Telesphoros has always been a source of fascination to me. In Jungian psychology, he is the bringer of accomplishment (of individuation, that is). In ancient times, he was an arcane symbol for the fulfillment of the healing process in the cult of Asklepios. He is the eternal child dwelling in all of us, that never ages, a connotation of the arcane and subconscious healing powers of the soul. Note that these are my words, not Jung´s. My own way of life and my own understanding has been strongly influenced by the psychological and philosophical works of C.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud and Willhelm Reich.
Here you can find an excellent site where C.G. Jung himself gives an insight on the motivation to carve Telesphoros into the picture stone he made for his 75th birthday.
It was a dream I only had recently, and by motivation of some strong pictures in my mind. Now, anyone not completely ignorant might have noticed that this guy here (me) is not as whole as he could be:-). Enter the witch*ggg*. And I made this sketch just as well for her as I did for me. Through this gate of two trees, tangled roots and tangled wood, the eternal child stepped, holding the lantern and the sword to guide my way. Sorry, Carl Gustav, for ravaging your iconography:-), but this dream is entirely mine.
He guides the way through the darkness and to the land of dreams again, which I until now, entirely thought lost. But as I made "the cliffhanger" with two fingers on the edge, hanging over the abyss, I heard a gentle song. You cannot climb out of a black hole. You have to fly, with the right spin to your movement.
It will go on, and I simply love this way my life has taken. And I do not need to call it any names.
Individually, I will follow my "psychopomp" into the twilight, not with terror, but with a joyous curiosity. As I have so long ago. The pain I have experienced will make the joy I encounter ever so much more intense. There will be pain again, but also joy.
Life is good.
...
