XV Devil as Mary K Greer's Life Potential Card

I've been playing around with Greer's books a little bit - love them to bits - and took out the Tarot Constellations to lay out some things with my new Wildwood.

Now I am superconfused.

So for those of you who have never done it, they are not exactly "spreads" in the sense that you don't randomise cards, but rather you calculate the cards based on either your birth dates or your name. I had great fun with finding out all my numbers, most of them in one constellation (makes sense), and then WHAAM! Life Potential Card is from a completely different place (and constellation) which does not appear anywhere else in this context, and is the Devil.

A shortened version of what Greer writes: "
...sums up both your name and birthdate
...shows your greatest potential, highest you may achieve
...represents the ultimate goal that you may achieve
...fulfill your destiny according to your soul purpose" (I have left out some text)

Okay, so how to interpret this? In general, Devil is seen as Obsession or Choice; creating something that starts to control you (Steampunk has a wonderful depiction of that by feeding the machine that in the end turns the humans slaves). Will it be that you are constantly "between two worlds", unable to choose either? The Wildwood I am playing with right now lists XV as the Guardian, facing our own fears and demons.

SO, as a Life Potential Card?? Is the highest that I could aim for... being obsessed about choice? This is so confusing.

PS - Practically all my other cards, name and birthdate, were in the Empress constellation, so either Empresses, Hanged Men or Worlds.

delinfrey said:

Okay, so how to interpret this? In general, Devil is seen as Obsession or Choice; creating something that starts to control you (Steampunk has a wonderful depiction of that by feeding the machine that in the end turns the humans slaves). Will it be that you are constantly "between two worlds", unable to choose either? The Wildwood I am playing with right now lists XV as the Guardian, facing our own fears and demons.

SO, as a Life Potential Card?? Is the highest that I could aim for... being obsessed about choice? This is so confusing.

Click to expand...

I'm Mary Greer and I just happened to see this.

You might want to check out James Wanless's Voyager Tarot where the Devil is "devil's play" or being "devilish"—stirring things up. For the Golden Dawn and Paul Fost Case, it's key is laughter. For the great French magician, Eliphas Lèvi, it was the "astral light"—the core divine energy at the heart of all life force and magic. I see it related to Socrates' "gadfly." http://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/341

It is a very great force to carry but, like all things, can be used for good or ill.

Mary,

I am astounded and grateful to get a reply from you. I forgot about the thread, which is why my response comes at such delay.

What synchronicity - I just added Voyager Tarot to my wishlist a couple months ago. The idea of devil's play, or Socratean "gadfly" actually makes a lot of sense. Kind of the trickster quality, XV always being in between total balance and utter destruction.

I will continue my studies regarding this card.
Thank you ever so much for your input.