Epiphany: Three Kings Day. This is when the Christmas crib scene is completed: the magi arrive, bearing gifts. Rather than kings, they were actually astronomers and alchemists, concerned with the spiritual realm. The gift of gold symbolized their hope that the newborn infant would be a king; the myrrh, that he would be a healer; and the frankincense, that he would be a priest. In other words, the Messiah would have domination over the mind, body and spirit. Legend tells that Joseph used the gold to pay the innkeeper; the myrrh, a pungent ointment, he rubbed on the infant's chest; and the frankincense he burned to drive smells out of the stable.
There is a beautiful poem by TS Eliot entitled 'Journey of the Magi':
"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbert...."
The journey of the three wise men is a spiritual path: such ways are never easy, and we may miss the life we left behind. Eliot's poem has a bitter taste. But somewhere on the road is an epiphany, a moment of realization and enlightenment, which gives meaning to the journey of life.
Life Works is an ad hoc, alternative and occasionally aspirational approach to everyday life. Drawing on a combination of sense, sensibility and ancient wisdom it shows the relevance of mythic themes and archetypal figures to the modern world. Jane Bailey Bain teaches mythology in West London. Her book 'LifeWorks' was published in January 2012. For more information and further postings, visit the main LifeWorks site at http://janebaileybain.wordpress.com/
