In what ways are you ready to liberate yourself?

Image description: A magnificent fat Black person gazes at their shadow against a red backdrop, their body angled in a sensual gesture of welcoming. Their short black hair is braided, framing their face. They are wearing black satin lingerie and a black robe that they appear to be taking off. Their eyes are half-closed, showing a light blue eyeshadow, and their full lips are magenta.

[Traditionally called the Devil]

In this card, we’re called to turn off the lights and sit with our shadow. To strip away the second skin we wear like a shield and do one of the most terrifying things in the world- be with ourself. And on the other side of this work is true, deep liberation and reclamation of all that we are, as this card shows.

This card is traditionally called the Devil, but there is no external malevolent force bent on forcing us to “sin.” There are societal egregores of oppression, fear, discrimination that exert influence on our personal energies, but these forces are not us. They are not who we are at our core. In fact, the so-called devil is often something we learned to label as wrong or harmful and still struggle to unlearn our deep-seated beliefs about. This can include being queer, being Black and proud, intuitive eating, celebrating our power- even tarot.

In Justice, we learn how to start identifying our narratives and thoughts. In Liberation,, we confront these narratives and our judgements around them. We listen to what these voices have to say (where we have the capacity to do so) and hear the longing- the wants, needs, and fears- behind our painful thoughts. For example, we learn to sit with the deep yearning, shame, anger, and rejection we might feel around a relationship ending. Or we may be navigating painful thoughts around feeling like we are neither queer enough nor straight enough to belong anywhere.

Our shadows and inner critics are a part of us. Often, their harsh words are a convoluted way of trying to protect us from harm. Listening to them is like putting up a shield to protect yourself from arrows, then sticking those arrows in yourself instead. We can listen to what they have to say without agreeing or letting them run the show. This is a card where calling in professional support can be really helpful. May we all liberate ourselves and reclaim our truest self.