Last updated: 2025. Interpretations follow the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition and are written from a working reader’s perspective.
Pulling the Devil in a feelings position tells you someone is hooked on you, but not in a soft, secure way. The attraction is physical, compulsive, and hard for them to walk away from, and it often comes bundled with possessiveness, jealousy, or a wish to control. This guide breaks down what that means for how they feel about you, split by situation: new connection, long-term partner, ex, and friendship, upright and reversed.
The Short Answer: What the Devil Means for Their Feelings
Upright, the Devil as feelings means the person feels a strong, bodily pull toward you that they experience as something closer to craving than affection. They think about you more than they would like to admit. They want access to you, your time, and your attention, and they can get sharp or sulky when they don’t get it. Love in the tender sense is not what this card describes. Obsession, lust, and attachment are.
Reversed, the pull is loosening. They are questioning why they were so drawn to you, pulling back to think, or actively trying to break a pattern that has become unhealthy. In some readings the reversed Devil shows someone who has just realised they were being manipulated, or who has caught themselves behaving in a controlling way and feels ashamed of it.
Card Symbolism Decoded
Reading the Devil well starts with the picture. Pamela Colman Smith’s 1909 illustration for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck packs several details into card XV, and each one changes how you read feelings.
The horned figure
The central figure is a composite: goat horns and legs, bat wings, a human torso. A. E. Waite described it in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot as the Horned Goat of Mendes, drawing on the Baphomet imagery popularised by occultist Éliphas Lévi in the mid-1800s. In a love reading this figure is the appetite itself, not a person. Nobody in the reading is “the devil.” The card shows what happens when desire runs the relationship instead of the two people in it.
The inverted pentagram
An upside-down five-pointed star sits on the figure’s forehead. Upright, the pentagram represents spirit ruling the four elements. Inverted, matter rules spirit. For feelings, this is the clearest single symbol on the card: the person’s body and ego are calling the shots, and their higher judgment has gone quiet.
The raised hand and the lowered torch
The figure’s right hand is raised in a gesture that mirrors the Hierophant‘s blessing, a deliberate parody. The left hand holds a torch pointed downward, lighting the man’s tail rather than the path ahead. Translate this to a relationship and you get passion aimed at the wrong target: heat without direction, energy spent on stoking the fire rather than building anything.
The chained couple
At the bottom, a naked man and woman stand chained to the black cube the figure perches on. Look closely and the chains hang loose around their necks. They could lift them off. The woman’s tail ends in a bunch of grapes (indulgence), the man’s in a flame (lust). Both figures have small horns now, having taken on the nature of the thing they are bound to. This is the heart of the Devil as feelings: the attachment feels inescapable to the person, but it is a choice they keep remaking every day.
Astrological and Elemental Correspondences
In the Golden Dawn system, which most modern decks inherit, the Devil belongs to Capricorn.
| Correspondence | Detail | What it adds to a love reading |
|---|---|---|
| Zodiac sign | Capricorn | Ambition, endurance, status-seeking; the goat that climbs by any means |
| Ruling planet | Saturn | Restriction, obligation, structures that bind; attachments that feel like duty |
| Element | Earth | Physicality, material comfort, the body over the heart |
| Season | Roughly 21 December to 19 January | Readers often see the card cluster in Capricorn season when a querent is stuck in a relationship they keep for security |
| Number | XV (15) | Reduces to 6, linking it to the Lovers; the Devil is the Lovers' shadow |
Saturn matters more than most guides admit. Saturn is the planet of contracts and consequences. When the Devil shows up as someone’s feelings, ask whether they stay because they want to or because leaving would cost them something: shared housing, social standing, a routine they fear losing. Capricorn’s earthiness also explains why the attraction is so physical. This person is drawn to your body, your presence, and what you provide, not primarily to your inner life.
Devil Upright as Feelings: The Full Range
Most write-ups stop at “lust and chemistry.” That undersells the card. Here is the spectrum you should actually consider when the Devil lands upright in a feelings position.
Possessiveness and jealousy
The person feels you belong to them, or should. They track who you talk to, feel a spike of anger when you mention other people, and read neutral behaviour as a threat. Early on this can look like flattering intensity (“I just can’t stand the thought of anyone else with you”). It is not flattering. It is the chain around the neck being fitted.
Obsession
Thinking about you constantly, checking your social media, replaying conversations, needing to know where you are. The Devil upright frequently describes someone whose attention on you has crossed from interest into compulsion. They may not even like how much they think about you.
Control
The wish to shape your choices: what you wear, who you see, how you spend money, when you reply to messages. Control often hides behind concern. The Devil’s raised hand mimics a blessing while the torch burns the person below.
Conquest mentality
Some people feel the Devil toward a person they have not yet “won.” The feeling is a hunt. Once they have you, interest can drop sharply, because the card describes wanting, not having. If you are reading on a new person who is pursuing you hard, weigh this possibility seriously.
Manipulation, love-bombing, and emotional blackmail
The Devil is the card of the bargain. In feelings, it can show a person who gives affection strategically: overwhelming gifts and attention at the start (love-bombing), then withdrawing warmth when you fail to comply. Emotional blackmail sounds like “after everything I’ve done for you,” “you’d leave me like everyone else,” or “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Watch for a pattern where every disagreement ends with you apologising.
Plain lust and magnetic chemistry
This is real too, and sometimes it is the whole story. Two people who cannot keep their hands off each other can pull the Devil without any abuse in the picture. The tell is in the surrounding cards. The Devil next to the Two of Cups or the Sun is a hot, mutual, mostly harmless attraction. The Devil next to the Five of Swords, Seven of Swords, or Moon is a warning.
Devil as Feelings by Relationship Context
In a new or potential relationship
The person is intensely attracted to you and thinks about you sexually far more than they think about you as a partner. They want to see you, but often at their convenience and on their terms. Ask yourself whether they have shown interest in your day-to-day life, or only in when you are next free.
Red flags at this stage: pushing for intimacy faster than you are comfortable with, extravagant declarations within days, irritation when you have plans that don’t include them, and a habit of steering conversation back to physical topics. Green-ish flags: the chemistry is mutual, they respect a no, and other cards in the spread show stability (Four of Wands, Ten of Pentacles, Temperance). Even then, the Devil says the foundation is desire, so build the rest deliberately.
In an existing long-term relationship
Here the card shifts from lust to entanglement. Your partner feels bound to you, and “bound” is the operative word. They may stay out of fear, habit, finances, or the belief that nobody else would put up with them. Affection has been replaced by need. Jealousy that was once occasional has become the weather of the relationship.
It can also show a partner whose feelings toward you are tangled up with an addiction of their own: drinking, gambling, pornography, or work. In that case the Devil is not really about you at all. Their attention is chained to the cube, and you are standing next to it.
One more reading, and it is common: the sexual bond is still strong even though everything else has gone stale. Couples who fight constantly and reconcile in bed pull this card often.
For an ex
The Devil as an ex’s feelings is one of the most searched contexts, and for good reason. Upright, your ex is not over you in the way you might hope. They feel a compulsive pull, often strongest late at night or after drinking, and they may reach out in bursts. But the pull is toward the version of the relationship that felt good physically, not toward doing the work that ended it.
Reconciliation signals to weigh: if the Devil appears alongside the Six of Cups or Judgement, there is real unfinished business and some chance of honest reflection on their part. If it appears with the Seven of Swords, Five of Pentacles, or Moon, they want the comfort and access without the accountability. Expect a “you up?” text, not an apology.
Also consider that the Devil here can describe your own feelings for the ex. If you keep checking their profile and rehearsing arguments in your head, the card is holding up a mirror.
In a friendship or platonic relationship
The Devil rarely means a friend secretly lusts after you, though that reading is possible if the spread supports it. More often it shows a friendship built on a shared vice or an unhealthy dependency. Think of the friend you only see when drinking, the one who needs you to rescue them every week, or the one who gets cold when you spend time with others.
It can also indicate a friend who is jealous of you and feels competitive under the surface, or who keeps you around because you make them feel superior. Ask how you feel after seeing them. Drained and slightly guilty is the Devil’s signature.
Devil as Intentions
Feelings and intentions are different questions, and the Devil answers them differently. As intentions, the upright card means the person wants something specific from you and is prepared to use charm, pressure, or guilt to get it. Usually that is sex, sometimes money, attention, or a sense of power. It does not automatically mean they are wicked, but it does mean their agenda is about their satisfaction, not your wellbeing.
Reversed as intentions, they are backing away from a plan they had, or their motives are shifting from wanting to take to wanting to leave.
Devil as a Love Outcome
In an outcome position, the upright Devil says the relationship will either remain stuck in its current pattern or deepen into something more consuming. If the pattern is fun and mutual, expect more of the same intensity without much progress toward commitment. If the pattern is controlling, expect it to tighten. The Devil as an outcome almost never predicts a healthy, stable, growing partnership on its own.
Reversed as an outcome, the bond breaks or transforms. One of you steps out of the chains. That can mean a breakup, or it can mean the relationship survives because the unhealthy dynamic is finally named and addressed.
Devil Reversed as Feelings: The Nuances
Reversing the card does more than flip the message to “freedom.” It shows the moment when the chain is noticed, and people react to that moment in very different ways.
Questioning the attraction
They liked you intensely and now they are asking themselves why. The heat is cooling into puzzlement. This is not the same as losing interest; it is a person stepping back to see whether there is anything underneath the chemistry. Give them room. Pressing for reassurance here confirms the fear that the connection was only ever a hook.
Confused or ambivalent feelings
The reversed Devil often describes someone torn between wanting you and wanting out. They send mixed signals because the signals are mixed inside them. If the Two of Swords or Seven of Cups is nearby, expect indecision to drag on.
Self-sabotage
Some people pull away from you not because the feeling is gone but because the feeling scares them. They are used to the chains and do not trust a connection that doesn’t hurt. Reversed Devil next to the Five of Cups or Nine of Swords describes someone who ruins good things out of habit.
Waking up from manipulation
If you have been the one manipulated, the reversed Devil is the card of the morning after the spell breaks. You can suddenly see the pattern: the guilt trips, the hot-and-cold, the way you shrank to fit. The feeling is often grief mixed with clarity. Read on the other person, it can show that they have realised they were controlling you and are pulling back in shame, or, less nobly, that they have lost their grip and are reassessing their approach.
The close call
Sometimes the reversed Devil shows up before anything bad has happened. It means you nearly got into something you would have struggled to leave, and something (your gut, a friend, a slip on their part) pulled you back. Treat that as the warning it is. Do not re-enter to test the theory.
Reclaiming agency
The most hopeful reversed reading: the person has taken the chain off their own neck. They are choosing sobriety, therapy, boundaries, or simply distance from a dynamic that had them hooked. If this is your partner, expect them to be less available for a while, and understand that the relationship may change shape as a result.
Reversed Devil for singles
For a single querent, the reversed Devil says your taste in partners is changing. The people who used to light you up now look like work you do not want. That is not cynicism; it is your standards catching up with your self-worth. It also often follows a period of no-contact with an ex or a stretch of celibacy that felt awkward at first and now feels like relief.
Is the Devil a Yes or No Card in Love?
Upright: No. Whatever you are asking about, the Devil upright indicates that the situation is driven by compulsion, imbalance, or someone’s agenda rather than genuine mutual care. “Does he love me?” gets a no with the qualifier that he wants you. “Will we get back together?” gets a no with the qualifier that you may end up in bed regardless.
Reversed: A cautious yes, especially for questions about leaving, healing, or breaking a pattern. For “will this relationship work out,” reversed is a maybe that depends entirely on whether both people do the work the card describes.
The Devil Compared With Related Cards
| Card | Shared theme | Key difference |
|---|---|---|
| The Lovers (VI) | Attraction, a couple, a figure above them | The Lovers shows an angel and open sky; the pair choose each other freely. The Devil shows the same pair chained in the dark. Same number reduced (15 = 1+5 = 6), opposite condition |
| The Tower (XVI) | Disruption, uncomfortable truth | The Tower is the sudden collapse that follows the Devil's slow entanglement. Devil then Tower in a spread means the pattern is about to break violently |
| Strength (VIII) | Managing a beast | Strength shows a woman calmly closing a lion's mouth: desire mastered. The Devil shows desire in charge. Strength after the Devil is an excellent sign |
| Eight of Swords | Feeling trapped | Eight of Swords bonds are mental (fear, overthinking). Devil bonds are physical and habitual, and harder to reason your way out of |
| Two of Cups | Mutual feeling | Two of Cups is affection offered openly. Devil next to it usually means strong chemistry that is real but needs structure |
What to Do After Pulling the Devil in a Love Reading
Name the hook
Write one sentence that finishes “I keep going back because…” Be honest. “Because the sex is great,” “because I’m scared of being alone,” “because they need me” are all Devil answers. Naming the hook is how the chain starts to loosen.
Test the loose chain
Pick one small thing you have been avoiding out of fear of their reaction: a night out with friends, an unanswered text for a few hours, a direct “no.” Watch what happens. A partner with healthy feelings adjusts. A partner with Devil feelings escalates. You will have your answer within a week.
Set one boundary and hold it
Not five. One. “I won’t discuss our relationship after midnight” or “I don’t share my location.” Vague boundaries are the Devil’s favourite meal. Specific ones starve it.
Check your own tail
The card has two chained figures. Before deciding the other person is the problem, ask where you are being possessive, jealous, or manipulative yourself. Most Devil relationships have two participants.
A three-card spread for the Devil in love
Lay three cards left to right:
- What binds us (the real reason the connection persists)
- What it costs me (the price you are paying, often invisible from inside)
- The loose link (the one action that would free you or transform the bond)
Read the third card as an instruction, not a prediction. If you pull the Devil again in position three, the message is that you are not ready to act yet, and that is information too.
Self-reflection prompts
- When I imagine this person happy without me, what do I feel first: relief, panic, or anger?
- Have I told anyone the full truth about how this relationship works?
- What would I advise a friend in my exact position?
- What did I stop doing since this person arrived in my life?
FAQ
What does the Devil card mean for feelings?
Upright, it means the person feels an intense, compulsive attraction to you rooted in desire, need, or a wish to possess rather than tender love. They think about you constantly and struggle to pull away. Reversed, they are questioning the attraction or actively trying to break an unhealthy pattern.
Is the Devil card a yes or no?
Upright, the Devil is a no in love readings. The situation is driven by lust, control, or dependency rather than mutual care. Reversed, it is a cautious yes for questions about leaving, healing, or breaking free, and a maybe for whether a relationship can be saved.
What does the Devil card mean for obsession?
The Devil is the primary obsession card in tarot. It shows someone unable to stop thinking about you, monitoring you, or needing your attention. The chained figures on the card represent an attachment that feels involuntary but is actually a choice being remade every day.
What does the Devil reversed mean for an ex’s feelings?
Your ex is loosening their grip on the relationship, either by questioning why they were so drawn to you or by consciously breaking the cycle of reaching out. It can also mean they have realised the dynamic was unhealthy. Reconciliation is unlikely unless the pattern changes, not just the feelings.
Does the Devil card mean someone is lying to me?
Not by itself. The Devil shows manipulation, pressure, and hidden agendas more than outright lies. If it appears with the Seven of Swords, the Moon, or the Magician reversed, deception becomes a strong possibility. Alone, read it as “their motives are about their satisfaction, not your wellbeing.”
Can the Devil card be positive in a love reading?
Occasionally. With supportive cards like the Sun, Two of Cups, or Ten of Pentacles, it describes strong mutual chemistry and a relationship where both people accept each other’s flaws. Even then, treat it as a reminder to build friendship and trust alongside the physical bond.
Which zodiac sign is the Devil card?
Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, element Earth. Capricorn’s ambition and endurance explain why Devil attachments are so persistent; Saturn’s themes of obligation explain why people stay in them out of fear of what leaving would cost.
