esson 29b: Investiture of the Spear

he return sea voyage provides a peaceful pause, allowing me time to contemplate and assimilate before arriving back in a very active scene. In a field next to the harbor, there is a festival being held. Brian (Spear Knight) meets me at the dock and escorts me there. It's a First Harvest festival held by farmers who are bringing goods to the docks to be shipped out. Everything is decorated with corn stalks, grape vines and sunflowers.¹ The last fest we attended was drinking and dancing, but this one is more about friendly competition.
   Brian and I team up for one challenge in which we must follow a trail through the woods, stopping at various stations to complete small tasks. These include guessing how many macaroni are in a jar, tasting and naming five kinds of cheese, throwing darts, etc. (It's no surprise that Spearman throws three bull's eyes!) Each team carries a scorecard, on which each station master records their performance. Part of the challenge includes drinking a glass of new wine at each station, which should make the tasks progressively harder. But it inspires us to even greater skill. We are jubilant about how well we perform, congratulating each other with high-fives, hugs, and finally kisses which become longer and more passionate each time.
   After the final task, he picks me up and twirls around, and the next thing I know, he is carrying me into the woods. [Erotic spearing snipped.]

   Back at the festival, he finds a saw and cuts a piece off the end of his spear. He whittles it into a shape which could resemble a human torso and head, but I know better what it *really* is. There is a candle maker at the festival and he fashions a mold, then makes red candle, from this phallic symbol.
   As evening approaches, my shadow appears, and together we give ourselves over to "all things of sense and rapture." There is safety in anonymity, and I don't have to worry about others judging me. We call a truce, and just play.
   Returning to the candle maker, I have a duplicate made for her, in black. Then we meld them base to base, and have a candle to burn at both ends. Night comes, and the three of us sleep together under the amazingly clear and star-studded sky.
   Morning comes and Brian departs on his next adventure or "conquest." Before he goes, he gives me his mobile phone number, so that I can call on him any time.  

   My shadow and I go to visit Sovereignty, and we enjoy a nice early morning stroll together, carrying on a deep discussion about the times each of us were right or wrong. I wouldn't have imagined doing it a month ago, but I now express my thanks to her for showing me the value of a well-placed "F**k off!" (And thanks to N., also, who showed me in real life.)

   We arrive at the seat of Sovereignty, and are pleasantly surprised to see that she is pregnant!² The ultimate alchemy! We three stroll to the garden, to see it in decline. As I view the sunflowers with their heads hanging down, dropping seeds to the earth, my mind makes a half-formed connection between this and her pregnancy. The seeds fall to the earth, hibernating there until the proper time, when they give forth their new life (death ... life ... death ... life ...). The garden really looks a mess, with everything wild and browning. "Leave it," ShadowMoon says. "Let the winter take care of it." She's not much of one to exert herself unnecessarily, and in this case, I agree. Let the garden go; let nature take its course.

   "Every woman is a garden," Sovereignty explains. "Whether fruit or flowers, children or ideas. Let your intuition tell you when to work and when to wait. Keep in mind that everything moves in cycles, and so the proper action (or inaction or reaction) is always changing. If you ever find yourself out of step, lost, confused, unsure, turn to me and I will guide you."  

1) Like Albi and Düdi's wedding in the woods. {back}

2) This was my first hint. {back}