The god and goddesses of Greek mythology represent the multifaceted nature of the human psyche and the human experience. Power, Leader, Lover, Trickster, Underworld, Mother, Nature, War, Beauty, Celebration, these are just a few of the aspects of and so on are represented in the Greek pantheon. Even more dynamic and interesting is that each goddess and god also showed the light and shadow side of their domain.

The goddess Aphrodite represents beauty, love and desire, among other things. However mythology in which she appears also shows the shadow side of those attributes, such as jealousy and corrupt seduction.

Artemis, the goddess of Nature, represents unbridled wildness. She is protector of animals and represents the hunt. She also represents the wildness of childbirth and youth; she never ages beyond a young teen herself. However, she also represents the dark side of these aspects of the human psyche, showing a destructive side as well. Her destructive nature manifests as the wild spread of the plague. And she shows no mercy to even her most devout followers. In one of her most well known myths, Actaeon, who worships Artemis, is out hunting in the forest with his dogs. He happens upon her bathing naked in a pool. In her wrath, she turns him into a stag, and he is brutally killed by his dogs.

The point here is that the Greek pantheon shows us the good and the bad aspect of human nature. In representing these aspects in each of the revered gods, they show us that we the multi-faceted aspects of our own interior, our psyche are equally sacred. We must learn to accept that our pathologies are as much a part of our psychology as our more benevolent nature.

In Christianity, the light - God, Christ and Mary - are split from the dark – the Devil. Thus began a change in how we understand the darker sides of our nature. Now, when we experience a darker emotion, such as envy and spite, or an affliction, such as addiction, we think we are taken over by evil, by the Devil. We have forgotten that these are all a part of the human experience, all aspects of our lives that we can learn from and grow from.

We must learn to reconcile these many aspects, the good and the bad. We must remember that the darker sides of our nature are part of our nature.  

I am not saying that we should express or act out every thought or emotion that presents itself. We still must honor the sacredness of live and do our best to create a world worth living in. But when the darker aspects of our psyche present themselves, we must learn to give them voice, to acknowledge them and then to let them go.

In ancient Greece, there were festivals where the populace honored Dionysus, the god of frenzy. At the festivals, people drank, had sex, and carried on in all manner of what we might call today “depravity.” When the festival was over, the people returned to their ordered lives, renewed and restored. For Dionysus is also the god of birth and rebirth, as well as epiphany. The festivals were a way to honor the often hidden, darker sides of our nature. They provided a container for the expression and acknowledgment of our pathologies, and in their release, the people found renewal.

We have fewer containers in contemporary life. Today, the Devil is to be repulsed, pushed down, denied. What happens when you try to ignore something? It pops up somewhere else. Deny the darker side of your nature, and it manifests in addiction to alcohol. Push down your resentment long enough, and it suddenly appears in rage.

We have to find ways to express all the sides of our nature, including the shadow. Therapy and the arts are examples of containers for such expression and renewal.

What do you do to express the many aspects of your nature? Do you dance? Do you paint? To you write? Tell me how you express the devil inside.