The Devil Major Arcana XV · tarot card meaning
- Sign
- Capricorn
- Hebrew letter
- Ayin
- Yes or no
- No
The Devil upright
The Devil is a hold you have some say in. A habit bigger than you. A want that runs the day, a bond that costs more than it gives. Look at the chains on the two figures below him. The loops are wide enough to lift off.
Yes or no: No, not while the chain is comfortable. The Devil answers through the grip you have stopped noticing.
The Devil reversed
Reversed, the Devil has two established readings. Modern practice often sees bondage becoming visible or loosening. Waite instead gives weakness, blindness, and harmful necessity. The chains are loose in the image, but that does not prove they have been removed.
Yes or no: No, not securely. Modern readers may see release, while the older source keeps weakness and blindness in the card.
The card at a glance
- Attribution
- System
- First printed
- Themes
- connection, power, choice
What is shown
A goat-headed figure crouches on a black pedestal. Bat wings spread behind it. One hand gives an inverted blessing. The other lowers a burning torch. An inverted pentagram sits between the horns. Below stand a naked man and woman with horns and tails. Chains join their collars to the pedestal.
- Number
- XV
- Yes or no
- It depends
The Devil upright
Le Diable joins desire, creative force, irony, and contradiction. The loose bonds below him show participation as well as temptation.
Yes or no: It depends. Le Diable supplies strong desire, but desire also changes the terms.
The Devil reversed
Reversed, desire becomes domination, exploitation, or compulsion. An unhealthy bond may be difficult to leave even when its cost is visible.
Yes or no: No. Reversed, compulsion or domination has too much influence.
Le Diable is read in its Marseille title, image, and position; its RWS link is a structural cross-reference, not permission to replace the card's identity.
The card at a glance
- Printed title
- LE DIABLE
- Printed number
- XV
- Pattern
- Edition
- Themes
- connection, power, choice
- Deck
- Tarot de Marseille: The Devil (Le Diable)
What is shown
A horned, winged figure stands on a round pedestal. Its body combines breasts, claws, a face-like abdomen, and mismatched limbs. One hand rises open, while the other holds a staff. Two smaller horned figures stand tethered below.
- Attribution
- Metelo (15)
- Yes or no
- Not yet
The Devil upright
A crowned Metelo kneels with raised hands before a tall blank pillar or tablet. The scene places authority before something monumental and unreadable.
Yes or no: Not yet. Metelo is waiting respectfully before something that remains unreadable.
The Devil reversed
Reversed, reverence becomes obedience to an empty surface or endless waiting for instruction. Authority surrenders judgment without receiving real guidance.
Yes or no: No. Reversed, judgment has been surrendered to an empty authority.
The app treats Metelo as its own historical figure — part of the Sola Busca sequence, not an RWS equivalent.
The card at a glance
- Attribution
- Metelo (15)
- Workshop
- First documented
- c. 1491
- Themes
- connection, power, choice
- Deck
- Sola Busca: Metelo (15)
What is shown
A crowned Metelo kneels before a tall squared pillar or tablet, raising both hands toward it. A decorated shield lies behind his bent leg and a long staff stands upright at his side.
Questions
What does The Devil mean?
A bond that costs more than it gives. The Devil is a hold you have some say in.
What does The Devil mean reversed?
Reversed, the Devil has two established readings.
Is The Devil a yes or no card?
No upright, no reversed. Not while the chain is comfortable.
What is shown on The Devil?
A goat-headed figure crouches on a black pedestal.
