Rider: Devil couple's tails

For a long time I've been attempting to decipher the meaning of the tails of the couple on the Devil card. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot doesn't give much information. On the Lovers card, the Tree of Knowledge is behind the woman and Life behind the man. Once we reach the Devil, her tail grows a bunch of grapes, and his is set afire. What do these mean?

Is the female aspect constantly tied to earthly delights and temptation, while the male yearns for more spiritual matters? The devil's torch seems to be setting the man's tail on fire, while his hand is raised away from the woman. Is the male aspect more heavily influenced by evil?

The trees behind Adam and Eve on The Lovers card have become the tails of the people turned on The Devil card

The tail depicted on the figure of The Devil relates to the tree shown in The Lovers card; the tree behind the man depicted in The Lovers card displays twelve flames, indicating the Zodiac. The tree is the ‘Tree of Life’, bearing 12 fruits.


Behind the woman depicted in The Lovers card is the ‘Tree of Knowledge’ representing good and evil.


The horns shown on the central figure on The Devil card are those of a goat, whilst the wings are those of a bat.


The upside own Pentagram shown above the head of The Devil, is a symbol of ‘black magic’.


The symbol of Saturn is depicted upon the head of The Devil, directing his energies above and not below.


The body of The Devil is thick-set and the thick growth of hair all over represents Earth. The thick-set body may also represent power.


A naval is shown on The Devil, which represents human qualities.


The claws on the feet tell of putting energy into the lower body.


The ears of the donkey shown tell of stubbornness and materialism.


The right hand is upraised and extended - the reverse of the benediction given by The Hierophant.


In his left hand there is a torch inverted towards the earth. The torch is the fiery symbol of ‘revolution’.


The looped changes shown around the necks of the humans depicted in The Devil card, indicates the ease with which they can be removed. The figures chained to the plinth symbolize being stuck in an uncomfortable situation.

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The grapes may symbolize fertility/reproduction and the fire the human spirit reduced to material concerns such as the sex drive. People who are in this situation may think that this is all there is and not even know that there is a bigger reality to explore if only they shrug off the chains. Their bondage to materiality is an illusion due to ignorance, symbolized by the black background of the card. The Devil is fun, but he can be even more fun if you don't feel that he is the boss.

It is interesting that the upraised hand is in the form of the benediction of the Kohanim, the Jewish priests of the Temple. The tails could be the active and passive elements, positive and negative, movement and reception (as the Lord of the Gates of Matter, the symbolism should be clear).

I have written at length that the Devil shouldn't be considered "evil," so I won't repeat myself here, but the similarity with the Lovers is striking. The Lovers' place on the Tree is where the Point necessarily divides itself in order to experience all of Creation, and the Devil (or, in my view, the Snake) is an important step in that direction. The tails show the basic rules of Chochma and Binah are still there, but in a far less abstract form.

Waite says this about The Devil: "The right hand is upraised and extended, being the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant in the fifth card."

So is the 'benediction of the Kohanim' actually the opposite of the 'pope' gesture?

Or is Waite simply meaning that The Devil's palm is simply open and not making any gestures, almost as if waving and saying 'hi, come on right in'

agent199 said:

Waite says this about The Devil: "The right hand is upraised and extended, being the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant in the fifth card."

So is the 'benediction of the Kohanim' actually the opposite of the 'pope' gesture?

Or is Waite simply meaning that The Devil's palm is simply open and not making any gestures, almost as if waving and saying 'hi, come on right in'

Click to expand...

I can't really say, and I don't want to be the one that raises any anti-Semitic concerns (see what I did there? ) The gesture, however, is unmistakable.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_Blessing

Incidentally, Leonard Nemoy suggested it as the Vulcan's formal greeting in Star Trek.

Honestly, I really just think its just how the drawing looks.

In any case, Live Long and Prosper.

According to C.G.Jung, there is a serious deficiency in the Christian view of God as all sweetness and light and goodness. The flip side of God is the Devil, and to deny God the attributes of the Devil is to deny him/her/it omnipotence. In the Christian mythos the Devil is the Nachash (Snake), who "tempted" Eve in the Garden, and the Messiah is God, who redeemed man from the Garden event. It is significant (at least to me) that the Nachash and the Messiah have the same numerological value in the Hebrew.

In the interest of physical and mental health, it is vital to embrance both God and the Devil, i.e., our spiritual as well as material components. To cling to one of these at the exclusion of the other is to invite psychic disaster. I see this in some of the posts of those who are unnecessarily at war with themselves over their seemingly divergent inclinations. The way of release is Temperance, the Great Work, the synthesis of Opposites.