The Devil Tarot Card Meaning: Upright, Reversed and Love
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
The Devil tarot card meaning: attachment, temptation and the chains we choose, what the card shows, upright and reversed meanings, the Devil in love and career, and yes or no.
The Devil is card XV of the Major Arcana. It is not a card of evil spirits. It is a card about attachment: the habits, desires and fears that hold us — and the fact that we could walk away.
What the card shows
- A horned, bat-winged figure crouches on a pedestal, an inverted pentagram above his head and a torch pointing down.
- Chained to the pedestal stand a man and a woman, with small horns and tails — the Lovers of card VI, fallen.
- Look closely at the chains: they are loose around their necks. They could lift them off at any time.
That detail is the whole meaning of the card.
Upright meaning
- Attachment — to a habit, a substance, a person, money.
- Temptation and indulgence.
- Feeling trapped — often by choices of our own.
- The shadow self — the parts of ourselves we prefer not to look at.
Reversed meaning
- Breaking free — lifting the chains off.
- Recognising an unhealthy pattern.
- Reclaiming control.
The reversed Devil is one of the few cards many readers welcome more upside down than upright.
In love
Upright: intense attraction, but also obsession, jealousy or a relationship that feels impossible to leave. Reversed: breaking out of an unhealthy dynamic.
In career and money
Upright: feeling trapped in a job for the money, or debt that dictates choices. Reversed: taking steps towards freedom.
Yes or no
Upright: no — or yes, but at a price. Reversed: yes to getting free.
The Devil and the Lovers
The Devil (XV) mirrors the Lovers (VI): the same two figures, but where the Lovers stand free beneath an angel, here they are chained beneath a devil. One is a choice made from the heart; the other is a choice we let make itself. The Lovers meaning.
Astrology
In the Golden Dawn system that shaped the 1909 deck, this card belongs to Capricorn: the goat-horned sign of ambition, material things and worldly power. Readers who combine tarot with astrology look at where that sign or planet falls in their own chart.
Questions to ask when you draw it
- What am I telling myself I cannot leave?
- Which habit is serving me, and which am I serving?
- What would lifting the chain actually take?
Write the answers down. Tarot works best as a prompt for honest thinking — the card asks the question; you answer it.
For all 78 cards, see tarot card meanings · Tarot spreads for beginners.
