Barbara Walker Tarot - 15: The Devil

In traditional pose, the Devil occupies a dais between two humans. Standard symbols include his goat feet and horns, pointed ears, black candles, flaming torch, downward-pointing pentacle, and the finger-pose representing the horned head. As Lucifer, the Devil was revered by Gnostics who adopted the Persian idea that God and the Devil were twin brothers, the latter unjustly exiled from heaven by his tyrannical twin. Even the orthodox admitted that both were needed in their dualistic religion. If the bright deity was not to be held responsible for evil, then the dark deity had to be there to take the blame. The tarot Devil recalls the early mystery cults’ requisite meeting with the Lord of the Underworld, who would expound his secrets; he seems to be teaching. He represents physical and sexual forces, unconscious fears or desires, the power of the id, new self-knowledge in areas formerly suppressed.