This is the card in tarot that scares the crap out of everyone. Well, this one and Death. But what is the devil?

The devil is elusive and changing. What the symbolism of the devil meant a couple thousand years ago is not necessarily what the devil means now. As you navigate through the lessons of moral compass, the rules shift and change.

The devil is not concrete. It’s not an archetype set in stone. It’s a feeling, a fluid, the erosion of faith.

Simply put, the devil is fear.

That which distances you from God.

The Devil. God. Fear. Love.

Synonyms of energy, mixed up and abused and extrapolated into dangerous brews of control and abuse.

When the devil appears, look deep at yourself. It’s nothing outside of you, it’s you. Are you uncomfortable? What’s your fear? Take responsibility for that. The word sin is usually the devil’s companion, but simply put, sin is that which distances you from God. From love. That’s all. Don’t let anyone throw that word in your face simply to inspire more fear. It’s like throwing gasoline at a fire.

When you question, look outside of the constructs of what you’ve been taught, you find these things. Sitting in the same place with the same fears will bring you nothing. You have to go outside of everything you’ve ever known and find it.

Enlightenment is found in moments of everyday courage. Of sitting inside your fears, naming them, and putting them to rest. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s personal, deep within. It’s a journey into self and it’s difficult. Have courage.

Go ahead.

I dare you.

What, are you scared?

Exactly.

“I use the word ‘God’ in a familiar way. God isn’t a fact. God is a symbol. As soon as you interpret God as a fact, you are off the beam. Where I have used the word ‘God’ let us simply say ‘brahman,’ a neuter noun that refers past itself to the mystery of the total energy of life.”

Joseph Campbell — Mythic Worlds, Modern Words