Merlin

What does this mean for you? You have an old soul at heart, wisened throughout the years and like to impart this wisdom to those around you, enlivening them to their best selves, but you also have an introverted nature that may prefer the quiet places and even isolation outside after a hard day’s work. Nature and the wood, real or imagined, may also call to you to someplace mysterious and compel you towards a great destiny. 

The legend of Merlin goes something like this: Born of a virgin mother and a demon of infernal regions, Merlin was granted a rare, magical and liminal spot amongst humanity that would quickly be understood by those around him. Said to be born covered in hair, his mother cried out and hurriedly baptized him, and as his mother lamented his sorry state, he, but a babe, started to console her. Admittedly, his mother did not know who his father was, and Merlin started to explain that he was the son of an incubi, a demon of the air that can know all. “God has permitted their knowledge and their memory to be instilled in me and, like them, I know all that is done and said and has happened.” He added that God had also allowed him to know the future. 

Later, a local king attempted to build a tower but it was for naught. It could not be built, and the court astronomers and astrologists proclaimed that the tower could only be built once “the blood of a seven-year-old fatherless child must be mixed with the mortar.” Messengers were sent out, and Merlin, knowing all, followed them to the foot of the crumbling tower. He explained that the reason the tower could not be built was because two dragons, one white, one red, fought beneath the earth, a literal metaphor for the crisis the king had with another–the man who would become the father of King Arthur Pendragon. 

Years past before this dispute turned to war and eventually ended when King Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, became king himself, and he too sought out Merlin. Messengers were sent out, and Merlin said that the only way he would meet with the king was if he came to him in his place in the forest. Although Merlin initially refused to help King Uther as a personal advisor in Camelot, he nonetheless said that he would “assist him with all of his power” for he would help Uther gain the love of his life, princess Ygern. In return, however, Merlin demanded that he would obtain a gift in reward, and this would be the young baby Arthur himself. 

But Merlin did not raise Arthur. Instead, he gave him to a young knight to raise as his own while Merlin returned to the solitude of the forest. The years would roll on before Merlin made his next move, for Arthur first had to grow up!

With the death of King Uther and Queen Ygern, the succession was in question for the two monarchs never bore another son after Arthur. Nobles came from all across the kingdom to dispute this and proclaim a new king. It was as they left the meeting one day that they realized that outside there was a gleaming sword plunged down to the hilt of a stone boulder. Beneath this stone were the words: whoever takes this sword from the stone shall be the chosen king. Of course all the nobles tried and failed. Only young Arthur was able to remove this sword from the stone and Arthur was soon crowned as king. That said, not many believed him to be the true son of Uther. It was only with the return of Merlin and his magic that they came to bend the knee to the once and future king Arthur. 

Arthur is said to have fought several wars, all helped and counseled by the wise and knowing Merlin. They spent years together as king and right hand, until eventually Merlin returned to the solitude that called him, this time to a forest known as Broceliande. It is there that Merlin falls in love. By a fountain in the midst of the verdant forest, he meets a nobleman’s daughter, the bright and beautiful Lady Vivien. Interested in his knowledge, Vivien promises to love Merlin if he taught her his tricks and his magic. Heart racing, he stabs his staff into the ground and a crystalline castle begins to rise from the ground filled with nobles and maidens, eager to please her. He also starts to tutor Vivien in the tricks of his trade and all the knowledge she could desire before he takes his momentary leave from both her and the forest. 

Upon the return to Arthur’s court he says, “King, it is up to you to create a new knighthood. God has decided that a fellowship will be established around you. This fellowship will be symbolized by a round table to signify that all of those who sit there no one will have precedence.” Arthur agrees, and the Round Table is constructed and knights from his armies and court swear upon the fellowship that this table signifies. 

Once done, however, Merlin returns to Broceliande and Vivien. This happens countless times where Merlin imparts ideas in the court of Camelot before retreating back into the depths of the forest. There, Vivien continues to ask him to teach her his tricks and he does. He teaches her just about all he knows, and she becomes a very powerful sorceress indeed. Always she refuses his love for her, always keeping him on his toes, never even offering him a kiss, but he nonetheless teaches her every trick and charm. It is said that he went mad with his magic, knowledge, and love of Vivien. 

The last time he went to the court of King Arthur was to announce the presence of the Holy Grail in Britain to be found by a pure and unblemished knight. It is his final pronouncement and declaration, and though Arthur tries to keep him, Merlin cannot and returns to the forest for Vivien. 

Fully empowered, Vivien asks him for one more simple trick to learn–how to imprison a man forever. Once learned, she does imprison a man–Merlin himself. There he would remain forever, kept in a prison of air where Vivien traps him, now willing and loving in his arms. “And I am madder than ever,” he said, “for I love my lady Vivien more than my freedom.” There he remains, a constant whisper of knowledge in the heart of the forest, priest of nature. 

The legend of Merlin ends there.

It should be noted that the legend of Merlin has many, many versions. Dozens at least. This is merely one version. That is not to say, however, that Merlin isn’t traditionally considered the wild and wise man of the woods, drawn to isolation and nature. On the contrary, it’s one of the few characteristics that tends to ring true throughout various versions of his story. But some variant endings include that Vivien trapped him under a rock or placed him within an oak tree. Most every version, however, admits that Merlin knew he would be imprisoned, and let it happen anyway, for he knew and knows all–including the future. A little mad, he allows himself to be at the mercy of the woman he loves in a place that he loves, now a permanent presence in the forest. In its own way, he let himself be where he wanted to be in the end. 

Additionally, Merlin’s story is a constant move towards coming and going, arriving and leaving, imparting and letting settle. He is ultimately the grandmaster behind the genius and compassion that is King Arthur. Without him, there wouldn’t even be a King Arthur. A meticulous strategist, he knew the future and compelled it into being. 

And what does this mean for you, dear reader and established Merlin? You too have the old and wise soul that calls to others. You have a presence about you that draws others to you, and they listen to you. Advice big or small. You may also be drawn to education or coaching. Merlin was also a visionary, able to see the future and bring it to life. The Round Table was merely one example, but you too have this quality of visionary creativity.  

You may also be a bit of a hermit, called towards the comfort of isolation after being surrounded by a group of people for too long. Maybe you just enjoy your alone time. Maybe you are called into the wilds and mystery of nature like Merlin was. All this in mind, you may also be a little mad. All the best people in the world possess a little madness in them. Magic is hardly ordinary, after all. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise!

Visionary and wise, called and compelled, may you find your place as a knowledgeable sorcerer and live forever in the heart of mystery, dear Merlin.