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Sylvia Gainsford.

Capricorn-Earth.

Okay kiddies, it is time to grow up. To a Qabalist, although this Key 15-The Devil traditionally exhibits grotesqueness and terrible aspects, it is an idea that contributes to Mirth. Without the horrible character to fear, the exoteric dogmatism that created such falsehood, wouldn't have followers. Fear is the foundation of the survival mind of the Animal-(subconscious) and it is attributed to the "nightmare" creating subconscious in the human psyche that has been profaned by indoctrination and dogma and thereby, usurping the soul's control of the body. The devil is a concept that creates laughter in an enlightened person, who knows of the "false Ego" and/or the "mind virus" that has profaned our subconscious concepts of self. A deeper understanding also shows the devil represents the delusion of outward appearance. and worded identity. Here is the Scapegoat image, which relieves us of our mistakes by saying," The devil made me do it". The "devil" is really our "dark side" of self-absorbed survival emotions, which have become infected with a "mind virus" parasite, whose only ability to exist is off the light/energy of the person it preys on by staying hidden and unobserved by our awake Self-Consciousness.

The Ancients claimed that the devil is God inverted believing in the concept that of matter as opposed to Spirit. However, the Truth is that they are both aspects of the One Thing/Energy, as so graphically shown by the interlocking black and white triangles so familiar to any student of occultism (occultism means hiddenness). Denial of the "mind virus" and its influence on your daily existence, showing up as self-destructiveness, gossip, such as drug or alcohol addiction, smoking, depression, zealotry, bigotry, fear of the unknown, etc. etc. Finger pointing at the virus in others and thereby, failing to see that we are merely transferring what we fail to see in ourselves. This "devil" within is easily banished by self-introspection, where the awake consciousness observes it. For it is "anti-consciousness"-Anti-life, just as when matter was produced so was anti-matter. I would highly recommend Paul Levy's book-Wetiko (Healing the mind virus that plagues our world).

Above all things, know thyself!

In Barbra G. Walker's Book [ THE WOMAN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHS AND SECRETS] which has been honored by the London Times Educational supplement as 1986 "Book of the Year", the provenance of the word devil is noted as Persian. She states." The Words "devil" and "divinity" grew from the same root, Indo-European devi (Goddess) or deva (God), which became daeva (devil) in Persian. Old English divell (devil) can be traced to the Roman derivative divus, divi: gods. Thus, it seems that, from the beginning, gods and devils were often confused with one another." She goes on to explain such an enlightening scholarship that I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks an honest education.

There is another fact here that may hide from reason, and that is the combination of the words Devi (Goddess)and Lingam ( Male phallus), is Divya Linga ( Sanskrit word for Divine- lingam) and has also been interpreted by propagandists of Christian past, as the word Devil, which actually bespeaks of the "Son/Sun of God" as the Solar Phallus, which is much the concept of the Roman, Lucifer. which means bringer of light! A similar moniker applied to the Christ. Much to study here as most of our "knowledge" is propaganda-based misconstructions designed to manipulate our subconscious mind and/or the brain!

The black background or clouds of both cards represents the darkness of ignorance. The inverted pentagram on the brow of the Gold Foil Devil symbolizes mental inversion and/or "upside down thinking". It is also the sign of man in reverse position and thereby, representing falsehood and delusion. This is because the Devil represents the "Dark Son"/The Trickster/the mimic deceiver and/or "false ego". Whereas, the half-cube pedestal, this laughable R.W.S. figure sits on, represents an imperfect understanding of the physical World, that is represented as a cube. The Devil and Fox figures featured on both cards are personifications of the self-conscious and subconscious aspects of Mind. Traditional Horns and hoofs indicate that delusion "bestializes" human consciousness. The chain which holds them to the block of delusion, represents Bondage, which is a mental result of indoctrination and dogma, and the mind virus which is also attributed to Key 15.

In the more Qabalistic Key 15 cards, the Devil is associated with the Hebrew Letter Ain. The Path of Ayin, means Eye, a sigil for the All Seeing "I" of the One Mind and if we believe in only what our physical eyes show us, we lose our inner "I" sight, shown as the third eye, that is usually on the forehead of the Tarot-key 15 Goat (scapegoat) and as the point of the inverted pentagram on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. Inverted pentagrams represent "upside down" thinking and/or reversal of true knowledge. The enchained figures on the Rider-Waite-Smith card are shown horned indicating their servitude; However unwittingly, to this comical Bogeyman the woman figure sports a "fruitful" tail, implying she is sexual-Fecund (Will to Form) and the male figure's tail is aflame, implying sexual- expressive force (Will to Force).

The misconception of reality is symbolized in two ways on the DEVIL card. First, the smirking mouth, and second, the Goat-Head represents the humorous figure of the childhood nemesis the "Bogeyman"; this "Bogeyman" is more of a demonic character on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. The Rider-Waite-Smith and Connolly tarot cards emphasizes the knowledge that our belief in the illusion of matter (Matter is only .4% visible as our bodies are 99.6% space) is laughable while implying that laughter is a humorous approach to our lives and is a tool which will help our consciousness to transcend the illusion of "fearing it to believe it" even though it is a story we tell ourselves. Mirth is the first great corrective and helps us not to take our perceptions of the material world seriously, which only means "fearfully". Therefore, the Devil cautions us not to believe everything we think or "feel". It pays to note that the Survival Mind of the animal (subconscious), is profaned by the Devilish tempter that is the false ego which tricks us into believing we are as Moons who are at the mercy of Forces rather than the Magus (The Sun/Son) who manipulates them. This doesn't mean the subconscious is evil, it just means it is the creator of survival thoughts and instincts that once profaned by indoctrination and dogma often bedevil us throughout the delusions of material life and the admonishments of culture.

THE DEVIL represents Raw Power (Mars) of consciousness; "Raw" because it is the force that brings about the transmutation of THE TOWER (key 16) and is in the sign of Capricorn (also shown as the Goat headed or Goat like image on the Waite Tarot), which is where Mars is exalted-in the Survival Mind. Capricorn is a weighty, even blind sign of Earth and symbolizes the highest and lowest states of individual personality. Yet it is considered a sign of initiation, or release from matter formed limitations, thereby showing us the positive side of the mind virus that torments us. These material limitations are suggested by the astrological rulership of Capricorn by Saturn, the Planet of Binah, The Great Mother that governs the limitations of form, including Time-Space, as does the Greek- Saturn. These limitations are of both the enclosure of matter or of time, the artificial system by which we meter and enclose all activities. Thus, THE DEVIL also represents the average person's misconception of "reality"; a perceptive belief that the material eyesight and/or-sensual condition of measurement is "Real". The Qaballist knows the physical-material world as the "1%" world, and realizes that the other invisible "99%" (often called "the other side of the Mirror") is the unseen Real Self that is behind all creation:

All is Mind! 

The Gold Foil Tarot- key 15 (ATU-15) is named the Devil while the same key is called Temptation in the Tarot of the Old Path. Both show ancient symbols of the Devil, the Goat headed image in the Gold Foil Tarot Deck and the Fox, a medieval symbol, in the Tarot of the Old Path. The Goat headed image represents the old Goat headed God and the Sign Capricorn as well, which is only appropriate since this is the sign attributed to this card. Capricorn is a sign attributed to the element earth, thus the mysterious woodland theme of the Temptation card.

The young lovers are represented here as a very sensuous young woman displaying her charms, and a smitten young man kissing her hand. The language of flowers is used extensively in this card as she holds a kingcup in her right hand, implying a yearning for riches, which is shown also as a bag of coins at the young man's feet. He is leaning against a tree unaware of the serpent coiling around both it and his leg; the snake representing temptation, mystery, and destruction, as it is often the symbol of the Lord of Life and Death. (Zeus, the Devil etc.)

The dogrose growing by the tree warns of pleasure and pain, cautioning of the empty promises received by those who seek earthly pleasures.

Near the fox is a maidenhair fern urging discretion and burdock that says, "touch me not".

Also near the burdock is a cracked stone representing destruction and infinity. All things began, all things must end, as the infinite cycle of change.

In the distance, beyond the trees, lightning flashes a dangerous warning adding to the signs of disaster all around the young couple who are besotted with their own ideas of pleasure and unaware of the obvious. Their vulnerability and greed are a perfect playground for the Trickster-Devil who will lead them to destruction. Seems to be a dire card, whose danger is hidden in the disguise of pleasure.

This misconception of reality as observed by indoctrination and dogma, which is symbolized on the Gold Foil Devil card and by the upside-down pentagram on the entities head. The upside-down pentagram indicates delusion as our ideas of spirituality and reality are upside down as it is positioned over the "Third Eye" of Inner Sight. Aleister Crowley stated the upside-down pentagram represented the Bodies rulership over Spirit, which is indeed a delusion, as a mortal being has no power to rule the Spirit, who is the Power and Life of The All. One must be fooled by their senses into believing the body is powerful and separate from spirit and thereby be able to supersede spirit. Hence, the devil often is shown as the "trickster" who falsely rules the physical form.

Due to fundamental religions, what has been called "evil" ("live" spelled backwards) has found little value in the Dark Emotions of survival thinking. However, what is called "evil" is essential to the process of the individual-knowledge of Self. Knowledge is neither good nor bad. "Evil" being a word for "error" and which is often ignored is that 50% of all Wisdom is at first "Error" and the other 50% of Wisdom is correction of that error. Hence, the "false ego"/mind virus aids us in obtaining wisdom! Everything is a failure until it isn't. There can be no light without darkness, no form without shadow; there can be no Perfected Self, without Imperfect Self: no Christ without Antichrist; there can be no resolution of dualities of consciousness without encountering the black waters of discord.

Assigning Capricorn to this card, the sign of cardinal earth, is apropos for this card since the devil represents enslavement of consciousness by the illusions of matter. Hence, the bound figures shown on the Devil card. Simply, one must be immersed in the material condition to this extreme before release is possible. Without the sensual intimacy, that the body human gives us Psyches of Spirit, we could not experience data as information, this becomes in-form-action, as we emote this data as "emotional thoughts", and thus enacted through the sensual body, information, becomes knowledge. Knowledge experienced becomes learned Wisdom. A Spirit with a body of matter, soon learns what is dysfunctional and functional thought, by the body's reaction to each thought. Hence, a lesson here is obviously, "don't believe everything you think" for there be boogeyman there!

There are so many examples of this boogeyman theme throughout history; The Christ in the desert being tempted by the Devil and descending into the depths of hell, which is a well-known Christian allegory, and the Alchemical principle as the blackness of putrefaction from which gold emerges. This just proves that historically cultures have symbolized the same important psychological (and archetypal) process. Any way you look at it, the Devil, is a key archetype of the collective unconscious and/or "group soul" of the race. It is unquestionably irrational, anxiety-creating, and stress filled. However, it is found to be less stressful to deal with the figure of Archetypal Shadow, which embodies the most negative and inferior qualities of our own personalities, simply by observation of its existence in our subconsciousness. Awake Conscious observation of the "shadow self", releases it of any false power it was formerly assumed to have.

When the Devil card is thrown in a divination, it implies:

• Strong instinct and suggestive power.
• Lust for power. 
• Black magic (fear-based magic).
• Ritualized sexuality.
• Ego transformation through group rituals.
• The encounter with the shadow.
• The Subconscious is considered the Shadow of the Unconsciousness.
• The sum of unlived possibilities.
• Perception of the truth.
• Complete self.
• Lucifer as the bringer of Light.

If reversed (shadow):

• Fateful entanglements.
• Self-destructive tendencies and/or drives.
• Hell.
• Dark power.
• Collective hysteria.

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