15 The Devil
XV The Devil
Reverse of the Lovers. Troubles through evil love or through lack of it. Man and wife trouble. Hates. Addictions or habituations. The winged Devil sits on a stone pillar watching his enslaved man and woman. Here they have tails and horns, and the Devil sets fire to the man’s tail with his torch, reflecting the tree behind him on Card VI, the Lovers. At the tip of her tail is something resembling grapes, like the tree behind her on Card VI. Their feet are hoof-like, rather than human. The Devil’s right hand is held in the position of the Priestly Benediction. The Devil shows us these errors:
Ignorance - not knowing the truth and not realizing that we do not know.
Materialism - the belief that there is nothing but the physical. As spiritual beings, we long for the Divine, but we lose contact with this source of truth if we trust only our senses. There is also
Hopelessness - robs us of our joy and movement toward the light.
In a reading, this card lets you know that you are caught in an unhealthy, unproductive situation.