“You always had a choice. You just chose not to choose.”
To some, this card may embody the idea of an easy excuse, a weak personality, an overwhelming force, or an obvious trap. To others, this card may embody the idea of a fully lived life, of rich and intense experiences, of indulgence to the point of illness, and the defiance of rigid codes unfairly applied. Irresistible temptation and unavoidable tests of character.
Like the Tower, the Devil is a card that challenges the Querent to action while also speaking about the Querent’s state of being. As a challenge, it dares the Querent to do, or not to do, something related to their inquiry. As a description, it draws attention to how the Querent is taking something, or refraining from taking something, to an extreme. Regardless of what it is portraying, the Devil card is a warning to the Querent to reconsider their choices, be it action or placement.
When the Querent is stating that they can’t do a thing, the Devil card asks, “Why not?”. When the Querent is stating that they have no other choice but to do the thing, the Devil card retorts, “None at all?’. What excuses is the Querent resting on as justification for their inability to do anything other than the decision they have already made. While there is a foundation of truth to that answer, the Devil card declares that the Querent has taken that to an unjustifiable extreme.
These extreme actions become extreme states. Unlike the Four of Cups where too much of a good thing sours the enjoyment of the thing, with the Devil too much of a good thing leads to overindulgence to the point of harm. A collector, having reached the limit of what can be collected comfortably, may choose to spend so much money pursuing the thing, that they struggle to pay their bills and have no space left in their rooms for themselves.
As a one-card answer, the Devil answers, “Are you sure?” and “Why stop now?”. It inverses the query and reflects it back to the Querent for an accounting of their assumptions. “You already know the answer to the question, you are just choosing not to accept it.”
When the Devil card is ill-aspected in the reading, it still announces an extreme action, but instead of reaching for everything and beyond, it constricts and compresses itself to be as small as possible. Instead of the fanatical collector trying to get every possible version of their desire, this is the person who has thrown away all possession as if they are an ascetic. But this ascetic is not acting in pursuit of refinement or improvement of the self, but to loudly declare their superiority over those who still have attachment to the types of things they have thrown away.
This is the advanced student who has made pursuit of the degree their entire personality to the point of deriding their former friends for doing anything other than study. This is the online commenter whose internal thoughts and responses to social media makes them uncomfortable and thus attempts to restrict what other people can post lest they be confronted with what they don’t like about themselves again. This is the person who pushes everyone away because no one can live up to their expectations, not even themselves.
The Devil’s influence on other cards challenges the Querent to examine what those cards represent in their life and how they are interacting with those topics. How is the Querent trying to justify doing or not doing the thing. What part of themselves has the Querent given up on trying to improve because they feel there’s no other way they could be?
The Devil tarot card is a mirror that reveals those parts of the Querent that they want to keep hidden. Whether or not the Querent looks at themselves and takes action based on what they see is entirely in their power to decide.
Next Card: XIV – Temperance – “Whatever you need to be, to be yourself.”
Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards
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