The Call-Out Card

What are some of the least favored cards in the deck? Ten of Swords, Five of Cups, Three of Swords, maybe. For those less-versed in the meanings, Death is usually the scary one. And then they hear about the Devil…

Ironically, that card is usually met with “Oh, God…” before the explanation comes through. Out of all of the cards, this is probably the one that adds on to Tarot’s “satanic” reputation. A goat-man with taloned feet and bat wings perches atop a pedestal that has a naked man and woman chained to it. Clearly a very chill and relaxed card, right?

Despite it’s evil appearance, this card usually gives us a great blessing. It’s one of the few cards that say explicitly, “That’s fucked up.” The Devil, like a lot of media will tell you, is quite misunderstood by the general public.

What the Devil lacks in heavenly attributes, he makes up for it by being real. Instead of gently telling you that things could be better, he lays it out plain. He holds up the mirror and tells you that something’s wrong in there. Be it toxic cycles or bad habits, additions and vices, or even the shadows you suppress and hide, the Devil’s letting us know that its negatively affecting you. and you are the only one who can fix it.

Now, he’s not so nice as to tell you how to fix it. The Devil is perched on the pillar of your problems. Having you chained down only helps him.

So if he’s just going to point at us and laugh, then what good is the Devil in the first place? Mocking misery doesn’t seem very helpful.

The Devil gives us the gift of reflection. You’ve probably been told that you can’t force anyone to change. The same goes for yourself: No one can forced you to change except yourself. When the Devil holds up that mirror, what stares back at you is all the things you never wanted to see.

What you do after that is where your power shines.