The Devil Tarot Card Meanings

Tarot card - The DevilThe Devil Says: “Free Yourself From Addictions of All Kinds”

 

The Devil card scares a lot of people, but really it’s just representative of our base instincts. It’s less about good and evil than it is about attachment and self-imprisonment.

The Devil asks us to look at our relationship with materialism, addiction, and self-destruction. When our shadow selves are repressed, they often surface as unhealthy attachments and restrictions that we allow or contribute to.

Want some advice regarding how The Devil is impacting your life? Get your answers with a free tarot reading with one of our experienced, highly-recommended experts at Keen and Psychic Source.

Get Your Free Tarot Reading Now!

Want To Learn What The Devil Means For YOU?

Play our free tarot game

    The Devil Tarot Card Explained

    It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that nobody else is responsible for our happiness and that no matter how hard we try, we can’t find happiness in the external world. This is how addictions and attachments develop. The Devil card exposes our tendency to shift responsibility, whether it’s by adopting the victim mentality or by numbing ourselves with carnal pleasures. Until we learn to generate happiness from within, we choose to remain chained, so to speak.

    The Devil Tarot Card in Your Past

    Phew! It looks like you got out just in time! The Devil appearing in your past position indicates that you were surrounded by some toxic energy that was holding you back. Whether it was a domineering person in your life or some kind of addiction, it played a major role in your life.

    The Devil in Reverse in Your Past

    You recently broke free from some major chains! It takes honest self-reflection and a good dose of strength and courage to accomplish that, so well done. You left your addictions behind you and freed yourself from self-destruction. The Devil in reverse indicates overcoming self-imprisonment and attachment.

    The Devil Tarot Card in Your Present

    When The Devil card makes an appearance in your present position it’s a warning to do some honest soul searching. Are you running from your problems? Are you numbing the pain instead of dealing with the situation head-on? The Devil card indicates that we have chosen to become slaves to something. Maybe it’s work, maybe it’s too much exercise, maybe it’s drugs or relationships that fill a hole but don’t really mean anything to you on a deeper level.

    The Devil in Reverse in Your Present

    In the reverse, The Devil card indicates a time of honest self-reflection and responsibility taking. You probably already know which areas of your life have become toxic. Now is the time to face them head-on and make the change. The time of codependency and attachment can be a thing of your past.

    The Devil Tarot Card in Your Future

    You’re headed down a dangerous path if you don’t stop and examine what is driving you. Are you getting swept up in a toxic environment? Are you pursuing a course of action that you know will be detrimental to you in the long run? The Devil card in the future is warning you to look at your motivations and choices honestly. There may be someone alluring in your future that you know will lead you into a world of pain. Make the effort to tame your passions when you find yourself tempted to walk down a path of self-destructive behavior.

    The Devil in Reverse in Your Future

    If you’re currently in a toxic relationship, The Devil in the reverse appearing in the future position can indicate that you will soon be breaking free from your destructive situation. By taking responsibility for your actions, you will find control and walk away from codependency. You may be overcoming an addiction or a victim mentality.

    The Devil Tarot Card in Love and Romance

    The Devil is not a favorable card to have in a love reading. It indicates energies of self-gratification, lust, disregard for a partner’s feelings, and possibly even obsession. Basically, this Major Arcana card is the hallmark of a toxic relationship. On a more superficial level, a relationship that is simply based on sex is not a bad thing, as long as both parties are in agreement. But when these energies become more extreme, it doesn’t bode well for an intimate union.

    The Devil in Reverse in Love and Romance

    You may be feeling like you’re finally gaining a sense of control over your place in your relationship. The Devil in reverse indicates walking away from unhealthy love relationships. It’s a breaking away from the chains and opting for healthy self-reliance.

    The Devil Tarot Card and Your Career

    You’re feeling trapped at work. Feelings of powerlessness may be plaguing you, and your’re feeling frustrated with the way colleagues are treating you. When the Death card appears in your career spread, be on notice that you are self-sabotaging. Negative beliefs breed negativity. The only way we can truly make change is by changing ourselves. No matter where you are in life, you always have choices. Even if it is scary, The Devil is warning you to do what you know you must do.

    The Devil in Reverse and Your Career

    The Devil in reverse suggests that you are coming out of a period of restriction and finding your independence and freedom once again. By standing in your power honestly, without blame-shifting, hiding behind addictions, or making excuses, we can truly make changes for the better.

    The Devil Tarot Card and Your Friends

    Are your friends a bad influence on you? Even in adult life, we can wind up in social circles that really only bring us down or fill us up with superficial pleasures. Does everyone talk about money and what great new material items they have? Is there no deeper connection there? The Devil card appears to urge you to break free from your addiction to being seen as a part of “the in-crowd” and to focus rather on true relationships of substance.

    The Devil in Reverse and Your Friends

    In the reverse, you have probably just left behind some friendships that weren’t serving you on a higher level. Putting an end to relationships that hold us back opens up new doors and new possibilities. You were wise to honor your inner knowing and will experience a new-found freedom in the near future.

    The Devil Tarot Card and Your Money

    The Devil will manifest either as an obsession with having money or money always being out of reach. In the first instance, greed, materialism, shallowness, and a desire to use money to exert control over others is more important than things in the emotional or spiritual realms. On the other hand, The Devil card can represent a dependence on others for money and a lack of sovereignty over ones own financial independence. Take a look at your financial situation to see if you are tending toward one extreme or the other.

    The Devil in Reverse and Your Money

    Reversed, you may finally be getting yourself out of a rut and finding independence. Or you may have just given up a gambling habit or other risky financial habit. The Devil is almost always a positive card in the reverse because it indicates and end to the negative traits that it represents.

    The Devil Tarot Card and Your Health

    In terms of health and wellness, the Devil card suggests you might be engaging in excessive drinking or eating that isn’t good for your health. The Devil card represents obsessions and extremes, so this could even refer to an exercise obsession that is no longer healthy. Look to your motivations – are you hiding from reality behind vanity, possessions, or the excitement of superficial sexual relationships? The Devil card asks you to to make an honest self-assessment before your choices lead to painful consequences.

    The Devil in Reverse and Your Health

    It looks like you just overcame a bad habit! The Devil in reverse indicates that you recently broke the spell that something had over you. You’ve found your freedom and independence by walking away.

    The Devil Tarot Card and Your Spirituality

    The Devil in a spirituality reading indicates that you need to delve into your shadows to find the answers. It is only through the hard work of self-reflection, realization followed by concrete actions to change that dynamic, that we grow spiritually.

    The Devil in Reverse and Your Spirituality

    The Devil represents everything that originates from fear. The projections we put onto others, or the projections they put onto us. In terms of spiritual ascension, it is imperative that we learn to separate projections from reality, and that we tame the beast of fear.

    The Meaning and Symbology of The Devil Tarot Card

    A man and a woman stand chained to Baphomet, a half-goat half-man creature. You have to look closely to really get the significance of the symbolism of this card. The chains that bind both of these figures are loose. They could both easily take them off and walk away. Why do they choose to stay?

    Both figures look relaxed and at ease. They are definitely choosing to be enslaved by their passions. This is the message of The Devil card. We always have a choice, and it is by looking within ourselves (not pointing fingers at others) that we find the path to freedom.

    Keywords for The Fool 

    • Attachment
    • Addiction
    • Shadow self
    • Oppression

     

    The Fool Card Associations

    Element: Earth

    Astrology: Capricorn

    As a Yes or No question: No

    How was your Free Tarot Reading? Let us know in the comments below!

    (Visited 74,546 times, 7 visits today)

    Article Info

    Date: Mar 16, 2015
    Amelie Rose Estrela is a gifted psychic and lead author for tarot-explained. She has written many articles on a variety of topics within the spirituality niche, including Psychics & Mediums, Tarot & Angel Readings, Love & Relationships, Spells & Magic and Astrology & Horoscopes (the topic of her e-book).