There’s a used bookstore I love going to that has the sickest discounted tarot finds and I picked up the Murder of Crows Tarot deck a few weeks back.

It’s a dark deck. It’s black and white. The descriptions in the deck and the images on the cards are gut-punchy. It’s one of those decks I don’t read with reversals because shadow decks are all reversed by default, it’s sorta the point.

A few nights back I gravitated to it because it tells me exactly what I need to know with no frill, no niceties, and no apologies. I’ve been pulling the Knight of Pentacles for weeks and dodging the message. I got this deck, pulled the Knight of Pentacles from it….and could not turn away from it. It absolutely required me to get the fucking memo. I love this deck.

I pulled the Ace&9 of Pentacles. I pulled The Devil. So the image below is inspired by the fecundity of the first two and the grotesque-ness of the third. The Ace&9 are birthed from The Devil.

I’ve pulled in the glyph for Capricorn, the zodiac sign associated with this card on Baphomet’s left wing (from Baphomet’s perspective). Saturn the ruler of Capricorn, rests in the right hand of Baphomet. A hand offers a pentacle to Eve, and takes one from Adam. Venus rests on the post The Lovers are chained to. It is nearly impossible to see but there is a white outline of The Empress on Venus. In the belly of Baphomet, is the Angel of Temperance. Adam’s Sacral Chakra is ablaze, Eve’s is juicy.

I am always thinking of the Aces as an offering from the Gods of the Major Arcana. The Devil, being associated with Capricorn is tied to Earth (and thus, Pentacles).

The 9 of Pentacles echoes The Hermit (also numbered 9). The Hermit who is associated with Virgo another Earth sign.

The Devil is magnetic. They drag you in against your will. You absolutely cannot fight the pull. Many trick themselves into believing they can resist temptation: but we are little pleasure bots born to feel, it is our nature(it is our curse).