Faerie Tarot: The Devil

This Devil is a strange card of contradictions. The LWB speaks about it almost as if it is a positive card, which I think is strange..The LWB says that the Devil is a "generator of creative and life-producing forces". Well maybe.. But I don´t see this particular Devil as "life-producing". He is more the life-sucking vampire.

In the card there´s a small trickster imp standing in the forest at night. His eyes are red and his tongue is lolling out and he looks evil and mischevious. He makes me think of a mosquito that has just sucked blood from some warm blooded animal. He attacks unsuspecting victims and is a truly evil pest. His tummy looks like it is filled with victim´s blood.

Poisonous fungi are right next to him. They look like the deadly Amanita virosa, "the Destroying Angel".
This imp is evil, truly evil. He is small, so I think it is possible to overcome him. But if I´d get this card in my reading, I´d really watch out!

The card is lined with masks and skulls. Maybe they are his friends or his former victims. The seahorse skeleton is somehow striking. Has the Devil sucked life force from this beautiful animal of the creative oceans?

The LWB describes this Devil as a "rascal" who enjoys "food, material goods, parties, and pleasures of the flesh." Hmmm. Judging by the gut he's carrying, he might want to consider laying off the beer and going on a diet. Frankly, I prefer Hemera's interpretation, that his belly is swollen with the blood of his victims.

With his glowing red eyes and leering tongue, he is a seriously evil looking little troll. The LWB indicates that his staff "anchored in the ground" shows that he is the prince of matter. I would say that bondage to the material is further indicated by his tattered wings. He is unable to rise above material concerns. His crooked staff seems to me to reflect his crooked soul. He cannot be trusted and I would never turn my back to him.

He is evil with a small "e," rather than the grandiose Evil more often found in depictions of this card. Whatever pleasures he would promise would eventually turn as poisonous as the toadstools at his feet. This is definitely a Devil I would want to steer well clear of.

Alan