When This Is, That Is

From the Tarot of the Master, the Devil; from the Paracelsus Oracle, Conjunctio:

Resilience isn’t about powering through overwhelming difficulties. It’s a soft, lived honesty — the ability to sit with our experience without abandoning ourselves. ―Pawan Bareja

Vacchetta's Devil, at first startled by a snake, is surprised to find it is part of himself. We can be eaten alive by our emotions, especially fear, grief and anger, if we let them assume control of our thoughts and behaviors. We can't change what created this emotional surge, but we can learn tools to calm ourselves physically, which will likely slow the spinning in our mind as well. Then we can choose more beneficial responses. Conjunctio involves the coming together of specific causes and conditions that create something (even ideas). Yet things are always subject to change, even more so if we influence them by adding or subtracting something in the equation (like the focus of our thoughts). In the words of Buddha:

When this is, that is.

From the arising of this comes the arising of that.

When this isn't, that isn't.

From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.

Living by Vow

From the Animal Totem Tarot, the Devil; from the Blum/Gern Rune Cards, Algiz:

I guess a man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, and then steps in it.

―John Steinbeck

How many times have we made a vow - that we would or wouldn't do a particular thing - then find ourselves blowing up that promise spectacularly? We are easily triggered to slip back into old habits. But from the Buddhist point of view, vows are not something that we do perfectly; we just keep heading toward the horizon even though we'll never reach it. As Koshin Paley Ellison put it, "A vow is about the shape we give our life. Living by vow is a place of practice." Algiz is a rune of protection. Blum writes that the spiritual warrior must not collapse into the highs or lows of emotions. If we can be mindful rather than swept away, we'll keep heading toward the horizon.

Choosing Blindness or Clarity

From the Restored Order Tarot, the Devil; from the Oracle of Kabbalah, Aleph ((artwork by Barbara MacMillan):

We are only as blind as we want to be.

—Maya Angelou

Life can be hard and challenging, so it's no surprise that people want to balance that out with some pleasure. Yet we can become so afraid of dealing with what scares us that we attempt to hide in these diversions. The result may be that we may put our self in chains because we fear reality. As we bury ourselves in our habits, we begin to lose our will, our character, and our passion. We start to resemble what has chained us. Aleph is the source from which everything emanates; it brings form to the formless. Acting on our fears can manifest more struggle and hardship, but acting on the truth can bring solutions and a way forward.

On the Same Branch

From the Buckland Romani Tarot, the Trickster/Devil; from the Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards, Skan (Motion):

Mischief and malice grow on the same branch of the tree of evil.

~Aaron Hill

The Romani Devil is more like a trickster, similar to the Norse god Loki. But anyone familiar with Loki's story knows even he has at times crossed the line from mischievousness to maliciousness. The kettle this trickster overturned might have held a meal for a hungry family. So it is with us - when we want to cut loose and make merry, it's wise to maintain a few boundaries in order not to cause harm to ourselves or others. Skan represents motion and movement. In nature, it appears as change. Change is not evil unless its focus and motive is to undermine or abuse. As Cynthia McKinney stated, "We are way more powerful when we turn to each other and not on each other."

Thy Name Is Fear

From the Prairie Tarot, the Devil; from the Medicine Cards, Deer:

No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.

—Edmund Burke

Devil, thy name is Fear. Fear can make us believe a few scorpion stings are better than what's on the other side of those swinging doors. Over-indulgence and rage are two tools it uses, tools that can create more problems rather than facing our apprehension. As David Allen stated, "Anything that causes you to over-react or under-react can control you, and often does." Deer comes to suggest we stop fighting and trying to ignore how we feel. Gentleness and kindness are what the heart and mind will respond to in a positive way, giving us a chance to ground and center ourselves before we walk through those doors.

Fulfilling Desires

From the Tarot of the Sidhe, Pan (Devil); from the Green Man Tree Oracle, Yew (Idho):

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

Love what it loves.

―Mary Oliver

Pan, the god of the wild, is known for his flute, his goat legs, and his insatiable pursuit of romantic liaisons. Carding gives him voice: "I am your lust and your fulfillment. I am the indulgence of desire." So, is giving in to our desires a good thing or not? It's not that our longing is wrong or immoral; satisfying it can bring joy and relaxation if there is no harm caused. But there is a flip side, as psychiatrist Mark Epstein explains: "Desire becomes addiction after you have that first little taste of something that comes so close to complete satisfaction…then you start chasing it. You want the perfection back. But you’re chasing something you’ve already lost." The Yew, known for its longevity, gives its ogham (Idho) connections with memory and age. When we choose to fulfill a desire, Yew asks us to ask ourselves if we will look back on this moment with fondness and happiness or shame and regret.  

Join In

From the Vision Quest Tarot, Torment (Devil); from the Bird Cards, the Crow:

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,

Like I've been tied to the whippin' post.

―Gregg Allman

The Devil in Thoth-speak tells us we should follow our desires and be who we are (not necessarily bad advice). Yet that freedom comes with a caveat - don't forget our interconnection to all people and things. As soon as our actions have stomped on someone's toes and elbowed someone in the face, we will have to pay the piper. In our excitement to do what we desire, we forget that our liberty can't infringe on the freedom of others. Dr. Kevin McGowan, who has studied the Crow for thirty years, says "they never do anything quietly or alone." Their family group lives within a larger community, with different groups changing every day. Their message is to learn to "do your own thing" but without harming yourself or the community. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, ""Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." 

What Breaks Me

From the Animal Totem Tarot, the Devil (Bobcat); from the Blum/Gern Rune Cards, Ehwaz:

It's time to break the patterns that break me.

―Rohini Vibha

Rather than a card of bondage, this Devil is about freeing ourselves from what traps us. Blame will not be useful in liberating ourselves; only self-awareness and an effort to transform our habitual thoughts and actions will give us the freedom we seek.  As Robertson says, "Especially the ones you don't want to look at and own." The Rune Ehwaz is generally translated as 'horse' and suggests movement. While we might decide to start a new spiritual path, see a therapist or read a stack of self-help books, it is the movement of practicing daily what we learn that will create change. 

Beware of the Abyss

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Devil; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, Respite:

My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring.

― Robert Louis Stevenson

Stress in all its guises is often the trigger that unlocks our inner devil - that part of us that feels entitled to all the pleasures and comforts we desire. It tells us it is our recompense for dealing with so much, that we deserve to indulge ourselves. It's not evil, just naive. But a close look at this smiling Devil reveals a dark abyss behind her. Repetition easily becomes a habit; we long to recreate that good feeling over and over. But that is only possible when we keep increasing our 'drug' of choice. Respite suggests we pause from our scrabble for bliss by simply resting and detoxing our mind and body. As Roger Babson stated, “If things go wrong, don’t go with them.”

The Lure

From the Tarot of Mystical Moments, the Devil; from the Inner Eye Oracle, the Two of Spades:

This is the lure of all things destructive, in that they have us equate what feels good as being good.

― Craig D. Lounsbrough

A lure is, by necessity, attractive and enticing as this lovely spider woman dangling cherries. The Devil promises bliss and soothing relaxation, but he fails to give the full story of how our craving may in time poison us like this amanita mushroom. There has been a pushback in some cases; I've noticed stores posting signs like this in front of all tobacco products:

Will we get hooked by what lures us? The Two of Spades shows a crossroads post and represents an important decision. Do we follow the false information that our brain is giving us, that we desperately need what we intensely desire? Or can we tell ourselves this is a tainted message that we would do well to avoid and go in different direction?

Turn Around, Don't Drown

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Devil; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Jade:

Even the friendliest snake will strike.

― Sabrina Newby

We all, at some point, crave relief or a bit of pleasure. That's a natural response to stress in our world. And the Devil is always ready to supply us with bliss or comfort, but we need to be wary. If we stay on his path for too long, we can become lost in his forest or be led right over a cliff. When our longing becomes an intense obsession, entirely motivating our daily actions, we are in danger of losing our way. Jade's message is that to heal, we must take action. Simply being aware will not save us; as Socrates said, “Knowing is not the same as doing.”

Not a Choice

From the Nigel Jackson Tarot, the Devil; from the Wolf Pack, Communication:

 Addiction is not a choice anybody makes, it is a response to emotional pain.

~Dr. Gabor Mate

Dionysos Melanaigis ("of the Black Goatskin") instructs his followers on all the ways of pleasure and merry-making. Wine played a large part in his rituals; it was thought to "ease suffering, bring joy, and inspire divine madness" (Dionysos in Archaic Greece). We all enjoy time to unwind - it can help us feel relief from pain and stress and perhaps a sense of connection and belonging. But what happens when use certain behaviors as a constant buffer to life? When they become the main focus of our life? As Gabor Mate stated, "When we're alienated from who we are, disconnected from who we are, we suffer." Judging by the faceless bodies in the robes, this has happened. Communication implies that the way out of our madness is by reaching out to those who have found a way out and can offer us guideposts. 

Bedeviled

From the Albano-Waite Tarot, the Devil; from the Rumi Cards, He's Here:

Bedevil: continually cause confusion or great difficulty

When I drew this card, I heard Flip Wilson's voice saying "the devil made me do it." More likely, it was a lack of self-awareness and an inability to regulate distressing emotions. We believe what we feel and impulsiveness follows. Justin Baristo writes: "Emotions have power. Emotional intelligence is the ability to harness that power - to understand and manage emotions, so that you can make decisions that are in harmony with your core values and principles." Emotions are simply a reaction to what we witness or think about; they deserve compassion but not necessarily a platform. He's Here suggests something greater than ourselves, a power that moves through and enlivens the universe. However we define the sacred, it can help us find our center point when we are bedeviled. The outer world may not change, but it can allow us to change our relationship to it.

The Darkest Night

From the Margarete Petersen Tarot, the Devil; from the Elemental Dice, Night (Darkness + Darkness):

Whatever concerns a man ultimately becomes god for him, and, conversely, it means that a man can be concerned ultimately only about that which is god for him. 

― Paul Tillich

We humans love the pleasures of the senses, which is a natural source of enjoyment. But sometimes we can become obsessed with things, convinced that what we desire will provide us with contentment and take away pain. We don't look at the long-term costs of such gratification and can end up trapped like the people in Petersen's shiny diamond. Night, the roll of the Elemental Dice, suggests a darkness in which we can't see a way out. We've used up our of our strategies and tricks with no relief; we are left only with confusion and despair. Hope may be found beyond our own approaches - we seek others who have successfully found a healthy way forward. As Harvard Associate Professor of Psychiatry John F. Kelly found: "The results suggest that social context factors are key; the people who associate with individuals attempting to begin recovery can be crucial to their likelihood of success.”

A New Habit

From the Slow Tarot, Temptation (Devil); from the ROAR Oracle, the Fox Sisters:

But little by little, bit by bit

I push it back down with a new habit

If not for long, just for a while

I'll bury myself with a great big smile

~ Ren - "Chalk Outlines"

Bryant's version of the Devil shows some of the different ways we try to bury ourselves away from reality - sex, alcohol, and food. It's not that these pleasures are always harmful, but they can easily become our prison when they are used to avoid dealing with life. Over-indulgence is different from self-care; it always leaves us feeling worse than before when the high wears off. The Fox sisters and their public seances helped spark a spiritualism craze in the United States and Europe built on the belief that it was possible for living humans to communicate with the dead. One of the sisters, Maggie, confessed to the New York World in 1888 that her and her sister’s communication with the dead had been a hoax. People believe what they want to believe because it briefly offers relief. But the delusions don't help us actually solve problems or navigate life well. They too are just a drug of sorts.

Rabbit Holes

From the Herbcrafter's Tarot, the Devil (Blackberry); from the Green Wheel Oracle, Snake:

As a child, I spent several years on a farm; we were 'dirt poor', meaning we didn't own the land or home. But if we wanted something sweet to eat in the summer, blackberry bushes abounded in the hundreds of acres surrounding us. Blackberries have small but sharp briers, and rattlesnakes often hide within the brambles hoping for an unwary rat. Care and caution have to be employed while picking berries. Thus the Devil is a warning not to become ensnared by pleasure while ignoring everything else. After drawing this tarot card, there was no surprise that snake showed up. But its symbolism implies a way through more than a warning. Snake suggests we stay grounded and connected to the earth it moves on. Otherwise, we might disappear down a rabbit hole of self-absorbed gratification and lose our way.

Don't slide down the rabbit hole. The way down is a breeze, but climbing back's a battle.

― Kate Morton

How You Look At It

From the Tarot of the Cat People, the Devil; from the Insectorum Divinorum, Ladybugs (Symbiosis):

The Devil makes me think of the Three Poisons in Buddhism: attachment (craving that is never satisfied), aversion (aggressively trying to avoid anything that causes discomfort or displeasure), and indifference (a 'don't care' attitude that ignores others and often leads to a feeling of restlessness or boredom). They originate as normal human feeling tones - pleasant, unpleasant, neutral - but then we feed them with our thoughts and add emotions to the mix. I recognize myself in those cats with the flattened ears as I count down the minutes to my endodontist appointment this morning. But do I want to be chained to that feeling? The Ladybugs represent symbiosis, an interaction between two different organisms that benefit both (as these beetles eat aphids that harm plants). Their message would be to ask, what happens to this aggressive energy when I stop self-identifying with it? Can I just see the moment as a brief discomfort that can help eliminate a pain that will only get worse? 

Journey of Opening

From the Greenwood Tarot, the Guardian (Devil); from the Rune Cards, Sun/Sigel:

Potter's Devil shows the skeleton of an animated cave bear, a prehistoric species that became extinct about 24,000 years ago. He represents a guardian of the past and an initiator into its memories. He naturally elicits fear, but befriending him can help us face our past and heal. We all have 'skeletons' in our closet that we hide in shame, worrying that someone will discover them. But when we open that door and introduce them to someone trustworthy, we might find out that others have very similar beings dwelling in their closet. The Anglo-Saxon rune poem for Sigel (Sun) describes how welcome the sun is as seafarers make their way back to land. It represented both the clarity of light and well-being. It seems to emphasize that bringing our past to light (which often is an unconscious trigger for present day behavior) can help us be free of the chains that bind us.

On our journey of opening, we come to the boundaries of what is familiar or what is comfortable. It’s precisely at these boundaries that the deeply conditioned pattern of fear begins to emerge.That’s exactly the place we want to be, a place of further acceptance and opening. We need to learn how to work with this fear. Otherwise, our lives become fragmented; we split off from parts of ourselves, from parts of what is true in experience. ~Joseph Goldstein

Hell Season

From the Tarot of the Secret Forest, the Devil; from the Faeries' Oracle, the Pook:

It's hell season (summer) here, so I can very much relate to this card. Temperatures are at 99 F, but expected to climb to 103-105 F next week. We've had no rain in quite a while, but hordes of mosquitoes will find any bare flesh to bite and the swarms of gnats attempt to get in your eyes, nose and mouth to find moisture. These insects are a good symbol of the Devil, that part of us that feeds on what we think will help us but can hurt us in the long run. The Pook is a shapeshifter who helps others see the bad in the good and the good in the bad. He advocates for balance in our perceptions. As John Milton points out, "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven." I can't get rid of the bugs outside, but I can work on those in my head. There is much more to focus on: the zinnias, salvia and coneflowers are blooming, and three varieties of woodpeckers are back at the feeders. But I might watch and enjoy from my screened-in back porch!

Unrecognizable

From the Tarot of Pagan Cats, the Devil; from the Brownie Wisdom deck, Pleasure Bright:

We all have ways of handling stress and fear, and sometimes the behaviors that get triggered are more harmful than helpful. Using drugs and alcohol to excess is the most obvious, but we can also become intoxicated by cynicism or rage just as easily. To make matters worse, such reactions tend to get repeated over and over. We discover the thing we thought that we were using is in fact using and controlling us. It doesn't take long for us to turn into someone that our friends and family no longer recognize. The Brownie hints at one of the ways we can keep from getting triggered - a gratitude practice. Not the 'make a list' kind, but mindfully setting aside time to see what is in our lives that is good, beautiful and touches our heart. When the heart is right, the mind isn't as easily tugged in the wrong directions.