Tarot Working, The Devil

The Devil.

There is not much to report on the informal side of working with the Devil. Perhaps it is time to reiterate what I mean by “informal”. In general it is deliberately loose. I put an image of the card on my phone’s home screen so I look at it multiple times a day. (Yes, I play with my phone a lot.) I carry a small version of the card in my shirt pocket every day. I also try to contemplate the card through the week while I’m at my day to day activities; riding the bus, walking the dog, doing dishes. Sometimes a message will come through sometimes not. I try to keep my eyes open to see if I can spot manifestations of the cards out in the world. This week with the Devil I didn’t feel like I had received any messages before the formal working nor did I see the Devil as I went about my day.

On Tuesday I had a chance to do the formal working. I lit the candle in my lantern and propped the card up in front of me. I called in the same way I’ve been calling the others. “Devil, I call to you. Come to me, speak to me. Share with me your wisdom. Show me your forms.” Almost immediately my vision is obscured with what I’ll describe as a kind of visual static that washed over me in a wave. The figure of the Devil in the card’s image began to glow. Butterfly wings sprouted from the sides of the Devil’s head, resembling elephant ears.

I ask, “how can I use your energy in my life?” The Devil laughs and frowns at the same time. His arms take on a bestial look, hairy and shaggy. His body appears and disappears in and out of my vision. Flat spiky horns sprout from his head, grow, fall away, only to be replaced by a new fresh bone spike. It is like watching flames made of bone burning on top of the Devil’s head. In response to my question he sweeps his arm over the heads of the imps at his feet. He says, “gathering”. Then I see that the flesh of his body resembles a loose fitting suit with gaps opening up at the seams. It is a full body mask and he says, “masks”.
I ask, “what lessons can you teach me?” Holes appear behind him. The holes have jagged edges like there are rips in the air. The Devil says, “connected openings”.
I ask, “what other lessons can you teach me?” He says, “the divinity of your guts.”
I ask, “who are your minions?” The Devil says, “they are not minions, they are guests, friends.”
I ask, “alrighty then, who are your friends?” They say, “I am the one. I am the other one.”
I ask, “do you have names?” The one on the right says “Florin”. The one on the left says “Sorin”. Then they switch back and forth, both claiming to be Florin as well as Sorin. The whole time their gaze is strictly on the Devil.
I ask the Devil, “what is your torch?” He says, “the sensation that hardens the nipples,” and he laughs. Then a wide, shining golden ring forms around his head and then disappears. I take it as another answer to the torch question.
I ask, “where are you standing?” In response my vision changes to a wide sea, no land in sight. The Devil stands on a rock in the middle.  The waves lap at his feet but the waves are tiny and the Devil is huge. His arms blow in the wind, suddenly made of yellow silk. Then he changes to a plume of smoke rising in a great column from the rock in the sea. Then the scene changes and he is the Devil again. His head is still sprouting bone fire. Two birds alight on his brow they are singing.
I ask, “are you evil?” The Devil looks at me and asks, “do you even know what that word means?” He scoffs with derision and says, “if you need someone to blame I can be that.” He seems disappointed.
I get the wave of static across my vision again and as it clears I see two great eyes open on either side of the Devil’s head. The Devil’s face changes to that of an old woman and he says, “learn your lessons well.” Then the giant eyes close and a big mouth opens at the Devil’s neck, singing. It looks like the Devil’s head is now the nose of a larger face. The birds on the Devil’s brow are singing, the great head is singing, and the Devil is in the middle. He says, “as above, so below.” Then I see a vision of deep space and I know that the song of the greater head is the turning of galaxies. Then the birds and the greater head disappear and he is the Devil again.
I ask, “Devil, what is your connection to the Underworld?” He looks down. I follow his gaze and see that he is standing on a large, floating disembodied head of a man. The man’s head has its eyes tightly shut and his teeth are gritted in a grimace of enduring. Below them I see the rolling hills of a countryside. Then above all of it I see another face, this one calm, serene, and reassuring. I hear a voice say, “your pain serves a purpose,” but I can’t tell who has said it.
At this point I was getting pretty tired and so I decided to close the session. I called on the Devil to be my ally, to help me learn his wisdom. I thanked him for coming to me and speaking with me. I release him to be at peace and I close the session.