Dr.Girlfriend
Wow, THIS is a powerful card. VERY intense, very colorful and lots of action. The figures in the foreground look like they could come to life. The Devil looks like a giant, sexually powerful god. He is the king of the underworld. That is his kingdom. He's surrounded by people engaging in 'sinful'
behavior. There are people having sex, killing, worshipping money, worshipping the devil, being gluttonous. And the Devil sits above the fray on an enormous black "throne", bare-chested, covered in red from the waist down (so you can't actually see if he's a man or a satyr). The flames of hell leap up behind him. He's wearing a ceremonial scarf, or something like that, around his neck and hanging forward over his chest. And he's wearing an amazing, primitive headdress made of rubies and bird feathers.
It looks like he's holding a staff that's burning in his right hand - I'm not sure about that.
I think this card could have just as easily been called "HELL". They are in hell. From a Judeo-Christian pont of view, this would be a place where people are sent to be punished for engaging in "sinful" behaviors and over-appetites.
I don't want to go that way. I see it as part of the human condition: the part of us that can get addictive about just about anything, take something to excess, get out of balance, maybe do real damage to your health and life and relationships. Being 'tempted by the devil' would be a metaphor for feeling pulled to do something "bad" (harmful to you or someone else) because you're unable to say no, therefore it's addictive for you. It can be codependency, spending too much time on the computer, overindulging in any of the corporeal pleasures. Overdoing something to the point that other parts of you/your life start to suffer.
It's the OPPOSITE of Temperance, the opposite of balance. So in a way, the Devil card is also about balance. It invites us to look at our own shadow side: our urges, our appetites, our acting-out, our shortcomings. It asks the question of moderation: Is this the right amount? Too little? Too much?. So the card is about balance in a cautionary way, suggesting this be looked at.
behavior. There are people having sex, killing, worshipping money, worshipping the devil, being gluttonous. And the Devil sits above the fray on an enormous black "throne", bare-chested, covered in red from the waist down (so you can't actually see if he's a man or a satyr). The flames of hell leap up behind him. He's wearing a ceremonial scarf, or something like that, around his neck and hanging forward over his chest. And he's wearing an amazing, primitive headdress made of rubies and bird feathers.
It looks like he's holding a staff that's burning in his right hand - I'm not sure about that.
I think this card could have just as easily been called "HELL". They are in hell. From a Judeo-Christian pont of view, this would be a place where people are sent to be punished for engaging in "sinful" behaviors and over-appetites.
I don't want to go that way. I see it as part of the human condition: the part of us that can get addictive about just about anything, take something to excess, get out of balance, maybe do real damage to your health and life and relationships. Being 'tempted by the devil' would be a metaphor for feeling pulled to do something "bad" (harmful to you or someone else) because you're unable to say no, therefore it's addictive for you. It can be codependency, spending too much time on the computer, overindulging in any of the corporeal pleasures. Overdoing something to the point that other parts of you/your life start to suffer.
It's the OPPOSITE of Temperance, the opposite of balance. So in a way, the Devil card is also about balance. It invites us to look at our own shadow side: our urges, our appetites, our acting-out, our shortcomings. It asks the question of moderation: Is this the right amount? Too little? Too much?. So the card is about balance in a cautionary way, suggesting this be looked at.
