Drive: The freedom of spirit, independence of mind, anarchy of science 

Light: Independence, wilfulness, never accepting dogma, never bowing the head - 'Non servam': I don't serve! 

Shadow: Darkness, loneliness, being misunderstood and an outcast

XV. THE DEVIL - Pluto - Disorder

Keywords: Capricorn, creative energy, procreation, humor, sensuality, sexuality, creative energy, individuality

Advice: There may be people who look at you like a demon who claim to be Satan. Approach them with humor and ease. Accept what life gives you. Keep yourself straight! Stay on Earth!

Question: Do you have a wish or desire that you do not recognize yourself?

Suggestion: Sit comfortably for meditation. Listen to your breathing. Imagine that with every exhale a stalk grows out of your spine and penetrates deep into the middle of the earth, it happens quickly. Now feel that every breath you breathe has earth energy flowing into you. Fills your whole body. Then look at the top of your head. Open in front of the golden yellow cosmic energy. Feel as you blend in with earth energy and fill your body.

Revelation: I am the master of my life.

Analogies:

Ji-Ching: 36. Ming Ji (Darkening of the Light)

Mythology: The Haunting (Shemachasai, Azazel, Helel, Samael, Lucifer, Satan)

Keywords: disharmony, chaos, volatility, addiction, failure, darkness

Evil also comes from the pleasure of evil, but man is not born of this pleasure.

XV. THE DEVIL

General Meaning

The Devil Tarot card expresses the realm of the taboo — the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. From its earliest versions, which portrayed a vampire-demon, The Devil evoked the church-fueled fear that a person could "lose their soul" to wild and passionate forces.

The Devil image which emerged in the mid-1700s gives us a more sophisticated rendition — that of the "scapegoated goddess," whose esoteric name is Baphomet. Volcanic reserves of passion and primal desire empower her efforts to overcome the pressure of stereotyped roles and experience true freedom of soul.

In the Reversed Position

The Devil card reversed suggests that you are enjoying creating chaos and resistance for no particular, positive reason. Your sense of humor could be a bit twisted. Your motive may be vengeance or you are simply being an irritant.

The juvenile prankster streak in you must be corralled and changed before it gets you into further trouble. Suppress those impulses until you successfully engineer a shift away from this careless behavior. Such antics will cost you in the long run even though they seem amusing in the moment.

In the Advice Positon

The Devil card advises that you show some spunk. There may be nothing to be gained by trying to be subtle or strategic in this situation. Assert your agenda, express yourself honestly, and let the chips fall where they may. Your best bet could be to express your true emotions, possibly even including anger. Acknowledge that you have whatever feelings you have. While it may not be necessary to act out what you feel in every situation, accepting the power and depth of your inner experience enables you to remain true to yourself.

Read more:

• » The Book of Thoth - A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians by Aleister Crowley.
• » Liber LXXVIII - On the Tarot - A complete treatise on the Tarot giving the correct designs of the cards with their attributions and symbolic meanings on all planes. - A description of the Cards of the Tarot, with their attributions, including a method of divination by their use.
• » Manuscript N - The Tarot - A Golden Dawn Manuscript - A Theoricus Adeptus Minor Paper.