The Devil: Desire or Bondage?
Quick Answer: The Devil typically represents bondage, material attachments, and unhealthy patterns that limit your freedom. However, its meaning depends heavily on your question, the card's position in the spread, and surrounding cards. This card often points to where you may feel trapped by circumstances, addictions, or beliefs that no longer serve you.
What this guide does not do: This guide does not predict specific events or label cards as good or bad. Instead, it focuses on symbolic patterns and personal reflection to help you understand the guidance your reading offers.
The Devil at a Glance (Summary)
- Core Meaning: Bondage, materialism, temptation, shadow self, limitation
- Love: May suggest codependency, unhealthy attachment, or passionate but potentially destructive dynamics
- Career: Might indicate feeling trapped in a job, workplace toxicity, or excessive materialism
- Yes or No: Maybe â Leaning No, especially if the question involves breaking free or seeking healthier patterns
- Reversed: Often suggests liberation, breaking free from bondage, or confronting shadow aspects
Card at a Glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Arcana | Major Arcana |
| Number | 15 (1+5=6, echoing The Lovers but in shadow form) |
| Element | Earth (material world, physical bondage) |
| Astrology | Capricorn (ambition, material success, restriction) |
| Keywords (Upright) | Bondage, addiction, materialism, shadow self, temptation |
| Keywords (Reversed) | Liberation, breaking chains, confronting demons, reclaiming power |
| Yes/No | Maybe â Leaning No, particularly for questions about freedom or positive change |
| Timing | Mid-December to mid-January (Capricorn season) |
Symbolism & Imagery
The Devil card features powerful imagery that speaks to our relationship with power, freedom, and the material world. At first glance, the card may appear frightening, but closer examination reveals its deeper message about self-imposed limitations.
Key Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Devil Figure | Represents our shadow self, base instincts, and the parts of ourselves we deny or suppress |
| Chained Figures | Two naked humans with loose chains around their necks, suggesting bondage is often self-imposed and removable |
| Inverted Pentagram | Material concerns dominating spiritual values; the reversal of divine order |
| Bat Wings | Association with darkness, night, and the unconscious mind; creatures of the shadow realm |
| Raised Hand | Mockery of the Hierophant's blessing; a perversion of spiritual authority |
Colors
| Color | Significance |
|---|---|
| Black | The unconscious, shadow aspects, mystery, and what remains hidden from awareness |
| Red/Orange | Passion, desire, fire, energyâsometimes destructive when uncontrolled |
Background & Setting
The Devil typically sits on a pedestal in darkness, with two chained figures before him. The darkness suggests the unconscious realm where our hidden desires and fears reside. Importantly, the chains around the figures' necks are looseâthey could remove them at any time, but they choose not to. This detail is crucial to understanding the card's message: we are often complicit in our own bondage.
The barren, dark setting contrasts sharply with the lush garden of The Lovers (Card 6). Where The Lovers represents conscious choice and divine union, The Devil represents unconscious bondage and separation from our higher selves.
Observation exercise: Before reading interpretations, spend 30 seconds looking at the card. Notice the chainsâare they as tight as they first appear? What draws your attention first? Your instinctive focus often points to your reading's personal message.
How to Interpret The Devil in Your Reading
Before reading further, answer these questions to narrow down your interpretation:
Step 1: What Was Your Question About?
| Topic | The Devil speaks to... |
|---|---|
| Love/Relationships | Codependency, unhealthy attachments, toxic patterns, or intense physical attraction overshadowing emotional connection |
| Career/Work | Feeling trapped in a job, toxic workplace dynamics, workaholism, or prioritizing money over fulfillment |
| Finances/Material | Materialism, debt, gambling, or unhealthy relationship with money and possessions |
| Personal Growth | Shadow work needed, confronting addictions, recognizing self-imposed limitations, or examining where you give away your power |
| Decision/Choice | May suggest you feel you have no choice, but the reality is different; examine what keeps you bound to this situation |
Step 2: What Position Is This Card In?
| Position | Interpretation angle |
|---|---|
| Past | Previous addictions, toxic relationships, or limiting beliefs that shaped your current situation |
| Present | Currently experiencing bondage, temptation, or unhealthy patterns; you may feel trapped |
| Future | Warning of potential entrapment or invitation to confront shadow aspects before they control you |
| Advice | Examine where you're giving away your power; recognize the chains are loose; do shadow work |
| Outcome | If current path continues, may lead to feeling trapped or controlled by material concerns or addictions |
Step 3: What Cards Surround It?
| Nearby Cards | Modified meaning |
|---|---|
| Many Major Arcana | A significant life lesson about power, freedom, and self-awareness is unfolding |
| Same suit | The bondage is particularly related to the suit's domain (Pentacles=money, Cups=emotions, etc.) |
| Court cards | Another person may be involved in the toxic dynamic, or you're being called to take responsibility |
| Opposing element | Conflict between your material concerns (Devil=Earth) and other life areas; seek balance |
Step 4: What's Your Gut Reaction?
| Initial feeling | Consider... |
|---|---|
| Immediate recognition | You already know what chains you, but may not have admitted it consciously |
| Confusion | The bondage may be subtle or normalized; look for patterns you've accepted as "just the way things are" |
| Resistance | You may not be ready to acknowledge your role in maintaining unhealthy patterns |
| Relief | Recognition is the first step to liberation; you're ready to confront what binds you |
Your combination of answers creates your unique interpretation. For example, The Devil in the "advice" position for a career question surrounded by Pentacles cards suggests examining whether financial security has become a chain that prevents you from seeking more fulfilling work.
The Devil rarely appears to condemnâit appears to illuminate. What you do with that awareness determines whether it remains a prison or becomes a catalyst for liberation.
The Devil Upright Meaning
The Devil upright typically represents the experience of bondage, whether to material circumstances, addictive behaviors, toxic relationships, or limiting beliefs. This card appears when we've surrendered our power to something external, often without fully realizing we've done so. The crucial insight of The Devil is that the chains are looseâwe can free ourselves, but first we must acknowledge our complicity in our own captivity.
Unlike The Tower's dramatic upheaval, The Devil's bondage is often comfortable, even pleasurable. We may enjoy the very things that limit us, making liberation more complex than simply escaping. This card challenges us to examine where short-term pleasure or security has created long-term limitation.
General Interpretation
The Devil upright commonly points to areas where you feel powerless or trapped. This might manifest as addiction (to substances, behaviors, or even thoughts), unhealthy relationship dynamics, financial bondage, or belief systems that no longer serve you. The card doesn't judge these situations as morally wrongâinstead, it illuminates where you've traded freedom for security, pleasure, or the illusion of control.
The shadow aspect is central to this card's meaning. The Devil represents the parts of ourselves we deny, suppress, or project onto others. These shadow elements don't disappear through denialâthey accumulate power in the darkness of the unconscious, eventually controlling us from behind the scenes. The Devil's appearance is often an invitation to shadow work: acknowledging, examining, and integrating these denied aspects.
The deeper question: What would you do if the chains weren't there? Often, we discover that we're more afraid of freedom than bondage because freedom requires us to take responsibility for our choices.
This interpretation strengthens if:
- You've been feeling stuck or powerless in a situation
- You recognize patterns repeating despite your conscious desire to change
- Material concerns or immediate gratification have been dominating your decisions
- You've been avoiding looking at certain aspects of your life or yourself
Love & Relationships
In short: The Devil in love readings often points to unhealthy attachment patterns, codependency, or relationships based primarily on physical attraction or mutual dysfunction rather than genuine connection.
When The Devil appears in relationship questions, it typically suggests that bondage or control dynamics are at play. This might manifest as codependency, where each person's identity becomes entangled with the other's, making it difficult to recognize where one person ends and the other begins. It can also indicate relationships maintained through fear, guilt, or obligation rather than love and mutual respect.
The card may also point to intense physical or sexual attraction that overshadows incompatibility in other areas. While passion isn't inherently negative, The Devil suggests asking whether physical chemistry has become a chain that keeps you in an otherwise unhealthy dynamic. The card invites honest examination of what truly binds you to this relationshipâis it love, or is it fear of being alone, financial security, or familiarity?
In some cases, The Devil indicates infidelity, deception, or manipulation within a relationship. Power imbalances, where one partner controls the other through various means (financial, emotional, psychological), commonly appear with this card.
Single: May suggest you're attracted to unavailable or unhealthy partners, or that fear and limiting beliefs about yourself are preventing genuine connection. Examine what patterns keep repeating in your romantic choices.
In a relationship: Likely indicates the need to examine codependency, control dynamics, or whether you're staying out of habit or fear rather than genuine love. The relationship may benefit from honest communication about power dynamics and individual autonomy.
Seeking reconciliation: The Devil suggests asking whether you want to return because the relationship was truly healthy, or because you're uncomfortable with the freedom and uncertainty of being alone. Reunion under Devil energy often means repeating old patterns.
Career & Work
In short: The Devil in career contexts commonly represents feeling trapped in a job, toxic workplace dynamics, workaholism, or prioritizing financial security over personal fulfillment.
Career-wise, The Devil often appears when you feel chained to a job that drains you but that you can't seem to leave. The chains might be financial (bills to pay, lifestyle to maintain), identity-based (your self-worth is tied to your position), or fear-driven (worry that you can't find anything better). The card invites examination of what truly keeps you thereâand whether those chains are as necessary as they appear.
Toxic workplace dynamics commonly appear with The Devil: manipulation, power games, discrimination, or environments that bring out your worst qualities rather than your best. The card may indicate that you've normalized unhealthy patterns because they're so pervasive in your workplace. Sometimes, we become complicit in toxic culture, even perpetuating it, because it feels safer to go along than to resist.
Workaholism is another manifestation of Devil energy in career. Work becomes an addiction that provides temporary validation or escape from other life areas, but ultimately controls your time, health, and relationships. The card asks whether you work to live, or whether work has become the chain that prevents you from truly living.
Job seekers: May indicate accepting offers based solely on money rather than alignment with your values, or feeling desperate and powerless in your search. Avoid making fear-based decisions that create new chains.
Employed: Likely suggests examining whether financial security has become a trap that prevents you from seeking more fulfilling work, or whether workplace toxicity is affecting your wellbeing more than you admit.
Business owners: Can indicate obsession with profit over purpose, unethical practices that compromise your integrity, or business success that has paradoxically imprisoned you with obligations and expectations.
Finances & Material
The Devil in financial contexts typically points to unhealthy relationships with money and material possessions. This might manifest as debt that feels inescapable, gambling or compulsive spending, or defining your worth by your net worth. The card suggests that material concerns have gained disproportionate power over your life and decisions.
Materialismâthe belief that acquiring possessions will bring happinessâis a core Devil theme. The card invites examination of whether you've confused "having" with "being," or whether the pursuit of wealth has become an end in itself rather than a means to genuine wellbeing. Sometimes, our financial bondage is self-created through lifestyle inflation, keeping up appearances, or the inability to distinguish between needs and wants.
Health & Wellbeing
In health readings, The Devil often points to addictive behaviors or patterns that undermine your wellbeing. This might include substance abuse, unhealthy eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, or even addiction to stress and drama. The card typically appears not as judgment but as invitation: what habits have gained power over you, and what would it take to reclaim your autonomy?
Mental health themes may include obsessive thinking, anxiety about material security, or the psychological impact of feeling trapped in life circumstances. The shadow work aspect of The Devil can be particularly relevant in therapeutic contextsâare there parts of yourself you've denied that need acknowledgment and integration?
Spirituality
Spiritually, The Devil represents disconnection from your higher self and overidentification with the material or ego-driven aspects of existence. The inverted pentagram symbolizes spirit subordinated to matterâa reversal of the natural order where physical concerns dominate spiritual values.
This card commonly appears when spiritual bypassing is occurringâusing spiritual concepts to avoid dealing with earthly responsibilities or shadow aspects. True spiritual growth, The Devil suggests, requires integrating our shadow, not denying it. The parts of ourselves we judge as "unspiritual" hold important lessons and power that can only be accessed through honest acknowledgment.
The Devil Reversed Meaning
The Devil reversed commonly indicates liberation, breaking free from bondage, or the beginning stages of confronting your shadow aspects. Where the upright Devil shows you in chains, the reversed Devil suggests you're removing themâthough this process may be challenging and uncomfortable.
Reversal doesn't automatically mean the situation has resolved. It often indicates awareness of the bondage, which is the necessary first step toward freedom. You may be recognizing unhealthy patterns, admitting addictions, or acknowledging how you've given your power away. This recognition, while positive, typically precedes a difficult period of actual change.
Understanding Reversal
Key distinction: Upright Devil shows you in bondage (often comfortable bondage); reversed Devil shows you becoming aware of the chains and beginning to remove them, though you may still struggle with what bound you.
Reversed cards can indicate:
- Blocked or internalized energy: The Devil's shadow work is happening internally; you're confronting your demons privately
- Delayed or weakened expression: Liberation is beginning but not complete; you're in the challenging middle phase
- Need for introspection: Time to examine what kept you bound and ensure you don't recreate similar patterns
- Shadow aspects requiring attention: The reversed position brings shadow material closer to consciousness where it can be addressed
General Interpretation
The Devil reversed often represents breaking free from addictions, toxic relationships, limiting beliefs, or unhealthy patterns. You may be in recovery, ending a codependent relationship, leaving a draining job, or challenging beliefs that have restricted your growth. The card commonly appears during difficult transitions where you're choosing freedom over familiarity, even though freedom feels uncertain and uncomfortable.
In some cases, the reversed Devil indicates denial or minimization of the bondage. Rather than liberation, the reversal shows the chains hidden or the seriousness of addiction/toxicity downplayed. Context matters: surrounding cards and your honest self-assessment will clarify whether this is liberation or deepening denial.
Another reversed manifestation involves confronting your shadow aspects. You may be doing therapeutic work, examining your complicity in unhealthy dynamics, or acknowledging parts of yourself you've long denied. This process is often uncomfortable but ultimately liberatingâwhat we bring to consciousness loses its power to control us from the shadows.
The deeper question: Are you ready for the responsibility that comes with freedom? Breaking chains is only the first step; building a life without them requires sustained effort and willingness to make different choices.
This interpretation strengthens if:
- You've recently ended a toxic situation or are actively working to do so
- You're in recovery or addressing addictive patterns
- You feel like you're waking up from a fog and seeing your situation more clearly
- You're doing shadow work or therapy that brings unconscious patterns to light
Love & Relationships (Reversed)
In relationships, The Devil reversed commonly indicates breaking free from codependent or toxic dynamics. You may be ending a relationship that was based on unhealthy attachment, reclaiming your independence within an existing relationship, or recognizing and changing your patterns of attraction to unavailable or harmful partners.
The card can also suggest that both partners are working to address control dynamics, jealousy, or other Devil-upright themes. Relationship counseling, honest communication about power dynamics, or mutual commitment to individual growth alongside partnership often accompanies this card. The reversed position shows effort toward healthier relating, though the work may be ongoing.
In some readings, reversal indicates downplaying relationship problems or minimizing toxic behavior. You may be telling yourself "it's not that bad" or making excuses for patterns you know are harmful. Surrounding cards and honest self-reflection will clarify which interpretation applies.
Career & Work (Reversed)
Career-wise, The Devil reversed often shows leaving a toxic job, setting boundaries against workaholism, or making career choices based on fulfillment rather than purely financial considerations. You may be taking a pay cut for better work-life balance, leaving a prestigious but draining position, or finally prioritizing your wellbeing over external validation.
The card can also indicate recovery from burnout or actively changing your relationship with work. You might be learning to leave work at work, challenging the narrative that your worth equals your productivity, or examining how work has controlled your life and making different choices.
Sometimes, the reversed Devil in career contexts suggests denial about workplace toxicity or downplaying how much your job drains you. You might be telling yourself you can handle it, or that the financial security is worth the cost to your health and relationships. Honest assessment is needed.
Finances & Material (Reversed)
Financially, The Devil reversed commonly points to addressing debt, breaking free from unhealthy spending patterns, or changing your relationship with money and material possessions. You may be in debt recovery, challenging materialistic values, or recognizing that financial security has become a prison that prevents you from pursuing more meaningful paths.
The card can indicate releasing the grip that money has had on your decisions. Perhaps you're choosing to prioritize values over wealth, or recognizing that no amount of possessions will fill the void you've been trying to fill through acquisition. This liberation from materialism can be deeply freeing, even if financially challenging.
The Devil Card Combinations
How The Devil interacts with other cards:
With Major Arcana
| Combination | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The Devil + The Lovers | Choices between security/passion and freedom; relationship at crossroads between healthy love and toxic attachment |
| The Devil + The Tower | Sudden liberation from bondage; circumstances forcing you to break free; dramatic end to addiction or toxic situation |
| The Devil + Temperance | Struggling to find balance while dealing with addictive patterns; moderation is the path to freedom from Devil energy |
| The Devil + The Hierophant | Bondage to religious or societal conditioning; examining which traditions serve you and which restrict you |
| The Devil + The Star | Hope for recovery; light appearing after confronting shadow; healing from addiction or toxic patterns |
With Same Suit
| Combination | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The Devil + Ace of Pentacles | New financial opportunity may come with strings attached; examine the true cost of material gains |
| The Devil + Five of Pentacles | Financial hardship combined with feeling trapped; may indicate poverty consciousness or scarcity mindset creating bondage |
Challenging Combinations
| Combination | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| The Devil + Seven of Swords | Deception and bondage combined; you may be lying to yourself about your situation or someone is manipulating you |
| The Devil + Five of Cups | Dwelling on loss has become a chain that prevents you from seeing remaining opportunities; stuck in victimhood |
Supportive Combinations
| Combination | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| The Devil + Strength | You have the inner power to break your chains; gentle persistence will overcome bondage better than force |
| The Devil + The Moon | Deep shadow work is needed; your bondage has roots in unconscious patterns that must be brought to light |
Working with The Devil
Reflection Questions
When this card appears, ask yourself:
- "Where in my life do I feel trapped, and what role have I played in creating or maintaining this situation?"
- "What short-term pleasure or security am I prioritizing over long-term freedom and wellbeing?"
- "What parts of myself have I denied or judged, and how might those shadow aspects be controlling me from the unconscious?"
- "If the chains weren't there, what would I do differently? What am I actually afraid ofâbondage or freedom?"
- "What is my intuition telling me about this?"
Meditation Exercise
Find a quiet space and visualize The Devil card. See the two chained figures clearly. Notice that the chains around their necks are looseâthey could simply lift them off. Now imagine yourself as one of those figures.
Feel the weight of the chain around your neck. What does it represent in your life? An addiction, a toxic relationship, a limiting belief, financial burden? Don't judge itâsimply acknowledge it.
Now reach up and touch the chain. Feel its texture. Notice that it's not locked. You've been wearing it willingly, perhaps unconsciously, but willingly nonetheless. What would it feel like to remove it? Notice any fear or resistance that arisesâthis is valuable information about what keeps you bound.
When you're ready, visualize lifting the chain over your head and setting it down. How does your body feel? What emotions arise? Sit with this feeling of liberation, knowing that you can return to this state whenever you choose consciousness over unconscious bondage.
Journaling Prompts
- What patterns keep repeating in my life despite my conscious desire for change? What might I be getting out of these patterns that keeps them in place?
- If I'm honest with myself, where have I traded freedom for security or comfort? Was it a conscious choice, and do I still want to make that trade?
- What parts of myself do I judge as bad, wrong, or unacceptable? What might happen if I acknowledged these shadow aspects without judgment?
When This Card Keeps Appearing
If The Devil keeps showing up in your readings, it typically indicates that bondage or shadow work is a central theme in your current life chapter. You're being persistently invited to examine where you've surrendered your power, what patterns need to change, or what shadow aspects require integration.
Recurring Devil cards often appear during addiction recovery, when leaving toxic relationships, or during intensive therapeutic work. The card's persistence suggests that liberation requires your sustained attentionâyou can't bypass this lesson or avoid the shadow work. The good news is that The Devil's repeated appearance means you're ready to do this work, even if you don't feel ready.
Common Misinterpretations
"The Devil is an evil card that means something bad will happen"
Reality: The Devil isn't predictive of external evilâit illuminates areas where you've become bound and offers the opportunity for liberation through awareness. The card itself is neutral; it's a mirror showing you what you may not want to see.
"The Devil in a love reading means the relationship is doomed"
Reality: The Devil in love contexts indicates unhealthy patterns or dynamics that need attention. Relationships can survive and even thrive after Devil energy is addressedâif both partners are willing to do the work of breaking codependent patterns and establishing healthier relating.
"If I get The Devil, I'm being judged for my desires or sexuality"
Reality: The Devil doesn't morally judge physical desire or sexuality. It points to where any aspect of life (including but not limited to sexuality) has become compulsive, controlling, or disconnected from genuine choice and consciousness.
"Reversed always means negative"
Reality: Reversed cards often indicate internalized energy, delays, or areas needing attentionânot inherently negative outcomes. The Devil reversed commonly represents liberation and positive change, though the process may be challenging.
The Devil Yes or No
Short answer: Maybe â Leaning No, particularly for questions about positive change, freedom, or healthy new beginnings.
Upright: Generally suggests "No" or "Not under current conditions." If you're asking about whether to pursue something, The Devil indicates that bondage, unhealthy attachments, or shadow issues would likely accompany a "yes." The card advises addressing these patterns before moving forward.
Reversed: May lean toward "Yes, but..." The "but" is importantâyes, you can break free, yes, you can change the pattern, yes, you can leave the toxic situation, BUT it will require sustained effort, shadow work, and willingness to tolerate the discomfort of change. Liberation is possible but not automatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Devil a good or bad card?
The Devil is neither good nor badâit's a mirror. When it appears, it reflects areas where you've become bound, often unconsciously. This reflection can feel uncomfortable, but awareness is the first step toward liberation. The card's appearance is ultimately an opportunity for growth and freedom through honest self-examination.
What does The Devil mean for love?
In love readings, The Devil commonly indicates codependency, unhealthy attachment patterns, or relationships maintained through fear rather than genuine connection. It may suggest intense physical attraction overshadowing incompatibility in other areas, or power dynamics that restrict rather than support both partners' growth. The card invites examination of what truly binds you to the relationship.
What does The Devil mean for career?
For career questions, The Devil often points to feeling trapped in a job, toxic workplace dynamics, or workaholism. It may indicate that financial security has become a chain preventing you from seeking more fulfilling work, or that your identity has become unhealthily entangled with your professional role. The card suggests examining what truly keeps you in your current situation.
Does The Devil mean yes or no?
The Devil generally leans toward "No" or "Not under current conditions." If asking whether to pursue something new, the card suggests that bondage or unhealthy patterns would likely accompany that choice. If asking whether you can break free from something limiting, the reversed Devil particularly may indicate "Yes, but it will require sustained effort."
What should I do if I keep drawing The Devil?
Recurring Devil cards typically indicate that shadow work or liberation from bondage is a central theme requiring your sustained attention. You might be in addiction recovery, leaving a toxic situation, or doing deep psychological work. The card's persistence suggests you're ready to address these patterns, even if the process feels challenging. Consider seeking support through therapy, recovery programs, or trusted confidants as you do this important work.
Disclaimer: Tarot is a tool for self-reflection and personal insight. It does not predict the future or replace professional advice. For health, legal, or financial matters, please consult qualified professionals.
Related Cards
Similar Energy
- Five of Pentacles - Shares themes of hardship and feeling trapped by material circumstances
- Eight of Swords - Also depicts self-imposed bondage and limiting beliefs
Contrasting Energy
- The Lovers - Where The Lovers represents conscious choice and divine union, The Devil shows unconscious bondage and separation from higher self
- Temperance - Offers the balance and moderation that liberates from Devil's excesses
Same Suit/Arcana
- The Tower - Both Major Arcana cards dealing with difficult truths; Tower forces sudden change while Devil invites gradual recognition