Wizard

The wizard is a powerful figure who masters magic (usually wielding a staff or wand), which can likely be “translated” as the contents of the unconscious.  

In European folklore, the wizard plays a role akin to the shadow side of the image of God, repressed during the Christian era. He thus possesses pagan qualities (and is associated with Odin/Wotan), could appear troll-like, or even outright demonic (like the original Merlin).

The benevolent wizard who uses his magical abilities to assist the hero is a fairly modern image (Gandalf, Merlin in later literature, etc.), and possibly reflects a growing disconnection from the dynamics of the unconscious, along with a subsequent naïveté regarding its symbols.

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