The Devil

The devil is the sixteenth card in the Major Arcana and it’s numbered XV.  In the Rider waite series there is a very dramatic illustration of the Devil overlooking a naked couple.  The man and the woman are clearly doing something or thinking something they should not and they are chained to each other.  Each sports a pair of horns and tail but the interesting thing is that the man's tail is all fire and flames whereas the woman's tail ends in a purple flower.  The Devil himself is huge and scary with ram's horns and bat wings and he holds a flaming sceptre in his left hand. 

The clue to this card lies in the illustration of the man and woman being chained together.  It represents a person or situation from which you cannot escape.  It is almost certainly a situation of your own making and although you were keen to get involved you are now finding it difficult to break free. 

If you draw this card in a reading you really have to step back from your situation and try to take a more objective view.  Your heart may tell you one thing and your brain another and understandably you are confused and possibly distressed.  You have to ask yourself if you want things to continue as they are now and not as they have been in the past.  Are you afraid of hurting someone?  Is there a situation from which you need to break free?  If so, now is the time to think about making a move.  Understand that you cannot recreate the past and you have to accept that if you carry on as you are doing things won't ever go back to the way they were.  As with all changing situations you will emerge to see another day.  Accept this and look forward to a better future.  You have to trust in yourself and don't keep  doing yourself down.   You are better than you think. The sun is just over the horizon and will soon disperse the unwelcome clouds of the Devil. Let it disperse the negativity within you and allow you to experience a brighter day.

There are times when all of us feel that we need some guidance in life, especially when we feel unsure about the path we're taking. A daily tarot card can often help you to see things a bit more clearly. There is no magic in this. What you are doing is drawing on your inner resources and strength. You are using your intuition and the illustration on the card to help you to see things in every possible light. I find that rather than relying on a computer to draw the daily card for me it's best to have an actual deck that I can draw a card from myself. The deck I'm using here is the Universal Rider Waite deck which is easily available online. Some of the auctions are shown below, or for more information visit our Rider Waite page.