The Devil

Attachment that feels like a chain but is looser than it seems. A habit, fear or pull has more power than it deserves. Look at it in plain light; the cord may slip off.

attachment · temptation · compulsion · shadow · materialism

The hold loosening. You begin to see the pattern for what it is and to step out of it, or the pull has only gone out of sight. Either way, freedom is closer than it looks.

release · breaking free · awareness · hidden compulsion

A square paper lantern stands on the matted floor, glowing warm. Behind it, across a tall sliding paper screen, looms the huge shadow of a horned creature with bat wings and clawed hands. Above the shadow glows a red inverted five-pointed star. Below, a man in indigo and a woman in a patterned green kimono stand apart with heads bowed, thin red cords looped loosely at their wrists and trailing to the floor.

In Rider–Waite–Smith tarot a horned, bat-winged figure crouches on a block with a man and a woman chained below, and the chains are loose enough to lift over their heads. The card is attachment, compulsion and the fear that keeps us in place. Here the creature is only a shadow made larger by the light behind it, as a fear is. The inverted star is spirit turned upside down, and the loose cords show that the way out was always there.

Passion that tips into dependence, or a pattern repeating. Ask whether the bond frees you or binds you.

A job, habit or debt that feels impossible to leave. Look at what really holds you there, and what is only fear.

Name the habit or fear with the most hold on you. Look at it in daylight, write down what it costs, and take one small step that loosens it.

No

An unhealthy pull is shaping the situation; the answer leans no until it is seen clearly.

What cord around your wrist could you slip off if you tried?