It is dawn.
I find myself in a forest filled with Aspen trees.
I raise my eyes
and look for the sky, but the boughs looming
overhead hide
it from my view. As I look up, feel the cool
breeze of spring
brush my face, and hear the sound of the
rustling leaves.
Blowing, laughing from the east, Eurus brings
thoughts of
renewal and life. I follow the wind further into the
soft shadows
of the forest, inhaling deeply the strong scent of
the trees.
I smell, too, the wafting hints of fragrant incense.
I follow where
my senses lead me and come to a small clearing
circled by burning
censers filled with sweet-smelling oils.
Toward the east
end of the circle is a staff. I walk over to the
place and sit
on the ground before it. I take the staff into my
hands and close
my eyes. First come swirling colors of white
then yellow
then fading darker into lavender. Then, out of the
swirling fog
of colors come dozens of small, lithe figures who
swirl around
as if carried on the wind itself. They dance around
my head and
body, swirling around as if caught in a dance to
unheard music.
Then, taking my attention from the spirits of the
air, I look
up to find further figures emerging from the mist.
First comes
a woman with the beauty of the dawn. As she steps
forward, each
of the four winds, in turn, hasten from around here
and fly, one
to each of the four corners of the earth. As she
fades, there
comes another whose form seems insubstantial, and
seems to constitute
both the image of a woman and a cow at the
same time.
I look closely the attempt to solidify one form, but
I cannot.
As this image fades, I am presented with the forms of
two women who
immediately remind me of the nighttime sky. One
glows with the
pale light of the full moon, and her eyes hold the
fullness of
hidden knowledge. The other, whom also seems to
radiate cool
starlight, seems to embody the possibilities of many
lifetimes.
In due course, these figures too fade and I am left
with only the
mist of the elemental world of air. Suddenly,
three male figures
issue from the mist. They seem to be three
aspects of one
man, but each's attributes differ. The first
glows with the
light of the moon, seeming to be its protector.
The second and
third appear almost identical, except that one has
a winged helmet
and shoes. As I sit and study the sameness and
difference of
the three, they begin to fade, as does the fog.
When the mist
clears, I find myself sitting within the circle
still clutching
the staff in my hands. I place the staff once
again on the
ground and rise. I thank the element of air, and
all it is associated
with for sharing with me its wisdom, and
leave the circle.