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| The Devil - Maroon Tarot |
Our Devil goes pantomime. From the billowing scarlet cloak to the tips of his horns and tail - he dresses in symbols that we recognise.
But...Do we fear him? Who fears the villain who preens dramatically amidst the massed boos and hisses of giggling crowds? 'Not me!' you shout to the bright stage. 'Not me!'
But he knows. You do.
Beneath our laughter swims our fear. Our childish fear of the horned creature beneath the bed that snatches ankles with his grimy talons. Ancient fears that we have boxed away like old photographs. Our stage flames and smoke, the sequins and the grease paint we hope will save us from the dark places of our minds - the obsessions, the urges.
In the distant city someone stops believing - not in fairies, not in magic - but in themselves. The Devil's creature companion delivers him to us in a single beat of its wings, in the single beat of a heart.
Noiselessly, the great body drops around us in coils, squeezing us to our limitations as surely as our ticket keeps us in our theatre seat. 'Thus far and no further,' grins The Devil.
Yet we resist. We resist and we press forward and in forcing ourselves to look beyond the fears, beyond the darkness and out into the light, we grow. The bonds slacken and The Devil vanishes in a puff of self-belief.
Gone, but not forgotten. For both you and he know that one-day he will return from the edges of your civilised mind with the gleeful pantomime cry...
"He's behind you! He's behind you!"
One of the winning TABI competition entries published our Yule 2007 Ezine
Ali -
ReplyDeleteMesmerizing! I was absolutely mermerized by the writing here. Remembering that the Devil is self-created - this is an astounding piece of writing.
Blessings,
Bonnie
There were other winners - their entries will be going up too.
ReplyDeletePeople went into pairs and chose a card from the Maroon and a card from the Gaian.
I chose to write for The Maroon, and Chloe opted for the Gaian.
Thanks Bonnie - you've made my day :-)
Ali x
hi Alison, I accepted your friend request on face book,not had a reply though, the maroon tarot looks really interesting, must go on Amazon and treat myself, I like the look of it,rich deep and mysterious
ReplyDelete