Liber Plutonis - Chapter 50

Verses

I used to think my shadow meant the worst parts of me. Conveniently, I had defined worst as everything I disliked noticing.

Anger went downstairs. Envy went downstairs. Need went downstairs wearing a fake mustache.

Then I wondered why the basement kept making noise.

Pluto is a decent symbol for this, provided we remember that symbols do not diagnose anyone.

The underworld is where myths put what ordinary consciousness does not want at breakfast.

Buried things do not become harmless through burial.

Neither do they become sacred.

A secret can be treasure, poison, compost, evidence, or merely an embarrassing email.

The task is not to love every hidden thing. The task is to stop lying about its existence.

One patient in an imaginary case study says, I have no anger. His jaw has submitted a dissenting report.

Another says, I have transcended desire. His browser history requests anonymity.

The psyche has excellent dark humor because repression writes the setup and behavior delivers the punchline.

Integration does not make the monster disappear.

Sometimes it makes the monster capable of using a fork.

Progress.