The Devil's Quandary
I never really know what to feel initially when the Devil comes up in my readings. My usual reaction is a tensing in my gut, but it quickly melts away into a cautious hopefulness. I like that the Devil tests my biases in this way. He isn’t an arbiter of doom, despite what many schools of thought would have us believe. However, I do think the Devil heralds changes that are coming whether or not you want them, anticipated them, or have prepared for them.
The Devil can represent all the things you would rather not see or acknowledge, particularly the things which bring you shame or anguish or regret. In Christian mythology, the Devil was cast out of heaven and into hell, an underworld where those who committed unpardonable sins would spend eternity repenting. The Devil watches over the undesirables. This may explain why he appears when we need support, when repenting can be just another form of shaming. The Devil will sit with you in your darkest hour, if simply for the purpose of not letting you go through it alone.
“The Devil is God, as He is misunderstood by the wicked.” - Paul Foster Case
“Shadow work” is a phrase with increasing buzz in recent history, and whether it is due to an increase in pop psychology or a genuine shift in human consciousness is inconsequential to me. All that matters to me is that people are getting comfortable with their darkness, with the Devil and all he represents. Can you sit with emotions or experiences that are unpleasant? Negative? Scary? What about all-out devastating? Can you honor and take lessons from feelings like jealousy, rage, insecurity, and loss? Too often we want to turn away from unsavory parts of our human existence, but these parts are structural: we could not be ourselves without them. Denying their power or their gravity does not mean they are any less vital to the whole of what you are. The full range of the human experience is there for us to have in whole, not in parts, and the Devil represents these parts of our experiences we would rather reject or forget. He wants you to embrace yourself with his guidance, because only through embracing your shadow can you truly see the value of your light. Shadow work is a journey into one’s self, perhaps in the pursuit of god — that is, the unending force of love that permeates our universe.
The Devil has some quandaries for you. How have you been creating your own hell? How are you trying to get out of hell and back to earth, or have you nested in your new environment? The hell we know is often less intimidating than a heaven full of unknowns. When was the last time you leaned into something unpleasant? Can you look yourself in the mirror for more than a few seconds? What scares you about other people, and when do those qualities express themselves through you? Think about the things you would rather not see; the things you turn away from. How can you learn to not only look at them head-on but start to see yourself in them? In what ways can you care for the undesirables, whether they be people, situations, or emotions? What keeps you from embodying the Devil when necessary?
