THE DEVIL ( good omen for marriage)

[irish merlin]

hi i would just like to ask your opinions on the devil in a relationship spread i read somewhere it was a good omen for marriage as i have been doing a few spreads to see if there is any chance of a reconciliation between a man and his ex wife it keeps coming up in the future i am seeing this as them getting back together or am i reading it wrong what is your take on the devil in a future position in a relationship spread between husband and wife who are seperated?

 

[Thirteen]

hi i would just like to ask your opinions on the devil in a relationship spread i read somewhere it was a good omen for marriage

I'd be curious to know where you read this. Do you remember? And do you remember what it said? I, myself, have never seen nor heard of this, but then I haven't read everything

And, presonally, I wouldn't take it as such a good omen. The Devil isn't always a bad card; it can be about letting yourself indulge, or about ambitions or even being in control (when one is the Devil). BUT it is most often about addictions. About something that is not good for you, and you know it. But you still keep coming back to it. You're not willing to free yourself from it.

So, this is only good for a marriage in the sense that the two will be co-dependent and addicted to each other. Married they'll be, but not in a marriage that is healthy or one where they feel they are willingly together rather than chained to each other. It is a relationship built on the fact that they are both too weak and needy to leave, rather than both strong, independent and able to help each other develop. So if you're after a future where they get back together, well, they very well might. But only because they can't stay away from each other even though being together is destructive to the both of them.

Edited to add: It could also indicate them getting back together simply because the sex is really good.

 

[nisaba]

And, presonally, I wouldn't take it as such a good omen. The Devil isn't always a bad card;

But I find that, in my Tarot practice, it tends to come with an automatic warning stapled to it: the person I'm reading for needs to curb whatever drives the card is referring to at that time, because if they don't, there will be repercussions down the line and the fallout won't be pretty.

it can be about letting yourself indulge,

... in things that you know aren't really good for you.

BUT it is most often about addictions. About something that is not good for you, and you know it. But you still keep coming back to it. You're not willing to free yourself from it.

I look around my friends, and people who are "married" or long-term couples, not always but quite often seem to have an addiction problem. To each other. They don't seem able to stand on their own two feet. They keep measuring themselves against the other person. They make decisions that they think will please (or upset) the other person instead of making the decision they truly want to make. They take each other for granted, but get twitchy when they're apart, not unlike an alcoholic might take a bottle for granted and get twitchy away from it.

So, this is only good for a marriage in the sense that the two will be co-dependent and addicted to each other. Married they'll be, but not in a marriage that is healthy or one where they feel they are willingly together rather than chained to each other. It is a relationship built on the fact that they are both too weak and needy to leave, rather than both strong, independent and able to help each other develop. So if you're after a future where they get back together, well, they very well might. But only because they can't stay away from each other even though being together is destructive to the both of them.

I can't argue with any of this. and "destructive" doesn't necessarily mean they fight all the time. Destructive might simply mean that one or both of them have powerful potential that they don't explore and don't develop because they prefer to stay, babylike, in the cocoon of the relationship and its expectations that neither of them grow or change.

 

[tarotbear]

hi, I would just like to ask your opinions on The Devil in a relationship spread; I read somewhere it was a good omen for marriage ...

Not in any source that I have heard of! This falls into that Tarot Myth that all the cards in Tarot that are 'considered BAD are actually Good for you' which is some kind of 'urban myth' mentality created by some reader to make it seem as though all cards are really positive in their message; thereby not scaring the tar out of the Querent.

It could be VERY true that this couple will stay together and Be together - no doubt. It could even suggest reconciliation - no doubt. But this is not what we in the USA refer to sarcastically as a 'warm fuzzies and crunchy granola' relationship; it indicates that same patterns of past behavior will continue because neither partner wants to break it off entirely on their own - a 'co-dependent reciprocal love/hate' relationship. The Devil deals with obsession that the Querent needs to overcome or be overcome with ... a 'good omen' in a B&D or S&M relationship, possibly even one of 'mutual antagonism' ... but not a 'marriage.'

 

[Thirteen]

Party Pair?

Destructive might simply mean that one or both of them have powerful potential that they don't explore and don't develop because they prefer to stay, babylike, in the cocoon of the relationship and its expectations that neither of them grow or change.

Agreed. Though it does occur to me that I've seen marriages that "work" because both the participants were deeply pleasure-minded and so could indulge wildly together. Meaning drink to excess, or experiment with drugs together, do crazy things, sexual experimentation—meaning they'd both be into a lot of sex, including trying all kinds of things like group sex.

On that last I'll add that if that if sexual experimenting keeps the marriage happy, than fine, but unless they're both using protection and being very careful, it's as problematic as the excessive drinking and drugs.

If we're talking about a marriage that "works" with the Devil as the primary outcome, then I wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of marriage. These two, married to anyone else, would either be told by their partner to "dial it down," or would be in the midst of a divorce because the one partner couldn't stand the crazy excesses and infidelities of the other. But these two...I'm not saying that they'd be good for each other. But they'd certainly be "made for each other."

 

[Darkmage]

Sometimes, too, the Devil simply means a binding agreement. He's not always as black as he's painted.

Think about marriage as a contract. There are certain rights it grants, but there are also obligations--and sometimes very heavy ones. The chains can be removed at any time (think divorce) but it may not be easy or the right thing to do.

I've seen the Devil pop up with Judgement and/or Justice when there are things like prenup agreements, inheritance settlements, custody arrangements, and the like as it points to legal complications that often are tightly binding and quite messy.

As always, look to the sitter's question and the context of the other cards to get a fuller picture of what's actually going on.

 

[Grizabella]

It's possible--entirely so---that this sitter you read for is obessesed with his ex. That would be my first thought. And/or that another addiction or two is at play in this picture, too.

 

[irish merlin]

i found the book it was in it was called tarot by jonathan Dee cards illustrated by shirley barker1996 i will not give the full page but under meaning it states unyielding power,tyranny,lust and greed.an immovable obstacle that cannot be overcome yet may be worked around.Discontent and depression caused by an overwhelming force.it also means unbreakable bonds,so strangely,it is a good omen for marriage: this was the 1st deck i ever bought that got me interested in the tarot a few years ago it was one of them deal type ones you get in a good book store ie a pack of cards and book with meanings and spreads to get you started it is very common in the uk you also have the reversed meaning and full description of card at top of page it is on page 21 of the book

 

[irish merlin]

by the way thanks for all your feedback on this question and yes there is addictive personalities at play here i think its a case of the husband doesn,t want to let go he is looking through rose tinted glasses and clutching at straws.

 

[Thirteen]

iit also means unbreakable bonds,so strangely,it is a good omen for marriage

Though the deck may have appeared in 1996, that meaning sounds like one of the old ones that, really, don't hold a lot of water in modern society. Rather like the definition of the Queen/Swords as a divorced woman. Back in the day when divorced women were rare, that was a useful definition. A reader could say, "The person you're looking for is a divorced woman..." and the sitter would say, "By gosh! That must be Mrs. Smith, she's the only divorced woman in town..." But now, your sitter would probably say, "Which one? I know a dozen...."

So the definition becomes rather pointless. Especially as it's also sexist. There is no male card that is a "divorced" man. The definition applies only to the one Queen, as if that state of non-marriage defines her more than her being, well, a prize winning scientist or investigative journalist

Likewise, I suspect this definition of "unbreakable bonds" meaning a "good omen" for marriage is probably sadly old-fashioned. As if marriage is the best possible state for two people, and a couple that can't divorce is going to be better off than a couple that can. That comes from a certain bias that has no basis in reality, back when or now. It's just that back when, being in a bad marriage was often more useful (to the woman at least) than not being married at all. Society back when being brutal to spinsters.

But that's a slim degree of "better." Rather like saying that at least in prison you're getting three square meals a day. Yeah, you're being fed. But you're still in prison and going to be there for the rest of your life. Is that really a "good" omen?