Self Subjugation

From the Navigators of the Mystic Sea Tarot, the Devil; from the Celtic Lenormand, 'Birch Rods/Whip:'

          Turk assigns the keyword 'subjugation' to the Devil, the act of controlling and subduing. We can be subjugated through pleasure (what we crave), through pain (what we fear or hate) and through ignorance (what we ignore). It looks like this card illustrates all three methods. How easy it is to 'put the ox's load on the cow' - in other words, to put the weight or blame on something or someone that doesn't deserve it. My attachments, aversions or the bag over my head is at the root of my suffering, not something external. The Birch Rods have both a negative and positive connotation: as self-punishment or as a way to clean and clear things up. The realization that I've screwed up can easily turn into self-hatred or criticism that doesn't help anything. That kind of guilt and aggression towards myself is just another link in the chain that will keep me in that hell hole. Yet if I can focus on self-compassion and kindness (rather than self-pity or self-indulgence), I'll find a way to free myself.