The Devil can sometimes represent the shadow side of our personality - that part of ourselves which we know exists but which we prefer not to acknowledge.  Or it may represent something that is keeping us bound and from which we need to break free.  The Devil is the 15th Major Arcana card.  This card is often about facing our shadow side and being willing to release ourselves from our self-imposed bonds.  But I also think it's about tricking ourselves and trapping ourselves as a result of these tricks.

Several factors and influences today made me consider the inflexibility and entrapment represented by The Devil.  The figures on the Fradella Devil are costumed characters from opposite sides of the Cold War.  The masked one is Fallout who represent the US.  The bearded man is Winter and hails from Russia.  Both men are engaged in a struggle over the nuclear missile behind them.  Fallout believes the missile is for preventative purposes and not to be used.  Winter will be financially compensated for taking this missile to a buyer.  Their ideological differences are what is keeping them engaged in this battle.  They could easily walk away but each is firmly convinced that his side is right.

On the Anna K Devil card we see a horned male figure presiding over a debauch of sexual, material and gustatorial overindulgence.  The people surrounding him are so caught up in sating their personal desires that they don't care what else is happening.  The Devil has easily enslaved them by allowing them to indulge in whatever they desire.  They willingly give up their freedom and ability to make choices so that they could indulge their senses.

At several points today I found myself pondering Devil aspects of the lives of those around me.  As I write this, I am watching a Dateline episode dealing with neighbors who engaged in a feud that became deadly.  The neighbors had very different personalities and very different approaches to life.  Unfortunately this ultimately led to them becoming engaged in a dispute over property lines and other petty nuisances.  At any point in time both of these neighbors could have walked away from the situation or chosen not to escalate the situation.  Instead they each took turns pushing matters and each other to greater and great acts of aggravation.  Eventually one of the neighbors shot the other two.  It is very clear that both sides were wrong at various points in time.  Each did ridiculous things to worsen the situation.  They were engaged in a struggle which could have ended at any time if either one of them had chosen to release themselves from the web created by their past actions.

A friend and I were talking about people who stay in marriages or relationships that are clearly unhealthy and not benefiting either of them anymore.  Each partner refuses to be the first to call it quits.  They're miserable together but they don't want to sever those ties.  I am often amazed when a couple finally does make the decision to divorce and all the behaviors that have been present for the duration of the relationship suddenly become intolerable.  The same partner that was once described as a hard-working dedicated family man becomes an absentee dad who is never involved with his children's lives.  The behavior hasn't changed, just the spouse's attitude towards it.  Sometimes even after they both realize that their relationship is unhealthy, the remain bound together.  It's as though they need those bonds in their lives for some reason that is incomprehensible to others.  I guess this is where the expression "better the devil you know than the devil you don't know". 

I see the same behaviors with people who engaged in self-destructive, addictive behaviors.  They may understand on some level that this behavior is not healthy and that they are ultimately destroying themselves, and yet they cannot stop.  I watched my father do this when he continued to drink after being diagnosed with Type I diabetes.  I even do it.  I know that junk food and sweets will exacerbate my Type II diabetes, and yet I continue to eat them.  I try to convince myself that I'm only eating a bit and it won't do too much damager.  I try to trick myself by timing my glucose testing so that enough time has passed to get a lower reading.  Or I'll make deals with myself - if I eat this now then I'll eat something healthier later or I'll do some exercise or walk.  Why can't I just give up the unhealthy food choices.  I don't have answers to these questions right now but they have certainly raised questions I will need to consider. 

How often do we hear people say "the Devil made me do it" when they done something naughty, mean, or even evil.  We don't want to believe that we are capable of thoughtless cruelty, malicious behavior or even acting in a lewd or lascivious manner.  Many people prefer to project the blame for that kind of behavior onto some external source.  We prefer to give up a sense of control over our own behavior (for good or ill) so that we don't have to claim that nasty,  negative, malicious side.  In criminal trials it is almost entertaining to see how creative defense attorneys have become at creating new excuses why their clients are not responsible for the criminal act with which they are charged.  Ranging from the Twinkie defense to temporary insanity, the rationales are simply variations on "the devil made me do it".  It amazes me that we prefer to give that kind of power to an intangible, external source rather than admitting we have some pretty ugly sides to our nature.  I guess you can't blame folks for trying.