“Egyptian” Tarot (?) Artist Unknown To Me
The Devil.
Lord of the Gates of Matter.
The Devil leads the final third of the Major Arcana.
As The Great Fool we have followed a path of experience and change and we have developed our sense of self and our patience for material practice and discipline.
Now, as we enter the third and final phase of the Major Arcana, we meet the master of 3D reality. Here, now, we are introduced to the lord of matter and his brilliant hall of mirrors.
The Devil is the permanent and indefatigable king of the underworld. That is of course, this world of veils and illusions, of inversions and retro-fitted logics. Make no mistake, The Devil is always in the mix here in this world where roses and poppies bloom; where fish multiple themselves; here where fruits become wine and fantasies become flesh. The Devil, be assured, is always around. He sits and enjoys as we struggle to solve the riddles of ourselves.
What do you see? When you look at the rest of us as a mirror how do you see yourself? What do you reflect? The Devil will sit patiently with us in our conundrum. He will sit and wait until the sun explodes and he leaves to start another kingdom in matter somewhere else. The Devil will always patiently wait for us to realize our much too safe hypocrisies because he has, literally, nothing but time.
Look, here’s the thing: The Devil wants to teach us the nature of paradox. He wants to teach us to
Thoth/Artist: Frieda Harris
take control of who we are by noticing the way in which we claim our intention to hold value over our action.
Your actions are your intentions manifest. Your actions are how you communicate intention and the truthfulness of yourself. Actions are the only truth. What you say or think or intend is worthless without action.
You are the person you perform. You are your behavior. And you are accountable to every act, every thought, every word. You are the one in choice.
The Devil wants to teach us to create a world or better, worlds unto worlds unto worlds. He wants to re-teach us magic and magical creation—all things rise from a tension located within the sublime paradox. And The Devil wants to teach us this alchemy, but we are still too childish to control our own power. We are still coming into it, like babies finding our toes.
Pay attention: until we learn accountability, we are barred from the magical kingdom. We are banned from creation in matter.
One wisdom The Devil can impart to us now is the knowledge that there is no linearity. History is a deck of cards shuffled endlessly. We return again and again to the mirrors we call forward.
The devil is our greatest ally when we understand to whom we are speaking and for what purpose. The devil is here to teach us to free ourselves from delusion and the punishing distractions that tell us all the things we cannot have and all the ways we are inadequate.
The devil teaches us the mandatory skills, and drives us to fortify our resources and to ruthlessly reflect upon our truths. To see our mirrors as ourselves.
The devil will always throw you a curve ball– a monkey wrench. Always. We must learn that our bondage is an illusion and we may lift our chains of our own accord.
The Devil/Rider-Waite-Smith
Look at the picture in the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck to the right. These souls are bound only by their own limit. They stay because they are not strong enough to be on their own.
The devil teaches us self- mastery and leads us to the places where fear can no longer grip us. We might as well go ahead and learn the hard and surprising lessons of his kingdom because the devil doesn’t believe in lost causes— so you get your lessons whether you drop the course or not.
Be strong. Be truthful. Be blessed.
THE BOOK OF KEYS 