Not All That Wander Are Lost

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

This poem, written by Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings, is a  metaphor for the spiritual healing journey. The first line is describing Aragorn, one of the heroes of the epic tale,  who at first appeared less important than he really was. He was the heir to the throne of the Land of Gondor. His identity had to be kept secret after his father was killed while pursuing the Orcs. He was not told about his heritage until he came of age. At that time he was given the shards of his father’s sword, Narsil. It was a symbol of the kingship of Gondor and the stewardship of law over evil. The reforging of the sword was one of the many prophesied events leading to the downfall of the enemy rule of Sauron and the restoration of the line of Elendil as kings of Gondor. Aragorn took his rightful place as the chieftain of his people, the Rangers who were superior men in body and spirituality, and were the protectors  from evil. The Rangers were mistrusted by everyone and seen as vagabonds and wanderers because of their unkempt appearance and their lifestyle. Aragorn and the Rangers were advised by Gandalf the wizard to guard a small land known as the Shire, inhabited by the Hobbits. Through many adventures in war and strife, Aragorn rose to take his rightful place as the king of the kingless land of Gondor, the greatest land of Man.

All that is gold does not glitter:

This line describing Aragorn speaks to appearance versus reality. Aragorn was the heir to the throne of his homeland. He lived in the wild with the Rangers who were considered wanderers and vagabonds. This is an appropriate metaphor for the Self, that aspect of us that is our true identity.  We are not aware of our true heritage until we come of age spiritually. In the meantime we wander like displaced homeless people, appearing to be lost,  when in fact our heritage is the great  Self, whose nature is Truth, Beauty and Auspiciousness.

Not all those who wander are lost:

The Rangers were misunderstood as  wanderers and vagabonds as they lived as nomads in the wild. They were advised by Gandalf, the wizard to  protect the Hobbits against evil but they did not speak openly of it. The Hobbits were sensualists and that was their goal in life. They can be compared to the role of the ego. We can think of Gandalf in the role of the spiritual master when he asked the Rangers to be the protectors of the people. Just as the wisdom keepers of many spiritual lineages of the world, the Rangers were not trusted as they appeared to be outcasts of society without any worldly connections.The wisdom keepers are the protectors of the teachings which help us to keep our egos in check.

The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost:

These two lines refer to the endurance of the people of middle-earth, whose courage and strength withstood the test of many years of war and strife, to eventually re-establish the dominion of middle-earth from the enemy warlord, Sauron. These lines can describe the spiritual warrior whose journey to becoming whole again is grounded in deep rooted faith and endurance.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring:

These lines speak of the renewal of the quest to re-establish the rule of the line of Elendil with the coming of age of the rightful heir to the throne. This is in comparison to a spiritual rebirth that a seeker undergoes in the beginning of the spiritual healing journey. The light of wisdom and knowledge begins with a spark from a spiritual source and this spark joins the smoldering flame of the seeker’s innate wisdom to quicken into a bright light of spiritual passion.

Renewed shall be blade that was broken:

Narsil the sword,  a symbol of the kingship of Gondor and the stewardship of law over evil was broken in battle. When Aragorn came of age, the shards were presented to him and the sword was later reforged. The sword can be compared to our renewed spiritual power,  the truth of who we are, that which lay dormant within us until our spiritual reawakening.

The crownless again shall be king:

This line predicted the rise of Aragorn to be the king of kingless Gondor. This is similar to the spiritual seeker who  reclaims his spiritual legacy and lives in harmony, radiating a lightness of being, having dominion over his mind and ego. He is the ruler of his inner and outer world, reflecting the peace, love and joy of the Self in all the ups and downs of his life’s journey.

For me, this poem in its brevity and poignancy describes the spirtual healing journey very beautifully and succinctly.