"An Appointment with the Devil”
Unlocking Your Shadow with the Tarot’s Devil Card
By Geraldine Amaral
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us. - Hermann Hesse
We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full. - Marcel Proust
Who do you dislike? What qualities in another person repel you? What people in your life do you avoid or dread spending time with? Your answer to these questions may lead you to certain qualities hidden within yourself, in the part of the psyche we call the “shadow.” In the Tarot deck, key number 15, is the Devil card and it personifies the shadow concept. There is a lot of misconception about the Devil card. When the Devil card appears in your Tarot reading it does not mean that Satanic or evil forces are manipulating your life or that someone has placed a jinx on you, or that someone is practicing black magic on you. It does suggest, however, that you may have some unresolved inner issues that are projecting outward in a negative or destructive way. When psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, founder of analytical psychology, developed the concept of the shadow, he may not have had the Tarot’s Devil card in mind, but the Devil card is the ideal visual expression of the shadow’s energies.
According to Dr. Jung, the shadow is made up of our fears, feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem and various negative thoughts. The fears might spring from childhood traumas, repressed memories of rejection, abuse, or past injuries. The shadow may even be negativity projected by our culture, from the bombardment of violent images we encounter each day. The shadow is a destructive capacity within each of us which contains our darkest impulses and which holds our more negative life energies like selfishness, fear, jealousy, self-degradation, self aversion, shame and criticism. It expresses destructive or negative patterns that may keep repeating themselves over and over. Further, we are usually unaware of its contents and as we deny the shadow’s contents within ourselves, we may project it onto others. Thus the chains that we see in the imagery of this card show the bondage that the shadow holds for all of us because we cannot see its contents.
Several years ago, I attended the Institute for Spiritual Development’s Good Friday “Shadow” Service. It was a powerful experience, designed to explore the shadow consciousness in the cruel death of Jesus Christ. Good Friday represents the day in which Christ was crucified. At the service, Reverend Sara du Maurier describes the shadow as “the life within us which has not been expressed. It involves the baser energies that we express unconsciously. Demons come out as life patterns that never seem to be corrected.” Since the shadow is the receptacle of this unexpressed life, it holds qualities that we have denied or rejected. Jung felt that the exploration of the shadow is a vital aspect of the healing process. Therefore, using the Devil card as the personification of the shadow may provide you with an opportunity to discover the "hooks" and illusions that you hold about yourself with the ultimate goal being the integration of these rejected aspects of your personality.
There are numerous methods that would allow you to explore your shadow using the Devil card including meditating on the card, hanging it on your bathroom mirror or even putting it under your pillow at night. By using the Devil card in such ways, you demonstrate your commitment to the observation, uncovering and integration of your own darker side. By consciously choosing to meditate on the Devil card, you signal the unconscious mind that you seek to know this piece of yourself. Acting as the shadow, the Devil provides a way for you to become aware of your weakest parts. It is possible to strengthen or even transform your weaknesses, but first you must know that you have them and then you must observe how they impact your life. The unacknowledged shadow insures that you remain stuck in old behaviors -- enslaved by old thoughts and patterns. The process of freeing yourself from the "shackles" placed upon you by your own thoughts (like the symbolic shackles depicted in the Devil card) is part of the process which Dr. Jung called individuation.
Individuation is the developmental path that each of us takes through life and, in part, consists of recognizing and integrating our dark side, the shadow. Jung promoted the integration of all the different parts of the mind, with special emphasis on integrating the shadow. Jung believed that we need to accept and learn the value of weakness in finding strength, of darkness in finding light. The goal of shadow work is to being these inner “demons” into the light of consciousness. He said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness visible.” We need the darkness to become whole. Jung further believed that "abnormal behaviors" are expressions of the unconscious mind -- ways in which the contents of the shadow seek to reveal itself. The shadow part of ourselves wants to be healed and will keep making itself known to us.
That all sounds great, except for the fact that it requires courage to journey into those dark places within yourself, to explore aspects of yourself that you would rather not admit that you have. Whether you chose to uncover the shadow through Tarot Cards, Rune Stones or meditation, or through more traditional methods, such as psychotherapy, journaling or hypnosis, the likely result will be both inner transformation and change in your external life. You may also discover that the shadow really is a piece which is inside you, even though you have tried to “project” it onto those around you by being critical, negative or judgmental. Robin Robertson, author of The Beginner’s Guide to Jungian Psychology, suggests that the first step in integrating the shadow is to "stop condemning those around us, withdraw our projections from those we condemn, and accept that the problem lies within us. And then, we have to stop condemning ourselves as well."
Our culture does not value the examination of inner, hidden fears. Perhaps that is a contributing factor to the violence in our society. Jung suggested that exactly the reverse approach is necessary. It is only by making friends with the shadow that you can tame it. The Strength card, key # 8 in the Tarot, captures the idea of taming or embracing the shadow quite well. As the woman gently strokes and caresses the lion, she is symbolically showing us how to love ourselves. Jung’s position would suggest that the more you avoid an idea and the more you repress an idea, the more it runs you and the more it controls you. The more you hate something and the more you run away from it, the more you are bound to it. What we resist does indeed persist! A crucial step, therefore, in the individuation process is to face the shadow. In the full spectrum of life’s experiences, there is both light and dark. That seems right for how else would we evolve and grow? As the Tibetan prayer says, “Grant me that I may be given appropriate difficulties and sufferings on this journey so that my heart may be truly awakened and my practice of liberation and universal compassion may be truly fulfilled.”
Reverend du Maurier further states that, “A willingness to allow our darkest impulses as well as our repressed creativity to surface and be acknowledged is a step toward their integration into our persona. The shadow is a wake-up call to a new life that goes beyond our earliest conditioning. It is a prerequisite for the transformation of our consciousness.” She recommends that we all need “a conscious appointment with the shadow at various times in our life.” She urges that you “pray for the courage to make your fears your agenda. For as we confront our shadow, we move toward God. Pursuit of the light will always bring us the shadow. Pray for the courage to love that which threatens to swallow you.”
When the Devil appears in a Tarot reading, you would look to nearby surrounding cards for information as to what specific area in your life you are projecting this denied or unacknowledged part of yourself. For example, the Devil with pentacle cards nearby might suggest inner negativity or denied negativity that is being projected outward to create financial struggle. Are your charge cards maxed out? Do you have trouble paying your bills each month? Do you find that no matter how much money, or things, you acquire, you never feel satisfied? These are all indications of the shadow expressing itself, wanting to be noticed and healed. The Devil and cups cards might suggest inner negativity projected onto relationships. Are you frequently victimized or abused in your relationships? Do you have a fear of intimacy? Do you suffer from depression or excessive remorse? These experiences could be indicative of the shadow self being mirrored back to you in your relationships.
Whether the Devil appears in a Tarot reading or whether you consciously chose to use the Devil card as a gateway to exploring a specific problem in the unconscious mind, you can begin to explore it on a deeper level. If we believe that the shadow provides an opportunity to grow, if we acknowledge it, the question to ask when the Devil card appears in your readings is: “What part of me am I not acknowledging in this situation? What piece of myself am I not loving that is contributing to this problem?” Jung believed that we can become healed and whole by allowing the shadow to unfold and gradually integrating it with the rest of the personality. The image on this card may be frightening or intimidating. However, as it reaches into your unconscious mind, providing a window into the psyche, the healing you receive will be worth the discomfort you may feel. Despite the fear, the Devil card holds an invitation - an invitation for your own appointment with your shadow – and a chance to learn to love all parts of yourself.
[Please note that using the Devil card as a means to explore the shadow is not meant to replace counseling or psychotherapy.]
Rev. du Maurier’s resource material included James Hollis’s book, The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife.
About the Author: Geraldine Amaral is the co-author of Tarot Celebrations: Honoring the Inner Voice, publisher of Celebrating the Tarot Journal and creator of Tarot 1-2-3, a Tarot instructional video. For information about her book and video, to see her class schedule in the Washington, DC area, or to obtain a copy of her journal, please visit her website at www.Tarotcelebrations.com. She can also be reached at 703-671-7421 or email: Tarotcelebrations@erols.com.