Gate: Two of Cups

I entered the vision gate and found myself on a pebbled path that ran along a dark ocean. Ahead, a lighthouse made of shining stone rose high into the cloudy sky. Its light flashed forth, shining an illuminating beam on the otherwise darkened landscape.

Behind me, shadows moved both upon the path and on either side. I couldn’t see the shadows, but I felt their fear-inducing presence and the urge to run from them towards the light. I allowed myself to move as quickly as I could towards the lighthouse, kicking a few stones from the path in my flight, while the shadows followed closely at my heels.

I followed the path to the base of the lighthouse, then passed through the dark doorway into the structure and everything became illuminated, driving the chasing shadows away and returning some semblance of peace to my heart. A spiral staircase led from the doorway towards the bright light which shone down from above.

I heard someone calling my name from the heights of the lighthouse. “Heidi, Heidi…” said a voice in a whispering echo. Following the sound, I ascended the stairs, dragging my fingers along the shining walls of the lighthouse as I did so.

After many steps, I finally reached the top and entered the area where the light was contained within a sculpted glass column. It shone too brilliantly to look at closely and continued to call my name. “Heidi…” whispered the light.

“I am here despite the shadows on the beach,” I said. “Who are you and how do you know my name?”

“We are you, Heidi. Your inner self, your inner knowledge, your connection to your genesis of being,” the light replied.

“That makes sense that you all know my name then,” I said. “Why are you whispering?”

“We did not want to injure you with the full power of our presence. Welcome to the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, a wonder of the ancient world,” the light said. “Why have you come here, Heidi?”

“I have come to learn the nature of this world and you,” I said. “Light, if I may call you that, why are there such dark shadows outside this place?”

“We will answer your question through observation of this realm,” said the Light. “Heidi, go to the balcony and tell us what you see. Do not be afraid to gaze into the unknown for we stand beside you in solidarity and silence.”

“I always appreciate the company,” I said, moving away from the vision-obscuring light and facing the darkness outside of the lighthouse. To my left, the ocean roiled and frothed as storm tossed and unsettled as the skies above. Leviathans emerged from the deep and enormous flippers broke the surface of the water before they submerged themselves again below the waves. To my right, the land was a seething mass of darkness.

The living shadows moved and twirled around each other upon the cursed ground. The illuminating beam from the lighthouse shone brightly as it cut through the observing shadows, but not strongly enough to dissipate them all. When I had gotten a good look at the light moving in a ceaseless cycle through the dark, I went back inside to shelter from the stormy sky.

“Light, there are monsters in the darkness on both the land and sea,” I said. “I don’t understand how I came to this place when it seems to be dominated by the shadow realm. Do we belong here?”

“We represent knowledge, light, and inner vision, which is known if not welcome in all the worlds,” the Light said. “Remember, Heidi, at the edge of the light, that is where the fear starts and the subconscious darkness draws the shadows in. Those fears are your monsters of the land and sea.”

“Are the monsters real?” I asked. “I don’t believe the shadows can hurt me but the fear they create in my heart says otherwise.”

“Go outside once more and tell us what you see,” said the Light. “Braving the fear in your mind and heart is the cost of self knowledge, a price that not all in creation are willing to pay.”

“Once upon a time, I met my personal shadow beside a fountain and she wasn’t a frightening presence at all, just obstinate and young,” I said. “This lighthouse seems secure enough to face the shadows of the rest of the world. Please come with me.” With those words, I ventured out into the darkness again.

Suddenly, over the far horizon across the ocean, the sun rose above the edge of the earth. As its light touched the waves, the surface calmed and the monsters stirring its waters disappeared. The sun shone down upon the beach, where I saw a statue of myself in the surf.

• Chapter 38: Joining the Unconditional Love of the Formless Ones
• Chapter 37: The Giants of the Inner Realms and Transmuting Mercury’s Tears
• Chapter 36: When Love went to War with Her Shadow
• Chapter 35: The Revelation of the Rainbow Bridge and the Return to Shambhala
• Chapter 34: A Life’s Purpose Remembered and Returning to the Mother’s Garden