The Devil
The Devil card calls attention to shadow aspects of the self, indicating the querent may be acting as the oppressor or as someone bound by fear and obsession. It asks you to examine motivations, treatment of others, and where you demand sacrifices for power, pleasure, or status. If you are the victim it points to fears and obsessions that keep you chained and challenges you to find ways to break those chains. The card forces hidden or suppressed truths to the surface, illustrated by the figures of Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Wormtail as embodiments of obsession, fear, and the destructive cost of allegiance.
Keywords
Correspondences
Capricorn
Keywords
The dark side of the self, meeting your shadow, Lucifer, magic and transformation, the breaking of taboos and barriers, the material world, instinct and passion, extremes, ambition, pride, worldly wisdom and success, egotism, cynicism, lack of love, the price you pay and the price you force others to pay for you.
Meaning
General
When drawn, the Devil card may signify that the querent is in the position of the devil or the position of the devil’s victims.
As the Devil / As the Victim
As the devil you will need to confront your shadow, examine your motivations and the way you treat others. Do you ask for too many sacrifices from others for your own benefit, power and gratification? Are you thoughtless, cruel or do you need to keep others small to feel powerful yourself? As the victim you need to confront your fears or obsessions – what keeps you in chains and how can you break them?
Consequences
In either case the Devil will show you things about yourself that you wish you could ignore or that you have suppressed.
Exploring the Card
Central Imagery
Of course Voldemort is the devil-figure of Harry's world, so he had to be the central focus of this card, and instead of an anonymous couple I decided to add the two characters to him who seem to be most under his evil spell during the seven books - Bellatrix and Wormtail.
Obsession and Fear
Their two characters show very clearly two mind-sets that can lead to hell on earth for people: obsession and fear. Bellatrix is obsessed with Voldemort and the power that he holds. She craves nothing more than his approval and perhaps his love - both of which prove elusive. Even though she goes to her death for him, in the end she has got nothing in return except 12 years of misery in Azkaban and a loveless marriage of convenience.
Wormtail
Wormtail is also chained to Voldemort, but not because of obsession. He is so terrified of his master that he betrays his best friends to keep himself safe and even seeks to bring back the man he most fears. In the end he is so warped and twisted that his last shred of human compassion only serves to kill him, a fate that he feared so much.
Visual Description
The Roman numeral "XV" appears at the top of the card and the title "The Devil" is printed at the bottom. A tall, pale, bald man in a long buttoned coat stands centrally against a dark, cavernous background with stalactite-like formations. Two smaller figures, a woman and a disheveled man, crouch near his feet amid curling dark tendrils and ornamental swirls that weave through the scene.
Harry Potter tarot
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