Gate: Four of Cups

I entered the vision gate and found myself floating on my back down a fast-moving stream of water. As I struggled to sit up, trees passed by on either side, their branches reaching towards me as I was moved forward relentlessly by the current. Things continued in this manner until I went over the edge of a tall waterfall, but instead of continuing downwards with the rest of the water I floated above the spray to take a place among the dancing sylphs of the air.

I shielded my eyes against the bright sunlight as I looked around, trying to get a feel for where in the Inner Worlds I had landed. Past the churning waterfall and its perpetual misty spray, I beheld an island sitting serenely in the midst of the river. My curiosity ignited, I flew to the island and landed on its beach, seeking its true nature and the disposition of those who dwelt upon it.

The sand of the island beach was as soft as silk and filled with tiny shells worn smooth by the passage of the stream. I reached down and ran some between my fingers, marveling at its texture. As I did so, the sand was picked up by a light breeze and formed itself into the shape of a woman with long, flowing hair. “Hello, Heidi,” said the spirit. “Welcome to my home.”

“Hello, Island Dweller,” I said. “You know my name but I don’t know yours. How did that happen?”

“You don’t remember me? Strange since you’ve been here so many times, but no matter,” the spirit of sand and wind said. “Let us pretend as if we’re meeting for the very first time. My name is untranslatable in your tongue but it means ‘Wind Against My Face’. You may call me ‘Zephyr’ if you wish, forgetful Heidi.”

“I’m pleased to meet you again, Zephyr,” I said. “Thank you for forgiving my memory issues which are a matter of some embarrassment to me. I come from another world seeking the true nature of those who dwell in realms other than my own. What manner of life are you?”

“I am a living breeze and accustomed to blowing in and out of the minds of the mortals I encounter, though I honestly thought you would remember me,” Zephyr said. “Let us have fun as you remember all that has passed between us. Follow me and I will show you one of the many wonders of this island, Heidi.”

As Zephyr moved past the beach and among the trees, the sand that she was composed of returned to the ground and her body became particles of dirt from dust among the branches and leaves that waved in her passage. I followed in her shadow.

Zephyr brought me to a clearing in the trees within which stood an enormous statue made of black, shining stone. The statue was in the shape of a man with a crown on his head, his right hand lifted in blessing and his left holding an unsheathed sword across his knees. “What is this place?” I asked as I wandered around the base of the statue.

“You see before you, the Sleeping King. He sat down one day to contemplate his kingdom and how best to rule it and he never rose again,” said Zephyr. “As he sat, his flesh changed to stone and none now remembers how to wake him.”

“How long has he slept?” I asked. “Perhaps this will give us a clue as to what must be done.”

“Ages and ages of men,” said Zephyr. “Less of an age for the zephyr but time passes differently for my kind than yours.”

“Surely, he must be dead rather than simply asleep,” I said. “No one could possibly live that long, no mortal at least.”

Zephyr swirled around me, stirring my hair. “Who said he was ever a mortal?” she said with a laugh. “Life used to be quite different from the way you know it now. He is composed of living rock and his spirit can easily be felt by those who know where to look for it. I promise he is not dead, merely asleep.”

“Do you think he will ever wake?” I said. “And would we want him to?”

“I believe he stirs this very moment,” Zephyr replied. “It is no longer a question of our will but that of the one who moves the zephyrs and stone alike, fierce Nature and her eternal servants among the worlds.” As Zephyr spoke, an earthquake began to shake the island, causing me to fall to my knees as the statue lowered his raised hand and opened his closed eyes.