Reflections on liberation, and befriending our shadows
As we descend into the dark season of the year, I’m excited to share thoughts on one of my absolute favorite cards in the Tarot- one that I find especially juicy, rich, and nuanced in the healing it brings us.
Hot takes ahead, let's get into it.
The Devil
First and foremost, the Devil is THE ultimate liberator in the tarot. The Devil, if we are open to its medicine, offers awareness of personal agency and choice. It does not represent strife, shame, addiction, or sin. The Devil card is here to say- you always have a choice in your actions, and the path of your life. You have agency, and power. And only you can liberate yourself from the shackles you feel trapped in.*
Divine Feminine deck from Coccorina
Black Phillip from the movie The Witch
Before looking at this in the tarot, contextualizing it in archetypal Western representations can add much richness to our relationship with this card. Whether or not your beliefs align with Judeo-Christian beliefs, its depiction of the devil has had the single biggest influence on modern Western understandings of this archetype. So we’ll start there.
As the story goes …
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve** were living peacefully, abundantly, in accordance with God’s will, and in charge of his creation. Their one restriction was not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
One day, a serpent appeared wrapped around the Tree and whispered to Eve-
You can eat of the Tree, you know. Harm won’t befall you. It will open your eyes to more knowledge, to a reality beyond the garden that you aren’t yet aware of.
The way the Biblical story goes, Eve falls to this temptation, thereby creating the original sin. The story serves to characterize the devil as one who tempts us into ‘sin’ by appealing to our worst cravings and impulses.
The Devil by other names, in other times
Other names that have become synonymous with the red man with a pointy tail and a pitchfork (or a trident?) have relevance here. Lucifer (Latin), Satan (Hebrew), or Diávolos (Greek).
Lucifer is the Latin name for the planet Venus, it means Morning Star or light-bearer. Named such because Venus is one of the brightest celestials in the sky, and is often visible in the eastern horizon at dawn. Venus- the planet of pleasure, sensuality, and femininity.*** Political and cultural decisions made by religious leaders in the 4th century and after slowly and disparately intertwined associations of Lucifer with the biblical devil.
Satan, rooted in Hebrew, means ‘adversary,’ ‘the accuser,’ or the opposer. Over the centuries, the concept of evil became increasingly simplified as a single Devil figure who acted against God. But if we peel that away, and take a fresh look at this term, an opposition is just a polarity- two ends of a single entity. It’s light and dark; conscious and unconscious. Both ends of the spectrum have value.
In Greek, the term is Diávolos, which translates to ‘one who throws accusations across’ - meaning a liar or a slanderer. In this time in Greek culture, lying was of the worst possible misdeeds that one could commit, and would often result in that person being cast out, exiled from their community. A great episode of This Jungian Life goes in depth on the idea that, collectively, we long for a clearcut definition of evil, a clear enemy which we can cast out- something wholly separate from ourselves. When the reality of humanity is so much more nuanced.
For the purposes of better understanding of the Devil in the tarot, all of this etymology matters because there’s an emphasis here on restrictions, and choice, as well as the way our conceptions of good and evil are actually very messy, nuanced, and heavily influenced by dominant culture.
Astrologically, where does the Devil show up?
The Devil card is ruled astrologically by Capricorn, which in turn is ruled by Saturn. Saturn, represents structure, and our relationship with discipline, boundaries, and restrictions.
The greatest teaching that Saturn offers is in how we engage with aspects of ourselves that we find most challenging. How do we respond when we bump up against our own limitations? Saturn provides what I lovingly like to call “growth opportunities”. Growth through discomfort, as it were.
Tying the threads together, back to the Tarot
From the Modern Witch tarot deck. This is very close to the original Smith-Waite deck imagery.
The Devil card often shows up when we are stuck in a shadow story. The traditional Smith-Rider-Waite imagery depicts two beings, chained, in front of a large horned creature. At first glance, they appear enslaved. This historically was read as an indication of the worst parts of us- places we fall into temptation, our failings, our addictions. BUT. Look at the imagery. The chains around their necks are loose. They have the ability to remove these chains themselves.
When the Devil appears in a tarot reading, it’s illuminating something— a belief, a habit, a way of being— under which we feel trapped, ashamed, or that we push down and avoid, but something we have the power to change.
This is not something easy to tackle. If it was, the card wouldn’t be so fearful for so many. The Devil is rooted in the way we shape reality for ourselves- it’s the stories that we cling to, that we tell ourselves are just True, that feel inescapable or core to our being.
The Healing
The Devil doesn’t show up just to say ‘hey, you’re really f*ing up over here’.
Remember back to the meaning of Lucifer- light-bearer. This energy can bring our fears and shadows out into the light, so we can sit with them, face them, and integrate them. The card will only show up for you because you are capable of doing this work and you are ready to face it.
Like the serpent in the Garden, this card offers new awareness: It doesn’t have to be this way. You have choice, you have agency, you have power. There is always choice. Not choosing is a choice. Staying in our circumstance is a choice.
Taking hold of what this card offers is a courageous, empowered choice, and it requires a willingness to look honestly at what comes up. To say the scary things out loud. And to do it while trying not to get caught up in self-shaming, or ‘shoulds’ but instead with patience and self-compassion.
Left to right: Mystic Mondays tarot; Divine Feminine by Cocorrina; Spacious Tarot by Carrie Mallon & Annie Ruygt
This is beautifully depicted in The Spacious Tarot with a thick forest, but we can see the light shining through on the other side. There is a way out of this, and it’s through the darkness of the forest. The only way out is through.
Lastly, to my absolute favorite tarot depiction, which is in the Divine Feminine by Cocorrina. Hecate, Goddess of the Crossroads (symbolic of deciding our own fate), shows up in this card, with her torch, to guide you through difficult journeys of facing and befriending our shadows, without giving in to shame.
When it comes to the tarot, dancing with the Devil can be the ultimate path to liberation.
A tarot spread to help deepen your relationship
with The Devil card
Pull The Devil card out of your deck first, sit with it, look at the individual pieces of the card’s imagery and see what feelings come up for you. Try to hold off on any judgements or self-criticism; be curious.
The Story- What area of my life do I have a wound, story or attachment that the Devil can help me heal
The Root- What’s underneath of this wound/story/attachment
The Lantern- What does Spirit want me to know is actually the Truth about this
The Chains- What can I release to help heal this
Liberation- what can I hold tightly to, and nurture in myself to move forward
Footnotes and personal editorialization:
*Credit and gratitude to my tarot teacher, Lindsay Mack, for introducing me to the concept of The Devil card as liberation.
**We’re accepting the King James version and subsequent versions of the Bible that named Eve as the first woman. But it’s worth mentioning that prior accounts say she was in fact the second woman. In some stories, the first was Lilith. There are also alternate accounts that say the serpent in the garden was actually Lilith, come back to offer Eve freedom, not the Devil.
***I find this association with the Devil especially pernicious. Once a name for the planet of sensory pleasure and femininity, now synonymous with evil, and the root of all sin and temptation— Patriarchy, anyone?