Merlin

[Moly]

What do my fellow witches on the path think of the Merlin?

 

He must be one of the greatest magicians of all time. His memory is immortal, it echoes through the ages. He will never be forgotten.

 

Does he matter to us as magic workers? Should he matter? Is he trustworthy?

 

I can feel his presence out there somewhere, calling me. I wonder what it would be like to be a student of Merlin... Maybe his influence in magic is so pervasive that we are all doomed to learn from him...

[Zombee]

Can't say as I've ever thought of him, except when reading Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave, etc. I think he'd be a Person of Interest if one is following the Grail path. I dunno what his bonafides are historically, but a modern day Druid would probably have that at the tip of their fingers.

[Moly]

Can't say as I've ever thought of him, except when reading Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave, etc. I think he'd be a Person of Interest if one is following the Grail path. I dunno what his bonafides are historically, but a modern day Druid would probably have that at the tip of their fingers.

Thanks for mentioning the idea of grail path, that is interesting to me, I appreciate it.

[Mugwort]

Yes, Merlin has shown himself to me a couple of times and if i needed help, i called him once and he came, since then i have had a Gold Dragon around me that seems to come if i need protection. so i would say he is there and will come.

[Phagos]

I think there is too much myth surrounding Merlin to ever know for sure. There has been many theories over the years and from those, countless story rewrites and movies have been created feeding the myth. Look at Tintagel in Cornwall, it's like a really sad Disneyland as a result.

King Arthur was featured in the medieval story The Matter of Britain, but Merlin a.k.a. Myddrin Wyllt was later introduced to the legend by the welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth, a famous author of his time. But whether these characters were based on real life people or purely fictional I guess we will never know.

My Father has been fascinated with the Legend of King Arthur for years and has read a huge number of books both fiction and non. Information of which he has passed on. When you start joining the dots and linking the stories, it paints the picture that Arthur was most likely a high ranking Roman Soldier that along with his kin created a Kingship after settling in Britain. Like most kings he feared of losing his power and employed the help of local wiseman, Merlin,  to foresee any attacks and the like. BUT.. these are theories based on stories of stories. Reminds me of the Bible lol

[Moly]

That was awesome @Mugwort. I agree with you and hope that Merlin would visit me someday.

 

 

I really enjoyed reading your information @Khundekling. It reminds me of the Bible too. I really enjoy thinking about the historical reality and origin of the stories. I love to believe, it gives me a lot of happiness to believe, that there's something buried deep in there, in all the stories... that even just old stories about fairy folk are somehow maybe come from fairy folk somehow... it's fun to think about

 

I like the Arthur story because it's not an "ancient" story in the way we think of that... it's more of a "medieval" story... it's Britain in a time of change... it's interesting that you mention the historical concept of Arthur as a foreigner... but "Britain" was already there long before that, existing, doing all of its weird things that it did in its ancient times...

[CatCauldron]

I live 30 mins from Tintagel and it has become very much a poor man's disney land. Being Cornwall there is not much money around and so every other shop is a King Arthur ... tea shop, pub, cafe, fudge shop etc etc

 

The good note though is now that the caste ruins and Island are run by English Heritage there are more digs taking place on site and further down the road at Slaughter Bridge. They are now digging up pottery etc that seems to support the reasoning that both King Arthur and Merlin were actual characters. But it also seems to support the belief that he was a Roman solider who stayed and travelled away from his squad and settled in Cornwall. Romans only made it to the tip of Cornwall right along the border of Devon. The other belief is that he was a Celtic warrior who gained huge power and tried to unite the various tribes in the area. Both stories support the notion of "Merlin" being a local wise man or "cunning folk" type of practitioner that was employed by Arthur.

 

Any way although slightly off topic I thought you might find it interesting. But what I do know is that being there and swimming in "Merlin's Cave" does feel magical.

[Ozman]

Merlin lived backwards in time they say, so he might be being born right now. 

 

I think Merlin was a great magician, he seems to be respected by a great deal of many people. Legends usually have a mundane origin and I'm sure people have added more flavor as the tale went on and on. 

 

I think he does matter because he shows what one person can achieve even with a limited understanding of Magic, if I remember correctly he was only lukewarm in his studies of magic. Well, trustworthyness depends on the individual, if you can earn his trust then so be it, if not then I'm not sure what to tell you. Akin to all great people and stories one can learn from where he went right and were he went wrong.

 

As far as him being a real human being I guess that depends on how you view things. In an infinite universe, with infinite possibilities and dimensions I'm sure he existed out their somewhere. Also, we have to remember that we know very little to nothing about Buddha, Jesus, Loa-Tzu, and a host of others yet they all have many many followers. The story is just as important as any fact or evidence of his material existence. We are lucky to live in a time were we can varify much information but that wasn't always the case. Moses may have never existed but his story gives hope, and power to many people on this planet. The same with the ones I mentioned. If a story can move you or a community or a people, then it doesn't really matter if they ever actually existed. In the end we're all stories anyways. 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Ozman

[Onyx]

I think Merlin represents the Druids and all the sacred knowledge that they knew. The Romans in fact did wipe out the Druids in the Island of Anglesey. Their sacred island.

[Ozman]

I think Merlin represents the Druids and all the sacred knowledge that they knew. The Romans in fact did wipe out the Druids in the Island of Anglesey. Their sacred island.

 

That's a good observation too, maybe he was the last main druid that people could remember or maybe he's a collective rolled into one. I do believe that a grave of Merlin does exist in Scotland but either it was a real grave or maybe just a memory marker. So many possibilities. I think you are correct in Merlin representing the Druids. 

[Onyx]

Merlin's grave, I had to go and check that out, and also there is a site in Brittany, France. I have been to Brittany and seen many Neolithic sites there, in particular the standing stones at Carnac, Brittany. They are really impressive. A lot of the Merlin and the Knights of the Round table myths take place in France, so why not bury Merlin in France.

I like the French idea, better than the River in Scotland.

[Ozman]

I had no idea that Merlin also had a grave in France, how very interesting. There might also be a grave in North England as well, many Arthurian legends in that area as well as Camelot and the said Round Table. It makes sense that many of the English legends would have french origins since the British Emipre technically started in Brittany, the elite spoke only French for a very long time, and those two countries seem to have a love hate relationship. lol. I will look into Merlins French Grave, and that part of France has many Celtic/Druid connections too.