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When her breath had returned and her anxious thoughts had calmed, the Seeker stood on the knoll and gazed at the land spread out around her. From the temple mount she could see for miles. It was hard to imagine that beyond these beautiful rolling green hills the world was a different place. An unkind place. And yet that is what the Mother had said.

For the hundredth time she asked herself why she was doing this. Why leave the only life she had ever known? Many nights she had stood outside the temple just as tonight admiring the craftsmanship of the marble arches, the permanence and comfort they afforded. She had never wanted to be anywhere but here with her sisters. Or had she?

She had learned the history and the doctrine of the faithful. She knew all the correct answers when asked. She kept her prayer times and vigils. But always there had been a part of her, deep inside, that hungered to know more. To know if there truly was a Creator and what that Creator was like. She would look out over the peaks of land and wonder what was over the horizon. And at times, when she listened quietly and carefully, she could hear echoes of life beyond the Realm of Grace.

Overwhelmed with awe she had begun to feel hollow and uncertain. She had prayed to Wisdom to give her peace, but her unrest had grown. What of the others beyond the Realm? Did they believe as she? Did they live in temples as well? Did they know love?

The Seeker lifted the white rose and smelled the lovely fragrance. Regardless of the many questions tumbling through her mind, she knew her longing to discover the unknowable was pure. And so she determined to take this leap of faith and journey through creation.

20160510_151232 (1)Crop 2Far above in the depths of the sky she could see a thousand stars and the new moon. A fitting time, she thought, to be setting out. A new beginning.

She twirled as a child would, swinging her staff in a circle as she turned, and cried out in delight, “Nowhere under the heavens is forbidden to me. I am a Seeker. I am free to follow my heart’s path!

And to her surprise small gold symbols fluttered from the end of the staff and floated in the air about her. Looking closely she realized they were astrological signs. Twelve signs each named for a constellation. “Nowhere under the heavens,” she repeated in wonder.

In her heart she sensed her growing connection to the world and all that it could teach her. The Mother had been right. Her heart had always known these things. Now her mind must embrace them as well.

© Cheryl D. Carter

Part 1 — The Anointing
Part 3 — Vision

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Picture Credit — personal (see also www.aeclectic.net)

(Just by way of explanation, this story is an experiment. If it works out, I will explain the why and wherefore at the end. . 😉 )