--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's…" description: "\"The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and the noisele..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg" --- # The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth… ![“The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and the noiseless doors Close after us, for ever.” quote by Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg) > “The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and the noiseless doors Close after us, for ever.” [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The hand that opens life's gate also closes it; we walk blindly, and doors close behind us forever. **In simple terms:** Life's opportunities are fleeting and irreversible. Key Takeaway Live consciously, aware of impermanence. Themes impermanence destiny awareness Mood reflective somber Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal milestones - spiritual practice - ethical choices Key Concepts philosophy of time existentialism human agency Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose which doors to open? - What does walking blindfolded symbolize for you? A Different Perspective We cannot see the doors we close. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blindfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindfold/) [Blindfolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindfolds/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ## Related quotes > [The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut-3/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Mama tied a blindfold over my eyes. The next thing I felt my flesh was being cut away. I heard the blade sawing back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waris-dirie/mama-tied-a-blindfold-over-my-eyes-the-next-thing-i-felt-my-flesh-was/) [Waris Dirie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waris-dirie/) > [I train my chefs completely different to anyone else. My young girls and guys, when they come to the kitchen, the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/i-train-my-chefs-completely-different-to-anyone-else-my-young-girls/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) > [All that's missing for Utah is a blindfold and a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/all-that-s-missing-for-utah-is-a-blindfold-and-a-cigarette/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [It's very hard to stop doing things you're used to doing. You almost have to dismantle yourself and scatter it all around and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/it-s-very-hard-to-stop-doing-things-you-re-used-to-doing-you-almost/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Making art is like swimming underwater in a blindfold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/making-art-is-like-swimming-underwater-in-a-blindfold/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [You blindfold yourself and spin around for 10 times and then open your eyes and try to chase it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-suggitt/you-blindfold-yourself-and-spin-around-for-10-times-and-then-open/) Ric Suggitt > [A nonreader is somebody standing there in a blindfold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/a-nonreader-is-somebody-standing-there-in-a-blindfold/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I just got my first bikini. It's a three-piece: a top, a botton, and a blindfold for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-liebman/i-just-got-my-first-bikini-it-s-a-three-piece-a-top-a-botton-and-a/) [Wendy Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-liebman/) > [If I were blind, I'd wear a blindfold all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/if-i-were-blind-i-d-wear-a-blindfold-all-the-time/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [We live, we love. These are the choices we are given, to open doors or to close them. It is all we have, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/we-live-we-love-these-are-the-choices-we-are-given-to-open-doors-or/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Look back and thank God. Look forward and trust God. He closes the door no man can open and He opens doors no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/look-back-and-thank-god-look-forward-and-trust-god-he-closes-the-door/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Doors close so others can open, you know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-benton-frank/doors-close-so-others-can-open-you-know/) Dorothy Benton Frank > [I had always assumed that the right way to do it was to these engineers, put them in offices by themselves with doors that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/i-had-always-assumed-that-the-right-way-to-do-it-was-to-these/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) ## More by Dinah Maria Murlock Craik > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It is not the smallest use to try to make people good, unless you try at the same time - and they feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/it-is-not-the-smallest-use-to-try-to-make-people-good-unless-you-try/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [We expect too much from our children. We exact from them a perfection which we are far from carrying out in ourselves; we require…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/we-expect-too-much-from-our-children-we-exact-from-them-a-perfection/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Happiness is not an end - it is only a means, and adjunct, a consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/happiness-is-not-an-end-it-is-only-a-means-and-adjunct-a-consequence/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [The life of action is nobler than the life of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-life-of-action-is-nobler-than-the-life-of-thought/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [God rest ye, little children; let nothing you afright, For Jesus Christ, your Saviour, was born this happy night; Along the hills of Galilee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/god-rest-ye-little-children-let-nothing-you-afright-for-jesus-christ/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [O, the mulberry-tree is of trees the queen! Bare long after the rest are green; But as the time steals onwards, while none perceives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/o-the-mulberry-tree-is-of-trees-the-queen-bare-long-after-the-rest/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It is the Christmas time: And up and down 'twixt heaven and earth, In glorious grief and solemn mirth, The shining angels climb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/it-is-the-christmas-time-and-up-and-down-twixt-heaven-and-earth-in/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It is not work that kills, but "worry."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/it-is-not-work-that-kills-but-worry/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [A secret at home is like rocks under tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-secret-at-home-is-like-rocks-under-tide/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [There are no judgments so harsh as those of the erring, the inexperienced, and the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/there-are-no-judgments-so-harsh-as-those-of-the-erring-the/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Nothing but a speck we seem In the waste of waters round, Floating, floating like a dream, Outward bound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/nothing-but-a-speck-we-seem-in-the-waste-of-waters-round-floating/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It is a curious truth - and yet a truth forced upon us by daily observation - that it is not the women who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/it-is-a-curious-truth-and-yet-a-truth-forced-upon-us-by-daily/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [About the greatest virtue a friend can have, is to be able to hold her tongue; and through this, like all virtues carried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/about-the-greatest-virtue-a-friend-can-have-is-to-be-able-to-hold-her/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) [Explore all 101 Dinah Maria Murlock Craik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) ## More Blindfold quotes > [I just got my first bikini. It's a three-piece: a top, a botton, and a blindfold for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-liebman/i-just-got-my-first-bikini-it-s-a-three-piece-a-top-a-botton-and-a/) [Wendy Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-liebman/) > [“Keep your eyes open, especially if you’re wearing a blindfold while driving. Closing your eyes in that situation could be dangerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/keep-your-eyes-open-especially-if-you-re-wearing-a-blindfold-while/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“The statue of Justice, symbol of the law, as she holds aloft her balance scale, is blindfolded. Justice is blind to race, creed, color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-j-arrington/the-statue-of-justice-symbol-of-the-law-as-she-holds-aloft-her/) Leonard J. Arrington > [“Talking to a prisoner under duress can be the most shameful thing a journalist will ever do. I stared at him, willing him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maziar-bahari/talking-to-a-prisoner-under-duress-can-be-the-most-shameful-thing-a/) [Maziar Bahari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maziar-bahari/) > [“And here she was, in the middle of a tangled situation she didn't remember or understand, painfully aware that a killer or killers on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/and-here-she-was-in-the-middle-of-a-tangled-situation-she-didn-t/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“She put her tongue out and felt the raw edges of the torn silk. She looped her tongue around them and drew them into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-irwin/she-put-her-tongue-out-and-felt-the-raw-edges-of-the-torn-silk-she/) [Stephen M. Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-irwin/) > [“Going to bed at sunrise, I find a blindfold helps me sleep. Also, I like it when my kidnappers put pillows in the trunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/going-to-bed-at-sunrise-i-find-a-blindfold-helps-me-sleep-also-i-like/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You blindfold yourself and spin around for 10 times and then open your eyes and try to chase it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-suggitt/you-blindfold-yourself-and-spin-around-for-10-times-and-then-open/) Ric Suggitt > [Making art is like swimming underwater in a blindfold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/making-art-is-like-swimming-underwater-in-a-blindfold/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Fear not to look back. It might not be the end of it all. Maybe someone is waiting for you to be seen. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/fear-not-to-look-back-it-might-not-be-the-end-of-it-all-maybe-someone/) Louaiq8 > [It's very hard to stop doing things you're used to doing. You almost have to dismantle yourself and scatter it all around and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/it-s-very-hard-to-stop-doing-things-you-re-used-to-doing-you-almost/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“A blanket could be used to confuse and disorient. Think of it not as a bed adornment, but as a really big blindfold. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-confuse-and-disorient-think-of-it-not-as-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I could tell I loved her from the moment I saw her, right after she opened the trunk, untied me, and took off my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-could-tell-i-loved-her-from-the-moment-i-saw-her-right-after-she/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“The darkness of ignorance, blindfold us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-darkness-of-ignorance-blindfold-us/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All that's missing for Utah is a blindfold and a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/all-that-s-missing-for-utah-is-a-blindfold-and-a-cigarette/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) [Browse all 42 Blindfold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindfold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and the noiseless doors Close after us, for ever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dinah Maria Murlock Craik" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blindfold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_blindfold_the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year_2458357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies…” — Dinah Maria Murlock Craik", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dinah Maria Murlock Craik", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The irrevocable Hand That opes the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/the-irrevocable-hand-that-opes-the-year-s-fair-gate-doth-ope-and-shut-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```