The decipherment of the DEVIL card:

The Devil card of the Tarot deck has an interesting history. It pictures the ancient constellation Capricorn. (Note: But it doesn't picture the sign of Capricorn in astrology, so relax Capricorns.)

Capricorn has been known as the cornucopia, and indeed these stars do look like a spiral basket filled with fruits. It can also be recognized as the horn of plenty. This constellation has often been connected with fertility.

In Sumerian times, Capricorn was known as the fierce fish-man named Kusarique. The god named Ea fought him to be able to reside in the stars of Capricorn. Ea was a spring fertility god in a snake form, and became a serpent in the story of Adam and Eve. Ea assumed the shape of a goat to hear everything with large goat ears and to see all with wide goat eyes. When he took over the constellation of Capricorn, he changed his legs into a fin so he could swim in the milky way and also jump out.

Ea, the destroyer of his father Apsu in the Sumerian myth, was given the name Karubu which the Hebrew borrowed as "cherub." Cherub was a spring fertility god who "taught the human race how to be victorious over the forces of nature." (Outer Space p.138) In the Adam and Eve legend, Cherub was in the form of a snake or serpent that offered wisdom and human awareness.

Ea took the form of a goat so as to have large ears to be all hearing and wide eyed to be all seeing. Ea battled Kusarique who was a evil fish-man in Tiamat's legion for the control of the constellation of Capricorn. Here we see an active struggle for power.

Capricorn's fish like form connects it with mermaids and merfolk. Myths of humans with fish tails and fins could have originated in the imagination of people who saw the finlike sails of small boats carrying hairy men or goats and animals. Often these merfolk came to plunder and kill, so in some cultures they were feared while in others revered.

Babylonians also believed that when there was a great conjunction of planets in Capricorn, the world would end. There is fear and foreboding connected with this constellation.

The Hindus saw Capricorn as Makara, a sea-monster steed of Vishnu that was a dragon, 1/4 bird, 1/4 crocodile, 1/4 fish, and 1/4 goat. Pictures of this creature have been seen in the Far East and the Americas. The Chinese and American forms probably had a common origin.

Some drawings of the constellation of Capricorn look very much like the Devil card of the Tarot deck.

The violent aspects of the Devil Card are clear in the Ea myth.

The Mayan day "kan" was ruled by the youthful lord of the Maize grain. 'Kan' in Yucatec means 'netted cord and cord.' Illustration ___ pictures a netted cord over the constellation Capricorn. 'Kan' also means 'yellow and ripe,' referring to the yellow color of the ripe maize. The constellation as a whole can look like a grain of maize, thereby giving it that meaning. Many codices picture the kan sign with maize growing from it.

Maize was the primary food of the Maya and the day kan related to food in general. "At Meztitlan, on the border of Huaxtec country, the day corresponding to kan was Xilotl, the green ear of corn." (P. 75 Thompson, Maya Hieroglyphic Writing) An ear of corn may be seen in the constellation of Capricorn. The Mayans knew Capricorn as Quetzocatl, the feathered serpent.

The Aztec name for the day 'kan' was Cuetzpalin, meaning "lizard," a symbol of abundance. A lizard looks somewhat like our western counterpart of Capricorn, the fish-goat creature.

The Hebrew name "Samakh" probably means 'a fish,' corresponding to the Capricorn 'goat-fish.' Samakh could have also have come from a Syriac stem, s'mach, meaning "prop, to support, to lift up." It isn't hard to see how the constellation Capricorn could have looked like a primitive prop in an ancient home or temple.

Dr. Hugh Moran in The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs adds that the derivation could be the word 'samakh' meaning "to lay a hand" (On the head of the victim of the sacrifice). (p.?) If the word 'samakh' is connected with sacrifice, then the Devil card may have associations with sacrifice. Goats were often sacrificed.

The fifteenth Chinese lunar station, kuei, meaning a spirit, tail, manes, ghost, devil, closely corresponds to Capricorn.

The seventh Chinese stem, keng, meaning "age, change, west, is also related to Capricorn, for Capricorn represents and great changes in life. The form keng fits tightly over the stars of Capricorn. West is the direction that the constellation points to when looked at in regard to the alphabet letter. (See illustrations of polar form and Capricorn.) Age and change are words that give the idea of coming of age and attaining maturity. In the Devil card of the Tarot we see a naked man and woman that possibly portray Adam and Eve coming of age in the garden of Eden.

The Devil card of the Tarot deck may have been directly derived from the myth and pictures of the Greek god Pan who was seen as a man with goat's legs. He was miraculously transformed into a fish-goat when he was attacked by a giant flame breathing monster Typhon (Cetus.) Although Pan was born deformed with a half goat body, when he jumped into the river the upper half of his body became goat-like and the lower part changed into a fish tail in order to help him to swim from Cetus. To celebrate this event, Zeus placed his form in the sky over the stars of Capricorn. Pan's name means "all," and the refers to the productive powers of nature. In heaven he was a wind god who sent plenty of rain for abundant growth of vegetation.

He we have a direct correspondence between the Greek god Pan who was a fertility deity, and the youthful Mayan maize god who ruled the day "Kan." It is very likely that the Mayans adapted their gods to the order of the foreign gods given by Phoenician traders who ventured to the new world, but their gods could have evolved from Chinese archetypes associated with the calendar.

Pan was the son of Hermes, and was the chief of the lesser gods of the earth. The animal form of Pan connects him with primitive instincts and actions. We note that Pan took extraordinary actions for his own survival, and we may interpret this card as meaning that there is a great need to make a great change of character in order to survive the emergencies of the moment. The violence, ravage and fatality are to be avoided by abandoning yourself to your primitive survival instincts. Anything is possible for the individual with enough imagination. Miracles and transformations are indicated by this card.

Wild places were sacred to Pan, but wild orgastic merrymaking pleased him even more. He became a patron of ancient sex cults. He was able to cause insanity in men and encouraged his followers to perform outrageous acts. He was the only god known to have died in the times when he was worshiped. Though this may have been a verbal mistake perpetrated by a foreign sea captain who mistook what he heard somewhere, it does support Pan's close connection with Mortal men who must also die.

INTERPRETATION

The extraordinary bad divinatory interpretation of the Devil card by modern sources may be a result of the medieval Christian interpretation of classical myths. The Arabic and Latin forms of Capricorn pictured monstrosities. "Violence, ravage and fatality" are the meanings Waite gives to this card, and it is clear that this was a direct interpretation of the Devil from the Christian religious tradition.

There is a possibility that the card warns of catastrophes such as those the god Pan faced when attacked by Typhon (Cetus). It is also easy to see how the mischievous actions of Pan were responsible for the unfavorable reputation of the card. Consider that the goat is a symbol of wisdom and sure-footedness, able to climb to great heights.

The Devil has been the scapegoat for the many sins so-called civilized men have committed. Some say "the Devil made me do it." Many have shrugged off the responsibility for the evil they have done and blamed it on the devil instead. Is there in fact a Devil inside us all that makes us do what we wish without wishing to be responsible for it? In psychological terms, the Devil may be like the Id concept.

I will mention two ways to interpret this card when it comes up in Tarot spread. The first one involves an outside violent force that the questioner must meet with his primitive survival instincts. The second interpretation requires that the reader question the questioner about his conscience. The questioner may have done something that he considers wrong and is having a hard time dealing with the problem himself. Sometimes it is the result of some mischievous action of the questioner that had disastrous results that could have hurt others.

As a reader you may have to question the honesty or sincerity of the questioner when this card appears. They may react violently or get panicked when seeing this card, so be careful in your interpretation. The questioner may have a big problem regarding an area of his life that requires experienced attention. The reader's responsibiility is to determine the nature of the problem by the card's position in the spread. The questioner may have done something wrong and their conscience is troubling them or should be. The cards offer only clues, you must search out the unconscious fears that trouble the questioneer. Something may have gone astray.

Facing the situation honestly and finding a common sense solution is usually all that needs to be done, but the questioner may not want to face those he has hurt or offended and may not even want to admit that there was a wrong action committed. If there is no problem of this nature in the life of the questioner, it may then mean abundance and achievement. It can also be a card promising good fortune and material benefit and of productive enterprises. The danger this card warns about is indulgent materialism, overindulgent passions and fear itself.

If the card appears during a question regarding a business transaction, it admonishes the querent to struggle for power and domination of the situation. "Do your best to get what is desired. Physical, emotional or intellectual competition may help you get your way. Threats and bravado may work as well as actual conflict. While seeking power, you may compete with others, but you need not crush them if they may be useful to you later."

In questions of love it may mean that the questioner is bound by lust, but then again it may mean fertility and pleasurable merrymaking.

This card may also imply imagination that can invent instruments such as the musical pipes that Pan contrived. The card may portray wild passions let loose and the consequences of such. The animal in you may emerge. The uncivilized part of human nature is feared and connected with violence, because when the id takes over, the rational ego control is lost. The pleasure principle of the Id and of Pan are very similar. This card may call upon the questioner to explore his inner desires and to try to fulfill them more completely instead of suppressing them and thereby contributing to psychological problems such as emotional frustration. The Devil card is also an aspect of fate that arises out of natural events. What happens determines what will be. What will be, will be, but the questioner can change the circumstances for the better after natural events have occurred, and even while they are still happening.

The Devil card usually pictures a Devil figure with a naked man and woman before him, sometimes bound to a rock by chains.

The Greeks knew Pan as the son of Hermes and Penelope. He was a mutant boy with goat legs and horns, but having a human head and arms. He was very hairy all over, but walked erect on his two hind goat legs. Penelope ran away in terror after his birth, but Hermes proudly took his son to Olympus and showed him off.

Pan grew up to be a lusty Shepherd-god who enjoyed almost everything. He lived in the mountains of Arcadia and invented the Syrinx, known as the Pan pipes. One day in the woods, Pan saw the nymph named Syrinx and wanted her. She wished to remain a virgin huntress, so she fled. Coming to the great Ladon river, she realized that couldn't escape Pan's amorous advance, so she begged the water nymphs to transform her into marsh reeds. Pan saw this happen and picked some of the reeds and with wax joined some together and fashioned musical pipes. The musical instrument was named after the nymph Syrinx and were also called the Pan pipes.

Pan was good to have on your side in war, because he could cause panic in the enemies ranks. In the war between the titans and the gods, Pan was able to help the gods by creating terror, panic and flight. A sudden shout or scream can infect many with temporary madness.

Pan's Greek name means "all," or "he who feeds," and implies the life giving power of nature.

Pan was playing his pipes by a river one day and the giant monster Typhon (the constellation Cetus) came out of the water and frightened him. Pan jumped into the water and swam away, his rear miraculously transforming into a fish tail. Zeus commemorated this occasion by transporting him to the stars of Capricorn, where he was able to send rain down to the earth.

Aphrodite and her son Eros were walking along the river bank when Typhon appeared. They plunged into the water and changed into fishes and may be seen in the stars of Pisces.

Capricorn lies near the Milky Way, which was the river Ladon.