Angel Paths for September 27 - The Devil
msesheta
The Devil
The Devil is numbered fifteen and shows a figure,
usually male and satyr-like, half-man and half-animal.
Sometimes, male and female forms are shown chained or
trapped at his feet. The Thoth deck (shown here) has the
Devil as a goat, appearing against a background of the
male sex organs. His third eye represents the Eye of God
and the staff across his chest is topped with the Winged
Disk symbol and double-headed snakes.
The Devil card is often misunderstood and feared.
However, before Christianity became a leading religion,
there were several pantheons which contained fertility
gods and they were often depicted as animals - the
Horned God of the Wicca for example, servant and consort
of the Goddess. The Devil does not therefore necessarily
represent an evil being.
The Devil is the personification of the animal,
instinctual and even bestial parts of us. Pre-occupation
with matters connected to the Devil can lead to
degradation and sheer ugliness, but by identifying and
accepting the darkness within we learn to discover that
it is simply the dark side of our light.
Working with the Devil card
Now here's a card that most of us would prefer not to
run into too often! When the Devil card appears, most
people tend to feel that there's trouble ahead - and
often they associate this card with the doing of evil,
and therefor fear it as well.
But, in some ways, this is a misunderstanding of the
principle the card truly represents in life. Certainly
it can appear to indicate evil acts, trouble, strife and
conflict - but on most occasions we have more control of
events than we might at first believe. And it is our
lack of belief that causes most of the problems.
You see, one of the Inner mysteries of this card is that
it relates to our basic instinctual needs - those things
which confirm to us that, like it or not, we are
animals. Our survival needs, like hunger, thirst,
protection, warmth, safety are ruled by the card, as are
our sexual desires and needs.
However, for some mysterious reason we have allowed
ourselves to become separated from many of our base-line
instincts, even sometimes relating in a negative or
distorted fashion toward them. Our ability to think has
got in our own way here.
As a result, we build multitudes of problems around what
should be the fulfilment of our own animal instincts -
eating disorders, sexual disorders, alcoholism..the list
is extensive. Even if we don't actually have a disorder
as such, we can have hang-ups, inhibitions,
insecurities, fears.
And it is these thought patterns, and the behaviours
that go with them that cause the Devil card to have such
a bad reputation. The important thing to remember here
is that, this being the case, by shifting our viewpoint,
altering our perspective, we can change the way we feel
about the things in the Devil's domain. And in achieving
that, we set ourselves free to be who we are.
So on a day ruled by the Devil, look deeply at your
responses and feelings about this area of instinctual
response. Look into your fears, and try to see if they
have any basis in reality. If you find inhibitions in
these basic areas, try to examine them. Locate their
source..and then try to let go and move on. Remove the
restrictions and limitations that narrow the boundaries
of your horizon.
Affirmation: I am free to do as I choose.
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