The Devil
The Lord of the Gates of Matter; the Child of the Forces of Time
Creative energy in its most material form: the goat on the summit, laughter, and a bond you forged yourself.
| Trump | XV of the 22 (Atu) |
|---|---|
| Letter | ע Ayin, “eye”, value 70, Simple letter |
| Path | Path 26, Tiphareth to Hod |
| Astrology | ♑︎ Capricorn, cardinal Earth, Dec 22 – Jan 19 |
| Old title | The Lord of the Gates of Matter; the Child of the Forces of Time |
| Rider-Waite | The Devil |
| Colour | Indigo (King scale) |
In a reading
Creative energy in its most material form: ambition, sexual force, obstinacy, the drive to make and to possess; mirth in the face of the cosmic joke. Badly placed: compulsion, materialism, bondage to one's own appetites.
Working with the card
| Do | Use the raw drive; take matter and desire seriously, and lightly. |
|---|---|
| Bring | Humour, ambition, an honest relationship with appetite. |
| Beware | Obsession, bondage to what you chase, blindness to the chain. |
| Ask | What am I tied to, and did I tie the knot? |
Correspondences
On the card
The goat of Mendes, with spiral horns and a third eye, stands laughing before a great phallic tree whose roots are two globes; within the globes dance human figures. The tree pierces the rings of the heavens, and the whole scene is lit from behind.
Kabbalah
Ayin, the eye, on path 26 from Tiphareth to Hod: the eye that sees the world as matter, and the door from Beauty into the intellect where illusion is possible. Ayin is also the letter of Pan, the All.
Astrology
Capricorn, cardinal Earth, ruled by Saturn with Mars exalted: the goat that climbs, the winter solstice from which the light returns. The decans of Capricorn are the Two, Three and Four of Disks.
Number
Fifteen, the number of the divine name Yah and of the magic square of Saturn, and Ayin's value 70. Fifteen is the sum of 1 to 5: the pentagram fully manifest in matter.
Depth psychology
The Shadow: everything the conscious attitude has refused, above all instinct and sexuality, and the gold hidden in the refuse. Jung himself singled out the hermaphrodite devil of the Marseille deck as an image of the union of opposites.
Thoth and Rider-Waite
Waite's Devil holds a chained man and woman on a black pedestal; Crowley's card contains no chains at all, only the laughing goat and the dancing figures in the globes, and he insists the card is the creative force, not evil.
The sign in depth
| Dates | Dec 22 – Jan 19 |
|---|---|
| Type | Cardinal Earth |
| Ruler | Saturn |
| Exalts | Mars |
| Weakens | Moon (detriment), Jupiter (fall) |
| Motto | “I use / I build” |
| Body | Knees, bones |
| Opposite | Cancer, The Chariot |
| Gifts | Discipline, ambition, responsibility, patience, strategic thinking, dry humour |
| Shadow | Coldness, workaholism, rigidity, status-obsession, pessimism |
More in the astrology chapters: Capricorn.
Related cards
Pairs with
- וV The Hierophant The goat and the bull, the two Earth trumps
- פXVI The Tower Capricorn and Mars: Mars is exalted in Capricorn, and the Tower follows the Devil
The decans of Capricorn
- ♃︎Two of Disks ChangeJupiter, Dec 22–30
- ♂︎Three of Disks WorksMars, Dec 31–Jan 9
- ☉︎Four of Disks PowerThe Sun, Jan 10–19
Courts ruling Capricorn
Other paths touching Tiphareth
- גII The Priestesspath 13
- זVI The Loverspath 17
- לVIII Adjustmentpath 22
- יIX The Hermitpath 20
- נXIII Deathpath 24
- סXIV Artpath 25
- הXVII The Starpath 15
Other paths touching Hod
Correspondences follow the Golden Dawn system as used in Crowley's Book of Thoth and Liber 777. Paintings by Lady Frieda Harris, © Ordo Templi Orientis. Where sources differ.