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A Dream of Illumination
}}}~ A Dream of Illumination ~{{{
A Parable in the Form of a Dream
Part One: The Road Less Traveled
I dreamed this strange dream recently. It went like this: I was walking along this old road, silently contemplating all manner of deep things. As I went along, I saw that the road was tree-lined with great pines and mighty oaks. It seemed familiar to me, as if I had been there before long, long ago but had forgotten about the place until now. The road branched at one point and in the distance along it I saw a great city that I knew was a holy and sacred place. I could not bring myself to walk towards it, so I continued upon my way towards a deeper and deeper trail that ran into the nearby woodlands, which soon turned into a deep forest. Only the trail I was walking on made any headway through what was otherwise a rather dense area, thick with underbrush and fallen branches from the lofty trees all about. I looked up at the sky through the trees, and I saw it was midday, but that the sky itself was clouding over and darkening the land. In time, a great mist of white vapors rolled in from the deepest part of the forest, which lay to the southeast. Soon, I was hopelessly lost… for when the mist closed in, the trail vanished from sight. Everything did, and the world became white and cloudy, like some purgatory reserved for lost souls. There was nothing before me, or anything all around me. All I could hope to do was walk onwards, and hope for some sign of the world I had left behind. My steps became hurried, and I began to panic. My heart was racing! The mists soon retreated, but what had been revealed before me could not have been the same woods where I had been walking. Rather, it was a dark and frightening place. A forest, yes, but one with trees as massive as the spires of a cathedral! Trees with branches twisted like unto claws, which reached out as if to ensnare trespassers. It was a primal place with giant toadstools, thick and leafy plants, and also no sign of the sky no matter how far above my head I strained to look. I was too deep within these natural confines to ever go back, and before me there were trails going off in every direction. Whichever one had borne me hither I could never be assured to know! And so I picked one of the countless directions at random and began to walk down the chosen path. Though this place was dark and somewhat sinister, I felt a strange comfort… for I knew there was a reason I had been brought here. A nameless destiny, which I could not fathom at that moment! The perils of wild places of this magnitude are well known, and to have strayed so far from civilization was strange. Even so… where was the danger that my mind should have perceived? Cities are far more dangerous, I thought to myself, with their thieves and corruption. I remembered my faith had not been what it should have, and that this was some test to find me either worthy or wanting. But who would be my judge out here? I heard the cry of strange birds with savage cries, and I heard the distant baying of wolves. Yet I saw neither birds nor beasts themselves. They may as well have been ghosts trying to commune with the living from their graves, for all I could tell. I was on a pilgrimage of sorts, to purify my soul and find some reason in what I thought to be a mad and chaotic creation. This was what I kept telling myself, but it sounded like a lie. What was I really seeking?
Part Two: The Princess of The Forest
There was comfort indeed in the primeval forest through which I journeyed. Every once in a while, I glimpsed a canopy of green leaves high, high above… and golden shafts of sunlight would occasionally pierce the darkness of that unknown realm. There was a spirit to it all, a guiding force I could almost reach and out and touch with my thoughts. It was a connection to divinity quite unlike anything one might find in a church or temple of any kind. I imagined God somehow dwelling amongst the trees, and that the peace I sensed was of blessed design. Did angels walk unseen in the shadows just past my vision? Where was the fear of the unknown that most would have in my position! It was not within me. Then, it hit me as if with a delayed reaction… I was amidst some enchantment, but still lost nonetheless. And that, in and of itself: was dangerous! My thoughts had begun that nervous descent, when I spied a child walking towards me out of the shadows on the horizon of the woodland trail I tread. She was a young girl in those years just before her teens, on the cusp of becoming a proper maiden. Her clothing told me she was of some noble or wealthy background, and her bearing was somewhat mature for her age. Who could she be, I mused, and what bizarre turnings of chance brought her to cross my path in such a place as this? She was adorned further with jewelry and makeup, and seemed like a child princess. Yet, as soon as she caught sight of me, she acted more childlike and began to skip along the rough path towards where I stood watching, wondering. She started to laugh, to sing, and to speak with imaginary things that were not there. Was she truly that innocent, or was she mad? It was not unreasonable for children who suffer some darker turn of fortune in life, be it from loss or from some unfathomable hurt, to retreat into the realm of imagination or fancy to escape their innermost torments. Something had driven here out here, into the wildest parts of the land… and I could not imagine what. I should have called out to her, greeted her, or at least asked how she was doing. But I did not! I felt frozen, unable to move even my lips to form a word. Had I the ability to do so, what words would even be appropriate for such a circumstance as this? I had to think, had to reason and break out of the strange reverie that held me spellbound. Then, my compassion for the little girl overcame whatever had put me under that glamour, and I spoke to her at last. “My dear child,” I began, “It would seem that I have lost my way in these woods, and that you yourself may well have also. Even so, mayhap you know this place better than I… and so, could you be so kind as to tell me if yonder path leads out from here? Further, if you are: in fact, troubled at being so far from your own home, for whatever the reason, then gladly would I render aid unto you if possible. What say you?” and she answered in a perhaps playful tone of voice, saying: “Surely you jest with me, for I am not troubled at all! This is my home, and it would be strange indeed if I knew not the ways of my own dwelling-place.” Then she laughed and giggled, and I saw the sparkle of mirth in her eyes that told me she was not mad after all, but merely innocent enough to believe whatever fantasy she had concocted about this being her home. She continued, as if needing to clarify her words further: “My home is many places, and so this one will do as much as any, will it not?” I nodded in agreement, for I felt like the stranger here, and she added: “If you seek to find your way, then I can direct you aright. Follow me closely, sir!”
Part Three: My True Name, Spoken
I walked behind her until we came a good distance from where we met, and she rushed back to me and put my hand in her own, insisting that I maintain our clasp and not stray from one another’s company, no matter what. We walked thus, hand in hand, and as we took a leisurely pace she asked me what I did not tell her my name. I tried to think of it, but my name would not come to my mind… instead, many names from many times past came bubbling up from the recesses of my soul. “I cannot tell it to you. It is… too much to tell.” I explained. The child then said rather serenely to me: “That is alright, for I already know who you are. You know me as well, but not in this guise.” And I looked long and hard at her, trying to force the memory of her to come to the fore. Her hair was golden, and worn in long, graceful curls that cascaded down to frame a lovely oval face. The style of her hair had bangs, at the forehead, and she wore a crimson ribbon with a single red rose attached to it, to hold back her precious locks. Her ruby lips and pale green eyes held me spellbound. It was her eyes that seemed most familiar to me of all… and something had captivated me when I gazed into them. Her skin was pink and smooth, and she looked very much like a doll. Yet, she was a living and breathing girl with a real heart and soul. A familiar one, even if I could not immediately place it! As I studied the child, she ceased to walk and looked back at me, returning the stare I had held her in prior. She was searching for something… but what? It was something within me, some spark of what she remembered of me from long ago. She smiled broadly, seeming to find what she sought. Then, the wind howled and a chill breeze blew hard through the trees all about us. The scant sunlight vanished, and I suspect it was night at last, for I heard the light chirping of crickets and the call of those night-birds which haunt such climes as these. The woods grew dark, so very dark, and I was happy to be holding the child’s hand after all. We walked for a distance that was impossible to guess at, and I saw some distant illumination from fireflies. Suddenly, there was a soft glow that radiated forth from the little girl herself! The light was of her very spirit, and she glowed with it beautifully. “Tell me now…” she whispered to me in a sad and gentle tone: “Tell me what name you will give unto God, when He asks you for it in the hour when you must stand before Him. You have so many, but do you know which one God would recognize you by the most? Say not that He is God and therefore He will know, for that is not the point, nor the purpose behind my asking!” I then searched my soul for the answer, and I spoke the most ancient of all my names. It left a terrible sensation within me, and I wished I had not uttered it aloud. The little girl seemed pleased, and then stated: “Do not deny what it is that you are… and whom it is that you are… for were you told that doing so is humility? It is a false humility to deny oneself! God never commanded you to discard your very soul. Why choose to do so, then? It is man, who would have you believe you are less than the totality of your true self. You cannot vanquish the past by denying it. Doing so will only vanquish you, for there is strength in truth. Embrace the truth, and gain strength.” I then stared dumbfounded into those sparkling green eyes of the radiant child’s, and I slowly said: “I revealed unto you, what I would have told only the most high. Our souls are linked together, but something feels wrong about all of this… for you have yet to reveal your own name to me!”
Part Four: The Light in The Forest
The unearthly child’s face then seemed to be of some heavenly countenance, and her manner became imperious. I became afraid, and said unto her: “I know not even what you are, nor if you be an angel, a goddess, or some errant spirit. What if you prove to be a devil or demon taking on the disguise of one so blessedly fair? Surely I was then unwise to grant you power over me by revealing what only God should be told. I regret my weakness, and I pray God will show mercy upon me for it!” I let go of her hand, and I started to walk away from her. I started back down that long path by which we had come, and I did not look back. Suddenly, I felt her hand in mine and she was simply there beside me once again. As if I had never been apart from her at all. “Your fear…” she began to state, “Your fear, is what spoke to me just now. It is also what drove you to abandon your own self-knowledge and hide in the present era… when you are beyond such things. None may change or alter the past, for it is the canvas of history itself. And the future is unknown. Consider this well: in coming here, to me, are you lost or are you found? Say not that it was I who came to you, for I was here ere ever you set out upon the paths that brought you hither. Those mists were created by your own fears, and just as they parted the closer you came to me… so too can those same fears be banished by simple trust. Trust in me, and you shall be saved!” I gave in at last, for I saw only wisdom in her words and no trace of deception after all. “Very well, sweet child… I place my trust in you. Lead me from fear and from being lost. Show me the way!” And then it happened. The glow of the girl became so bright, that she outshone even the stars of a midnight sky. The moon dimmed before it, and the sun would have been rivaled by it. I averted my eyes, bowed my head to the earth itself, and my hand in hers tingled with warmth and power. A light filled the forest, which was not of the mortal world, and in the sky there was but one single star that held a similar appearance to that glow. I beheld all that had been hidden from view before, and I spied things in the forest that were spirits, angels, and things that had no names at all. Here was the aura of a truly divine being, and when the angelic little girl next spoke her voice had become that of an adult woman… a voice that was at once peaceful and commanding. She transformed as she opened her mouth thusly, and what she became was something androgynous and more beautiful than anything of mere mortal feminine beauty. I felt pure love, compassion, and understanding from her… from it… and I smelled the distinct scent of roses. “In trusting me, you have allowed yourself to see me as I truly am, not just as I would deign to appear!” and when she said that unto me, I knew that I had only been deceiving myself. She was right all along, and in accepting myself, and her, I was brought closer to God. She continued to speak, saying: “I said that I would direct you aright, and so I shall show you a path. It is not the same as the one you walked before coming here, but it is the road you shall travel for all your days henceforth. You began on it when first you could not bring yourself to approach that city, and when you rejected the hypocritical holiness of established faith. Worship with me here, then, for these trees are the true columns of God’s house. This place is my temple to the most high, wherein I myself was revered of old. Whereas before I could not look upon her, I now could not look away from the angel who spoke unto me. The light was no longer blinding.
Part Five: An Angelic Ascension
I learned her true name, just as she had learned mine. We had both known one another all along, and this mystery I must keep. Her star glowed on high, just as she glowed here below. “I am your teacher, your illuminator.” She explained. “Now you bear those titles, for the wisdom I have bequeathed unto you, you shall share with others who lack the light.” I was then baptized in her radiance, brought within that nimbus of light and purity. “I was wrong about you.” I told her, “You are no devil or demon of any kind.” It was then that she oddly chose to correct me. “I am those things, as well as all the blessed things you could ever love. Such is the nature of life, that all things that exist have this dual nature of darkness and light. Think not that, because you see my light, that I have no darkness within me.” And having seen into my own innermost dark side, I knew she spoke truly when she said that. I was taken by her: to a stone circle like unto Stonehenge, and there she gave into my charge a simple wood wand topped with an emerald… and she also gave me a circlet which was Egyptian in design. I donned the circlet and took up the wand, whilst around my neck was an amulet in the shape of a serpent swallowing its’ own tail. The angel then spoke unto me, saying: “Here is where, on the morning, you shall be delivered back to your waking life once again. Until then, attend me and conduct the rites that I instruct you to perform. I am Glory, I am Love, and I am Light. Be not afraid, for we are kindred in every way.” And I was not afraid. The illuminated night seemed to lose any terrors it might have possessed before, and the old stones seemed to pulse and breathe with a life of their own. Chanting came from the stones, and I saw the shades of others who had worshipped there since time immemorial. I heard many of my old names spoken, and I knew that once upon a time men mistook me for a god. I laid the emerald wand down upon the altar stone at the center of the circle, and in a single instant I could recall much that had been lost to me previously. Illumination, it is called, when one awakens from the slumbers of their own ignorance. Ere the coming of the morning, I had indeed been freed from the bondage that comes from a lock of knowledge. The angel took me into her arms, and I became much like unto her in appearance. Androgynous and beautiful, beyond human conceptions of such notions! And twin angels flew to the heavens, where the planets and stars are, and we flew to places that of old were special to us. I came unto the holy world whose name was known to prophets of a certain era, and I saw the ruins that dotted its’ surface. Then, we journeyed to Mars, and there I saw only desolation for as far as the eye could see. I saw traces of the past, but they were hidden well. At length, we returned to Earth and were drawn once more to the circle of stones where our celestial ascension had begun. The angel and I were locked in a tender embrace, our lips kissing and our hands caressing one another. Slowly, time passed and she reverted to her former childlike form, even as I became just as human once more as I typically am in everyday life. Morning was dawning, and the morning star was brighter than ever. It had been her star, and I felt its’ power being sent forth across the sea of stars. Soon I would awaken from this dream that was something more than just a simple dream, and the mundane task of daily living would begin anew. But I remembered that I had been instructed to pass on to others what had been passed on to me. This story I have now shared, is how I chose to honor this.
A Parable in the Form of a Dream
Part One: The Road Less Traveled
I dreamed this strange dream recently. It went like this: I was walking along this old road, silently contemplating all manner of deep things. As I went along, I saw that the road was tree-lined with great pines and mighty oaks. It seemed familiar to me, as if I had been there before long, long ago but had forgotten about the place until now. The road branched at one point and in the distance along it I saw a great city that I knew was a holy and sacred place. I could not bring myself to walk towards it, so I continued upon my way towards a deeper and deeper trail that ran into the nearby woodlands, which soon turned into a deep forest. Only the trail I was walking on made any headway through what was otherwise a rather dense area, thick with underbrush and fallen branches from the lofty trees all about. I looked up at the sky through the trees, and I saw it was midday, but that the sky itself was clouding over and darkening the land. In time, a great mist of white vapors rolled in from the deepest part of the forest, which lay to the southeast. Soon, I was hopelessly lost… for when the mist closed in, the trail vanished from sight. Everything did, and the world became white and cloudy, like some purgatory reserved for lost souls. There was nothing before me, or anything all around me. All I could hope to do was walk onwards, and hope for some sign of the world I had left behind. My steps became hurried, and I began to panic. My heart was racing! The mists soon retreated, but what had been revealed before me could not have been the same woods where I had been walking. Rather, it was a dark and frightening place. A forest, yes, but one with trees as massive as the spires of a cathedral! Trees with branches twisted like unto claws, which reached out as if to ensnare trespassers. It was a primal place with giant toadstools, thick and leafy plants, and also no sign of the sky no matter how far above my head I strained to look. I was too deep within these natural confines to ever go back, and before me there were trails going off in every direction. Whichever one had borne me hither I could never be assured to know! And so I picked one of the countless directions at random and began to walk down the chosen path. Though this place was dark and somewhat sinister, I felt a strange comfort… for I knew there was a reason I had been brought here. A nameless destiny, which I could not fathom at that moment! The perils of wild places of this magnitude are well known, and to have strayed so far from civilization was strange. Even so… where was the danger that my mind should have perceived? Cities are far more dangerous, I thought to myself, with their thieves and corruption. I remembered my faith had not been what it should have, and that this was some test to find me either worthy or wanting. But who would be my judge out here? I heard the cry of strange birds with savage cries, and I heard the distant baying of wolves. Yet I saw neither birds nor beasts themselves. They may as well have been ghosts trying to commune with the living from their graves, for all I could tell. I was on a pilgrimage of sorts, to purify my soul and find some reason in what I thought to be a mad and chaotic creation. This was what I kept telling myself, but it sounded like a lie. What was I really seeking?
Part Two: The Princess of The Forest
There was comfort indeed in the primeval forest through which I journeyed. Every once in a while, I glimpsed a canopy of green leaves high, high above… and golden shafts of sunlight would occasionally pierce the darkness of that unknown realm. There was a spirit to it all, a guiding force I could almost reach and out and touch with my thoughts. It was a connection to divinity quite unlike anything one might find in a church or temple of any kind. I imagined God somehow dwelling amongst the trees, and that the peace I sensed was of blessed design. Did angels walk unseen in the shadows just past my vision? Where was the fear of the unknown that most would have in my position! It was not within me. Then, it hit me as if with a delayed reaction… I was amidst some enchantment, but still lost nonetheless. And that, in and of itself: was dangerous! My thoughts had begun that nervous descent, when I spied a child walking towards me out of the shadows on the horizon of the woodland trail I tread. She was a young girl in those years just before her teens, on the cusp of becoming a proper maiden. Her clothing told me she was of some noble or wealthy background, and her bearing was somewhat mature for her age. Who could she be, I mused, and what bizarre turnings of chance brought her to cross my path in such a place as this? She was adorned further with jewelry and makeup, and seemed like a child princess. Yet, as soon as she caught sight of me, she acted more childlike and began to skip along the rough path towards where I stood watching, wondering. She started to laugh, to sing, and to speak with imaginary things that were not there. Was she truly that innocent, or was she mad? It was not unreasonable for children who suffer some darker turn of fortune in life, be it from loss or from some unfathomable hurt, to retreat into the realm of imagination or fancy to escape their innermost torments. Something had driven here out here, into the wildest parts of the land… and I could not imagine what. I should have called out to her, greeted her, or at least asked how she was doing. But I did not! I felt frozen, unable to move even my lips to form a word. Had I the ability to do so, what words would even be appropriate for such a circumstance as this? I had to think, had to reason and break out of the strange reverie that held me spellbound. Then, my compassion for the little girl overcame whatever had put me under that glamour, and I spoke to her at last. “My dear child,” I began, “It would seem that I have lost my way in these woods, and that you yourself may well have also. Even so, mayhap you know this place better than I… and so, could you be so kind as to tell me if yonder path leads out from here? Further, if you are: in fact, troubled at being so far from your own home, for whatever the reason, then gladly would I render aid unto you if possible. What say you?” and she answered in a perhaps playful tone of voice, saying: “Surely you jest with me, for I am not troubled at all! This is my home, and it would be strange indeed if I knew not the ways of my own dwelling-place.” Then she laughed and giggled, and I saw the sparkle of mirth in her eyes that told me she was not mad after all, but merely innocent enough to believe whatever fantasy she had concocted about this being her home. She continued, as if needing to clarify her words further: “My home is many places, and so this one will do as much as any, will it not?” I nodded in agreement, for I felt like the stranger here, and she added: “If you seek to find your way, then I can direct you aright. Follow me closely, sir!”
Part Three: My True Name, Spoken
I walked behind her until we came a good distance from where we met, and she rushed back to me and put my hand in her own, insisting that I maintain our clasp and not stray from one another’s company, no matter what. We walked thus, hand in hand, and as we took a leisurely pace she asked me what I did not tell her my name. I tried to think of it, but my name would not come to my mind… instead, many names from many times past came bubbling up from the recesses of my soul. “I cannot tell it to you. It is… too much to tell.” I explained. The child then said rather serenely to me: “That is alright, for I already know who you are. You know me as well, but not in this guise.” And I looked long and hard at her, trying to force the memory of her to come to the fore. Her hair was golden, and worn in long, graceful curls that cascaded down to frame a lovely oval face. The style of her hair had bangs, at the forehead, and she wore a crimson ribbon with a single red rose attached to it, to hold back her precious locks. Her ruby lips and pale green eyes held me spellbound. It was her eyes that seemed most familiar to me of all… and something had captivated me when I gazed into them. Her skin was pink and smooth, and she looked very much like a doll. Yet, she was a living and breathing girl with a real heart and soul. A familiar one, even if I could not immediately place it! As I studied the child, she ceased to walk and looked back at me, returning the stare I had held her in prior. She was searching for something… but what? It was something within me, some spark of what she remembered of me from long ago. She smiled broadly, seeming to find what she sought. Then, the wind howled and a chill breeze blew hard through the trees all about us. The scant sunlight vanished, and I suspect it was night at last, for I heard the light chirping of crickets and the call of those night-birds which haunt such climes as these. The woods grew dark, so very dark, and I was happy to be holding the child’s hand after all. We walked for a distance that was impossible to guess at, and I saw some distant illumination from fireflies. Suddenly, there was a soft glow that radiated forth from the little girl herself! The light was of her very spirit, and she glowed with it beautifully. “Tell me now…” she whispered to me in a sad and gentle tone: “Tell me what name you will give unto God, when He asks you for it in the hour when you must stand before Him. You have so many, but do you know which one God would recognize you by the most? Say not that He is God and therefore He will know, for that is not the point, nor the purpose behind my asking!” I then searched my soul for the answer, and I spoke the most ancient of all my names. It left a terrible sensation within me, and I wished I had not uttered it aloud. The little girl seemed pleased, and then stated: “Do not deny what it is that you are… and whom it is that you are… for were you told that doing so is humility? It is a false humility to deny oneself! God never commanded you to discard your very soul. Why choose to do so, then? It is man, who would have you believe you are less than the totality of your true self. You cannot vanquish the past by denying it. Doing so will only vanquish you, for there is strength in truth. Embrace the truth, and gain strength.” I then stared dumbfounded into those sparkling green eyes of the radiant child’s, and I slowly said: “I revealed unto you, what I would have told only the most high. Our souls are linked together, but something feels wrong about all of this… for you have yet to reveal your own name to me!”
Part Four: The Light in The Forest
The unearthly child’s face then seemed to be of some heavenly countenance, and her manner became imperious. I became afraid, and said unto her: “I know not even what you are, nor if you be an angel, a goddess, or some errant spirit. What if you prove to be a devil or demon taking on the disguise of one so blessedly fair? Surely I was then unwise to grant you power over me by revealing what only God should be told. I regret my weakness, and I pray God will show mercy upon me for it!” I let go of her hand, and I started to walk away from her. I started back down that long path by which we had come, and I did not look back. Suddenly, I felt her hand in mine and she was simply there beside me once again. As if I had never been apart from her at all. “Your fear…” she began to state, “Your fear, is what spoke to me just now. It is also what drove you to abandon your own self-knowledge and hide in the present era… when you are beyond such things. None may change or alter the past, for it is the canvas of history itself. And the future is unknown. Consider this well: in coming here, to me, are you lost or are you found? Say not that it was I who came to you, for I was here ere ever you set out upon the paths that brought you hither. Those mists were created by your own fears, and just as they parted the closer you came to me… so too can those same fears be banished by simple trust. Trust in me, and you shall be saved!” I gave in at last, for I saw only wisdom in her words and no trace of deception after all. “Very well, sweet child… I place my trust in you. Lead me from fear and from being lost. Show me the way!” And then it happened. The glow of the girl became so bright, that she outshone even the stars of a midnight sky. The moon dimmed before it, and the sun would have been rivaled by it. I averted my eyes, bowed my head to the earth itself, and my hand in hers tingled with warmth and power. A light filled the forest, which was not of the mortal world, and in the sky there was but one single star that held a similar appearance to that glow. I beheld all that had been hidden from view before, and I spied things in the forest that were spirits, angels, and things that had no names at all. Here was the aura of a truly divine being, and when the angelic little girl next spoke her voice had become that of an adult woman… a voice that was at once peaceful and commanding. She transformed as she opened her mouth thusly, and what she became was something androgynous and more beautiful than anything of mere mortal feminine beauty. I felt pure love, compassion, and understanding from her… from it… and I smelled the distinct scent of roses. “In trusting me, you have allowed yourself to see me as I truly am, not just as I would deign to appear!” and when she said that unto me, I knew that I had only been deceiving myself. She was right all along, and in accepting myself, and her, I was brought closer to God. She continued to speak, saying: “I said that I would direct you aright, and so I shall show you a path. It is not the same as the one you walked before coming here, but it is the road you shall travel for all your days henceforth. You began on it when first you could not bring yourself to approach that city, and when you rejected the hypocritical holiness of established faith. Worship with me here, then, for these trees are the true columns of God’s house. This place is my temple to the most high, wherein I myself was revered of old. Whereas before I could not look upon her, I now could not look away from the angel who spoke unto me. The light was no longer blinding.
Part Five: An Angelic Ascension
I learned her true name, just as she had learned mine. We had both known one another all along, and this mystery I must keep. Her star glowed on high, just as she glowed here below. “I am your teacher, your illuminator.” She explained. “Now you bear those titles, for the wisdom I have bequeathed unto you, you shall share with others who lack the light.” I was then baptized in her radiance, brought within that nimbus of light and purity. “I was wrong about you.” I told her, “You are no devil or demon of any kind.” It was then that she oddly chose to correct me. “I am those things, as well as all the blessed things you could ever love. Such is the nature of life, that all things that exist have this dual nature of darkness and light. Think not that, because you see my light, that I have no darkness within me.” And having seen into my own innermost dark side, I knew she spoke truly when she said that. I was taken by her: to a stone circle like unto Stonehenge, and there she gave into my charge a simple wood wand topped with an emerald… and she also gave me a circlet which was Egyptian in design. I donned the circlet and took up the wand, whilst around my neck was an amulet in the shape of a serpent swallowing its’ own tail. The angel then spoke unto me, saying: “Here is where, on the morning, you shall be delivered back to your waking life once again. Until then, attend me and conduct the rites that I instruct you to perform. I am Glory, I am Love, and I am Light. Be not afraid, for we are kindred in every way.” And I was not afraid. The illuminated night seemed to lose any terrors it might have possessed before, and the old stones seemed to pulse and breathe with a life of their own. Chanting came from the stones, and I saw the shades of others who had worshipped there since time immemorial. I heard many of my old names spoken, and I knew that once upon a time men mistook me for a god. I laid the emerald wand down upon the altar stone at the center of the circle, and in a single instant I could recall much that had been lost to me previously. Illumination, it is called, when one awakens from the slumbers of their own ignorance. Ere the coming of the morning, I had indeed been freed from the bondage that comes from a lock of knowledge. The angel took me into her arms, and I became much like unto her in appearance. Androgynous and beautiful, beyond human conceptions of such notions! And twin angels flew to the heavens, where the planets and stars are, and we flew to places that of old were special to us. I came unto the holy world whose name was known to prophets of a certain era, and I saw the ruins that dotted its’ surface. Then, we journeyed to Mars, and there I saw only desolation for as far as the eye could see. I saw traces of the past, but they were hidden well. At length, we returned to Earth and were drawn once more to the circle of stones where our celestial ascension had begun. The angel and I were locked in a tender embrace, our lips kissing and our hands caressing one another. Slowly, time passed and she reverted to her former childlike form, even as I became just as human once more as I typically am in everyday life. Morning was dawning, and the morning star was brighter than ever. It had been her star, and I felt its’ power being sent forth across the sea of stars. Soon I would awaken from this dream that was something more than just a simple dream, and the mundane task of daily living would begin anew. But I remembered that I had been instructed to pass on to others what had been passed on to me. This story I have now shared, is how I chose to honor this.
Published 15th Jan 2012
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