When shadow becomes mirror and the symbol becomes the spark
The Devil card in tarot often triggers discomfort — and that’s exactly the point.
This isn’t a card of external evil or punishment. It’s a card about bondage by choice, illusion mistaken for truth, and the power to break free.
The symbols within The Devil are bold and intense: 🔥 fire, ⛓️ chains, 🧿 temptation, the goat, the pentagram. They challenge us to look at where we’re giving our power away — and what we’re ready to reclaim.
Because in divination, darkness doesn’t mean danger.
It means depth.
🧿 The Devil as a Symbol – Not Evil, but Illusion
The Devil card isn’t about literal demons.
It’s about the things that feel inescapable but aren’t — addiction, obsession, self-sabotage, fear, conditioning.
When this card appears, it often signals:
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Feeling trapped by something external — or internal
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A pattern that’s holding you back
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A false sense of powerlessness
The key symbolism here isn’t doom… it’s awakening.
⛓️ The Chains – Voluntary Bondage
In the traditional Rider-Waite card, two figures stand chained to a pedestal beneath The Devil — but the chains are loose. They could remove them, but don’t.
This imagery asks:
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Where are you choosing comfort over freedom?
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What stories are keeping you small?
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What part of you feels bound — and why?
The chains are symbolic of:
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Limiting beliefs
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Toxic attachments
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Internalised fear or shame
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False identities
And the truth is: the key is always within reach.
🔥 The Fire – Temptation, Energy & Transformation
Fire in The Devil card is wild — not the sacred hearth flame, but the untamed blaze of desire and ego.
Fire here can mean:
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Unchecked passion
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Seduction by power or pleasure
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The energy of transformation (when owned, not feared)
It’s important to remember: fire isn’t “bad.” It’s raw power. It’s how we use it that defines the outcome.
In divination, this fire might ask:
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Are you suppressing something vital — or feeding it without awareness?
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Is there a truth burning to be claimed?
🐐 The Goat – Wildness, Earthiness & Instinct
Often depicted as a horned figure or the goat-headed Baphomet, The Devil is a symbol of primal instinct — the part of us that’s animal, earthy, unfiltered.
This symbol represents:
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Untamed desire
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Bodily sovereignty
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Spiritual independence (often misread as rebellion)
In many traditions, the goat is sacred — a climber of mountains, a creature of persistence. In tarot, it dares us to ask:
✨ What if the “forbidden” is actually the doorway to freedom?
The Inverted Pentagram – Spirit Reversed, Power Misused
Sometimes The Devil bears an inverted pentagram — a symbol often misunderstood. Upright, the pentagram represents the elements in harmony, with spirit at the top. Inverted, it can represent:
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Over-identification with the material
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Spirit buried beneath ego or illusion
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Power used for control instead of growth
It’s not a warning of evil. It’s a mirror — showing where imbalance lives and asking how we might restore alignment.
When The Devil Appears…
Ask yourself:
✨ What illusion am I buying into right now?
✨ Where do I feel trapped — and what’s the truth beneath that?
✨ What power am I ready to reclaim from the shadows?
Because The Devil doesn’t ask for obedience.
It asks for awareness.
It asks for choice.
And once you see through the illusion, you’re no longer bound by it.
With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x