Winning Maria
By the way, it was not easy to win Maria's hand. Though her love is easy
and free, she is well aware of the eerie quality of her soul. In fact she
tells you so--"Deep down I believe any man who tries to walk through the
darkness within me will lose his smile and suffer a wound which will not
soon depart. The truth is, in spite of my sensuality and taste for
pleasure, I have no love to give. I can not ask another for what is beyond
my power and outside my own reach."
You realize she is sincere in what she says. Like all women, she
has a little test for the man she would wed. It is not what you say or do
that counts. She desires instead to see a radiance blazing within your
eyes free of fear and which remains clear when you enter that void within
her where no light shines. Accomplish this and she is yours.
Well, we each have our own way of persuading, beguiling, winning, and
charming another to fall under our sway. When it comes to love and beauty,
there is more at stake than social grace, normality, and conformity. You
have to be a bit inventive, even creative if you are to make your way.
I am open to suggestions as to how each of you would respond in this kind
of situation--the fact is, perhaps at no other time does myth and magick
enter our lives as when we court and fall in love.
Since this story is about a magical quest of mythical depth, I propose
one solution--you go on a vision quest to win back the part of her soul
that is lost. It is not all that complex. You just go off for two or three
weeks into the mountains or little lost valleys (I myself know of more
than a few) and contemplate opening your heart and mind to the wisdom of
all ages and all domains human, natural, and divine.
Since it is the nature of lovers to join even to their core and inner
recesses, you hold Maria within your heart and accept her darkness as your
own. Isn't this what courting is all about? You join your fate to another
when you mate. Two share in one voyage and journey and the path is equally
of soul and spirit as well as of health, wealth, and marriage.
I won't belabor this part of the story further (that is, unless you
want more. If so, click here.
Now when you return from your vision quest, you have not only the power
to persuade her but you bring back a Muse to her who has been waiting for
decades to meet you.
You give Maria this poem below. She does not listen to the words,
sentiments, or metaphors. Remember, her test is only to see in your eyes
that fear is no more and darkness has no hold on you.
You pass her test with flying colors. Way to go!
Psalm for the Sea
The blue-green purity of an arctic sea
Mirrorlike
A faint mist drifting upon its surface
The blue-white glacier
Clinging to the mountain slopes
Or resting within the valley
It is winter when the herbs are bitter
And the sun dim and distant
There is a time
To retreat and to sleep
To withdraw from the outer world
In the arms of love
Is soothing release
In its embrace
The cold of the world
Leaves no trace
Yet the ice, the frost, the snow
Are not indifferent
They are not without love--
In the winter of the soul
Is the greatest vision
Of the Beloved's face,
A sojourner once said to a woman,
"I love you so much
If you held me within your heart
Winter would no longer be cold
And ice and snow
Would be warm to the touch."
The woman replied,
"I am afraid the silence of snowy fields
The icicle's chill
And the touch of frostbite
Can offer more love than I
But if you see the beauty within my soul
And can celebrate it
Even when it flows bitter and cold
Even during the dark of winter when no light shines
Then I will give you my love."
From the poles to the black volcanic beach
To the white sands of the Aegean Sea
The oceans enfold the world in their embrace
They absorb the heat of the sun
Cooling the earth by day
Warming the earth by night
In love's embrace
Is the preservation of light on earth
Whose heart is as deep and vast as the seas?
Who heart nourishes all life on earth?
Whose heart can greet the wind's passionate kiss
With waves running wild and free
And yet absorb the light of the stars by night
In a place mirrorlike and at peace?
The man replied to the woman,
"I shall be a mirror so empty and clear
Your beauty shall finally shine
In all its radiance
I shall give you a cup to drink
Filled with the wine of the sun
Which persuades winter to let go its icy grip
So spring is free to come
And when we are separate
Neither the depths of the sea
Winter's cold
Nor even the dark ocean where the stars shine
Shall diminish our love
Our hearts will be forever one."
"Who are you?" she asked,
He replied,
"I am the voice of love
The one you have called
From the depths of your heart
And I have come to celebrate with you
The love that shall renew the world."
Note: This poem was written while meditating
with Asmodel of the sphere of Jupiter.
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