The Devil

The Devil. Wether or not you come down on any side of the existential argument about this wiley character, this archetype is alive and well in many areas of our culture (I speak of America) and the world. This figure has evolved over thousands of years to embody every negative impulse we might encounter. I have a personal involvement with this archetype being from an ultrafundamental pentecostal family steered by a patriarchal preacher of 60 years. I’ve now come to think that it is sometimes necessary to have this figure on which we can blame our weaknesses, etc. The power we sometimes transfer to a mythological being that doesn’t exist in reality is quite incredible. Cloven hooves, horns and fangs are different but human enough to act as a visual focus that crosses cultures and times to play a role in our spiritual lives. Does the Devil factor into your life at all? Is there a character that fits a devil-like role but doesn’t traffic in the judeo-Christian or otherwise western iconography, and how is he/she represented? Are there correlations that should be part of the Devil discussion? You tell me