The Lord of the Rings; one of the great archetypal journeys

[Plenum]

I just did a rewatch of the three Lord of the Rings movies; and I must say, it is truly an EPIC experience. The sheer scale of some of the battles, the physical landscapes that are traversed (from the green of the earth and the forests, into the rocky depths of the mines, the frosty snow, and the final journey into the parched lands of fire), the HUGE battles that you really need a cinema screen to do justice to, and the reasonably well integrated CG that still holds up well 10 years on, it is all in all a magnifique experience; especially if it can be appreciated in a more compressed viewing, rather than the original release schedule which was one year apart (if I remember correctly) for each film.

as a cultural artifact of our age, I find it hard to think of a work that is as widely known and as widely seen. Sure, there are a few holdouts who will claim they have never seen the Titanic, because it is just another 'weepy love story', or the Matrix is just up-itself and a philosophical dead end, but the most resistance the Lord of the Rings can generate is that - 'its a fantasy film, and I prefer Sci-Fi' - and so who here can say they have resisted the Lord of the Rings experience?

it is a grand gesture to the co-ordinative capacities of our culture (read: civilization) when it is able to mass the resources needed to go through with the production of these three films. If you venture to sit through the credits of the final film, you may be there for 15 minutes as screenfuls of names scroll past. We are looking at perhaps thousands of individuals and their respective expertise being drawn into the umbrella of this enterprise; all under the guiding vision of Peter Jackson who brings to life and motion the imaginative channeling of one connected individual - that of Mr JRR Tolkien.

on that level alone, it is impressive.

but on an emotive value, it drills deep indeed.

- -

Frodo, around who the whole story pivots, can be regarded as the 'Mind'; and as we know, during an incarnation, the mind is never ever very far away from one other construct - that of the Body. This is none other than Sam, and the two are truly inseparable. The way they work together, and are on this journey together, it can best be summed up in the following Ra quote:


"It is well to know the body complex so that it is an ally, balanced and ready to be clearly used as a tool, for each bodily function may be used in higher and higher, if you will, complexes of energy with other-self."


here Sam is very much the dependable ally. He never abandons Frodo, even when Frodo becomes quite distorted in his perceptions due to the effect of the ring. Sam is pleasure-loving, and earnest, and clear and non-deceptive. He follows where the mind goes, and is ever loving. Think of your own body and the journey that it has carried you on. And think of the times that you mistreated your body, did not give it due consideration, and yet, it was always there, as a support for your experience. Sam, the ever faithful ally, accompanies Frodo to the very end of the earth.

Gandalf, on the other hand, is a clear personification of the Higher Self. He is wise, he is guiding, he directs the broad parameters of the experience, and yet, it is not Gandalf's journey which is being told; it is Frodo's.

Gandalf, too, has an aspect of care and concern for the Mind.

- -

The Ring itself may be looked at as the STS or negative tendencies within oneself (the Creator). And even though the ostensible 'great enemy' in the film is Sauron, a person who is never seen, but is shown as a big flaming eye which is somewhat telepathic, the ring itself is the burden and must be destroyed, not Sauron himself, directly. Sauron is not attacked directly (if Sauron represents negative tendencies brought to life), but the ring (the burden that Frodo carries, that is part of him), it is the ring itself which must be 'destroyed'; ie any negative tendencies in the self must be overcame or availed, and then, and only then is Sauron, the negative influence in the world, also cast down. Through changing the self (taking those negative tendencies back into the fire) is only then the negative tendencies removed from the 'world'; the world here being representative of one's 'experience'.

so the whole journey is about one's own relationship to negative tendencies within the self. And we can see when other's gaze upon the Ring how it evokes envy and lust for power, or at least brings that catalyst to the fore on the individual who gazes. Some are tempted and act on it (Boromir), others are offered the power and resist, after playing out some 'temptation scenarios' in their mind (Gandalf and the elf Lady Galadriel), and there is also Gollum, who is someone truly corrupted by the power of the Ring.

as is common in many of these films where the negative polarity is 'destroyed', there is a return to 'oneness' which is being depicted. The Sun (as a being of unity, supporting all life, all polarities) is quite often seen, and by extension fire and lava is used as a more rooted, and localised symbol of the logos. The return to the deep mind is also shown in other movies as an 'ejection in the vaccuum of deep space' or the returning to the deep ocean. In all cases, there is a sort of vastness to the elemental depiction, and an enveloping and 'dissolving' back into oneness or unity. In that respects, evil or the negative polarity is not really destroyed (as in real life). It can only be merged, or re-integrated into the One, from which it came. And so it is with the Ring in this film; it is taken back the Fires, and melted back into the vast potentials of unity; having been experienced, and no longer need be expressed. This happens, of course, on an individual level. As it is Frodo's 'negativity' or negative traits which are symbolically being represented as being returned back into the seething fires of unity.

The Hobbits themselves are symbolic of well grounded peoples, who are clear and activated in the first three chakras. They enjoy their lives, they don't suffer from any overt mental maladies or illnesses; they are connected to the earth, enjoy their lives, are well provided for, have no enemies, and are comfortable. As I said; well grounded individuals clear in the first three rays, and people that you would be glad to know and call friend.

and yet, that is not enough. To just 'be', and enjoy, and be within the confines of a community, peacable and merry ... this is not enough. The choice of polarity involves the choice to serve others, and that is what the whole Fellowship of the Ring is about. To choose the nature of one's service.

and Frodo experiences this burden, and this doubt, and this struggle, and this effort, and this seeking that tests him to the very end. Does he give up? does he have enough 'will' to go through with his 'service'. That is what the whole film is about.

and so when all is said and done, and both Gollum and the Ring are plunged back into unity, then, and only then, when Frodo and Sam are sitting on a piece of rock surrounded by a flaming sea of lava in motion, only then does Gandalf appear from the skies with three? giant eagles that bails them from a situation that seemed like the final end of the tale. Birds are often emblamatic of the spirit and the spirit complex, and its no different here.

and what happens after the 'choice' is made? (the choice of polarity that is, and the destruction of the ring), can Frodo go back to the normal life, with other hobbits that have not been on his journey, and made the choice? the answer is no; and after some time writing his story (the 'Lord of the Rings' lol), he finally meets with Gandalf and the elves, and takes his leave from his friends; his journey complete, his choice made, and the experiences of others allowed to continue as they so choose. One could see this as a personal 'harvest' if you will. And the trilogy of films ends with the ships departing over the ocean waters, Gandalf, Frodo, and Bilbo all on board.

- -

the music in this film is truly well done; and all the evocative themes are present in the first film, and make re-appearances later on in the other two.

I watched the extended cut versions; and even with long run times, the first film is so narratively together and coherent, that it does not lag at all. The other two films (even from what I remember from cinema experiences 10 years ago) are more slow burns, especially the middle film, but it is not as bad in the third film.

as a cultural artifact, it all came from the mind of one Oxford University Professor, it was brought to life under the guidance of one director, thousands of people took direction from that director, and millions (if not billions) of people have enjoyed and experienced the final result.

it is a cultural experience and an archetypal journey which has gone from the one to the many, and from the many back to the one, as each filters and interprets what was seen, on an individual level.

truly magnifique.

excuse me for all the words; sometimes I just don't know where it all comes from lol.

peace,

plenum

[Melissa]

Gar, this is truly fantastic. What a great read! I usually avoid threads about the archetypes because they're like these walls of dry knowledge, quite dense so I can't 'see' anything. Thank you for igniting my minds eye and adding more depth to the story aswell. Kids with labels such as add/adhd/crystal/indigo would be lucky to have you as a teacher.

[zenmaster]

Gandalf = "Wise Old Man", like Obi Wan, or Yoda, or Merlin.

[reeay]

gollum = severely fragmented mind that dissociates, consequence of not working w/ one's shadow aspects

[Fang]

Ring Wraiths= Those who are undone by desire, have their will twisted to the point where they exist as a shade, already dead, witlessly serving a master. ie. bureaucrat (LOL)

In a more archetypal sense, you could say Gandalf's transformation reflects shamanic initiation/hero's journey (and Gandalf does seem largely influenced by Odin; "master of ecstasy" and whatnot)
On his solo journey he finds himself (the treasure), as all hero's inevitably do in the dark cave.

[isis]

galadriel = anima

[Unbound]

This is good stuff, but I see that it has not been mentioned (likely because it is from the Silmarillion) but Sauron is actually a being that is the same as Gandalf, but he was twisted by the dark higher being Morlock. What is interesting about Morgoth is that he isn't really evil in the eyes of the LOTR Creator Eru. At the beginning of time all of the Creator Gods were together and Eru with their help composing the music of the cosmos which would tell the story of all creation. The gods all worked together to create it, but the dark one Morgoth tried to change and ruin the composition by adding dissonant melodies, but this just made the creation more unique and beautiful. Regardless of the dissonance that Morgoth added, it just became part of the total piece.

Once the gods had finished composing the song which was existence, Eru gave the gods a gift and gave them a chance to experience the creation that they helped created first-hand. What Eru didn't tell them was that they would all have to start right at the very beginning of creation and play out the roles of their melodies. Thus the tales began.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgoth

This is really interesting because it basically expresses that everything that was made in the image of the song of the Ainur, the universe, contains some of Melkor/Morgoth's "corrupting" influence. However, this is also interesting because Melkor was not originally a dark being but was one of the most powerful Ainur.

Now what I am trying to figure out is what lead Melkor to turn to darkness... as far as I know it was envy towards Eru because Eru was capable of breathing true life in to things, he was not capable of actual creation, only manipulating things that had already been created, or creating mockeries and images.

This seems to have some really strong gnostic parallels, actually, with the Hypostasis of the Archons and stuff. Maybe that's why that one cab driver said LOTR is actually pretty much a documentary...

[Rhayader]

I must be the only one who has never watched or read all this.

[JustLikeYou]

Gandalf corresponds most closely to the Sage, the potentiator of the body (which is depicted as a wise old man in the Egyptian tarot).

Frodo corresponds most closely to the Fool, of course.

Sam is not so much like the significator of the body; rather, he is much more like the cat depicted in the Emperor card. He is the companionship and support you will have along the positive path.

The Moon card is well depicted in this series: Frodo's approach to Mt. Doom, is analogous to the seeker's approach to the Great Work. Thus, the increasing temptation of the Ring represents the increasing severity of tests which the seeker will be faced with as she steps forward along the path. Hence, the Great Work can only be accomplish when one possesses the greatest amount of purity.

What has always been curious to me is the way the journey ends. Frodo does not manifest the strength to cast out the Ring. Rather, the temptation overcomes him just as it did Isildur in a previous age. In LotR, the "good" triumphs over the "evil" seemingly by accident. Gollum finally gets what he wants, but falls to his demise during his celebratory dance. Yet this is still aligned with the archetypal nature of 3D. It is not strength or struggle or fighting which results in the final release of that which is evil. Rather, it is allowing yourself to express that part of yourself which has been rejected and relegated to the shadow (Gollum). When the shadow is finally given what it craves, the craving is revealed to be vacuous. In this final test, the shadow will seem to overtake you, but--assuming you are on the positive path--once the light is cast upon the shadow, all of its strength falls from beneath it. Its victory is also its demise because there is no longer anything for you to fear. The archetypes most central to this experience are the Moon (experience of the spirit) and the Calling (transformation of the spirit). The face-off between the ego and the shadow depicted in the Moon ultimately leads to a letting go, signified by the mummies in the Calling. In this unique death, it is precisely by releasing the struggle that the prison falls away and one is lifted into a more glorious existence.

[Plenum]

thanks Joseph.

powerfully expressed.

[xise]

This seems to have some really strong gnostic parallels, actually, with the Hypostasis of the Archons and stuff. Maybe that's why that one cab driver said LOTR is actually pretty much a documentary...

I find sometimes getting philosophical/spiritual with the random cab driver is a great way of talking to the Creator directly

[Spaced]

I really liked the Silmarillion, though it can be a but tough to trudge through at parts

[Unbound]

Well that's because the Silmarillion is basically just Tolkien's notes on the LOTR world. It was published post-humously by his son after they found his journals with all of the details and ideas that were the foundation for LOTR.