by Rane, April
Desimena paused, knowing one of the harder huddles they would encounter was concerning Tomis, and getting Aradia to accept what came after she left the earth. So she decided to change tactics. “What are your limitations?”
Aradia, caught off guard by the question, looked around at her surroundings and thought of all that she had learned. “I…don’t feel limited. You have taught me of the limitless abundance that encompasses us here and on earth. You have expounded upon it…”
“Yes,” interrupted Desimena, “but I inquire for a very important reason. In the very beginning, when you asked about Tomis and your son, I assured you that they were alright, and I told you that Sovonya had taken your son to live in Tomi, Tomis’s homeland where he has placed his son to be next in line as ruler. He is called Knyaz Artyom.”
“Ahr-TYOM?” Aradia pronounced her son’s name as she had heard it.”
“Yes, Prince Artyom. Tomis named him before he and Sovonya took him to meet his grandfather.”
Desimena looked intently at her student before reaching over and lifting Aradia’s chin with a graceful hand, her words soft and loving. “Tomis felt he had to clear your name. He went back to Greece and insisted that the master recant the story he had told about you, and own up to the lies he had concocted about him. What a coward the man was in the end. He picked another man to fight in his stead. It was decided that if his man lost the match, the master himself would have to come forward and clear your name. At the end of the battle Tomis was left standing, but the master was underhanded and sent men to kill him.
“You mean that Tomis”–
“Yes, Tomis has come and gone. It was best for both of you that you did not meet on this side of the veil. It might have delayed him from doing what was necessary.”
“You mean going back to earth?”Aradia asked with a forlorn look.
“Precisely,” said Desimena as she nodded in sympathy.
“Would you like to peek in on your son?”
“Can we do that?” asked Aradia with a hopeful note in her voice.
“We can. Would you like to go now?” asked Desimena with a glint in her eye.
“Oh yes, I would love to but, what did you mean earlier when you asked what my limitations were?” queried Aradia, as they began through the etheric realm on their journey to earth.
“Well…two things really. Many beings on this side of the veil become frustrated when they visit earth and their loved ones do not seem to know they are there. There is limitlessness to the All as you have been taught; yet when you move between the realms the frequencies are different.”
“So if I visit they might not be aware of me?”
“Not in the way you might hope for, but they will hear you on some level, if you speak to them lovingly.”
“You said two things?”
“Yes, I did. I did at that.” said Desimena thoughtfully. After you died, Tomis learned just how much the master had deceived you both. His rage clouded his vision. He needed to reach you on a spiritual level to tell you how much he loved you, but his humanness and his fury only allowed him to feel limited. So he went about clearing your name, in the only way that seemed open to him. He fought for you; it is what men do. What he realized too late was that he had become angry, and his anger had taken over his life.
The most important thing is that Tomis understood what it was like to be on both sides of rage. He realized that rage limits your mind and spirit. He knew that as soon as he could, he was going to try and reach you though his prayers and invocations. He had begun to heal the rage, and was making peace in his heart. He was anxious to get back to his son, when he died.”
“Well you have asked many questions on our journey through the etheric. But we are here,” said Desimena, looking proud of herself as they stood in a huge room bathed in sunlight coming from a high window to the east. The sun had risen a few hours ago and was pouring through the opening. Rays of light gently played over a huge bed. A cherubic smile occupied the lips of a curly headed young man as he stretched and reached out his hand to touch the beams of light.
A knock at the door disturbed his reverie and he called, “Come in,” laughingly adding “though you best have food as an enticement for my getting out of bed!”
“Well, well!” said a familiar voice, “It is nearly mid-day. It is time you joined us. You cannot use the excuse of your birthday. You celebrated that long into the night I hear.”
“Oh Vonie, you celebrated along with me! Glad to be rid of me, no doubt! What will you do with your time now that I will travel and no longer be at my studies each day?”
“Don’t you sass me young man. I’ll always be wiser than you-it comes with age they tell me!” Sovonya said while putting her hands on her hips.
Aradia was pleasantly stunned as she watched the interplay between her son and her former protector. There was an easy peace between them and love that comes from a bond built over many years.
“How handsome he is, so like his father. How many years does he have?” asked Aradia.
“Eighteen years have passed here on earth.”
“But…”
“Yes, there is no time in the etheric world. We spoke about that concept when you first traveled through the astral world, before you entered the earth realm.”
Desimena knew that Aradia was avoiding the subject of Tomis, and what had transpired after her death and how her son had come to live in Tomi rather than her homeland.
“But I was told that I would be returning soon to the earth, because I committed su…well, you know. Eighteen years is a long time.” said Aradia raising her eyebrow in question.
“Yes, when you first came we thought you might be going back immediately, but things changed and it was decided otherwise. You were content to visit with your sister and your family and come to classes. Of course it was easier to keep your mind occupied, once you started teaching classes about your life on the Moon and speaking to those who had yet to go to earth. But…I can tell you that you will be going back very soon.”
Desimena waited for Aradia’s normal impatience, but today she was circumspect.
“Let’s observe your son and Sovonya as they go through their day. I will give you more information about how all of this came about. When you are ready you can speak to him.”
Aradia said nothing so Desimena continued. “Sovonya sent messages to Volsinii to ask after your son’s inheritance of the metal works and the land. The metal works had fallen to disrepair and poachers had come in to take the land. There seemed nothing she could do, and nowhere she could turn. In the end, however, Tomis took Sovonya and the child to his homeland and told his father that he must accept the babe as the heir and prince, or he would disappear with the child and his father would never see them again. As it worked out when Sovonya walked in to present the child to his grandfather, the grandfather at first was not able to take his eyes off her, the only woman he ever loved. When he broke his gaze to observe the child, he fell in love again, and there was never any question of the parentage.
I asked you earlier about limitations. Tomis felt limited in how he could show his love for you, after you left the earth. On a much deeper level, he had lessons to learn about limitations. In many ways Tomis lived in a black and white world. Limitations were something to accept or to find a slow and plodding way around. He simply never walked through the boundary, thereby never breaking open old belief patterns. He was limited in his humanness, he could not physically hold you, comfort you, or whisper words of love, so he sought other ways to prove his love to you as well as to himself. As men often do, and women don’t understand, he showed you in the ways open to him at the time. He fought for your name, he abdicated his reign and he named his son Artyom which was in honor of you.”
“How so?” asked Aradia.
“The name Artyom in Tomi is Artemisios in Greek and”–
“Oh Artemis! Tomis gave our son his country’s male version of Artemis? An amazingly strong and wise being! I told
him many stories of her”–
“Yes,” interrupted Desimena, “and you also prayed to Artemis to help heal Sovonya and the goddess showed you where to find the herbs.” Desimena leaned into Aradia and whispered, “I want you to know that it also has a deeper meaning; your son will forever be connected to you and your goddess mother through his name. Artemis is the Greek name for Diana.”
Aradia nodded her approval. She was watching her son as he ate a hardy meal while sitting in the garden. He was breaking his fast and excitedly talking to Sovonya about his plans for riding later in the day.
“I believe that stallion needs to be gelded; he is wild!” Aradia’s former patron told him, her gaze following her husband as he made his way through the garden.
“Do not be talking about gelding in my presence,” he commented as he joined them. “I will think you are complaining about my attention to you,” he chided laughing.
“Oh, do not say such things in the presence of innocent ears!” said Sovonya as she cooled herself with her ever present fan.
Aradia had never seen Sovonya blush. And though she hid it with the fan, her color was high and she looked at the king with such love that Aradia hungered for her own lost love. Shaking her head to clear such thoughts she went closer to her son and whispered to him.
“You are the product of great love, in your conception, in my heart and in the home that you have come to have. I wish you the greatest of all things. I wish you to always know that you are loved.”
Artyom stopped and listened, “Did you say something Sovonya? I heard a woman’s voice. ”
Aradia turned to Sovonya then. “You have the sight,” she said to her. “I want you to see me now, to know that I am here! I want you to tell my son of my love for him.”
Desimena asked, “Aradia do you know what you are doing?”
“Yes, she has the gift; she has the ability to see me. I want her to know I am here. She will not be frightened. It will be alright.”
Aradia closed her eyes and pictured her energy becoming larger. She went within and she began to flow pleasing thoughts toward her old friend as she continued to change her frequency.
Sovonya looked up and directly into Aradia’s eyes. She did not seem startled. Her husband brushed her on the cheek with a kiss and firmly placed his hand on his grandson’s shoulder and bid them to have a good morning as he walked off.
Sovonya looked over Artyom’s shoulder and into Aradia’s eyes again, and said to her charge, “Have I ever told you the story of the day your mother put the kitchen in an uproar, bustling around cooking special treats to offer to the ‘goddess.’ It delayed the meal and the master expecting his meal on time turned red and shrieked at the staff.”
“No Vonie, you have never told me that one. Tell me please. I love to hear of my mother.”
“She loved you very much! I heard tell from the staff that she sang to you every day as she sat waiting for your arrival.”
As Sovonya continued with her story, Aradia smiled and nodded to her, and softly she and Desimena moved into the ethereal realm.
Aradia worked to comprehend the hatred and distrust that had pervaded her last days on Earth. She was reminded that what she would learn on this side of the veil would just assist her in understanding the karma she had built up on Earth, not erase it. Karma needs to be worked out in the physical where it is created, she had been told.
“You were sent on a mission by your mother, the Goddess Diana,” Desimena said to Aradia, while they shared tea in the garden. “Before you left the Moon, you were taught spells and the use of herbs to better the lives of all women upon earth. You were instructed to help them to be strong and to find their ‘heart’s desire.’ When you prepared for your earth life you chose a family in which your craft could be used for good or ill. The choice was yours.
“You chose well. You used your gifts to help women throughout the years of your young life. It was not only your gift of spells and healing herbs that helped them, but also your wisdom in helping women find out what it was that they really wanted out of life.
I observed you one morning when two young girls came to you for assistance. As you touched one of the girls on the shoulder, you had a vision, and realized that she had a great voice. You encouraged her to study at the temple. She did, and it was truly her ‘heart’s desire.’
“When you looked at the other girl, you told her that there was a grand love on the way. You spoke to her telling her that there would be some sorrow, but that she must be strong so that she would find the ‘love within the love’ and she trusted you. Had you told her that she would marry and that he would die young, while she was heavy with his child, she would have become very depressed and that may have pushed her in another direction. Having a child was her ‘heart’s desire.’ If you had said more or less she would not have accepted your words. As it was, she opened her heart to the child and has indeed had the grand love of motherhood.
“Another time, when I observed you, you were speaking to the cook when you stayed at the villa. You felt there was a man she was interested in. She believed she was too heavy and he would not be interested in her, so she chose not to tell you about him. When you hugged her on the way out of the kitchen, you had a vision of the man and saw how much he loved to eat. You encouraged her to cook special foods for him when he came to deliver the grain. They have had many happy years together. There is no question you helped her fulfill her greatest wish.
“You also encouraged and helped Poletzia to go to her sister. It was indeed her ‘heart’s desire,’ to be amongst her loving family. There is so much more, but you can see how you have followed through on your mission. These things are good karma that will come back to you in another life.
“On the other side of that,” said Desimena, shaking her head, “you ultimately used your magic against one who served only to love you.”
Aradia, hoping to keep the talk away from the negative karma she had created for herself, put a beguiling smile on her face and asked a question about star seeds. She had heard Desimena use that phrase, and she loved the sound of it.
“Yes,” said Desimena with a huge smile, “your star seed would be considered the Moon.” As they walked, Desimena continued with the lesson. “As pure consciousness, you were first drawn to the luminosity of the Moon, for like draws like. Those that are drawn as star seeds to her brilliance will eventually have to learn of their own vulnerability. For the Moon also has a dark side. It is not negativity that I speak of. The dark side represents the need to hide what one feels is an inadequacy.
“The Moon is feminine in its nature,” said her spirit guide, “yet… its strength moves the tides across the land. It is a quality of the Goddess. Her femininity is never in question…and her strength is always in evidence.
“Strength is the ability to shine,” Desimena said, looking deeply at Aradia. “Courage is accepting the dark and deep emotional nature that can and does surrender. It takes strength to stand guard on your emotions; it takes courage to let down that guard, to fall, to make a mistake, and to ultimately learn.”
Desimena took Aradia’s hands in hers, thoughtfully considering her next words.
“When looking up from the Earth, the Moon shines as a beacon. Those that first make their home on the Moon tend to shine when they go to Earth. Strength is never something they are short on. It is courage they go to earth to learn.”
Aradia stood very still. “I have had a hard time with that,” she admitted. “Will I remember it this time when I go to earth?”
“If you remembered everything, I would be out of a job,” Desimena said with a grin.
“You made a joke,” said Aradia laughingly. “There’s hope for you after all!”
Desimena, smiling fondly at her student, put her arm through Aradia’s as they walked along the winding path out of the walled garden. With a knowing smile and nod of her head, Aradia acknowledged her teacher’s wisdom.
After many such sessions, Aradia becam
e impatient and began to ask when she was going to go to earth. So… early one morning Desimena smiled at her and said, “It is time!”
“Oh no!” exclaimed Aradia, managing to look frightened and excited at the same time.
Desimena understood that a huge part of Aradia’s lesson was patience. She knew that no amount of wisdom on this side of the veil would prevail! And so, with an ephemeral smile and a loving heart, Desimena nodded her head and declared, “Beautiful child, you have begun on a course. The sail is set and you cannot turn back now.”
Aradia could hear Desimena’s soft melodious voice in the background. “Choose your name carefully. Your name, like everything else, is a specific vibration that sets the tone for learning, therefore it is very important.”
Aradia’s eyes searched for Desimena. The bright mist that was enveloping her had a luminescent otherworldly hue, beginning to obscure the goddess from view.
“I will miss you.” said Aradia, noticing that her voice seemed to resound in the void.
“I am always with you, my child. Hold on to the memory of me. The veil is heavy between the worlds and the mind/body connection seems to eradicate most of the memories of the spirit world.
“Remember to pick your name carefully.”
And with that, Desimena faded from view.
Aradia saw a woman lying on the floor of a hut. It was the dead of night, and the woman was with child. The sky was alit with lightning and thunder rolled across the hut, hiding any sounds from within. All of a sudden, Aradia realized that this was her new mother and that she was about to be born.