Best Devil card?

December_Empress

I'll second the vote for the Victorian Romantic version.
 

Chiriku

WolfyJames, thanks for sharing those pics and quotes.

I don't tend to have standing favorites in anything in life, perhaps because I'm such a voracious omnivore in more than ways than one. When people ask me "your favorite movie," "your favorite deck," "your favorite card," etc, I feel hit with a big blank wall that I understand camouflages all the hundreds of movies, or decks or cards that I could potentially sort through to determine a favorite but which now escape me, hidden behind the wall. The question asks too much of me.

I rely instead on objective measures of meaningfulness. "Your favorite movie?" "I don't have a favorite, but I've memorized the dialogue to X, Y and Z movie." "Your favorite deck?" "I don't have a favorite per se but the one I carry around with me the most and which I'd reach for first in a fire is X."

My favorite Devil, eh? The blank wall just hit me.

Among my favorite Devil cards are:

- The one in the Druidcraft Tarot. The card looks beautiful and it shows Cernunnos, but he looks ominous, dangerous.

But say, now that you mention it, that is indeed a good one. One of the few truly pause-inducing Devils in the world of tarot. The ominousness comes not from the figure itself but from the total and (as yet) undisturbed oblivion of the hapless humans in their blissful repose

It works for the same reason horror movies gain so many fans by showing the monster/assailant lurking while the soon-to-be-victim wanders, obliviously, closer. Also, it's uncomfortable and thus arresting to be confronted with a pictorial representation of our own folly.

In trying to rend an opening in the wall, I reflect on the question and recall that Sweet Twilight has an appropriately hairy (and hooved)? Devil with an appropriately compelling sidelong glance. Like all the rest of the cards in that deck, however, the image wants a 25% or so increase in size for greater impact.

The Mythic, though simple, has the element of Pan pipes, which I like for their suggestion that we foolishly dance when we hear the call of our desires, enslaved to that which appears beautiful and "just feels right." (Of course, I have been deeply entrenched in Christian--particularly Pauline--theology and philosophy all of my life, so this interpretation has particular resonance for me). http://tarotcardpsychology.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/devil_mythic_thumb4.jpg

I am interested in the question and want to work harder over the next few days to try to wear away at that mental wall and remind myself of Devils I favor.
 

Chiriku

Let me see, erm not In fact, any Devil cards with overtones of "don't shop too much" bothers me.

No, we don't like that around here.

ETA: Perhaps that means the Devil card has done its job. The Devil's supposed to discomfit us, force us to look at our desires, is it not?
 

janie144

Another vote for the Victorian Romantic devil
 

swedishfish612

I really like the Deviant Moon Devil. He doesn't look like the source of all evil and misery. He's got sort of an impish, feisty vibe going on. I see him and think, "Aw, he's not so bad...look at the way he scrunches up his little nose. He's almost kind of cute!" And then you let him sneak in your back door and BAM! He completely messes up your life and leaves you howling in pain and dismay.

That's the Devil to me. Sneaky lil bastard.

(Am I allowed to say "bastard" on here?)
 

TarotDreamer

I have a few. My first choice is from the Gilded Tarot (original version). I also like the one in the Tarot of the Lotus Circle (it reflects addictions), and the one from the Lovers Tarot by Jane Lyle.
The latest one is the one from the Steampunk Tarot, by Barbara Moore and Aly Fell. I see manipulation and a situation that has gotten way out of control in that card.