Shadow Work

15 – The Devil: "It's bloody hard work keeping this thing going."

Core meaning: A choice, situation, or action that is contrary to your best interest.

Literature and movies are peppered with stories of the creations of man going awry. These machines, these monsters, these situations all began as a great idea that became a viable plan and eventually manifested in the physical world. Because we have already invested so much into these blessed creations of ours, we carefully nurture them. They are fed and praised and loved. Our lives are rearranged to make room for them, to make it easier for them to grow larger and stronger. It happens so slowly, so naturally, that we don't realize what we've actually brought to life.
By the time our creation has fully matured, we've completely assimilated its care and feeding into our lives. We cannot imagine what we'd do without it. We are it, and it is us; there is no division. We can't imagine ever being completely free of it, and in truth, we really don't want to be. To separate from it will surely mean death. But this really doesn't matter, in any case; we are too busy taking care of this thing to think about such nonsense.
If the Devil is part of your life (and if he shows up in a reading, then he is indeed part of your life), take a look at what you've created that has taken over your life, your resources, your energy, and your focus. More importantly, what have you nurtured that is completely connected to your self-identity? This card represents your commitment to something that is so all-consuming that you cannot imagine your life without it. But this thing - even if it started life innocently and with the very best of intentions - now exists merely to be constantly fed. It gives nothing of use in return. It only consumes: your resources... your life... you.
As hideous as that may seem, there is a bright side. Because you created this life-ingesting monster machine, you can dismantle it. Also, once you've finished that, you get to decide where you want to invest all the time and energy you'll have on hand.

Reading tip: In traditional decks, the Devil is a perversion of the Lovers and of the Hierophant, both compositionally and literally. Therefore, it symbolizes doing something that goes against one's spiritual beliefs and doing something against one's greatest good. Because of this, when the Devil shows up, it has a tendency to twist or skew cards toward their more negative extremes. This card can also appear in situations involving addictions.

Five of Pentacles: "There is no sugarcoating it: these are hard times, very hard times indeed."

Core meaning: Physical need.

She feels the biting wind not as a discomfort to herself but as she imagines it feels to him. He is so much younger, so much weaker, than she. For his sake, she plunges into the wind and darkness and snow in search of safety and perhaps the slightest comfort.
What is more poignant than innocence facing the cruelty and neglect of the world? If anyone were to see such a plight, surely they would help, wouldn't they? This experience, while not as picturesquely displayed as this card, happens every day and often goes unalleviated. This is not a card of relief granted and mercies raining down from heaven. It is a card of need.
Steampunk worlds are created by the mash-up of genres. Here it looks like the stories of the little match girl (from Hans Christian Anderson's story of the same name) and Tiny Tim (a character from Dicken's A Christmas Carol) have collided in a tale of epic tragedy. The image of the suffering, abused, or neglected child is common in Victorian literature and art. The stories mentioned here were written only two years apart, in the mid-1800s. Some say that images of children became symbolic for the part of humanity that was sacrificed to feed the Industrial Revolution.
What of the church in the background; what symbolic role does it play? Is it help that is at hand but is overlooked or rejected by the children? Is it help from an institution that should be offered but is not, because the institution lost its vision and compassion? What is the relationship between the children's physical and spiritual lives?
When this card shows up in your reading, it describes a time of physical need. Money could be lacking, health could be in question, time might be nonexistent, or basic survival needs are perhaps not being met. This complex card does far more than describe the situation. It brings a pile of questions and unceremoniously drops them at your feet. As you work your way through them, you will likely find wise advise for improving your situation.

Five of Cups: "I told him not to mind about the mess. But he was too far into his sobbing and couldn't leave off."

Core meaning: Experience of loss and grief.

Regret for mistakes made that cannot be unmade. Missing a past that can never be recovered. Crying over spilt milk. In the suit of cups, the cups are how we hold, contain, and organize our emotions. The liquid they contain is raw emotion. When a cup has been toppled - knocked over by our own carelessness or dashed from our hand by someone else - the emotions, the liquid, pour out, dripping to the ground and seeping back into the earth. Try as we might, we'll never get that liquid, in the same whole and pure form, back into the cup, no matter how valiant our attempts. Whatever we had before is completely and utterly gone.
Remember the Ace of Cups and the constant flow in and out of the cup? That is our ideal state of being. Whenever we find our cups empty, they will, in time, be filled again.
In this image, a compassionate barmaid watches with sympathy as her customer is racked with loss. His pain is almost as hard for her to witness as it is for him to experience. She, standing to his right, represents the future and all that it has to offer. But he is not ready for a new glass of anything. His hand, his mind, his focus is all to the left, the past. Remembering the sweetness of the past makes the present, the spilled cups, all the more bitter.
When you get this card, approach the situation with tenderness. This is a time of deep sadness and loss. Feelings are raw and intense. We do like to gloss over these situations, diverting our attention to promises of a better future and happy moments ahead. That will come, in time. For now, take a cue from the barmaid: be on hand with libations and sympathy. There are times when there is nothing to be done except have a good long cry.

Reading tip: While mourning a loss is normal, if there is concern about extreme or unhealthy lengths of depression, watch for the Ten of Swords or the Moon along with this card.