Welcome, wise ones, to another turning of Sage Leaves. As November deepens into late fall, you can feel the year tilting toward its quieter side. The days shorten; the evenings stretch a little earlier; the air holds that clear edge that tells you winter is on its way. You prepare for the winter holidays while the light slowly fades toward Yule and the Winter Solstice. This is a natural time for inward turning. It is also the perfect moment to explore the deeper meaning of The Devil in the heroine’s journey: the place where you face old fears, release old stories, and choose what to carry into the season ahead.
The Role of The Devil in the Heroine’s Journey
In the Heroine’s Journey, the Devil card plays a critical role because it appears at the moment when you must face the parts of yourself you have tried to ignore, the parts you have pushed down because they feel too painful or too complicated or too dangerous to examine, and it asks you to look honestly at how your own patterns may be shaping your path. The Heroine’s Journey is not a straight line but a spiral that leads inward before it leads outward, and the Devil stands at one of the deepest inward turns, holding a mirror that reveals attachments, fears, desires, coping mechanisms, and illusions that quietly guide your decisions. When this card surfaces, it tells you that the next step in your story requires clarity about where you feel powerless and why, and it invites you to examine the invisible chains you may have accepted without realizing that they were never locked.
Unlike the Hero’s Journey, which often focuses on conquering external challenges, the Heroine’s Journey turns toward the inner world where the true work happens. The Devil belongs to this inner landscape. It represents the ego’s attempts to control, suppress, or hide certain truths, and it shows how easy it is to confuse survival strategies with identity. The Devil is not a monster waiting to devour you but a symbolic teacher who understands that you cannot heal what you refuse to acknowledge. When the Heroine reaches this point in her story, she often feels stuck or overwhelmed, caught between her need for freedom and her fear of what may happen if she lets go of familiar habits. The Devil appears to say that avoidance only deepens the trap, and that the path forward requires courage to see the full truth of the self.
“The Devil is not your captor but your mirror,
revealing the chains you carry so you can choose to release them.”
In many myths, this stage looks like captivity in the underworld or a long pause in a shadowed valley. Nothing moves on the surface, yet everything is shifting underneath. The Heroine may feel shame, guilt, or confusion as she confronts old emotional contracts that no longer serve her, such as staying small to be loved, or keeping silent to feel safe, or clinging to habits that only numb the deeper ache. The Devil represents these internal bindings, not to punish her but to reveal the cost of carrying them. When the Heroine looks closely, she discovers that the chains are loose. She can lift them off at any time, but she must be willing to release the identity that grew around them.
The presence of the Devil is also a turning point where the Heroine learns to reclaim her power rather than seeking it outside herself. This power is not dominance but self-authority. It emerges when she decides to stop negotiating with the parts of her life that drain her and begins listening to the deeper truth inside her. The Devil teaches discernment. It shows her where she has given away energy through fear, denial, or dependency, and it gives her the clarity to break those patterns. This moment is uncomfortable, but it is also liberating because it clears the path for the next stage of transformation.
When the Heroine accepts what the Devil reveals, she moves from shadow to awareness, from avoidance to intention. She stops mistaking her chains for destiny and begins to recognize the strength that rises from honest self-examination. The Devil, paradoxically, becomes the threshold guard who prepares her for freedom. It is the confrontation that allows the next chapter of her journey to unfold with more integrity and less illusion.
What fear, habit, or hidden pattern might be shaping your choices right now, and how would your path change if you saw it clearly and decided to loosen its hold?
Sage Leaves Weekly Tarotscope: November 25-December 1, 2025
This week asks you to move through shifting emotional weather with honesty, clarity, and courage. Several planets turn direct, which often feels like a slow release of pressure, yet the cards show that the emotional body may lag behind. You are shedding old mental patterns while new emotional truths rise to the surface. The path is not easy, but it is meaningful. You are learning where your heart wants to go and what your mind must release to allow that movement.
The Cards of the Week
Tuesday: Knight of Swords | Moon in Aquarius Conjunct Pluto in Aquarius
Wednesday: King of Wands | Venus in Scorpio Trine Jupiter in Cancer and Venus in Scorpio Trine Saturn in Pisces
Thursday: Ace of Cups | Saturn Direct in Pisces
Friday: The Devil | First Quarter Moon in Pisces
Saturday: 9 of Swords | Mercury Direct in Scorpio
Sunday: 9 of Wands | Venus Enters Sagittarius
Monday: 3 of Swords | Moon in Aries Trine Mars in Sagittarius
Daily Story
Tuesday – Knight of Swords | Moon in Aquarius Conjunct Pluto in Aquarius
You begin the week with fast thinking and intense focus. The Knight of Swords urges you to cut through confusion and act on what you know is true. With the Moon joining Pluto in Aquarius, hidden insights surface quickly. You may feel mentally sharp and even impatient. Be careful not to leap faster than the moment can hold. Your ideas are strong, but your delivery may need softening. This is a day for clarity, not conflict.
Wednesday – King of Wands | Venus in Scorpio Trine Jupiter in Cancer and Venus in Scorpio Trine Saturn in Pisces
This is a day of leadership, vision, and creative authority. The King of Wands invites you to take command of your direction. You understand your desires more clearly today. Venus trines Jupiter and Saturn, which strengthens your judgment and supports wise, mature choices. You are encouraged to take a brave step toward something that inspires you. This is a warm and confident energy. Trust it.
Thursday – Ace of Cups | Saturn Direct in Pisces
Here comes the emotional turning point. The Ace of Cups opens the heart and invites new feelings, new insights, and new beginnings in relationships or self-understanding. Saturn turning direct in Pisces adds seriousness to this emotional opening. You may feel a sense of release, like pressure finally lifting. Allow yourself to feel rather than analyze. The heart knows something today that the mind has been avoiding.
Friday – The Devil | First Quarter Moon in Pisces
The Devil card arrives at the center of the week to show you where you feel trapped, limited, or overwhelmed by old habits. With the First Quarter Moon in Pisces, you may feel pulled between truth and illusion. The Devil asks you to look honestly at what is consuming your energy. This is not punishment. It is clarity. You may realize that you have held onto something out of fear. Today is an invitation to loosen that grip.
Saturday – 9 of Swords | Mercury Direct in Scorpio
This is the classic insomnia card. Your mind may race as Mercury finally turns direct in Scorpio. Old conversations replay in your thoughts. Worries rise up. The 9 of Swords is often a sign that your fears are louder than the reality. This card encourages comfort, grounding, and gentle self-talk. When Mercury shifts direction, your thinking begins to realign. The night feels long, but the dawn is coming.
Sunday – 9 of Wands | Venus Enters Sagittarius
You are tired, but you are not defeated. The 9 of Wands shows resilience and determination. You may feel bruised by the week, yet you are still standing. Venus moves into Sagittarius, which brings a spark of optimism back into your emotional world. This is a day to remember your strength. You have walked through difficult inner terrain, and now you see how far you have come.
Monday – 3 of Swords | Moon in Aries Trine Mars in Sagittarius
The week ends with emotional truth coming to the surface. The 3 of Swords is a release card. It signals honesty about pain or disappointment. The Moon trine Mars gives you the energy to move through this rather than avoid it. You may see something clearly at last. This card closes the week with a necessary exhale. What hurts can finally be named. Once named, it can begin to heal.
Overarching Themes
This is a week of mental clarity and emotional revelation. The early days of the week focus on thought, action, and leadership. The middle and end of the week shift toward the emotional undercurrents you have been carrying but perhaps not fully acknowledging.
The presence of The Devil at the center shows that you are confronting inner patterns that limit your freedom. This may involve fear, avoidance, or an old wound that still shapes your behavior. The cards encourage honest reflection and the courage to step away from what drains you.
The swords-heavy week highlights mental struggle and eventual clarity. You begin with strategic thinking, move through emotional disruption, encounter deep shadow, and emerge with resilience. The week ends with truth, not crisis.
The wands bring determination and leadership. The cups bring emotional new beginnings. You are clearing space for something real and fresh to arrive.
Numerology and Recurring Patterns
There are two nines this week. The number nine symbolizes nearing completion, spiritual maturity, and letting go of what no longer serves you. This week is a turning point.
There is one Ace, which signals a new emotional truth rising.
Two court cards appear, the Knight of Swords and King of Wands, suggesting that leadership and communication shape your path.
The dominant elements are Swords and Wands: sharp thought followed by determined action.
Astrological Aspects
Saturn going direct in Pisces brings a slow but important shift that helps you trust your judgment again. When Saturn is retrograde, you often second guess yourself or feel as if your boundaries are dissolving. As it turns direct, you begin to rebuild structure in places that have felt uncertain. You understand your emotional responsibilities more clearly. You also see where you have carried burdens that are not truly yours. This shift brings steadiness to the wandering parts of your life.
Mercury going direct in Scorpio helps your thinking become sharper and more honest. You move from confusion to clarity. You stop circling the same fears and begin to name what is true. Conversations that felt blocked or tense finally open. You notice details that were hidden before. This is a powerful time for solving problems and understanding your deeper motivations.
Venus entering Sagittarius changes the tone of your relationships. Your heart feels lighter and more curious. You want to explore new ideas, new connections, and new paths. This happens during the Sun’s own time in Sagittarius, which makes the energy stronger. You are encouraged to look outward, seek meaning, and follow what inspires you. This combination lifts your spirit after a heavy emotional week.
Conclusion
This week invites you to hold both courage and tenderness as you navigate shifting inner weather. The Devil shows you what needs to be released. The nines show you how close you are to breakthrough. The Ace of Cups asks you to receive what is new and true. As planets turn direct and Venus steps into fiery Sagittarius, you feel the weight of old patterns begin to lift. You end the week with an honest heart and a clearer path ahead.
Final Reflection
What truth about yourself or your relationships is rising to the surface this week, and how might acknowledging it open space for healing or new beginnings?
As November leans into late fall, you can feel the season turning toward its quieter edge. The days shorten with purpose now; the light fades a little earlier each afternoon, asking you to notice what still matters when the outer world grows dim. This is the slow approach to Yule and the Winter Solstice, the ancient moment when darkness reaches its peak and the promise of returning light begins again. You stand in that space between endings and beginnings, and the energy of The Devil echoes through it. The card reminds you that what binds you most tightly is often an old fear or an old story that no longer belongs to you. It invites you to loosen your grip on guilt, habit, or self doubt so you can step into the next season with a clearer heart. You do not need to rush. You only need to keep listening. As the world moves toward its longest night, you learn to trust that clarity can grow even in shadow. Let the crisp days of late autumn steady you and let the lengthening nights help you hear your own truth more clearly.
Until next time,
—Dr. Winkler
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