The 19th Path, Teth, Strength

Intelligence of the Secret of All Spiritual Activities

Imagine that you are sitting lotus style on a wooden platform looking toward the east. The sky is still dark, and you feel the cold of the early morning through your clothes. You are able to just make out the edges of the terrain that stretches around you.

A vast field of sunflowers extends in every direction, but your focus is on the horizon where a soft glow of fire burns above a line of volcanic mountains. You wonder at this sight, knowing that this eruptive power, so far away, both destroys and creates life.

A small fire burns in an incense holder next to you and the fragrance of frankincense permeates the air. Breathing deeply, you become conscious of the speed of the Earth as it spins toward the rising sun, feeling that you are moving toward something divine, being carried by the Earth toward this mystery.

The red line before you sparks more brilliantly as the first rays of the sun merge with the light cast by the ridge of the volcanoes. A dancing figure of a woman rises out of its glow. The goddess Shatki performs her elemental dance as the tongues of volcanic fire and the rays of the sun merge to create the new day.

The intricate pattern of Shatki’s fire dance entrance you. As you watch her, feelings of grief rise as though her movements draw out what needs to be mourned in your life. You do not resist because the grief is accompanied by a cleansing of your spirit. Tears may or may not fall, but with each of your exhalations your grief transforms into peace. The whole world is quiet as you rest in this space until Shatki’s form fades into the brightening sky.

From the stillness of your heart, you hear: Nothing is lost, but only transforms. The time has come to move closer to your destiny.

Now that it is daylight, you know you must leave this place where you have rested for the night. You pick up the burning incense to take it with you.

At the bottom of the platform, you walk into the field of sunflowers. It takes very little time for you to feel that you are lost, as all you can see are rows and rows of sunflower stalks. As you make your way through them, you lose the sense of confidence you had on the platform, now unsure of what you are really doing or where you are going.

Confused, you ask yourself these questions: Which way should I walk? Does the direction matter? Should I even be going toward the mountains of fire?

Feeling overwhelmed, you stop to see if you can find your bearings, but just a moment later, something slides by your feet. Looking down, you find a small yellow serpent coiled with its mouth in its tail. Knowing that you must keep moving, you bend down and ask which directions you should go.

The serpent slowly uncurls and the slithers away. You follow in the same direction, step by step, still carrying the incense to remind you of the brief sense of wholeness and peace you felt before you stepped off the platform.

A roar of a wild animal breeches the silence that has surrounded you. You freeze with fear. The serpent speaks to you in a sibilant voice:There is nothing else to do but to trust that the path you are on was meant to be whether you are devoured or not.

You take another step forward as the serpent disappears into the flowers. You hear a larger animal approaching, but there is nothing else to do but to continue walking and meet your fate. The beauty and elemental force that radiates from this animal is awe-inspiring. You take a deep breath; sending the fear that wants to paralyze you into the earth, and then with a trembling hand, reach for the lion’s mane.

When your fingertips touch the coarse hair, they burn. Your entire being then feels inflamed as you look into the animal’s eyes.

The lion speaks to you, and you hear both love and power in his voice: Light will shine on all things hidden. All secrets will emerge from darkness and what is in the shadows will be illuminated with truth. The sun has risen, giving light to all things on Earth, light that can penetrate the darkest place of a human heart. The secrets you have carried are the fuel for your transformation.

This is why the lion has searched for you. You can now recount the things buried in the deepest places of your soul that you were not able to access as you watched Shatki dance. You share these newly revealed secrets with the lion, and when you are done, there are tears in the lion’s eyes.

He turns and roars again, so loudly that the earth shakes and every cell in your body vibrates. By the time the last reverberation fades, the sunflowers have changed into a garden of roses, surrounding you with every hue imaginable.

The sun is at its zenith now and warmth penetrates your body and soul. Even the embers of the incense grow stronger; smoke rises once again, this time creating a rope to weave the roses upon. You pick red roses to form a wreath and then follow the lion t edge of the garden where you set the smoking incense down. The lion bows his head to allow you to put the wreath around his neck.

You pick up the incense again, and the lion leads you away from the garden up into the foothills that lie beneath the smoldering volcanoes. You climb for a long time until you reach cedar trees, the last living things that grow around you.

From this vantage, you look down at the path you have taken. The roses and sunflower field transform back and forth into each other with each breath you take. You can no longer see the platform where you started this journey.

The lion waits patiently as you add some dry needles of cedar to the frankincense. The fragrance created from the combination revives you for the ascent. The two of you begin to climb again.

Finally, you reach the lip of volcanic fire. You have known all along what will be asked of you but have not known what your answer will be. The lion steps into the molten lava and turns to wait for you. The fire does not harm him, and he tells you: You have my eternal protection now.

The yellow serpent is at your feet again and follows the lion into the lava. Its body moves slowly through the fire until it climbs up the lion’s flank and weaves into the wreath around his neck.

You have reached the source of the Limitless Light, which both destroys and renews. Knowing that the lion’s power and love will never leave you, knowing you will be restored to your true Self, as the serpent reunited with the King, you carry the small light that led you all this way and merge into the eternal flame.