A Wizard of Earthsea

By Ursula K. Le Guin

‘A Wizard of Earthsea’, is the first book in the Earthsea series written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This book is a powerful piece of fantastic fiction. I first encountered it at the tender, sweet age of 16 and it blew my socks off. Now in my maturing, almost two decades later, I understand why.

The hero Ged is a fantastic mirror for all who walk the pathways to freedom. His fiery desire for action and results has many a lesson for the restless. As Ged grows into a powerful young wizard, in the magical world of Earthsea, his ego also grows. But, in the process, he goes through a tempering process and initiation that will eventually make him the most powerful wizard in Earthsea.

Dark Magic Alter Ego

If I look at Ged’s path to freedom and self-mastery I see many of the mistakes that I have made. In many ways one can compare A Wizard of Earthsea to the Stone and the Flute by Hans Bemmann. The difference is that Ged is humble and vulnerable enough to learn from his mistake and confront that which hunts him, his dark magic alter ego. It is this very humility that assists him to learn how to command the dragons and master shape-shifting. But it is not until he passes through a dark night of the soul, and faces his dark energy, that he taps his full power.

A Dark Chronicle

Ged unleashes dark magic on the world because of a dare and challenge to his youthful ego. The shadow almost brings about his destruction and destroys his good mentor. For this he is haunted not only by this dark altered ego, but his own guilt and shame at unleashing it.

In many ways Ged is more fortunate than the mystical traveler of the modern world. He is fortunate in that his shadow self becomes a visible physical entity that he must confront or die. It is only when he confronts this aspect of himself that he is able to find spiritual balance.

For the Tropic of Freedom Books Finders Keepers:
If you have not read the book I can strongly recommend it. For those of you who have read the tale here are a few things to ponder on:

How many times have you allowed yourself to be haunted and hunted by your own shame and negative altered ego?
Now consider how many times you have confronted your shadow self like Ged does in the book?
What does he do that is so powerful?

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