Revelations of the Aquarian Age

by Barbara Hand Clow

  David’s mind whirred. Feeling at a loss was very unusual, so he gave in as he read Pietro’s kind eyes. Something moved deeply in the place in David’s heart where he was utterly terrified about Simon’s safety. He felt helpless. Never in his life, not even when he watched his father reduced to a skeleton from prostate cancer, had he felt so impotent. He didn’t know what to do with the emotion. Pietro held his gaze to show sincerity. David was not good at accepting kindness or help because he’d spent his whole life giving it to others. Suddenly David snapped, “What is this, Pietro, a Faustian pact?”

  Pietro gasped audibly. He must have really suffered. Why can’t he just let me in, let me in to help him at such a difficult time? He clasped his hands nervously intertwining his fingers over his belly. “David, you must know that during the Inquisition in Italy many Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism? My ancestors converted to save their lives, so you and I share the same faith. Now this hideous pain is coming back because when ISIS takes over a Christian village, they persecute people hideously, just as we were once persecuted. This dredges up ugly memories. ISIS beheads those who don’t align with their ‘values,’ especially journalists. And beyond that, your son is part of my extended family. This is not a Faustian pact; I simply want to help.”

  David was softening because he could see that Pietro would do anything for Simon, things he could not do himself. Being a Jew in America had meant being clannish, few people outside their close circle knew David well. He had to accept Pietro’s help, but it was difficult for a man who unconsciously isolated himself from people who reached out to him; the inner dam burst. He replied very gravely, “Pietro, please excuse my coldness. Few have tried or been able to do anything for me. I’ve led a charmed life, had all the money, all the family support, so as an adult I did everything for everybody else. Your kindness overwhelms me, but it also demeans me, I am on guard. Again, please forgive me.”

  “I’m not going to let you get away with that,” Pietro replied quietly. “My kindness does not reduce you in any way, it is only meant for your son.” There was a long pause while they both listened to the clock ticking loudly. It reverberated in David’s head as he wondered whether the maids wound it up every day.

  “Pietro, I must share something with you that is very hard for me to speak about. Since you are so willing to protect Simon, I feel released from my father’s dying demand. I will tell you about this ring, my father’s last words.” David felt like he was only ten years old, just before he developed his adult will.

  “You do not have to do anything for me to help Simon,” Pietro said warmly. “I could have just done it without telling you, and maybe I should have. But, suddenly you came to visit us here, which made me feel like I should do it with your permission. I’m going to do it right away, tomorrow. The Vatican is where I go for something like this because of their international immunity, a very powerful protection system.”

  David glanced up at the green serpent in the Pierleoni crest. “No, I know I should tell you. Things change with time, so what my father believed back in the 1950s probably isn’t the point now. My father told me this ring signifies The Brotherhood of the Serpent. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Pietro crossed his legs putting his hands on his knee, tilting slightly back. “It does not. I’ve been told the oroboros on the ceiling is the union between earth and sky, the union of chthonian and celestial principles, in our case the serpent and the swan. I’ve never heard of this ‘Brotherhood’ as you put it, but I suppose it makes sense there is a secret order of the snake. Come to think of it, I’ve heard things like that. I may be blind to it because I’ve always been much more interested in the celestial aspect of our crest—the swan in flight over the snake.

  “I’ve been studying our swan’s symbolism because I’ll be sharing our family’s history with Armando soon. I can’t assume I’ll be around forever. It goes back thousands of years and is a very complex and fascinating tale, but there is no time for that tonight. You’ve shared a secret that is very deep for you, so I hope to share some things with you that you can’t get anywhere else, things you may be looking for. You and I must take time together because neither one of us can talk this way with most other people. It’s our ages, you know, as well as our moldy class background and arcane initiations. I’m happy you’ll accept my assistance, and rest assured, Simon will be safe. Although I do believe what will protect him the most is your belief that he is safe; remember that. These things don’t work without trust. Simon also must believe he is safe.”

  Pietro had to take a deep breath sensing intelligence beyond comprehension in David’s face. Is this man a magus? David placed his hand on Pietro’s forearm triggering an electric shock that went from his arm to his brain. “This may surprise you, Pietro. Telling you what my father said to me has unburdened me. I don’t know what The Brotherhood of the Serpent is, actually never really wanted to know. Now I realize as I sit in your library with the outrageous green serpent on your ceiling, I think my father laid a Faustian pact on me, not you! By imposing that ring on me when I was ten years old and then dying a few hours later, he made me feel like I was part of the Brotherhood! I didn’t choose it then, don’t now. Sometimes it has felt like a weird time lock in another dimension. By telling you and breaking the secret, I’m free. Thank you for my release as well as for guarding Simon, which I’m sure he can use.”

  Matilda came downstairs the next morning and walked through the kitchen into the sunny breakfast room. Stopping by the edge of the door, she listened to Sarah telling a story in a singsong voice to Teresa perched in a highchair:

  “Long, long ago, three Wise Men came from the East, the mysterious land of magical birds in green trees. The Three Wise Men were astrologers, teachers who follow the stars.

  “A baby was born, just like you, Teresa, a very special baby.” Teresa chortled.

  “The baby filled the sky with so much light that the astrologers followed this light right to a cave illuminated by the planet Venus.

  “Light from the cave streamed out into the world creating a new universe of fishes, animals, and trees.

  “And, the Sun streamed into this lovely world, light from the Divine.

  “You are light, Teresa, I am light, and hey, here comes Matilda, and she too is light!”

  Matilda came in and gave Teresa a kiss. When she saw Matilda, she pounded on the highchair tray and squawked. “I’ll get her some berries and peaches from the kitchen. Why are you telling her this story? It’s not Christmas.”

  “I’ve written a little book for her and illustrated it to help her understand where her daddy is. The Three Wise Men can come anytime, not just Christmas. Actually, that’s the point of the story.”

  Next Jennifer strolled in draped in a soft robe looking sleepy and went to pour a cup of coffee. “Armando just amazes me. He got up at five this morning and went to his studio. I don’t know how he does it.”

  “Oh, as you know, he loves to work,” Matilda murmured. “It means he’s happy.”

  Jennifer sucked down a jolt of caffeine. “I hope you don’t mind me coming down in my robe? I’ll be getting dressed for breakfast, but I was too lazy to make coffee upstairs, so I came down to get some. Nobody is usually here this early.”

  “Wait until you have a baby,” Sarah said with a touch of irony in her voice while looking at Jennifer who was very pretty without makeup. She looked like she’d had a long night of sex; Matilda was thinking the same thing.

  “I can’t wait. So I’ll take my coffee and go wake up. See you at breakfast.” Jennifer made her way back to her suite and softly closed the door. She walked into the parlor filled with sweet aromas from the olive trees, sat down in her favorite chair, and crossed her legs languorously. Where did I go? He made me come again and again. I hope nobody heard me scream. The energy moving through my body was like an earthquake, never thought I’d feel anything like that. He told me he loved me over and over, kissed my feet calling me a goddes
s. He worships me and pulls me out of myself; I don’t know where I go. I felt like I was sailing out the window and traveling up to a star. Where? Sirius? Once I got there, the council was waiting for me, the beings I met when I was a child. Armando, how did you take me there?

  Armando was in his studio poised adroitly with a brush tipped in red paint. Fire released by rapturous sex was coursing through his body. She’d finally surrendered. He couldn’t believe the force of the shaking release in her body. He could have gone on for hours but finally she was exhausted. He didn’t come because he wanted to paint, and now sublime Eros shivered in his arms and hands. He painted and painted while getting a new insight: My God, I’m going to be faithful to her like my father is to my mother. She’s my partner. I don’t want anybody else; I only want her. Jennifer, you’ve freed me! I’m free to create and free to be. I love my wife; I want her pregnant. Tonight, when I have her again, I’ll make sure I come; it is time.

  9

  A May–December Love Affair

  During the summer of 2014, the easy closeness Claudia and Lorenzo found at the wedding deepened. Claudia wondered whether he was a brother or sister from a past life. Lorenzo let that idea pass, since he wanted to have sex with her. They were intellectual equals, just what she most wanted and perfect for Lorenzo after living so long with a bored wife. Lorenzo’s library had archaeological and anthropological books she’d always wanted to read, so in the evening she read them in the alcove while gazing into the garden. He’d be in the back area researching the archetypal and historical fields his clients wandered into. His clients tended to be artistic, neurotic, very imaginative, and sensual, and as they explored the deepest recesses of their complex minds, doorways opened in Lorenzo’s consciousness. He saw what they were seeing as if he was in their movie. Occasionally he emerged from the back with tea to share stories with her, since she was fascinated by the intricate landscape of the human psyche.

  In wild and delightful contrast to his world, Claudia ran a high fashion boutique all day. She amused him with hilarious stories about rich Roman women and their insane affairs. She was a great mimic after a few glasses of wine, and often he thought his ribs would break from laughing at these unfamiliar aspects of Roman life. He’d not paid attention to the world of fashion, yet now Claudia’s dramatic beauty intrigued him. She was in the material world, he more in the psychic, yet what really was the difference? Meanwhile, he was as horny as a twenty-year-old while aloof Claudia teased him. Very aware of her convoluted sexual history, he waited patiently. They both knew the time would come, so they just had fun all summer. Perhaps a shift would come in the fall, perhaps not.

  They rarely saw other friends, not even Sarah. Claudia called once in early October after Simon had gone back to the Middle East. They chatted and teased about the instant attraction to Lorenzo, then promised to visit, but both women were very busy.

  Actually, Lorenzo had been up to something odd the last few weeks—shopping for all kinds of things, not being available until late. Then one Saturday morning he called declaring it was time for something fun. He instructed her to come over midafternoon, no need to dress up. Claudia knocked on the door at 3 p.m., tingling with curious anticipation.

  Lorenzo opened the door and swept her inside. It had been hot all day, so she was wearing a light-weave cotton jumpsuit that plunged in the back. Lorenzo was certainly acting strangely: she could swear he was leering at her. He took her left hand, spun her around, and then moved back slightly to take in the full view. “You are especially ravishing today! I can’t keep my hands off you.” He’d kissed her before, passionately, so she didn’t resist when he pulled her adeptly into his chest barely covered by a white linen shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and began to explore her open back making her shiver deliciously. His cologne was pungent when he nuzzled into her neck, almost too sensual. “Wait till you see what I have to show you.” He kissed her neck up to her right ear and then moved his open mouth back down to her collarbone causing another shiver.

  “Lorenzo, what has gotten into you today?” she said pulling away, running her fingers through her hair.

  “Come, Claudia, come with me.” Mystified, she took his hand as he led her back through the dining room to the bedroom he’d once shared with his wife. She hadn’t seen the room since they’d cleaned it out together, locked the door, and he moved into his son’s monkish room. She thought he might be having some painting done, but when she asked, he wouldn’t tell her. He opened the door and led her in. The once adequate room was now large! He’d knocked out the back wall to the garden and extended the room by putting in French doors out to a terrace. Filmy sheers obscuring glimpses of gardens and high walls beyond waved in the breeze. He’d found a large carved bed from Morocco and dressed it with ethnic fabric and voluminous pillows. An inviting cozy area with a gas fireplace had two cushy chairs, a coffee table, and a marble Aphrodite. He’d even broken into his daughter’s room for walk-in closets and expanded the bathroom; a luxurious tub sunk deep into white marble beckoned.

  “Fit for the Mata Hari, don’t you think? I did it with the antique dealer who took the old dining room crap out of here; never had so much fun in my life!” Lorenzo’s eyes sparkled with childlike joy watching her pleased expression. He drew her close again and reached around her back and said in a compelling, sweet voice, “Will you?”

  His delicate hands roamed her back as a strap fell off her shoulder. She watched his eager eyes as her top slipped down slowly over a perfectly shaped, substantial breast. “Yes, yes, I will,” she whispered.

  It was easy to join their bodies because they already knew each other in so many other ways, no hesitation, no self-consciousness, and no reserve. They found a whole new way to talk to each other during that humid October afternoon. It had been a long time since either had a lover, and neither of them had found the right person until this moment. Libras always seek the perfect partner but rarely find one, so this mutual harmony felt destined. She murmured, “You play my body like a fine musical instrument.”

  “Yes, exactly what I was doing, since that is what you are.”

  He’d prepared artichoke lasagna in advance. They started with a delicious Puntarelle salad, slightly bitter and crisp with a hearty red wine. “This is perfect, just the thing to share after becoming lovers. It was so easy, as if we’d always been together; I feel cherished.”

  “You are my dear, and we were wise to take our time. I needed to be completely free of Eleanora to share love with you. I will say a few things that will go forever in to the past: I would not have married her if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, but I want to marry you. I’m too old for you but I don’t care. I love you, so I don’t care. You are exquisite. My clients all wonder why I’ve lightened up so much; it shows in everything I do. You bless me, Claudia; I haven’t lived until now. We will share a thousand lifetimes. I’ve always had a vision of you, and when I saw you in that wacky peach dress, I knew it was you! You knocked me over at that wedding; I’m only standing back up today.”

  A few days later, Claudia was reading a book on super-string theory and the end of time. The phone rang. Armando asked her to come over to join Sarah who was arriving that night, it was time for their discussion group.

  Armando and Jennifer greeted Sarah when she came into the library where a small fire had taken the dampness away and was reflecting golden light on the books. “So good to see you! Simon loves this room. He’d be so happy if he could join us tonight.”

  Jennifer took Sarah’s hand and studied her face, lovely as always, yet now more thoughtful. I’d love to photograph her again. “You look well, Sarah; thank you for coming.”

  Claudia arrived and Jennifer took her hand, absolutely determined not to be jealous, but Claudia’s hand was limpid, making Jennifer’s belly clutch. “You look exquisite, Claudia. Thank you for coming.” Claudia was dressed in a black satin jumpsuit with a plunging neckline set off by a large silver and bone pendant resting heavily on her taut and
muscular chest.

  Claudia’s gaze swept the room while she held Jennifer’s clammy hand. The regal library with the family lineages of Italian nobility gracing the walls always impressed Claudia. Hmmm . . . bloodlines . . . her eyes returned to Jennifer as she said, “I love this room because here I would never run out of things to read. My boutique bores me to death. So do you love living here?” She wondered why Jennifer was so nervous. What’s she afraid of? I suppose it’s challenging to deal with your new husband’s old lover, but please get over it.

  Armando was watching closely: Claudia was dressed to kill as usual and Jennifer looked crushed. “Come here, Jen,” he called warmly. “Sit with me on the loveseat. Sarah, that chair is for you, and Claudia, that one for you.” He placed Claudia as far away from Jennifer as possible, not realizing it meant Claudia couldn’t avoid bumping his ankle. They all sat down as directed, yet even as they started talking his mind was trying to wander off—back to his painting, back to the worry about the reception it would receive at the upcoming art exhibit.

  “Jen,” Sarah began, “to catch you up, you need to know about the end of the Mayan Calendar.”

  “Yes. Simon ranted about it a few years ago calling it New Age nonsense, so when it was in the media during 2012, I blew it off. But, my father, who is nobody’s fool, was interested. So, what’s the big deal about the Mayan Calendar?”

  Sarah gestured over to Claudia and as Jennifer’s gaze followed Sarah’s finger, the motion of crossed legs placed Claudia’s sexy ankle very close to Armando’s linen pants. Claudia arched her back like a big cat and peered at Jennifer. “I’ll summarize it briefly, it is complex so stop me if you have questions. A Swedish biologist and Maya researcher, Carl Johan Calleman, analyzed a calendar found in Coba, a Maya site in Mexico. It goes back billions of years, and in it he discovered nine cycles of evolutionary acceleration that all functioned simultaneously once they got started. Supposedly these cycles all culminated on October 28, 2011, and then transformed into frequency waves.”