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In the Tarot the suit of Swords represents mental energy and the element of Air. This energy is not easily available and must be transmuted from spiritual energy by the male and from sexual energy or earth energy by the female. In this the male has the initial advantage because the energy only needs to be transmuted once. The female must transmute this energy first into emotional energy and then into mental energy. This is more difficult at first.

Another way of saying this is that males tend to be more mental in daily life and females tend to be more emotional. This is a stereotype that is not always true but persists with good reason.

The bottom line is that if you don’t use your mind enough it will go flat. Learn something new every day and solve some type of challenge. It will keep your mind young and healthy.

On the flip side of the coin, after you are very clear in your thoughts and in what you believe it is time to move on and realize them through personal experience. Don’t think about it. Do it!

There are two types of mental energy. The highest type of mental energy is philosophical reasoning and abstract thought. This energy is developed through philosophical debate. Politics and Religion remain the most popular areas for the development of this type of energy. Problem solving and mathematical skills are also related to this type of energy.

The lower type of mental energy concerns simple awareness of our environment. Look more, hear more, taste more, feel more, smell more! This is tied in with ego development and conscious interaction with our physical environment.
We become aware of sensory details by paying conscious attention to them. Paying attention to anything requires mental energy and effort.

Chapter 25B

He was heading toward the beer barrel when he ran into Wayne and Char. They looked gloomy and were thinking about quitting the program.

“Why don’t you talk to Crow first?” He suggested. “I’ve heard he is taking a group back to the village. Maybe you can check the village out. I was there last month and it was a pretty neat place.”

Char looked doubtful. “I can’t imagine why we would want to live in some primitive village. Still.” She nodded. “We can treat it like a vacation and see what happens.”

Wayne nodded in agreement. “By then the bottleneck about newbies might be over and there might be enough for us to train. He shook his head in frustration. I can’t bring myself to wait in line for an entire month just to get a newbie.” Wayne held Char closer putting an arm around her waist. “We’ve got some catching up to do anyway. Going out to the village might just be a good idea.”

Tobal hoped he hadn’t made a mistake suggesting they go to the village with Crow and the others. Wayne and Char were just simple people that he liked and trusted. Maybe after they found out more about what was going on they might reconsider leaving the program. He moved on looking for Becca.

He saw Melanie and Becca chatting with some others by the drum circle. They were both in high spirits when he joined them. They partied into the night and talked about what they were going to do for the next month while they waited for their solos to become official and they could receive their sixth chevrons. They didn’t have anything to do and Tobal suggested they all go down to the lake and spend a few weeks swimming and having a good time. Tobal was willing to go along and the berries were ripe. He was ready for a vacation from all the fighting any way. The girls agreed and the conversation moved on to other things. Melanie was the first to ask.

“What have we missed about the City Council and the village?” Melanie asked. “We have been so busy the last two months that we missed your meetings.”

“Believe me, there is a lot to catch you up on.” he laughed. “Let’s go find out.”

“Where’s Llana?” Becca asked.

“That’s part of what you missed out on.” He smiled and kissed her. She didn’t ask any more questions.

They caught up with Rafe and Ellen and sat down to talk. It felt good to have Becca beside him again and he squeezed her hand gently. She glanced at him and smiled back. Tobal noticed Crow was talking with his own group and suspected they were talking about the bi-location and time travel thing. He noticed Char and Wayne were in the group listening intently. He thought about going over there and joining that group but decided against it. His own group had too many things they needed to talk about.

Ellen began the meeting with talk about what was happening with the City Council and the Counsel of Elders.

“We finally got together for a meeting.” Ellen told them. “It has been a very rough month for all of us and our lives are all completely changed.”

“That’s an understatement.” Rafe nodded. “Our entire world has been turned upside down.”

Ellen continued her story. “The City Council did some house cleaning and there were several new members in it that had not been at the last meeting. The mayor greeted us and apologized once more for the assassination attempt. He and the other council members were relieved that Howling Wolf was all right. All of the new City Council members had known and thought highly of Howling Wolf. That was why they had been selected for the City Council.

“It seemed that once a clansman, always a clansman. All of the members of the City Council had gone through the Sanctuary program and many had served on the Council of Elders at one time. The mayor assured us that the entire City Council was behind us and supported us.

Ellen continued. “This time General Grant was not there. The mayor said that the City Council had requested a Federation internal affairs investigation into the entire project but had not heard anything back yet. The bottom line was that General Grant denied any truth in what Howling Wolf had told the City Council and the City Council had concluded Howling Wolf was telling the truth and the general was lying. For that reason General Grant had not been invited to the meeting.”

Ellen smiled at Tobal and continued. “Howling Wolf appeared at the meeting and offered to teach the bi-location ability and time travel ability to the city if they separated from the military project. He made it clear there was no need for the dangerous machinery and the inhuman treatment of having human beings wired into it. Howling Wolf also called for the release of Ron and Rachel Kane so their spirits could find rest and peace after these years of inhuman torment and torture.”

“That’s when things got interesting.” Ellen said. “Howling Wolf disappeared and Adam Gardner appeared in the room with a full pack of things. He introduced himself to all of us and passed several items around the room for inspection. He said most of them had come from the past but he showed us a couple interesting items that could have only been from the future. He confirmed that he was working with Howling Wolf in continuing the research and training that Ron and Rachel Kane had developed. He also said that explorations into different time periods was continuing.”

“By this time we were all quite impressed.” Ellen chuckled. The City Council asked for proof that Howling Wolf and Adam Gardner could actually train others and that’s when Llana appeared in the room. She told us plans were currently under way for training the first group of time travelers. They would be trained in secret locations known only to themselves.”

“My COM unit went off. I answered and found out that all the medics had been kicked off the mountain. We no longer had access to the emergency room or to any supplies. General Grant had evicted us from the mountain. We were not even allowed to get our personal belongings. The City Council was just as shocked as we were and with Howling Wolf’s approval decided to use the village as a temporary base until a new permanent base could be built by the lake.

“We decided that a permanent base would be set up at the old gathering spot where the massacre had been and requested the City Council provide supplies and communication equipment. The City Council voted and agreed to help. The City Council promised us immediate supplies and provisions so we could continue our medic work uninterrupted. We were to take any serious injuries straight into the City for emergency treatment. The city was also going to raise some permanent modern facilities there for our own use so we would be able to function during the winter.”

“Most of us spent that first week hauling supplies to the old gathering spot.” Rafe grumbled. “The only good thing is that there were no rogue attacks we know of. We are fairly well settled in now but things are totally different and we are getting our training from the hospital inside Heliopolis.”

“I leave for a couple months and look what happens.” Becca quipped. “Everything falls apart. Do you think there is any danger from General Grant and his rogues?”

“There is really no way of knowing.” Ellen told her. “We are hoping the internal affairs investigation will prevent things from getting any worse.”

The meeting gave them all plenty to think about and Becca kept asking him questions long after they had gone to bed. He found the only way to get her to stop talking was by kissing her. Kissing her led to it’s own problems and it was a long time before they finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

It felt good to be with Becca and not have anything pressing to do. They had almost two weeks before he needed to be at the Journeyman circle and decided to make the best of it. It was mid June and the weather was perfect. Melanie joined them and they all headed down to the lake for a fun vacation. First though they needed to meet up with Llana at his winter base. It was on the way to the lake and a good place to rest.

It was evening when Llana helloed the camp and approached the campfire. By this time Becca and Melanie were caught up on the situation and determined to be part of Tobal’s group that Llana was training. That made Rafe, Ellen, Tobal, Becca, Melanie and possibly Nikki. No one had asked her yet. Tobal thought Tyrone should be approached about it and Melanie suggested Butch. The obvious problem was that training newbies allowed no time for the extensive training Llana would be giving them. They could be asked but their training needed to wait until they were Journeymen.

“Tobal has already done two months of training with Crow and one month of training with me.” She told Becca and Melanie. “That means he is ahead of everyone else and can help each of you catch up. I think the best thing will be for me to teach Tobal and then he will teach each of you. You can all practice together and help each other on a daily basis.”

Tobal looked at the others and asked. “What about Ellen and Rafe?”

“I will have to find a way to teach each of them individually.” She said.

Tobal nodded, “Rafe wants you to help him check out some forbidden areas. He has them marked on a map and was thinking he could fly you into them on his air sled and drop you off. Then you could bi-locate out of there after you found out why it was forbidden. You don’t have a med-alert bracelet and would not show up on a monitor.”

Llana pursed her lips thoughtfully. “That’s a good idea. Tell him to meet me at my old base camp two days after the new moon at noon. See if both Ellen and Rafe can meet me there at the same time. I can train them together and make further arrangements to meet with them.”

“Have you time traveled yet?” Becca asked curiously.

“Just once.” Llana smiled. “It was really awesome but frightening at the same time. It’s really quite a bit like bi-location once you get the hang of it. Grandfather and Adam want to check out all of the areas first and make sure they are safe before they take us there. They are trying to determine the extent of General Grant’s activities in other time periods.”

She continued. “It’s a problem right now because if anything happens to Grandfather or Adam we loose our ability to train people to time travel. That’s why Crow and I want to go at least once to as many time periods as possible and learn how to get there and back again. We only have twenty-three time periods available to us and don’t want to loose those. No one knows how many general Grant has discovered in the last twenty years.”

“How long will it take us to learn.” Becca persisted.

“We are hoping somewhere between a year and two years. Very much depends upon the intensity of your training and your natural aptitude for it. We are hoping Crow’s group and our group will be ready at the same time so we can work together and help each other out.”

“What will Crow’s group be doing?” Melanie asked in puzzlement.

“They are going to leave the sanctuary program and get rid of their med-alert bracelets so they can’t be tracked or monitored and will be doing the same type of training we will be doing. They will probably be a little faster at the training than we will because we also have to stay within the system and do the work of Journeymen and medics. This group won’t have any contact with Crow’s group at all until training is complete and we can all at least bi-locate.”

Ten of Wands

Symbol- He is sexually attracted to her.

She realizes she is a Goddess.

Meaning- realization

He experiences the bittersweet union of pleasure and pain in his life and knows he is making progress in his spiritual goals. As he gains the ability to transmute spiritual energy into mental energy he absorbs more and more of her volatile spiritual energy to mix with his own.

As he stores this combined energy in his body his energy level increases and he realizes he is sexually attracted to her. This energy has no outlet and his sexual tension and frustration is very great. He feels ready to explode.

This is an important time for him because he confronts his own sexuality and physical needs for the first time. He realizes he is a physical being as well as a spiritual one and struggles to unite these two parts of himself into one harmonious whole.

As she gains the ability to transmute sexual energy into spiritual energy she is able to maintain her high level of spiritual thought and ideals. She continues to combine this newly transmuted energy with male energy that she absorbs daily. During sleep she is able to deposit this high level astral energy safely in the astral planes.

The high level astral energy ensures that her future life events will always be controlled by spiritual forces. She can create the type of life she chooses. She astrally creates both her life events and those of the male whose energy she is sharing. She does this for both of them.

She mixes these life events with the collective events of society . The events combine to create the motivating force that directs all physical events. These things must happen in the astral before they can happen in the physical.

The male has the ability to travel astrally and alter his future or someone else’s by exchanging one type of energy with another type of energy. For example, he may wish to alter a potential negative event before it happens. While dreaming he astrally confronts the negative event and exchanges positive astral energy for the negative astral energy.

This corrects the potential event and he absorbs the negative energy back into his body. He works with this negative energy until he is able to transmute it and store it within his body safely as an energy resource.

Fortunately, once a person knows how to transmute energy properly they can absorb and transmute this negative energy as easily and harmlessly as their own energy.

Male experience:

As he transmutes both male and female spiritual energies into mental energy he becomes acutely aware of his sexuality. He becomes sexually attracted to her. He has no outlet for this increased energy and sexual tension and frustration result.

He is torn between his noble spiritual goals and his raw sexual needs. He tries to be both physical and spiritual at the same time. He struggles with abstract concepts like good and evil or heaven and hell and agonizes over the future of his soul. This remains a mental experience for him.

Female experience:

As she transmutes her sexual energy into spiritual energy she is struggling to regain her spirituality. She feels pulled into sensuality and worldly pleasures. She longs for these things but fears entrapment in them. She feels social pressures are confining and preventing her from having a good time.

She feels like a Goddess and has total control over her life at this point. She does what she feels like doing. She communicates easily with others and has both innocence and perceptiveness. She is irresistibly drawn toward sexuality and the God in a physical body.

It is this time of year just after the winter solstice that a new wave of spiritual light and love enters the earth and into all those that are open to it. This energy is our gift to use as we wish through the coming year and we can use it any way that we want.

This is a seasonal thing and happens every year, but this year is special because of Gaia’s long anticipated ascension. We learn about Gaia’s ascension little by little as it happens. We are often surprised at how it unfolds as it takes totally unexpected directions.

But I would like to suggest that the physical ascension of Gaia appears to take place on the elemental level one element at a time and that the time period from Dec 21, 2012 until this winter solstice involved the ascension and final vibratory alignment of the element hydrogen within all things living and non-living.

This means that those capable of activating their hydrogen soul body [crown chakra] would find their awareness ascending into a new world view that would help transform this planet into a new Garden Of Eden as they physically anchored this new energy.

Think about the element hydrogen and how pervasive it is within our world and within the genetic structure of our physical bodies. Then consider that this one element has spiritualized itself and no longer functions as it once did.

This winter solstice and this Christmas season the baton is handed off to the element helium for the first time and the ascension process goes even deeper into physical reality. Helium [Christ spirit, third eye energy] deals with totally different things than hydrogen [Unity, crown chakra] and the physical activity will express itself in entirely new ways that it didn’t before. We don’t know how long it will take to transform all helium atoms into their new vibratory state, but it might take a few years as well before it settles into its new frequency and passes the baton on to Lithium!

And so Gaia’s ascension goes, one step at a time and one element at a time. It is gradual, but inevitable and on the higher levels has already happened! This ascension of the elements is happening throughout our entire galaxy and affecting entire star systems.

Some of us older souls are now being forced or transformed through quantum leaps into light bodies as we go through this evolutionary leap with Gaia and as we hold the new energies constant. The longer we can remain in our physical bodies, the more smoothly Gaia’s ascension will progress and the easier it will be for those who are eagerly taking part in the new game of physicality!

It is we older souls that have created this new game for younger souls to experience and enjoy and we now stand on the sidelines as observers and umpires making sure that the rules are enforced. This is not a game for us to play since we already know the rules, have created the rules. It wouldn’t be fair! Besides, we are just entering into a brand new game of multidimensionality that is just as exciting for us as the new game of physicality is for those younger souls.

Many of us are now leaving, but some are staying as long as we can in support of this new world and the younger souls that will transform it in their own way. We will stay as element after element has found its new vibratory frequency and awakened its corresponding light body. Gradually we will fade away like the mythical elves into the higher dimensions.

We are dedicated to making this a magical experience for everyone and this time of year is perhaps the most magical of all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Chapter 25A

Chapter 25

“You claim to add your light with ours but you have only led us further into darkness and danger making our entire community more vulnerable. How will you defend us in our weakness?”

Once more Tobal had no reply and his guide remained silent. He was led roughly to the center of the circle and held pinned between two hooded guards.

The High Priest continued.” The Apprentice degree is of spiritual protection and growth. In your progress through that degree you have been magickally protected from evil influences that might have otherwise entered your life. As a member of our sacred circle you will always have protection from the evil of the outside world but we can never protect you from the evil that is within your own nature and within each one of us. You must learn to master this evil, the weakness and the fear that is within you and that prevents you from acting when there is need to act and that causes you to act blindly and in destructive ways. This is the work of the Journeyman.

In this degree the evil and wickedness that is within your heart will be awakened. You will need to confront and master the demons you carry in secret. You must combat these inner demons with your own Inner Light or they will become your masters. Only when you have mastered your own inner demons will you have truly earned the right to this degree. Again this is a life time work we must all face. Symbolically this inner battle is marked by the success in defeating six members of this degree in combat. After defeating six members of this degree you will be considered eligible for the 3rd and final degree of Master that leads to citizenship. Are you ready to continue?”

“Yes.”

“Then let the fight begin!”

Six dark hooded figures stepped forth from the circle and stood in menacing silence as the High Priest, High Priestess and the two guards moved away. His guide took his torch and left him alone within the circle. Tobal stood silently in confusion.

“To continue in this degree you must defeat six members of this degree in combat and you have agreed to do this. Let the fight begin!”

Gradually Tobal realized he was expected to fight all six of the figures that stood silently around him. He pulled himself into a fighting stance and began circling defensively. None of the cloaked figures moved. He circled closer toward one of the figures in a threatening manner and tried a feint with his right. The figure still didn’t move. Encouraged Tobal struck the figure lightly on the shoulder and suddenly doubled up in pain as he received a savage punch in the belly that knocked him to the floor of the cave fighting waves of nausea.

He struggled to his feet and gazed silently at the six unmoving figures. He didn’t know what to do. It looked as though he was in for a beating and there was no way around it. Moving toward a second figure he took a savage thrust only to find his fist parried as something hard slammed into the side of his head and he saw stars. Picking himself off the ground once more he felt blind rage begin to build inside him and he rushed and grappled with a third hoping to push him over only to find to his horror that the figure was solid as stone. He was embraced solidly in a crushing bear hug that hurt his ribs before being thrown him to the floor with such violence the wind was knocked out of him.

Tobal had never been much of a fighter and having the wind knocked out of him totally took any fight out of him that might have been there and he refused to get up sobbing in frustration.

“He refuses to fight! He refuses to fight!” A voice cried out from the edge of the circle.

“Yes, he refuses to fight!” Came a murmur from the other hooded figures and the entire circle began moving silently widdershins. After one complete circle the drums began to pound and echo eerily within the cave as the black cloaked figures started coming nearer and nearer. At times a dancing figure would strike Tobal a light but stinging blow on the head or body. He couldn’t see any of the faces and recognized none of the dancers.

The energy within the circle all felt wrong and it was building. He felt fear and panic begin to grip him at the base of his tailbone and start it’s slow climb up his spine. Then he felt his own energy slip and begin to turn in this counter clockwise direction. What were they doing to him? He could feel the energy grow and grow and it felt strange and dark, not bad or evil but dangerous and menacing.

The High Priest then placed his hands on Tobal’s head, his voice echoing weirdly within the chamber.

“In the name of the Lord and Lady I draw the dark energy of the earth up into your physical body and up into your soul that you might become master of yourself and Journeyman.”

Tobal felt a weird tingling and warmth as a glowing yellow green energy pooled around his feet and gradually moved upward filling his body and finally leaving out the top of his head going up into the spiritual light. He also felt the spirit of his father enter into him as if taking possession of his body and momentarily looking out of his eyes.

“You have done well.” Said his father. “We will wait for you.”

The High Priestess then stepped forward and placing her hands upon his head directed energy into his aching body. Tobal recognized her as Misty.

“In the name of the Lord and Lady, I draw the dark energy of the earth into your physical body and into your soul that you might become a master of yourself and Journeyman.”

This time it was a different type of energy, to Tobal it felt a darker and more threatening energy that carried frightening images with it. It was a feminine Goddess energy that curled up around his legs with tendrils entering his heart and choking his throat, filling his eyes and his mind. It was like a giant tree that grew out of the earth itself filled with the power of life and death reaching through him and above him toward the spiritual sun as it’s final destination.

Then his heart ached as he felt the spirit of his mother enter into his body and felt as if she were holding him in her arms protecting him with her aura and strength. As quickly as she had entered he felt her leaving with a kiss and a whispered “be strong”.

At the same moment he felt his father holding his mother’s hand and felt the love they had for each other and the love they had for him. He rejoiced in the knowledge as the energy slowly sank deep into his very bones and he knew something had changed inside of him forever.

The High Priest continued. “Are you ready to receive wisdom and be nourished by life.”

“Yes.” Tobal mumbled through a split lip. He was helped to his feet.

“The first and most important lesson is that there are times in life when you must fight for what you believe and there are times not to fight. Learn to choose your battles and if you fight, then fight to win giving all that you have. When you do this you will be respected even if you should be defeated in battle as must sometimes happen to each of us. There is no shame is loosing a battle. There is shame in not giving all that you have.”

“The second lesson.” He continued. “Is that fighting is hard and thirsty work!”

“Let’s party!”

A throaty welcome went up and echoed in the cavern chamber as hoods were thrown back and Tobal was half dragged and half carried into another chamber where food and drink had been prepared. There was a general feeling of good will and welcome as he was hugged and congratulated by people he recognized but hadn’t seen for a long time.

Rafe was there pounding him on the back and laughing as Tobal winced in pain.

“Thought you would never get here!” He shouted above the noise of the crowd.

Ellen was there too giving him a hug and a kiss.

Tobal stayed for a few days exploring the caverns and talking to people. He retrieved the items belonging to his parents and felt better wearing them once more. He spent a lot of time just getting caught up on what had been going on with others that had become 2nd degree members before him.

After a few days his supply of trail food was growing slim and he knew he had to get going. He was growing restless. On the third day he decided to just go out on his own and process what had happened and what it all meant to him. After saying his farewells to his new brothers and sisters he set off for his base camp.

Tobal’s black tunic felt a bit strange and jarring to him at first, he had grown so accustomed to the grey ones. There was also the shock of pushinging himself as hard as possible for an entire year living off the land and training newbies and now not having anything to do. Time just seemed to drag and he was not looking forward to his first fight a month from now.

He was also worried about what he had found out about his parents and the thought that they might still be hooked up to some strange machine and kept alive through life support. He found that he didn’t want to believe it. He wished to think of them as the Lord and Lady just as Crow had taught him.

The midsummer celebration at circle was a welcome change. The weather was hot but fair and sunny and he almost wished he were training a newbie. As a new journeyman he got his first duties which were to act as guard for the Apprentice initiations. He had already expected this and was not surprised. He got there early in the morning and changed into his black robes. From that point on he was on duty and not relieved until the last newbie was initiated late that night. It was a long day and he really missed being at the circle and being with Becca.

Even though he was not at the circle he did hear the news. Sarah, Anne, Derdre, Seth and Crow each proclaimed their newbies ready to solo. This time the elders gave their approval. Tyrone, Zee, Kevin and Butch each had newbies to initiate but that had been expected since they had spent the entire month waiting for newbies. The surprise was ten newbies to initiate. Becca and Melanie had each not only gotten newbies to initiate but had both proclaimed them ready to solo. The Elders agreed.

Melanie and Becca each received their fifth chevrons. Nikki was not there but had received her fourth. Tara and Nick were not there either and he thought they were probably at sanctuary also.

Becca gave him a brief kiss and hug when she brought her last newbie to the guard post. She was the one that told him Rafe was now one of the Council of Elders. She was glowing and happy.

“We’ll talk later.” She promised and held him close. Then she kissed him and went looking for Melanie who had already dropped her newbie off with Tobal earlier.

Nikki had lost out and was still waiting at sanctuary with some others for her last newbie. To everyone’s sorrow Mike had quit the program and so had one of the other Apprentices that Tobal didn’t remember. Butch took it hardest since he had been close friends with Mike.

Later, after the initiations were over Tobal walked into the circle area for the first time dressed in his black robes. As Tobal mingled and chatted with his old friends they congratulated him and were glad to see him but he couldn’t help but notice how some of his friends looked at him a little differently now that he was wearing black instead of gray.

“I’m still the same person.” He thought to himself. But then realized that he really wasn’t the same person. His old friends had mostly been Apprentices and while he had known a couple Masters like Rafe and Ellen, most of the time he hung around with the same group of people. There were a lot of the newbies that didn’t know who he was. He noticed that some of his brothers and sisters in black tended to keep to themselves and hoped he would always feel friendly toward the newbies and Apprentices and not distant himself too much from them.

Nine of Wands

Symbol- He tells her that she is beautiful

She becomes beautiful

Meaning- He gives her the key

He not only has to transmute his spiritual energy into sexual energy, he has to transmute hers as well because they have combined to form astral energy. First he must learn to transmute it into mental energy.

Before he can do this he must confront not only his inner fears and insecurities but hers as well. After he can look in the mirror and say, “You are lovable in spite of your faults”, he will realize she rejected him for her own reasons and her own insecurities. She was not rejecting him as a person but rejecting her capacity to have a serious relationship with anyone.

He is finally able to realize she was not ready to have a serious relationship with anyone yet, she just wanted to have fun. After admitting he has made a fool of himself he is ready to date other girls. He now has a greater sensitivity and mental understanding of females. He is ready to date for companionship and fun without insisting upon a serious relationship.

Realizing she has her own insecurities and fears about relationships, he learns the importance of telling her that she is beautiful. How important it is to support her in the things she is trying to do. He helps her to believe in herself and in her ability to achieve her dreams.

As she struggles to transmute her sexual energy into spiritual energy she confronts her feelings of guilt and unworthiness. She realizes she has been hurting others and using them for her own pleasure. It had been so easy and fun. He brought her everything and treated her special. No one had ever done that before.

Her conscience begins to bother her and she begins to think about a more serious relationship. She dreads hurting someone by breaking off a relationship even if she is not happy in it. She doesn’t want to hurt him anymore.
She wants to make him happy and knows she can if she tries. She makes herself beautiful both physically and spiritually.

Male experience:

He confronts his own limitations. Heavy feelings of guilt and unworthiness are encountered. He is exposed to his greatest weaknesses and embarrassments in his efforts to understand her rejection of him. Finally he realizes he is lovable. If she rejected him it must be insecurities and weaknesses on her part.

He is stunned by the realization that his Goddess is human and suffers from the same fears and insecurities he does. It never occurred to him that maybe she just wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, that maybe she needed to be told she was beautiful.

Female experience:

Her conscience is beginning to bother her. She is getting a long list of broken hearts behind her. No one was ever supposed to get hurt. Why did they insist on falling in love with her? She doesn’t even love herself! Each time she ends a relationship she feels a little more empty inside.

She thinks about getting more deeply involved with someone and stays in a relationship she is not happy in because she doesn’t want to hurt him. She dresses up for him and begins to do things for him. She begins to feel beautiful and loved. It is a powerful feeling to realize someone really cares about her.

Unity Or Chaos

Welcome to the new world! As the new energy comes shooting in for the coming year the major events are arranging themselves as we speak. Those to be lifted as well as those that will fall. It should be pretty clear by now which is which.

Conflict draws one into conflict and self destruction. This is the new energy dynamic and people need to start getting their collective heads around it. When you hurt or seek to hurt anyone else you hurt yourself. We are all a part of each other.

But there is another new trick out there. Live and let live no longer works and leads only to stagnation. You need to dive into the mix and go for what you want and allow others to do the same. You need to care, not only about yourself, but about others as well. Let others know what you want in life and how you want to be treated. Then listen to their own story as they share. Perhaps a win-win situation can be established.

This is also a time for joining together of like minds and like souls. There are others out there that share your values and beliefs and you can be powerful supportive forces for each other if you can connect. This is the next stage.

Chapter 24B

“Checking out these forbidden locations is one way of finding out what we are up against,” was Rafe’s stubborn reply.

“I’ve got an idea,” Tobal said suddenly.

Then he explained the situation with Crow and Llana and how Crow was going to take one group and start training them to be time travelers while Llana’s group would remain within the system but receive the same training.

“Count me in,” Rafe said.

“Me too,” was Ellen’s reply.

“Good,” said Tobal. “I will tell Llana to start meeting with each of you and training you in what you need to know. She won’t be wearing a med-alert bracelet anymore and can meet you just about anywhere you decide. She won’t show up on any of the monitors.”

He looked at Rafe. “You could even take her by air sled and drop her off at some of those forbidden locations and let her check them out. Then she could bi-locate out with the information about the area. I think she can only bi-locate to a place she has been before but once she knows where it is she would be able to go back when ever she wanted.”

Ellen and Rafe looked at Tobal and at each other and nodded. It seemed like a fairly good plan. They would be waiting for Llana to contact them. In the meantime Tobal would set things up with Llana and get his Journeyman initiation.

Both Ellen and Rafe said they were going to be at his Journeyman initiation. He had almost forgotten about it. The secret location turned out to be a cave. Tobal hadn’t realized there were so many caves in the area. He scouted the area ahead of time looking for trails that led into it. He found a safe hiding spot for the things that belonged to his parents and left them in a bundle to pick up later after his initiation.

Finally satisfied that he knew where he was supposed to go he went into the camp itself. No one had said anything about coming early and the late spring weather made travelling a bit uncertain. He felt it was better to show up early than to show up late. It was only a few hours early and they would be expecting him.

He decided the best course of action was to stay on the path and make no sudden moves remembering what had happened with Melanie. It turned out he didn’t need to be so cautious. Turning a corner in the path were two guards standing in the middle of the path as a road block. They had a small fire going and there was a lived in occupied look that made Tobal suspect this camp was always guarded.

They greeted him warmly and one guard remained on the trail while he was escorted to a chamber and told to wait. After about an hour of silence someone came for him and again his guide was female. This time it was a girl Tobal knew as Lea dressed in a black robe and hood that covered her honey colored hair.

“Do you seek the Light and Wisdom of our secret circle,” she asked as she approached him in the darkness.

“Yes, I do.” Tobal replied.

“There is no Light for you here. In the Apprentice degree you have received all of our light. What you need now is more darkness so the Light within you can shine forth more brightly. That is how you will attain the wisdom of our circle. Will you permit me to be your guide into the darkness?” She asked.
Tobal was surprised and a little shaken by this and wondered what he was getting himself into but he remembered Rafe and knew it couldn’t be too bad.

“I will permit you to be my guide,” he told her.

“You must leave everything behind if you are to enter this degree,” she told him.

Then she told him to strip completely. She fastened a large blindfold around his eyes so he couldn’t see anything and taking his left hand led him further into the cave. In the other hand she carried a burning torch. Tobal sensed the light from the torch but couldn’t see anything through the fabric of the blindfold. His guide led him for some way and then stopped. A bundle of clothing was pressed into his hands and he was told to dress himself.

“Are you willing to receive the darkness,” she asked him?

“Yes.”

“What are the two passwords into our sacred circle, she asked.

“Perfect love and perfect trust,” he replied.

Lea said, “No, in this degree these are reversed. In this degree you must have perfect trust to find perfect love. In this degree we study the duality of opposites inherent in all of nature. Think upon these things as you wait on my return.”

She told him to sit down where he was and took his blind fold off. As his eyes adjusted to the glare of the torch she told him it was very important he stay where he was because the cave was large and he could get lost or killed if he wandered away in the darkness without knowing where he was going. She was going to go and see if things were ready for the initiation. In the meantime he was to quietly meditate and prepare himself.

She turned and left him sitting in the darkness. As he watched the torch grew smaller in the distance and then disappeared altogether as she turned a corner. He had never experienced such total darkness and it was unnerving. For a moment he fought the impulse to get up and run after her. In the darkness the rock and earthy feeling of the cave seemed to close in on him and press against his ribs making it hard to breathe.

There was a sound in the darkness behind him and a bolt of panic and fear tried to tear itself loose and gain control over him. It took a massive effort of will to fight the feelings back. He began concentrating on his breathing and centering as Crow had taught him. He deliberately pulled the earth energy up from the ground and from all around him and encircled himself with it and called on the Lord and Lady to be there with him.

In the blackness of the cave he began to see glowing lights and couldn’t tell if he was seeing them with his physical eyes or in his mind’s eye. There simply was not any way of knowing if they were figments of his imagination or if they were real. He wanted to believe they were real but whenever he tried to focus and look at them directly they would disappear. This continued for some time.

He could feel his heart beating and pulsing in his throat and arms and in his heart itself. It was a slow steady rhythm that seemed to comfort and protect him. It seemed like hours had passed and he wondered if he had been forgotten but was not particularly worried. He had found his center and surrounded himself with protection. Then he heard someone coming and saw the faint gleams of light from the torch.

The light blinded his eyes as Lea came up to him and told him they were ready. She handed a second torch to him and lit it.

“You carry your own light into our circle.” She told him. “In the Apprentice degree there were two passwords. What were they?”

“Perfect love and perfect trust.” He replied.

“And what are the passwords into the Journeyman degree?”

“Perfect trust and perfect love.” He replied.

“Remember these passwords.” She said. “You will need them to gain entry into our sacred circle.”

As Tobal was led deeper into the cave it opened into an enormous cavern. Torches had been placed around at various points for lighting and there was no large fire in the center of the cave. The smoke from the torches rose and lost itself high in the vaulted ceiling finding escape through some hidden airway. Four small fires marked the four quarters of the circle at a smooth and level spot in the cavern floor.

A circle had been formed by dark hooded figures standing silently waiting for him. The High Priest and High Priestess were dressed in red robes with large hoods that hid their faces. Looking at them, Tobal couldn’t make out who they were. The hooded figures around the circle looked eerie in the flickering torchlight. He was halted at the edge of the circle.

Lea pulled him forward. “An Apprentice is among us proven by the elements of nature and of the earth. He wishes to join his light with our own so our community might be more illumined and our wisdom grow. He further wishes to follow the ancient craft and learn the ways of our sacred circle.”

The High Priest came over and stood in front of Tobal staring intently into his eyes.

“I must remind you that this is not a matter to be lightly taken. Your immortal soul will be deeply committed to the path of the Lord and Lady. Do you desire to have your destiny joined with theirs?”

“I do.”

“Do you seek the way that reaches beyond life and death? Will you serve the Lord and reverence the Lady? Will you keep secret from the unworthy that which we show you?”

“Yes.” Tobal replied to each of these questions in turn.

“So be it. Child of Earth enter the path of darkness.” Stepping back he motioned for Tobal to walk in front of him into the circle. But his guide quickly restrained him.”

“You can’t enter our sacred circle unpurified.” She said. Then taking a bowl of water from the High Priest she sprinkled him with it.

“I purify you with water.”

She waved the torch over him, in front of him and behind him.

“I purify you with fire.”

Then the High Priest stepped forward once more.

“There are two passwords that will allow you to enter our sacred circle. What are they?”

Tobal replied, “Perfect Trust and perfect Love.”

“Then lead us with your light into the greater darkness.” Said the High Priest. “Show us the way.”

Tobal’s guide tugged him widdershins toward the North quarter and Tobal led the silent party to the small fire signifying the North quarter. He stood silently before the fire wondering what to do for several minutes as they bowed respectfully and waited. Then he felt his guide nudging him toward the west and he led the party to the quarter of the circle representing west and water. As before they remained standing silent before the watchtower with bowed heads. Again his guide nudged him forward toward the south.

After paying homage to the watchtower of the south Tobal led them to the Watchtower of the East where the process was repeated. Then Tobal was nudged by his guide to continue widdershins until they arrived at the entrance path into the circle itself. The High Priest roared out in anger.

“Seize Him!”

Taking his knife the High Priest pressed it against Tobal’s chest and cried out in anger.

“We trusted you and you have only led us in a large circle. We have arrived back at the beginning. Why have you done this to us?”

Tobal had no answer to give and his guide remained silent.

Eight Of Wands

symbol- She comes to him in dreams

He takes her astral substance.

Meaning- join forces

She has given away her excess spiritual energy to several males. She is still capable of generating this energy by transmuting her sexual energy into spiritual energy but this is difficult at first and she resists doing it. It is hard to transmute one type of energy into another.

She is drawn to the male in her dreams even though she is not dating him any more. His desire for her is so intense it pulls her spirit to him as a moth to a flame. The astral connection once created is not easily broken. During this dream contact more of her spiritual energy is given to the male. She has no control over this. This energy exchange depletes her and forces her to transmute sexual energy into spiritual energy.

This action of transmuting sexual energy into spiritual energy opens up important energy channels within her physical body and her nervous system. It ensures she retains the ability to operate at the highest spiritual levels. If these channels remain blocked she would feel a loss of her spiritual self.

The male generates energy from light energy and stores it within his body. To do this he learns how to transmute light energy into sexual energy. It must be transmuted first into spiritual energy, then into mental energy, then into emotional energy, then into nerve energy and finally into sexual energy.

The process of doing this opens up important energy centers within his body and his nervous system. At first this is difficult and he resists fiercely by living entirely in his head with his abstract thoughts and spiritual ideals. His connection of physical reality is in danger.

If you think about something long enough you will get emotional about it. If you get emotional enough about something you will be compelled into action to do something about it. This is the process he must now go through.
It is vital he open these blocked channels if he wants to actualize his dreams into physical reality. If he doesn’t he will remain caught up in wild ideas and schemes that have no chance at becoming reality. He must anchor this volatile energy at the earth level, the sexual level.

Male experience:

He can’t get her out of his mind. She comes to him in his dreams. She haunts every part of his waking life. He is frustrated and angry at himself, her, and at the world for being the way it is.

His ego is identifying with his physical body but his growing psychic awareness is in conflict with his conscious awareness. His conscious awareness is telling him to let her go and find someone else. His psychic awareness is telling him he will never find anyone else like her. He will never find anyone that understands him so perfectly.

Gradually he comes to terms with her rejection of him and his emotional/spiritual wounds begin to heal.

Female experience:

She is determined to forget him and the others she has dated. In spite of her efforts she is pulled to him in her dreams. Instinctively she knows there is still a powerful connection between them and he is draining her of energy. She experiences a fearful struggle to maintain any spiritual life at all. She feels as if she is loosing her virtue and being dragged down into materialism and sensuality against her will. He is somehow making her feel dirty.

By transmuting her sexual energy into spiritual energy she learns how to deal with this energy exchange effortlessly and retain her spiritual connection.

Chapter 24A

Chapter 24

“If I had to say where I thought the problem was, I’d say it was in having us train six newbies before moving on. We could probably get by with training four or five instead.” Then he grinned at Zee and Kevin. “Still, that’s because we are good trainers. There are some people out here that still struggle to survive after two years. I would hate to train with them. I guess the bottom line is if you can survive out here for a year you must know what you are doing.”

“You have always done a good job training newbies,” Zee told him. “No one has ever complained about your training.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever complained about Becca, Melanie or Nikki either,” he reminded her. I guess the best thing is to trust the Council of Elders to make these decisions for us.” He looked at Zee, “I have heard you are the most thorough trainer out here. You teach things many of us don’t even think about.”

She blushed and looked pleased. “Thank you Tobal. That was a very nice thing to say.”

Kevin nodded and gave her a squeeze. “We’d better get going. I want to get out of this rain.”

They laughed and with a final wave headed toward one of the shelters. Sarah’s, Anne’s, Derdre’s, Seth’s and Crow’s newbies were all going to be initiated along with Zee’s, Kevin’s, Melanie’s, Becca’s and Nikki’s. That was ten initiations and it was going to be a long night Tobal thought as he watched and listened to the Council of Elders.

Crow had proclaimed his newbie ready to solo but the Elders had not approved demanding one more month of training. Crow was pretty upset at this and it took quite a while before he was calmed down. He felt he was being picked on because he was so young and from the village. Some of the others pointed out this was his first newbie and the Elders just wanted to be careful. Tobal felt Crow had gotten a bad break and sympathized with him. Still it was true. No one else really knew him yet.

At circle Llana made quite an impression with her wolf cubs. She strolled in with the two cubs trailing at her heels. Tobal had not even been sure she would show up or that he would get his chevron. He hadn’t seen her since she had left to give her grandfather the message. The cubs were nervous and kept very close to her. He was glad to see her for several different reasons.

Tobal was officially recognized and given his 6th chevron along with the secret location where he was to be initiated into the 2nd degree in two weeks during the new moon. As soon as he could he moved over to where Llana was tying the cubs to a tree and kneeled down to scratch one of the pups behind the ears and smiled as it recognized him.

“Is your grandfather ok?” He asked.

She smiled, “Hi Tobal” and gave him a kiss and a hug. “Grandfather is doing fine. He was very excited to hear about Adam Gardener, Sarah’s father, and agreed that Adam was in serious danger so he left right away to talk with him.”

Then her face got very serious. “Someone broke into the store while they were talking and they needed to bi-locate to escape. Neither one of them has been back to the store since. That was how close it was. They didn’t see who it was but they are assuming it was some of General Grant’s men. They also believe it is too dangerous to go back.”

She looked at him. “I gave your wand to my grandfather since I thought he might need it. I hope that is ok?”

Tobal nodded, “I couldn’t take it with me to the Journeyman place anyway. It would not be safe there. Someone might discover it.”

“Tobal,” she said. “There has been a change in my plans. Grandfather and Adam have agreed to train both Crow and me in time travel to the locations that are open to us. We feel it is better to have four of us able to time travel than just two in case something happens to one of us.”

He swallowed a bitter lump in his throat. “That means you are going to quit the program?”

She nodded quietly. “We’re counting on you to stay in the program. I can meet you once or twice a month and continue your training so you will be ready to time travel as soon as possible. Without med-alert bracelets we will have much more freedom to come and go and meet with people.”

“How soon will that be,” he asked somewhat bitterly. “How soon will I be able to time travel?”

She sensed his disappointment and put her right hand gently on his shoulder. “You have learned a lot,” she told him quietly. “But there is still a lot to learn. Perhaps by the time you are a medic you will be ready. The ability to bi-locate is the key to the entire process. When you have learned how to do that you will be ready. In the meantime you will continue within the program itself. As Ron and Rachel’s son they will be watching you in the hopes that you will have the same abilities that your parents did. They will give you as much training as possible before they attempt to use you. It is almost certain you will be chosen to be trained for Federation time travel.”

“Do I need to join those people?”

“We need to know where your parents are kept if we are going to help them,” she reminded him. “We will also need someone on the inside that knows their way around. Crow is going to start training a group for bi-location and time travel at the village. I am going to be working with you and your group.”

“My group?” He asked puzzled.

“Yes, your group,” she smiled. “You didn’t think you were going to be doing this alone did you?”

“Well, kind of,” he admitted.

“As you continue through the training you will meet people you trust and become friends with,” she told him. “ Some of them will be chosen to continue on within the time travel program. If you and I also teach them the bi-location process in secret they will test well enough to be chosen. Your group can then infiltrate the organization.”

“How long will all of this take,” he said in despair. “My parents are dying!”

“Your parents have been dying for twenty years,” she said softly. “ They will stay alive as long as they know we are coming. They have told me that. We will need between one and two years to get your group trained and ready. That means you will all be medics by then.”

“When will I be able to talk with my parents like you and Crow do?”

“That should start happening soon,” she told him. “Your coming initiation should assist in that process. In the meantime keep practicing your meditations and exercises.”

“You said we will continue meeting each month,” Tobal said. “When and where will we meet next?”

“Let’s meet three days after every circle at your base camp,” she decided. “That will work for starters. Later we can find a better location if we want to.”

They left it at that and he noticed Llana and the wolf cubs were gone shortly after that. She didn’t stay for circle or to talk with any of the others. He realized she had come just to talk with him and to make sure he got his sixth chevron.

Even with ten initiations there was a shortage of newbies and Tobal noticed that several clansmen including Tyrone, Mike and Butch were not at circle. They were presumably waiting at sanctuary for more newbies and had been waiting the entire month. Tempers were flaring around the newbie situation.

Mike was angry and so were Tara and Nick who decided to just stay together for the month. Wayne and Char didn’t really care and were back together. There were five other clansmen really angry about the newbie situation. It had reached the point where four Apprentices simply left for the coast. That was more than the monthly one or two that elected to drop out of the program.

Tobal had been doing some heavy thinking about the newbie situation and realized most of the problems were because Nikki, Melanie, Becca and himself had all trained newbies within a month and created a bottleneck situation with the newbies. They were getting their training too fast. There had been a problem when Rafe was training newbies one a month but this was far worse since Rafe was just one person. Now there were several people training that fast. He decided to talk to Ellen about it after circle that evening.

Angel was High Priestess for the circle and Tobal noticed Dirk was acting High Priest for the first time. He was closely monitored by the old High Priest but went through the entire ritual himself. Tobal thought he had done a good job. He could sense the Lord and Lady during each of the initiations but was not able to contact them. It seemed they were focused entirely on the initiates for some reason.

The ten initiations took a long time and he missed chatting with Becca and the others. He did sit beside Ellen though and asked her about making all the training two months long for everyone.

She turned an amused eye toward him, “The Council of Elders has already discussed that in depth. We decided if a newbie is properly trained and ready to solo we have no right to prevent them. If some people can do the training within a month they have the right to do so. If some trainers are motivated to move through the ranks more quickly than others they should be allowed to do that also.”

“But what about all the bad feelings among the clansmen?” He asked. “What about the shortage of newbies?”

Ellen sighed, “Melanie, Becca and Nikki are the only ones left that are training newbies that quickly. They are trying to get their last newbies right now. No one else is trying to train that fast and the problem will go away when they become Journeymen. It is not right to punish them for being good trainers. We did not punish you or Rafe.”

“All in all,” she continued. “It is an effective system and we are inclined to keep things the way they are.”

Tobal nodded and changed the subject as Rafe sat down and joined them at one of the pauses between initiations.

“So what has been happening with the City Council this past month?”

“Not much,” Ellen replied. “Last month’s meeting was cancelled. The mayor contacted us and said they were not ready for a meeting yet. The mayor had dark circles under his eyes and looked a lot older than I remembered. This must be pretty hard on him.”

Tobal changed the subject. “Rafe,” Tobal grinned, “You have an airsled now?”

Rafe was wearing his red Master’s robe for the first time to circle. “It’s over there.” He pointed to a location slightly outside of the gathering spot. “I’m still not sure how fast it will go.” He chuckled and glanced at Ellen.

She looked at Rafe with a concerned look. “It’s not a toy Rafe. There have been several air sled deaths.”

He pouted. “I’m just kidding. Don’t take me so serious. Besides”, he continued glumly, “They watch us like a hawk. I can’t get away with anything.”

He brightened a bit. “But I am going to check out some of those forbidden areas that are marked on this map though. Maybe I will have something interesting to add by next month.”

Tobal had almost forgotten the map of forbidden locations Rafe had gotten from Ellen several months ago. Without an air sled Rafe had not been able to check any of them out.

Ellen protested, “Rafe, I don’t really think you should be doing things like that right now. Things are getting dangerous and we don’t really know what we are up against.”