And J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit more specifically: these really are tales of the journey of the soul towards enlightenment.

Some of them are more obviously this, such as The Odyssey and Herkales and his 12 (Astrological Signs) Labors. But the Hobbit is also this although Tolkien famously wouldn’t entertain anyone suggesting his writing was at all allegorical. Clearly it contains a whole lot of allegory, especially for many well-known Christian themes.

Bilbo joins a party of 13 dwarves (Isis found 13 pieces of Osiris) making him the 14th. (there were 14 total. The phallus was lost) All these numbers have significance. Tolkien was an Elite! He was an Oxford Professor. He worked for The Crown.

I feel like people miss that. The Lord of the Rings is about a 50-year old aristocrat who goes on an epic journey with the help of his servant. The movie doesn’t portray this at all. Sam is just Frodo’s friend, but in the books the role Sam plays vs. the other 3 hobbits that set out for Rivendell, is quite clearly a subservient one.

Getting back to the Hobbit: At a point in the tale, Bilbo finds a magic ring that makes him turn invisible. (which is the extent of the rings powers in the Hobbit.) Which is sort of like when a soul, on the journey to enlightenment, awakens to the point they realize they can manipulate the world around them through the power of their mind. You know. Logos.

And then the end of the journey is enlightenment. It always is. It takes the form of Earthly rewards because this is allegory. In the Hobbit it’s the dragon’s treasure.