The Plight of the Sorcerer: The Central Paradox
How can Sorcerer Putin survive, if he passes the reins to the Chef Charioteer he trained and empowered? Yet, how can Sorcerer Putin survive, if he doesn’t stand aside to enable his Sorcerer’s Apprentice to take over? This is the Plight of the Sorcerer. It has featured in Indo-European stories for millennia.
Source: Putin’s Chef Problem
“The Plight of the Sorcerer” is one of the oldest and most fundamental Indo-European stories. It is replayed every time the “right” to rule an Indo-European society is transmitted between a Master Monarch and their Apprentice.
Source: Coup Day in Russia
Resolving the Plight of the Sorcerer is THE trickiest magical trick any Indo-European sovereign faces.
Source: Podcast Pensées 124
The Plight is a double bind: if Putin empowers his apprentice, the apprentice may destroy him; if he doesn’t, the system stagnates and collapses. This paradox is not unique to Russia — it is the structural paradox of all authoritarian succession. See The Trito Myth for its mythological roots.