Gate: The Hierophant
I stepped through the vision gate and found myself on the back of a giant, black raven. She was flying high and fast through the mists and I clung to the bird’s back.
“Heidi,” she croaked. “You’re here. He has been waiting.”
“Who has been waiting?” I asked. The raven didn’t answer, but continued her flight towards the unknown. I looked over the side of the bird and saw green forests and blue oceans beneath me. We passed on and on through the mist.
Finally, the raven touched down at the base of a crumbling stone staircase, leading up the side of a mountain.
“Go now,” she squawked. “He has been waiting!” and left without another word.
I turned to the steps. As I strode up, the stone could hardly take my weight and it splintered and fractured at the slightest touch. “I require a guide for this place,” I said as I continued to struggle up the mountain.
There was a flash of color and a small lizard popped out of a hole in one of the steps. “Hello, Heidi!” said the creature. He ran up my body and wrapped himself around my neck.
“Hello again, Lickspittle,” I said. “What have you been up to since I last saw you?”
“Dwelling beneath the stars,” he answered. “Holding open the gates, building the bridges between this and that.”
“I thought you were a guardian…,” I said. But before I could finish my thought, there was a rumble from farther up the mountain and a small rock slide skipped past us and took out one whole side of the stairs. “Whoa…!” I exclaimed, nearly losing my balance.
Lickspittle wrapped himself more closely about my neck. “I am a guardian,” he replied. “And also a way through, a support beam, a lintel. You will make it up these steps safely because I am with you and I say that you will.”
“I’m fortunate to have you as my friend,” I said and the stairs solidified beneath me with Lickspittle’s words. We climbed upwards through the swirling mists until we reached the top of the mountain, upon which, a wide plateau, with a sweeping view of the ocean beyond, sat.
Along the edges of this clearing, the great stone carvings of Easter Island appeared, standing in a row with their faces turned towards the ocean. “I’ve seen pictures of these statues,” I told Lickspittle as we approached them. “But I’ve never had the chance to see them on Earth.”
As we drew close to the statues, a hum began from deep within the rock. Putting my ear to the side of one of the stones, the sound became even clearer and resolved itself into a deep, bone shaking, OHM. All of the stones were singing and, when their sounds combined, it created a chorus of OHM.
“The gate is open,” Lickspittle declared. I looked around the empty plateau.
“I see no gate,” I said.
“You need to look at it a different way,” said the lizard and he crawled off my neck. Lickspittle ran to the last statue in the line and then disappeared into the side of it. I followed my friend into the solid stone.
As I passed through the rock, the sound that I had heard created a pathway through the center of the stones that could be walked upon like a needle and thread passing through different layers of cloth. Lickspittle ran ahead of me down this path and reality flipped on its head for a moment. And, for a time, I could perceive nothing.
Then, the path resolved itself into a mixed seashell and stone staircase up the plateau. The Easter Island statues were no longer in a single line facing the ocean, but were lined up two-by-two on either side of this path and faced inwards. There was a stillness to this new place and nothing moved beyond the path, where the world was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable mist.
“Lickspittle!” I called. “Where are you?” He appeared and wrapped himself around my neck again. We continued down the path until we reached a throne at its end where a man sat, dressed in ceremonial robes. On his head, there was a replica of one of the Easter Island statues. It completely covered his features so I could see neither his face nor hair.
“Heidi,” he said and stood from his throne. It seemed for a moment as if I was surrounded by a crowd of island spirits and they all flung themselves to the ground as this being stood from his chair.
“Hail, Great One,” I said, inclining my head in respect. The being came closer to me.
“You do not worship me,” he said, displeased.
“No, I do not worship you,” I acknowledged and the crowd of prostrated worshippers vanished back into the mists from whence they came.
“That is unwise,” intoned the being and he raised his hand towards me. I felt, for just a moment, a pressure building behind my eyes and in my chest. There was an angry intrusion into my mind and it seemed as if the man was going to force me to my knees whether I willed it or not.
A hiss came from around my neck and Lickspittle threw himself to the ground, between me and the masked figure. He gave a growl that turned to a roar as his small body enlarged itself to become the size of a car. Suddenly, instead of a tiny lizard, my friend was a dragon and he prepared to launch himself at the threat.
The figure dropped his hand and the pressure in my chest vanished. “Clever of you, to bring a guardian,” he said.
I touched Lickspittle’s head to calm him and he returned to his usual size. “I am not accustomed to being threatened in my journeys,” I said. “Who are you?”
“I am Dream Within a Dream,” he replied and reached up to the stone mask upon his face. He removed it and beneath the mask, where there should have been a face, was only shifting shadows and darkness.
“My name is Heidi as you seem to know,” I said. “And I have come to learn of this place and yourself. Do you have another name, Dream Within a Dream?”
“Not one you would recognize or understand,” he said.
“You might be surprised,” I said. “Be that as it may- how did you know I was coming to see you?”
“I suspected you would come to retrieve these,” said the island lord. He reached into his robes and withdrew two familiar dice.
“Those are the Dice of Impossibility!” I exclaimed. “I gave them to Odin. How did they come to be in your possession?”
“The wandering fool came to me,” sneered Dream Within a Dream. “Because he could no longer have dreams of his own. He asked me to give him a dream so he could remember himself. I agreed, but only if he could give me something of great worth in return.”
The shadow being rolled the dice between his fingers in a smooth flourish. “These were far too precious to belong to the beggar god,” he continued. “I knew their true owner would come to claim them.”
I reached out my hand. “They are mine,” I said. “I would like them back, if you please.”
The lord put the dice back into his robes. “Only if you give me a dream in trade,” he said. “They belong to me now.”
“Well, I suppose that sounds fair,” I said. “What sort of dream do you desire?”
“A true one, a deep one, a dream of great power,” said Dream Within a Dream.
“I’ll give you a nightmare I had a few nights ago,” I said. “This is how it went:
I was walking through the house of a friend whom I love, surrounded by crowds of people whom I recognized but none of them were this man. I was living, working, eating, and sleeping in the house of this friend, but I never saw him and I became very sad because, even though it was his house, he was not there.
I started to feel alone, completely alone, within this crowd of people. I felt so alone, when the friend finally returned to his house, I did not recognize him. He was happy to see me but I had forgotten who I was or why I was there. I awoke from this dream, feeling hopeless and unhappy.”
As I spoke my dream, a mist flowed from my mouth and entered the shadows around the face of Dream Within a Dream. He inhaled deeply when I finished speaking and the last traces of the dream vanished.
“What is the purpose of dreams?” the lord asked as the shadows flashed and spun about his face.
“I thought I knew the answer to that question,” I replied. “But, the more I wander and see, the less I think I actually know. Tell me, Dream Within a Dream, what is the purpose of dreams?”
“To see before you see. To know before you know. To grow before you grow,” he replied. Then, he reached into his robes and withdrew my dice. “Tell me, Heidi, are there any other moments in your life when you feel alone in a crowd of people?”
“Sometimes I feel like that at work,” I replied. “Sometimes in my art and writing, I feel all alone. Sometimes, when I least expect it, I feel totally alone even when I am with others.”
The shadow being handed over the Dice of Impossibility. “Those who do this type of work are often alone,” he said. “It has always been this way for the dreamers of dreams and the walkers of the planes. Do you want to know the dream that I gave Odin in exchange for your dice?”
“If you wish to tell me,” I said.
The shadows around Dream Within a Dream’s face darkened. “I gave him a dream of being alone in a crowd of people, surrounded by those he knew in the house of a friend but feeling completely alone.” Lightning flashed across a suddenly darkened sky and the clap of thunder that followed made me jump in surprise. “You have cheated me, Heidi, by giving me back the dream I gave Odin as if it were your own.”
“It was my own,” I said, taken aback. “Perhaps Odin and I are more connected than I knew.”
“As a consequence of your trickery, we shall play a game together, you and I,” said Dream Within a Dream. “If I win, you will give me the Dice of Impossibility. If you win, I will give you your dice as well as my dice, the Dice of Dreams.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled forth two more dice formed of shifting shadows like his face. “The Dice of Dreams are very powerful. With them, the dreamer can shape the dreams that come rather than being shaped by them,” he said and held up his dice enticingly. “Do you dare to play this game with me?”
For a moment, I felt my Inner Child bubbling up from within my soul and she spoke through me. “Oh, I do love games!” she said excitedly and then the feeling faded and I was myself again. “But I do not know how to play.”
Dream Within a Dream passed beyond his throne to an oval table sitting in the crushed rock and seashell path between the statues. A chair sat on either side of this table. The lord sat on one side and gestured for me to take the other seat.
“A planes walker such as yourself will learn quickly,” he said. “Come now, don’t be shy.” With some hesitation, I sat.
I looked down at the table and gazed upon a gladiatorial arena such as the Romans had. Suddenly, I was falling and now, instead of looking down at the scene, I was in the scene. All around me, the Light Congress sprang into being, the countless animals, gods, and goddesses of my internal worlds.
Badger came from the crowd to stand at my side and asked, “What are we doing here, Heidi?” Across the arena, a shapeless, shifting mass of shadows appeared. The Light Congress and I faced this threat, together.
“Don’t be afraid, Badger,” I said, “We are playing a game.”
I heard a voice like thunder come from above the arena: “I roll first.” There was the sound of dice being thrown, then the shadows in the arena began to flutter and shift. They gathered into an enormous rhinoceros. She snorted a gray mist and threw herself towards me and my friends.
“Now you roll,” said the voice of Dream Within a Dream and again came the sound of dice. The Light Congress and I changed into a flock of brown birds with red bills. As the rhino charged us, we flew up into the air and then alighted on her back, where we began to pick lice and other small vermin off of her skin. The rhino stopped charging and held still to enjoy our attention. Then, she vanished, and the Light Congress and I changed back into ourselves.
“I knew you were a quick learner,” came the voice from above the arena. “That is how our game is played. Now, my roll…” The shadows flickered and darkened, shaping themselves into a slithering, black serpent that grew and lengthened, growing claws and spines along his neck. A black dragon spouting flames exploded out of the mist.
The dice rolled again. The Light Congress and I turned into living flames and I found myself going into the mouth of the dragon, flipping and dancing in the fires of its black belly. We tickled and spun along the dragon’s insides until with a cough of fire, we came flying out of the dragon’s mouth.
He roared and hissed, trying to find us among the mist of the arena. As living flames, we danced through the air, spinning and twisting ourselves into shapes like fireworks across the sky. The dragon became entranced with our movements.
Then, after one last display of color and fire, the Light Congress and I shaped ourselves into a shower of gold. We fell from the sky to lay on the ground beneath the dragon’s feet. He rubbed his leathery cheek along our metal, curled himself into a ball, and fell asleep upon his pile of gold.
I heard a cry of anger come from above the arena. “Final roll!” Dream Within a Dream yelled and the dice thundered once more. The shadows moved and shifted. The Light Congress and I faced ourselves across the arena, a shadow being for every one of us.
“What do we do now, Heidi?” asked Badger.
“Nothing rash,” I said. “We’ve faced our shadow selves before and fighting doesn’t seem to be the way. Everybody, stay calm!” I announced, seeing my friends were about to fling themselves on their shadows. From within the shadow army, there was movement, and a creature walked from among the ranks who had no light counterpart on my side.
“Servant of Love, I call you out!” he declared. Dream Within a Dream marched from out of the shadows. He held a huge spear made of pure darkness and he waved it at me threateningly. “Surrender now or I will destroy all of your friends. Starting with that one,” he gestured at my badger.
“I will neither surrender nor retreat,” I called back. “Who are you, that you have no light reflection among my Light Congress?”
Without another word, Dream Within a Dream threw his spear and I felt it go into my chest and come out the other side. I was pinned to the ground of the arena by the force of the throw.
“Where is your pet lizard now?” The creature jeered at me, pulling a sword made of shadow from his hip. He moved forward to strike at me in my weakened state. Lickspittle came running from out of the crowd of the Light Congress and, once more, threw himself between me and my attacker. He did not change size, but remained small and insignificant next to the threat of the Dream Within a Dream.
“You had your turn. It is our roll now,” said one of my friends and Venus herself came striding towards me. She knelt at my side and put her hand on the spear that had struck me down.
“Venus, thank heavens you’re here,” I said. “I don’t think I will survive this.”
“You must trust me,” the goddess said and I heard the dice roll one last time. Where Venus’s hands had touched, the spear changed to mist and my wounds healed. She went forward and laid her hands upon tiny Lickspittle. He changed into a serpent of light and flew upwards into the sky where he began to spin in hypnotic circles.
Then, Love began to speak:
“Once, there was a great snake who lived among the clouds and above the waters of the world. He created a bridge for the dreams that passed between the spirits above and the creatures below on the earth. He lived among the clouds, alone, for ages and ages of men, but he never felt lonely, until, one day, he paused in his flight to observe a tribe who lived by an ocean.”
“The sky snake watched their dance, their play, and their love. For the first time, watching this group of happy creatures, the snake felt alone in the cosmos. To combat this, he taught himself their language and sent them the very best dreams he could find.
Out of the love he felt for these people, the sky snake sent them dreams asking them to make statues made of stone that looked like the men of the ocean spaces, so no matter how many years passed or how many of them died, the great snake would always feel watched and part of their tribe.
But, even this was not enough. He wanted to know even more about this tribe of men. So, the great snake split a part of himself off into the shape of a tiny, insignificant lizard. As a lizard, he could live with the men and dwell with them and pretend to be one of them.”
Within the arena, the shadow that was Dream Within a Dream gave a cry and dropped his sword, where it dissolved into nothing. “Speak no more of this, Love,” he screamed in remembered pain. “Spare me, I beg you.”
The goddess looked at him sadly. “You had your chance,” she said. “Heidi is rolling now.”
Venus continued:
“He lived for ages as a lizard. This went on so long that he forgot the shape of his true face, he forgot he was a great power of the earth, and he forgot why he asked the men to build the statues in the first place.“
“He forgot himself and, eventually, the tribe who built the statues disappeared from the face of the Earth. The sky snake even forgot he was more than the humble name he had given himself… Lickspittle.”
The serpent of light, my friend, Lickspittle, stopped spinning in the sky and sank back to Earth to stand beside me. His new light body changed into that of a man but he retained his serpentine features.
Across from us, the shapeless shadow face of the Dream Within a Dream, changed himself to look just like Lickspittle. The shadow being ran at my friend, there was a flash, and now I was gazing down at the arena-shaped table once more… my dice of impossibility were lying in its center. They had landed on snake eyes.
I looked across the table at Dream Within a Dream and he looked like he had in the arena- Lickspittle’s head now mounted on his shoulders in place of the shadows. “You have won,” he said. “And more than that, you have returned my face and memories to me. If I could give you more than just my dice in return, I would.”
“You already have repaid the debt for you taught me dreams are not just things that happen to us, but also our own creation,” I said, taking the Dice of Dreams and placing them into my hip bag. “And, also, the names and interpretations we give ourselves are incredibly powerful.” I grinned. “What do I call you now? Dream Within a Dream or Lickspittle?”
The lizard man flashed his teeth at me. “Lickspittle or Dream will do.” He reached into his mouth and broke off his two front fangs. They came out bloodlessly and seemingly without pain then he handed them to me. “Now, I will never be able to strike you again,” he said. “Even if I forget myself.”
“Because of your great kindness, I give you a warning now, Heidi,” he said. “The pieces of your mind are awake and moving. Perhaps it would have been better for you if some of them had remained asleep.” He took one of my hands and raised it to his lips. “Trials are coming,” he said. “There is no turning back from the destiny that approaches.”
“Thank you for your foresight, Lickspittle,” I said. “But there were never any alternative destinies for me. We must believe that Love will guide and protect us, as she always has.”
He smiled once more, fangless now, and squeezed my hand warmly in his. Suddenly, chanting came from farther down the path. I saw a cheerful bonfire and people dancing in circles around it. “I wonder who celebrates this night,” I said.
“They are a tribe I loved once upon a dream,” Lickspittle explained. “Let us go to them.” Together, the lizard man and I walked hand in hand towards the bonfire. The singing and dancing built into a crescendo and ceased the moment Lickspittle and I reached our destination.
In the midst of the dancing crowd, staring into the flames, there sat an ancient man with long white hair trailing down his back. It was laced and braided with animal bones and he carried a long carved stick. He struck the ground with his staff three times and it echoed into the sudden silence.
Then, the ancient said something in a language that I didn’t understand. I turned to my companion with questioning eyes. “He said the Great Sky Snake has come,” Lickspittle translated. “That’s me!” Then, the ancient said something else. “And he brings a visitor. That’s you.”
“Can they see us?” I asked.
“No,” said my friend. “But he…” Lickspittle indicated the elder. “Can hear us.”
“Friend,” I addressed the shaman. “Do you have any wisdom for us?”
The ancient began to chant and then, quite suddenly for one so old, stood and walked directly into the flames of the bonfire. The flames did not touch him. His body remained within the bonfire but a spirit moved out of him and walked towards us.
“I am the spirit walker for my tribe,” he said. “I am one with Nature and she talks to me. She gives me glimpses of the gods and goddesses and I translate them for my tribe as well as I can.” He and I looked at his body contained within the bonfire. The ancient’s physical manifestation was still chanting with gusto and dancing amongst the flames, unburnt and unbroken.
“What are you telling them?” I asked, still trying, but unable to understand his spoken language.
“To build stone statues of the heads of men and to make them face across the ocean, so the Great Snake who flies in the sky will not be lonely in his flight,” the mystic replied.
“There is no need for that,” said Lickspittle. “I am more than what I once was.”
“You don’t understand,” said the spirit of the shaman. “This is not a vision that can be changed. This is the past that was and these statues shall be built now as they were built then. There is no changing the flow of time once it has passed. But, there is always hope for a better future. Now, before you go, is there any new knowledge that you can gift to my people?”
“Tell them,” I said, handing Lickspittle’s fangs to the shaman. “The tribe’s dreams will change in a more positive and uplifting way. I promise you this for amor omnia vincit.” The elder looked at me strangely and I saw he did not understand.
“These tidings are a gift from Love,” Lickspittle explained. “She removed the fangs from the sky serpent and returned the face he had forgotten to him. So now, as his dreams are sweetened, so shall yours be also.”
The ancient nodded his head in acknowledgment. “I will tell them,” he said. Then, he waved his carved staff over us in benediction. “Walk with Nature, Great Snake and friend.” I blinked and Lickspittle and I were again standing on the edge of the plateau with the Easter Island statues. We gazed out over the ocean and its ever shifting waves.
“Isn’t eternity beautiful?” Lickspittle observed. And my vision ended.
The Light Congress 