Major Trump:

V-Le Pape is Apollonian; XV-Le Diable is Dionysian.

Both Apollo and Dionysus were sons of Zeus: Apollo was the god of light, music, and poetry; Dionysus was the god of wine, ecstasy, and intoxication.

Apollo might be akin to civilized “tea time” manners—one’s “Sunday Best,” as is said in American English. In contrast, Dionysus is primal nature. Dionysus would be guilty of the using of the wrong fork with the salad (or not caring which fork to use at all!), or wearing silly socks with a formal suit, for example.  

Pan once challenged Apollo (the god of the lyre) to a trial of musical skill. V-Le Pape plays the lyre; XV-Le Diable plays the instrument of pan-pipes.

In keeping with XV-Le Diable’s motif as a Nature God, another horned-god of Celtic flavor was Cernunnos.

Cernnunos maintains antlers, wears a necklace or ornate neck ring  or “torc” to denote his nobility. He is typically displayed with stags, a purse with coins.

Cernnunos is the Lord of Wild Things and the Lord of the Hunt. He is linked with the monument Pilier des nautes (Pillars of the Sailors) thus he is associated with commerce and wealth. (Image of Cernunnos, Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris.)

 In Gnostic mythology, XV-Le Diable may picture Lilith—in folk tradition, Adam’s first wife—who was known in the Romantic period as having womanly wiles of seduction, charisma, and being the prototype femme fatale.

Lilith’s name occurs once in the Hebrew Bible. In Jewish legends, she objected to being inferior to Adam; and thus Eve was ultimately created. Lilith is later the serpent of Wisdom who offers secret knowledge.

The patriarchal world turned Lilith into a night hag , a demon goddess, and later in Medieval times, she became the Mother of the Witches. But, scholars have noted that she might be better known as the Lady of the Air, a Wisdom Goddess or Sophia—she is depicted as attended by owls, which was later a familiar of Athena and a popular symbol of wisdom.

Thus, XV-Le Diable offers its own brand of knowledge or wisdom more Lunar than the Solar knowledge of V-Le Pape.

XV-Le Diable has attributes of Kālī in Hinduism; much like XV-Le Diable, Kālī is misunderstood viscerally by Westerners as innately evil. But, she is the action-taker. When you want something done, give it to Kali! In tandem, popular divinatory meanings of the Tarot de Marseille XV-Le Diable is assertion, boldness, and even aggression.

Kālī is depicted in black or blue color, and despite her form, Kālī is viewed as universally protective and generous—to the righteous, that is—but, to those who are evil, she is a terrible force. In one of those hands is the mudra “fear not,” balancing the anxiety that she incurs when she appears.  

As one myth goes, when she was on a killing spree of evil forces, she got carried away. Lord Shiva had to throw himself under her feat to stop her; Kālī stuck out her tongue in astonishment.

Like XV-Le Diable, her dark skin is embracing of the shadow, and XV-Le Diable teaches that the Shadow is a Twin Teacher as much as the Light Twin. Moreover, Kālī’’s  penchant for Action remind us of the wisdom that accrues naturally through the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and living on the Savannah of Life. We are like stones that are polished by the tumbling of Life.

Kālī /Le Diable’s nudity is primeval and without the prudish convention of V-Le Pape and his acolytes; she is with self-consciousness and meets the world naturally, through natural impulse, natural action.

Worshippers of Kali often make their shrines in the wilderness. XV-Le Diable signifies in a Tarot Reading the natural approach: If one were trying to land a job, V-Le Pape would advise concentrating on formal curriculum vitae and interview processes; XV-Le Diable would advise networking and pounding the pavement, as it were. XV-Le Diable urges to follow nature as an example.

Christian Eschatology refers to the study of Medieval End Times theology—and certainly the End Times were on everyone’s mind around the time of the Tarot’s conception!!!

 The identification of The Pope with The Devil in Medieval Times would be quickly understood. In the picture, the Whore of Babylon is saddled and riding up to Jersualem.

The relationship of The Devil with The Pope seems too contrived in the Tarot to go unnoticed. Even if we put aside the numerical association (V with XV—and some Tarot sequences parted from this order), notwithstanding, both are iconographic twins, so to speak, each showing a central guiding figure dominating two acolytes.

The corruption of God’s Temple was a common theme as part of a panoply of expected event preceding God’s Judgment.  (XVI-La Maison Dieu is next in sequence, about to be overthrown in XVI.)
 

 False prophets and Babylon the Great were to be thrown into a lake of fire; but, not before the Devil made a tremendous showing—a kind of Magnum Opus in a desperate attempt to stave off the inevitable. XV-Le Diable would represent the rise of Satan in the End Times, if we are looking at the Tarot de Marseille through the lens of Christian Eschatology.

XV-Le Diable & the Mary Magdalene Mysteries

The Mary Magdalene of Gnosticism (and some say True Christianity) was deeply revered as the wife of Jesus and the mother of his children. Some believe that she was also the beloved disciple of Jesus—his favorite, in fact—and depicted on the Last Supper, when one has eyes to see her to Jesus’ right hand.

As the Magdalene story goes, at Jesus’ final persecution, Mary escaped (pregnant) to the south of France,

Provence, whereupon a whole lineage of Gnostic Christianity and peculiar devotion to Mary Magdalene transpired.

The full implications of a bloodline of Jesus is beyond the scope of this article—and much has been written—but one can imagine! By some accounts, the cup or grail was Mary Magdalene’s pregnant state and by extension, the bloodline of Jesus (from Sangraal, or royal blood).

Mary Magdalene, Voyage to Marseilles, Giotto.

Ultimately, her landing in France established an impressive family tree of royal proportions, branching out into the line of kings called the Merovingians, from mer and vin: Vine of Mary. (We are greatly simplifying the story.)

Thus, the Knights of the Roundtable picture on the left is more figurative than literal, as the chalice is representative of a bloodline.

Some see the Tarot (and the Marseilles Tarot especially) as a code book for the Magdalene “Heresies,” understandably concealed, and even then concealed within a innocuous pack of cards. Scholars Margaret Starbird and Elaine Pagels are two impressive contributors in this area who are cited at the end of this article.

Gnosticism described Mary Magdalene as the incarnated Goddess Sophia of the Gnostic Bible, or perhaps her “daughter”. As is typically true of analogical religions, all stories have levels of interpretation, and story is more Myth than fact.

The bride and the Christ ultimately unite in the bridal chamber, and the Sophia/Logos is born. This is everyman’s and everywoman’s story of their journey to make sense of life and the world, and to see something transcendent. Mary’s prior identification as a prostitute or demon-possessed woman certainly amplified this motif of from rags to riches, but spiritually speaking.

The Black Madonnas of Europe have been Chinese Puzzle Boxes to some Christians. Perhaps they were influenced by large Black populations of parishioners; or the church candle smoke soot blackened the Madonnas by pilgrims; or, this was simply the natural color change over time.  

However, a more cogent theory is that the Black Madonnas express the feminine power in a way that is not as cogently expressed through the white skin of other gentler statuary of Medieval Times. Thus, traditions in France have arisen that the Black Madonnas are really Mary Magdalene: The child is not Jesus, but Jesus’ child!

The Blackness is associated with the feminine power of Mary, perhaps racial attributes, and perhaps associations with Sophia. We admit that associating XV-Le Diable specifically with Sophia and then with Mary Magdalene and then of course back to Le Diable again…well it may be a stretch. Sophia is more likely associated with II-La Papesse or XXI-Le Monde in the Tarot de Marseille. Furthermore, as described below, Gnosticism had much to say about the spiritual state of the world, the Demiurge, and the established Church that fits with the historical context of the Tarot’s proposed creation. So, XV-Le Diable may not be intended to be a Black Madonna per se, but instead the Demiurge opposed by Sophia. In any case, overall, the idea has been proposed that the Black Madonna is the Lost Madonna, the forgotten Bride of Christ, or the Bride in Exile.   

Gnosticism is a disparate belief system and with few formal organizational bodies. It is a belief system that is syncretic, incorporating pre-Christian religions, Paganism, Islam, Christianity and mystical Judaism.  Stephen Holler (2002) recognizes three primary religions of a Gnostic flavor: The Mandaeans and Manicheans of Persian descent, and the Cathars who retained a decidedly Medieval and Christian flavor. Other sects were associated with Gnosticism, sharing many core beliefs.

The beauty of Gnosticism is its suppleness with culture and history, each era providing a vessel to contain the core doctrines, but with some beliefs more important than others depending on cultural-historical context. We think Gnostics would agree that it would be a mistake to define Gnosticism (or the Tarot) from one Gnostic group, such as the Cathars. The Alexandrian Gnostic Church or Sophian Gnostic Church offers a modernized and integrative Gnostic framework. 

Gnosticism 101:

Some basic tenets of any Gnostic sect will embody the following:

1. Fact is myth and myth is fact: Many Gnostics believe that the Hero wears a thousand faces. The mythologies of many world religions tell the same story. Whether Mary Magdalene and Jesus actually existed and married is immaterial to Gnostics. The power is in the Myth. 

2. We are not in Kansas anymore: The “Man in charge” is not in charge! Gnostics believe that the world was created by a false god, a demigod of sorts. “He’s” in charge of the dance of Maya, and he’s created quite a destructive party, with highs and lows. We are reminded of this Demiurge in the Old Testament “god,” who is notorious for his juvenile antics, such as being “jealous,” erratically changing his mind, smiting people, and being “convinced” to change his mind by mere humans: This is not a god of awe, but audacity. Even Atlantean mythologies or Alien Mythologies often speak of the human race being created from a less-than-noble band of super-scientists.

3. We are all sparks from the fire: As sparks of divine light, all humans (or souls inhabiting fleshly bodies) are much more than they imagine! We are kept under an amnesia spell and kept quite distracted by the antics of the Demiurge creator god. As sleepwalking men and women, we are kept ignorant of our divine natures through distraction, a numbness that encroaches on us very young, and ignorance.

4. Salvation is possible through Gnosis—but, don’t enroll in that college course yet! Salvation is through direct knowledge of God, not a book, not a church, not one’s conduct, and not through Jesus’ death, but through Gnosis (the absence of ignorance).

Why do some of the sects of Gnosis stress conduct so much (especially the Cathar “Pure Ones”? During particular cultural times, conduct was universally important to religions. Moreover, as Gnosis rises in consciousness, it would stand to reason that conduct would change, yet as a natural offshoot of the root or Gnosis and not as a means to Gnosis. Scripture, meditation, and other traditional spiritual practices might stimulate the process, but we’re talking about Grace here.

5. Salvation is better understood as liberation: Rather than the old redeem-me-from-sin models of salvation, Gnostic salvation is more about transfiguration.

6. There’s no “in crowd” or “elite”: Everyone is eventually going to reach Gnosis. Nonetheless, we should try to get “there” and bring “there” to “here”. So, there is something to do, per se.

7. That’s right—you didn’t get your complete order from the menu. The Bible, as it is currently composed, is a highly incomplete scripture. There’s stuff missing! And those certain people who made it go missing don’t want you to fret that it is missing and might even scold you for even suggesting that there’s material missing! You might take that one step further and conclude that modern Christianity is considered by Gnostics to be what Monopoly Game™ money is to real cash: A child’s imitation. Many religions—Christian, Jewish, and Islamic—are in Gnostic opinion, still entranced by the Old Testament Demiurge deity.  Thus, their followers are essentially “Mini-Me” versions of the Demiurge, often telling people they will be smited, burn in hell, must submit, and other Demiurgic tendencies.

The Persian Mandaeans (from manda, gnosis) reveal definite Gnostic flavors in their cosmologies: The Supreme Existence emanates many sparks, which become trapped in matter with the help of a Demiurge, called Ptahil.

They particularly follow John the Baptist. They believe that running water is substantially more spiritualized, so to speak, and engage in frequent immersion or baptism as a type of Holy communion; their houses of worship are always located near running water.

Interestingly, the XV-Le Diable, who pictures the Mandaean Demiurge, the water is notably still.  As well, the Conver card emphasizes the still blue water, while this is lost in other Marseilles decks. The Camoin/Jodo Tarot de Marseille deck was heavily inspired by the Conver.

The Manicheans

The prophet Mani inspired Manicheanism. Mani’s elaborate cosmology retained Gnostic essential elements, such as the idea that the human soul of Light substance was trapped in a body. Gnosis, or inner-knowing of one’s Light, has a freeing effect. Ahh, if it were only so simple. But, fighting this process on the Other Side of Darkness are the archons, or demons of darkness, attempting to muddy the waters of enlightenment.

In the XV-Le Diable card, perhaps we see pictured the binding of the light into the darkness.

Within the Manichean cosmology myth, Darkness “eats” the Primal Man, incorporating their luminescent substance into their dark bodies.

The large mouth, pictured by the Camoin/Jodo, Dodal, and other decks are interesting in this respect. As in all Gnostic religions, the idea of duality is paramount: Light and Darkness, the Battle of Two. Duality is a key feature of the Tarot de Marseille.

While the Mandaeans and Manicheans were not decidedly Christian, the Cathars took on the Medieval, Christian aesthetic with which we associate much of the Tarot imagery.

The Cathars

The Cathar Tradition was a Gnostic Christian sect in Languedoc, France which was strongly associated with the Magdalene Mysteries.

The Cathars would likely have viewed the similarities of the V-Le Pape card and the XV-Le Diable card as no accident, because the established Church was considered heretic, while the Cathars were called the “Pure Ones”.

The Gnostic Cathars viewed the House of God as a counterfeit church. They believed that the claims of Apostolic Succession of the Catholic Church and its condemnation of Mary Magdalene were essentially  turning the whole Christian story on its head. Thus, in the Tarot sequence, we see XVI-La Maison Dieu being exploded by divine intervention, which would not be necessary if the Apostolic Church had it right.

The Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) sought to exterminate the Cathar Sect. XV-Le Diable might picture the Establishment of the day within the Cathar’s time, in which the Inquisition was enacted to annihilate all free thinking. XV-Le Diable is the Big Bully of the Establishment, insofar that the Tarot de Marseille is a picture book of the Cathar Heresy.

The Albigensian Crusade sought to eliminate the Cathar “problem”. The Cathars were becoming disturbingly numerous within Mediterranean France. The Inquisition eventually snuffed it out. To a Cathar, XV-Le Diable might picture the true evil of the counterfeit Church and its misguided Inquisition. The true Inquiry was needed by the Orthodox Church established on St. Peter.

In Cathar Gnosticism, the creator of the world—to be clear, that’s creator with a little “c”—was a Demiurge and not a benevolent God. He was Yaldabaoth, the childish god. Yaldabaoth was hell-bent on a mission to keep the divine sparks of souls trapped neatly within the human fleshly experience, reincarnating on the never-ending Wheel. Perhaps, the Demiurge meant well at first, but he went to the Dark Side. Thus, XV-Le Diable may very well picture this Demiurge.

In fact, the Serpent in Gnosticism was a not foe, but friend!

In the Old Testament, this Demiurge (or Yahweh, Latin Jehovah) wreaked all sorts of havoc, much like an adolescent who is allowed to throw an unsupervised party. Even non-Gnostic theologians have commented on the puerile attributes of the Old Testament God.

As the Demiurge, XV-Le Diable is responsible for the Cosmic Show of All Shows, that is in keeping humankind distracted—entranced by sex, drugs, rock n’ roll, wars, plots, plans, and politics. This is not a creator of beneficence or even one who has it all under control, but a grand trickster that keeps his audience distracted by absurdity, yet coupled with occasional wit and even profundity just to keep the masses from pulling aside the curtain too far—and certainly the Demiurge keeps us fascinated with shiny things!

In the Movie the Matrix™, this Gnostic prison was escaped by Neo and others. The world formed by the artificial intelligence of the Machines—otherwise known as The Architect—was metaphor for the Gnostic cosmology of the Demiurge creating and trapping the sparks of Light.

 Neo is Le Mat, the unnumbered “Fool” of modern Tarots, at first unaware of the Matrix entirely. This Hero’s Journey is to penetrate the illusion of the Matrix and liberate oneself.

Perhaps, the Tarot cards are a Gnostic story of the glory, fall, and then re-glorification of the divinity of humankind.

XV-Le Diable illustrates the binding of humankind into the penal colony that is this mundane world.

Postmodern Gnosticism: The Tarot and XV-Le Diable

What does the Tarot de Marseille offer the postmodern Gnostic, who might be ill-at-ease with the cultural trappings of Catharism, Manicheanism, Mandaeanism, and any other “isms” that seem so anathema to the core themes of Gnosis as direct knowing of the Divine Within without dogma?

Do we retreat from the world like the Cathars, baptize ourselves like the Mandaeans, or follow the prophet Mani?

Well, as you can see by now, the question of whether the Tarot is Christian or Pagan is moot! Our point of view is that—although the Christian influence on XV-Le Diable is undeniable—the Christian Devil and its wholly negative associations are inadequate to explain this fascinating card because of the plethora of cultural informants to its iconography.

Of course, if we were to imagine the reaction of the “man on the street” to XV-Le Diable in the 15^th century, given the ubiquitous Christian art of the time, it would be hard to imagine a positive interpretation of this card.

Yet, we must keep in mind the pre-Christian or meta-Christian informants to this card (as we should with the entire deck of Tarot cards). Within Tarot de Marseille traditional interpretation models, XV-Le Diable is typically afforded these Christianized negativistic meanings when the card appears reversed. Upright, the card takes on the themes more associated with Pan/Bacchus/Dionysus and Cernunnos of the Celts. Reversed, Le Diable goes to the Dark Side.

Progress is amazing, impressive, bold, beautiful, and exciting.

XV-Le Diable embodies all of these qualities. Notwithstanding, the material, the fleshly, the powerful, and the domination and subjugation of Nature does not hold the answer.

Postmodern Gnosticism proposes that we must live in the world—the System—but not be of it. Thus, the Tarot de Marseille card XV-Le Diable objectifies our universal situation: Once we recognize the System, it does not end for us. We must encounter the fleshly world; it’s part of the deal. We must engage it, dialogue with it, smell it, taste it, and touch it.

In fact, the Tarot divinatory readings, XV-Le Diable has come to embody traditional meanings that perceive the utility of Le Diable’s plans, plots, assertiveness, charisma, sexuality, and audacity. On the Savannah of Life, there’s a place for the lion’s attack, for the hyena’s sneaky hunt, the hungry sexuality of breeding season, and the playfulness of the baby gazelles.

In XV-Le Diable, the male and female are artificially separated. We too can live a separated life, wherein fleshly preoccupations are given equal weight to “spiritual pursuits,” and even those spiritual pursuits can become materialized.

As an American writing this article, I wonder if it’s really just an American peculiarity wherein we are offered Five Easy Steps to Illumination or 10 Ways to Build a Perfect Spiritual Practice, wherein God seems to speak to us through an Infomercial. XV-Le Diable is the picture of putting the Demiurge’s “Blockbuster movie” in perspective.

To the 15^th century Tarot Card player, the Tarot’s Le Diable does have a somewhat “soft porn” cleaned-up image. This card could be far more appalling and horrifying when compared to typical motifs of its time.

Perhaps, the man or woman on the street would have seen this card as a warning: To examine themselves, their conduct, their motives, and their own track record, or at least be suspicious of others in respect to devilish deeds. It would be an image of the seduction of power, vice, the flesh, and materialism.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot de Marseille are also termed “Trumps,” referring to how each card in the Major sequence is more valuable than the prior, trumping it, so to speak. The Worldview of this time arrayed man and the cosmos into hierarchical order from the mundane to the spiritual. Parades, called Triumphs, displayed the successive triumph of one virtue or aspect of the universe over another. 

Temperance ended the last sequence, as the last of the virtues, but Temperance is trumped by Le Diable, because Le Diable is the gatekeeper to the final, higher realm. The virtues might assist one to live honorably, between the terrestrial world and the celestial world, but now bigger matters wait, such as one’s soul; and, there is always temptation.

At the proposed time of the development of the Tarot, astrology was not the parlor game of our modern era; it was taken seriously as a “science”. Motifs from astrology were ubiquitous and permeated artwork perhaps much the same as fashion permeates modern magazine images.

It is no wonder, then, that we might perceive astrological motifs in the Major Arcana. The particular assignations have been interminably debated—but, we offer one model at Tarot-Authentique that is not based on Kabbalistic order or Hebrew Letters or Magickal Alphabetic correspondences (although, there might be accidental parallels!). Instead, we meet the images of the Majors more directly in their images, comparing common astrological motifs contemporary with the Tarot’s development with imagery on the cards.

We should draw a distinction between a constellation, sign, and planet. We can see the Tarot de Marseille as a type of Star Map with constellations. Or, perhaps it pictures the traditional planets and zodiac signs.

The constellation of Capricornus was linked with Pan and all of his accoutrements; and fires for smelting precious metals, such as coins and a fondness for rich clothing, which dispel the cold of wintertime.

The nature of Zodiac sign Capricorn is Cardinal, Bestial, ruled by Saturn; a Melancholic, Earthy sign. Capricorn governs the knees; it signifies the Ox-house or Cow-stable where calves are kept along with tools of husbandry; and pastures. Thus, these are tools of the trade, money-making implements of Medieval times. It is the co-significator of the 10^th House of Astrology, which governs the profession, trade, kings, dignitaries, public image, and honor. Capricorn’s associations with contracts, money, and goods may be given to XV-Le Diable’s attributes. Capricorn is ruled by the planet Saturn (pictured by VIIII L’Hermite), who is often associated with professions of the Earth and Night, such as ditch-diggers, miners, and scavengers.

Any of the Major Arcana may be understood in a structure of Septenaries (groups of 7 cards):

Plato’s Perfect Panoply

In Plato’s perfectly ordered universe, there were three parts to the soul. In Phaedrus, he analogizes the soul to a chariot with a driver and two winged-horses.

One horse is the Dark Side, representing the soul of the fleshly appetite.

 
The other horse is the Light Side, representing will and spirit or the pursuit of honor.

 
The third part of the soul is the Charioteer, which is virtue itself that must guide the soul with reason, intelligence, insight, and wisdom.

 This created three classes of people: Lovers of wisdom (the Charioteer), Lovers of Honor (the horse of will), and Lovers of Gain (the horse of appetite).

When we divide the Tarot Trumps into three groups of seven (excluding the unnumbered Le Mat), we find that Le Diable positions itself in the third Septenary at the beginning of the line: Le Diable, La Maison Dieu, Le Toille, La Lune, Le Jugement, and Le Monde.

It is odd to see Le Diable at the lead of a Septenary corresponding to Plato’s Charioteer, the Lover of Wisdom, the third part of the soul representing Wisdom. Yet, interestingly, we see a similar motif in Le Diable as we do in Le Chariot: A dominant figure over two subordinate parts.

Thus, this card actually suggests the conundrum that is faced by the human, how to rule over lower soul drives (the imps), when the human itself is lower (the devil). 

For example, try channeling your Higher Charioteer when stuck in traffic! This Septenary starts with a final test, progressing through La Maison Dieu and then into the celestial phenomena, Judgment, and the glorified Christ/Sophia.

 

Thus, the positive meanings of the Tarot card XV-Le Diable often imply the conscious and limited use of those strategies associated with the Devil: such as cunning, shrewdness, assertion, seduction, and even aggression. But, in the Platonic sense, this can be the blind leading the blind!

 
The Tarot in Twos: Le Diable (XV) and Le Pape (V), The Dance of the Fives

Both XV-Le Diable and V-Le Pape form bridges to somewhere: The pope maintains his antennae in his temple in order to transmit higher knowledge to his acolytes; the devil demonstrates for us the principles of bondage, dominion, and power. In both cases, superlative knowledge is being shared, it is just a matter of whether that knowledge leads us to the sublime or the mundane.

In other words, the devil is the anti-pope, his shadow. And yet, as any contemporary of the Tarot’s inception would appreciate (whether we place the Tarot’s inception in the 12^th century or 15^th) the popes of old were not above the power structures of the day, but indistinguishable from them, playing the power games like chess masters. As Alejandro Jodorowsky said in his book, the devil is the reverse of the Pope (2004).

The Number Five is the Fifth Element, the Quintessence, the New, the Novel, and that which animates the first work of the numbers 1-4; thus, the Five was termed “Life”. Nichomachus described the Five as “change of quality” (Taylor, T. (1978).

Theoretic Arithmetic of the Pythagoreans. Kessinger Publishing, p.188.).

The Pythagoreans also called the Five  “Justice,” being at the center of the number sequence and able to mediate between both sides and unfolds Justice into Light. This concept is different from “Equality,” which would give each soul equal portions. As mentioned below, the Five was associated with “Nemesis” as the goddess who apportioned each soul’s due, even if those portions are unequal.

The Five was the number of marriage (uniting 2 + 3, feminine and masculine; passive and active). This androgyny is self-evident in XV-Le Diable. Thus, the Pythagoreans termed the Five “Androgynia”.

The Five is lack of strife and lack of discord. It reconciled the first feminine and masculine numbers. Yet, this is not akin to the popular notion of the Fives in modern Tarots. Unlike modern Golden Dawn Tarots, the five does not represent “strife” as far as the Tarot de Marseille is concerned. The interpretation of the disastrous-Five from modern Tarots is derived from associating Fives with Gevurah of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, which popularly stresses the punishing, limiting, and judgmental aspects of the Sephiroth. In contrast, the Pythagorean Five was termed the “privation of strife” by Iamblichus and as mentioned, the Five is a marriage of opposites. The Five is the Mediator between two sides (1-4 and 6-9).

In the Number sequence of elements, the Five is the Quintessence. The elements descend from heaven to earth, then ascend back.

Monad:          Fire

Dyad:             Water

Triad:             Air

Tetrad:           Earth

Pentad:         Ether/Quintessence (the Fifth Element)

Hexad:           Earth

Septad:          Air

Octad:            Water

Ennead:        Fire

Decad:           Final Quintessence

The Five is at the center of the Wheel. It blends the elements, and thus the Five signifies a blending of old and new. Therefore, the Five certainly adds a New Element to any matter, but this novelty is not necessarily conflict in the negativistic sense of the word: Perhaps “friction” would be more appropriate.

Curiously—and seeming to contradict the premise of the Five not being conflict and strife—the Five was also called “Nemesis”. In mythology, Nemesis dealt out what was due (not what was equal), but was not the harbinger of necessary punishment, per se. Herein, her attributes of “Justice” were emphasized. Perhaps to balance the motif, the Five was also known as “Aphrodite,” as a type of twin identity. Indeed, Aphrodite was known as capricious; and the Novel energy of the Five can bring an unpredictability, but also a cleverness in one’s solutions, as Aphrodite is associated with plots of intrigue.

In the numerological sequence, the 5 comes to test or tempt the stability of the 4 (pictured by L’Empereur and Temperance). The novelty of the 5 will be checked by the harmonizing and blending energy of the 6 (2 x 3).

Juxtaposed, Le Diable and Le Pape illustrate the contrasts of the Five: Le Pape is conventional.

Le Diable’s torch is crude, but aflame, thus he speaks the truth boldly, but without concern for convention. He is impolite and offensive if necessary. But, his other hand is alight, thus sleight of hand is apparent. In its positive sense, he is manipulation for a positive purpose. He sees the truth plainly, but what he reveals is another matter. He is Science, in that he expounds a Truth and pursues an agenda, but sometimes comes into conflict with V-Le Pape. XV-Le Diable is akin to the scientific advances human cloning, sending humans to the moon, and the capacity to genetically alter fetuses in utero: All controversial, but still advancing of humankind. Le Diable says, “We can do it.” Le Pape asks, “Should we?”

Le Diable is the Titan Prometheus who stole fire from Zeus and gave humans fire, thus he is the use of technological advances or wily intelligence rather than “safe” convention.  Thus, Le Diable is the Great Scientist. He is Galileo, the one who tells the public that the earth is round, actually, but is willing to hold back other details to save his life, thus he is scientific revolution, which is pointing out the most relevant truth, even if it hurts, through cogent argumentation.

Its genitalia are androgynous, fully exposed, and with eyes on the knees and a face in the stomach. Thus, s/he represents exposé, extraordinary candor, telling it like it is, and a disregard for formal convention. Back to the androgyny, Le Diable is versatile and able to “play the field,” doing whatever must be done to accomplish to goal. Le Diable represents astute action, regardless of convention.

Speaking more of the genitalia, which is such an evident part of the card, Le Diable is sexuality, passion, drive, liberalness. Le Diable drinks in the sensations of the material and physical without apology. Le Diable is money, material things, possessions, and s/he is sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.  {Picture of Ville Valo from Author: welovethedark (flickr); Kiss rock band}

As well, the angel/demon on Le Diable stands erect, and the association with virility and erection is obvious. The sexual energy displayed on this card is pulsating.  

The eyes and face on the stomach are all-seeing. In fact, Le Diable is filled with Eyes. There is no pretense, and surprisingly, no falsehood, or at least what truth is actually being shared is for an agenda. He represents a rawer spirituality that is based in nature, rather than philosophy.  It is the gut, the instinct. When the card is reversed, the eyes are mental illness, paranoia, and the arrogance of presuming to know and see all.

His tongue is out, and his/her body is naked, thus Le Diable tells the Truth, but not the whole truth, and only what is necessary to accomplish the end.

The tongue is also akin to “sticking out one’s tongue,” is mocking, comedy, or the Court Jester who says what other people are thinking but cannot say. Thus, he is candor, boldness, assertiveness, and a necessary dose of impertinence.  He is also comedy, performance art, and outspokenness.

The torch illuminates, but also creates shadow, as it is not the wholesome honesty of XVIIII-Le Soleil that comes from the bright sun, but instead the brutal utility of what will work and what will accomplish the goal. Thus, Le Diable is never Truth for its own sake or for some kind of altruism or morality (such as in Le Pape), but for self-preservation, self-centeredness, and agenda of the Ego. Upright, this card does not disparage this selfishness, as it is part of living and surviving on the Savannah of Life. Reversed, Le Diable indicates the Dark Side of this force and affords it all sorts of darker connotations. In contracts, the reversed Le Diable may signal Faustian deals, false contracts, duplicity, greed, or sleight of hand.

The imps are bound and separated. In comparison with XVIIII Le Soleil, the imps show binding and separation as opposed to the fraternity and freedom of Le Soleil. They are contracted for some purpose, indeed. Their antlers or antennae mirror their Master’s; thus, they signify natural action, experience, instinct and impulsivity, with no sanitization due to convention. Tell it like it is, drink it in, Just do It (Nike) are common motifs. The imps are bound, thus the card may signify contracts, bindings, and in the negative sense, enslavement, entrapment.

The imps display antlers, after Cernunnos, the Lord of Wild Things. Thus, this card speaks of being “Downstairs” in an “Upstairs” world; like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. The card speaks of Street Smarts. When upright, those qualities are much needed; when reversed, they become highly problematic. The imps do not engage in “tea time” manners; they are like that mother’s children at the afternoon Tea, who are somewhat naughty, but always free spirited. The antlers also signify passion and libido. Anyone who has witnesses deer in mating season in the forests will understand the assertiveness and bravado that is implied here. When reversed, the imps bring a visceral immaturity.

The imps stand in a black mass of fertile soil, animal feet against the cold and moist earth. This card speaks of solutions that come out of Nature, the gut, and using the preexisting conditions as fertilizer for progress. The feet of the imps are like tree or plant roots, obtaining nutrients from the dark soil.

This is in contrast with V-Le Pape, who adds something else (perhaps the “above” to the “below”) to move something forward, such as higher principles, laws, ethics, philosophies, morality, and religion. Le Diable uses guile, persuasion, frankness, cunning, and astuteness to make the point and score the goal. Negatively, when reversed, Le Diable signifies deviousness, deceit, and duplicity.

Thus, Le Diable is the Nature Religion, while Le Pape is Organized Religion. On the negative side of the card, the black soil can become one’s own undoing, such as in depression, gossip, backbiting, and melancholy, bad reputation, and dark plots, as the imps sink into it and are bound by their own devices. The negative aspect of this card speaks to those we meet in life who continue to weave a web of deceit, drama, and troubles and become mired in their own waste. These two cards are the meeting of reason and passion.

The water on Le Diable is calm and unperturbed. Le Diable has to accomplish the goal with pure intelligence, cleverness, shrewdness and strategy. Upright, this card signifies that this strategic thinking is ultimately positive, rather than inherently evil. Reversed, the card indicates foul play. This card advises that sometimes, you’ve got to plan, plot, strategize with cold and calculating shrewdness. On the negative side, this can speak of coldness and soullessness in decision making.

The triple nipples on the Conver imp (on stage right) are an old symbol of a pact with the Devil . It was called sigillum diaboli or Devil's seal. Thus, they indicate that the imp is not, in fact, independent, but bound to the Devil as the central figure.

Alternatively, this was a mark could be looked for to determine witchcraft. This indicated secret fraternity (or sorority), special membership, and privileged knowledge. The triple nipples may have been a common “mark of the Witch,” or the nipples by which a witch’s familiar suckled. Now, how does one interpret this positively? The Devil was also called Lucifer—or Light Bearer. In the positive sense, they represent secret knowledge, a unique approach, access to hidden ideas or creativity. This is the poker player who knows he has a royal flush, but dare not reveal his hand too soon. On a more mundane level, these marks can be an icon for tattoos, body art, and body piercings.

The dominating “angel” has bat wings. Bats are active at night, thus Le Diable is often associated with activities of the night: Dancing, sexuality, recreation of all sorts, and of course crime, or generally “up to no good”. Bats locate their prey without eyesight, but with sonar, a more instinctual form of detection. Thus, Le Diable signifies instinct, the gut reaction, “shooting from the hip,” and impulse. These were qualities disparaged by the Medieval Christian church, who advocated for a fallen-personality constricted by higher thought, laws, and principles. Thus, when reversed, this card speaks of such vices. When upright, this is someone you’d want at your party, presuming you want people to have fun! XV-Le Diable imitates an angel with his wings, but falls short, between a bat and a bird—although bats, per se, retain admirable sensory qualities of navigation wherein they project signals outward and listen to the “ping” of the feedback—Le Diable retains this similar gut instinct in its meanings. But, falseness, fakery, and duplicity are meanings of the card when interpreted negatively.

The Christian motif of the Devil evolved throughout the Middle Ages, eventually settling on the image largely pictured in the card of Le Diable, with the anthropomorphic figure, horned, hoofed, with bat wings, andrynous genitalia, and some type of implement.

Because the Tarot was popularized within this particular cultural soup, it is natural that Le Diable would emphasize these elements over Pan, Bacchus, Dionysus, and Cernunnos, as examples.

In many Tarot de Marseille divination systems, when the card is upright it is “well-dignified,” using the nomenclature of Astrology. When the card is reversed, it is “ill-dignified”. Thus, it’s all about Spin. When the card is upright, the card is interpreted with positive spin; reversed, negative spin. Of course, some Tarot scholars do not use this convention, but determine that some Tarot Majors are obviously “good” and particular ones are “bad”. Often, these Tarot scholars emphasize in their interpretational schemes how the card would have been viewed by its contemporaries, and it does take some spin indeed to put lipstick on the devil, so to speak. Nonetheless, we believe that the Tarot contains inherent polarities in every card and take a more Taoist point of view that what apparently is bad, may be good, and vice versa.

 

Abstracting to the Specific

The Tarot de Marseille tradition is classically practical. The cards may contain esoteric teachings, but in divination, they may signify very down-to-earth ideas. Below are some practical meanings to Le Diable that may not have been emphasized in the narrative, above:

PLACES:

PEOPLE:

ACTIVITIES:

• Le Diable is Yang energy, while La Force is Yin, both evincing a sexual energy.
• Le Diable is the Penis; La Force is the Vagina.

• Le Diable is unconventionality, while Le Pape is conventionality.

• Le Diable binds his imps, while on Le Soleil the children are free, although still bearing the scar of the collar.

• Le Diable paradoxically separates, while Le Soleil joins.  
• Le Diable is money; Le Soleil is gold.

• Le Diable is domination; Lamoureux is negotiation.

• Le Diable’s hands are out and exposed, while the man’s hands on Le Pendu are behind him and concealed. Both show a binding. On the Camoin and Conver tarots, both Le Pendu and Le Diable have their tongues out.

• Le Diable dominates two imps; La Roue has a central sphinx dominating two animals bound to a wheel on La Roue.

• Le Diable is the application of Chaos.
• La Justice is the application of Order.

• Le Diable stands his/her ground.
• Le Chariot moves.

Le Diable dominates; Le Toille kneels and rests.

The imps are liberated.
 

Sources for Inspiration:

• Freke, Timothy & Gandy, Peter (1999). The Jesus mysteries: Was the “original Jesus” a pagan god? NW: Three Rivers Press.
• Freke, Timothy & Gandy, Peter (2005). The laughing Jesus: Religious lies and Gnostic wisdom. NY: Harmony Books.
• Hoeller, Stephan (2002). Gnosticism: New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing. Wheaton, Illinois, USA: Quest Books, Inc.
• Jodorowky, Alejandro (2004). La voie du tarot. Paris: Albin Michel.
• Malachi, Tau (2006). Living gnosis: A practical guide to Gnostic Christianity. Woodbury, Minnesota, USA: Llewellyn Publications.
• Place, Robert M. (2005). The Tarot: History, symbolism, and divination. NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Penguin Press.
• Rodes, Daniel & Sánchez, Encarna (2006). Le Tarot: Héritage des Cathares et de Marie-Madeleine. Paris: A.L.T.E.S.S.
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• Starbird, Margaret (2000). The tarot trumps and the holy grail: Great secrets of the middle ages. Boulder, Colorado, USA: WovenWord Press.
• Starbird, Margaret (2005). Mary Magdalene, bride in exile. Rochester, Vermont, USA : Bear & Company.
• Stratford, Jordan (2007). Living Gnosticism: An ancient way of knowing. Berkeley, CA: Apocryphile Press.
• Waterfield, Robin, translator (1988). The theology of arithmetic. Grand Rapids , Michigan, USA: Phanes Press.