A write-up by K.Karagedik - Insights from Shinoda Bolen’s Ring of Power
We arrive in the world in our innocence and vulnerability. If we find that we are not loved—or that we are loved only for our function, for what we do or what we own—power becomes the substitute.
The ring in Rheingold is made, fought over, and cursed. It stands for anything that consumes us—money, fame, power, status, knowledge, sex, or addiction. Anything can become a Ring of the Nibelung if we’re willing to sacrifice everything for it—our values, our relationships, even ourselves. When something owns us like that, it might as well be cursed.
Once Alberich has the Ring of the Nibelung, he becomes a ruthless tyrant, forcing the Nibelungs to work endlessly to build his wealth and expand his power. He rules through fear, demanding absolute control. This is the archetype of every tyrant—obsessed with domination, using others as tools, and willing to sacrifice anything for more power. It’s a timeless and deeply political figure, one that repeats throughout history.
Alberich can remind us of the bleak inner world of a workaholic—someone who can’t relax, enjoy life, or connect with others. Instead, they are driven by an inner taskmaster, always pushing them to be productive. Work consumes them, but it brings no real pleasure—only the illusion of control.
Wotan, the ultimate power-seeker, is the archetypal king and sky god—ruthless, strategic, and determined to impose his will. His greatest obsession is Valhalla, a fortress built as a monument to himself, symbolizing dominance and prestige. To achieve it, he bargains away what he should never trade—Freia and what she symbolizes—entering a deal with the giants that will cost him far more than he anticipates…
This pattern repeats endlessly. Today’s Wotans—business titans, political strongmen, and powerful figures—build towering structures and name them after themselves—symbols of their dominance and desire for immortality. These monuments project power, but also isolation. The higher they rise, the more detached their creators become, blind to the true cost of their ambition.
Freia symbolizes the values that Wotan is willing to sacrifice for power. She represents love, youth, and beauty—qualities that keep us emotionally young. Love renews us, while beauty is seen through the eyes of love, allowing us to appreciate life with wonder. Without love, we can become paranoid as we age.
When Alberich renounced love for power, he lost these youthful qualities. Similarly, Wotan’s decision to trade Freia for Valhalla reflects a common theme in patriarchal myths. Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, to gain the winds that would lead his fleet to Troy, Zeus allowed the abduction of his daughter, Persephone, by Hades to maintain the balance of power and avoid conflict, emphasizing the cost of power in patriarchal decisions.
These myths reflect real-life choices, where people trade love and innocence for power and control—only to realize too late that they have become prisoners of their own ambition, haunted by the abandoned child within, desperate to stay unseen.
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