In Celtic lore, a geas was a sacred obligation laid on a hero. It is indeed akin to a curse. I recently had a vision of what I take to be such an obligation laid on myself during a pathworking centered on Cerridwen's cauldron. I was shown a throne and then presented with its back. I was told that I would stand always at its right hand and never again see the front, let alone sit upon it.
It meditating further on this vision and its meaning, I was struck with the position of Merlin relative to King Arthur--gifted with vast power and knowledge, but always destined to advise, never to lead. (This advisory role for Merlin figures in legends even of his youth--as when he reveals the warring dragons beneath Snowdon to Vortigern.) Merlin is obligated to fulfil his nature as advisor, sage, tutor.
Those who find themselves in the role of Magician to the King tread a path fraught with potential frustration. The trusted advisor can only be one who is as wise as the King (indeed wiser is better). Yet, he (or she) is never to demonstrate this through the act of leadership, only through counsel. The sage must counsel without ego--and, most importantly, must see beyond the ego of the King and speak only truth. In "The Grail Castle", Kenneth Johnson and Marguerite Elsbeth speak of the Magician's "dark temptation", "to use his power for selfish ends, to abuse his knowledge for the sake of personal self-aggrandizement."
The position of "power behind the throne" has its rewards, but they are subtle. The archetype of Merlin, standing at the King's elbow, ever vigilant of the deep currents driving his rule, manipulating events through truth-telling disguised as riddle, is a powerful one. As I contemplate my fitness for a life culminating in service rather than leadership, I find it the most compelling image of all.
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