Temet Nosce – Ex Tenebris Lux (Know thyself; from darkness comes light)
Alone in this place
During a break brought on by burnout, while practicing meditation, I repeatedly encountered sinister figures. Frightening yet fascinating (even if unreal), these visions revealed how deeply we can explore our inner world, to observe our shadow zones and our fears. More importantly, they taught me to accept and even embrace them.
In this illustration, the demon, obsessed with the persevering souls he tries to seize, is not merely a jailer; he is lonely and afraid. Desperate to form a connection, he traps souls to capture their attention, mistaking possession for companionship. Yet instead of clinging to others, he should confront his own fears in order to free himself and move forward.
You are not alone. You can be so much more than that demon, your own inner demon, that drains your energy.
Carl G. Jung wrote:
"The devil is a variant of the shadow archetype, that is, of the dangerous aspect of the unrecognized dark half of the personality."
"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious."
Also worth watching: the series Evil. Evil.