XV: The Devil

confronting our individual and collective shadows for a more liberated future

Card number 15 in the tarot’s major arcana is The Devil - one of the most feared archetypes, but in my mind and practice, one of the most useful. There are so many misconceptions about The Devil, and to be honest with you, even as a long time tarot reader myself, I find this archetype to be elusive, a trickster, when we try to apply it to real life sceneries and dynamics. But this is, in many ways, the archetype of the Devil itself! What keeps you in the shadows guessing causes you to turn one of two ways- towards the insight of inner trust and light, or into confusion, self doubt, addiction and depression. And thus we begin to understand the complexity of how The Devil archetype shows up.

my friend Max posing as The Devil archetype at Bombay Beach, first day of the record breaking pre-equinox heatwave, March 2026 (taken on expired Kodak Gold 200)

Taken on expired cross processed Elite Chrome 100

I asked my friend Max, local artist and performer and CEO of Double Bind Magazine to pose as The Devil archetype- but not because I think he represents the traditional associations with The Devil. Max and I share the same birthday, December 27th, and since Capricorn is the sign that corresponds with The Devil card.

My beef with traditional associations with The Devil is that they often relate too heavily with puritanical values that stem from Christianity- the same religion responsible for colonizing and brutalizing large parts of the world, attempting to erase indigenious lands, people and culture from existence in the name of “progress” an “development”- and yet how ironic, when one of the core associations with The Devil is an attachment to the material realm, being binded to materialism as a sign of success and a symbol of power.

When I read for a client and The Devil shows up, I take a deep sigh of relief, for the client and for myself. Finally, we can talk about it! How does the Devil show up in a reading? It reminds you of your shadow. Let’s take away that dogmatic associations of what is “evil”- if we are talking about gluttony, experimentation with substance, kink and sex for pleasure over procreation- then I’d like to put that association aside, it is rooted in puritanical tradition. But if we look at the Devil as greed, power over, gratuitous wealth, abuse - this is the collective shadow we need to address.

When you pull The Devil in a tarot reading, it is not a sign that you are bad (and for the record, i find the dichotomy of “good” vs “bad’ extremely unhelpful, and that’s why I have a prism tattooed on my hand- to remind me that people are complicated and we reflect off of one another) People often react based on their shadow- if their shadow is self blame and self abandonment, they often react with fear that they are somehow bad, or cursed, or deserving of bad luck.

But if they react to The Devil archetype by projecting it outwards- then they are unwilling to look at their shadow. In the paraphrased words of Carl Jung, what you can not see or acknowledge will control you.

Now, I have been on a journey of shadow work for years- I do it for myself, for my garden, for my inner child and elder self. I do it for the people I love who stand beside me and support me, I do it for the people who are no longer in my life. I do it for my clients, to show up better as a space holder and facilitator, I do it for my art. As time has passed and I’ve finally begun to stop self-abandoning, constantly blaming myself for the mistreatment of others, learned to set boundaries and cut cords, I have gained new levels of confidence. I have also been able to take accountability for myself if I make a mistake, and I’ve broken a cycle of letting myself be taken advantage of, repressing my feelings, and then lashing out in anger.

And thru this journey I’ve realized that unfortunately, a lot of people are unwilling or unable to do their own shadow work. That a lot of people are not able to take responsibiliy for their harm or their mistakes. And this is part of why grief work is so important. You have to have a healthy process of grief to deal with the tragedy of this world, to confront the devil.

In a world that encourages you to see success as sterotypical beauty, proximity to whiteness and heteronormativity, holding power over others and generating wealth and luxery, The Devil asks us to look within and see what it is we are trying to hide from within ourselves. Do we hold secret or unacknowledged alegences with systems of power and violence that we claim to be against? Do we use power dynamics in unhealthy ways in our own relationships?

The Devil is not about punishing ourselves for not doing everything perfectly, it is about knowing that we never will. as the popular saying states, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. The longer I’ve been alive the most I realize that this experience on earth is an incredibly difficult one of suffering, even for those with massive amounts of privilege, and the lesson is to find the simple joys within the suffering. When i acknowledged this I started to experience a newfound happiness within myself, a golden glow, a deep self love. I stopped abandoning myself to try and get everyone to like me. I was able to let people go who were not aligned with my viewpoint, but not with anger or revenge. it was only the radical acceptance around how painful and unjust this human experience can be.

Thanks for reading this, there is so much more for me to share and it’s a tender topic. If you’d like to book a reading, my books are open for appointments on zoom or out of my Yucca Valley workspace most Thursdays and Fridays! BOOK HERE

More photos of Max, taken on Mamiya 645 with redscale film, plus 35mm Kodak Gold and Elite chrome 100, both expired, Canon EOS rebelti