The Symbologist Michelle Snyder
The Golden Key Unlocked
Once there was a young boy who lived with his poor mother on the edge of the woods. In the winter he had to go out into the forest and fetch wood for the fire. One very cold day, after looking for a long time, the boy decided that he should build a small fire and warm himself a bit before returning home. Digging into the snow for sticks he discovered a golden key. “Where the key is, the lock must also be!” he thought to himself and dug down into the cold dirt. At last, he discovered an iron box, but no keyhole could be seen. After examining it closely he finally found a very tiny hole. He put the key in and it fitted perfectly, so he turned it to open the box.
Symbology is like this golden key. Symbols hold within them secrets which are easily found if one has the right key. When the key to decoding symbols is learned – for it is not a physical key – it unlocks all sorts of good things.
Keys are in themselves symbolic of mystery, secrecy, discretion. A key can indicate ownership or release; because it both locks and unlocks it represents the bearer’s power to confine or set free. They represent the way in or the way out. The key to the city is given only to the important and powerful. The key is a symbol for Janus, the god who sees all past and future, guarding the gate into the real world. With his key he opens the door of the sky to release Dawn. Keys can represent forbidden knowledge or authority. If there are three keys, they symbolize the number of secret chambers full of precious objects – those of initiation and knowledge. In Masonic symbolism the key is often the ‘jewel’ of the office of the Treasurer.
So, you see, The Golden Key which the boy has found and with which he opened the box, will change his wretched life if he understands what is inside the opened box – that the box is iron, and key is gold tells us so.
To obtain the key to the world of symbols is not a simple nor quick process, but it is truly golden, for it opens the box of history and mystery. The first lesson of the Key is to know which lock it fits. Like the written word, symbols must be understood in the context of their use – that is discovering the who, what, where, when, how, and why it exists – and they must be compared to other symbols that are the same or similar.
Once the Key is found, the realm of mysteries and myth will whisper its secrets to the one who matches the Key to the Lock. Mythology, Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Poetry also contain symbolic language in which to fit a golden key.
