The Myth of Narcissus: A Mirror For Our Modern Life
Bondage, Power, & Covenant
Have you ever wondered why Tolkien chose to use a ring as the emblem of the dark lord's power and control?
Not a scepter. Not a gauntlet. Not an amulet.
A ring.
But he's not alone, as myriad fairytales and myths feature magical rings. So what is it about rings that is so universal?
In a ring, the divine form of the circle has no beginning and no end, unbroken and unchanging, an image of eternity. Yet at the same time, its closed form suggests completeness, enclosure, and limitation.
An odd and contradictory pair, you might think: eternity and limitation are joined together in one form. But the reality of this paradox is manifest in this "so small a thing."
Betrothals and marriage are marked by finger rings. A nun wears a ring to signify herself as a spouse of Christ. The "Fisherman's Ring" of the pope testifies that he, a successor of the Apostle Peter, is bound to the Church. This ring, and the bond it symbolizes, is broken at the death of each pope.
Rings have been used to signify the positive aspect of the eternal bond: Human bonding. Spiritual bonding. Promises. Vows. Covenants.
But there is also the dark side: enslavement.
The children's ritual of "pinky promises" involves interlocking the little fingers of the contractual parties. This linking hints at the image of a chain, two rings bound together. Where did this come from? Whatever its origin, it points to a deep-set visual language in the human psyche. Pay enough attention to the world of children and you'll find many such profound things.
A legend tells of King Polycrates who threw his ring, set with a magnificent emerald, into the sea when he began to suspect that his extraordinary run of good fortune would be inevitably followed by bad. Losing his cherished ring was intended to avoid the greater woes he feared.
However, a fisherman later brought to the palace a fish he had caught –– and in its stomach the ring was found. And later, King Polycrates was captured and crucified.
This tale demonstrates that one is bound by –– or is a prisoner of –– Fate and cannot escape it.
Speaking of Polycrates, why do kings wear rings?
Rings are a sign of power. On the hand of a king or sage, they symbolize authority. This authority can be conferred to another person in the act of giving the ring to them.
In Genesis, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." And Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's hand.
Mythologize this association with power and you get magic rings.
Magic rings feature in Germanic mythology like Draupnir, medieval romance like The Knight of the Lion, and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Tales abound with magic rings that give the wearer untold power. In the Russian tale The Enchanted Ring, a man received a ring where "if thou move it from one hand to the other twelve young heroes will immediately appear, and whatever thou dost bid them do they will do it in a single night."
Once again, there is a dark side. Tolkien's and Wagner's are examples of tales that warn of the corrupting power of magic rings, a proxy for unnatural power. They symbolize the human lust for power and bondage to the need for control.
Although the ring-wearer believes they have control over all of man and nature, it becomes clear that they themselves are the slaves of their own demonic addictions.
We come full circle (ha!) back to the concepts of bonding and binding contained in this symbol: in addition to divine wholeness and covenant, the ring can also signify a devilish enslavement.
Multi-passionate creative and cultural philosopher. I love talking psychology, culture, education, and anything else that deals with living as better people.