The Priestess of Delphi" by Hon. John Collier, 1891.
We are born rushing into the world, screaming as our lungs expand to welcome our first breath. We cry. We demand attention. If we are fortunate, we have a host of helpers at our service, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, loving compassionate caretakers, willing to serve our every need. We want to be warm, cuddled, loved, fed, and kept dry. Unable to accomplish any of this by ourselves, at our beginnings, we humans need others, literally for years, to cater to our every need.
In our early years we experience a limited world. As we grow, it enlarges. We explore new territory and experience the ever-widening world around us. We learn to navigate this larger world, seeking, touching, interacting with it, until suddenly we become part of it, no longer confined to our tiny childhood domain, no longer completely dependent upon others to satisfy our needs. We enter adolescence, feeling both empowered and frightened, rebelling against parental control, seeking to finally, at last, have some say in our path. We experiment, often failing dismally. We slowly realize that the world now takes the place of our parents, and for the most part, we have merely changed one set of rules for another. When do we control our destiny? We wish to be masters of our own path, yet without a lens to broaden our view of the future, we stumble, and too often we find ourselves lost.
We wish to believe that we can do anything. We find this is not true. Each of us is born with talents along with weaknesses. Strive as we might, it is not always possible to achieve some of our dreams. Born with a certain body structure, we may find ourselves unsuitable for our dream of becoming great athletes or dancers. Our vocal cords may serve to hit high C or croak miserably off key at considerably lower notes. We may be born with a brain as a calculator making us math geniuses or we may find simple arithmetic difficult. Some of us are born with artistic talents accomplishing great art works as children, while others cannot draw simple stick figures no matter how they try. We may be born savants, shining stars like Mozart, composing and performing at a young age. Each of us is unique with individual talents and weaknesses. It is our life quest to explore the mystery of ourselves. Yet differences set aside, there is something that most of us find difficult: our limitations in cheating death.
Thus, we struggle when we are the weakest, dealing with losing beloved family and friends. We relive the loss in our minds, turning over the circumstances as though there was something we could have done that would have made a difference. Such frustration lingers with the mourning, often long after a passing, deepening grief to an unbearable level. Such losses can plunge mourning into an unending pool of murky grief and guilt.
Temple of Apollo at Delphi, by Albert Tournaire, 1894 - Detail of: École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Art.
“Know thyself” was a maxim inscribed on the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. Along with “Nothing in excess,” and “Give a pledge and trouble is at hand,” these were said to be located at the entrance to the temple and believed to be authored by Apollo although they were, more likely, popular proverbs.
The first maxim, "Know thyself,” is for me, the most significant. If I know myself, I understand my strengths and weaknesses, accepting my inability to accomplish the impossible. Reason tells me this, although emotions may disagree. I have heard so many scenarios of grief-stricken people who convict themselves wrongly with their stories of “should have, could have, would have, if only.” It is as if they alone held the power to cheat death. I think how “if only” was directed toward understanding their own limitations, they would see differently.
“Know Thyself. Nothing in excess. Give a pledge and trouble is at hand.” Column at the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece.
“Know thyself.” I think of this maxim, sitting at the pronaos, the forecourt, a message to all who once sought entry into the Temple of Apollo and the guidance of its Oracle. I imagine the long line of supplicants, each tired from their long journey, looking up and reading this along with the other maxims. I wonder if they paused and reflected upon its meaning, or did they, weary and far too excited at finally arriving at their destination, merely walk on, giving it little regard.
I have often journeyed along what I call the ‘Via Mystica,” the visionary sacred way, seeking answers to the big questions that continue to remain half hidden. This work has led me to guide others on the similar journeys through my online offerings.
My journeys work this way: Through the faculty of my imagination, I open the Dream Gate to experience a waking lucid dream, visiting the past, approaching the Temple of Apollo, reading the welcoming maxims. Questions circle around “Know thyself.” I wonder why I am here, incarnated in the physical. Like the many who have lost cherished, significant family and friends, when significant dates arise and I am sad, my monkey-mind questions the past, suggesting there was something I could have done to influence more positive endings. In these emotional moments, this voice which I call “the Accuser” is brutal, leading me to question everything, my life in general. The same Accuser speaks to many others who wade through the waters of deep sorrow. How much easier life would be if we really understand our nature and our incarnational roles in this great cosmos.
“What’s it all about, this experience I call my life?”
Those who traveled the dusty roads of antiquity, by foot, not by imagination, ventured forth to Delphi seeking answers to their questions, just as we do, seeking to know more, to understand better life here on this tiny planet in the huge galaxy, in the vast universe of infinite unknowns.
An Attic red-figure kylix from Vulci (Italy), 440-430 BC, depicting King Aigeus in front of the Pythia at the Oracle of Delphi. Courtesy Wikimedia.
It takes wisdom and courage to arrive at such understanding. Pointing to the welcome message in the most highly respected ancient temple site demands our attention to the importance of such knowledge.
Instead of boasting of the guidance at hand at Delphi, the maxim presents subtle, yet firm advice. As the messages of the Oracle were always given in puzzles, it hints at the importance of individual input in interpreting Oracular pronouncements. There were dangers in leaping to conclusions without careful thought. We all know how easy it is to misinterpret things if we are not careful. When we are excited, frightened, anxious, or otherwise distracted, we can make serious errors in judgement. We need to understand ourselves, know our pitfalls and weaknesses which block clear thinking and lead to mistaken actions. The message on the forecourt was intended to be immediately noted, not to be lightly dismissed. To do so was to invite catastrophe.
A famous story demonstrates this caution. It concerns Croesus, the king of the Lydians, who sent messengers to consult the Oracle of Delphi whether he should march against the Persians. The Oracle declared that if Croesus should fight the Persians, he would destroy a great empire. Croesus was confident in hearing this. He immediately set into action. Yet when Croesus attacked, he was defeated. It was his great empire that fell, not that of the Persians. He sent more messengers to the Oracle asking why the Oracle had caused his doom. The Oracle responded that Croesus should have inquired which kingdom would fall. He should have pondered the message before leaping to his conclusion which favored him.
Who among us does not wish to easily solve the riddles of our challenges, shift the disappointing failures with instant reversals? How many of us are willing to take the time to contemplate, to listen to the advice of others we trust before weighing options which in the end help us see more clearly, shifting our illusionary desires into reasonable solutions? We are powerful, yet we need to know when and where our powers apply. We need to know ourselves for without such knowledge our powers, like those of Croesus, will be useless.
“Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.” L. Frank Baum, 1900.
The children’s story, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum beautifully points to our failure to understand our own powers. Young Dorothy spends the entire tale walking the yellow brick road on the way to seek the help of the great Wizard of Oz, only to discover there is no all-knowing wizard who can solve her problems and send her home. She discovers that she already has what she needs. She is wearing the red slippers which can take her home. She did not know herself. Like Dorothy, we can be lost in the unknowing, uncertain of our abilities, when to use them and when to wisely step back when confronted with the impossible.
It is said that while the maxim “Know thyself” was on the front entry, another was on the rear wall of the Temple of Apollo. “Know thy limits.” In the end, both maxims play important roles in our life, especially when we are confronted with the loss of those we love.
Years ago, I read a time traveling novel in which the main character was taking a voyage on a clipper ship where the seamen were dying of scurvy. A doctor in modernity, she was frustrated and angry that she could not save these men. Her knowledge was not enough. As she stood looking out at the night sky, the captain approached her, knowing her only as a simple healer, one who tried to soothe the hurts of his crew. He gently broke the silence with one sentence.
“You’re angry because you just discovered you are not God.”
These words have remained with me, decades now past my reading. I repeat them over and again in my head when the Accuser screams at me.
“Know thyself. Know thy limits.”
I may not like my limitations, but I know I cannot change everything to my liking. Knowing limitations is not demeaning or belittling. It is empowering.
O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other. Wygal, Winnifred. Circa 1940.
“The wisdom is know the one from the other.” Beautifully said, I ponder the ancient words chiseled in stone at the Temple of Apollo.
“Know thyself. Know thy limits.”
Like Dorothy, sometimes we do have the power to manifest our dreams. Other times, we must accept defeat in dealing with impossible issues which we cannot change.
To know is to enter the unending quest to seek knowledge, to understand better existence in this enormous universe. I see the maxim from Delphi involving not only the knowledge of oneself but also the interrelation of all being.
The best I, or anyone can do, is to continue to explore and uncover little by little. Our questions are the breadcrumbs leading us forward in uncovering the truth of who we are….. empowering and helping us discover what this experience called life is all about.
Alfie, 1966 movie poster.
What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live? What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie? Are we meant to take more than we give or are we meant to be kind? And if only fools are kind, Alfie, then I guess it's wise to be cruel. And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie, what will you lend on an old golden rule? As sure as you believe there's a heaven above, Alfie, I know there's something much more, something even non-believers can believe in. I believe in love, Alfie. Without true love we just exist, Alfie. Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie. When you walk let your heart lead the way and you'll find love any day... Songwriters: Burt Bacharach / Hal David
We search everywhere, marching on our personal yellow brick road, seeking that undefinable something. Yet in the end, one thing alone stands out as our most precious ability. It has no limitations. It is something we all possess in abundance.
We are love. After we age and our talents become distant memories, the one thing that remains is love. Love is our temple. When the “what if/ if only” days arise, when the Accuser screams at us, we can remember love. Is anything more important?
In our moments of sorrow, if we remember the love we gave our beloved family and friends when they were with us, then we can see that we gave the best of ourselves. We can live our lives holding this before us, giving fully of our love to all who are presently with us.
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” ― Rumi
That is what it is all about: Knowing ourselves and our limitations, joyfully recognizing the one gift we all possess in an endless supply…
Love, the bridge of eternal connection. It banishes all else and is what remains beyond forever…. Know thyself ? Know thou art love.
The Bridge at Temenos, connecting Here and Hereafter.
Janet Piedilato is a dream analyst, author, teacher, shamanic guide to sacred pilgrimage, divination practice, ancestral mystery ritual, and culinary celebration. Information on Janet and her publications may be found on janetPiedilato.net
This was so deep and thought-provoking. I always look forward to your beautiful writing.