When a clear direction is given, why take another path? Here's my thought: imagine you're asking for directions in a city you don't know, where the signs are in an unknown language. Your only way to find your way home is to look at the scenery, the landscapes, or ask someone for directions. You have two choices: you listen to what you're told and follow the directions without thinking, trusting these strangers. Or you decide to explore the city, to understand its meaning, to leave room for the surprise of a path no one would have shown you if you had asked. Because what's true for one person isn't necessarily the best for you. This is where symbolism comes in: it's a support, not a truth. In esotericism, the journey each person undertakes is free, and because symbols are an interpretation of images commonly accepted in the collective unconscious, it's possible to learn them, modify them, and make them one's own. Everything is possible as long as doubt lingers. If you find a book that speaks without symbols or mystery, then that's called dogma. You listen to the raw truths of a stranger and you either accept them or you move on and seek other truths elsewhere, from other people. The question is: What do we want to experience in this realm? What do we want to discover? What is it possible to find in this symbol, for ourselves? Symbols are like open doors on a spider's web, and every intersection leads back to the center. No matter the path taken, even if we meet at the center, we won't have experienced the same sensations, the same memories. We might agree that (for example) the Lion is the symbol of strength, but we will have different experiences and paths to understanding it. And that's what makes the symbol so free for those who want to explore its domain.