Life isn't about finding yourself; it is about creating yourself
~George Bernard Shaw
~George Bernard Shaw
Become Lost
The stronghold in the forest represents a bastion against the myriad dangers that hide in the shadowy world beyond. It overwatches safe paths through the perpetual twilight of the mystical wood. It is a place of safety and a place from which to set out in force. But Joseph Campbell, known for his work in comparative mythology, has this caution about following paths:
Whenever a knight of the Grail
tried to follow a path made by someone else,
he went altogether astray.
Where there is a path,
it is someone else's footsteps.
For a questing knight, all ways already found, known, and proven are wrong ways, for they are not one's own. Each knight must find his or her own way and that means entering the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Both the quest and the grail, itself a morphing symbol, are not so much about reaching a destination or finding a thing. They are about a new way of seeing. Whenever the imagery and symbols of our social order no longer light up for us, it is time to find our own way. It is time to go on a grail quest.
Because of the types of stories and probably the nature of the fears I encountered at an early age, the knight motif (and Arthurian reference points) has made a suitable framework for building my own suite of guiding symbols that I can use to reflect on reactions to experiences and contemplate choices of consequence; however, it is but one path in the forest. My symbols, braced and interconnected through the triad of the charge, arms, and vigil of the knight, can perhaps serve others best as a reminder that you are not stuck with the meaning and significance assigned to things by the world around you and as an example of a way to rebuild your own, personal symbolic foundation based on the types of stories that speak to you. Guides have value. But the best guides will get you only to the edge of the forest. After that, it's up to you.
Because of the types of stories and probably the nature of the fears I encountered at an early age, the knight motif (and Arthurian reference points) has made a suitable framework for building my own suite of guiding symbols that I can use to reflect on reactions to experiences and contemplate choices of consequence; however, it is but one path in the forest. My symbols, braced and interconnected through the triad of the charge, arms, and vigil of the knight, can perhaps serve others best as a reminder that you are not stuck with the meaning and significance assigned to things by the world around you and as an example of a way to rebuild your own, personal symbolic foundation based on the types of stories that speak to you. Guides have value. But the best guides will get you only to the edge of the forest. After that, it's up to you.
The Charge of KnighthoodThe "charge" is a knight's obligation or responsibility. Ramon Lull's "Book of Knighthood and Chivalry," penned in the late 13th century, outlines what was expected to be important to a knight: defending faith and king, engaging in appropriate sports, protecting those who were less powerful, and maintaining lands wealth appropriate to his status.
The charge provided a set of socially acceptable ideals under which to unify and bind otherwise individualistic and powerful warriors. While the values may be out of date, the concept of a personal charge can serve as a framework for forging a new path. |
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The Arms of the KnightA knight depended on his armour and weapons for survival. As a result, they were primed to become symbols. Swords were given names, and legends would speak of their magical powers. Such symbolism is not limited to weapons. Freemasonry uses the implements of the mason (the square, compass, level, plumb, etc.), and heraldry employed agricultural implements and tools from various crafts. Anything that holds significance for us in the outer world can be used to connect us to deeper meaning.
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Emain Macha, Ireland
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Nobody can give you a mythology. The images that mean something to you, you’ll find in your dreams, in your visions, in your actions – and you’ll find out what they are after you’ve passed them. ~Joseph Campbell
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