The Devil: The Throne Was Mine All Along

Card: The Devil
Theme: Power, ownership, self-sovereignty

The Devil is often misunderstood.

In tarot, this card is not about corruption.
It is about power.
Who owns it.
Who fears it.
Who pretends not to want it while secretly bowing to it.

This reflection is not about temptation.
It is about remembering where my authority has always lived.

People hear The Devil and think of danger, temptation, corruption.
But the Devil in tarot is not always the villain.

Sometimes it is the reminder that power is not dirty, and that owning your place in it is survival.

Someone once asked me,

“Who are you to be on a high horse?”

Translation:
How dare you carry pride without possessions.
Without proof.
Without permission.

I had no house.
No car.
No job.

I was sleeping on her couch.

She thought this meant I should lower my eyes.

But my pride is not built on bricks, wheels, or paychecks.
It is not a trophy to be taken from me.

My pride is source-born, throne-seated, God-given.

And yes, I’ve fallen a thousand times.
But every time I get up, the throne is still there.

Because it is inside me.

They call it a high horse.
I call it a throne.

And I do not step down to meet ignorance.

This throne is built from self-love.
How I speak to myself.
How I tend to myself.
How I pour into myself.

My love for me is not conditional.
It endures.

That is why I endure.

So no, I do not need plaques.
I do not need applause.

When I walk into the world, I already know who I am.

And the applause I receive?
That is the universe, my ancestors, and my God,
standing guard at my throne.

The Devil knows power is not evil.
But the fear of it can be.

And I refuse to be afraid of my own crown.

Closing Note

Power is only dangerous when you do not know you have it.

I was born crowned.
And no loss, no fall, no couch
could ever strip me of it.