Wandering

The hero is a wanderer, from Heracles to Aragorn. It is a symbol of longing. The hero never finds what he longs for and seeks, unable to settle down. It is not uncommon for what he seeks to be a lost mother. However, even Demeter begins to wander when she loses her daughter Persephone, so wandering as an expression of anxiety and sorrow is not limited to the classical hero’s theme.

A related circumstance is that the wanderer is exiled or has turned his back on the world, and for that reason lacks a home. One might think of lawless individuals constantly on the move, such as ronin—the masterless samurai, a term that roughly means "wanderer"—or the exiled Cain in the book of Genesis (4:12), "You will be a restless wanderer on the earth"; a fate also suffered by the Wandering Jew, who after mocking Jesus was condemned to wander rootlessly until the day Christ resurrected.

“Psychologically, to be exiled and wandering is a necessary transition period during the individuation process. One cannot find a sustainable relationship to the inner center, to the Self, without first having lost the comfortable inclusion and its identifications.” (The Eternal Drama, p. 131.)

To wander is to move forward by one’s own means—the simplest, most humble, and basic way to get to a place. One who travels by vehicle transitions from one place to another, while the one who walks experiences the surrounding environment and its creatures, perhaps not orienting according to predictable paths; the wanderer walk his own way, orienting himself according to nature and the sky. It can be like a pilgrimage, where one seeks the meaning of life, seeking to realize oneself.  

Wandering, getting lost, journeys, etc., can also be expressions of inner work, with challenges, obstacles, and adventures.

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