Abdicating or Accepting Responsibility

From the Tarot of the Masters, Demons (Devil); from the Key to the Kingdom, the "Ace of Diamonds:"

          The painting used to illustrate this card is from one of the Doom paintings of Judgment Day. The gates of hell are often shown as the wide-open mouth of a monster. I believe in demons, but not the type that are typically found in religious texts. Mine are found within - those habitual, unhealthy patterns of behavior that come out when I am emotionally stressed. These "demons" make me want to point the finger of blame at another person or a situation outside myself. They give me permission to abdicate responsibility for my negative actions and attitudes. Yet once I do so, I really have entered the gates of hell, at least metaphorically.

Yellow the bracken, golden the sheaves,

Rosy the apples, crimson the leaves, 

Mist on the hillside, clouds grey and white. 

Autumn, good morning! Summer good night.

The verses for the Ace of Diamonds are from a song by Florence Hoatson called Autumn. I love the gentle seasons of fall and spring, before the harsh extremes of summer or winter arrive. So the pairing of this card with Demons puzzled me. But in the later verses there is a line that goes: "Cradled cosily, cradled deep, wrapped in the warm earth, baby seeds sleep." When I am calm, I can make an intention to react differently. I can plant a new type of seed by maintaining a daily spiritual practice that will hopefully replace the thorny briers that tend to sprout up when the heat is on.