Dear readers,

hello hello! Cant believe it's October! Summertime is just around the corner and it's a truly glorious time - sunsine, swimming, sunshine...Yup, wouldn't be dead for quids. This month we're being paid a visit by The Devil, a character who is capable of eliciting much heated debate as to who he is and whether in fact he even exists. Suffice to say I will not be entering into said debate in any detail in this article as it is not the forum for such things, (hang on - there we go, just had to kick my soapbox into the corner!). All that is really necessary to say is that in the Tarot, The Devil, (in general), represents anything we don't like about ourselves and subsequently try to hide, thus creating a shadow. The more we try and deny the existence of our feelings, likes, dislikes, actions, desires etc., the more we feed this shadow. This can lead to us engaging in the kinds of activities which we never dreamed we'd have a part in; from developing a healthy drug addiction (legal/illegal), to going mad in the shopping mall, to gossiping about our best friend behind their back. It's amazing what a little bit of denial can lead to. Hmm...

The wonderful thing about The Devil is that he miraculously lightens up if you heed his message. It's time to do what you gotta do to free yourself from that which you have created to chain yourself up with. Time to face YOURSELF. "Life really is far too important to be taken too seriously..." as Katie Noonan says, and The Devil would be the first to agree! When we're living in Shadowland such advice can seem glib, but is actually an important part of this card's message, designed to get us to take a good long look at how we've come to be living. Guilt and fear are the pits people, and being wrapped up in them is no way to live. It can be scary, facing our inner demons, but dealing with them leads to the liberating realisation that they are not, in fact, who we actually are. He's a tricky energy to work with sometimes, that ole Devil, but he will help us to get to know those dark places within us that can keep us running around in circles, teaching us how to arrive at that place where we can just be, without any need to pretend that we are anyone other than ourselves.

Take care everyone.