Quest for the Elixir: Eagle's Eye View
The Reward, Sagittarius, and The World
Quest for the Elixir
This post is part of an ongoing series. If you’re new to it, you’ll want to read the introduction first (about 6 minutes):
Three Articles About a Chapter of the Universal Story
Each edition of Quest for the Elixir consists of three articles about one of the 12 chapters in the cyclical Universal Story.
The first article is an exploration of the chapter from the perspective of the Hero’s Journey in Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.
The second article is a view of the same chapter in terms of the Zodiac sign corresponding to it in the cycle.
The third article is about the meaning of the chapter as symbolized in a Major Arcana card of the tarot.
During the month of the Sun’s transit through Sagittarius, we observe the chapter of the Eagle’s Eye View in the Universal Story. In celebration, I offer the following three articles:
The Monomyth: The Reward
In this stage of the monomyth, the Big Battle is over, and the battlefield is deserted. Given the convictions of the participants, the Ordeal ended in the only way it could have ended.
Whatever the outcome, the encounter with death was a horrific experience for everyone involved. Even the winners lost something in the Ordeal, though thankfully they survived with their lives. What they need most now is rest and time to process the meaning of it all, for none of them will ever be the same as before.
Lost someone or something to which they’ve been attached? Time to remember and consider the true extent and meaning of the loss.
Lost some pride? Ego died? What did they do wrong? What were the mistakes? What has been learned from them? Time to rise above errors of the past and find a better perspective, a wiser philosophy.
And what about the gains? How did they survive? Where and when did they find strength? What did they do right? What do their successful decisions imply?
In spite of the damage, the outlook now is jubilant. Thank goodness the Ordeal is over, and the hero and his (remaining) companions have emerged from it victorious! It’s time to move onward and upward to some new haven of peace, for relaxation and a thoughtful review of past events.
Victory at the conclusion of the monomythical Big Battle is often celebrated with a Big Feast, during which the heroes are formally recognized for their bravery. In the movies, the Big Feast is typically a joyful party around a campfire, where characters share a festive meal and stories about their adventures. Each character has his own tale to tell. Hearing a recap from a character’s personal perspective, the audience gains insight into both the character and the story as a whole.
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”
― Joseph Campbell
Having risked death in the Ordeal of the previous stage, the hero of the monomyth has become a true hero indeed. He has undergone a deep change, an initiation. Through his sacrifice to something bigger than himself, he is now himself ‘bigger’ than before, more spiritually whole.
The formal recognition of any type of initiated hero may include a promotion into a special company of others with similar achievements. A battlefield hero may be promoted to knighthood. Following a ritual death-and-rebirth ordeal, an initiated seeker may be admitted into an esoteric society with an official rank and a new name. The informal promotions of other heroes, such as that of a woman initiated into motherhood by the Ordeal of childbirth, are no less significant and real.
Entitled now to claim a Reward, the hero takes possession of the prize he has sought, which Joseph Campbell calls the “The Ultimate Boon” or “The Elixir”. In some stories, the hero requests and receives his reward easily. In others, the hero steals the Elixir and (unless he was following the instructions of a benevolent guide) is later required to pay a heavy price for the theft.
“One of the essential aspects of this step is the hero taking possession of whatever she came seeking. Treasure hunters take the gold, spies snatch the secret, pirates plunder the captured ship, an uncertain hero seizes her self-respect, a slave seizes control of his own destiny…. The Norse god Odin, in his supreme ordeal, gives up an eye and hangs on the World-Tree for nine days and nights. His reward is the knowledge of all things and the ability to read the sacred runes.” — Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey
In some stories, the prize a hero seeks and claims is love. Other heroes take different special treasures, perhaps a rose, a jewel, the Holy Grail, or the Philosopher’s Stone. Whatever the form, the ultimate Elixir sought by most heroes is one that confers the ability to overcome the forces of death.
Vogler calls this stage of the monomyth “Seizing the Sword”, because it celebrates the hero’s newfound ability to assert his mind and will (the Sword) over unrecognized negative ‘programming’ of his own (a dragon or some other feeling-based monster) that has been keeping him weak.
"Only one who has risked the fight with the dragon and is not overcome by it wins the "treasure hard to attain." He alone has a genuine claim to self-confidence, for he has faced the dark ground of his self and thereby has gained himself. This experience gives him faith and trust." — Carl Jung
Of course, no other person ever actually confers any ability on the hero. Ability and a sense of wholeness come to him internally, from the Source via intuition, which from need he grasps and applies. Any external reward he may rightfully claim at this stage can only be a token confirming an ability that he has already developed internally for himself.
Is it possible for a hero to go through the external motions of an Ordeal successfully without experiencing a true internal initiation? Unfortunately, yes, that can and does happen in fiction and in life.
"People who don't have a concept of the whole can do very unfortunate things." ~ Joseph Campbell
Sometimes a hero denies that there even was any significant impact or loss, clinging stubbornly to ongoing conflict and resentment, unaware of any meaningful outer or inner experience.
In other cases, a hero who lacks a concept of the whole may acknowledge the Ordeal but misinterpret its significance, attributing his success entirely to the cleverness of his own ego; i.e. his success ‘goes to his head’. His mindset blocks the expansion of consciousness that should have come from transcendence of his ego. Thus instead of gaining insight and wisdom, he gains arrogance and a tendency to abuse powers and privileges. Evil that should have been neutralized may then poison the hero, as in the case of a cop who becomes a criminal as bad or worse than the ones he battles.
In short, if a hero manages to conquer death but somehow fails to recognize the benevolent influence of a power higher than his ego, his initiation is incomplete and he makes no positive inner change. Such a flawed hero must be retested in further Ordeals until eventually he learns his limits.
A successfully initiated hero considers Truth to be a power higher than either his personal appetites and desires or the vanity of his ego, and he opens his intuition to it. He eliminates evil by exposing it to the light of Truth and owning his own part in it, regardless of personal loss. He feels simply that he was helped from within to know the correct action to take and pleased to have taken it. The outlook he gains is a blissful blend of gratitude, wonder, and faith in both the higher power and himself.
The liberation of an initiated hero from the energy drain of an internal conflict frees the hero’s mind for further expansion. Having learned to recognize and trust his intuition, he may find that he’s gained new powers of perception. Better attuned to Truth, he can see with new inner ‘eyes’ how things are interconnected in the Big Picture. He may develop psychic abilities, such as clairvoyance or telepathy, that let him see through deception. At a deeper level, he may experience a spiritual epiphany in which he realizes exactly who he really is, the status of his strengths and weaknesses, how he is connected to the Source, and how he fits into the scheme of things in the world.
"Where wisdom reigns, there is no conflict between thinking and feeling." — Carl Jung
Whatever else he may have gained from the Ordeal, the hero has become more serious, more integrated, more self-confident, more mature, and more worthy of respect. In other words, he has become more wise.
“It is only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself if not of the world.” ― Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
According to the monomyth, the hero must eventually return to the Ordinary World with the precious Elixir, there to use its magic to “help mankind” or “save the world”. Does that mean he’ll be riding back there on an ambitious mission to change and improve everything? Maybe not.
“The hero whose attachment to ego is already annihilate passes back and forth across the horizons of the world, in and out of the dragon, as readily as a king through all the rooms of his house. And therein lies his power to save; for his passing and returning demonstrate that through all the contraries of phenomenality the Un-create-Imperishable remains, and there is nothing to fear.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
“The best way to help mankind is through the perfection of yourself.” ― Joseph Campbell, A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living
The hero’s real Elixir is forever within himself. His mission won’t be about changing anything or anyone else. It will be about simply living his life as the spiritually inspired, authentic person he really is, and thereby setting a positive example.
“We save the world by being alive ourselves.” ― Joseph Campbell
With the attainment of the Elixir, the hero has achieved his purpose in the Special World and earned a very special holiday there. We’re all learning that as horrible as life can be, it’s also amazing and wonderful. So for now we’ll leave the hero to his joyous celebrations with his companions, and maybe we’ll do some celebrating of our own.
“Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. The warrior's approach is to say “yes” to life: “yea” to it all.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
The Reward in The Wizard of Oz
In our example story, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy (now a successful hero) and her three companions have just returned from their harrowing Ordeal with the wicked Witch of the West.
The Wizard had instructed Dorothy to bring him the Witch’s broomstick (a symbol of intuition, like a magic wand), and when they saw that the Witch was dead, the gratefully liberated castle guards were happy to give it to her. Now the four are back in the Wizard’s palace, expecting him to grant their requests in return for the broomstick. But things don’t quite work out as they expect.
The Wizard is right. He is a very good man, and a frankly phony Wizard. But they never really needed a magical Wizard to grant their requests. What they needed was a situation that would draw out of them the requested qualities they didn’t realize they already had within themselves. That was what the good and wise “Wizard” arranged for them.
Now the Wizard rewards the three companions with validating tokens of their achievements, which is all anyone could do for any hero. And what about Dorothy, the hero who still needs to go home? The Wizard plans to take her home himself in the only way he knows, through the sky in his own hot air balloon.
Sagittarius
The Fire element is the element of motivation, and the three Fire signs of the Zodiac are expressions of the three basic motivational powers. While Aries motivates on the primal level for survival, and Leo motivates mentally for self-realization and development of individual talents, Sagittarius motivates spiritually for expansion of awareness and wisdom.
Sagittarius is the philosophical sign that promotes understanding of the world: how it works and wise ways of living in it. Its focus is on the “Big Picture” of general categories, patterns, interpretations, theories, and beliefs, as opposed to specific details and superficial differences. A concept of the Big Picture can be something we seek naturally, for pleasure; but when we’ve been wounded by a painful experience, it’s something we really need to see.
Scenery is Earthy/physical, but it’s also very Watery; it absorbs and reflects feelings. It’s said that “the devil is in the details”, and that’s certainly true of a scene we associate with bad feelings. When we’ve had a horrific experience, as we may in Water sign Scorpio, we feel a sense of loss, and we feel lost ourselves. We need first to get far away from the distressful scene with all of its unsettling details, and then to somehow find our bearings so that we can move forward.
“If you travel far enough, you'll eventually meet yourself.” ― Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By
Sagittarius offers us two ways to do that:
We can escape bad feelings the horizontal way, by taking a long journey to another scene whose details are completely different, evocative of different feelings. We leave the pain of our mistakes far behind us, and who knows what wiser ways of life we may learn?
We can escape bad feelings the vertical way, by rising far above the emotionally-charged scene, up through the higher frequencies of the mental plane to a clear, spiritual vantage point for a more objective perspective. As we rise, we see how to ‘connect the dots’ that had appeared to be unconnected, whereupon the meaningful Big Picture is revealed to us. The details of an ugly ‘battle’ scene and its ‘devil’ shrink and dissolve into a great map of general categories, all gloriously balanced in elegant symmetry. Past events fall into perspective. Is that all they were? What did they even matter? From this lofty perspective, they really weren’t that big of a deal — but LIFE ITSELF IS AN ASTOUNDINGLY BIG DEAL! Overwhelmed with awe, we stop weeping and laugh in wonder!
One of the stress-free ways in which people learn about their world is through formal or informal study: of theories in higher education, of scriptures in religions, or of any and all written works that contribute to their greater world view. Another way is through journeys to faraway places, where travelers experience unfamiliar cultures, customs, and languages, and see firsthand how people are different in some ways, yet alike in others. The Sagittarian way is always a way of philosophy and wisdom, whether as follower of an old tradition, formulator and founder of a new tradition, or lifelong seeker of worldly wisdom.
A major keyword for the Sagittarian style is BIG, like the famous Sagittarian GENEROSITY and its preference for broad GENERALIZATION over specifics and pesky details. Another is CONFIDENT, even HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, for when one lives by a wise philosophy, what could possibly go wrong? Yet another is FOREIGN, as Sagittarius is a natural WANDERER, well known for its gypsy spirit and cultural sophistication. Anything Sagittarian is likely to include some form of wisdom teaching, moral advice, or simply carefree, light-hearted HUMOR.
In an astrological chart, houses represent the various ‘departments’ of life, and the places where they function. The natural house of Sagittarius is the 9th house, located in the top right part of the wheel as shown above. That’s the house of philosophy, religion, long journeys and higher education. The sign on its cusp gives a clue to our usual experience in travel or higher learning, and also to our approach to philosophy and beliefs.
In the language of astrology, planets function as ‘nouns’ or ‘verbs’ that represent or express the various energies of life. Each sign reflects the qualities of the planet which rules it. The ruler of Sagittarius is Jupiter, whose effect is very positive, expansive, and merciful, encouraging us to learn well from our errors, but not to take life too seriously. A Jupiter personality is normally FUNNY, even a bit GOOFY, always ready to laugh at itself and at all of life.
Like all the other planets, Jupiter has its negative side, which is usually some type of overexpansion. Jupiter’s attitude is No worries! It’ll be fine! But sometimes it won’t be fine. When those carefree Jupiter energies are out of balance, overconfidence may lead to foolish blunders ranging from tactlessness to klutziness to accidents. Overindulgence or overestimation may result in one being overweight or overwhelmed by too much of something. Wise teaching can become overly judgmental and degenerate into wearisome preaching.
However, true to its classical reputation as the “Greater Benefic”, Jupiter is basically good and never associated with intentional harm. It seems to mitigate trouble and to see that any needed help is at hand. Jupiter is like a traveling celebration, with uplifting joy, laughter, confidence, mercy, and plenty for all.
The World
High in the open blue sky, a woman is dancing in the glow of a white aura. Except for the long blue sash that swirls loosely around her, she is naked. In each of her hands she holds a wand, one black and one white. Around her is a great wreath formed of two laurel branches whose ends are bound together with red ties. In each of the four corners of the card is a head: a Bull, a Lion, an Eagle, and a Man.
The wreath symbolizes the Circle of Time on earth, the two parts of it suggesting the twin phases of growth and decay. The red ties binding the two parts together are the color of blood and of the Martial energy that powers the chase around the Circle for survival. They are wound in the shapes of infinity signs, expressing the eternal flow of the life force through time. But the circle itself is a hero’s wreath of green laurel, as befits the victory of an initiate who has braved the chase of life and survived the worst of its dangers. It’s as though the initiate has transcended the challenges of Time and used the symbol of the abandoned hectic chase to bind the ‘conquered’ Challenger.
The heads are symbolic of the Four Elements as the four fixed signs of the Zodiac. The Bull (Taurus) = Earth (sensation). The Lion (Leo) = Fire (intuition). The Eagle (Scorpio) = Water (feeling). The Man (Aquarius) = Air (thinking). The placements of the heads in the The World are the same as the placements of their corresponding signs in the natural astrological wheel.
Why only the 4 fixed signs, when there are 8 other signs in the Zodiac? Because the 12 signs of the Zodiac are expressions of only 4 basic elements, ‘split and woven’ into a Circle to make the universal story. Of the 3 signs in each element, the fixed sign is the one in which the element’s purpose is tested and eventually achieved (The other 2 signs, cardinal and mutable, are more like ‘on and off ramps’ leading to and away from the main event). That gives each fixed sign the status to stand for its element.
That only the heads of the 4 elemental symbols are depicted (and not the bodies) emphasizes the eventual spiritual effects of the four fixed-sign experiences on the human mind. In order to realize wholeness, we need all four spiritual achievements. And we need them all to be in balance, or in terms of geometry, like a square.
The 12-stage Circle of Time where we live out our versions of the Story functions as a sort of ‘mill’ where raw life force is refined into a (square) balance of the four elements, i.e. the four ultimate human achievements. That process is known as the ‘squaring of the circle’.
"The 'squaring of the circle' is one of the many archetypal motifs which form the basic patterns of our dreams and fantasies. But it is distinguished by the fact that it is one of the most important of them from the functional point of view. Indeed, it could even be called the archetype of wholeness." — Carl Jung
"Faith, hope, love, and insight are the highest achievements of human effort. They are found-given-by experience." — Carl Jung
If the geometric circle symbolizes the cycles of Time, and the square symbolizes the achievements of the 4 elements, where in geometry is wholeness and the Source symbolized? Whatever the surrounding shape, the answer is always in the Center. Only that central point is symbolically timeless and, as the midpoint of an axis between all polar opposites, can symbolize neither one pole nor the other, but rather the mysterious paradox of All Things and Nothing.
"The squaring of the circle is a stage on the way to the unconscious, a point of transition leading to a goal lying as yet unformulated beyond it. It is one of those paths to the centre." — Carl Jung
Spiritually, the dancing woman in The World has ‘squared the circle’ in a state of wholeness and transcended the World of Time. Her consciousness has risen high into the open blue sky, of which a swirling fragment signifying her philosophy or belief system is her only garment.
The white light around the woman expresses the Purity and Truth emanating eternally from the sacred Center. Her grasp of the polarized wands in either hand suggests her alignment with the mystical midpoint where opposites meet, which is also the sacred Center.
This woman is freely and joyfully dancing. Of what is she aware? Even if she could speak, no words could communicate her answer. Her dance expresses it best, as the arts can say what words cannot, but her awareness is her own. To know as she knows, each of us can only open to our intuition and seek for ourselves. We can find our life-giving Elixir, savor an amazing journey, and discover wonders beyond our current imagination. Yet the sparkling, magical Elixir will never stop flowing from its mystical flask. However far we may seek, there will always be more to discover and more to learn.
“He who thinks he knows, doesn’t know. He who knows that he doesn’t know, knows. For in this context, to know is not to know. And not to know is to know.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
In divination, I read The World as success, victory, great joy, and a sense of wholeness and fulfillment.
If it’s reversed, I read it as success with limited satisfaction, lacking a sense of wholeness and fulfillmen
