Rob:             We are on a path of white chalk cut into a plain, and going straight off to the horizon.

Barry:          In the distance there is a low hill, or mountain range lit by a full moon. There is a man close by with two faces. The side facing us is severe and grim. “Beware”, he says, “you will need your staffs on this journey. Stay on the path”.

Rob:             We travel down then up on the glowing path, our feet are dusty.

Barry:          A dry wind sweeps the landscape. I hear voices on either side calling for help. There are scorpions around the path, they shine black in the moonlight.

Rob:             Ahead on a gentle hill, a single tree with two trunks, and one beam, which makes the Tau. Leaning against it is the Fool, wearing a mask. Like the man at the gate, it has two faces. He looks through the severe face, and asks will we not help the lost ones on the plains?

Barry:          It’s a long road, people deserve our help.

Rob:             It is beyond us, if we step off the path we may become lost, only by following the path in these early stages can we be safe.

Barry:          The Fool asks what power our staffs have. They centre us, like the maypole, they defend, they support, they are the travellers instrument.

I can see the figures come to the side and call to us.

Rob:             The staff is cut from a tree. The Tree. It is divided into ten and is painted at the bottom with the gold of Malkuth. The top is white. The staff is our measure.

Barry:          The figures reach out to regain the path, they became lost by leaving the path.

Rob:             Hold my hand and reach out with your staff, I will do the same. Shadowy hands grasp the staffs. Pull!

Barry:          There is resistance and some fall off.

Rob:             One comes onto the path, a young man, he looks wrecked and weary.

Barry:          I pull an old woman. She has searched for the moon all her life. It became cloudy and she lost her way. She regrets the waste of time. We should not travel the path if it is cloudy, instead we should make camp.

Rob:             They go back.

We should pay attention to the dust that covers us says the Jester. We pick up ‘dust’ from other people and entities. It accumulates.

Barry:          He asks what we have in our pouches. I reply that we have money for the Ferryman.

Rob:             I have a circular loaf, divided in four.

Barry:          These are gifts from Sandalphon.

Rob:             We were right to show compassion, but we must be careful, do not see ourselves as white knights for that is a dangerous path

Barry:          Do not give in to temptation.

Rob:             Balance is the key. Action in union enabled us to help. Alone we would have been pulled from the path.

Barry:          “Do not become lost. Know your path. Power lies within you and your staff”. He smiles.

Rob:             Reflect on the significance of the washing of the feet.

We are closer to the mountains. Ahead the path enters a cave.

Barry:          Inside is a large expanse of water, with an island. On it is a large white bull standing beneath a pillar of marble. It cannot leave the island. Around it are the same scorpions as flank the path. It will be sacrificed, from its blood, new life will spring. The path goes on.

Rob:             The path goes to the island. The white bull changes as we watch and becomes Isis, and then the Moon. Silver light picks out the path beneath the water. There is a bowl by the side of the lake into which we place our coins. The boat appears with the Ferryman. We board and the boat goes via the path to the other side.

Barry:          The water behind us is choppy and that in front is calm. We land on the island.

Rob:             Before us is the Moon/Isis.

Barry:          We see her shadow, the dark Isis. She is the mask of emotion, she knows control and surrender, she is the bringer of life. She reaches for the marks on our staffs, the crescent and the horns of the bull. “Study the emotions.”

Rob:             “I am she who tells the crops to grow, who calls forth life from the dead earth. Through my reflected light is seen the Sun.”

Barry:          The Moon is Isis with a mirror of polished copper in her hands. We project our own reflections and dreams to the Moon. Sometimes the reflection is turned away – dark. The blinding light of the Moon face on the path. The parting words of Isis tell me to offer my dreams to the Moon, they might be reflected back to me.

Rob:             The Ferryman waits to take us back.

We reach the tree where the Jester stands juggling. I share the bread with you and the Jester, and throw the fourth piece onto the plain.

Barry:          The Jester seems happy and smiles.

Rob:             We go back to the Temple of Malkuth, where we wash the dust from our feet.

 

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