From Dark Wood Tarot, by Sasha Graham, illustrated by Abigail Larson.

So far in my tarot study, this is the Best Devil Ever. Why?  I can hardly wait to tell you!

The Page of  Swords was having a quiet, contemplative moment in the woods, sitting solo by his sparkling fire. He is a thoughtful lad, the Page of Swords.  But there he was, minding his own business when out of the gloom tromps this large and imposing Devil. Unsure of what's about to happen next the Page rises, his sword at the ready but not yet raised to strike a blow. The Page is guarded, wary, attentive, braced to react as required. His feet are firmly planted, his shoulders squared, he displays no fear or hesitation. 

Likewise, the Devil is armed with a barbed club but his weapon is  not raised to strike.  He carries a chain. His eyes almost seem to not even be looking at the Page, but like they are aimed beyond. If he was looking down at the Page his chin would be tipped to view his puny prey. But it's not. It seems to me that the Devil is very aware of being in the presence of the Page, but not entirely focused on him. Having found a sitting duck that is surprisingly ready to strike in his own defense, the Devil quickly looks ahead to his next target.  Someone who has a sword that is perhaps a little more dull and slow. The Devil is, after all, atrociously lazy. The easy way out is his motto and what he's selling. 

The Devil does not leap out from behind bushes and ensnare you, like a cowboy roping a calf. Instead the Devil lumbers into your campsite and offers you the chain. Here you go, an easy way out, a quick solution to a thorny problem, a way to avoid the difficult and painful things. An excuse. Poor you. You were the victim of the Devil.  But let's be clear, the chain is always an offer, a gift, a quick fix and we, you, us .... we put that chain on ourselves. We take that short cut, that easy out. We believe or tell a lie for convenience. We give in to temptation all the while we bloody well know better. There is no truth in 'the Devil made me do it !" No. He didn't. He merely showed up when you seemed like a target and offered you enough chain to choke yourself. And you, with your own two hands, slipped that link around your own neck.

The Devil card in a reading tells me that the person sitting across from me, wrestling with a thorny dilemma most likely got there through  bad decision after bad decision. Short cut after short cut. Responsibility avoidance. Difficult truth avoidance. These are all links in the Devil's chain.  What a wonderful, magical chain where the hard parts of life can be skirted, avoided, left to others to solve or blamed on others. This is the Devil's business and people buy it like hotcakes! 

The Devil leaves  and the Page of Swords is unharmed. Why? Because he recognized that chain for the trap it is. He didn't even have to wave his sword. All he had to do was stand up and think, "Not today, Buddy, I'm not falling for your temptations." And the Devil moves to greener pastures.  The Page, intellectually his own master, is not about to be dictated to by what is easy and immediately rewarding. He is immune to the Devil. The Devil knows it. 

Yes, there is evil in the world, truly harmful people. But by far the worst damage done to us is often by our own hand and our own bad choices made for bad reasons. I love this card because it so clearly depicts that the Devil is an oaf that stumbles into our happy camping and without anyone getting dirty, sweaty or injured, we have the power to move him along. To stand our ground. No chains for me today, thank you very much.  This Devil card is all the things I see the Devil as and so far no other card has come close.