Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans

“Transparent to transcendence”

-Joseph Campbell

A man sat in front of his cot, hands pasted to his woolen bed, knees bent neatly beneath him, he spoke in a strict tone to the air above him,

“Pan, nomad of the forest,
 sweeping trees and strengthened roots,
I call with you my thanks,
for it is your voice to be heard in the wind, and from our flocks,
 to you I give all honor”

               The man rose from his knees and walked to an opened window at the corner of the room. Looking out into the deep seas of green and the long rows of sheep grazing, the man felt a sense of natural order take hold of him, leading his thoughts to emotional bliss. The man said,

“The gods produced the earth, the earth the grass, the grass food for my flock, and my flock a life for me; god has given me life through the cycle of nature and all her splendor”

The man walked to the entrance of his small humble hut, taking on a pace of relaxation as he did so. The floor of the hut was earthen in texture, the walls were that of the hill it was buried in, and the sole window of the hut lay in a dug out of the knoll it resided in. The man grabbed a jug that sat patiently on the table; he poured a glass of a rich magenta substance into a silver chalice. He lifted the drink above his head as if to pay homage to some unseen participant,

“To you, Dionysus, provider of the elemental elixir, giver of religious fervor and ritual passion, to you I give all honors.”

The man took a large drink of his chalice and slammed it down on the table with pious compassion. He walked to grab a wooden staff that lay by the door; its composure was of a thick trunk of an old wise oak that had fallen the year previous as a result of lightning. The man recalled how he took stone to wood to craft such a staff. It was all in the name of creating a staff that Zeus himself deemed worthy; for Zeus kissed the tree that had grown up as he, and expressed to him that even in the gods fury, gain can still be gotten. It was a god’s duty to speak to man through nature, as god was all that nature was composed of. The man walked to the front door of his hut, passing through it and turning to his flock. The shepherd was an old man; the creases in his face were no stranger to the wear of his life. The man’s hair was long and untamed, his beard reaching beneath his breast; the man was a shepherd through and through. He walked to the edge of where his sheep grazed, and looked out in awe; the pastures were a green that tasted as potent as a green apple, but this green could not be consumed by man. Behind him was his hut, built out of the hill, it was as natural a home a human could make. Watching the sheep graze blissfully amongst the flora of the land, the shepherd let a deep smile take form very gradually, spreading from cheek to cheek. The Shepherd adorned robes akin to something the gods would admire, for he had shown no hubris in his appearance, he wanted not the gods to think he placed much stock in vanity.

              

Suddenly, a staff descended from the sky with enough speed to dig into the soil beneath the flourishing pastures; the staff planted itself at the far end of the flock. The staff was of long form, two snakes circling one another at the body, and wings sprouting from the head. The shepherd locked eyes onto the staff, a look of sheer amazement stretched through his worn face. Wrinkles at his temple furling in reaction, the shepherd walked beyond his hut and reached his arms to the sky and spoke out,

“Athena, grant me the wisdom to understand this gift, surely this is a sign from the gods. May what come, come; I am listening not just with my ears, but with my eyes and mind.”

His arms fell from their position and his gaze became fixed on the staff. He recognized its composure; it resembled the caduceus, the staff of the messenger god, Hermes. He had seen the staff of such outside of the merchant homes in Athens. He had not made passage to Athens in some time, but he was sure that he had seen the staff of dueling snakes before.

“Hermes, should you hear my call, what message am I to seek? What have the gods sent me in the form of this staff?” said the Shepherd to his audience of sheep.

He walked over to the staff, making path directly down the center of his sheep, each passing of a sheep warranted a “BAAA” in response. The sheep remained parted at the center from his traversal even beyond his passing, but they paused from grazing to look at the staff. Reaching the staff, the shepherd placed his hands on it, not lifting, but resting his palms around its body, gazing up at it wonder mixed with fear. The serpents of the staff were barred by the shaft from battling, as the staff depicted a duality of sparring snakes, and the divine intervention that split them apart. Gazing up at the staffs wings, the shepherd said

“Hermes, I call upon you again, I have split my sheep just as you have split the snakes, what message am I to receive?”

The staff began to vibrate, the snakes sprung to life, swirling down the body of the staff, the snakes hit ground and slithered up the shepherds leg, each snake wrapping around his throat. One of the snakes wrapped enough of itself around the shepherd’s neck so that it may whisper into his ear.

“Shepherd of sheep, student of the gods, heed my words with great might. You must rid yourself of your flock post haste. You must use the staff Zeus helped you seek out, and banish the sheep from your pastures. Free yourself from your natural order, embrace life beyond the divine.”

The snake that spoke slithered down his body and resumed its position encircled around the body of the staff. The remaining snake wrapped itself tightly around the shepherd neck and said,

“Hear not the lies my enemy speaks to you; you must protect your flock at all costs, for it is your life, your purpose, and your connection to the gods of which we come; guard your herd from the horrors of the earth.”

As did the other, the snake slid down one body and reclaimed its place at another, continuing its entanglement and war with the other serpent. The shepherd starred at the staff in disbelief, a deep wave of confusion swept over him and he fell to his knees.

“Hermes, I know you speak as a patron of herdsmen, but what of this duality in the caduceus. Your messengers have given me dueling challenges. What am I to do?”

The shepherd turned around to his sheep, a clear line of division separating them, and he just gazed upon them; first the right half, followed by the left. Am I to banish half of my flock and protect the other half? Surely this division of sheep has remained as such as a sign from the gods. But how am I to banish what gives me purpose? Less sheep will mean less gold, less purpose; less connection to the gods I give thanks to everyday. Hermes is a patron of herdsmen, and sure enough, that is caduceus before me. Would a god of herdsmen lead a shepherd astray?

A snarl came from behind the shepherd; he turned to see a wolf in full bloom. The shepherd scrambled for his staff, falling in his haste. The wolf remained idle as the shepherd picked himself up, eyes glued to the wolf. The snarling grew louder and the wolf bore teeth; the shepherd panicked and thrust his staff into the ground to keep himself upright. He noted the black fur of the wolf was a black as deep as he had ever seen. It looked as if the wolfs black coat was that of a new born pup. The wolf pressed forward, but the shepherd held his ground; eyes locked in combative stares, the pair watched each other’s every hesitation and twitch. The wolf pressed forward, crossing the shepherd at an angle; the wolf walked towards the left half of the divided sheep. Watching along with its movements, the shepherd thought deeply about the wolf’s movements.

“HERMES! Speak out to me now, have I been led astray? Reveal to me a path which to take. My sheep remained divided by my actions, your words were whispered into my ear, but dueling was their intent. Have you revealed to me your trickster true self? Or is there wisdom at play?” spoke the shepherd to the sky

The wolf pressed every closer to his chosen side of the sheep, in response, the shepherd thrust his staff at the wolf, stabbing it in its rib cage; showing no sign of interaction, the wolf closed in, teeth still shown and mouth still snarling.

“ATHENA! Grant me guidance, your wisdom is that above all else. I call out to you in this time of need, what am I to do?”

His face went a stark pale, the wolf was mere feet away from his flock, and his staff garnered no response from the wolf. Pausing a snouts distance from the sheep, all of whom were pacified; surely a result of these divine interactions. Tears fell limply down the shepherds face and he fell to his knees. The wolf moved in on the sheep, tearing an entire division piece by piece. The shepherd remained on his knees, his back facing the massacre. Tearing through the sheep in a matter of minutes, the wolf devoured his prey. Upon completion, the wolf walked before the staff that lay square in the ground; he licked the staff, blood from the sheep still on his tongue, he marked the staff with a single sweep. Then he walked off beyond the staff and into the distance.

             

  The shepherd rose from his knees and looked to the staff. The dueling snakes swung lose from their frame and once again, slithered up around the shepherd, one wrapping around and whispering into his ear,

“You allowed the gods to take your flock; your task has been completed. You have shown devotion to a natural order of the gods. Blessed you have been for years under the guidance of the gods. Many times have they protected you from events such as this; now that you have made your payment for seasons of benefit, your appeasement will not go unseen.”

The snake slithered off the man and back up the staff. The remaining snake followed suit wrapping itself around his neck and whispering into his ear,

“I am pleased to see your devotion to an unnatural natural order. You have indulged each of us in our requests, half of your flock remains, while the other half passes beyond. You are ready for the message Hermes has chosen to leave with you.”

A look of immense disbelief rushed over the shepherd, he watched as the snake slithered down his body and back onto its position on the staff. The wings atop the staff fluttered, taking to the winds, they lifted the staff out of the ground and back into the sky of which they came. In its decent into the clouds, a small parchment revealed itself to be lying underneath the staff. The shepherd saw this beneath the shaft and bent down to pick it up, no longer paying attention to the descending staff, the wolf, and both sides of his flock. The shepherd picked up the parchment and it read,

“Your gods are divine, but they are finite. As long as you allow devotion to a natural order, you will find a path that truly leads you to a destination your heart of heart desires"