Friday Five: Things I’ve learned about myself from The Devil
(Thank you to the Tarot for these nuggets of wisdom.)
One of my big goals for February was to “read + write” daily.
Read being a reference to doing a tarot reading, and writing being a reference to my nightly journaling practice.
I even made a punch card to track my progress (isn’t it so cute!!):
Through that nightly reading + writing, I drew The Devil, one of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana, multiple times. RUDE. And every other card I’ve drawn this month has been in support of that. dang. card. EVEN RUDER.
(Not familiar with tarot? The cards in the Major Arcana represent the big life lessons or themes and highlight points for spiritual growth and personal transformation. And The Devil has a lot of those.)
While some believe that The Devil is about addiction and depression, the meaning that has always resonated the most for me has been about the ways in which WE, ourselves, are creating our own misery due to our beliefs and the choices we make. The Devil shows us that it’s not an outside influence creating our misery but rather our own attitudes and behavior.
In other words, it’s all about the negative self-talk, the stories that we tell ourselves on repeat, the core beliefs we carry about ourselves from past experiences, and how they can either create blocks in our path or open the way for growth and change.
The monsters of our own design.
Past experiences, conditioning, and programming have made those beliefs stick, but they don’t have to. It’s possible (note I didn’t say easy) to change the programming and create a more complete story. When you change the stories you tell yourself, you have the ability change your past, present, AND future in one fell swoop.
To rewrite your own mythology.
So that’s what I’m working on.
Rewriting my story and challenging the core beliefs I’ve been carrying around unchecked. Noticing and cutting off the negative self talk (which is happening more than I care to admit). Staying present through journaling and meditation. Doing my best to recognize when it’s the old stories and programming talking versus reality. Practicing radical acceptance, self-reflection, and letting go of attachment to the thoughts and stories that have come up.
And it’s been such an eye opener for me. In a wonderfully supportive and growth-inducing way.
So thanks, tarot, and thank you to The Devil who has shone the light on an area in my life that needs focus and a bit of a refresh.
I am ready to rewrite my own mythology.
Want to learn more about The Devil? Here are 5 resources that I’ve been pulling from myself:
The Elemental Power Tarot from Melinda Lee Holm*: This is the tarot deck that I’ve been using this year and the guide book inside is a great resource. Her description of The Devil is powerful and I pull something new from it every time I draw the card. The guide book even connects the cards in the Major Arcana with different herbs and foods to aid in healing (The Devil is rosemary!).
the devil from my tiny tarot practice: This is a really short podcast episode (10 minutes) by Amelia Hruby, PhD on The Devil card. I love her succinct interpretation and the bite-sized tidbits she shares.
Episode 56. The Devil: Transformative Liberation from Tarot for the Wild Soul with Lindsay Mack. Want to do a deeper dive into The Devil? This is an hour long podcast that dives deep into the card and brings in several of the other cards in the Major Arcana to give The Devil more context.
The Devil from Biddy Tarot. If you’re looking to get more into tarot and want to learn more about a specific card or the cards in general, the Biddy Tarot website is a fabulous resource. I’ve been a long time fan of Brigit’s and have a physical copy of her book, The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings* that I have been referencing for years. Highly recommend if you’re in the market.
The Devil Tarot Art History: Symbolism Across Decks by Nicole Lau. This is a really interesting history of The Devil card and the way the meaning of the card has changed over the centuries. Yes, centuries. She goes all the way back to the 1400s.
I’d love to hear from you. Are you into Tarot? Is this a card you dread getting or have you found it to be a helpful one in your own practice?
X+O,
Emily
*This is an affiliate link. I’m trying my best to move away from Amazon Affiliate links because fuck Jeff Bezos, so I’m now an affiliate with Bookshop.org. All purchases made on Bookshop.org through my affiliate links financially supports independent bookstores at no additional cost to you.