I am compelled to post this chapter from my book, The Philosophy of the Tarot for the 21st Century, after the Chechnyan massacre of Russian school children. It is about time that we waged a war on politics. The Devil runs amok in our world today and, in my opinion, it is not down to who you might think. See my website for further analysis.

The Devil

Sometimes depicted as the head of the Goat of Mendez with the reversed pentacle (single point facing downward) and a lighted candle over the head. Other decks show the complete figure of the Devil with one or two people manacled to a block as if enslaved.

This card may well have been called by other names such as obsession, corruption, temptation or weakness, to name but a few. Christianity has influenced many lives and cultures over the centuries and The Tarot has not entirely escaped. The method of the Tarot is an old system but it is a living system, unhindered by restrictive establishments, and is thus able to adapt so that it may be if use to modern day society. Unfortunately, little can be confirmed historically about the Tarot before the late 15^th Century when the first decks became commercially available but there is much circumstantial evidence to suggest that the card The Devil was known under a different name.

The analogy of Satan as a goat-like creature was a fairly successful attempt by earlier Christians to associate the God Pan, originally the Greek God of the forest and of country life, to the Christian Devil. This, and other deceptions, was designed to outlaw any rival religions still practiced by country folk, sometimes under pain of execution. Eventually the Devil and any worship of the God Pan were seen as Devil-worship.

As Christianity grew in power and strength, the old religions were either abandoned through fear of death or forced to go underground in order to survive. Among these practices were: Paganism, Wicca and Occultism. The Tarot deck, being associated with ‘Old World’ religions and also as a divinatory tool, became a part of this persecution and so its philosophy and wisdom perished to all but those who secretly continued their practices.

The Tarot, however, has connections far older than Christianity so the card of The Devil and its philosophy cannot possibly have anything to do with the worship of the Christian Devil, Satan, The Goat of Mendez, Lucifer, Pan or any other Devil, Demon or Spirit that Christianity would care to conjure up. In fact, much to the chagrin of religious iconoclasts who have bothered to investigate their indoctrinated prejudices, the philosophy of the card of The Devil has nothing to do with devils whatsoever, other than those we create for ourselves – metaphorically speaking.

The philosophy of The Devil is the chaos we create within our lives through weakness or resistance to our true path. We may spend a considerable amount of agony with this card before the inevitable trip back to the Fool. In fact, those that do not heed Temperance tend to get a taste of the Devil before starting back at the beginning themselves. Those less fortunate become caught up in the chaos and there is, to borrow a Christian metaphor, The Devil to pay.

As has been indicated throughout the entire philosophy of The Tarot, balance of force and form is the key to spiritual growth. Too much or too little in anything is considered a weakness and it is this point where the Occult differs with the mainstream of religious theology.

Some religions believe in the dualism of good at one end of a line and evil on the other. This belief appears to suggest that people have the potential of both within them and must strive to work towards good rather than evil. While this theory sounds plausible at first glance there is no point on this line that can explain many inconsistencies that are usually dismissed with phrases like ‘the will of God’ or ‘God moves in mysterious ways’. For example, in Christianity it is written, the sixth of the Ten Commandments that, you shall not kill. It doesn’t say you shall not kill unless it is justified, so we are left pondering on the difference between a man receiving a medal for killing in wartime to being executed for killing in peacetime? Where, indeed, can killing fit into this scale between good and evil?

Occultists believe that good is a balance of force and form. This balance sits in the middle of our imaginary line. Too little force means we lose control. We become weak and ineffective or unstable, violent and unpredictable. Too much force means we dominate situations or the lives of others beyond reason. We become overbearing and draconian or manipulative and mercenary. A lack of balance either way is equally as bad but it is rare that people go so far to one extreme or the other as to be considered evil. Areas where evil acts are considered to be found are in the deeds of people like religious or political fanatics, terrorists, rapists and murderers. People, however, are generally misguided, brainwashed or mentally unstable rather than inherently evil.

The principles of The Devil encourage chaos from the anarchistic to the zealous. The Devil thrives on division, mistrust, fear, corruption, greed, narrow mindedness, obsession, hatred, irresponsibility, aloofness, temptation, debasement, blinkered vision, weakness, laziness and lack of self control / discipline / awareness. There are many opportunities within our daily lives to succumb to the temptations of The Devil. Whatever weaknesses we have within our character or personality, The Devil will be only too happy to exploit.

When aggressors wage war against us we must, as a last resort, use force to restore balance and harmony. The killing is regrettable but necessary and we should feel ashamed that humanity has to resort to such acts for the sake of peace.

In peacetime we must ensure that we uphold the law. We must seek to encourage the principles that will negate the weapons of The Devil, not by revenge and not by absolving offenders and ourselves from blame by pointing our fingers at society. We are all part of society including those who resort to crime so we should all work towards preventing the cause of crime as much as we attempt to treat the effects. Once The Devil takes hold of our lives, there is a domino effect that leaves a trail of destruction in our wake and the very foundation of our lives may come crashing around our ears.