A boy in his dreams,
And he's living his living his life in between.
Tomorrow will answer yesterday's dreams
While today he is living in between...
The pathway to glory
Is a long road, it seems
And he's living his life in between."*
The world is rife with stories of that time in a person's life when they cross the threshold from childhood to adulthood. The traditional, modern day ones are all about confirmnations, and bar mitvots, and how all peoples celebrate that moment in life when a boy becomes a man and girl becomes a woman. It got me thinking what kind of rite of passage a Blade might have? Fighting dragons, or a first hunt, or winning in competitions that so many courts of all the lands seem to love.
This isn't something which simply popped into my head. Even if I had not just witnessed the 'home coming' of a successful youngster, this had been simmering beneath the surface, as my own journey continued. The things I have learned have gone beyond amazing, when you consider the mundane world of our timeline. So, after I'd seen the boy-become-a-man return to the celebration of his feats, that would likely be told and retold for generations to come, joining the myriad other stories throughout the generations, I wondered where these kinds mettle testing trials had gone over time.
This was the kind of rite which seemed so much more substantial comparatively speaking. What would it be like to have tests to pass, during a journey which might last days, weeks, who knew how long? What would it feel like to be riding across a river to a distant shore, where eons of others's footsteps were etched upon the ground, if not physically, at least the echo of them could be heard in the whispers of the wind, the rustle of the leaves, the darkness in a cave? Their Guide might have been a dragonlord of old, or a great legandary warrior whose ghost, stands like The Hermit atop the mountain, lantern held high, casting the glow, the light at the end of the tunnel, leading the way home. My heart aches with wanting this kind of experience, but I am still too mired in the superficial land of illusion. The most I can hope for in the moment, at any rate, is to live vicariously in the tales told.
[impression and image] There is peace and expectation in this card. The young man glides quietly across the water in a beautiful crafted Swan boat. There is balance with three swords on either side of the front of the boat. Behind the occupant of the boat is an ethereal image of the Spirit Guide who brings this young man forth. The water on the left is placid and less so on the right side. The landscape is more rich and alive than is normally seen in the Kingdom of Blades. There is a dark cave with a pool, near the shore, with a single star shining within and reflected upon the water. There are no storm clouds apparent here.
The rider wears a white tunic, under a purple cloak, and red pants. There is a black band around his arm, representative of mourning... but what loss? The inside of the boat is gold. The six-ness here, shown in the swords, are the six challenges which have been met and won in this rite of passage.
[insights]
This is passing from one state of consciousness to another, higher state. Another meaning can be leaving 'troubles' behind, going to a place of safety, and finding understanding. In itself, being in a boat, can signify a journey by water.
*song for the Six of Swords: Pathway To Glory by Loggins and Messina
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