When the spirit/servitor of the Inverse Devil made its appearance to yield to me, it was as a great learned man, with puffy doctoral robes and medallions of intellectual honors, standing smugly before me with a portfolio of his achievements under one arm and his head under the other.
Here is a man who has placed all his faith in his reasoning, to the point where he has denied his body, and thus his instinct, any access to his thoughts for it is common and thus, filth.
Some of the cards, like the Inverse Sun, know they represent a Worst Possible Outcome of the current they represent. They resent the manner in which they were formed and do not wish to be used for ill.
Then there’s this motherfucker.
He stood there waiting for me to yield to him, to accept his proposal of banishing the body and all influences of the body so that only the pure unadulterated mind could rise, to be like him.
He did not see why a corporal being could not just ignore the “base animal urges” that is instinct and use only the power of reason and mind to exist.
At least the Inverse Moon knows he is insane.
I corrected his assumptions very quickly. He harrumphed at my rejection of a life devoid of physical pleasures and noted history is full of ascetics who have done so successfully.
I pointed out for him to be a proper ascetic, he would also have to renounce his achievements, his letters, and his marks of learning.
“Knowledge is the only goal worth pursuing! If I renounce that then I am no better than a monk in isolation! My knowledge must be made known.”
So full of himself, he insists my world should be remade into his image, regardless the personal cost.
I chuckled and summoned his card. He yielded, but not without comment. “You are my master, for now, aye. Then when the time comes that you wish to shed the ignorance of the flesh, you shall seek me then.”
As I put his card away, I reflected on the differences between him and those examples of head cults I have seen elsewhere. Both sought to be removed from the flesh, but he sought power to rule the flesh from a distance.
I’m sure there are other distinctions that will become clear in time. For now, my lesson is not to ignore my own instincts. That is, not to be so head full of “knowledge” that I forget how to use what I know.