EXILE
“In a deeply spiritual sense, self-exile is a poverty consciousness and alienation from oneself ; a disintegration of the self is the opposite of feeling whole and resourced. If you’re moving through the world with exiled parts, then it only makes sense that those exiled parts will cause heaviness, resistance, and friction."
Kening Zhu, On self-exile and inner refuge (2025)
VIII OF CUPS : The courage to leave. The eight cups are carefully arranged, suggesting this wasn’t careless accumulation. Time and energy went into building what’s being left behind. But there’s a gap in the arrangement, one cup is missing from the top row, indicating something incomplete or unsatisfying about what was built. The figure walks toward mountains under moonlight, choosing an uncertain path over a known but unfulfilling situation. The moon’s partial light suggests this journey involves some darkness and uncertainty.
The Eight of Cups represents the moment of walking away from something emotionally unsatisfying in search of deeper fulfilment. What was built here no longer nourishes, and continuing to invest in it costs more than moving on. This card acknowledges that leaving takes courage, especially when the destination isn't yet clear. It also shows the willingness to detach oneself from others so that one can work on self-improvement, self-understanding and growth.
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Arkadi Afanasyevich Chumakov - Kyzylkum Desert (1910)
“What planet is this on which I have come down?" asked the little prince.
“This is the Earth; this is Africa," the snake answered.
“Ah! Then there are no people on the Earth?"
“This is the desert. There are no people in the desert. The Earth is large," said the snake. The little prince sat down on a stone, and raised his eyes toward the sky.“I wonder," he said, “whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again... Look at my planet. It is right there above us. But how far away it is!"
“It is beautiful," the snake said.
“Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. “It is a little lonely in the desert . . ."
“It is also lonely among men," the snake said.
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The Value of Isolation, Loneliness and Solitude
By Sue Mehrtens
Aside from being particular and unique to each person, the feeling of solitude, of being isolated, is a hunger for life that goes beyond what words can express. Ultimately, solitude is a paradox.
“ […] The highest and most decisive experience of all, […] is to be alone with his own self, or whatever else one chooses to call the objectivity of the psyche. The patient must be alone if he is to find out what it is that supports him when he can no longer support himself. Only this experience can give him an indestructible foundation.” Carl Jung, Collected Works vol. 12 (1953)
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Ivan Fedorovich Choultse - The Ruined Temple Of Kom Ombo, Egypt
The little prince crossed the desert and met with only one flower [...]
“Where are the men?" the little prince asked, politely. The flower had once seen a caravan passing. “Men?" she echoed. "I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult."
Carl Hasch, Die libysche Wüste [The Libyan desert]
But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince (1943)
For seven years I dwelt
In the loose palace of exile
Playing strange games
With the girls of the island
Now I have come again
To the land of the fair, & the strong, & the wise
Brothers & sisters of the pale forest
O children of Night
Who among you will run with the hunt?
Now Night arrives with her purple legion
Retire now to your tents & to your dreams
Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth
I want to be ready
Jim Morrison, The Palace of Exile (1969)
Carl Spitzweg - Wanderer in der Gebirgsschlucht bei Gewitter (ca. 1860)
CREDITS
Exile original celesta improvisation recorded on March 23rd, 2019. Originally composed for the play On est bien peu de choses by Les satellites, adapting The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. First released on the Exil EP (2019). Remixed in 2024 by Sébastien Dumontier, mastered by Laurent Roussel.
Electric & classical guitar, bass guitar, percussions, flutes, vocals & Mellotron played by Finrod Artîwelë.
Drums played by Lavinia Roussel.