15 - Radical
Traditionally called the Devil, the muscular card of Radical is a challenge to what we are led to believe. This card appears to us when we are confronting the pervasive grip of old stories, dusty patterns, rotten addictions. In this tangle could be a backward slide into relationships who care little for us, or energies that deplete rather than nourish us.
“There’s a little black spot on the sun today
(that’s my soul up there)
It’s the same old thing as yesterday
(that’s my soul up there)
There’s a black hat caught in a high treetop
(that’s my soul up there)
There’s a flagpole rag and the wind won’t stop
(that’s my soul up there)”
- “King of Pain” by The Police
The story of Lucifer is of the beautiful angel and defiant Son of God that fell from grace. The Fallen became what we now call Devil, King of Pain and ruler of the Underworld. As we have been conditioned to live within the binary, this rarely the side of the coin we prefer to see. However, the Fall is believed by the Gnostics to have broken up the godhead into bits and pieces, depositing the light of god into each human form. It could be argued that such an act destroyed the idea of divinity existing outside of us, and instead points that it abides within each of us. Monarchical power, re-distributed to the people. In this story, The Devil reconsidered is Radical.
To be Radical is to challenge the modus operandi. Oxford’s Dictionary defines radical as “2. Advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme or progressive sect. 2.1 Characterized by independence of or departure from tradition; innovative or unorthodox.”
Radical is the chance to grasp, and potentially unlock, the shackles that bind us. See invisible bars for what they truly are, and break them. Addictions, judgements and characterizations cannot define us if we are willing to challenge the How and recreate the Why. Disrupt expectations. Choose to be nourished, loved, respected. The Radical within you wants to be free.
**this reconsideration of the card is inspired by scholar Michael Ursell’s study and interpretation of 17th century author John Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost.”
Ruling Sign:
CAPRICORN
