When the Devil comes up in a reading, the question becomes delusion, self-righteousness, justification, self-imposed limits, what we think is as opposed to a more realistic picture of what actually is. In the Rider-Waite Tarot, the card is represented by a large, horned, cloven-footed Devilish being seated on a throne. In his hand he holds the chained leashes of a male figure and a female one. Each of these figures could escape but choose instead to stay trapped by the Devil. In the Rider-Waite Tarot, the Devil is not so much an entity of Evil as much as it is an entity of self-delusion, societal constraints, and rules we follow not because they are right or good but merely because we “should.”
In the Jane Austen Tarot, the Devil card is represented by Lady Susan, an immoral woman who does what she wants no matter the cost and who is willing to sacrifice her only child to a loveless marriage purely for her own personal benefit. Lady Susan puts all sorts of restrictions on her daughter, who can she talk to, what she must do, and it is only when Frederica grows courageous enough to thwart her mother, does she at last have the hope of finding her own true happiness. It is not lost to me that my name, Susan, is that of the villain of the tale, or that I am visiting my own mother who has spent most of my life trying to mold me to her pleasures, her desires, her beliefs as to what is good and right. The way I love has become a commentary against and denial of all my mother stands for, seen as reaction and commentary, even when it isn’t, when I am doing nothing more than trying to find my own, right way.
I think it is no accident that I received this card in this Tarot deck in the midst of a visit to my family home and the always interesting time spent with my mom. Because of the name of the woman represented, mine, it is difficult to project the qualities of the Devil on someone else. In fact a friend of mine suggested just this, that the Devil represented my mother. And perhaps it does, but not just. The thing is, we are all the Devil. We rule ourselves with shoulds and oughts and then do our best to break those commandments. We justify our actions, doing what we want, finding so many reasons other than the most truthful, “because I want to.” I did things the last five years I said never would, not because anyone made me, but because I willingly chose it, wanting what I wanted, when I wanted, for no better reason than because I wanted it. It may be time to move beyond wrong and right, good and evil, and think more in terms of the why. And while we may still jump through hoops, wrap our desires in excuses and reasons, perhaps it is enough to be clear-eyed ourselves as to the whys and wherefores. Maybe he or she would be better off with us, but that’s besides the point. We balk and rail and rant against his or her choice that isn’t us knowing at the heart, it isn’t what we want, but maybe it’s what they want, or what is right for them, or necessary.
What Would Jane Do?
“Honorable intent and a deep understanding of your truest needs and desires will garner rewards reater than any machinations will ever ultimately provide, though temporary success can not be doubted. You must decide in advance which will give you the greater satisfaction.” P. 42
Of course the question that arises after the Devil makes an appearance is “Now What?” “How do I manage to overcome it, myself?” “How do I know where the Devil is or when He’s made an appearance in my life?” The card that comes up is Judgment. It’s going to be hard work and I’m the one that’s going to have to do that work. Of course. Did I think it would be otherwise?
In the Jane Austen Tarot, the Judgment card depicts Emma Woodhouse, her beloved, Mr. Knightley, Emma’s father, Harriet Smith, and Mrs. Weston. Each of these people had to step beyond guilt and duty toward his or her own happiness. The status quo had to be disrupted and a new status quo obtained. Emma has often said she would not marry because her father did not want her to leave him. With her mother long dead, who will take care of her father? Emma wants to marry her beloved Mr. Knightley, but she doesn’t ant to hurt her father. Harriet Smith has loved and lost multiple times, often by her own foolishness and the puffed-up expectations that Emma fanned. When Robert Martin asks her to marry him a second time, after her first refusal, she has to forget all the dreams Emma seeded of her high birth and higher expectations and reach for love, even if in so doing, she appears foolish. Mrs. Weston had to give up being Emma’s governess to marry and have a child at her own. She felt much guilt at leaving Emma and at starting a family so late, and yet she knows what she wants and reaches out for it, makes it happen. And Mr. Woodhouse, a man who doesn’t want anything to change, his daughter to stay with him always, realizes that for the child he loves, he needs to make a sacrifice, let her marry, choose her happiness over his own. It is this movement toward a new future which allows enough space for a resolution to come that pleases everyone. Mr. Knightley and Emma can marry and Mr. woodhouse can still have Emma in his house. Now he will have grandchildren and the world will grow merrier, all because of his choice, his reaching out, his risk.
When this card comes up in a reading, it signals a major change and often one which you, the querent, must make through judgment. It requires more than a cursory examination of the situation, but a deep, visionary perspective that takes into account past, present and future. And it means that the power is mine to choose change or the status quo. To wait for another to do the work means I may wait forever. No, the Judgment card suggests it is time to learn what I want and to take the steps necessary to allow for it.
What Would Jane Do?
“We cannot depend that people will remain consistent in every area of their lives. In fact, we should become quite depressed if we were to rely on a perennial lack of advancement in the people we most esteem. If soulless flowers can blossom and grow, certainly one should be able to expect at least as much of our friends and lovers. Those that refuse to flourish in their particular patch of earth, despite the constant nurturing of well-meaning gardeners, and those who refuse to look upwards to the sun, might just as well be left to languish. That ay the garden can continue to grow in beauty and harmony.” P. 52
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