Card XV, Major ArcanaThe Devil tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedThe Devil in shortIn short
The Devil is the chain. A horned figure squats on a black altar, two people chained by the neck below him. It shows what holds you down, a habit, a want, a fear, and asks how tight the chain really is.
- Bondage
- Temptation
- Excess
Piece oneThe altar
The Devil crouches on a black stone block in a dark, empty space. Waite calls it an altar with a ring in front, and our picture keeps the ring, the two chains running out of it. Black closes in on every side. No sky, no exit.
"There is a ring in front of the altar..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe altar anchors the whole card. The Devil sits on it, and the chains run from its ring to the two people. Take it away and nothing holds them. The black on every side leaves no door and no horizon, so the trap looks complete.
Piece twoThe goat
Waite calls him the Horned Goat of Mendes, with bat wings. His raised right hand turns the Hierophant's blessing upside down. The star on his forehead is upside down too.
"A reversed pentagram is on the forehead."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe goat is the master of the card and the reason the chains exist. His raised hand mocks the Hierophant's blessing, and the reversed star on his forehead turns the sign upside down. The torch in his other hand points the same way. Everything he holds bends toward the ground.
Piece threeThe torch
His left hand holds a burning torch upside down, flame to the earth. A torch should light your way up. This one burns down, into the ground and the body.
"In the left hand there is a great flaming torch, inverted towards the earth."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe torch is the goat's light, and it points down. A flame held high guides you. This one burns toward the earth, beside the man whose tail ends in fire. It answers the raised hand on the other side: one hand gives a false blessing, the other lights the wrong way.
Piece fourThe chains
Two chains run from a ring on the altar to the necks of a woman and a man. Waite sees Adam and Eve after the Fall. Tails mark their animal side, the faces stay human. Her tail ends in grapes, his in a flame.
"Hereof is the chain and fatality of the material life."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe chains tie the couple to the altar, and through it to the goat. Their tails show what holds them: grapes for her, a flame for him, appetites made visible. The torch above the man burns the same orange as his tail. Waite ties the chain to the fate of material life.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The altar
Near black stone and dull iron grey, colours with no light in them. The Emperor also sits on a grey stone throne, under a warm orange sky with mountains behind. The Hierophant's throne stands between pillars, raised above two kneeling men. The Devil's block has no room and no sky around it, only black.
Also in -
The goat
A hot red-orange face, grey horns, dark grey bat wings on a black ground. The raised right hand copies the Hierophant, who lifts two fingers to bless two kneeling men. The Lovers puts an angel above a couple, arms open and wings red. The Devil takes the same place over his own pair, on bat wings.
Also in -
The torch
Orange flame on black, the brightest thing on the card. The Hermit holds his lantern out to light the way for those below. The Magician raises his wand to the sky. The Devil drops his flame toward the ground, and the man's tail beside it burns in the same orange.
Also in -
The chains
Grey iron on a black altar, cold against the warm skin of the two it holds. The same man and woman stand free in The Lovers, under an angel, a tree behind each of them. In the Eight of Swords a woman stands bound and blindfolded among swords, held by cloth instead of iron.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
The DevilUpright
Strong forces are at work. Waite's list: ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality. He adds that what's fated here isn't evil for that reason. You feel the pull in your body: desire, anger, a habit, money, a person you can't leave alone.
Waite says the Devil won't rule the two figures for ever, and he's a bondsman himself, kept up by the evil in him. The chain is real, but it isn't permanent. See clearly what has hold of you.
The DevilReversed
Waite's words shrink and turn mean: evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, blindness. The big force is gone. You're left with a small, stubborn trap, or with not seeing the trap at all.
It can also mark the moment the chain loosens. A habit you've named starts losing its grip. Be honest about the small things you keep giving in to.
Yes or noNo.
No, or not the way you hope. Something is pulling you in against your better judgement. Look at the bait before you bite.
The Devil in your lifeIn your life
Love
Strong attraction, with jealousy or control mixed in. Ask yourself: love, or habit?
Work
A job you feel stuck in, or one that pays well and costs too much. Name what keeps you there.
Money
Watch for overspending, debt and deals that look too good. Money can turn into the chain.
Health
Look at the habits and cravings that may be hurting you. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Shadow work. Face the parts of yourself you'd rather not see. Naming them starts to free you.
Advice
Look at the chain. Notice what you keep giving in to, and test whether you can step away.
As a person
Magnetic, ambitious, earthy. Sometimes controlling, sometimes ruled by appetite.
Past, present, future
Past: a habit or bond held you back. Present: a pull you need to see clearly. Future: a temptation, and a chance to break free.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Number
- XV
- Hebrew letter
- Ayin
- Astrology
- Capricorn
- Element
- Earth
- Upright
- Ravage
- Reversed
- Evil
QuestionsCommon questions
It's a hard one: temptation, excess, feeling stuck. Waite says what's fated here isn't evil for that reason, and the card often shows up when you're ready to see your chains.
Strong desire, a strong bond, maybe jealousy or dependence. Check whether the relationship frees you or holds you.
No, or not the way you hope. Look at the bait first.
Waite calls them the chain and fatality of the material life. He reads the two figures as Adam and Eve after the Fall, bound to the body and its wants.
Capricorn, an earth sign, in the Golden Dawn system. Its Hebrew letter is Ayin.
Waite sees the Devil as the Dweller on the Threshold outside the garden after the ones who ate the forbidden fruit were driven out. The card shows the chain of a life lived only in matter.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Hebrew letter, sign and element: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 22 major cards