The Tarot of Eli 2, LLC: Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot- Key 15-The Devil & The Archeon Tarot -Key 15- The Devil

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The Devil - Key 15: The Shadow of the False Authority

It’s time to cast aside childish fears. The grotesque imagery traditionally associated with The Devil—horns, fire, cloven hooves—was never meant to be taken literally within the initiatory systems of the Western Mysteries. Rather, these theatrical exaggerations are masks concealing deeper truths. In the Thoth Tarot, Key 15-The Devil is not a being of malevolence but a symbol of mirthful power, raw creativity, and the primal force of manifestation.

The idea of an external evil being—a monstrous other—is a psychological control mechanism rooted in fear. It is exoteric dogma's most enduring invention, designed to sever the individual from their innate authority and spiritual sovereignty. Fear appeals to the survival mind, the Nephesh, or animal soul, which naturally responds to threats. But when this subconscious realm is manipulated through cultural indoctrination, it becomes the breeding ground for illusion, repression, and inner division.

In the Western Hermetic Qabalah, The Devil corresponds to the Hebrew letter A'ayin, meaning “eye” or “to see,” and the zodiacal sign of Capricorn—the initiatory goat who climbs the heights of spiritual illumination through engagement with the material world. Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris depicted The Devil not as a figure of damnation, but as the divine force of generation and ecstatic union. His image is a glyph of Pan—the All, the liberating god who laughs in the face of repression.

Key 15 invites us to look into the shadow and reclaim what was cast away by guilt and fear. When we demonize desire, sexuality, instinct, and ambition, we project these powers onto an "enemy" archetype and give away our authority. But in truth, The Devil represents the very creative energy we need to break through illusion and awaken the Divine Mind within the body. He is not the enemy, but the keeper of the gates we must pass through to achieve spiritual adulthood.

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 fears and survival emotions, which have become infected with a "mind virus" parasite, whose only ability to exist is off the light/energy/emotion of the person it preys on by staying hidden and unobserved by our awake Self-Consciousness. The Native peoples of North America called this mental paradigm, the Wetiko. We may even have a media invented name called the "drama queen".

I would highly recommend Paul Levy's book-Wetiko (Healing the mind virus that plagues our world).

The Wetiko concept profoundly resonates with the Hermetic understanding of the false ego, or the parasitic thought-form that hijacks the light of the soul. Here's an esoteric elucidation that synthesizes the Wetiko mind virus with the Qabalistic and Thothian perspective of the Devil and false self:

Wetiko: The False Ego and the Inverted Mirror of the Soul

The “Devil” is not some external demonic entity lurking in the shadows of the cosmos—it is the inverted reflection of the Self, generated by unexamined fear and unintegrated shadow. In both Western Hermetic Qabalah and Paul Levy’s interpretation of Wetiko, we are dealing with the same phenomenon: a parasitic, self-replicating thought-form that feeds off of unconscious energy. It is not a being—it is a pattern, a distortion of consciousness.

What is Wetiko?

Wetiko is a concept derived from Native American teachings (especially Cree and Algonquin), popularized in metaphysical psychology by Paul Levy. It describes a psychic infection—a mind virus that consumes the soul’s vitality by convincing the host that it is them. Like a spiritual malware, Wetiko tricks the person into identifying with thoughts of fear, scarcity, jealousy, victimhood, and self-loathing.

It thrives in the unobserved corners of the psyche, spreading through emotional reaction, projection, and unconscious behavior. Wetiko cannot survive the light of conscious awareness, for it is a parasite, not a creator. It has no energy of its own and must feed on the luminous energy of the awake Self—the I Am presence, or what Hermeticists would call the Tipherethic consciousness.

False Ego in the Western Hermetic Model

In Hermetic Qabalah, particularly the teachings aligned with the Thoth Tarot, the false ego is seen as a construct of the Ruach (the intellect), cut off from Neshamah (the higher soul) and misaligned with the will of the Solar Self. It becomes an artificial identity—a mask that claims dominion over the body and its instincts while masquerading as the true self. This misidentification is what gives The Devil card (Key 15) its psychological relevance: it symbolizes the seduction of form, the illusion of separation, and the bondage of unconscious habit.

Key 15, The Devil, as the path of A’ayin ("eye") between Hod (intellect) and Tiphereth (beauty/self-awareness), reveals that liberation comes through seeing—illumination of shadow. When one becomes aware of the parasite, observes its patterns without feeding them, the power returns to the true Will.

Spiritual Warfare is Observation, Not Opposition

The battle is not fought with resistance, but with awareness. Just as shadows vanish in light, Wetiko dissipates when brought into the field of conscious Self-realization. In this sense, the Hermeticist becomes a Solar Alchemist, turning the base metals of fear and illusion into gold through integration and observation.

To observe the false ego without judgment is to sever its hidden roots. To name the parasite is to begin the exorcism. The more we identify with the Light of the I Am, the less foothold the false self has.

The Devil as Inversion: Trickster of the One Mind

The ancients taught a paradoxical truth—that the Devil is God inverted. This provocative idea has long been misunderstood by exoteric religion but grasped intuitively by occultists who study the hidden nature of reality. The Devil, as the archetype of inversion, is not an enemy of God, but a mirror reflection, a distortion through which consciousness experiences itself in separation.

In this view, the Devil is not a literal being of evil, but a Trickster force—one who veils truth behind illusion, who binds the soul in matter and mocks the freedom of Spirit. Yet both bondage and liberation are facets of the same ultimate reality: the One Thing, or the Universal Mind, whose polarity births all experience. The trick lies in thinking they are separate.

This duality is symbolically captured in the ancient esoteric glyph of two interlocking triangles—one black, one white—pointing in opposite directions. This image, found in alchemical diagrams, Qabalistic seals, and magical iconography, reveals a deeper mystery: light and darkness are not enemies but complementary expressions of unity. Similarly, the classic occult image of a face split into white and black halves teaches that within every “holy” visage is a shadow, and within every shadow burns a hidden light.

The Trickster, then, is the great initiator of transformation. He breaks rigid belief structures, exposes self-deceit, and forces us to confront that which we deny. In myth and magick, this force is often personified as Loki, Hermes, Pan, or even Set—figures who disturb order to bring about revelation. The Devil in the Thoth Tarot (ATU XV) is just such a force. He confronts us with our attachments, addictions, and false identities, daring us to awaken—not through denial, but through integration.

Occultism—literally meaning “the study of that which is hidden”—teaches that the path to enlightenment leads not away from the shadow, but through it. The Devil is not to be feared or worshiped but understood as a necessary polarity within the play of consciousness. He is the lock that makes the key of liberation meaningful.

🜏 The Devil Within: Banishing the Trickster Mind-Virus

In the Western Hermetic tradition, The Devil is not a supernatural tyrant or an external entity, but an archetypal force that reveals the self-sabotaging illusions we willingly maintain. This force, understood through occult psychology and echoed in Paul Levy’s Wetiko concept, operates as a mind virus—a parasitic pattern of thought that survives only by being unconscious, by staying hidden in plain sight.

The Denial that Feeds the Parasite

The most common manifestation of this inner Trickster is denial. Rather than acknowledging the ways we sabotage our own sovereignty—through addiction, judgment, distraction, or despair—we project the virus outward, blaming others for the very shadows we refuse to confront in ourselves. Gossip, bigotry, religious zealotry, or fear of the unknown are just surface expressions of this deeper fragmentation.

When we point the finger outward, we lose the opportunity to see the mirroring function of the world around us. What we resist in others is often a suppressed truth in ourselves. The Devil archetype, then, is the personification of our refusal to see. He thrives on projection, evasion, and the trance of ego-based reality.

But the banishment is simple and eternal: self-observation. When the awake, Solar consciousness—Tiphereth—casts its light into the shadows, the illusion loses power. As in all true magick, awareness is the sword that cuts through bondage.

Divide and Conquer: The Devil as Anti-Life

The Devil is anti-freedom, anti-Will, and therefore anti-life. In metaphysical terms, this “Devil” was not created by nature, but by a distortion in human culture—namely, patriarchal dogma and hierarchical control systems that divide body and spirit, instinct and reason, light and shadow.

This division is not neutral—it is a psychic war against the Soul. By relegating our instinctual power to “sin” and our sexual, primal, or ecstatic energies to the realm of the “devil,” we have delegated our Will—our true Spirit—into the hands of our oppressors. This is not metaphorical. It is programming, written into society through religion, schooling, media, and suppression of the Divine Feminine.

Just as matter was born alongside anti-matter, so too was Spirit divided in the manifest world: Will and Resistance, Life and Entropy. When we cease to operate as sovereign beings, our inner Will is consumed by compliance, conformity, and fear. We become slaves to programs written by others.

But the original teaching of Hermetic Qabalah is this: “Will is the law of Spirit.” You are the sovereign flame of the One Mind. And where your conscious Will is active, no parasite, no Devil, and no trickster-meme can survive.

The Path to Wholeness

Integration of instinct and intellect, of divine and demonic, is the true Great Work. The Devil (ATU XV/Key 15) is a necessary initiatory gate. His grotesque mask hides a challenge: will you look into the mirror and own what you see? Will you stop running from your shadow, and finally command your inner power to serve the Solar Self?

This is not a war of repression, but an alchemy of reclamation. You are not here to banish part of yourself—you are here to redeem it, through light, Will, and self-sovereignty.

Closing Affirmation

“I see the mask and name the Trickster.
I reclaim my Will from all who fed upon my fear.
I integrate instinct, awaken Spirit, and dissolve the lie of separation.
I am not divided. I am whole.
I Am the Flame. I Am the Law. I Am the Liberator of my own soul.”

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. What may surprise the perceptive reader, is that our Angelic Will to be, is now considered our Devilish will to destroy! All because of the divisionism of the institutionalized word hypnosis in our brains!

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 (Planet Venus). 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 creating a false ego run by "the few who wish to rule the many"!

Being that I am a Western Hermetic Qabalist I find that the Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris ATU- 15 card best explains the Devil as a institutionalized way to enslave a person's imagination to a point of using one's own mental power against themselves.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

-Oscar Wilde

Key 15 – The Devil: The Tempter of Desire and Sovereign Will

The Archeon Tarot’s Devil – Key 15 casts light on a vital, yet often misunderstood aspect of the human psyche: the trade of Will for Desire. In this card, temptation is not just a moral failing—it is the operating system of the false ego, the survival mind’s attempt to distract the soul from true sovereignty. This Devil seduces not with horror, but with pleasure. He offers up visions of passion, beauty, and ecstasy—images so tantalizing they ignite the very core of your being.

This trickster figure knows exactly what will set your psyche ablaze. He holds up a mirror not to your fears, but to your longings—the things that make life seem worth living. He appears not as a tormentor, but as a liberator—offering access to unbridled passion, sensual intoxication, artistic fire, and emotional catharsis. He whispers, "Why deny yourself what you secretly crave?"

But herein lies the initiatory paradox: the Devil does not lie about pleasure—he lies about its cost. To dance with him is to flirt with your own shadow, and every indulgence comes with a price. If you surrender your Will—the Solar directive of Spirit—to his charm, you risk enslavement. You become bound not by chains, but by cravings. You do not possess the desire; the desire possesses you.

In Qabalistic terms, this Devil is the force of Ayin—"the Eye"—the path between Hod (intellect) and Tiphereth (the true self). He is the inverted reflection of the Sun. He is not evil, but he is dangerous, precisely because he masquerades as freedom while covertly binding the soul in illusion.

The key, then, is not repression, but mastery. The wise magician does not deny the Devil, nor pretend he doesn’t exist. Instead, he looks him in the eye, learns his nature, and never cedes authority. Pleasure, desire, and fire are divine gifts—but only when you are the one wielding them.

The boundary is subtle. The Devil teaches by crossing it.

Hermetic Maxim

“Desire is sacred when it serves the Will.
Desire is slavery when the Will serves it.”

The difference between a comedy and a tragedy is that in a comedy, the characters figure out reality in time to do something about it.

--Bennett W. Goodspeed

The institutions of the Patriarchy (Military Industrial Complex) are created to subdue your natural tendency to use your will freely and become under the control of an outside will (false will) who calls your instinctual mind and/or subconscious, evil and set self-destructive programs (traps) in your brain by indoctrinating your imagination. Imagination being the Creative aspect of your mind (feminine) and subjecting it to a false rationale (male)called dogma.

The Devil card asks a very important question, who is controlling your will? Is it the false egregore of Patriarchy control of "good or bad" the Spirit within you? In other words, is your subconscious, the mind of the soma, a *Pavlovian experiment or your Soul's personal representative on earth?

*Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, conducted groundbreaking experiments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that led to the discovery of classical conditioning. While studying the digestive processes in dogs, Pavlov observed that the animals would begin to salivate not only when food was presented but also in response to stimuli associated with feeding, such as the sight of the lab assistant who fed them.

Verywell Mind

Intrigued by this anticipatory salivation, which he termed "psychic secretion," Pavlov designed a series of experiments to investigate this phenomenon systematically. He introduced a neutral stimulus, such as the sound of a metronome, just before presenting the dogs with food. Initially, the metronome's sound did not elicit any salivation. However, after several pairings of the metronome's sound with the presentation of food, the dogs began to salivate in response to the metronome alone, even when no food was presented.

Wikipedia

In the context of Pavlov's experiments, the components of classical conditioning are defined as follows:

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior learning. In this case, the food served as the UCS.

• Unconditioned Response (UCR): The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus. The dogs' salivation in response to food was the UCR.

• Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that initially does not elicit any intrinsic response. The sound of the metronome was the NS before conditioning.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously the neutral stimulus, after association with the unconditioned stimulus, it comes to trigger a conditioned response. The metronome's sound became the CS after conditioning.

• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the previously neutral stimulus, now the conditioned stimulus. Salivation in response to the metronome's sound was the CR.

Pavlov's experiments demonstrated that behaviors could be learned through association, a process he termed "conditioning." This discovery laid the foundation for the field of behaviorism and has had profound implications for understanding learning and behavior in both animals and humans. It is the Devil in your brain.

Under the behavioral conditioning, one is nothing but a "knee jerk" marionette of ruler controlled "self-definition".

Chokmah – The Will to Force and the Wisdom of Experience

On the Qabalistic Tree of Life, Chokmah, the second Sephirah, sits at the summit of the Pillar of Mercy. It is the archetype of pure, dynamic force—called the Will to Force, the active Logos of Divine Will before it meets structure. The Hebrew name Chokmah translates as Wisdom, and its sacred color in Atziluth (the world of archetypes) is gray—not black or white, but the synthesis of both. This grayness is not ambiguity, but integration—the merging of opposites into a unified knowing.

Wisdom: Not Morality, But Mastery Through Experience

Wisdom is not the memorization of facts, nor the possession of truths—it is the result of living, failing, correcting, and evolving. In this light, error is not evil, it is the raw material of wisdom. Pain is not punishment, it is the friction of transformation. What we call “evil” or “bad” is often only an experience we haven’t yet understood.

• Error corrected becomes Wisdom.

• Pain transcended becomes Healing.

• Death is the doorway through which Life transforms and evolves.

All things in Chokmah are tools of becoming, not final judgments.

This is why in Hermetic and Qabalistic philosophy, there is no evil in Chokmah—only the Will expressing itself through contrast. The Fool (Aleph) leaps into existence through Chokmah (Yod), setting the dance of light and shadow in motion. It is not about escaping experience but using it alchemically.

The Body: A Crucible for Self-Knowledge

In this divine schema, the body is not a prison—it is a sacred laboratory. We, as sparks of Spirit—beings of “I AM”—descend into the physical world not to escape it, but to experience Identity through direct, embodied knowing. Without a body, a soul cannot test its beliefs, prove its inner theories, or taste its own concepts.

This is why the Hermetic maxim, “As Above, So Below,” is not a comparison—it is a reverberation. The divine Will above seeks confirmation below. Chokmah’s fire is tested in the furnace of form. The body is the means by which the Soul becomes self-aware.

To reject the body is to reject the alchemical vessel of the Great Work. To embrace it is to enter into the mystery of Chokmah itself—Wisdom born from Union, from motion, from the collision of force and form.

Chokmah and the Divine Masculine

As the archetype of the Divine Masculine, Chokmah does not dominate—it initiates. It is the Father, not of rules, but of momentum. When paired with Binah—the Divine Feminine form-giver—it creates the universe in all its glory and terror, joy and pain, life and death. This is the sacred dance of Wisdom: the polarities that birth Understanding.

Closing Hermetic Thought

“Wisdom is not the absence of error, but the knowing that transcends it.
It is not avoidance of pain, but the Will to alchemize it.
Through the body, I prove the Soul. Through living, I awaken the I AM.”

In the context of psychology and metaphysics, both the personality and the ego are significant concepts, but they refer to different aspects of an individual.

1. Personality:

   • In psychology, personality encompasses a set of enduring traits, patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make each person unique. It's the way an individual consistently interacts with the world.
   • Personality is shaped by a combination of genetic factors, experiences, and environmental influences. Psychologists often use various theories, such as the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), to understand and categorize personality characteristics.

2. Ego:

   • In psychology, particularly in psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud, the ego is one of the three parts of the mind, alongside the id and superego. The ego is responsible for mediating between the instinctual, impulsive desires of the id and the moral and social constraints of the superego.
   • The ego operates based on the reality principle, seeking to satisfy the id's desires in a way that is realistic and socially acceptable. It helps individuals navigate the external world and make decisions that balance their internal needs with external demands.

In summary, while personality refers to the overall pattern of characteristics that define an individual, the ego is a specific part of the mind responsible for managing conflicts between internal drives and external demands. The ego is a component of the broader personality structure. Understanding both concepts can provide insights into human behavior and thought processes. The subconscious has two aspects, ego and personality. Both are profaned by indoctrination and dogma. These two partners in cooperation of the body, have been divided by dogma, propaganda, and indoctrination producing a false battle between personality and the ego who are fighting each other for control of the brain.

The black background of the RWS-Key 15-The Devil represents the darkness of ignorance. The inverted pentagram on the brow of the RWS 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 featured on both cards are personifications of the self-conscious and subconscious aspects of the divided 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. The Devil and Lucifer somehow became the same being in the institutionalize ignorance of the church dogma. Lucifer is Latin for "bringer of Light" and was often the name for the Planet Venus.

In history, the Knights Templar were accused of worshiping the Devil in the form of Baphomet. Again, a divide and conquer ploy used by the Roman Catholic Church to destroy a rival concept of Spirit.

The Baphomet, often associated with the Knights Templar, is a symbol that has evolved over centuries and carries a rich tapestry of symbology and metaphor.

Historical Context:

The term "Baphomet" came into prominence during the trials of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century. Under torture, some Templars confessed to worshipping a deity named Baphomet. The confessions were likely coerced, and the descriptions of Baphomet varied greatly, suggesting that it might have been a fabricated charge.

The Symbolic elements of Baphomet are:

1. The Goat:

• Head of a Goat: The goat's head, especially with its horns, has been historically associated with fertility gods, like the Greek Pan. In medieval Christian symbolism, goats were often linked to the devil and sin.
• Goat of Mendes: This concept combines aspects of the goat with ideas of duality and balance, stemming from ancient Egyptian mythology and later interpretations.

2. Duality:

• Androgyny: Baphomet often appears as an androgynous figure, embodying both masculine and feminine characteristics. This represents the unity and balance of opposites.
• "Solve et Coagula": The Latin terms for "dissolve and coagulate" on Baphomet's arms signify the alchemical process of breaking down substances and recombining them into a new form, symbolizing transformation and the pursuit of enlightenment.

3. Pentagram:

• Inverted Pentagram: The inverted pentagram on Baphomet's forehead has been interpreted as a symbol of the material world and earthly desires. In some contexts, it's associated with the subversion of divine order and the embrace of the physical realm over the spiritual.

4. Torch Between the Horns:

• Illumination: The torch symbolizes enlightenment and the pursuit of knowledge. Positioned between the horns, it signifies the merging of animal instincts and higher consciousness.

Metaphorical Interpretations

1. Gnosis and Esoteric Wisdom:

• Baphomet can be seen as a symbol of the quest for hidden knowledge and the integration of diverse aspects of existence. This aligns with the Templar's rumored secret teachings and their role as custodians of esoteric wisdom.

2. Balance and Harmony:

• The dual nature of Baphomet (male and female, light and dark, human and animal) embodies the concept of achieving balance and harmony within oneself and the universe. It challenges the dichotomous thinking of good vs. evil, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of morality and existence.

3. Transformation and Transcendence:

• The alchemical motto "solve et coagula" encapsulates the transformative journey of the individual. Baphomet represents the potential for personal and spiritual transformation through the reconciliation of opposites.

Modern Interpretations

In contemporary occultism and popular culture, Baphomet has taken on various meanings. For some, it remains a potent symbol of rebellion against orthodox religious structures and the embrace of individual freedom and enlightenment. For others, it serves as an icon of occult wisdom and the mystical path to self-knowledge.

Conclusion:

The Baphomet associated with the Knights Templar is a complex symbol blending historical accusations, esoteric traditions, and modern interpretations. It embodies duality, transformation, and the pursuit of knowledge, serving as a powerful metaphor for the journey toward enlightenment and the integration of opposites within the self. It is us; we are all Baphometic wisdom.

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. and in this case, reversal of false 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 conditioned 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 many traditional 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". Eventually one will understand that our self-image 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 Card 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 medial controlled 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 behavioral Patriarchal modification are often the "thoughts" that bedevil us throughout the delusions of material life and the admonishments of the false soul (egregore) 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 rather than the viral programing that torments us.

These material limitations of time 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 ruler-controlled measurement/definition is "Real". The Qabalist 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 Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot- key 15 (ATU-15) is named the Devil-key 15. 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 and therefore, a horned being is often shown.

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The misconception of reality as conditioned by indoctrination and dogma, which is symbolized on the Devil card 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 real power to rule the immortal Spirit (Spirit is Willed Plasmic energy and called Breath and/or Prana), who is the Power of Life and Death of the material All.

One must be fooled by their pleasure/pain-controlled senses (the objective of dogma) into believing the body is powerful and separate from spirit and thereby be able to supersede spirit programing our brain to seek "a false spirit" (religion) whose definition is controlled by the Patriarchy. Hence, the devil often is shown as the "trickster" who falsely rules the physical form. Belief is easy, it requires no action. However, knowing is only acquired by doing/experience and is often found only beyond comfort zones. The Profaning of the senses such as fearing pain and/or discomfort keeps us from acquiring knowledge.

Due to fundamental religions, what has been called "evil" ("live" spelled backwards) has found little value in self-awareness and is relegated to 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 observation of 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. However, our true power lies in our shadow self, for it is the place of all dreams, illusions, and fantasies, all which contribute to Willful creation and exploration! For therein lies our Imagination-The Creatrix of all Forms!

The Misogynistic Patriarchy is the one who wrote the "genesis" story of Adam and Eve. Here the Female was shown as being responsible for getting mankind expelled from the "garden of Eden", a false slaver utopia, by seeking knowledge. She "ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge". That Tree is the Qabalistic Tree of Life. How dare anyone seek knowledge in a society of ruler-controlled ignorance? Happiness is to stay ignorant!

How foolish! It is time you Know yourself.

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 fear controlled 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-the 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 and knowledge requires "doing". 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 a boogeyman there! We came to expand and liberate life as "knowledgeable creators" and not the self-destructive Moron of indoctrinated fame!

The Boogeyman Archetype: From the Desert to the Closet

Throughout mythology, religion, psychology, and modern media, the theme of the “boogeyman” recurs as an enduring symbol of internal and externalized fear. Whether cloaked as the Devil tempting Christ in the desert, the darkness of Nigredo in alchemy, or the monster lurking in the closet of a child’s imagination, the archetype points to a deeper esoteric truth: the confrontation with fear is the initiatory gateway to transformation.

In the Christian allegory, Christ enters the desert and is tempted by the Devil. This is not merely a moral drama, but a symbolic initiation—the descent into the wilderness of the subconscious mind, where the false ego (the adversary, or Satan) offers illusions of power, survival, and self-glorification. By refusing these temptations, Christ aligns with the higher Will, becoming the archetypal Solar Self—one who rules not by dominion, but by Light.

Similarly, in alchemical philosophy, the black stage of putrefaction (Nigredo) is essential before the gold of Spirit can emerge. This phase represents the breaking down of false constructs—the decay of egoic illusions, self-limiting beliefs, and inherited fear programs. It is the descent into the shadow, where one must face their inner "demons" before achieving the albedo (whitening) and eventually the rubedo (reddening) of illumination and integration.

Fast-forward to the modern world: Hollywood horror, media narratives, and even political propaganda continue to recycle the boogeyman theme. Why? Because those who wish to rule understand a crucial psychological truth—when you control a population's fear, especially their survival fear, you control their behavior.

This is what the ancients in Hermetic philosophy would call “false jeopardy.” It is not the real danger, but the illusion of danger that ensnares the mind. The survival brain—the Nephesh or lower soul—responds instinctively to threats, and when manipulated by symbols, stories, and dogma, it can be steered like a ship in stormy seas. People will give up freedom, Will, and sovereignty just to feel safe from a phantom.

Esoteric Insight: Fear as the Initiator and the Gatekeeper

Yet the boogeyman has a sacred role. In the deepest Hermetic sense, the monster is also the gatekeeper. The Devil, the darkness, the unintegrated shadow—they do not truly imprison us. They test our readiness to claim our spiritual identity.

• To fear the dark is to be ruled by it.

• To confront the dark is to illumine it.

• To integrate the dark is to become whole.

The path of the adept is not to run from the boogeyman, but to walk straight into the haunted forest, knowing that all shadows are cast by Light. Wisdom is born not in safety, but in initiation.

Closing Hermetic Maxim

“The boogeyman is not real, but your belief in him gives him power.
The monster you fear is the guardian of your treasure.
Face him, and you walk as a king. Flee him, and you serve as a slave.”

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 egocentric 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 by making the subconscious more conscious and aware. We find that emotional focus is "power", and what we focus with the most passion, becomes our life motion.

When the Devil Key 15 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.
• Determining what is the cause and what is the symptom.

If reversed (shadow):

• Fateful entanglements.
• Self-destructive tendencies and/or drives.
• Hell within.
• Dark power.
• Collective hysteria.
• Getting caught up in fear and worry.
• Addictions.

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