Symbol Watcher

Nichols reminds us that sustained candlelight is achieved through living. "One of the shutters of the Hermit's lamp is blood red, so that the light filtering through it is touched with the color of flesh-and-blood humanity -- tinged with the passion and compassion distilled from the experiences of a lifetime."

I’ve been sitting here in my home office this morning trying to decide what I want to post on my blog. As I was waiting for my brain fog to clear, I lit a candle. I go through a lot of candles. I need the light.

Often, when I’m meditating on a dream I had, or when I’m asking the tarot cards for some illumination, I’ll sit in front of a candle. During the times when I become relaxed and open enough to hear my inner voice, it seems as if the candle streams rays of light right to me.  

The ritual of lighting candles is found in most religious traditions. It’s a way for a universal phenomenon to be brought down to our small, individual, human level.  Advent candles, Eucharist candles, Menorahs, Diwali lamps, candles at Buddha’s feet . . . all lit in our attempt to achieve some spiritual enlightenment during our ongoing battle with the black void of ignorance.

I said earlier that I use Tarot cards as one tool to help me along in my journey. I think it’s interesting that there’s only one card among the major arcana of the deck that shows candlelight. It’s the Hermit. In her book, Jung and Tarot  An Archetypal Journey, Sallie Nichols talks about how candlelight stands as a symbol for both psychological and spiritual insight. “His lamp seems an apt symbol for the individual insight of the mystic.  . . . the Hermit offers us the possibility of individual illumination as a universal human potential, an experience not confined to canonized saints but available, in some degree, to all humankind. . . . He offers us that inward light whose golden flame alone dispels spiritual chaos and darkness.”

So if candlelight, from a psychological perspective, symbolizes spiritual insight gained through inner knowing, I think we’d be wise to take note if it shows up in our dreams.  Are we able to light the candle and keep it lit? Is someone helping us light it? Who is that person? Remember, the person might represent an aspect of ourselves. Is the candle protected from negative influences (both internal and external) such as wind and rain? If not, what blew it out?

– Writeye

Posted on May 5th, 2009 under Jungian Psychology, Symbol Brief • Tags: candlelight symbolism, Hermit tarot card symbolism. •  Print This Post •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback