Tarot Of The Day July 6, 2018 - Day 18: The Raven’s Prophecy Deck - The Devil
I have begun the creation of an 89 day tarot course in a group I am a member of on Facebook ('A Kaleidoscope of Magical Perceptions' is the name of the group, please feel free to request membership - it is full of fun people and really great posts about all manner of topics) and I thought I would cross post the information here to this blog as well. Once the initial 89 days of the course have passed, it will start over using a different tarot deck. The text of the eightteenth session follows.
Hooray! The Devil card! I have so much fun with this card. It is another card that to the layperson, looks like a pretty intimidating card, with lots of bad connotations, specifically that it depicts the Devil, and most people that come from Abrahamic religions will see that as A BAD THING. Fear not, however, because the Devil isn't all about the fallen angel who tempts us from below as he oversees all the evil in the world - the Devil is more about the Devil that we are ourselves. The Devil card represents the people or situations or things we willingly surrender or chain ourselves to, things we could easily walk away from, but that we choose NOT to.
In the Rider -Waite deck, the Devil card is shown as the classic image of the Devil; the goat headed, cloven-hooved, bat-winged Baphomet on his throne, which in this case is the pillar of bondage to which the male and female figures that stand before him are chained to by their necks. But look closely - the chains are only loosely draped around their necks - either of them could slip the chains over their head and be free. While the pair stand there reveling in whatever it is that ties them to the Devil, they have grown horns and tails, and have begun to see nothing wrong with the predicament they are in. Above them, the Devil ‘s pose mimics and reverses that of the Mage; where the mage holds his wand aloft and directs the power he gathers to his intent with his other hand, the Devil holds his club to the ground and holds his free hand aloft, insinuating the release of the gathered power through violence rather than through intent. Where the Mage had an infinity symbol above his head, the Devil has a pentagram.
The Rider-Waite booklet gives the following keywords for The Devil: ravage, violence, force, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, fatality, that which is predestined but not for this reason evil (upright,) evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, and blindness (reversed.)
In Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven’s Prophecy deck, she has drawn the Devil as a dark figure wearing the mask of the Devil. She writes: “Well, this is ominous. Just as the Death card did not truly mean death, the Devil card is not really about capital T, capital D The Devil. It is about lowercase t, lowercase d the devils that you have been carrying around with you. When I said that, you should have felt a little sigh escape you, because usually people are familiar with their personal devils. It can be an addiction, self-loathing, jealousy, obsession. Tarot reminds us again that the worst villain lives inside us, and the Devil card is a warning that we are on a dangerous path. Often, when you pull the Devil card, you feel trapped, unable to improve your situation, and you can’t figure out how to escape. What is keeping you here, bound like this? Why can’t you just get over this problem? The answer is you.”
Maggie’s keywords for The Devil card are addiction, jealousy, and vices.
Tomorrow - Practicum 3
***TOTD will cover the entire 78 card Raven’s Prophecy Deck alongside the Rider-Waite deck for comparison. In order to not completely burn out, this course of lessons will be 89 days long, so that every Saturday I can break the lessons up by doing a practicum lesson. Practicum lessons will take the form of a layout or spread that I will walk you through the steps of interpretation for. After the first 89 day session ends, we will start over with a one day break for a poll to be done to see what deck everyone wants to see next round. ***
I have begun the creation of an 89 day tarot course in a group I am a member of on Facebook ('A Kaleidoscope of Magical Perceptions' is the name of the group, please feel free to request membership - it is full of fun people and really great posts about all manner of topics) and I thought I would cross post the information here to this blog as well. Once the initial 89 days of the course have passed, it will start over using a different tarot deck. The text of the eightteenth session follows.
Hooray! The Devil card! I have so much fun with this card. It is another card that to the layperson, looks like a pretty intimidating card, with lots of bad connotations, specifically that it depicts the Devil, and most people that come from Abrahamic religions will see that as A BAD THING. Fear not, however, because the Devil isn't all about the fallen angel who tempts us from below as he oversees all the evil in the world - the Devil is more about the Devil that we are ourselves. The Devil card represents the people or situations or things we willingly surrender or chain ourselves to, things we could easily walk away from, but that we choose NOT to.
In the Rider -Waite deck, the Devil card is shown as the classic image of the Devil; the goat headed, cloven-hooved, bat-winged Baphomet on his throne, which in this case is the pillar of bondage to which the male and female figures that stand before him are chained to by their necks. But look closely - the chains are only loosely draped around their necks - either of them could slip the chains over their head and be free. While the pair stand there reveling in whatever it is that ties them to the Devil, they have grown horns and tails, and have begun to see nothing wrong with the predicament they are in. Above them, the Devil ‘s pose mimics and reverses that of the Mage; where the mage holds his wand aloft and directs the power he gathers to his intent with his other hand, the Devil holds his club to the ground and holds his free hand aloft, insinuating the release of the gathered power through violence rather than through intent. Where the Mage had an infinity symbol above his head, the Devil has a pentagram.
The Rider-Waite booklet gives the following keywords for The Devil: ravage, violence, force, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, fatality, that which is predestined but not for this reason evil (upright,) evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, and blindness (reversed.)
In Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven’s Prophecy deck, she has drawn the Devil as a dark figure wearing the mask of the Devil. She writes: “Well, this is ominous. Just as the Death card did not truly mean death, the Devil card is not really about capital T, capital D The Devil. It is about lowercase t, lowercase d the devils that you have been carrying around with you. When I said that, you should have felt a little sigh escape you, because usually people are familiar with their personal devils. It can be an addiction, self-loathing, jealousy, obsession. Tarot reminds us again that the worst villain lives inside us, and the Devil card is a warning that we are on a dangerous path. Often, when you pull the Devil card, you feel trapped, unable to improve your situation, and you can’t figure out how to escape. What is keeping you here, bound like this? Why can’t you just get over this problem? The answer is you.”
Maggie’s keywords for The Devil card are addiction, jealousy, and vices.
Tomorrow - Practicum 3
***TOTD will cover the entire 78 card Raven’s Prophecy Deck alongside the Rider-Waite deck for comparison. In order to not completely burn out, this course of lessons will be 89 days long, so that every Saturday I can break the lessons up by doing a practicum lesson. Practicum lessons will take the form of a layout or spread that I will walk you through the steps of interpretation for. After the first 89 day session ends, we will start over with a one day break for a poll to be done to see what deck everyone wants to see next round. ***
No comments:
Post a Comment