The Narcissus
The Narcissus
The narcissus looks like a cheerful and mischievous flower. A bit like the Huckleberry Finn of the spring flowers, but he conceals a deeper underlying shadow side as a mirror and message for us.
After winter, the narcissus prefers to be the first to emerge from the ground to raise its large yellow leaves and horn above ground before all other spring flowers do. Always wanting to be in front of the pack. The fact that there are earlier bloomers such as the snowdrop or the crocus stings its pride. Because proud he is, the narcissus. The narcissus has a high masculine energy and he is blessed with a large dose of self-confidence, decisiveness, and drive which he is not afraid to show either.
The narcissus prefers to be seen in large numbers and likes to be in the company of others, so as to feel elevated above all. Without others to surround him with, he feels alone and cannot see himself reflected. And that is what the narcissus prefers to see, himself as a bright shining light, admired by the rabble. In love with himself and his beauty. When he is alone and has no one to measure up to and come out on top of, a deep underlying insecurity comes into play and that is something the narcissus is quite allergic to. The narcissus is able to poison other flowers if they are put together in a vase, or in human form, come in close contact with. Can you already guess where the narcissus is coming from…. Exactly, narcissism, in other words the narcissist.
The story about the narcissist emerges from Greek mythology and tells the story of a young man who was so in love with his own reflection that he only wanted to keep looking in the mirror. Only to become very unhappy when this mirror fell away. So unhappy in fact that he withered away, leaving only a flower in his place, the narcissus.
Is this all malicious in nature coming from the narcissus? The answer is: not necessarily. It is more a false sense of overconfidence and a lack of tact and empathy than ill will. However, a narciss(us)ist often has no idea of their own self-centered behavior and has difficulty with self-reflection. It just happens, he can't help it that he has these character traits. And in addition, the bright side of the narcissus is that his decisiveness and self-overestimation can also bring him a lot in achieving his goals, and his focus is strong and very goal-oriented. A narcissus can therefore achieve a lot if it has set its mind to it. Unfortunately, this is often accompanied by a lot of self-interest and sometimes at the expense of others.
In the tarot, he might embody the fool. The symbol of new beginnings and taking great steps without fear or knowledge. Overconfident and full of himself. A flower that shows the deep humanity of imperfection and ego. Because deep down, the narcissus or the narcissist is actually a very insecure and vulnerable little being that only wants to be seen and loved. And so sometimes the narcissus is just too much, too loud, too overruling, and too full of itself to be able to see others, let alone take others into account and care for their interests and wellbeing.
This is the Feminine Focus Message of The Narcissus.
Aren't we all a bit like the narcissus sometimes when we don't feel heard or seen? Then we want to be at the forefront too and we are not always that tactful in our great need to be seen and valued. Blowing hard on our big yellow horn of overestimation or to compensate for our deep underlying vulnerability and insecurity. But we often don't mean it that way, and it is mainly our vulnerable little child inside that cries out for love.
It may not sound very positive, but this message is very important and there is always light on the other side of the shadow. In this case, the narcissus stands for the recognition and acceptance of the deep humanness of egocentrism, insecurity, and compensatory behavior. And that primal cry for love that is sometimes so forcefully pushed up from your raw insides that you have almost no control over it whatsoever. Do you recognize that feeling? We are all human are we not, with our beautiful and less beautiful character traits, wants, and needs.
When you recognize and acknowledge this in yourself or perhaps others around you that you may be dealing with. And at that moment can look at that and act upon this without judgment but with compassion and (self) reflection, then great change is possible, towards experiencing freedom from within your own deeply beautiful, and yes certainly imperfect human beingness, and that of others.
Then there is the space to be able to give yourself or the other person that gift of unconditional loving and accepting your own or their humanness. The greatest healing gift there is to give to that vulnerable little child inside, yearning for love.
It also helps you to see the humanness in others and perhaps their inability to move away from the destructive behaviors of the narcissus. And are you able to let go of this person lovingly for the sake of your own well-being. Or, through unconditional empathy and acceptance of the other, you can deal with the other human being in a more pleasant and lighter way, so that the energy also flows better for you and you no longer feel drained by the other person.
Narcissus contemplation focused on you.
How honest are you with yourself when it comes to what behaviors you display to protect your own insecure and vulnerable little child inside? Do you recognize something of yourself in the narcissus? If so, take a moment to sit in silence with yourself and your little child inside to listen to it and see it with an open heart and compassion. And from there ask him or her what would help towards more self-esteem and less loud and destructive behavior. All this without judgment and from a place of unconditional love and the pure intention to see yourself fully and to want to help yourself move towards a more loving place.
Narcissus contemplation aimed at the other.
do you have a narcissist close to you whose behavior you have difficulty with? No matter how benign or harmful this is. Even if it is best to disconnect from this person for your own benefit, it may be worthwhile to sit in silence and bring this person to your mind's eye. Perhaps you will be able to open your heart a little and from that heart energy, see the vulnerable little child underneath the behavior of this person. Send love and healing to it and then let it go with love. This can help to make the interaction with the person easier for you or to let them go and move on in a loving way. You can do this as often as necessary to make the interaction or the letting go part easier.
A digital set of the beautiful artwork of The Narcissus and this message are now for sale in my webshop.
If this text has touched you or brought something of value and you want to help me to spend more time and space on channeling the flowers, I would be so grateful for a donation if you can and will spare it from the heart. Thank you❤️
