Deirdre of the Sorrows - 15 - The Devil

shadowdancer

THE MAIN CHARACTER
It is interesting to note that Deirdre has not portrayed the devil with the stereotypical attributes of horns etc. I can totally associate with her reasons. If we feel we are hard done by, we often need to look at our actions and attitudes before pointing the finger.

However, with this Devil I think we can see a lot more can apply. Firstly, he is human. Not necessarily a nice or pleasant person, but human nevertheless. If we can accept that, we should realise he is only as frightening as we allow him to be. If we allow him to feel he is superior to us in any way, he automatically holds a certain power over us. In this case, once he knows he has this power he will not hold back in taunting us. Notice the way he is holding his hand up as in blessing? Deirdre quite rightly classed this as grotesque, but he really does not care what we think. If we were to show our disdain, it would prove to him that he has got under our skin, and therefore has that power over us. I believe this card can also appear when we need to really take a long hard look at ourselves, and take responsibility for our actions, particularly if we have acted less than honourably.

A very seductive and manipulative character, who can easily play at mind games. If you find your thoughts are spiralling out of control, and could spill over in inappropriate ways, try to find what devil has been at play. Are you making a mountain out of a mole hill, or is there an external cause?

THE DOGS
Now we turn to the dogs. Not exactly your fireside faithful companions. My first thought when I saw these was that they reminded me a little of those breeds that have been made illegal in the UK. Quite often these were owned by people who wanted to give the impression of being intimidating or threatening. Again, another example of a person wanting to create that sense of power. Certainly, when looked at this way we can understand why they would be the breed of choice for this particular character. Look at the size of the chains around their necks. Again, another indication of power and strength. You can almost believe they need something as substantial as this to hold them in check. Take a closer look though – are they tight enough to hold them? Or is it possible they could easily shrug away the shackles? How safe would you feel if met by this scene?
If you were associating with the dogs in this card, what would be your interpretation? Are you expected to act as a front for someone else? Are you perhaps intimidating another person, or being intimidated? Is the threat contained or does it have the possibility to become very real?
What do you think the forked tongues mean to you? Could it indicate the threat is in the form of malicious words as opposed to malicious deeds? If you are looking at your actions, could it indicate you may have stirred the flames by what you have said?

SUSPENDED CHARACTER
He or she is not the main character here in the card, so could easily be overlooked. They could be present just to convey the idea of burning in hell, which is something that could be associated with the stereotypical image of a Devil. So what are they portraying in this card?
Are they paying a price (in this case the ultimate price) for their actions? Could this show what you do or say could come back on you in the future? Or could it indicate if somebody is guilty of manipulating you, they could get their come-uppance? If you associate with this person, could it show you have been a victim here, whereby control has been totally relinquished? You do appear to be totally helpless. and almost appear resigned to your fate with the flames etc. If so, from where you are is there anything you could do to warn somebody who may be about to receive similar treatment? If so, what would you say to them?