The narrow, crowded street on which I was walking led straight to the Acropolis, which floated, golden-pink in the air far above, in the distant vista between buildings. I walked on, dodging pedestrians walking toward me, passing shops selling nothing but slippers, shops selling rugs, sweaters, skirts, baskets, imitations of ancient pottery, fruit, fish - it was all here! As the street came to an end, houses marched up the increasingly steep slope which led to the Acropolis. To my right, below, now, was the Agora. To think this was where Socrates and Plato had actually held forth! On I climbed, curving around the hill of the Acropolis, rising ever higher. Now, finally, I was coming to the entrance to the upward path which led directly to the summit itself. Buying my ticket, I went up. A flight of steep marble steps led me directly to the Beulé Gate, named after the archaeologist who discovered it. The perfect little temple of Athena Nike was above me, on my right. Passing through the gate, I entered the Propylaea, which separates the sacred area beyond from the outside.

Stepping beyond the Propylaea, I walked toward the Parthenon along the horizontal marble paving slabs which cover so much of the top of the Acropolis. All made of the same, warm, glowing Pentelic marble, like the temples themselves, these huge slabs flood the entire area with pale golden light reflected from their surfaces. The Parthenon itself was so magnificent, so perfect in its golden grandeur, which went up and up, ending silhouetted against the deep azure sky, that I could only gaze dumbly, tears flowing from my eyes. The columns, fluted in the Ionic style yet with capitals of Doric simplicity, tapering subtly so as to enhance the height, held up a structure which was massive, yet utterly weightless, appearing to soar into the sky.

One is not allowed to enter the temple, so I contented myself with sitting on one of the huge marble blocks at the west end, taking in the presence of this tremendous building. Getting out my pendulum, I brought it as close as I could to the temple itself and let it swing. Strongly female! No wonder I felt such aliveness here! Athena was still in her temple, guarding the city she loved so well!

I feel inadequate to try to sum up the impact of this place in words. The setting, on a tiered shelf of rock under tall, rugged cliffs, flooded with sunlight yet green with trees, abundant with vegetation, with that fairyland view to the south of plain, river and far-away sea before one, is overwhelming in its impact. How anyone could visit that shrine and remain agnostic I cannot imagine! The Greeks considered it the center of the earth, and the "omphalos" its navel.

Hunting for the crevice over which the Pythoness sat on her tripod to give her pronouncements, I was crushed to learn from Nikki that the eastern Christian Emperor Justinian had had it filled in with lead! The only life I sensed anywhere at the "Apollonian" side of the oracle was, surprisingly, atop the omphalos, which Nikki told us was also a copy of the original. It stood near where the crevice is thought to have been, so perhaps it had absorbed some of that imprisoned life coming up from deep in the rock. There was none at the temple of Apollo.

Climbing far up the side of the mountain, we looked over the theater of Delphi, as well-preserved as that of Epidauros, impressive, affording a spectacular view from its topmost seats, but not as large nor quite as beautifully proportioned. Above the top of the theater, high on a ten-foot, nearly vertical bank, I suddenly caught sight of a bush with a fruit hanging from it which looked like an apple but could only be a pomegranate. It took some hefty scrambling to reach it, but I managed, and came down with my prize. It was partly rotten, but still intact on one side. I walked down the steep path to the sanctuary sucking the juice from the seeds of the still-edible half of the fruit, which to me has always been primarily a token of Persephone's obligation to spend half her days in the Underworld, and therefore, very powerful. In eating it, I felt very ancient, but not superstitious.

Whatever time I spend in the Underworld has now become as much a part of my life as any other! In fact, it is a necessary act for me, if I am to fulfill my personal myth, I have learned. Looking at that moment, now, I realize that this was a learning I had been making as I went along on this journey. When it happened for me, I cannot say exactly, but in some way I cannot specify, it had to do with my Cretan trip, I believe. I am sure there is more there for me to learn.

Walking along the road, I came first to the sacred spring of Kastalia, which flows out of the base of one of the steep cliffs above the oracle. Here I fully expected to find life, but did not. The basin into which the spring initially flowed was fenced off, so I could only dowse the lower reaches of the water, and that may be the reason. It was a lovely, cool place to rest, however, with tall trees and the sound of the water flowing downhill, so I enjoyed being there anyway.

Next, I walked down the road until I came to the steps which led down to the area of the temple of Athena Pronaia, which the guidebook calls the temenos, or sacred space. I found it indeed to be just that! My pendulum swung in the female direction in several places near the temple of Athena Pronaia, the oldest part of the Delphic shrine, although not at the beautiful tholos, or circular building. But even more miraculous to me than the discovery of life in the old stones was the evidence of life all around the site in the form of olives dropped from trees in the olive grove which surrounds it! I gazed at these glistening black jewels, lying on the ground all unnoticed, some of them crushed underfoot by passing tourists, and realized I had to collect as many as I could! Taking out a small plastic bag which I had stuffed into my carrying bag, I began picking them up. Soon a man who had been sitting in a little house guarding the site came out to speak to me. I asked him if what I was doing was all right. Yes, it was fine. He hated to see them go to waste. But I was to make sure only to pick up the plump, firm ones. The others would not stand up to processing very well. He seemed pleased that I wanted to do this.

When I had collected a full bag, I realized no one else from the tour was around, and that I had better be getting back. Walking quickly up the steps to the road, I hurried along it toward where our bus was standing near the spring of Kastalia. No one was visible along the road! I began to walk faster, sure, now, that I must be keeping people waiting. As I walked, however, my mind was still on olives, and I glanced up from time to time to see whether any of the trees lining the roadside were olive trees. Suddenly, I caught sight of a single, plump purple fig hanging, all by itself, from the branch of a fig tree just above my head. It took only a moment to pull down the branch, pluck the perfect fig and bite into it. It was absolutely ripe and deliciously sweet and juicy! Running the rest of the way to the waiting bus, my mouth filled with essence of fig, I felt that Athena had given me the ultimate gift, and now I was ready to leave. Sure enough, I was the last, and every eye was on me as I boarded the bus, but no one seemed particularly annoyed. I was content.

Back to Dowsing page (taken from Rushing to Eva)

The decan constellation Perseus tells the mythic story that will be playing out in coming months. Perseus rides Pegasus to rescue Andromeda from the ocean monster Cetus.

For this task Perseus is given the winged sandals of Mercury and the mirrored shield of the warrior goddess Athena. The 3rd decan of Aries Tarot card, the IV of Wands, signifies celebration of the home coming hero and recognition/invocation of the good in people. This card brings power to overcome evil and meet needs of the time. Positive thinking and power to call forth the best within is facilitated. The Tarot card number of this decan is 30. Element #30 is Zinc, a mineral supposed to support health and positive thought.

Athena guided Perseus and every other hero of Greek mythology. Athena's statue atop the US Capitol dome is adorned with an eagle (Aquila) headdress. Athena is a protector of community and a clever goddess of peacecraft who turns to war only as a last resort. Athena gave the olive tree to humanity. Athena guided Perseus to claim the head of Medusa and rescue the princess Andromeda. Athena wields the thunderbolts of her father Zeus and her eagle headdress has platinum tipped feathers to conduct lightning and protect the Capitol building. These mythological details refer to occult powers of masculine and feminine nature. Mastery of these abilities can mean an end of war and violence in the world.

Ignorance of the psychic dimension is the greatest present danger. Physical weapons provide no real protection against terrorism, the only effective defenses are psychic and spiritual defenses. We are challenged now to extend our perceptions and conceptions into more subtle dimensions. The world has been tilting toward Aquarius for many years and 2004 is the year when the collective cosmic scale tips into a new state of being.