The 20th Path, Yod, The Hermit

The Intelligence of Will

You are immersed in darkness. Within this darkness, a spermatozoid swims and joins an egg, and as soon as it is fertilized, the egg glows like the soft flame of a candle. You watch cells divide, each possessing its own inner fire, until you see an embryo with a beating heart, a fast pulsing of the original flame that was lit upon your conception.

Still in darkness, you place your hands over your own heart and imagine it beating inside the dark cave of your body. There is syncopation with the quick drumming of your unformed self that you can still see in your mind’s eye, and the steady, slower beat that now casts the rhythm that your adult body obeys.

Light grows slowly around you as you watch a moon being born. You find that you are alone on a snowy mountain top, your embryonic self now resides in each of your cells. The only sound you hear on this peak is the steady throbbing of your innumerable hearts, each beat creating a star overhead. Soon the dark heavens are strewn with their small lights.

You are amazed to have gone from the darkness of inner space to this peak covered with snow where you are peering into the immensity of heaven. One star falls, streaking the sky, and its bright fire reminds you of what lies kindled inside your being.

A person dressed in a long blue robe with a cowl appears beside you, so old you are unable to tell if this is a man or woman. The ancient holds a lantern that casts light in a wide arc so that you see more of the mountain. The Hermit speaks softly, but you feel the mountain shudder slightly with the vibration of his word:

This is not a dream. The life you have led up to now has been an imitation of the truth that has always burned inside of you. The mystic Cristos forms anew being who is both yourself and the greater Self that has lead you to this awe-inspiring place. Though your path is unique, you are one with all there is.

The stars above you dance as you incorporate the meaning of these words into your body and mind. Around the darkest part of space, the stars form an outline of a great dragon. Without their light to indicate its form, this creature would be invisible, yet somehow you know that the undulations of the dragon’s body chart a secret path back to the Source.


Take your lantern; I will kindle its fire by the light I have carried. With this light, create your world.

You are about to say that you don’t have a lantern but then look down and find one near your feet. You pick it up, and the Hermit’s free hand takes hold of the flame and then lights your lantern’s wick; the two lights join and illuminate the entire summit.

You are now master of this mountain, the Hermit says, and then steps onto an invisible staircase in the sky that leads to the tail of the dragon. The Hermit turns back only once, holding the lantern high, and you finally see the steps he is walking upon.

Time passes. You stand vigil on the mountain. In spring, some of the snow melts and forms yellow-green pools the shade of peridots. You look into them and see the lantern’s light reflected. You make a sun to shine, and at your feet a carpet of grass spotted with tiny white snowdrops and narcissus blooms. You create summer and then autumn, where the foliage flames brilliantly around the cedar trees that grow lower on the mountainside.

You create yourself over and over again: sperm, egg, darkness, light, the eternal rhythm of heartbeats creating pattern after pattern, and you manifest deep peace within yourself. You send thoughts of peace to the world that lies beneath you. One moment, no different from the rest, you look down at your hands and find that they are wrinkled. You realize that it is finally your time to follow the Hermit who had waited for you to join his spirit in the dragon path in the sky.

Winter has come and the snows fall again; once again it is night. Shining you lantern from the summit, you can now see a winding path curving up to where you stand. Distant memories rise of living amid the hoards of people in the valley. How easy it was to be led by the group mind then. How unconsciously you life unfolded.

The bleating of a lamb wakes you from these reveries, and you follow the cries over a ridge. There in the fresh snow next to the lamb lies another lantern.

The lamb comes back with you. A few lights now appear on the path. You light the new lantern with your old one; you find that you, too, can carry fire in your hands. The whole mountaintop glows brighter, lighting the way for those who are on the way.

The lamb bleats again, and you look up into the dark fabric of sky. Once again you can see the ladder to the dragon made of stars. Yet, you wait. More seasons pass until the first traveler reaches you. You offer your hand for the last step.

You deliver the same messages that the Hermit who greeted you gave, and then you see the lamb step into the sky. You follow and feel an invisible hand reach out for you. You are given a staff for your left hand, the wood pulsating with divine energy.

You steady yourself with the staff and hold your lantern high. All encompassing ecstasy fills your heart that continues to beat with the eternal rhythms of the universe. Taking your first step onto the dragon’s path, knowing that you are not alone, you have become a channel for Christ, Who walks as a lamb before you, leading you into the ultimate mystery.