Whether or not Merlin was an actual historical figure, he has captured the hearts of many people throughout many centuries. In legend, Merlin was born of a human mother and other-worldly father and his story, immortalised by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the 12th century chronicler, helped to bridge the pagan and Christian worlds.
Merlin was a seer, in the sense that he was able to see beyond the veils of time. It was for this reason that he was so valued by another popular British folk hero, the 5th century tribal chieftain, King Arthur.
Leaders like Arthur may be in charge of their country’s armies, but a seer or magician like Merlin is able to see the fate of those armies and so can ward off potential catastrophes through ‘early warning’. The seer is both able to receive information from another realm and to make effective use of it on this earth plane. Not surprisingly, Merlin was also well-trained in traditional Druidic arts such as tree, herb, and animal lore. By all accounts he was a ‘wise man’.
But even the wisest of men (and women) have faults. It is Merlin’s own enchantment with a beautiful young woman, the femme fatale, that is his eventual downfall. What’s worse, there’s little evidence he even saw it coming.
This is an important lesson to learn. We’re often told the sky is the limit but that’s tricky to achieve stuck here on earth. If there is a balance to be found, we do ourselves a favour by finding it sooner rather than later.
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