In La Fable mystique (1982), Michel de Certeau described mysticism as a phenomenon of modernity on the margins of a society in transition. In this context, he highlighted mystical writing and speaking that had become established and sought to provide an answer to the religious crisis: St John of the Cross, among others, stands for a new logic of non-place, which, detached from all certainties, seeks to give the Other a temporary place to stay. With his speech (and his poetry), St John opens up an alternative space that makes it possible, at the crossroads of modernity, to overcome a repressive system of facts that is no longer able to pave the way for desire. The paper traces the various thematizations of the mysticism of St John of the Cross and its modes of speech through Certeau, and from there attempts to explore the tension between the individual and the institution. It will become clear, however, that this tension corresponds not only to the mysticism of the 17th century, but also to the political field of our time, which tends more than ever towards unification and standardisation. From here, the question of the relationship between mysticism and politics will be explored.