You wake up from a not-so-restful sleep but cannot move, which causes you to panic. The next thing you know, a shadowy figure stands over you and sits on your chest.

You attempt to scream, but you can't. You want to kick the figure off and escape, but you can't. It is a scary experience that feels like it lasts for hours, but in reality, this terrifying experience lasts for not even a minute.

That frightening experience is known as sleep paralysis, one of the things the Devil tarot card can represent. Let's review the Devil tarot card and why it represents sleep paralysis.

The Devil Tarot Card

The Devil tarot card usually represents attachments and temptation. Still, it can suggest that you somehow feel trapped or limited and may represent the freedom to be yourself and express your true desires in a more positive light.

It can also indicate that you want to break free from any limitations holding you back, but you are unsure how.

The Devil tarot card is one of the deck's most iconic and well-known cards, but its history is a mystery.

Some believe that the devil card is based on the biblical figure of Satan, while others claim that it represents temptation and sin.

Regardless of its origins, the devil tarot card has come to be associated with many negative connotations. And those are evil, darkness, and destruction.

In addition, it can often indicate events or situations that are harmful or dangerous. But only sometimes.

Let's talk about the appearance of the card based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. When you look at the Devil tarot card, you see a half-goat and half-human creature known as the Baphomet.

The Baphomet has consistently been shown as a figure representing good and evil, male and female, or as a symbol of balance.

Unfortunately, over time, the Baphomet developed the meaning of something being evil, and people believed it was associated with the occult.

You see with the symbolism that there are vampire bat wings, which are to suck blood. That is symbolic of when you overindulge.

The figure also has a mesemerizing stare, and if you look above it, you will notice an inverted pentagram, which is a sign of the negative side of occultism.

As you see, he holds a torch in his left hand, and in his right hand, he raises it as the Vulcan salute, which is a Jewish blessing.

If you are a Star Trek fan, then you would know this. What about the man and woman at the feet? They are naked, and the podium has a chain to them, making them appear trapped.

But here is the thing: those chains are not too tight, and they could remove them if they wanted. And they have horns on their heads, which means they are adopting habits from the Devil.

In addition, they have tails that show their primitive tendencies, which is a sign of their lust. But ultimately, the Devil tarot card is a powerful symbol of choice and free will.

How the Devil Tarot Card Represents Sleep Paralysis

There are several reasons that the Devil tarot card can represent sleep paralysis. When you are having an attack of sleep paralysis, you are trapped. You cannot move.

That alone is how the Devil tarot card represents sleep paralysis because it is a card that represents you feeling trapped.

Secondly, when you have sleep paralysis, you are coming face to face with a figure that has demonic qualities, as the Devil would represent.

Scientifically, sleep paralysis happens when you wake up during a REM cycle when your muscles are still paralyzed. At the same time, you are asleep (your body's protective mechanism so you do not act your dreams).

When you properly wake up, the hormone that causes paralysis wears off. However, if you wake up prematurely during a REM cycle, the hormone is in effect, which is why you cannot move.

Even though science does not accept anything supernatural, which is why scientific sources will tell you that you hallucinate, I believe supernatural forces are at play.

When you sleep, your spirit leaves your body as it is attached to a silver cord (which severs when you pass away).

When you are asleep, your soul visits the other side of the veil, so you interact with those on the Other Side, including your guides (which is also a time when you make adjustments to your blueprint).

Your soul returns to your body when you properly awaken, whether after a good-quality seven-hour sleep or at 4 a.m. when your bladder signals that it needs emptying.

When your soul returns to your body fully, you will be out of the REM cycle, and the hormone causing paralysis will wear off.

However, if you wake up during the REM cycle while the hormone is still in effect, your soul is not entirely in your body.

Therefore, you are at risk of seeing some low-level entities, and they will sense your vulnerability, which is why you feel them attacking you. There are different types of sleep paralysis demons that others who experienced them reported. The most common ones are:

• Shadow sleep demon

• Screaming sleeping demon

• Hat man sleep demon

• Old hag

• Witch sleep demon

When sleep paralysis occurs, it is a scary experience that can make you fear going to sleep again. However, the fear will dissipate when the following nights are free of that terrible experience.

Does Mental Illness Increase The Chances of Sleep Paralysis?

It can, but not always, according to NIH. The source states that PSTD can increase the chances of regular sleep paralysis, anxiety disorders, and a high-stress lifestyle, which you can connect to the Devil tarot card, too.

However, it can also be random, as there is no reason for it to happen. It can also be tied to other sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy.

If it happens often, you should talk to your doctor, who can arrange a sleep study.

The good news is that you can break free from it if you know what happens to you when you experience it.

As you can break free from attachments represented by the Devil, you can break free from the sleep paralysis demon by wiggling your toe (if you try hard enough, you can), breathing slowly, and even making a face.

Let’s now talk about what cards the Devil has esoteric relations to, as there are some.

The Esoteric Relationship Between the Devil and Other Cards

Saturn rules the world, and the Devil's ruler, Capricorn, is ruled by Saturn, which means the Devil and the World are esoterically related.

In the Rider-Waite deck, both cards contain symbolic imagery representing different aspects of life and human experience.

The Devil card often represents temptation, bondage, and the shadow aspects of ourselves. It symbolizes what holds you back and keeps you trapped in unhealthy patterns.

On the other hand, the World card represents completion, fulfillment, and integration. It symbolizes the achievement of goals, wholeness, and a sense of harmony and unity.

The Devil and The World can represent different stages of a transformative journey.

The Devil card represents the challenges, limitations, and negative patterns you must confront and overcome to grow and evolve. It represents the process of breaking free from bondage and transforming your life.

Conversely, the World card represents the final stage of this transformation, where we have integrated your experiences and achieved a sense of wholeness and fulfillment.

The Devil and The World also highlight the duality of human experience. The Devil card represents the darker aspects of your nature, your shadow selves, and the temptations you face.

It reminds you of your choices and their consequences. Conversely, the World card represents the lighter aspects of your nature, your higher selves, and the potential for growth and expansion.

It reminds us of the possibilities and opportunities when you align with your true self.

Based on numerology, the Devil is also esoterically related to the Lovers. The Devil is 15/6, representing attachment, and the Lovers is the sixth card, which means commitment.

The Minor Arcana cards Two, Three, and Four of Pentacles also relate to the Devil.

The Two of Pentacles (Jupiter in Capricorn) represents balancing resources and juggling priorities. It may also represent the need to control financial matters, as the Devil is about power.

The Three of Pentacles (Mars exalted in Capricorn) is all about collaboration and teamwork in material pursuits, and it may represent the desire for stability and recognition.

The Four of Pentacles (Sun in Capricorn) represents holding onto material possessions or clinging to a sense of security. It also may represent a clinging to stability and a resistance to change.

Those three cards touch upon the shadow aspects of material possessions, such as greed, possessiveness, or fear of scarcity.

Next week, I will cover the Tower which shall be interesting.