Gate: Two of Wands

I passed through the vision gate and heard the rhythmic sound of a hammer striking an anvil over and over again.  Clang… clang… clang.  I followed the sound out of the void and beheld a giant with a hammer, who was hard at work.  I stepped into the giant’s reality and envisioned myself growing larger, as large as he was, and I approached the industrious spirit.  When I was large enough to see the giant’s face clearly, I recognized Hephaestus, the endlessly creative smith of the gods.

“Well met, Great One,” I said with a smile.  “Thank you for guiding me out of the shadows. What are you working on today?”

“Sound is such a curious thing and travels between the worlds as easily as the Fae,” the god replied. “You never know who’s attention it will attract. Hello again, small Heidi. Sleipnir has slipped a shoe and I have been tasked with crafting him a replacement.”  Hephaestus paused for a moment in his work to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“Sleipnir!” I exclaimed. “Is that the eight-legged horse of Odin? I have seen his depiction many times.”

Hephaestus looked at me strangely but then bent again to his work. “Eight legs? No, friend. He has only four but they move so quickly that from a distance it appears that he has more and that is what the artisans of your world were trying to capture. Go and see for yourself if you want, he’s harmless to those with no malice in their hearts.”

I cast my attention about the god and I, and discovered an enormous horse tethered nearby.  He was grazing on some grass and seemed completely unconcerned by the sounds of the smithy or our spirited conversation.  To my eyes, Sleipnir was as white as newly fallen snow and just as lovely.  I went to the side of the noble beast and ran my hands over his head.  “I bet you are as swift as you are beautiful,” I said and he blinked his long lashed eyes at me in response.

“How did he lose his shoe?” I asked Hephaestus.

“Dwelt too long on the surface of some sun or another I suppose,” grunted the smith and with one last clang, quickly dipped his handiwork into a bucket of cold water.  “He melted the thing into slag.”  Now the horseshoe was cooled, Hephaestus also came over to Sleipnir who daintily lifted his front hoof so the new shoe could be applied.  With minimal effort, the task was soon done.

“Return to your master,” Hephaestus directed the horse.  “That should last you awhile, barring any unforeseen lava flows. I’m through here.” 

“Would you like to meet Odin One-Eye?” the smith asked, turning to me with a twinkle in his eyes.

“I know very little about him,” I replied. “Do you think he would like to meet me?”

“Now is as good a time as any to learn,” the god said.  “Go Heidi and meet the wandering god.  From what I know of Odin, you two might have much in common. Ride Sleipnir. He knows the way and moves as swiftly as the wind.”

“Thank you, Hephaestus,” I said. “May your hammer always strike true and your creations last as long as you desire. I hope we meet again soon.”

With the god’s help, I climbed aboard Sleipnir’s smooth back and with a whisper of sound we were off like a shot.  We tore across the flat plains of that world in the blink of an eye and before I even knew what was happening, we were headed toward an enormous tree that appeared in a flash of light upon the ground. Before I could even consider the full height of it, Sleipnir rode through the side of the tree as if it were a doorway instead of solid wood.

“I hope Hephaestus spoke true about you,” I yelled as we rode up the center of the tree as if it were a road on Earth. “It’ll be a wonder if I can find my way back home again.” I wrapped my arms around Sleipnir’s neck so that I didn’t slip and held on.  After a few dizzying moments of upward travel, I shut my eyes with the thrill of it and long before I was tired of the ride the motion of the horse stopped.

When I opened my eyes, I beheld a world wreathed in mists.  We were standing beside the trunk of the giant tree which had provided a portal to that realm and a pool of clear water was near.  I climbed off of Sleipnir and approached this pool, drawn by the light reflecting off the water and the promise of a refreshing drink after our wild ride through the worlds.

“Who stands before Odin All-Father?” a powerful voice came from the far side of the spring, startling me as I knelt beside the pool.  Out of the mists, a spirit in the shape of an elderly man appeared who wore a concealing dark cloak and hood.  In his right hand, he held a staff which was shaped of a single twisted branch.  On one shoulder, I beheld a giant raven and circling around the god’s head I spied another raven who was so like the first that they could have been one avian spirit in two forms.

A snowy white beard emerged from the god’s hood but other than that I couldn’t see very much of his face. Within the cave-like hood, I beheld a reflection beaming from one shining eye, but it was much brighter than a normal eye should be.  Odin’s left eye shone in the darkness and through the mist like a lone star in the night sky, a beacon to those who needed a light to guide them home.

I blinked my own eyes to clear them of the god’s influence and bowed my head in respect as I rose to my feet. “My name is Heidi, Great One,” I said.  “Hephaestus of the Grecian pantheon sent me to your door. I have traveled to many places and spoken to many beings, but I have never had the honor of meeting you, Odin.”

“Oh yes, a very great honor indeed,” the god chuckled to himself as he reached the edge of the pool.  “Why have you come, Heidi? Few seek the gods’ wisdom anymore, let alone communicate with different pantheons.”

“Hephaestus and I have known each other for a very long time and I consider him a dear friend,” I said. “I travel the worlds, learning the mysteries of creation and the patterns which move us all so that I may share that information with those who wish to evolve their spirit consciousness. Today I seek the nature of this place and your wisdom, if you would deign to share it with me.”

“Ah, my wisdom,” Odin said. As the god reached the edge of the pool of water, a throne made out of wood appeared behind him and he sat.  Both ravens settled as well, gripping the arms of the chair in their dark claws. “Many value my wisdom though few seek it as I said, making it somewhat of a precious commodity. What would you trade for it?”