The Devil
The Devil has been called by many names. Many have been called the devil, more often than not they have been females, so called witches or sorceresses , mage, who have contravened the male paradigm perception of the world. In the traditional Rider Waite Smith tarot deck of which Arthur Waite wrote the descriptions for the major arcana his perceptions instilled users of this deck. The pictures were drawn by Pamela Coleman Smith not her birth name, but that is being dealt with, and does not lessen her inspirational outlook at that time. A time of a waning world illusion establishment during the height of the Tartarian period.
The devil represented ravage, violence, force, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, fatality, that which is predestined, as a plan set in motion and thwarted by those who had memory of former times and the awareness of their current illusion; but not for this reason evil. Reversed the card is given the meaning of evil, fatality, weakness, pertinence, blindness. Micheal Tsarion interpreted the devil as experience, seniority, expertise, manifestation, achievement, status, reputation, prestige, material world, work life, practical realities, responsibilities, order, structure, time. Social conditioning, tradition, discipline, determination, tenacity, strong boundaries, father and father figures, self made people, leaders, pioneers, state institutions, corporations, earth and material world, animal kingdom. In a negative perspective, tests, problems, obstacles, tedium, stagnation, prohibition, oppression, negative attitudes, argument, error, retardation, rigidity, habituation, negative people, greed, selfishness, stubbornness, crudeness, conformity, materialism, coldness, tyranny, lack, fear, obsession with rules and reputation, Fixation on tradition. Reversed the cards take on a different aspect including removal of blockages, bad financial decisions, lack of structure, loss of prestige, no ambition to name a few. You can find his interpretations in his Path of the fool series Taroscopic meanings of the 78 Arcana. The devil is known to be YHWH and the demiurge in religiosity.
The devil corresponds to Capricorn ruled by Saturn, and the season of winter. Bio energetically to physical robustness and strength, physical resilience, luminosity, immunity, the bones, minerals; one’s constitution. From a Sufi perspective the devil is equated to the ego or nafs. The shadow self, fears, attachment, unclear thinking, feeling trapped, losing to temptation and addictions Reversed it signify breaking out of self imposed bondage, freedom from restraint, clearing of the fog, removing chains of negative thinking. It is not so much an external force but our lower animal self called the ego. The ego conditioned by fear that lead us to destructive behaviours. A construct of the ill conditioned, constructed mind that one gives too much attention or power to and it consumes like fire. The calcination phase of alchemy. It can be a preoccupation, a desire to be successful or, a fear, a provoked challenge, revenge, anger that takes over.
Constantly in one’s thoughts leads to night mares, ruminating, muddled thinking and scheming, all matters relating to the ego, uncontrolled physical pleasure, even ill placed pride. What consumes you? What is the cage that imprisons you, holds you as a powerless hostage? Be it the devil of your own making or that of another. Fear of fear itself is self paralyzing and separates you from your divine essence or sovereign self, higher self energy or vibration. The self trauma inflicted is assisted by the Bach flower rescue remedy formula.The rescue remedy is made from the essence of 5 flowers by homeopathic principles.
The Jungian archetype the prisoner represents the caged spirit, thyself the keeper and captive, self imposed limitations, obsession, addiction, repetitive relapse, untying the knot, fight for freedom. There is part of the psyche that needs strengthening The Jungian archetype the Sufferer relates this strengthening without which one is a perpetual victim, codependent, the helpless one, martyr, own worst enemy, feeling inadequate, waiting for the knight on the white horse to rescue one’s self.
That white horse knight rider is the image on the DEATH traditional tarot card. One of the 4 horsemen images of the apocalypse, in the book of Revelations. In alchemy death corresponds to dissolution and putrefaction. It is a process and not an event that ends all suffering. A suffering that is constant on the wheel of samsara unless one instigates change, die to the old way of being, reclaim one’s essence, life force energy. Power is an archetype, in Jungian terms; it is ruler qualities within oneself, authority, status, wisdom, pride, confidence, a new potency. Your ability to influence the world within, and the external world expresses that radiance.