It happens to all keys, eventually, they become redundant. Whatever was safeguarded or secreted behind a lock has lost its significance, or its mystery.
I took the above photo in my early twenties … but my fascination with keys started in childhood, with fairy tales. Recently a friend on FB re-discovered ‘Woman who Run with the Wolves,’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.. Like Deborah, and her friends, drawn to the inner journey, I was enchanted by the book when it was first published in 1992.
I took the tattered edition from my shelf and added it to my bedside reads. The first theme I dipped into was the psychology of Bluebeard, a tale which Clarissa uses to explores the archetypal innate predator in women’s psyche, which, while bullying us into silence, also holds the key to a woman’s deep instincts and creativity. Re-reading this chapter, I had a powerful dream that showed me that the forbidding and controlling voice still lurked in me and has presently dampened my spirit, even though I naively and bravely turned many keys in my life, revealing both, threatening spells of my inner predator I managed to transform into vital energy, as well as treasures that inspired many creative adventures.
Yet of late, at this advanced stage in my life, I feel listless and stuck with the MS of the third novel in my Course of Mirrors trilogy, Mesa, which, incidentally, is set in a realm where time has slowed down and the protagonist must re-introduce conflict to empower life. In the face of this challenge, it seems that all my keys are of no use. Mystery does not call. My vital curiosity, even my desire for a meaning, dissipated, with no lock in sight. The wild spirit in me lingers in a safe garden, full of robins and butterflies. How dare I to disturb paradise by instigating conflict? Any thoughts are welcome, well, needed. Thank you ♥
During a short exploration on google I found this lovely post by Ruth Sanderson re: George Mac Donald’s story of The Golden Key.
https://www.worksofmacdonald.com/ruth-sanderson-unlocking-wonder
… also connecting to Ruth Sanderson’s amazing illustrations.
Course of Mirrors 
“The protagonist must re-introduce conflict to empower life.” This does sound conflicting. Why “must” might be the conflict to explore. What is time without aging?
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Must, because life will stop without time? A kind of boring virtual paradise.
Think of it, if everyone were enlightened, in harmony and whole within themselves, like the Ypocs of the future, without friction and conflict, would there be life? This is why Mesa in ‘Shapers’ travels back in time to learn about conflict.
Maybe I’m anxious that readers will hate me if I write this novel.
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Conflicts with others in present time are self-created, make us feel alive in the moment, but the real conflict is with what we are and what we will become, the border crossing into the unknown. Think of conflict as the meeting of different forces, sometimes causing destruction, other times merging to spur growth. Do we make a free choice between the two, or is what happens pre-determined by divine or natural laws?
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I often think of the image of an iceberg swimming in a vast sea as an image that shows our conscious situation in relation to what is unconscious. It’s possible to avoid the depth, but it’s like a tree losing contact with its roots. Only the idea survives, cut off from life.
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I collected keys when I was young. My grandmother gave me the first keys for my collection. My favorites were the skeleton keys. It is only in retrospect that I think maybe she wasn’t sure what to do with all these keys because she no longer had the locks so she passed them on to me.
Over the years, I have gathered more keys that I have no idea what they originally locked, too. Still, I hate to throw them away because I might suddenly discover what they fit. ~Nan
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I’m with you. I’ve a collection of keys I can’t throw away.
BTW Clarrisa Pinkola Estes in her book ‘Woman who Run with the Wolves’ uses stories to draw out psychological insights … one of the stories is about the Skeleton Woman, a powerful archetype for the cycle of life/death/life. In case you don’t know about the book, it’s a worthwhile read.
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Thanks for the recommendation; I’ll add it to my ever-growing-longer reading list. ~Nan
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