Parasite Symbol Analysis

Ruiz compares people’s tendency to internally judge and shame themselves to a parasite that feeds off of fear. He visualizes the parasite as a “monster with a thousand heads” whose body is comprised of one’s inner Judge persona, one’s inner Victim persona, and society’s “Book of Law” (belief system) that’s internalized at a young age. The parasite’s heads thus represent each of a person’s fears, which are all grounded in and perpetuated by society’s standards as well as by a person’s inner monologue. Ruiz’s aim is to help readers silence the inner voices that judge, shame, and agree to their internalized belief system, and he says that a person needs to “kill” the parasite in order to do so. One way to do this is by facing each fear one by one, which would be like cutting off each of the monster’s heads. Another way is by controlling one’s emotions and preventing fear from rising up, which would be like starving the monster of its food. The final way involves recognizing one’s own mortality, which Ruiz describes as killing the parasite while keeping its host (the person) alive. As such, Ruiz portrays self-judgment as a dangerous, infectious presence—but one that can ultimately be killed if an individual is willing to face their fears and challenge themselves.