All Text, Music, and Illustrations, including Paintings, Photographs, and 3D models, Copyright © 2022 by Jim Robbins.
NATHAN THE KNIGHT AND THE PRISONER BY THE SHORE
As Nathan was riding his horse on a cliff one day, he noticed in the distance a woman imprisoned by swords at the edge of the sea. As a knight, Nathan felt compelled to rush to the woman's aid, but he could not find a way down the cliffside on his horse. Finally, Nathan dismounted, tied the horse's reins to a tree, and searched for a way down. When he got near to the woman imprisoned by the swords, he decided he should step out into the water and gently guide her to shore.
Suddenly a boy on a dragon appeared, who shouted, "If you want to free her, you will have to fight me and my dragon first!" Nathan assessed the situation and decided that he would have a much better chance to fight them on his horse. He looked around and noticed a way from the cliff to the ocean.
Nathan rushed back up the cliff. He mounted his horse, drew his sword, and, on his trusty white steed, charged down the hill toward the boy and his dragon.
The dragon flew out of reach and circled around the imprisoned woman. "So you think you are a knight!" he laughed. "My dragon will kill her if you try to fight us!" the boy yelled.
Nathan didn't want to do anything that might lead to the boy and his dragon harming the woman, so he dismounted from his horse and pondered the situation. Suddenly, he noticed a woman on a throne far off in the distance. Nathan rode his horse over to her, dismounted, and bowed before her. "How may I serve thee, my Queen?" Nathan asked.
"You are a courageous knight, but I also sense that you have qualities that are rare in people these days: you have music in your heart, and you can neutralize dark forces to create balance. You have a guardian angel named Atriel, who will guide you in your spiritual practices. Sometimes the music in your heart inspires you to rush, sword drawn, into battle on your white horse to save people in trouble. You are a fierce warrior, but you also have a magical ability that makes hand to hand combat sometimes unnecessary. I can teach you a sacred ritual that might help you avoid a conflict with that naughty boy and his dragon. He is a very troublesome little trickster who knows how to hinder people."
"I would be greatly honored by any assistance that you might give me, your Highness," Nathan responded.
The Queen commanded, "Gaze into my magic cup, and you will know what to do."
Nathan gazed a long time, how long he wasn't sure, but suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do. He bowed, "I understand now, my Queen. I will serve thee by first attempting with my guardian angel Atriel to neutralize the dark forces possessing my foes. If that doesn't work, I will fight the dragon to the death to free the unfortunate woman imprisoned by the swords."
The Queen smiled, "Valiant knight, I admire your bravery and determination. I wish you success in your challenging endeavor."
A holy man at the castle had initiated Nathan into the sacred Mysteries, so Nathan knew many of the symbols associated with the mystical Tree of Life, and he also knew a little Hebrew. As he pondered his task, he began to think about the meaning of the name of his guardian angel, Atriel. The Hebrew letter Aleph, which means Ox, he knew, symbolizes the powerful life force within all creation. The second letter Tau means cross, which symbolizes sacrifice. The letter Resh pertains to Tiphareth in the head, and is therefore associated with the Sun, which on the Tree of Life corresponds to the Christ center of sacrifice and harmonizing love. The fourth letter Yod denotes hand, the means of action and the symbol of creative and directive energy, which suggests not only the act of working for harmony and justice but also evokes the seeds of new life held within the fist. The last two letters, EL, which together mean God, are almost always included at the end of the names of Archangels and Angels. Perhaps through his sacrifices as a knight he would come to plant the seeds of new life and fully experience the light of harmonizing love while growing through the challenges of his quest.
So Nathan suppressed his desire to attack the dragon. He imagined the woman imprisoned by swords and realized, possibly thanks to the magic cup, that Jupiter was influencing the woman's struggle in some way. Jupiter reveals the magnificence, harmony, and abundance of the human spirit, so he knew that Jupiter's influence might also be the key to her freedom. He knew that first he needed to banish the negative influences, so he imagined the imprisoned woman again and performed the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. (See the description in the post of August 26 of The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.)
As he performed the ritual, he suddenly recognized that Mercury was also influencing the situation. Having been initiated by the holy man, Nathan realized that Mercury is Saturn on a lower arc, which revealed to him why the Hinderers, the boy and his dragon, were guarding the woman. Saturn limits force to create and maintain form, and Mercury can contain force on a spiritual and mental and emotional level. Nathan realized that the woman might believe that she is trapped even though the swords aren't really imprisoning her. Perhaps people in power who resided in the castle on the cliff had made her believe that she was a prisoner. He began to wonder if people in the castle had placed the boy and the dragon near the woman or if those two had shown up because of her belief in her own imprisonment.
After Nathan banished the negative influences by performing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, he chose to invoke the "Lord of Victory," the archetype of a great knight, a figure who manifests Jupiter in Leo in the Tarot card known as the Six of Wands that the holy man at the castle had shown him. According to the holy man, the Lord of Victory is also associated with the Sun in Tiphareth, the center of equilibrium and of harmonizing love and sacrifice on the Tree of Life. The Queen's magic cup had shown Nathan how to invoke the sacred archetypes of the mystical Tree of Life, so he was ready to invoke the Lord of Victory. He performed the first eleven steps of the ritual. (See the description in the post of September 2 of The Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram.)
Nathan then laid down the Six of Wands on a makeshift altar and stated while tapping the card, "The Six of Wands, Jupiter in Leo." Since Fire is an active element, Nathan used the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram while laying down the Aces--the foundation cards--starting in the lower right corner of the pentagram, moving to the upper left corner and continuing from there in a continuous motion. After he placed all of the cards, he tapped each card in the direction of the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram, making sure to tap the one in the lower right corner to complete the pentagram. Then he laid down the modifiers, Strength (Leo) and The Wheel of Fortune (Jupiter), on the Ace of Wands in the lower right hand corner of the pentagram.
As Nathan laid down the card known as Strength on the Ace of Wands, he stated while tapping the card, "Strength, Leo."
As he laid down The Wheel of Fortune on Strength, he stated while tapping the card, "The Wheel of Fortune, Jupiter."
Then he drew the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram and the spirit wheel in the air in brilliant white above the Six of Wands on the altar, charging the pentagram and the spirit wheel with the Sign of the Enterer.
Invoking Fire Pentagram
After that, he drew an Invoking Pentagram for Fire directly over the Invoking Spirit Pentagram, charging the pentagram and the symbol of Leo in the same way. At that point, he imagined the symbol of the lion turning into the living image of the Lord of Victory a few feet south of his altar and coming alive as a full-length figure. Then he imagined salamanders, brilliant points of light, flowing from the Archangel Michael and filling the living image of the great knight while at the same time the bright points of the Fire element flowed from his own aura and also filled the living image.
He stated loudly, "I name you Lord of Victory."
Then he said," I humbly ask thee from the astral light to help me, for the highest possible good, with harmonizing love, to release the woman from her bondage."
"After you have completed your task, great knight, I humbly ask thee to return to the element of Fire, doing no harm."
"So mote it be!" Nathan imagined the great knight neutralizing the dark forces that were holding the woman captive and then envisioned her free of her bonds.
In his imagination, he could see the woman freed of her bonds and any negative beliefs she might have experienced.
When he had completed his ritual, Nathan returned to the seashore. The Queen of Cups motioned to the former prisoner, who was now dancing with two other women near the shore. Holding a stalk of grapes in one hand, she held up her cup with the other hand in a toast to the Lord of Abundance as she danced. The Queen of Cups smiled. "That troublesome boy and his dragon are gone, and the woman is free. You have done well, my valiant knight. You may continue now on your quest."
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