XV · The Devil
Key points of this lesson
Roman numeral XV
15 reduces to 1+5=6, the shadow side of the Lovers (VI) — a spiritual union fallen into material bondage.
The same symbol also appears in
- VI The Lovers · The Devil is the materialised, distorted version of the couple in the Lovers.
Black background
It stands for ignorance, fear and the absence of spiritual light — the soul stuck in the shadow of the subconscious and the wasteland of matter.
Black = spiritual barrenness and ignorance
The same symbol also appears in
- XVI The Tower · Also on a black ground — the darkness and unknown of a moment of upheaval.
Inverted pentagram
It stands for matter ruling spirit, with energy running downward into raw appetite — the classic sign of spiritual fall.
The Devil's gesture
His raised right hand mimics a blessing, but the gesture mocks sacred teaching — false truth wearing the shape of the real thing.
The same symbol also appears in
- V The Hierophant · A sharp contrast with the Hierophant's genuine blessing.
Bat wings
They stand for blood-feeding instinct and flight in darkness: driven by appetite, he cannot rise as an angel does.
The same symbol also appears in
- XIV Temperance · Against the angel's white feathers — instinct set opposite divinity.
Downward torch
It stands for life energy squandered and the fire of spirit going out, turning the light down into the dark abyss of matter.
Half-cube pedestal
It stands for a half-formed, incomplete grasp of the material world — a limitation that becomes the altar imprisoning the soul.
Loose chains
The chains hang far too wide, hinting that the bondage is voluntary: the moment you see it, you can lift them off yourself.
Grape-tipped tail
The grapes on the woman's tail stand for sensual pleasure, drink and addiction — the sinking that comes with material indulgence.
Flame-tipped tail
The flame on the man's tail stands for passion and anger out of control — raw drive misused into destruction.
Brown flesh
It stands for the heaviness of earth, raw animal instinct and an over-attachment to the world of bodily sensation.
Brown = raw appetite and bodily bondage
Element of earth
It answers to Capricorn, stressing worldly power, sensual pleasure, money and the heavy shackles of the practical realm.