Devil card and Relationships

[Snobchickenleg]

I just want to share the readings I have involving this card when it comes to relationships and wish to see if we all have similarities.

 

I have three significant readings made for friends where I observed and realized what the devil card means. Since then, I feel like I had a better understanding of this card. I have to note that when I do readings with a sitter face-to-face, I don't ask what their question is all about. I let the cards show/tell me what's going on their mind. I use a total of 5 decks (illuminated tarot, RW, Earth oracle, Angel Answer Oracle and Lover's tarot) in one sitting. I know it's weird, but I better understand each situation this way.

 

First reading. I knew this friend from work and we had just gotten close lately. She saw me doing a reading for one of our coworker and asked if she could also have one. The first card that came up was ace of cups. First cards for me always signify the sitter's concern. Ace of cups for me is always home. I told here, it seems like her family is her concern. There were a lot of cards after that, but I can only remember Hierophant and Devil along the ace of cups. I thought, tradition for hierophant or anything that has anything to do with doung the right thing. Counselling. So on. Devil, hmmm. Addiction. Sex. Bad habits. I asked her if her family is following a certain tradition that has been or is being broken that brings disarray to her family life. She admitted that she is currently living in with her partner whom she shares 4 kids. They are not married. This causes great issue for her family. Figures. Since the Volatility card from earth oracle is there, I said it seems like the issue they have is waiting to burst any moment which will cause heartbreak (now I remember the 3 of swords and tower was there, too). I was surprised when she suddey cried infront of me. She said that she is pretending to be fine, but is actually not. She knows that they are living in sin as their union was not blessed by the church and she is afraid that any moment, her family will fall apart. She is scared that what they have endured for a long time will dissipate.

 

Second reading - still office friend. Every time I do a relationship reading for him, the devil card and 3 of swords comes up. Since he's been singke for a long time, I thought he's still aching over his ex. But then I can see on social media how abit of a player he is. Then suddenly, out of the blue he had a gf whom he frequently take trips abroad with. I immediately thought if he really loved her. I read somewhere that devil card is not always bad in a love reading as it only shows that the passion is there. And yeah, a lot of sexual activity.

 

Lastly - another friend who is unattached waiting for her love interest to notice her. I simply said that she is being obssessive, not freeing herself from thoughts of him etc. Specially since 4 of cups is always there.

 

What I learned most is that devil card can be good and bad. Good that there is passion. Bad that we all know why.

 

It just makes me wonder, if a card persistently appears in a certain relationship reading, does it signify passion moving up to new heights? Or does the card want to say that the relationship is there for all the wrong reasons? Or maybe, it simply says that the reader is obsessing over something that shouldn't be their concern?

 

Does a relationship where devil card always pops up last long? Thinking about my first sample reading, it seems like they are just in the relationship because they are scared to let go. Possibly because kids are involved. Evidently, there is a suffering. But, how about the second reading? They have no kids. They indulge in earthly pleasures and travel together, yes, but would the relationship last? As for the last one, one sided love. I believe that she can break free, but for how long? Will she keep coming back?

 

I hated devil card before, but now, I feel more connected to this card.

[Star83]

I love the devil card. In my readings I have always found it to be sexual obsession. It would come up to describe a one year relationship with a guy who was sexually obsessed with me. It was all sex, but eventually when I lost interest and wanted to move on it was hard to cut the chain from him. Another example was a man who I met who was in a long term relationship with children and he frequently obsessively thought about me sexually. He couldn't get me out of his head.

[Guest]

I hate receiving the Devil, since it's always my final clue that there is no hope for a relationship I'm trying to pursue.

 

The last time I received it, I got it as the outcome for a relationship I was entertaining the idea of entering. The person in question was an ex of my ex (purportedly evil, sly, but somewhat innocent) who was hanging around me, making a concerted effort to be friendly with me. That, plus some cards like the Magician and 5 of Swords, clued me in to the fact that it wasn't going to do anything but waste my time and set back my self-growth: I prefer good, clean romance now  ;D

 

I have also gotten it as feelings towards me from someone from another ex-relationship who had stopped talking to me. Yikes!

[Esk]

 

Lastly - another friend who is unattached waiting for her love interest to notice her. I simply said that she is being obssessive, not freeing herself from thoughts of him etc. Specially since 4 of cups is always

 

I've had this meaning A LOT, for myself and for others when I took part in the reading exchange subforum in AT.

On my part this card appeared for 2 obsessive relationships. One very similar to what you describes. And it hid a depression.

The other one with an ex, but this time there is true  love in this story. This card appeared for both of us and it was not sexual, it represented the strong attachment we had for each other and the unability to break free from a bond that was doing us no good at all.

 

On a more positive note, I agree with you this card can be good. It can mean breaking free from traditionnal  beliefs, assuming to be different even if some people find you weird or not "normal". I like a lot the devil from the  Greenwitch tarot. It depicts a man putting a trap in the forest, probably for the bear standing behind him. And on the back fairies dance. The name of this card is Nature. Is the Devil  the wild, mysterious, sometimes dangerous nature who "threaten" mankind? Or is it the man who doesn't respect nature and wants to control it? Sometimes the devil means for me daring thinking ouside the box and assuming our true nature instead of preserving a false sense of security and normality that may be right for some people but not everyone.

 

Actually I rarely had this card for sexual pleasures. I don't deny this meaning exists but in my readings the meaning iof the devil s often deeper than that.

 

 

To answer your question, I think a relationship based on the Devil can't last if this is all about sex. The relationship will become something else, with feelings etc, (and other cards will appear), or the persons will eventually go apart and find another more meaningful relationship.

However I sadly think a relationship based on the obsessive  part of the Devil can last. It's unhealthy but the bond is almost like an addiction so it's very hard to break free from it.

 

 

 

[Snobchickenleg]

Star83[/member] - I've learn to like this card discovering ot's meaning/message depends on what type of reading, if it is a relationship, what type of relationship and the surrounding cards. It may be good or bad, but in the long run, one will ask, a relationship or love with a devil card regardless of how trivial it is, is worth it?

 

emi[/member] - that's what I thought before. When devil card comes out, I automatically sa uh-oh. Nope. Nope. But, the recent readings I had, made me think of it in a wider perspective. Devil card repeatedly appearing on different occassions and reading specially if the question ask is will they last makes me wonder, would it really last? The first one I describe is a long term relationship and my friend felt obligatedly bound to her partner. The second one is what I am trying to understand as the relationship is fairly new. Yes, there is passion, but for how long. Devil card for I know is a notorious card in love readings that sometimes mean relationship built on all the wrong reasons. And somehow this guys loves songs about a lost love. I have no idea if it is an ex or a new one he was not able to pursue for some reason. Lastly, the unattached girl whim obviously embodies devil card best for me. Bounding herself and is refusing to let go even if she has all the power to do so. The chain aa illustrated on the card is loose. Devil card can really do wonders on the context of a certain reading.

 

Esk[/member] - you actually got me curious. What is tge deeper meaning you have for devil card?

I agree that a relationship based on this card won't last. But I think separation depends on whether the involved parties have the strength to let go and move on. Which having this card around is a bit far-fetched. I think.

[Star83]

You asked - Is it worth it? At some stage the relationship will end and one person will remain obsessed, making it extremely difficult to let go. That person will be very hurt and will find it hard to let go of the obsession and anger and jealousy and resentment whilst still hoping the desire and good sexual times would resume. But, there are lots of lessons and memories to be made with this card.

[Esk]

 

 

Esk[/member] - you actually got me curious. What is tge deeper meaning you have for devil card?

I agree that a relationship based on this card won't last. But I think separation depends on whether the involved parties have the strength to let go and move on. Which having this card around is a bit far-fetched. I think.

 

Thinking about it, I guess I said I had deeper meaning with the Devil because it's a card I'm used to see and perhaps I understand it better than other cards. That's possibly why it seems deeper to me.

 

But to go back to what I wanted to say, it's just that for me the devil rarely means only simple things like "hot sex" or "bad/ unethical thing". For example, I'll tell a little more about my obsessive story with a guy. This story seems to look like the reading you did for your friend.

I was completely obsessed with this guy who wasn't really interested in me and was in fact in another relationship (I didn't know at first, because of course I didn't speak with him often and prefered to wait, hope and fantazise). I was longing for him during 2 years I think, but did almost nothing to be trully noticed, and even when i knew he was engaged I still hoped for something between us. I couldn't detached myself from him. Actually this obsession hid something deeper, a depression, a need to have a kind of anchor in order to not break down. This obsession was here to fill a void that I thought nothing else could fill. The devil was not only in this "relationship" but more in my inability to face the truth about my mental state and to break free from my depression. Actually the Devil held me by many chains, and some of them were invisible (at least for me).

This is one example that makes me say this card is deeper than it looks like, but it's possible it's just my experience with it, and my lack of experience with other cards, because I guess after all each tarot card is deeper than it looks like.