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.