The Devil as a relative?

[Thirteen]

Well, I think that logically if you compared The Devil to her lifestyle (minus I don't know if she went from man to man, or if she partied alot or anything like that.) it would fit. I can see mental disorders fitting under The Devil, along with alcohol abuse, possible suicide. I guess you could say that she would have been chained to her demons. It seems like it would fit. She died fairly young, I think she was in her twenties.

I think you've found her! It fits the Queen of Wands also as, like all the wands, they risk burning too hot and bright and burning themselves out if they chase after the wrong temptations. What a sad story.

 

[ofbainbridge]

The Devil as your ancestor

Upside right: I would say this ancestor was mischievous, loved his or her eartly comforts and had vices but was not overcome by them and could still function...

Reversed this ancestor has problems: obsessions, addictions and other behaviors that took energy but never gave any back...

Blessings

 

[KCB]

At the risk of upsetting your recent conclusion, may I suggest another possibility? You could substitute adoption for the illegitimacy/forced marriage idea. And if that were so, your ancestor could any one of the participants in the adoption triangle. They could be bio mum or dad, adopting mum or dad, or the child in question. It may also be a sibling, bio or adopted. I am a member of an adoption support group, and I can say unequivocally that we are be-devilled by our histories in some way or another, regardless of our place in the triangle.

I'd really like to know the full spread you used as well.

KCB

 

[Thirteen]

I am a member of an adoption support group, and I can say unequivocally that we are be-devilled by our histories in some way or another, regardless of our place in the triangle.

I'd be uneasy casting the Devil as "adoption" as it puts a really negative spin on something that is not, in and of itself, negative. Unless there immediately pops to mind the memory or knowledge of an adopted "ancestor" who was really miserable, I don't think this ought to be the first thought about this card.

And keep in mind, even though the title of this thread is "devil as relative" it's really "Queen of Wands" as relative. The relationship to the querent is where the Devil card came up on the spread. I think if we're going to see the relationship as adoptive, we need a better explanation than the one you offered for why the Devil should stand for an adopted relative.

I also think there is another way in which the aunt fits perfectly: she is a relative with mental disorders and an addiction (elements common to the devil card)--which could be genetic. In other words, her nieces and nephews may share a propensity for such things even they haven't appeared so strongly in them.

I happen to have a problem that I share with a childless uncle. He has this genetic disorder and so do I. Hence, I would say that I'm related to him not only by way of my mother, but also by way of this shared genetic disorder. If that gene was for say, alcoholism, then I'd say that the Devil would work out just right in indicating how I'm related to him.

 

[HOLMES]

hmm

can you link the whole spread, or give the postions here so i will know in context this position was supposed to mean.
then i can give more feedback azariel.

 

[le fey]

just tossing out a couple comments...

the devil as someone with addictive issues (esp those that might be passed up the line of generations, since you're dealing with ancestry and relationship connections)

and a side note to the Devil as a forced marriage...
I remember reading somewhere (ah somewhere the repository of all things vague) that once upon a time, the Devil card did refer to marriage (the ol' ball and chain), while the Lover's card was more about affairs of the heart.

Marrying for love is a rather new concept.

 

[CJ7]

My thought was someone who excelled in creating toxic relationships. Someone who manipulated and used in order to keep and tie someone to her. Could be a very unhappy woman or could be a man with effeminate qualities.

It could also be a "forced" marriage. The marriage didn't necessarily have to be one in which the bride was shoved down the aisle but perhaps a marriage of convenience or for propriety, possibly for a merger of some sort. It was a choice but a choice- possibly for a cause bigger than her.