Lion King - Part II (Metaphor)
The Unfolding Metaphor
Just as in the beginning of the creation story, “Let there be Light”, the sun rises to open the Lion King. In Egyptian mysticism, everything emanates from Ra, symbolized as the sun.
As dawn breaks, we immediately learn that Mufasa is King, with Zazu and Rafiki bowing before him. Sarabi, Mufasa’s mate, cradles their son in her arms as Simba is anointed as the chosen one and is presented to the Pride Land’s adoring subjects. The circle of life has been established from Ra (the sun) to Osiris (Mufasa) and to his son Horus (Simba).
In the Egyptian metaphor, Osiris’ brother, Seth, was jealous of Osiris and wanted to rule the earth plane. This sibling rivalry, between the Higher Self and the ego, launches the fundamental conflict seen in all stories, the one of good versus evil. Naturally, our next scene is Scar singing that life is “unfair”, that “he will never be king”, and that he simply forgot that Simba was being crowned today as the future King.
With the moonlight covering the baobab tree, a symbol of wisdom, we witness Rafiki, a baboon, naming the young Simba using a combination of red and white ochres. Again in Egyptian symbolism, Thoth represents law and wisdom and is represented in one form as a baboon. The red and white crowns of upper and lower Egypt are important symbols of reunification and the joining together of upper and lower self, Spirit and matter.
Simba rises early before the sunrise and pesters his father to show him the Pride Lands. Mufasa quips to Sarabi that Simba is her son before sunrise. This touches directly on a metaphorical point that Osiris and Horus rule during the day, but Seth rules by night. As we will witness, Sarabi will turn in service to the dark side under Scar’s rule. With Mufasa off dealing with the hyenas, Scar then directly taunts Simba with the shadow place beyond the borders.
Escorted by Zazu, an African hornbill, Simba and Nala (his betrothed) plan an escapade to the elephant graveyard. Zazu is a classic Egyptian character, Anubis, who accompanies Horus through the world, and in the style of Jimmy Cricket, plays the role of his conscience.
Hyenas greet the unsuspecting young duo, threatening to eat them, only to be saved by Mufasa. As he is reprimanded, Simba steps in the footsteps of his father, foreshadowing his destiny.
For Seth to realize his objective, he has no alternative but to destroy his brother, Osiris, and declare himself the rightful heir. It is therefore not surprising that we learn that Scar plotted with the Hyenas to dispose of Simba, and now proposes a grander plan to usurp the throne.
Shortly thereafter, Scar leads Simba into a gorge, where the wildebeest are incited to stampede. Scar warns Mufasa that Simba is trapped, thus laying a double trap. Mufasa jumps down into the canyon and manages to carry Simba to safety, but is pulled back by the raging animals. After leaping back up onto the side of the gorge, Mufasa nears the top only to find Scar above him. Scar mercilessly pushes Mufasa off to his death.
CLASSIC METAPHOR The evil uncle, Seth, kills Osiris and then sets out to kill Horus and take the throne
Simba watches on, believing that he started the stampede, and rushes to his dead father’s body. Manipulating the situation to his advantage, Scar appears and blames Simba for the death of the King, and tells Simba to run and never return. As Simba runs away, Scar commands the hyenas to kill him.
An interesting twist in the Lion King is that whereas Seth sends a scorpion to kill Horus, the Hyenas chase Simba into a field of brambles with their killer thorns. The sun is now setting. It is Seth’s time to rule.
The buzzards are circling when Simba is discovered in the desert by Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog) who lead him to his new home in the jungle. Vultures were used in Egypt to indicate the eating away of the physical body as a form of initiation. This is the first of Simba’s four levels of initiation – the physical. There is a nice throwaway line that Simba looks “a little blue”. Aries is associated with blue, and as the first sign of the Zodiac, it is where the ascension process begins.
“Hakuna Matata” means no worries, and is the spirit in which Simba now lives as an outcast in a jungle paradise. But as time passes, and the moon rises, a typical symbol of the feminine, it becomes time to awaken.
In the meantime, the Pride Lands have been reduced to a desolate wasteland under Scar with no food or water. This also has metaphorical significance, as Seth (Scar) is said to be impotent and cannot create or reproduce.
“IT IS TIME!” THE KING MUST RETURN
Lying under the stars with Timon and Pumbaa, the reawakening of Horus continues, as Simba recalls the message of his father that “the lights are great kings of the past watching over them”. Embarrassed by his answer, Simba wanders off, collapsing into a field of flowers that casts their petals into the wind, only for them to travel across the Pride Lands to Rafiki. “Simba is alive!”, Rafiki exclaims, and he sets off to find Simba. “It is time!”
Quite profoundly, Timon and Pumbaa sing, “In the Jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight” – but not for much longer.
In metaphor, Isis enlists the help of Hathor and Thoth to restore Horus to his rightful place. Absolutely on cue, Nala (as Hathor), now appears, to the sheer horror of Timon and Pumbaa. After expressing her surprise at Simba being alive, Nala proclaims that everyone will be pleased to see him again, as he is the rightful King.
Sheepishly, Simba strolls off with Nala, afraid to tell her of his past, but it does not take too long to rekindle the flames of romance. The song, “Can you feel the love tonight”, is the perfect message for the reunification of Horus and Hathor.
In Nala’s desperate attempts to have Simba reclaim his destiny, he protests, “You are starting to sound like my father.” “Good, at least one of us does”, she sharply retorts. Confused, Simba shouts at his father in the night sky, “You said that you would always be there for me”.
Time for a little law, and the second member of Isis’ team - Thoth. Rafiki reveals that he knows that Simba is Mufasa’s son. When asked if he knew his father, Rafiki responds with “I know your father”. Simba thinking that this is simply a crazy old baboon points out that Mufasa is dead, only to be scolded, “no, Mufasa is alive”.
Rafiki then leads Simba through a thicket of vines and branches. This is wonderful symbolism, for after the lush jungle with its many pools of water that corresponded with the emotional second level of initiation, Simba must now move through the third, mental level with the thicket representing our many entangled thoughts.
With Horus’ coming of age in the metaphor, Osiris returns from the spirit realm and encourages him to take up arms by challenging Seth, who is now ruling the Earth. Horus accepts the mission and the battle is on.
“YOU ARE MY SON” “MUFASA LIVES IN YOU”
Rafiki and Simba stop at a reflection pool, and after looking a second time, Simba can see an image of his father. “Mufasa lives in you”, proclaims Rafiki, as the heavens part with the message from Mufasa, “You have forgotten me, you have forgotten who are…you are more than what you have become, you must take your place in the circle of life…Remember you are my son, the one true King. Remember.” Who’s your daddy now?
“Looks like the winds are changing”, as Simba embarks on the journey home. Metaphorically, the battle takes place in the heart, level four. It is represented as air. So indeed, the winds are changing as the “King returns”.
Simba crosses the desert to find the Pride Lands dark and abandoned. It resembles the dark shadowy place of his youth at the elephant graveyard. Simba is revisiting his past.
Nala rejoins him, and Timon and Pumbaa pledge their allegiance. His two jungle friends have taken him out of his world and back again. This is very reminiscent of Sobeck, the crocodile, who represents a choice point to go into the world and yet helps Isis bring Osiris back home.
The great battle between Horus and Seth is upon us. Simba advances upon Pride Rock. Sarabi is summoned by Scar, and is chastised for the lionesses not hunting. She explains that the herds have moved on, and that it is time to leave Pride Rock. Scar rejects her, and after Sarabi compares him to Mufasa, Scar strikes her across the head with Simba watching close by. Simba jumps into the fray and comforts his mother, and Scar retreats, afraid that it is Mufasa. Simba now confronts Scar and demands that he step down or fight.
Wonderful metaphorical references. The body (Nephthys) serves whoever is ruling – either the ego (Seth), or the Holy Spirit/Higher Self (Isis/Osiris). After the death of Mufasa (and the apparent loss of her Son), Sarabi turned to serve Scar as the new King. Yet, we know that Sarabi is the mother of Simba, which identified her initially in the role of Isis. These contrasts force us to consider Sarabi as a composite of the motherly Isis energy and the subservient energy of the body Nephthys. We must remember that all five aspects in the metaphor are actually part of the one whole, just like fingers on a hand.
THE GREAT BATTLE BEGINS
The striking of Sarabi across the head is interesting, for in metaphor Isis attempts to help Horus by tying up Seth, but lets him go. Horus is thrown into such a rage that he cuts off Isis’ head. Horus then runs off to fight the battle with Seth alone, but succumbed by passion, he is susceptible to Seth, who manages to gauge out his eyes. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit, one is blinded to truth. Isis, of course, reattaches her head and sets out to help Horus.
Outwitted by Scar, Simba is forced to admit that he was responsible for Mufasa’s death, even though it was an accident. The Lionesses, led by Sarabi, do not immediately jump to his aid, as they are in disbelief. (Isis is still without a head metaphorically). Scar accuses Simba of being a murderer and backs him up to the edge of Pride Rock. Simba slips, and dangles by his paws, with Scar standing over him. Letting his ego get the better of him, Scar boasts that this is just the way his father looked before he killed him.
Simba springs and pins Scar, choking him to admit his murder. The lions and the whole team - Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu and Rafiki - enter the fracas to fight Scar and the hyenas. (Isis is now back in the game helping Horus with Thoth, Hathor, Sobeck and Anubis).
Scar attempts to scurry away, but Simba corners him at the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for his life by blaming the hyenas as the real enemy. Saying that he is not like Scar, Simba relents from killing him and tells him to run away (reversing their roles from earlier). Maneuvering past him, Scar then blinds Simba by throwing burning coals into his eyes. This ties directly into the metaphor where Horus is blinded by Seth.
Scar leaps at Simba, but using a technique learned from Nala (his Hathorian consort), Simba tosses Scar from the cliff top. Landing at the base of Pride Rock, Scar is surrounded by hyenas, and attempts to greet them as friends. In metaphor, fed up with the never-ending battle with Horus, Seth calls a secret meeting of the ruling council, the Ennead, to plead his case, but they ultimately rule against him as he condemns himself with his own testimony. Scars own words have condemned him before the hyenas, and they savagely end his rule.
With fire burning everywhere, rain begins to fall, and Simba returns to claim his throne. He is greeted by Sarabi and Nala, and Rafiki declares again, “It is Time!” Climbing Pride Rock, Simba stares heavenward, as Mufasa’s voice is heard, “Remember!” The Son has arisen. The green of the Pride Lands is restored – the color of the fourth and final level of initiation – the heart.
The Lion King story is classic metaphor. It tells the journey of a son, who after the death of his father, falls into the world intoxicated and blind with its trappings, and then reawakens to his spiritual beginning by remembering his Father. Accompanied by love and wisdom, he ascends back to his rightful place on the throne. It is also our story; the ‘hero’s journey’; one of coming to know ourselves as the Divine.
