Rebel with a Cause

From the Animal Totem Tarot, the Devil; from the Organic Oracle, Indecisive Direction:

          Generally I see the Devil as fear-based behavior, but Robertson has a more liberating view of this card. For her, the Devil is the anxiety or anger a nonconformist creates because they don't do things in a manner deemed 'acceptable.' The bobcat may look like an over-sized domestic feline, but its true nature is that of a wild animal. Don't expect it to purr over a bowl of cream and rub against your legs. Nature made us all individuals, so why must we all think and do things exactly alike? Sure, some rules need to be followed for the sake of progress and safety. But the reward for conformity, as author Rita Mae Brown described it, is that everyone likes you except yourself. Bobcat asks, "Are you allowing yourself to freely express who you are and what you want?" The tangled, vine-like appearance of the Organic Oracle card was created by a marble dipped in paint and rolled aimlessly across the paper. There was no prescribed direction, which fits with the nonconformity theme. Yet occasionally a rebel's actions can be so random and provocative that the only purpose is to get a reaction from others (think of online trolls). The true nonconformist can help us see outside the box, but the agitator simply feeds off of the chaos and misery of others.