0
0
Hello there… I hope you’re having a truly magical time… and I have a feeling it’s about to get even more miraculous and amazing. If you remember, we’ve now stepped into the realm of ‘The Return’ – that moment on the journey when we begin to stand in our power and begin to experience the transformation that the Journey has created in our souls.
Last time, we looked at the Ruler – we looked at how we need to take responsibility for our lives, allowing us to heal the wasteland and create prosperity and peace for ourselves and for those around us. And yet the pragmatism of the Ruler hinted at the need for someone else to stand alongside them. The Wizard.
One reason that I get excited about the appearance of the Wizard is that I know that’s the life story that I relate to the most. You will have to forgive me then if this becomes a little deeper this week! Not only that, though, the Wizard seems to be the archetypal element for many of the people drawn into my life and attracted to my work – and so, if you’re reading this, there is some element of the Wizard at work in your life too.
And more than that, it seems that this is the space that the world is moving into. We have gone through the moments of Warrior power, through the love and romanticism of the Renaissance, through a time when we destroyed the world through terrible wars, and rebuilt it. We’ve experienced the Rulership of the Industrial Revolution and of the scientific discoveries of the last hundred years and more – and we are beginning to see us shouldering the responsibility for the world. And that all releases a magical power in our lives, where spirituality and science meet and agree – and forge something new out of that alliance.
Perhaps a word on names. You can call this archetype ‘The Magician’ with all the baggage of top hats and rabbits. Or you can refer to it as ‘The Wizard’ and we’re into robes, pointy hats and stars. Or perhaps ‘The Sorcerer’ – but that sometimes seems somehow dark and twisted. It is, however, my favourite term, meaning ‘of the source’. But for now, let’s use the word ‘Wizard’. Let’s agree that it includes men and women. And let’s get beyond words and into meaning.
The stage of the journey
We’ve found ourselves exploring the power that we’ve brought back from the journey. We’ve begun to take responsibility for our world, and we’re beginning to see the results of our labours. Yet there’s only so much that the Ruler can achieve on his own – and that’s why he needs the court of the king – The Wizard, the Sage and the Jester.
The Wizard brings true power into our lives. The wizard focuses the primal creative energy of the Universe into creating change on this earth. The wizard shifts the focus from us – to something beyond us. The Ruler looks out on the fields and mountains of his land and smiles with contentment and peace. The Wizard looks out at the stars and wonders. The Ruler has spent his life creating order, prosperity, peace, calm. The Ruler has reinforced the borders, created structure. The Wizard knows that with one touch of the unruly energy of the cosmos, then all this could be unmade.
On his own, the Ruler will lead consistency and constancy in his people – creating peace and tranquillity. In an effort to block out magic, a Ruler, trying to do the best for his family, hides away all the spinning wheels and sends the wizards into exile… and sentences the country to years of sleep – for which read ‘stagnation’.
A wise ruler will listen to the voices of his councillors and confidantes, and will make wise and considered judgements. The Wizard will listen to the voice of the Universe, and magic will scythe across everything that makes ‘sense’.
The nature of the Wizard
Arthur would never have existed without Merlin – his wise mentorship created a king who was sensitive to the mystical and magical. The Wizard brings energy and power into situations that seem ‘stuck’ and hopeless. While the Ruler creates through rule and decree, the Wizard creates through changing consciousness.. by bringing heaven to earth.
Some of these Wizards are truly magical – the shamans, the ones who are connected to the land, to the sky, to Creation itself. They are the energy healers, the miracle workers.. but they are also the technologists creating a new level of magic. They are the spiritual leaders, opening doorways to another realm. They are the doctors and nurses, healing through knowledge. The writers, creating new and incredible worlds. And they are the enlightened entertainers, bringing magic into our lives through their gift. Unsurprisingly, we can recognise magic when we see it.
Magic – miracles – transformation – signs – wonders – these are all the same things, to those that recognise the real thing when they see it.
The Wizard has a unique gift of bringing both certainty and uncertainty. Nothing around the Wizard is predictable. Reality shifts, nothing is quite what it seems. Anything seems to be possible – they have a unique connection to everything that is going on, and can move in unexpected directions on a whim. And yet, strangely, in that sea of uncertainty, there is calm. Though the storm may whirl around them, they are not themselves moved – around them, all seems calm. The Wizard knows that he or she is the source of the storm, that we have called it into being and that at a word we can make it recede.
The Wizard is truly connected – as the shamans across the world understand, with a deep connection to the earth, to animals, to the sky, to stars and planets – and to humanity. They seem to be at the centre of a spider’s web of interconnectedness.
The Wizard has begun to step beyond fear. As Carlos Castenada says ‘The task of the sorcerer is to face infinity’ – once we have faced infinity, then there is nothing more that can hurt us. Now there seems to be a reason for everything we might have lost on the journey now – because having faced that loss, and having been confronted by our own deaths… then we are truly free. This is what enabled Obi Wan-Kenobi to give up his life to allow Luke and the crew to flee – and what enabled Gandalf to face the Bal-Rog – both emerging transformed having passed through their own death.
The Goal
The Wizard has one goal. Transformation. She seeks to transform lesser into greater realities – by her presence, she makes things better. Possibly simply by being there, the energy shifts. Or perhaps there is something that she does – by subtly shifting the energy, then the situation begins to heal. Each one of us has known the calming ‘hush’ of a parent that causes our tears to stop and our beating hearts to quieten. That is no less magic than healing a broken leg. As ‘A Course In Miracles’ says ‘there is no order of difficulty in miracles’.
Sometimes the Wizard will transform things – changing one reality into another. Other times, she will make things disappear – something which causes pain will disappear and (probably) be replaced by something else. Or perhaps the wizard will make things appear – creating beauty, love and peace where none existed. The fairy godmother in Cinderella took that which already was – a pumpkin, mice, a tattered dress – and made something of beauty out of it.
Primal Fear
We have been on this path a long time now, and we have become wise. The true Wizard knows that, living this close to the boundary between worlds, the danger is greater. The true Wizard knows that it would be all that simple to step over to the dark side of magic, as Saruman in Lord of The Rings and Darth Vader in Star Wars found to their cost. Yet others will resist that temptation, and emerge stronger – SparrowHawk in ‘The Wizard of EarthSea’ and Gandalf himself faced this temptation and defeated it, as did Jesus in the wilderness. Every instance of magic carries its temptations to use power wrongly – and the wise Wizard will be aware of his or her own weakness.
Response to the challenge
What else would a Wizard do when confronted with a dragon. They will work with it, transforming it from a threat to an ally. If healing is needed, then as Androcles with the lion, healing it will surely have. The Wizard knows that a ferocious being is only ferocious when we do not understand it…. by seeking to understand, and ultimately to heal and help, then we gain an ally of immense power.
A Heroic Task
Ultimately, the Wizard’s task is strangely personal. Theirs is the quest to align themselves with the cosmos – to learn the secrets of creation and of transformation and to become one with them. The Wizard knows that as he seeks to align himself more with the Universe, as he seeks to become less so that power may fill him more, then out of that alignment will come purpose, expressed through magic and miracles that serve others. The Wizard will begin to lose his or her worldly agenda, choosing to surrender to the principles of the Universe instead – knowing that ultimately they will be cared for and protected.
The Gift
To those that are willing to empty themselves go the riches of power. The Wizard has learned to empty himself of everything he has learned in order to understand something more incredible. For the Wizard, everything is to be traded in the search for cosmic power expressed through him. Wisely, the wizard knows that power does not come from within – it is not ‘ours’, it is simply a higher power expressing itself through us. Each of us will have known that moment when we were ‘in the flow’ and things came easily – for you, that was a moment of magic. You may have known it as making your task easy, or you may have felt the finger of God trace its way down your spine – but if you have been paying attention, you will know it.
The shadow Wizard
The shadow form of the Wizard is easy to spot – an evil sorcerer, wicked witch, deceptive leader creating negative experiences and sucking energy and life from those around. This may not be conscious, but for those of us who are open to these things, we learn to trust our instincts and recognise that which doesn’t seem quite ‘right’. That shadow form must be integrated within each of us – recognising our weakness and knowing that power can be used for good, we bring the dominating force of the shadow Wizard under control, embracing ambition and calling it good where it serves us to do so.
It is often easy to start to use magic for our own ends, when in truth it was never meant that way. We are in the room to heal the room – there is no other reason to be there.
Levels of the Wizard
The Wizard’s call is often painful – frequently a physical or emotional illness, or a psychic distress. If we open ourselves up at this point, we will find our healing nearby (most tribes know that the cure for an illness lies near the thing that caused the illness, much as dock leaves grow near nettles). It may not be a physical illness, but perhaps a weakening of our defences, allowing fear and uncertainty to consume us – or poverty to befall us.
Alternatively we may start to experience serendipitous events, or psychic occurrence. We do well to pay attention to these as those events are signposts to something greater and more magical. Remember never to venerate the signs themselves – there is the story of a Buddhist monk who, encouraged into daily meditation started seeing visions of the Buddha- he crossed many miles over many months to tell his teacher, who replied ‘Oh, yes, don’t worry about those, keep meditating and they will go away…’
Initially we start out to follow those healing experiences and choosing to listen and be aware of the extrasensory world. We are receivers from another dimension it seems. As time goes on, we learn to take control of our experience – we find ways to centre our experience, taking our visions and acting on them to bring them into reality, finding ways to make our dreams come true.
Over time, we start to consciously use our power – aware that everything is connected, we begin to become masters, taking time to work on our own physical, emotional, spiritual and emotional beings to allow us to work through the cosmic interconnnectedness of everything to navigate healing.
The Wizard’s story
We’ve already said that the Wizard will often experience debilitating illness, or devastating loss – somehow, that will be deeper and more acutely felt than others. Yet that illness or loss becomes the catalyst to discovering the ability to heal others – physically, emotionally, spiritually – and to transform their experience. Often, too, the Wizard, caught up in her power, may experience the effects of her pride and rash behaviour. deep heartbreak.
Eventually the Wizard emerges from trials that will test him to extremes, and through a process of tyring and failing to get it right, or using powers for his own ends (remember Mickey in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’), learns to use them for what is right and true and good.
Exercises and dreaming
Where are you starting to see magic appearing in your life now? The beginnings of synchronistic events, or co-incidences? What intuitive nudges are you beginning to experience? Can you think of a time where something unusual and unexpected happened – that you might call a miracle? How do you feel when you look up at the stars at night?
What would it feel like if you were able to connect with animals – with nature – with other human beings? Can you sometimes read how they are feeling? Do you sometimes wonder why you feel a certain way, and realise that it’s someone else’s feeling – their fear or their uncertainty – that you are experiencing rather than your own?
Next time
As we journey on, the sense of power and of magic, of a Universe in balance, begins to increase. We see that previous experiences begin to slot together – we find the caregiver and the warrior find their full expression in the Ruler, while the Creator and Destroyer find their reality in the Wizard. Our next hero is the Sage, the wise one… although I might just have a bit more to say about the Wizard before then!
So until next time – enjoy the journey of your life… and be magical!
Find out more at www.timhodgson.org
PS – If you missed any of the preceding parts of the programme – then catch up here: PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
