Gate: Nine of Cups
I entered the vision gate and found myself in a verdant forest beneath a waning moon. I had only walked a few paces through dense and thorny underbrush when suddenly, ahead in the woods, I heard the sound of a horn blowing mournfully. Arhoooooo, arhooooooo. It drifted through the trees, summoning the spirits in the woods but for what purpose I did not know.
Compelled by its mysterious power, I moved towards the sound and discovered a large company of elves riding on horses as quickly as shadows beneath the trees. They were headed directly towards me and I experienced a momentary panic at their approach.
I began to move out of the way with some idea of hiding behind or within one of the many trees nearby but, before I could run, one of the riders grabbed me by the upper arm as he raced by and pulled me up on the horse behind him. “Welcome to the Great Hunt!” he said as we barreled forward through the darkness.
“Is that what this is?” I said. “I didn’t realize that was the source of the horn’s call or I may have wandered the other way. What exactly are we hunting? If it is some helpless forest creature or, worse, a mortal, I don’t want any part of it.”
“Calm yourself, forest wanderer,” said the elf. “My people hunt nothing this night. We ride together beneath the trees for the love of it and the feel of the wind in our hair. Be welcome to our gathering.”
The host of the Great Hunt didn’t move like riders of flesh and blood for they didn’t go around trees or other woodland obstacles. Though their bodies and mounts looked as solid as anything on earth, they were incorporeal and passed through the landscape as easily as forms made of mist and starlight. I relaxed into the hypnotic movements and began to enjoy the ride among the elves, gazing up at the moon as it was revealed and then hidden again through the upper branches of the forest canopy.
“What is your name?” I asked the rider as we rode through a small hill. “My name is Heidi and I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I am called Oberon. My mother thought that name sounded appropriate for a king but I fear she dreamed above her station,” he said with a laugh. “There is very little that is king-like about me.”
“What is it that makes a king, a king?” I mused. “Is it an object like a status symbol? An accident of birth?”
“I would say it’s a way of moving through the world and how one treats those around him,” Oberon said. “Frankly, I have given up on the idealized role of kings and leaders in general. I have yet to see someone embody what I believe a king should be.”
“Oh, then you are not the leader of this host?” I said. “With a name like yours, one can forgive me for making assumptions.”
The elf gave a long sigh. “It’s a common enough misconception, you are forgiven,” he said. “Though there is one among us whom I would follow into the depths of hell itself. Royalty travels at the front of our host, Heidi. Can you see the glow?” I looked where Oberon indicated and far ahead, leading the riders, there was a bright light emanating from someone who shone like a star moving upon the surface of the earth. “You can go speak to the blue bloods if that is what you desire,” Oberon said. “I suppose that they would have more to say to you than I.”
I considered this briefly. “As brightly as that spirit shines, I would rather remain with you,” I said. “I believe there is a reason you and you alone drew me into this hunt. Let us share our knowledge and understanding with each other, if that is agreeable, and maybe together we can learn this reason.”
Oberon broke away from the tireless host and began to ride in a different direction through the forest. His horse never seemed to tire and he easily negotiated every obstacle that appeared in our path. After we crossed a wide and quickly flowing river, the elf and I dismounted from the horse on its far side.
“Welcome to my home and hearth,” said the elf and he led me into a low doorway in the riverbank.
The interior of Oberon’s abode was actually a wide and low-ceilinged stone cavern that cut deeply into the hillside. In the center of this underground chamber was a clear, flowing spring that rose from the earth and created a circular, reflective pond. The water was perfectly still and a hole was cut in the stone ceiling above the pond. The moon, shining from far above, reflected on the smooth surface of the water at its very center. Around this pool, two stone chairs, carved out of the rock of the floor, sat facing each other. Beyond this, I observed shelves of books built into the walls of the cavern and other personal possessions of Oberon tucked here and there throughout.
“You have a lovely home. Though it’s beneath the earth, the openness to the sky negates any feelings of being enclosed in a tomb,” I said. “I especially like your book collection. What do you do for a living, Oberon?”
“A living? What’s that?” the elf said.
“I mean, what do you do as a profession to help others?” I clarified.
“I tell my people’s futures in the moon-kissed waters of my home,” Oberon said. “I am a stargazer and a fortune teller among other roles.” He walked to one of his book shelves and removed a tome. “I saw long ago that you would be coming to see me and I wrote it down. Let’s see, it’s here somewhere.” He ran his finger down the center of the journal’s page. “Ah, here it is,” he said. “A child of man with golden hair…” He paused and looked at my short, dark hair cut. “Inaccuracies already. The future is a tricky thing.” Oberon went to a wooden desk set near the wall and took out a cream-colored feather quill. He hastily corrected the page.
“A child of man with dark hair will come to you on the night of the wild ride,” he read. “She is a traveler of the inner worlds and her mind will be filled with questions, some of which you will be capable of answering and others that you will not. You will teach her what you can and she will have a lesson to share with you in return.”
He closed the book and led me to one of the stone chairs beside the moon pool. “Well then, Child of Man, ask me what you have come to ask,” the elf said. “We cannot keep our destinies waiting forever.”
“It must have taken you a while to carve this home from the rock of the hill,” I said. “How long have you been reading the stars next to the river, Oberon?”
“How long..” the elf tapped his chin with his hand in thought. “I have been in this place since the animals could speak and the men could not. This may seem like a long time to someone like yourself, but it is not nearly as long as my mother’s timeless existence. She can remember the time before there were stars in the sky.”
“It must have been very dark indeed with no stars,” I said. “I feel fortunate that I was born in the time of celestial light. Do you have any other names so that I can learn more of your essential nature?”
“Someone who has lived as long as I have has borne many names,” the elf said. “I am Oberon, Star Gazer, Fortune Teller, and Rune Caller, as well as many others.”
“I wish I had a few more names to describe myself,” I said. “I like my name well enough but sometimes I feel like the spirits I meet in the other worlds want a further window into my nature that I am not yet prepared to give. I don’t remember them yet.”
“Self knowledge comes in time,” Oberon said. “Be patient with yourself, Heidi. You will find both your way of moving through the world as well as ways to name it. One does not have to read your star chart to know this.”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence,” I said. “Someday, when I know my secret names, I will share them with you as you so freely gave yours to me today. If you could teach me one further lesson, what would it be?”
The elf filled his hands with water from the moon pool and it remained curiously dark and still in his palms. “Cup your hands, Heidi,” he instructed. When I did so, Oberon deftly poured the liquid from his hands into mine. “Look deeply into the water and clear your mind of any errant thoughts or emotions. Tell me, what do you see?”
I focused, making my mind and heart as still as the water in my hands, and was surprised to see the waning moon reflected clearly on its surface though I did not sit beneath the opening carved into the ceiling. Then, the image shifted and I saw myriad stars shining from the void of creation. “I see stars set in the night sky,” I said aloud. “Their light drives away all shadows and nameless fears in the dark.”
“And what else?” the elf said. “Excellent start, keep going.”
I gazed further and the water became like a mirror into another place. The stars faded from the mirror and I found myself staring into a reflection of my own eyes. “I see my eyes,” I said. “As the stars shone brightly from the void, so too do I try to banish all shadows with my perception of reality. I wish to see as the Creator sees and to know the patterns of existence as well as the one who made them.”
“Keep looking,” Oberon said. “There are further lessons here for you, Heidi. Keep looking.”
My eyes in the moon water blinked as I did. Then, I moved into their depths within the watery mirror and I saw more stars, galaxies, and the movement of the heavens above the earth. “I see the stars dancing in my eyes,” I said. “The universe moves within my spirit and all that is within myself is without. Reality is far more interconnected than what I have allowed myself to believe.”
“This interconnectedness is one of the great mysteries of the universe and how I tell the future to those who seek my wisdom,” Oberon said. “I do not gaze at the actual heavens or at the bodies of those in front of me, I look beyond simple forms into the movement of the stars within their spirit. Though others have claimed that these celestial motions are too subtle or imprecise to measure, I have found if you are just patient, patterns are revealed to you in time.” Oberon rose from his stone chair and pointed at the wall where he had a drawing of the Tree of Life hewn into the rock’s face. “I think that you have learned some of these patterns in your own studies with the maps of creation and your visionary work.”
“I also spent a serious amount of time upon the waters of creation, gazing into the skies above the Divine Mother’s realm,” I said. “Her fairies have taught me a great deal and I have much to be grateful for.”
“It is good that you recognize the contributions of those you meet in the myriad worlds. Gratitude is a bridge-building virtue that invites other spirits to share more of their essential natures for the benefit of all. Now, Child of Man, you will answer the question that I have for you since I have shared some of my secrets with you,” Oberon said. He seated himself again in the stone chair and placed his folded hands upon his lap. “Who was it who taught you how to walk the inner worlds?” he said. “Who was your teacher?”
“I read many books about the art of going into trance and mind-clearing exercises like meditation or visualization,” I said. “Their instructions were like child’s play to me because I found the practices as easy as breathing. I seem to have an innate talent for it.”
“I find it highly improbable that you could reach this place with a few books on the subject and some deep breathing,” the elf said, looking mildly irritated. “You cannot lie to me, not in my place of power, so don’t try to protect your teacher. I will not harm them, whoever they are. But I must know, who taught you the secret of opening the gates?”
“I swear to you, Oberon, I taught myself through the writings that western mystics left behind. I’ll give you a few of the authors’ names and maybe that will solve the mystery,” I said. “I found the knowledge of Israel Regardie to be quite helpful for this project. He gave the arcane method of gate building and examples of his pathwalkings so that I learned the storytelling manner that spirits speak to the psyche. Through the writings of Dion Fortune, I explored the use of specific symbols to customize the gates to the worlds and paths I wished to walk through. I improvised upon this information, using memoirs and informational books about a protocol called ‘remote viewing’ to build the belief in my heart that there are other ways of perceiving reality beyond the five senses. With a little bit of practice, unshakeable faith in the existence of the unseen, and a few educational failures, the practice became as easy as imagining a door and then walking through it. I believe others have this ability too; they just aren’t aware of it yet.”
“Gaze into my eyes and answer me one last time,” the elf said. “I need to know the truth of your ability and I believe you when you say you improvised upon the work of others. I am most curious to know where this improvisation came from.” Oberon took my face between his hands and drew my eyes close to his hazel ones. His eyes began to take up all of my vision like I was gazing into the water mirror cupped in my hands again. “Who is the source of your inspiration, Heidi?”
“I taught myself through the written word and practical experience,” I said, ensorcelled by the elf’s eyes. “There is no one else’s influence in this matter other than those who have been with me my entire existence and I do not know who this may be. I wish I knew who helped me reach this point, for I would thank them and, if I ever do discover this truth, I will thank them then and tell you their identities.”
Oberon rose abruptly, breaking the charm. “What is your intention then, one-who-taught-herself?” he said. “The type of knowledge you are recording may be used for good or ill.”
“I’m sorry if I have angered you,” I said. “I came to this world to learn the true nature of this place, myself and you. Any secrets I discover will be used for the benefit and evolution of any who desire their own spiritual development. Through self knowledge and unconditional love, I believe we can change the worlds for the better, all of them.”
“And will you teach others this way?” the elf asked. “What if their intentions are not your own?”
“I will share what I have learned with those who seek it,” I said. “I am not a judge of the hearts of others, only my own. I cannot control what they do with the knowledge and wisdom given to them, only what I do with it. I choose to believe only those who have the desire to make the worlds a better place for the good of all will find understanding in the messages I share. Otherwise, the stories will be like dreams from beyond whose spirit-changing symbolism remains veiled to ill-intentioned minds and hearts. Why do you ask?”
From somewhere in the room, Oberon produced a wooden covering and slammed it down over the spring, covering the moon’s reflection. “They will come here and ask their pointless questions of me,” he said, anger flooding his tone. “Who will answer my questions, Heidi? Who will instruct me that I may better myself? I despise mortals and their endless longing for knowledge of futures that are as short as a grasshopper’s span and as meaningless.” The elf ran from the cavern as speedily as a leaf upon the breeze and was gone.
“Oberon! I’m sorry!” I called after him but he did not respond to my cry. Wrestling with a vague sense of disappointment in the state of the inner and outer worlds, I sat and ruminated in Oberon’s home until I found myself levitating through the hole in the cavern’s ceiling, propelled by a power outside of my own.
The unseen influence caused my form to dissipate, casting my formless consciousness above the trees in the moonlight, dancing me through the leaves of the upper branches as nothing more corporeal than mist. Then, as moon-lit mist, I was drawn onwards through the woods until I was thrown into a clearing filled with elves and given back my own body. The merry company were feasting and singing and I recognized some of them from the Great Hunt.
I found myself in the presence of the bright light that I had seen before and it emanated from a beautiful elf who glowed with an inner brilliance, illuminating the glade with her presence. Next to this being, I beheld a spirit wrapped in shadow. “Hail, Great Ones,” I said and bowed my head in respect. “Forgive my intrusion. I was a forest mist and suddenly I am not.”
“What brings you to this place? Why do you interrupt our feast?” asked the glowing elf. “Not all are welcome here, you see.”
“I did not mean to interrupt any merriment,” I said. “I am a harmless being from another world who wishes to know the true nature of this place and yourself. Please call me, Heidi.”
“I am Titania, Queen of this host,” the elf said. “I am Laughter, I am Star Light, I am Dance. Move with me, Heidi, and know my true nature.” So saying, Titania rose from her wooden throne and rushed down its few steps to me. Grabbing my arms, she spun me in circles in the company of her folk until I was as breathless and laughing as she was.
Then, Titania gestured behind her at the shadowed presence. “That is my husband, Oberon,” she said. “He is my king and my heart, also called Star Gazer by those who come seeking his wisdom.” The shadows parted to reveal the elf from the river cavern and he frowned at me in disapproval.
“My Queen, why are you so free with this one?” Oberon said. “She intends to loose humankind upon our hidden spaces and to freely allow them to walk in our midst whether they merit such access or not.”
“Is this true?” Titania asked. “Why would you visit this calamity upon us when we were nothing but welcoming and kind to your unexpected presence?”
“May the Creator of All and Love speak through me, their messenger. Hear and attend unto my words. King Oberon and Queen Titania, if it is your nature to be secretive with your knowledge, then know it is mine to be free with it,” I said. “I am a gate maker, a way finder, a path breaker. I find a way when there is no way and then I make a bridge so that others can follow. I am also a light bringer, one who banishes the shadow.” With those words, I burst into flames made of moonlight and mist. “What is hidden, I bring to light. What is hurting, I help heal. This is who I am. What message I deliver to others, I can also speak to you, freely and gladly,” I said, as the flames further wreathed my body. “Behold, I give unto you a blessing from the heavens for the greatest good for all.”
My physical form grew in the woodland glade, fueled by the energy pouring from my heart, until I was as large as a giant and a cup appeared in my burning hand. I reached this cup towards the waning moon in the sky and the moon replicated itself. A mirror image appeared alongside the original and it descended into my cup becoming captured on the surface of the liquid it contained. Then, spirit flames fading, I grew small again and knelt before the elven thrones as I handed the cup to Oberon.
“Here is a message given to me for you. Drink from my cup, great king,” I said. “The powers that be have drawn down the moon for you into it. Their gift represents reawakening the imagination and your faith in their eternal existence, which is a reason why you cannot travel to the farthest worlds as you once did. This drink will restore that unbounded existence to you and then you can walk where you will, when you will, and you will no longer desire to hinder others from this ability either. What has been freely shared with you, may also be shared with others without fear. The Light Congress ensures that this is so for, under their guiding influence, the paths protect themselves. Drink, they say, and learn the truth of their words for yourself as I have.”
“Who is The Light Congress?” Oberon said. “Why should I trust ones I do not know?”
“You know me, King Oberon, and have viewed at least part of the universal pattern within my very spirit,” I said. “I have only recently joined their number but, if you trust the Creator’s servants at all and I think you do from your ability to read their hidden secrets in the stars, then please accept this gift from all of us and remember the true nature of the worlds through your own experience of them.”
The elven king considered my words for a moment in that sacred space. “I will drink the moon from your cup,” Oberon said at last. “If this message is a lie from the shadows in an effort to bind me, there shall ever be enmity between my people and this Light Congress until time ends. However, if you speak true, I shall give a gift of equal worth to you and those you speak on behalf of. So say I, King of the Woodland Elves and their attendant stars.” Then, Oberon raised the cup to his lips, took a sip and offered it to his queen.
As Titania took the cup, Oberon suddenly disappeared and a chorus of gasps went up from the watching host of the glade. The queen herself inhaled in shock. “What have you done with the lord of my heart?” she said. “I cannot be without him in this world or any other.”
“Great queen, he will return in moments,” I said. “He is walking in another world. I do the same but always come back to those I love.”
Even as I finished speaking, Oberon reappeared. He smiled as he kissed his queen, then ran from his throne to extend a hand to me, raising me from where I yet knelt on the ground. “Your cup sent me to my mother’s threshold and we spoke face-to-face in her primal realm until we had no further words to speak,” he said. “No other act could have convinced me of the truth of your words more than this. Here is my promised gift unto you, messenger, with my thanks.” Then, he raised my hand above his head in triumph.
“My people!” he yelled to the observing crowd. “My friends, my family, my anointed ones! This spirit and those of The Light Congress will henceforth be known as friends to elves and entitled to all of the honors and glory that such a designation entails, so says I, King Oberon, Shadow Walker and Moon Son.”
“With imagination and unconditional love as our guides, we, the elves of the woodlands, will return to the places we abandoned in our fear of the great shadow we discovered there,” the elf continued. “We will fight against the darkness once more because this messenger has restored my faith and hope in the future. Furthermore, my mother sends her blessings to us all from her sacred seat and bids you, her progeny, to shine with the energies of both the sun and moon. Beware, enemies of love and creation, she says, for the elves have remembered our power and we shall never be bound by fear again.” The crowd exploded with joy and celebration as the musicians among them began a song, compelling all in the glade to dance.
“Thank you, Heidi,” Oberon said to me softly. “May well you fare until we meet again and you dance through your timeless existence in peace and joy.”
“I bid you the same. To be honest, I find all of this attention mildly embarrassing, King Oberon,” I said. “However, I am glad that the message I brought to this place could be of service to you and your host. Peace to you and your queen and may your hearts be free from the shadows.”
I blinked and the exultant elves disappeared from my sight. I found myself floating in the moon-lit air above Oberon’s cave once more, moved by a will outside of my own. I sunk through the cavern’s sky window until I was levitating above the wooden covering that the elf king had placed upon his moon blessed spring to keep its power hidden and contained.
Whatever unseen power was guiding my descent caused my feet to break the protective spring covering apart as if it was made of shadow and mist rather than wood, and I sank into the fathomless depths of the waters of the Star Gazer.
There my vision ended.
The Light Congress 