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| Cerunnos - Druidcraft Tarot |
Goats have come to symbolize
sexuality in many mythologies – for instance, Pan, the Greek goat-god, who was
linked to the idea of ‘wild desire’. In
northern European traditions, we have the Horned God, representing nature and
sensuality. Throughout the ages, though, the goat has also become almost synonymous
with the Devil, supposedly representing temptation and giving in to our
desires. With Capricorn being an Earth
sign, the references to sensuality and physical desire can be extended to
material desires. So when we come across the Devil in the tarot, we’re reminded
about what’s overpowering or obsessive, the things we try to suppress or deny.
It can represent not only temptation, but also surrender – and reminds us that
we have the power within us to keep our feet on the ground!
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| Haindl Tarot |
Hermann Haindl’s depiction of the Devil
shows both a goat, the traditional Capricorn image, and a serpent. Rachel
Pollack, in her Haindl Tarot: A Reader’s
Handbook, talks about kundalini energy being raised by both creatures,
through the spirals of the goat’s horns and the coils of the serpent.
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| Thoth Tarot |
Crowley’s
Thoth deck’s Devil always makes me laugh – who can resist that wicked grin of
that goat?! Laughing at how we become
imprisoned by our desires and obsessions...and those twisted horns remind me of
the twisted sense of humour... There’s an emphasis here on the procreative
energy, too, with a very obvious phallic symbol taking centre stage.
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| Sharman-Caselli Tarot |
These images are quite different from the
more traditional depictions of The Devil, yet the messages are similar. Juliet
Sharman-Burke talks about “power and energy imprisoned”, the Devil-goat in the
image symbolizing the material world, to which the figures have voluntarily
chained themselves – there are chains around their necks but those chains
aren’t right, and the figures’ hands are not restricted at all. I see Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, coming
into play here – those figures show no indication of wanting to make any
change, to escape the restrictions they’ve placed on themselves.
Sharman-Burke goes on to say “The Devil
refers to all that is dark within your own psyche. That is why we like to think
of The Devil’s abode as deep within the bowels of the earth in a place so
safely removed from us that we do not have to deal with him. However, such an
attitude also means that we live in fear of The Devil, and remain chained to
his block of inhibition, restricted because we cannot face the truth about
ourselves.” (The Beginner’s Guide to the Tarot, Juliet Sharman-Burke, Connections
2001)
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| Shadowscapes Tarot |
In the Shadowscapes deck, Stepanie Pui-Mun
Law gives us a much more ethereal view of The Devil, but we still see that
figure seemingly imprisoned – yet not allowing herself to see that there’s an
obvious way out. Rather than choose to see the beauty around her, she hides her
eyes – what is it she’s so afraid of? The Devil dances above her, laughing at
how easy it is to keep what should be
a vibrant creature a prisoner – a prisoner of her own fears.
So The Devil acts as a reminder to free
ourselves of those restrictions we placed on ourselves and surrender to earthy
sensuality (which, as a double Taurus, I shouldn’t have any problems with!) and
to meet those who would ‘demonize’ us and what we believe in with humour! Good advice with which to start the new year :-)
Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by
Will Worthington, published by Connections
Haindl Tarot created by Hermann Haindl, published by US Games Systems, Inc.
Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn
Sharman-Caselli Tarot
created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by
Connections
Thoth Tarot
created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.
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