IN THE BEGINNING
Now, the
Children of God were moulded by the Hand of God which is called Awen, and it
manifested according to their desires. For all things which have life are
moulded by Awen. The fox, shivering in the cold lands, longs for warmth and so
its cubs have warmer coats. The owl, clumsy in the dark, longs to see its prey
more clearly, and in generations of longing the desire is granted. Awen makes
everything what it is, for all things change under its law.
Men, too,
are moulded by their desires, but unlike the beasts and birds their yearnings
are circumscribed by the laws of fate and destiny and the law of sowing and
reaping. These, the desires, modified by the laws, are called Enidvadew. Unlike
the beasts and birds, this, in man, is something relating to him rather than to
his offspring, though they are not untouched by it.
Destiny
may be likened to a man who must travel to a distant city whether or not he
wishes to make the journey, the destination being his destiny. He may choose
whether to go by way of a river or by way of a plain; whether across mountains
or through forests, on foot or horseback, slow or fast, and whatever befalls
because of this decision is fate. If a tree falls on him because he chose the
forest path, it was fated, for luck is an element of fate. Destiny leaves no
choice, fate gives limited choice which may be good or bad, but it cannot be
averted. What is fated must be, for at no point can there be any turning back.
The
circumstances, Enidvadew, of the traveler conform to the law of sowing and
reaping; he may travel in comfort or pain, happily or sorrowfully, with
strength or weakness, heavily burdened or lightly burdened, well prepared or
ill prepared. When the destination is set according to the degrees of a former
life, then the circumstances of the journey should conform with the desire. For
what use is it desiring a great destination when the law of sowing and reaping
decrees that an intolerable burden must be carried on the way? Far better to
have lesser aspirations. The decrees of fate are many, the decrees of destiny
are few.
When the
Earth was young and the race of man still as children, there were fertile green
pastures in the lands where all is now sand and barren wasteland. In the midst
of it was a Garden Land which lay against the edge of the Earth, eastward and
towards the sunrising, and it was called Meruah, meaning The Place of The
Garden on the Plain. It lay at the foot of a mountain which was cleft at its
rising, and out of it flowed the river of Tardana which watered the plain. From
the mountain, on the other side, ran the river Kal which watered the plain
through the land of Kaledan. The river Nara flowed westward and then turned
back to flow around the Garden Land.
It was a
fertile place, for out of the ground grew every kind of tree that was good for
food and every tree that was pleasant to the sight. Every herb that could be
eaten and every herb that flowered was there. The Tree of Life, which was
called Glasir, having leaves of gold and copper, was within the Sacred
Enclosure. There, too, was the Great Tree of Wisdom bearing the fruits of
knowledge granting the choice and ability to know the true from the false. It
is the same tree which can be read as men read a book. There also was the Tree
of Trespass beneath which grew the Lotus of Rapture, and in the centre was The
Place of Power where God made His presence known.
Time passed,
and The Children of God were grown strong and upright under the tempering
hammer of God, and Earth, The Anvil of God, became kindlier. All was pleasant
and food plentiful, but life palls in such places, for it is against the nature
of man to flourish in these circumstances. Earth is not for pleasurable
dallying, it is a place of teaching, trial and testing.
The
Children of God were not yet the heirs of God nor inheritors of godhood, but
there was one among them who had almost completed the Pilgrimage of Enidvadew.
He had unraveled the tangled skeins of fate and traversed the tumultuous seas
of life to the many ports of destiny and having paid the debts of sowing and
reaping was one triumphant over Enidvadew.
He was
Fanvar, son of Auma and Atem. He was wise and knew all things, he beheld
mysteries and the secret things hidden from the eyes of other men. He saw
sunrise and the sunsetting in their splendor but longed for things not realizable
in the place where he lived. So, because he walked with God he was culled out
from his kind and brought to Meruah, The Garden Place.
He came to
it across the mountains and wastelands, arriving after many days journeying.
Weary and close to death because of the privations he suffered, he could just
reach the refreshing waters from which he drank deeply and filled with
exhaustion he slept. In his sleep he dreamed and this was the manner of his
dreaming: he saw before him a being of indescribably glory and majesty, who
said, "I am the God above all, even above the God of your people, I am
that which fulfils the aspirations of men and I am that in which they are
fulfilled. You, having traversed all the Circles of Enidvadew and established
your worthiness, are now made my governor on Earth and you shall rule all
things here, guiding them in my ways, leading them ever upwards into glory.
This will be your labor and, behold, here is your reward.".
A cloud
mist seemed to gather about The Glorious Being, enfolding Him so He was no
longer visible. Then the mist gradually cleared, and the man saw another form emerging.
It was that of a woman, but one such as Fanvar had never seen before, beautiful
beyond his conception of beauty, with such perfection of form and grace that he
was dumbfounded. Yet the vision was not substantial, she was a wraith, an
ethereal being.
The man
awoke and sought food from the fruits about him and having refreshed himself
wandered about the garden. Wherever he went he saw the wraith, but was unafraid
because she smiled encouragingly, bringing comfort to his heart. He built
himself a shelter and grew strong again, but always, wherever he went, the
wraith was not far distant.
One day,
near the edge of the garden, he fell asleep in the heat of the day and awoke to
find himself surrounded by the Sons of Bothas, not true men but Yoslings, kinsfolk
to the beasts of the forest. Before they could take his strength and wisdom he lost
himself among them, slaying some in his rage and might before the rest ran
away. When it was done he sat himself down beneath a great tree, for he was wounded,
and blood gushed out from his side and gathered thickly beside him. He became
faint, falling into a deep sleep and while he slept a wondrous thing happened.
The wraith came and lay beside him, taking blood from his wound upon herself so
it congealed about her. Thus, the Spirit being became clothed with flesh, born
of congealing blood, and being sundered from his side she rose a mortal woman.
In his
heart Fanvar was not at rest, because of her likeness, but she was gentle,
ministering to him with solicitude and, being skillful in the ways of healing,
she made him whole. Therefore, when he had grown strong again he made her Queen
of The Garden Land, and she was so called even by our fathers who named her
Gulah, but Fanvar called her Aruah, meaning helpmate. In our tongue she is
called The Lady of Lanevid.
Now, God
enlightened Fanvar concerning the woman, saying, "This woman was drawn
from her compatible abode in a realm of beauty through the yearning aspirations
of men. Her coming accomplishes something which would otherwise have taken
countless generations, for Earth is more fitting for men to learn manly things
than for women to learn womanly ones. This woman is not as other women, being
in no way like yourself; every hair of her head is unlike that of a man, every
drop of blood and every particle of flesh is that of a woman and quite unlike
that of a man. Her thoughts and desires are different; she is neither coarse
nor uncouth, being altogether of another, more refined realm. Her daughters
will walk proudly, endowed with every womanly perfection and grace. Delicacy,
modesty and charm will be the lovely jewels enhancing their womanliness. Henceforth,
man will be truly man and woman will be truly woman, men being girded with
manliness and women clothed with womanliness. Yet they shall walk together,
hand in hand, towards the ascending glory before them, each the helpmate and
inspiration of the other". So Fanvar and Aruah lived in contentment amid
bounty and fruitfulness, with freedom from afflictions and sickness. They
delighted in each other and because of their differences were drawn closer
together.
Aruah
brought but one thing with her when she crossed the misty frontier, the
treasure of Lanevid, the jewel contained in the moon chalice, the stone of
inspiration fashioned by the desires of men. Never owned by any but the
daughters of Aruah, this, the Lengil, Aruah gave to Fanvar as her dowry and her
pledge of purity and exclusiveness. She followed the ways of the cradleland,
not the ways of Earth.
Within the
Garden Land was the Sacred Enclosure, the domain of Fanvar and Aruah, forbidden
to those of The Children of God who had now come to this place. It contained
the Chalice of Fulfilment granting any who drank from it the realization of all
things to which they aspired. None might drink from this save Fanvar and Aruah.
Also, there was the Cauldron of Immortality containing an essence distilled from
the fruits growing in the garden, and this guarded against mortal ills.
Aruah
brought forth a son by Fanvar and he was called Rautoki, and a daughter who was
called Armena. Each knew the mysteries of magic and the ways of the stars. In
the fullness of time Rautoki married among the daughters of the Sons of God and
had two sons, Enanari and Nenduka. It was Enanari who first taught the weaving
of cloth from plants, and Nenduka was a mighty hunter. Armena also married
among the Sons of God and brought forth a son who was called Belenki and
daughters called Ananua and Mameta. Ananua knew the making of pots and things
of clay and Mameta the taming of beasts and birds.
Nenduka
had two sons, Namtara and Kainan. Namtara had two sons also, Nenduka and Dadam,
before dying in the fullness of manhood. Belenki married Enidva and had a son
called Enkidua and a daughter called Estartha, meaning Maid of the Morning, and
she became a great teacher among The Children of God. This was the Estartha who
became the first Moonmaiden, being later called Lady of The Morning Star.
Enkidua had a daughter and her name was Maeva.
Outside
the Sacred Enclosure, known as Gisar, but forming a gateway into it was a
circular structure of stones called Gilgal, and within this was a shrine
wherein was kept a sacred vessel called Gwinduiva. This was like a goblet and
was made of rainbow-hued crystal set in gold with pearls. Above the cup
appeared a shimmering moon-coloured mist like a thin cold flame. At certain
times, when the Heavens were in a proper position, the Gwinduiva was filled
with moondew and potions from the cauldron within the Sacred Enclosure, making
a pale honey-coloured liquor, and this the people drank from the goblet.
However, there were different proportions in the vessel for those of the blood
of Fanvar and Aruah and those who were Children of God but not of their blood.
It was the potion from the Gwinduiva which kept sickness and disease away from
those who drank it. Dadam, the Firstfather, married Leitha and they had a son
called Herthew. Dadam then married Maeva who had a daughter, not by him, and
this was Gwineva, the cuckoochild fathered by Abrimenid of Gwarthon, son of
Namtenigal, whom we call Lewid the Darkfather.
About the
land of The Children of God was the wasteland where Yoslings, called The
Children of Zumat, which means They Who Inherit Death, dwelt. Amongst these,
Namtenigal, the wily hunter, was the most wise and cunning; he alone was
unafraid of The Children of God and he alone dared enter the Garden Land.
In the
days when Estartha was teaching, Namtenigal often came to hear her words and
The Children of God were not displeased, for teaching the wild men about them
was a duty with which they had been charged. Namtenigal, therefore,
participated in their rites but could not partake of the elixir from the
Gwinduiva, because this was forbidden. While it gave health and strength to The
Children of God, safeguarding them from the sicknesses of the Yoslings, if
given to others it caused a wasting away. It was also altogether forbidden for
any of The Children of God to mate with the Yoslings, for this was deemed to be
the most unforgivable of sins. Now, the wily one learned much from Estartha and
in the fullness of time brought his own son to her and he became as her son,
living in her house and forsaking the ways of his people. Estartha called him
Lewid the Lightbringer, for it was her intention that he should be taught the
ways of those who walked in light, that he might in time enlighten his own
people.
Lewid grew
up tall and handsome, he was quick to learn and became wise. He was also a man
of the chase, strong and enduring, a hunter of renown. But there were times
when the call of his people was strong, then he would go out furtively into the
night to indulge in their dark rituals. Thus, he became knowledgeable in the
ways of the flesh and in the carnal indulgences of the body.
Dadam
became a servant of the Sacred Enclosure where the misty veil between the
realms could be penetrated, for all those having the blood of Aruah had
twinsight, an ability to see wraiths and sithfolk, ansis and spiritbeings, all
the things of the Otherworld, not clearly but as through a veil.
Beside the
place called Gisar was a pleasant parkland with trees of every kind and a stream,
also thickets of flowering bushes and all manner of plants growing lushly. It
was the custom of Maeva to wander there in the sunshine and Lewid also went
there; so, it came about that they met among the trees. Maeva knew the man but
had shunned him in the past, now she saw he was handsome, possessed of many
attractions, so her foot was stayed, and she did not run away.
As the
days passed they dallied longer together and Lewid talked of things Maeva had
not heard before. She felt a stirring in her blood but did not respond or heed
his temptations, because of the things which were forbidden. So Lewid went to
the Moonmother, wise woman of the Yoslings, and telling of his desires
beseeched her to help him. The Moonmother gave him two apples containing a vile
substance which they had drawn through their stalks; this Lewid gave to Maeva
who then became helpless in his hands.
They met
again after this, for Maeva became enamoured towards Lewid, but it happened
that she became ill with a strange sickness and was afraid. Then Dadam became
ill and Lewid also, and Lewid said to the woman, "You must obtain the pure
essences from within the Sacred Enclosure, and Setina, the Moonmother, will
prepare an elixir which will cure us". This he said because none of his
kind had ever been able to obtain the Sacred Substances, though they had always
coveted what had been denied them. Now, because of her frailty, the woman was
pliable in his hands and Lewid seized the opportunity.
To achieve
his ends Lewid gave Maeva a potion which had been prepared by the Moonmother
and she administered this to Dadam and those with him, by guile and deceit, so
that they fell asleep. While they slept Maeva stole from the Sacred Substances
and took them to Lewid who gave them to the Moonmother, and she made a brew.
Part of
this was given to Maeva and the rest was drunk by the Yoslings, from their
awful ankital during their night rites. When the morning came they were all
smitten with grievous pains, and before the sun set that day all the Yoslings
were stricken with a sickness such as they had not known before.
Maeva took
what had been given to her and finding Dadam laid low in his bed gave him a
draught from her vessel, though she had to use womanly wiles to get him to
drink it. She drank the remainder and they both slept. But when they awoke in
the morning both were suffering pains, and this was something they had not
known before. Dadam said to the woman, "What have you done, for what has
happened to us cannot be unless the things which are forbidden have been done".
The woman replied, "Lord, I was tempted, and I fell, I have done that
which is forbidden and unforgivable".
Dadam
said, "I am bound by duty to do certain things, but first let us go into
the Gisar to the place called Bethkelcris, where I will seek
enlightenment". So, they went there together and stood before the shrine
beneath the Tree of Wisdom. There they were filled with an inflowing vision,
seeing themselves as they were and as they should have been, and they were
ashamed. He because he had not followed the proper path of a man and she
because of her falsity. There, in the reflecting mist, the contamination of the
woman was revealed, and the man's heart shriveled within him like a flower
licked by flame.
Then they
saw a great Spiritbeing materializing in the reflecting mist and he said to
them, "Woe to you and your house, for the greatest of evils has befallen
the race of The Children of God and it is defiled. The heritage of Kadamhapa is
lost. The fetid flow defiling the woman results from the incompatible
intermingling, but it is not all, for sicknesses and diseases are also
generating from the ferments of the impure implantation".
Dadam
said, "The fault is with the woman, wherefore should I suffer?" The
Spiritbeing replied, "Because you two are now as one the conkerworms of
disease and sickness strike both equally, but you shall not again defile this
place. Henceforth, the misty veil becomes an impenetrable barrier severing our
two realms from each other, so they can no longer be easily spanned. Between us
there will now be no means of communication. Henceforth, man and woman, fated
to unite in love divine, shall be divided and set apart, though ever yearning
reunion. They may cleave one to the other, seeking the unity which will
rekindle the flame, but unless their efforts transcend the limitations of
earthly things they will be in vain. The spirit of man is now severed from the
whole and cast again into unconsciousness, and it too shall long for reunion
with the whole. The spark shall seek to return to the fire, for otherwise it
becomes nothing. The web of fate is rewoven, and the paths of destiny remade, the
design of life is redrawn; again the progression begins in ignorance, birth and
death, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, success and failure, love and hate,
peace and war, all the light and shade, the many hues making the splendidly
intricate pattern of life on Earth. This is a new beginning but a beginning not
in purity and unencumbered, but one already weighted with debts and
burdens".
The
Spiritbeing continued, "Enough wickedness has been wrought by your
willfulness and disobedience, for the decrees forbidding certain things were
for your own benefit. Immortality was nearly within your reach, but had you
achieved this you would have brought an even more grievous evil upon yourselves
and your inheritors, for freed from servitude to change, you and they would
have been unable to progress".
The
Children of God were driven out of the Garden Land by Spiritbeings, and then
guardians were set at its gates, so none could re-enter. Then it was withdrawn
beyond the misty veil, the waters ceased to flow, and the fertility departed,
only a wilderness remained. The Children of God went to dwell in the land of
Amanigel, which is beyond the mountains of Mashur by the sea of Dalemuna.
From this
time onward man fashioned his own spiritlikeness. Some, who were loathsome in
aspect even unto themselves, went apart and were mercifully veiled in dark
depths, and they said among themselves, "Let us dwell here in the darkness
and prepare a place for others like ourselves, so that when they follow they
abide here and join us". Thus, were the Dark Regions formed and inhabited
by demons who are nought but the hideously fashioned spirits of evil men.
These
things have been written into the record. In Siboit they used to say this was
the manner of man's making, "God sent His creating Craftsman Spirit down
to Earth and the reflection of The One was drawn into a spiritless body, and
this became the heart of man".
These are
the words written by Thonis of Myra in Ludicia in his day: -
"You
ask me what man and I is answer: He is life becoming aware of itself. He is the
intangible knowing the tangible, Spirit in matter, fire in water. When this
first happened, none remembers and only the old folktales remain. There was the
beginning and then the garden, and it was in this garden man found himself;
before this he was not free, being one with everything about him. As he could
not disobey, good and evil could not be, they were non-existent".
"Man
became free through awareness of himself, and with this knowledge denied any
kinship with the beast. As he was no longer in harmonious relationship with
things of the Earth, he became discontented, dissatisfied and restless, he
wanted to belong but felt his place of belonging was not there. He had been
reborn as a mangod, and therefore it is truly said that man was born of Earth
and Spirit, under a tree, the symbol of life, and in a garden".
"There the eyes of the man and woman were opened and, being above the
beasts, they knew they were different and set apart from all else that breathed.
They separated themselves, being now ashamed of their state and strangers to
each other. The carnal satisfaction of lesser creatures now no longer sufficed,
they had lost contact with the Source of Love; but, though knowing something
was lacking, knew not what. They had fallen into carnal knowledge which only
man can know, for only he feels the reproach of divinity. They were removed
from The Garden of Content by an inhalation of the Divine Substance and could
not return because of the barrier between man an non-man".
Kamelik
has written: "The entwined were cut apart and since that day have never
known content. They wander restlessly ever seeking to unite again and together
find the jewel which is lost to Earth forever".
Lupisis
has written: "This first woman, who came from the void, is the eternally
glorified goddess, the inspirer of hearts, the ideal of womanhood honoured by
all men, the priestess at the shrines of delicacy and tenderness. She was the
ideal woman who, because of man's nature, is always tempted by his twinshade,
the beast in his form. If the beast triumphs and she fall, the ideal becomes
enshrouded in winding cloths of disillusionment, and something is lost to the
heart of a man".
These
words are also there: "They did not partake of wisdom, and fruit from the
tree of knowledge is bitter. Men are denied their true birthright. The fall of
man was a fall from loving contact with God into material carnality. The Soul
that had shared the consciousness of God fell into unconsciousness by becoming
ensnared in matter. The fall severed man from the source of his spiritual
sustenance; thereafter his efforts were to struggle back. In his blind groping
for God, after the fall he discovered demons and found it easier to worship
them than to continue the search".
"God
is always waiting, man has only to look up, but it is easier to go down the
hill than to climb it. It is easier for man's spiritual beliefs to degenerate
than to evolve. Who among men knows the truth and can write with certain
knowledge? Would not this certainty be against the Law? No man was there at the
beginning to see and write, but of one thing alone we can be sure, The Creating
God knows how and why, and could the acts of One so great be without purpose?
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