July 12, 2022
Not much has been happening on the Imaginal front during my meditations but last night I awoke and was aware, as sometimes happens, of the presence of souls of the recently deceased. They show up in my consciousness like luminous butterflies or fireflies. I welcomed them and wished them well on their journey. I was a little surprised when, a moment later, their guide appeared as well. This doesn’t usually happen. In fact, the only time it’s happened for me in the past was before and usually after encountering a stuck or lost soul. Usually, a guide would lead me to the soul, wait for me to help free it, and then carry it away again as it proceeded on its journey.\
This guide seemed familiar and I’m sure I’ve met her before. She had a very distinct aura that was reminiscent of Mary Magdalene but a little different. Unlike Mary, she didn’t seem like someone who had been incarnated before; i.e., she had never been a physical being. Her spirit was both grounded and ethereal at the same time. I got a strong sense of a golden serpent, possibly her avatar, as well as another animal. Like Mary Magdalene, her essence was a mixture of gold and black. The gold and black mixed in an earthy way, sometimes appearing lustrous brown and patterned like an animal’s pelt or a snake’s skin.
She was clearly benevolent and was there as a guide for these souls. Like I always do when I have an encounter with the Imaginal, I am touched and reassured by the deep compassion exhibited by all of its denizens. Of course, there are demons and devils and fallen angels and restless spirits but these do not present a problem for me and probably not for most others. (I do wonder if some mental illness is related to possession or at least influence by unhappy and angry entities in the so-called lunar realm. And, yes, I realize how medieval that sounds.) For the vast majority of human souls traveling through the Imaginal, though, they are met by kind, generous and loving entities such as this being.
I asked her who she was because she seemed familiar and also because she was clearly familiar with guiding souls. She didn’t give me a name but did say that some called her the goddess of doorways and crossroads. I immediately thought of Hecate but wasn’t certain until I googled her today.
She was curious about me and I somewhat lightheartedly asked her is she would be there to guide me through the Imaginal when I die. She laughed and said that I didn’t need a guide but then she did something else that left me deeply touched. Her consciousness merged with mine and offered me a teaching on non-doing. When she merged with me, she showed me the ‘doorway’ inside that was open. Furthermore, it’s always open, forever. All one needs to do is be open to it and the journey is at hand. It was a visceral teaching of that old Zen koan: Do nothing and all will be done.
With that, she took her leave but I know that is not the last time I will meet her. I am so touched by the kindness and care I routinely receive from entities in the Imaginal.
Of course, my rational mind can’t help but get busy and analyze the experience. I wonder if human consciousness has evolved over the millennia. First, we were only able to access earth consciousness. Then the lunar realms (think the gods and goddesses of the old religions), then the heavenly realms, then the archetypal realms (think the axial age and Buddha, the monotheism of Judaism, etc.) and finally the nondual realms leading all the way to the Absolute.
Each realm has different entities, some of which can travel between realms. And just because human consciousness is capable of ‘traveling’ through the various realms doesn’t mean there is a hierarchy and doesn’t diminish the value of entities found in the lower realms. Thus, the old gods and goddesses have purpose and agency and continue to do their work for all beings.
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