Who is the Devil?

Cartomancer

Who is the Devil?

The Devil card of the Tarot deck pictures the constellation Capricornus. (Note: But it isn't the sign of Capricorn in astrology, so relax Capricorns.)

Capricornus has been known as the cornucopia, and indeed these stars do look like a spiral basket filled with fruits. It can also be recognized as the horn of plenty. This constellation has often been connected with fertility.

In Sumerian times, Capricornus was known as the fierce fish-man named Kusarique. The god named Ea fought him to be able to reside in the stars of Capricornus. Ea was a spring fertility god in a snake form, and became a serpent in the story of Adam and Eve.

Ea assumed the shape of a goat to hear everything with large goat ears and to see all with wide goat eyes. When he took over the constellation of Capricornus, he changed his legs into a fin so he could swim in the milky way and also jump out.

Ea, the destroyer of his father Apsu in the Sumerian myth, was given the name Karubu which the Hebrew borrowed as "cherub." Cherub was a spring fertility god who "taught the human race how to be victorious over the forces of nature." (Outer Space p.138) In the Adam and Eve legend, Cherub was in the form of a snake or serpent that offered wisdom and human awareness.

Ea battled Kusarique, who was a evil fish-man in Tiamat's legion, for the control of the constellation of Capricornus. Here we see an active struggle for power.

Capricornus's fish-like form connects it with mermaids and merfolk. Myths of humans with fish tails and fins could have originated in the imagination of people who saw the fin-like sails of small boats carrying hairy men or goats and animals. Often these merfolk came to plunder and kill, so in some cultures they were feared while in others revered.

Babylonians also believed that when there was a great conjunction of planets in Capricornus, the world would end. There is fear and foreboding connected with this constellation.

Some drawings of the constellation of Capricornus look very much like the Devil card of the Tarot. The violent aspects of the Devil Card are clear in the Ea myth. Age and change are words that give the idea of coming of age and attaining maturity. In the Devil card of the Tarot we see a naked man and woman that possibly portray Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

The Devil card of the Tarot deck may have been directly derived from the myth and pictures of the Greek god Pan who was seen as a man with goat's legs. He was miraculously transformed into a fish-goat when he was attacked by a giant flame breathing monster Typhon (Cetus).

Although Pan was born deformed with a half goat body, when he jumped into the river the upper half of his body became goat-like and the lower part changed into a fish tail in order to help him to swim from Cetus. To celebrate this event, Zeus placed his form in the sky over the stars of Capricornus. Pan's name means "all," and that refers to the productive powers of nature. In heaven he was a wind god who sent plenty of rain for abundant growth of vegetation.

Pan was the son of Hermes and was the chief of the lesser gods of the earth. The animal form of Pan connects him with primitive instincts and actions. We note that Pan took extraordinary actions for his own survival, and we may interpret this card as meaning that there may be a great need to make a great change of character in order to survive the emergencies of the moment. Thus extraordinary actions are advised according to myth.

Violence, ravage, and fatality are to be avoided. Abandon yourself to your primitive survival instincts. Anything is possible with enough imagination. Miracles and transformations are indicated by this card, possibly in ways similar to the Pan myth.

Wild places were sacred to Pan, but wild orgastic merrymaking pleased him even more. He became a patron of ancient sex cults. He was able to cause insanity in men and encouraged his followers to perform outrageous acts. The client may ponder uncharacteristic actions and want advice about these urges.

Pan was the only god known to have died in the times when he was worshiped. Though this may have been a verbal mistake perpetrated by a foreign sea captain who mistook what he heard somewhere, it does support Pan's close connection with mortal men who must also die.

Interpretation of the Devil Card according to myth:

The following is a method of interpreting the Devil card of the Tarot. This method of interpreting the Devil card according to myth can be applied to all of the Major Arcana Tarot cards by observing the morals of the story, etc.

The extraordinary bad divinatory interpretation of the Devil card by modern sources may be a result of the medieval Christian interpretation of classical myths. The Arabic and Latin forms of Capricornus pictured monstrosities. "Violence, ravage and fatality" are the meanings Waite gives to this card, and it is clear that this was a direct interpretation of the Devil from the Christian religious tradition.

There is a possibility that the card warns of catastrophes such as those the god Pan faced when attacked by Typhon (Cetus). It is also easy to see how the mischievous actions of Pan were responsible for the unfavorable reputation of the card. Consider that the goat is a symbol of wisdom, being sure-footed, and able to climb to great heights.

The Devil has been the scapegoat for the many sins so-called civilized men have committed. Some say "the Devil made me do it." Many have shrugged off the responsibility for the evil they have done and blamed it on the devil instead. Is there in fact a Devil inside us all that makes us do what we wish without wishing to be responsible for it? In psychological terms, the Devil may be like the Id concept.

Here are two possible ways to interpret the Devil card when it comes up in Tarot spread (out of so many). The first one involves an outside violent force that the questioner must meet with his primitive survival instincts, such as in the myth of Pan. The second interpretation requires that the reader question the questioner about his conscience. The questioner may have done something that he considers wrong and is having a hard time dealing with the problem himself. Sometimes it is the result of some mischievous action of the questioner that had disastrous results that could have hurt others.

As a Tarot card reader you may have to question the honesty or sincerity of the questioner when the Devil card appears because there may be ulterior motives or underlying currents that aren't apparent and may erupt into reality at any instant. The client's normal expectations about the world may have been shattered due to unexpected events or extreme changes in attitude. This card may suggest a catastrophic event in the life of the client unless precautions are taken. Clients may react violently or get panicked when seeing this card, so be careful in your interpretation. The client is not the Devil. The questioner may have a big problem regarding an area of his or her life that requires attention, but hopefully not an exorcist.

The reader's responsibility is to determine the nature of the problem by the card's position in the spread. The questioner may have done something wrong and their conscience is troubling them or should be. The cards only offer clues. You must search out the unconscious fears that trouble the client. Something may have gone astray. Think about the myth!

Facing the situation honestly and finding a common sense solution is usually all that needs to be done, but the questioner may not want to face those he has hurt or offended and may not even want to admit that there was a wrong action committed. If there is no problem of this nature in the life of the questioner, it may then mean abundance and achievement if the client has patience and diligence and does not abandon his or her plans or get intoxicated or make very bad decisions. This card is almost saying, "You could be wrong about this one so don't gamble. Store away what you need for a rainy day."

The Devil card can also be a card promising good fortune and material benefit and of productive enterprises. The danger this card warns about is indulgent materialism, overindulgent passions, and fear itself. The Devil card is often misunderstood. The interpretations given have scared the wits out of clients and baffled readers as well. The picture of the Devil doesn't say much unless you understand the myth behind it.

If the card appears during a question regarding a business transaction, it admonishes the client to struggle for power and domination of the situation. Think about the myth and offer advice based on it such as, "Do your best to get what is desired. Physical, emotional, or intellectual competition may help you get your way. Threats and bravado may work as well as actual conflict. While seeking power, you may compete with others, but you need not crush them if they may be useful to you later." This is a card of madness in business.

This card may also imply imagination that can invent instruments such as the musical pipes that Pan contrived. The card may portray wild passions let loose and the consequences of such. The animal in you may emerge. The uncivilized part of human nature is feared and connected with violence because the Id takes over and the rational ego control is lost. The pleasure principle of the Id and of Pan are very similar. This card may call upon the questioner to explore his or her inner desires and to try to fulfill them more completely instead of suppressing them and thereby contributing to psychological problems such as emotional frustration.

The Devil card is also an aspect of fate that arises out of natural events. What happens determines what will be. What will be, will be, but the questioner can change the circumstances for the better after natural events have occurred, and even while they are still happening. In questions of love it may mean that the questioner is bound by lust, but then again it may mean fertility and pleasurable merrymaking. Does this bring to mind the orgies of Pan? The Devil card sometimes pictures a Devil figure with a naked man and woman before him, sometimes bound to a rock by chains.

The Greeks knew Pan as the son of Hermes and Penelope. He was a mutant boy with goat legs and horns, but having a human head and arms. He was very hairy all over, but walked erect on his two hind goat legs. Penelope ran away in terror after his birth, but Hermes proudly took his son to Olympus and showed him off. Pan's Greek name means "all," or "he who feeds," and implies the life giving power of nature.

Pan grew up to be a lusty Shepherd-god who enjoyed almost everything. He lived in the mountains of Arcadia and invented the Syrinx, known as the Pan pipes. One day in the woods, Pan saw the nymph named Syrinx and wanted her. She wished to remain a virgin huntress, so she fled. Coming to the great Ladon river, she realized that couldn't escape Pan's amorous advance, so she begged the water nymphs to transform her into marsh reeds. Pan saw this happen and picked some of the reeds and with wax joined some together and fashioned musical pipes. The musical instrument was named after the nymph Syrinx and were also called the Pan pipes.

Pan was good to have on your side in war, because he could cause panic in the enemies ranks. In the war between the titans and the gods, Pan was able to help the gods by creating terror, panic and flight. A sudden shout or scream can infect many with temporary madness.

Pan was playing his pipes by a river one day and the giant monster Typhon (the constellation Cetus) came out of the water and frightened him. Pan jumped into the water and swam away, his rear miraculously transforming into a fish tail. Zeus commemorated this occasion by transporting him to the stars of Capricornus, where he was able to send rain down to the earth.

Aphrodite and her son Eros were walking along the river bank when Typhon appeared. They plunged into the water and changed into fishes and may be seen in the stars of Pisces. Capricornus lies near the Milky Way, which was the river Ladon.

Links to images of the constellation Capricornus:

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricornus
“History and mythology
Despite its faintness, Capricornus has one of the oldest mythological associations, having been consistently represented as a hybrid of a goat and a fish since the Middle Bronze Age. First attested in depictions on a cylinder-seal from around the 21st century BC,[6] it was explicitly recorded in the Babylonian star catalogues as MULSU?UR.MAŠ "The Goat-Fish" before 1000 BC. The constellation was a symbol of the god Ea and in the Early Bronze Age marked the winter solstice.

Due to the precession of the equinoxes the December solstice no longer takes place while the sun is in the constellation Capricornus, as it did until 130 BC, but the astrological sign called Capricorn begins with the solstice. The solstice now takes place when the Sun is in Sagittarius. The sun's most southerly position, which is attained at the northern hemisphere's winter solstice, is now called the Tropic of Capricorn, a term which also applies to the line on the Earth at which the sun is directly overhead at noon on that solstice. The Sun is now in Capricorn from late January through mid-February.[3]
In Greek mythology, the constellation is sometimes identified as Amalthea, the goat that suckled the infant Zeus after his mother Rhea saved him from being devoured by his father Cronos (in Greek mythology). The goat's broken horn was transformed into the cornucopia or horn of plenty.[citation needed] Capricornus is also sometimes identified as Pan, the god with a goat's head, who saved himself from the monster Typhon by giving himself a fish's tail and diving into a river.[3]” - Wikipedia

For images of the Devil as Capricornus, search for “constellation Capricornus images”

Also see:
Constellations of Words
http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Capricorn.html

The Devil card is seen in the constellation Capricornus.

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Richard

According to Waite, the Devil is the Dweller on the Threshold.