The Psychology of The Restless Wanderer

Sep 24, 2025

52:59

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The archetype of the Wanderer appears as a figure of profound loneliness, who drifts through life without a fixed home or direction, restless in the search for purpose and belonging. He has far-sickness, a deep longing for distant places and the hope of eventually finding a place on earth where he truly feels at home. The Wanderer longs for home, yet feels at home nowhere, dwelling in a liminal space between past and present, the familiar and the unknown, echoing what Lovecraft wrote: “I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.”

If there is one key characteristic of the Wanderer, it is restlessness, which appears as a constant need to chase the next thing, whether it be in the outer world. Once something is achieved, the Wanderer is no longer satisfied, and seeks something else, ad infinitum. This insatiable desire is the cause of much of our suffering. One could say that the Wanderer cannot commit to anything, but he is certainly committed to wandering.

After a long period of aimless wandering, one may finally commit to the inner journey, and the archetype of the Seeker becomes constellated, beginning the search for one’s soul. The focus of life shifts from external achievements and aimless wandering to the pursuit of self-realisation and theosis (union with God).

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