For a hundred and one voluptuous days
I broke their law
The labyrinth was closing so we panicked up a door
I let their wanton flesh obsess me
I felt their dreams and drugs assess me
I was hired and fired yet never inspired
Flattering chattering words to impress me
All that glittered had me mesmerizedOtherwise, I would have dared
Tantalised – The Church
Guess the nature of our enterprise
Can’t stop to sympathize
How you’ve been tantalized
Heyday – 1985
Here we are, on the outside at last. Great; so what do we do now? Unfortunately, like the person in the song, our hero appears to be having a few problems with direction. It doesn’t look like it on the surface, but if you look closer you can see that the creatures pulling his chariot are not harnessed and nor does our Hero have any reins. The song is about being sucked into taking drugs. If you ask almost anyone on drugs they will tell you that they are “in control”, just like our hero in his chariot.
But, let’s not take all his glory. He appears to be proceeding quite well. He has left his home behind and is managing to keep his two quizzical beasts (sphinxes ask a lot of questions but give no clear answers) headed in the same direction. The two sphinxes here are like your head and your heart. In any given situation they will quite regularly decide to go in opposite directions, or at least choose to disagree.
As our hero becomes more aware of this fact he will probably begin to also become aware that he is separate from these other two parts of himself. In time he will realize that he is actually boss of the whole situation and that head & heart are tools that can tell him how & where he is going. At this point, he should become quite well directed.
That sounds great. He’s now quite a hero, which means he can do whatever he wants. Now, look at the village he has just left. There’s smoke rising from those houses. Is it possible that he just destroyed someone else’s houses? Some hero!
Again, let’s not jump on him too hard. At the time it probably seemed the right thing to do. Don’t we all, at some time or other, get angry or feel a bit grand and do some damage to another person? This is normal. Pride is normal. This, of course, does not make it right, but at least we can understand, learn and forgive.
Meanwhile, our Hero forges on, learning greater control and direction whilst he sees the world and embarks on many grand projects.
Divinatory Meanings
Travel. Journeys embarked upon. The need to balance opposites. Success. Foolishness of pride. A rough period. Confusion over direction.
Learning to be in-control.