Esoteric tales

In this section we discuss the inner meaning of legends, tales and esoteric scriptures. Visit this page frequently as we will update it with different examples.

King Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail

The Hero of Unknown Parentage

"Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil is the True-Born King of all Britain."

The legends of Arthur contain inner meanings that have fascinated storytellers for more than ten centuries. Arthur, like many heroes, is brought up unaware of his true parentage. Needing a sword one day, he finds one enclosed in a stone in the middle of a forest. Arthur manages to pull it out, though no one else could do so. By performing that which no one else could perform, he is acclaimed king, to his great surprise. Upon this event the magician Merlin discloses that Arthur’s real father was the former king of the land. The unassuming Arthur must now step forward to rule and to act upon his highest ideals, rather than merely think about them.

Establishing the Round Table: the Rule of Law over Chaos

“And Arthur and his knighthood for a space

Were all one will, and through that strength the King

Drew in the petty princedoms under him,

Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame

The heathen hordes, and made a realm and reigned.”

[Tennyson, Idylls of the King]

Arthur bases his reign upon noble principles. He creates a new order of law and justice, symbolized by his Round Table, which attracts the finest knights of the realm. Together they overcome evil, doing battle with the forces of chaos that prevail in the land. As a result, Arthur is able to rule over a unified kingdom that is harmonious and peaceful.

Arthur as king represents our ruling principle, that which must put our internal world in order—the “steward” in Fourth Way terms. Even the modern deck of playing cards shows the king of hearts with his sword upraised, ready to strike for a worthwhile cause.

The Queen’s Passion and the Fateful Triangle

Arthur’s beautiful queen Guinevere, however, falls in love with his best knight, Lancelot. Her adultery is discovered, and a battle ensues that destroys the Round Table, killing many of its knights and ravaging the land. In fairy tales and other stories of medieval courts, the queen is often depicted as a figure of passionate emotion, the kind of emotion necessary to fire great undertakings, whether noble or ignoble.

In a well-ordered court, the queen serves and loves the king, while each knight is also a servant to the king. In the Arthurian triangle, however, the queen turns from her lord, and in giving her love to a knight, falls away from her noblest choice. The knight betrays the king by no longer serving his ruler, but rather himself. The battle that results from this fateful triangle can be seen as a fight to restore unity and order to one’s lower self, so that it may return to its proper role of serving the highest. The king must use a show of force; his other knights must support him, and the queen must return to a recognition of what is highest, so that her energy can infuse the whole and keep it correctly pointed.

The Quest for the Holy Grail

Seeking the noblest of adventures, Arthur’s best knights ride forth on a quest to find the Holy Grail, rumored to be a cup that was used in the last supper of Christ. Of the many who ride out on the quest, only a few will be successful, and these few are outstanding for their purity, focus, and use of suffering.

The Grail represents a cup or container of the highest possibilities or emotions available to humankind. It conveys a conscious state to those who are able to perceive it. Many are called, but few chosen to experience this state, or to dwell in its presence. Variants of the Grail legends show just one knight as the victor in the quest, reaching the end of the journey and being allowed to dwell with the Grail instead of returning to court. Other knights may catch a glimpse of the vision, but most die in the search.

Analogies of the Grail symbol occur on many levels, not only on the scale of humanity, but also on the level of the microcosmos, man. Within each of us, a multitude of thoughts, emotions, and sensations arise, but few are capable of leading us to higher states of consciousness. Yet that which can recognize the highest within us can be awakened to the mission of seeking and serving the Grail.