This term is an archetypal principle with which everyone who is seriously involved in magic is confronted sooner or later (and not just once). Astrologically, the planets Mercury and Saturn are assigned to this principle, which should already say something to the astrologically versed. Saturn, for example, stands for fate, karma, fatality, illness, infirmity, and death, but also for knowledge connected with overcoming these things! Saturn is the principle that sets limits for a man! Not for failure, but to overcome it!
The one who fails nevertheless is not yet ready for the further steps, the world behind it. And that is precisely what the guardian represents. He confronts you – the seeker – with your limits and difficulties. But before the threshold behind the veil can be crossed, the seeker must find the appropriate key for the gate. This happens through a continuous confrontation with the most inherent fears and shortcomings during the practical occupation with magic, which manifests themselves through personal repressions. These can be unresolved conflicts that suddenly reappear (e.g., parent-child conflicts), repressed fears like “fear of darkness,” neuroses, and various other underrated problems, deeply manifested. Sometimes, not always, the Keeper of the Threshold also appears in personified form, e.g., in dreams. The Keeper of the Threshold is a porter, a guardian at the gate to a “purely magical,” non-dualistic world – whoever wants to overcome him must first overcome himself!