By

Jennifer Hoover (Banks)

As she awakens , she is filled with quite a curious feeling .

It Surges first through her head then downward until it consumes the maiden entirely .

She believes it to be no more then left over fragments from an aberrant dream brimming with sacred whispers.

She stretches and give a slight yawn.

Slowly her eyes begin to filter in the light as they open she expects to find herself wrapped in supple silken sheets,

and nestled among overstuffed down pillows .

Yet as her pupils focus on her surroundings , she finds herself lying on an opulent bed of clover that sparkles in beautiful shades of emerald.

Adorned in flowing purple satin fastened at the shoulder by a broach of carved stone. Engraved upon it are symbols that she had once known,

though their meaning was lost so many lifetimes ago. However she knows that deep within her the language still resides.

She wares golden serpents with dappled eyes coiled about her arms,

their jewelled tongues hiss, speaking of things which she can not comprehend,their directions are unclear.

It is then she hears a voice that calls deep from within her heart.

"Arise and journey to the axis of my garden".

So hypnotic is his call,it renders her momentarily placid and floods her mind with impressions of a time so long past,

a time when she was made new in some way,yet how she can not yet grasp.

The stillness passes and so she rises , as the first step is taken an illustrious pathway of amethyst

pushes up from beneath the earths floor, sprawling out far beyond her field of vision.

Along it's sides crystal spirals erupt in various hues, as they reach their peak lotus flowers burst into full bloom atop the prismatic swirling

stems.

She moves onward letting the familiar voice guide her as starlight rains down , casting its hazy glow upon this mystical realm

of her higher conscious.

Seemingly from nowhere a reflecting pool manifests at the left hand side of the path on which she walks.

Bordered by smooth marble rectangles, directly at the heart of the pool surrounded by massive lime stone stands a lone willow so profound,

it could only be beheld on a mystic plane such as this. Its weeping branches dance ever so gracefully on the breeze , with tender offshoots

occasionally sweeping downward invading the serene surface, sending out alien ripples over the sapphire waters.

Suddenly the amethyst pathway beneath her bare feet gives way to smooth stepping stones of jade, leading her to an almost translucent yet

multicolored labyrinth. As she makes her way inward black glistening liquid flows like honey down its walls.

Transcending through the corridors while running her fingers across the cool slick surface, the dark crystalline substance runs over her hand

and in that moment a lost arcane knowledge fills her, its light courses through her being, merging with the very blood that streams through

those veins, opening her to things forgotten.

How long has it been since I have walked these passages? So much time has passed, so much forgotten now being recalled.

As she departs those halls, there he shall be in the heart of a luxuriant garden. Seated upon that ancient granite bench.

Before she can form a thought in her head or part her lips to speak it, she rests beside him in a celestial paradise.

It was here they had sat in a time far past, here that she first breathed in the succulent night jasmine that floated on a warm breeze.

Here that she first gazed upon his magnificent face as they were bathed in the divine light of the luminescent Goddess who hangs ever enduring

in the star filled night skies. Here that she would first here the whispers that flowed like wine from those lips softer than silk,

that would come to know every part of her .

Here he will rise offering the strong hand that will so many times hold within it her face.

Here she will gather herself from the familiar stone and take his outstretched hand.

Floating to the east point of the grounds her satin garment brushes gently across the grass.

Encompassing this enchanted place are tall imperial hedges yet there is seemingly nothing beyond them.

As they come upon them it is here that she takes pause.

The massive shrubs seem menacing, they appear to be acting as a century to the secrets that await them on the other side.

They bare enormous thorns that appear as though they could run a man straight through.

Yet at the same time among these thorns and leathery green foliage are beautiful immense roses of violet and phthalo hues .

Though he has not spoken his word gives reassurance, his grip on her tightens and together they permeate the barriers unscathed.

Before them a tranquil vineyard, outpouring towards a great crystal like edifice.

Vines heavily leaden with enormous grapes so perfect ,so blue.

At first glance it would appear as though they were clusters of apples for their size is incredible.

The firma from which this venerable fruit comes to be is set apart from all other, for mingled within the soil,

sparkling flecks of gold give to it nourishment. Gold not like that which is plundered from terra or river beds,

but something tenfold more precious.

For it was brought about through alchemical conjuration by the hand of the one with whom she now walks .

On opalescent triangular stones that follow the span of the vineyards they journey to a place beyond mere knowledge,

This place he will take her she has been before. Perhaps many times, yet with each time he calls for her she has but litle

recollection of what will occur here.

The stones beneath their feet abruptly change, rotating in sequence until they pierce one another forming feminine and masculine pentagrams.

The same dark crystalline liquid that flowed from the labyrinth walls oozes from between the stones and encircles them.

As this takes place a massive stair case breaks through the surface .

At each side golden obelisks upon which there are markings resembling those carved on her broach. Parts of which she now begins to understand .

They bare his name, he the nameless one , the gnostic and keeper of the keys to highest dimension .

Here he is guardian of the light that is the darkness, for here all is one .

Here all is everything, yet here everything is nothing.

Hand in hand they ascend the stairs, climbing till they reach its top.

Before her a structure so extraordinary, a towering pyramid formed of a solitary diamond.

Cut not from any jewellers TooL ,but brought into being by a single thought from the mind of the one who accompanies her.

At the entrance they are welcomed by gilded pillars encircled by jewelled serpents with dappled eyes.

Replicas of those she wares about her arms.

Only so grand in scale they look as if they could consume the mammoth columns on which they are entwined.

For but one moment she is still, transfixed by the serene semblance of this dwelling.

His thoughts tug gently at her mind compelling her forward, they pass through an arch way veiled by a lush silver cloth and emerge

into his chamber. Inside, the walls through lush tapestries tell of his ascent to keeper of secrets, of all sacred rites and rituals.

For in his wisdom he retains the all. Many a soul has gone in search of these secrets, yet even of those who abound in enlightenment

there are but few who shall fully assimilate into divination and penetrate this realm.

Yet here she stands again,called to this place by its keeper.

Here within the confines of his imperial domain he will give to her the power of perception over all things.

Just beyond where she stand a great onyx alter rises from the center of the stone floor.

It is draped in golden linen with a pillow of the same fine cloth on which to rest her head.

Without words between them she knows her place and walks to the alter lying down upon its soft sheer garment.

As she lays her head upon the pillow her raven locks flow over the edge.

He removes his vestments and climbs atop of the alter, taking within his hands her soft olive toned face .

From the ceiling more of the sheer golden cloth falls around them ,as he removes the stone broach that holds her dress upon her.

In surrendering herself to his desire she gains all , For under the golden curtains she drinks in his wine and he her nectar.

Within his chambers they consummate their sacred bond as he gives to her unspoken knowledge.

Here she is made new, she is his and he hers and together they are one