3 Devils: Interpreting Tarot
Three Cards explores how different decks create different meanings in tarot. This month we look at the Devil with three very different versions of this card. The Devil symbolizes being controlled, illusion, and behaviors that aren’t good for us. It can also have a quality of mirth to it, one of the best ways to break out of the Devil’s energy is laughter.
Animalis Os Fortuna
The Devil
This is the only human type figure in the whole deck. Really it is more of an imp creature then a human with the wings, horns, and tale. What is goading you, bugging you, that feeling that niggles in the background? That’s what this deck makes me think of that monkey on your back that you just can’t shake. It rides you and not in a good way. For me this Devil card brings in the meaning of what’s controlling and in your way. It lacks the make merry energy the Devil can also bring in.
Thought Prompt
What is in your way that you never seem to resolve? Which patterns hold you here and how do they feel? What can be done to move out of this?
Mythic Tarot 80’s version
The Devil
Pan is the man! This card bring in more of the make merry for tomorrow you may die energy of the Devil. He does have a tinge of that monkey on the back energy as the people are on strings, they dance for Pan’s pleasure, at his will not their own. But getting out of that with this Devil brings in a willingness to dance with what’s in your way and to give it a good dose of laughter and merriment.
Thought Prompt
How can seeing the absurd help you cut the strings the Devil holds? What can laughter and mirth do to change the energy of things? Can you dance just because it is fun?
Starchild Akashic Tarot
Oppression
This deck changes the name of this card from the Devil to Oppression. The feel here is you are stuck in your own energy and that you keep repeating old patterns. It also offers the way out of this with the symbols of the four elements floating above Oppression’s hands. The choice is yours stay with your old patterns and be oppressed or use the tools you have to move out of it. It is up to you.
Thought Prompt
What tools and skills do you already have to change your behavior? Where do you need to bring in new skills to get out of a rut? How do you react when you feel stuck or oppressed?
Temperance: 3 Cards
