I regard the path of human life as that of the mythological hero who has taken incarnation here to face his or her trials in order to reach enlightenment. And so viewed through that lens, reason is the Fragarach sword of discrimination and analysis which at the very least, stops our adversaries dead in their tracks, because the trial has to be put on hold while the reasoning takes place.
These challengers are often cloaked and masked like thieves in the night who are harrying us along in the dark. But the presence of reason causes everyone to pause until the cold light of day dawns to reveal the flaws in their offer.
However, this doesn’t suit the MO of these insistent timeshare salesmen.
“This is one time offer,” they say or imply, “You have to sign now! It runs out a midnight.”
This line is often delivered under a beguiling full moon, or candlelight, wine and soft, seductive music, and all is going swimmingly well for them until Mr Partypooper Reason turns up with his sword, to put a pause on the whole proceedings.
“Well, I need to think about it,” I reply, and then comes the love bombing and the gaslighting and, when all that fails, the fear and the panic.
“You have to act now,” they cry. “The barbarians are at the gate!”
But the glittering sword is still there, on the table, between us, and by its very presence, is creating an interregnum to the proceedings. Then, when I grab hold of it, I can see quite clearly that not only are there no barbarians at the gate but there isn’t even a gate.
So then they resort to bullying with threats and insults. However, my hand is still tightly gripped on the hilt of the sword of reason and so they are left floundering and blustering…and eventually, they give up and slink away.
I use the example of the sword Fragarach because it was the Celtic precursor to the Norman Arthurian Excalibur.
According to the bards, Fragarach was so powerful that just the sight of it would make men tremble in fear. It only needed the instruction of its owner, and it would fly through the air to cut through an enemy’s neck like a hot knife through butter.
The Lady of the Lake could be viewed as an aspect of Venus, who in ancient myths brings order, harmony and proportion.
So I think this sword a very good metaphor for the power of reason to stop, dead in their tracks, the advance of those who want to haze us in order to steal not only our wallets, but also to try to steal our spirit and our souls.
Annie Dieu-Le-Veut 