Follow the chains
Against a black background, a huge figure with curved horns, batlike wings and clawed feet crouches on a black pedestal. An inverted pentagram sits above its forehead. The hand on the left of the image is raised and open; the one on the right holds a burning torch downwards. Its wings and body fill almost the entire upper half of the card, leaving little space for the two people below.
A ring on the front of the pedestal holds two chains, each looped around the neck of a naked person, one male and one female. Both have small horns and tails: the tail on the left ends in fruit, while the one on the right ends in a shape like flames. The chains hang in curves, and neither person’s hands are tied. Neither is tugging on a chain or stepping away. Notice this relationship in the picture: there is room to move, yet both remain attached to the same point. That visual detail does not establish that people trapped in real situations can leave whenever they choose. View the card.
Waite describes bondage, but leaves room for change
In Part II of The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Waite connects the chains with the constraints of material life, and the tails with human animal nature. Yet he also stresses that the figure above the pair will not remain their master forever. This belongs to his own religious and mystical framework; it does not condemn every desire. Waite on the Devil.
His Part III divinatory list includes force, violence and fatality, while the reversed entry includes weakness and blindness. Learning “liberation” as the automatic reversed meaning would therefore misrepresent his list. Waite’s divinatory meanings.
Look at the attraction and the bill together
DestinyPixel’s modern reading begins with an exchange. Upright, this card can describe a compelling cycle that gradually narrows your choices: immediate pleasure, feeling needed, income or status may temporarily outweigh sleep, boundaries and long-term goals. Enjoying money, pleasure or intimacy is not itself the problem. The questions are whether you can stop, and what stopping would cost.
Reversed, it can suggest recognising the cycle and beginning to loosen it. It can also describe talking about change while continuing to defend the old pattern. Look for actions: cancelling automatic renewal, changing your exposure to the habit, or asking someone trustworthy for support. Feeling worse about yourself without gaining more choice is not yet freedom from the pattern.
In everyday situations
Spending. Every evening, feeling upset leads to another order; once the parcel is opened, you regret it. Record how you feel before buying and the following day. Then introduce an overnight pause, and notice whether you wanted the object or a moment of comfort.
Work. You keep taking on extra tasks because “only I can save this”, until taking leave feels impossible. The shared ring in the picture prompts a closer look: is this a job requirement, a staffing problem, or a way of proving your worth by rescuing everyone?
Relationships. You want space, but fear that saying no will cost you the relationship. Answer “Do I like this relationship?” separately from “Am I free to say no?” If there is control or intimidation, prioritise practical support.
Try it for yourself
Create two columns: “What it gives me immediately” and “What it takes from me later”. Circle one small condition you can actually change. Try changing it for three days, then see whether you have more choice. Keep the exercise from becoming another form of self-punishment.
Common misreadings
The Devil does not prove that someone is evil, that you are cursed, or that a relationship is destined to harm you. Loose chains are no reason to blame someone for “refusing to leave”. Resources, power and safety all affect a person’s ability to get away.
Read these cards together
- The Lovers: Compare the two people’s choices within a relationship, and the different figures above them.
- Strength: Compare ways of relating to desire: suppressing it, yielding to it, or working with it patiently.
- The Tower: Compare an arrangement that keeps people bound with a structure that suddenly stops holding.
Sources and further reading
- A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Part II, XV: English text
- The same book, Part III, Section 3, entry 15: original upright and reversed meanings
- Pamela Colman Smith, RWS card: Commons image and version history
The English transcription is dated 1911; the image page identifies the card as Pam-A, 1910. The visual description follows the downloaded Commons JPG. The modern quick takes and exercises are DestinyPixel's original interpretations. Sources checked: 2026-10-07.