Please click on the link below to hear Olivia describing a meditation of the Portal of Scorpio as she takes on the role of Elaine of the Alchemical twins:
(mp3 / 5:00mins / 1.2mb)
Audio transcript:
"I approach the Western Portals of Scorpio. It looms high
above me, supported by two pylons. The lintel is emblazoned by the figure of a
golden hawk with outspread wings. On the left is a statue of Selket, the
Scorpion Goddess. On the right is Sekhmet Herself. On Her lion’s head She bears
the cobra Uachat-Buto and She holds the reed of sovereignty. I realise that
when I pass through this gateway I can follow either the occult path of Selket
with secret powers, or walk the straight-forward ways of Sekhmet. Lionesses are
the huntresses. I follow Her right-hand path.
"I find myself just where I dream of in Ancient Egypt! This
is an oasis with soaring palm trees and every sort of luxuriant vegetation. No,
I'm not in Ancient Egypt, but a copy of Ancient Egypt in the New World.
Abundance brings good to everybody. I seat myself under a palm tree along with
many well-dressed people of various nationalities, but obviously well-off. I am
praising the richness of nature here, but people are laughing at me. They say
it's not like Egypt, a desert, as it is.
This oasis is entirely artificial, the water being piped here at great
expense. This is by nature temperate desert with no rainfall.
"Then a quiet young man sees my concern and tells me that he
is making for a dedicated group near who are digging for a spring to discover -
he said they are being helped by a wonderful water-diviner. Will I join them?
So I rise and follow him and find a group of workers digging on what looks like
dry sand and rock under the directions of a man with a pair of large
spectacles.
"At first I do what they tell me - at first. But suddenly I
find myself taking the lead – they are going nowhere! I consult the
water-diviner and find a new spot. I dig and on my own I find a crevasse in the
rock-face beneath the sand, pull away, and water gushes forth!
"I feel in ecstasy, I've never been so proud and happy. Soon
groups of people are joining us and they congratulate me on what I've done and
I'm just a newcomer. And they all begin
digging. This spring I found is mighty and pure, good water. I've done the
right action at the right time, for the land was threatened by drought. But oh,
what elation - now I know my life's work, so they tell me. I've come here - I've been chosen.
"But what is this agonizing pain that shoots through my left
foot? I am poisoned. I scream. Someone says I've been bitten by a scorpion. I
feel angry to be so helpless. Somebody
is trying to help me and I console myself by the thought that now the work will
carry on to create an oasis that will bring water to hundreds of people and
animals and stop us using up Nature's water, in the wrong way. Yet I feel a
stab of fear. I've started all this, but do these people have the right ideas?
What are their motives? This digging is getting out of hand. I can no longer
control it, as I lie in pain. I call to Sekhmet for help. And then I hear these
words as deep as flowing waters:
'My
daughter, rivalry poisons the waters of life, which is for all. More cruel than
the scorpion’s sting is concealed jealousy disguised as high-mindedness! Share
not only the water you have found, but also the glory of the finding of it.'
"I see it all. I lie back on the sand under a palm-tree and I
leave the work now to others and I enjoy the sun speckling my body through the
palm-leaves. And my hands are stroking the sun-warmed mane of a mighty,
contented Lioness. As I try to see Her I come back to all. . . so content."
(Golden Eyes, Black Night: painting by Olivia Robertson, copyright reserved.)
Archival Link: Audio Gallery