The Wild Unknown Tarot - The Devil XV

[Sulis]

I have to admit to not liking this depiction of The Devil very much but then I really do like the traditional Devil card's image of a huge, horned beast, looming over 2 chained half human creatures.. I think that image really conveys the archetype well... Something that we're tied to but that isn't good for us, our own personal darkness that looms over us, difficult to acknowledge and look at, even more difficult to release ourselves from.

To me, The Devil is numerically linked to The Lovers (they're both 6s) and The Devil is the antithesis of love, a choice of the heart, giving yourself up to love, making yourself vulnerable to it etc..
The Devil is about temptation, the feeling that there is no choice, fear, being bound to or addicted to something whether that's a substance, a person or a way of acting, feeling or being.. It's such a powerful archetype...

The Wild Unknown's Devil is a shaggy goat, he's emerging from the darkness. On his head are 2 huge horns and between them, over his third eye chakra is an inverted pentagram. His hooves look as if they're on fire.

This image links the devil in with base instincts like lust, survival and so ties him into the Pagan horned gods; Pan, Cernunnos and other depictions of the Lord of the Wild Wood or The Hunt... This is a horny old devil (literally ).

The pentagram is inverted so the material realm is above that of Spirit, who's point is pointing down towards earth. So the card shows being ruled by base instincts or by the need to advance materially rather than spiritually.

Why are his feet on fire though? Does this show the querant's inability to move away from the thing they're bound to? Instead of chains they literally cannot move away.

This card showed up for me a lot when I was waiting for my ankle surgery earlier this year and I thought the burning feet were very appropriate for that. It also showed that I was letting my fear rule my thoughts and that one of my own personal demons; the tendency to be pessimistic and to think negatively about something was also dominating me..

I'd love to hear some other thoughts about this, especially the burning feet.. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of symbolism to go on with this card whereas 'traditional' Devil cards are overflowing with the stuff..

 

[Karrma]

So this card came up as the second card in a reading for myself, the question was "Balance between selfishness/selflessness. (if anyone is interested in the reading, it is http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=197428&page=3)

The Devil. Card 15. Here it is a simple card, a mountain goat, old and wise due to his/her long horns, but seeming young. Very thick full coat of hair, ready for the winter, for the top of the mountains, but there is no mountain. In fact, his/her feet are on fire. What he/she walks on, will burn, scorch, the earth, melt the snow, like a brand. People will know the trail by this. A cup would be crushed, but water, emotion, could cool the flames. This card does look very hot to me. When looking at this card by itself, there was not a lot popping out at me, but when I looked at it based on it being 15, the shadow side of 6, the lovers, I start to understand why The Devil is the shadow side of The Lovers. The card is "too much of a good thing" or "obsession", "perversion" It is still a very material world place, and the reverse pentagram at the third eye, means a power to know all, but in the material world, not the spirit.
So for being the shadow side of the lovers, it is for giving up your "self" for something in the material world, where there is separation from self and others. In the lovers, each are equal, each are merging, but there is a balance, an innocence of neither knowing all, both sides bring an equal part. In The Devil, one self has been submerged, but not to a balance, but to materialistic power, a loss of self that is not good, a perverted selflessness or merging.
I am a beginner at tarot, so maybe others recognized the symbols in the usual devil cards, but for me they are so obvious, that I say how could I miss that. The subtlety of this card was what gave me more of an intuitive understanding why The Devil is the shadow of the Lovers.

 

[crystalwings]

Sulis, Quote: "Why are his feet on fire though? Does this show the querant's inability to move away from the thing they're bound to? Instead of chains they literally cannot move away."

This got me so I did a little digging and found that it could referred to a prank where the prankster sets the victim's shoe laces on fire...

 

[Sulis]

Sulis, Quote: "Why are his feet on fire though? Does this show the querant's inability to move away from the thing they're bound to? Instead of chains they literally cannot move away."

This got me so I did a little digging and found that it could referred to a prank where the prankster sets the victim's shoe laces on fire...

Thanks for that Crystalwings .
How are you relating that to The Devil card though and where's the reference to this prank from?

 

[crystalwings]

Thanks for that Crystalwings .
How are you relating that to The Devil card though and where's the reference to this prank from?

Information from Wikipedia - Hot foot... relating it to the Devil because the goats feet also seem to be on fire: My interpretation of a prankster that would go this far to pull of a prank would be mischief that causes problems, disasters and frustration for people.

 

[inanna_tarot]

This is the weirdest card in this deck for me.

And like Sulis, I love the grand grotesque overly symbolic use of the Beast and the chains. I love the Goat Foot God in all his warped humour and occult secrets.

This Devil is weird. The keywords on the LWB (or sheet of paper) is negativity, materialism, addiction.

Nothing here helps me with the burning feet.
The only thought I have is how a harmless looking goat looks harmless, only through the lens of truth we see its demonic little feet. That sometimes we play down and try not to see the truth that is so obvious to us - we know that smoking is bad for us, we know drinking too much or eating 4 bars of chocolate a day every day is bad.... but we tell ourselves its harmless.

Thats all I got on the burning issue lol.

 

[Pixna]

I have to say that this card threw me at first too, and I value everyone's input on it. After studying it more, I see that his eye (the one we can see) appears to be looking at us slyly, and he has a bit of a smirk (or maybe I'm just reading that into it). But here's how I'm seeing the burning feet: The feet are the lowest part of us, the part that's closest to the earthly realm and all that entails. The goat's passions and attachment to the earthly realm are setting him aflame, and that fire is rising up -- if it continues, it will engulf him. He is in a cave of darkness -- there is no light, no water, no clear way out. He is immobilized (there is no obvious movement), and he has self-immolated.

He may think his thick coat shields him, but it will be the first part of him to ignite (after his feet). What he covets and clings to (or what clings to him) will eventually be his undoing.

Although initially it seems that the imagery for this card is stark, I think there's much more here than I first thought.

 

[Pixna]

In revisiting this card, I see that despite initially appearing somewhat innocent, he is one crafty-looking demon. It's almost impossible to walk if one's feet are on fire. Your feet would become all that you could possibly focus on.

In addition, this Devil's horns are enormous. If he tempts you to come close enough, you could easily be impaled by one of these spiky horns (or horny spikes).

He is surrounded by pitch-black darkness -- he is the center of attention and the only thing that one can see. Once his fiery feet draw you in (by your curiosity, fascination, or whatever else), his horns will snag you, and you'll be caught.

Interpretation: Our demons know how to lure us -- how to make themselves the center of lives and be all that we can focus on or think about. Once they ensnare us, a distracting, harmful symbiotic relationship can form that is difficult or impossible to escape from. This demon is a sly but perceptive Devil, and his strange allure can be all-consuming.

 

[Aine O'brien]

The Devil - Hot Foot

The flames on the hooves of The Devil and the mention of the term "hot foot" reminded me of the Hoodoo recipe for "Hot Foot Powder" which is sprinkled on doorsteps where a person is known to walk for the purpose of banishing someone from our life.

Maybe this suggests that The Devil is not welcome - that we truly want him to go away, and maybe have tried various methods, but they are not working. Of course this card could also be suggesting that we work harder to rid oneself of The Devil, however he is presenting - in an addiction, a controlling person, a bad influence, evil, etc, and/or we may not be able to handle the situation without help.

 

[Water Lady]

I like some of the comments on the fire - feet....I had another thought.
when we are doing things we should not, too much-addiction...of chocolate, coffee, drugs, sex, alcohol, or....you know it and you keep doing it -do we have the will power to stop?
the goat knows his feet are on fire, does he have the will power to put it out before it destroys him?

I see the slyness, the smirk, the devil is hoping we will not have the will power.