The Danger of Entering the Imaginal Realm
- The challenge is not getting there, but returning—many who enter the imaginal never integrate their experiences back into ordinary life.
- Tolkien warns that some may become lost in Faërie, unable to return to the mundane world.
- This parallels the shamanic journey—the successful myth-maker must go, return, and bring back the vision to enrich the world.
One of the greatest dangers of venturing into Faërie is not in getting there, but in returning. The keys to this world can be lost, and those who lose themselves in the imaginal without a way back risk madness or despair. However, if one is able to return and bring others with them, then they act as a true myth-maker, one who expands the consciousness of the collective. This is precisely what Tolkien did.
Jung thought that a certain type of person would either become a mystic or a madman, a prophet or a crank.