Darkness and the Devil

September 11, 2007

I love this card. It’s from the The Halloween Tarot, and it’s probably the only Devil card I have ever seen that I would describe as cute. But in reality, there is nothing really cute about the Devil.

There has been an interesting discussion going on in one of the Tarot forums I use. Someone started a thread concerning the Devil, and the ensuing discussion got me thinking about it. This card has rarely come up in any reading I’ve done so far, and when it has it’s been pretty straightforward in meaning. But I think it goes a lot deeper than issues of personal bondage or enslavement to material things.

In this forum discussion, questions were raised as to the nature of the Devil and whether he is ‘within’ or ‘without’ ourselves. I think it can be both, and sometimes at the same time. But more often than not, I see it as a tendency inside oneself to be destructive and negative. It is the desire to turn away from the light, because it is the easier path to take in a given situation.

Another way I see it, is a need to confront something dark and scary about our own nature. To accept it and shed light on it. If you drag your inner demons into the light and fresh air, they often shrivel up into nothing and blow away. Sometimes they may put up a struggle, but you will have the advantage when they are in the open like that. In some cases, they may never go away, but they become so small and powerless that you can easily control them. The important thing is to bring them into focus and shed Light on them so that you can see them for what they are. If you can do this, you will no longer fear them. Even better, you will no longer project that fear outside of yourself. Essentially and eventually, you will fear nothing. (This card is from the Universal Waite Tarot Deck.)

Now that sounds very simplistic, and I don’t mean it to be. It’s very hard work to confront your own darkness. There is a spiritual healing process called Shadow Work. It’s not easy, and it may take years to complete. Christien Jette has written a very good book about using Tarot for this work, called Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal.

Powers of Dark and Light exists in each of us. The Yin Yang symbol depicts this. It is human nature to contain both, and this is often a theme in stories.

There is an interesting passage in one of Terry Pratchett’s witch books, Wyrd Sisters. In the resolution of the story, Granny Weatherwax must confront her own powerful darkness and chose the light. Her experience has taught her that witches are not at their most powerful when the moon is full, but actually when it is half-full. Because at that point in it’s cycle there is the presence of both ‘light’ and ‘dark’ at once. That is when the power is strongest.

I find this an intriguing theme in stories, movies, poems and songs. As I am fascinated by the complexities of human nature, I also find the Devil to be one of the most intriguing cards in the Tarot.

Posted in Dreaded Cards