Exegesis THE HIGH PRIESTESS (II) Sentences 4–6
4 For the first ones, the oaths of childhood have been devoured by the matter
5 The others are young shepherds who do not yet know the morning star
6 They dwell in doubt and await a sign of fire to come
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4 “For the first ones, the oaths of childhood have been devoured by the matter”
Here, “the first ones” are those who, in the innocence of childhood, made promise, oaths to dream, to explore, to act with curiosity and moral purity. But these oaths have been devoured by matter. In other words, the original ideals and spiritual intentions have been consumed by materialism. Matter here represents the world of possessions, wealth, and accumulation, a capitalist logic where value is measured in ownership, production, and status rather than inner growth. Their early vows dissolve in the pursuit of goods, in careers, and in social ambition. The flame of childhood wonder is smothered under layers of routine, debt, and the hunger for more. In this sense, they are spiritually impoverished, their paths diverted toward survival and accumulation rather than insight.
5 “The others are young shepherds who do not yet know the morning star”
The “young shepherds” symbolize the next generation—those who have not yet been absorbed by the materialist current. Shepherds, as guardians of flocks, evoke care, responsibility, and guidance. But these shepherds are inexperienced, uninitiated. They have not yet seen the morning star, a symbol of awakening, illumination, and higher insight. They live in a liminal space: aware of the world around them but not yet called to its higher truths. They are the potential carriers of spiritual light, untainted by the hunger of possession, still capable of discerning what is essential from what is ephemeral.
6 “They dwell in doubt and await a sign of fire to come”
The young shepherds exist in uncertainty. Doubt here is not a failure but a threshold, a preparatory state. They wait for a “sign of fire”, a sudden spark of revelation, initiation, or inner awakening that will point them toward their true path. Fire, in esoteric terms, is the divine spark, the alchemical agent that transforms consciousness. For these shepherds, the world of matter is not yet fully grasped, and they are receptive to the call that will differentiate mere accumulation from meaningful existence.
