The Guardian of the Threshold

All discussions have to start somewhere, and Wikipedia is usually a pretty good starting point for any discussion. This is a good starting point. In short then, the Guardian of the Threshold is an entity that must be confronted at one point or another along the path of spiritual growth, and it represents one's darker sides as well as the darker sides of humanity as a whole. Let us then explore some clues as to how this can be done.

In the most esoteric of the schools of psychology, the Jungian one, the Guardian is represented by the archetype of the Shadow. The parallels are rather plain to see; the Shadow is one's repressed evil, in both its personal and its collective aspects, and by confronting the Shadow and integrating it into one's being one gains a deeper understanding of oneself and a better integrated personality, even going so far as to tap positive Shadow potential that had been buried and disowned along with everything else pertaining to the Shadow.

In the Tarot, The Devil symbolizes the Threshold Guardian. Arthur Edward Waite states this plainly enough in his Pictorial Key to the Tarot:

What it does signify is the Dweller on the Threshold without the Mystical Garden when those are driven forth therefrom who have eaten the forbidden fruit.

Of note here is the Devil's torch, which points downwards, almost as if saying "The fire must go down." And of course, the flames of Hell are traditionally imagined to reside somewhere in the nether regions, while the glory of the Heavens is to be found far above. Continuing with this common metaphor, in order to ascend to Heaven one must first descend into Hell. One reaps as one sows, and without going deep into oneself and sowing seeds of fearless exploration one cannot reap the rewards of spiritual development.

Now, fire symbolizes raw creativity and male power. Its maleness can be seen by its alchemical symbol, △, which is quite similar to the symbol of the male blade, ∧, as popularized by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code as the opposite of (and compliment to) the female chalice, ∨, which again is quite similar to the alchemical symbol for water, ▽. This suggests that as well as being directed down, or inwards, the fire needs to be tempered by water - an integration of male and female which is emphasized throughout many spiritual traditions, including alchemy and Jungian psychology (wherein one's inner gender opposite is represented by the archetype of the Anima/Animus).

An excellent demonstration of this archetypal pattern can be seen in The Lord of the Rings, with Gandalf's battle with the Balrog, a demonic creature of fire. Gandalf confronts the Balrog with some fire of his own, as can be seen in his using his wand against it - the suit of Wands in the tarot is associated with the element of fire. Also, it's stated that Gandalf uses a benevolent sort of fire to fight an evil sort of fire:

Warm and eager was his spirit (and it was enhanced by the ring Narya), for he was the Enemy of Sauron, opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succours in wanhope and distress; but his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash, so that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within. Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple, and yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly; but he was not proud, and sought neither power nor praise, and thus far and wide he was beloved among all those that were not themselves proud. Mostly he journeyed unwearyingly on foot, leaning on a staff; and so he was called among Men of the North Gandalf, 'the Elf of the Wand'.

Gandalf, then, tempers the powerful and potentially destructive fire that burns within him with modesty; a very watery sort of trait. That water is associated with modesty can be seen in the Tao Te Ching, where the Tao is quite strongly associated with and compared with water, and its chief virtue is said to be modesty:

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

Therefore, it is pretty much unavoidable that Gandalf descends with the Balrog down into a body of water; as he says himself (quoting the film version here):

Aragorn: It cannot be. You fell.

Gandalf the White: Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done.

Fighting fire with fire is not enough - it is only through dousing the clashing fires in water that the battle can be  won. Or to put it plainly; one has to swallow one's pride and direct it inwards and temper it with modesty. The courage of the lion (a most fiery archetype) must be used in examining one's own heart and confronting any blackness that lurks therein fearlessly. Only through doing this can real integration achieved, whether it be the integration of the Shadow or the integration of the Anima/Animus. In fact, these go so much hand in hand that it is often hard to tell what pertains to the Shadow and what pertains to the Anima/Animus. After all, many people tend to vilify the opposite sex and deliberately bury and distance themselves from the traits that do not 'properly' belong to their own sex.