Learning the Tarot - Day

In this series, I am performing a daily, single-card tarot read and studying the card that is given to me in order to learn to read the tarot. And here I am sharing my reading and my progress with you.

My process each day is to sit with the cards for short time where I gather my thoughts, and ask the cards to give me a card from which I can learn about the tarot. The readings are meant for any one person, place, or event in particular. But if in the course of reading this, you find something of value that connects with you and your life, chances are there is a reason for that. If you do find something here that connects with you consider leaving a comment and let me know. I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

On to the reading.

Today, I did a white sage cleansing in my office mainly to cleanse a new pendulum and board that I got. I also included cleansing myself in the process since the sage was burning and I could. I picked up my cards and meditated for a moment to clear my mind. I asked the cards to give me a card that I may learn about the tarot through as well as thanking the cards.

Shuffling the deck three times was tough this morning. I have not really been able to do a full bridge with the cards yet. They are bigger than playing cards and still stiff. The next step is becoming my usual sliding cut from the left hand into the right. And lately the card pops out fairly quickly. This morning was no different. As a side note I’m really amazed at how fast this deck is throwing cards out for me. I’m not sure if it means that I have a good connection to this deck or if my sliding cuts are just super sloppy. Anyway. The card I was given to learn about today is from the Major Arcana… The Devil.

In many ways, I’m glad that my first Major Arcana card is one that may seem scary or tough at first glance. And I know that it is because of this card and the death card that many people fear the tarot. None of the cards scare me. If they did then I would have to pack this whole thing up and learn something else. None of the cards are bad or evil or anything like that. And I think the reading today will bear that out.

The devil is the 15th card from the Major Arcana. Many will know that in the pagan belief system, the devil is basically a reworking of Pan, the god of nature. He is responsible for the natural world. He is also a symbol of fertility. At some point, Pan was vilified by the Catholic Church and now we see him a bad character. Something to fear.

In my other card readings, I started with numerology. But I feel that this card is not really about the number at the top of the cards so much as it is about the the symbolism. So that’s where I’ll start.

The card depicts a large devil figure sitting atop of block of some kind. He has horns and an upside-down pentacle on his head. On his back are the wings of a bat. In his left hand, he is holding a torch which is n a down position and his right hand is up, almost like he’s waving. And the expression on his face seems to suggest one of benevolence. The position of his right hand and the expression on his face disarms me immediately. This card challenges me to accept him rather than hide. The card also shows two humans, a woman on the left and a man on the right. They are chained to the block, rather loosely, and have horns and tails, the woman’s tail ends in a bunch of berries or fruit, and the male’s tail looks like a leaf or perhaps fur.

The author of the deck, Arthur Edward Waite suggests that The Devil card can represent ravage, violence, force, vehemence, and extraordinary effort. The message that resonates the most with me here is “Extraordinary effort.”

And that’s the feeling I get. A major effort or change is on the way. The fact the two people on the card are chained makes me feel that perhaps there is a sense that we cannot control this change or that we feel we might not be able to do anything about it. However, the chains are not tight. They are pretty loose. And if we took a little courage and tried perhaps we could free ourselves and do something about it after all. The choice is ours whether we let it happen to us. Or we take the devil by the horns, so to speak, and shore things up so that the coming change won’t make too much of a mess. Perhaps with a little courage, we can muster up the strength to take action and through our actions, we can mitigate the effects of whatever change is coming.

Upon putting my cards away, I thank them for the insights and wisdom they've shown me today.

There’s day 4 of my tarot journey. I’d love to hear how you’re enjoying the series. And any thoughts you might have about the interpretation. Have a good day and make good choices.

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