golden tarot main
Ads support this site
: p l e a s e :
click at least one!

VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

Temporary, for editorial feedback only - please do not bookmark or download

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+
XV - the Devil
+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

A devil dances about with a banner proclaiming redemption in a traditional scene of Hell. The devil's wings signify that he is Satan, a fallen angel. There is a dark second face on Satan's belly, and all around are other little devils, a snake and fire. A man and woman tear at their hair in pain and suffering.

My Interpretation: Time to confront your demons. Hell is our own creation. We cannot move forward in our lives without facing that which torments us. The more we understand and face our fears, the less power they have over us. Fear of failure may be preventing you from reaching your full potential. Look back at all that you have weathered in the past to see that you have the strength to survive if things go wrong. This may help you to realise that it is worth taking risks in order to do what you think is right. This is a card of temptation and perhaps addiction. Depending upon where it appears in a spread, it could indicate a need for the subject to question their own motives. Are they following a path deliberately that could be destructive? (Reversed: Breaking of an addiction, overcoming of a vice, escape from a bad influence)

Edit notes to self: This card is reasonably similar to the Rider-Waite card, at least more than my original version. The devil is a classic Satan from the period, with a face on his belly, clawed birds' feet and goat horns. His wings to symbolise his past as an angel. Still to do - pretty happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Hans Memling, Flemish painter (b. cca.1440, Seligenstadt, d. 1494, Bruges); Hell c. 1485 Oil on wood, 22 x 14 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg.

Snake, Naked Man and Woman: Dieric Bouts the Elder, Flemish painter (b. cca. 1415, Haarlem, d. 1475, Leuven); Hell 1450 Oil on wood, 115 x 69.5 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille.

Wine Jars: Juan de Flandes, Spanish painter (active 1496 - 1519 in Spain); The Marriage Feast at Cana 1500 Oil on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Squatting Devil: Master of the Legend of St Ursula, Flemish painter (active 1480-1500 in Bruges); St Michael Fighting Demons 1480-1500 Oil on oak panel with integrated frame, 30 x 19.5 cm Museum Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Potterie, Bruges.

Devil Dog: Petrus Christus, Flemish painter (b. 1410/20, Baarle, d. 1475/76, Brugge); The Last Judgement 1452 Oil on wood Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Many Horned Devil and Rock Face: Gerard David, Flemish painter (b. 1460, Oudewater, d. 1523, Brugge); Altarpiece of St Michael - Oil on wood, 66 x 53 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Parchment Text Panel: Unknown Illuminators, England; The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library MS 24), written and illuminated around 1200. Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Gilt Border: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

.+. main .+. readings .+. major arcana .+. minor arcana .+. links .+. about .+. contact .+.

retrokat.com

copyright Kat Black 2000-2002