The Devil
Keeping your Devil in Check
The Devil, Mephistopheles, Lucifer, Right Wing Republicans. The Devil appears in many forms and by many names. In the tarot deck, the Devil makes no effort to conceal himself or trick you. What do you make of this spicy fellow when he appears in a reading or shows up as your card of the day?
The Devil in Tarot often represents power struggles and temptation. However, my favorite way to interpret the Devil in Tarot is how he grants you everything you crave. The Devil turns the volume way up! Think of Devil as portrayed in film. If its money you desire, the Devil gives you millions. Do you have a crush on someone? The Devil would strip the two of you naked and lock you in a closet for three days. Do you love to eat? The Devil will serve you a gluttonous Roman feast until you’re barfing. Crave travel? The Devil will deliver you to the tarmac of your private Lear jet in a stretch limo. Let’s face it; the Devil wants you to have FUN. Devilish fun.
Devil fun always reminds me of being sixteen. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I was ever more excitable, volatile or impulsive. The massive highs, the freedom I experienced just driving around with my friends, sneaking out of the house with my boyfriend at 1am is unrivaled. My blood has never beaten so fast, I’ve never been so thrilled with myself. The down side of these massive highs was the massive lows. Here lies the warning about the Devil. The Devil does not concern himself with moderation.
These days, when acting on Devilish impulses it means I’m resisting one more glass of wine signaling certain hangover. It means I’m ignoring junky reality TV shows. I forgo 30 minutes of delicious sleep to get to my yoga class and skip a second cotton candy at Coney Island.
From time to time I will indulge myself. I head to the Lower East Side and dance in my favorite club. It, thankfully, hasn’t changed one bit since the 80s when I first slipped inside its seductive darkness. Last time I exercised my demons on the dance floor, we clocked in 6 solid hours of straight dancing. I paid for it the next day but you know what? It was worth every single sweaty second.