The Christian Devil, whose epithet was "The Great Beast," was a caricature of Pan and Dionysus, both of whom, significantly, were worshiped in mass rites of orgiastic nature.
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst...." In the service of a vital, human need, miracles can occur. One might say that miracles can only happen in response to a need transcending the ego.
....The flow of these waters and the circular rhythm of the design seem to emphasize the idea that we are witnessing one event involving two poles of equal importance: on the left, the people's need and hope; on the right, Moses' awareness and dedication. Without both factors, no miracle could take place. Were the thirsty people eliminated from this illustration, the magus would inevitably become its central figure and his magic, if operable at all, merely a prideful trick, an ego trip in the service of nothing beyond personal vanity.
In the R.W.S. deck, the Devil is derived in part from Eliphas Levi's famous illustration "Baphomet" in his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1855).
Characters associated: Leander
