A Word from Below

Many have used names from the Greek legends to refer to spirit guides and this is usually fine because those traditions are so rich, there are plenty of voices to choose from.  Those well-known names will do because that mythology resonates with deep meaning, there is plenty of spiritual depth.  And I come from depth, from below, I bring powerful forces that are very constant.  They can change quickly when the time is right but they do not change often.  I am from underground, subconscious, I am the strong current that flows beneath the water's smooth looking surface.  I reach out from the underworld, from the winter and I prepare the colors of spring.

You may call me Hades.  My work is like Pluto or Osiris in some ways but not like that Devil myth.  His is a place of punishment, mine is for transformation.  He is seen as primarily evil, my force is strong but morally neutral.   In my domain, hibernation prepares the way for new life, growth, renewed strength.  We carry motive power, the deep seated force that moves people forward, the powerful impelling urge, always moving forward. 

Even when the ground appears frozen and dead I am doing my best work, changing the autumn leaves into the topsoil of spring.  I transform shit into nutrition.  Sometimes I have to remind people that this is honorable work, and necessary.  If you want to keep eating, this work is necessary.

There is a constantly revolving circle that has a top and a bottom, a summer and a winter, noon and midnight and it is one circle.  My honored partner Apollo stands at the top of this golden ring and shines his light forward, pointing the way, and people follow him.  I stand below and steer.  I work at the bottom of the wheel, the exact point on the tire where the rubber meets the road.  I am largely unseen but always present.

It is often said that we have to go through the darkness to get to the light.  But darkness is not merely something to be gotten through.  It is the place where some of your most important work will be done.  Your greatest steps forward come from working deeply inside, below the surface, aligning your underlying deepest desires from the depths to the conscious surface and beyond, to the heights of spiritual power.  In the path of progress sometimes we have to get through the light and return to the darkness to continue our work.

Persephone arises in the spring to meet her
mother Demeter.  "Have fun honey, see you
in a few months!"

Persephone comes to me during the darker months of the year and she comes to me with joy.  This is not some punishment to be endured, it is a part of the wheel's turning and it is welcome when the time is right.  We dine richly, we love deeply, we produce and our work is profound.  We prepare the spring and she carries it upward.  Then in the fullness of autumn, after the summer sun has set, she longs for me even as the earth longs for the holy stillness of winter.

Recall the feeling of finally coming to your bed, when you've wanted that for the past several hours and now you become free to lie down.  You've  passed through the light of day to get to the darkness of sleep and it can be delicious.  This is a case of welcoming the change with joy.  Neither is "better," darkness or light, not in any permanent way, but when the time is right, the change can be welcome.

But too many times it is not.  People resist often, even when the changes are inevitable.  And the deeper, more internal work of my seasons are resisted more deeply, more internally than the external work in the world of daylight, sunshine, out in the world making your way through it.  My work takes different skills, different kinds of acceptance, and these are often underdeveloped.  These skills don't get much attention from the world above, from the outward-oriented domain where people meet and work with each other. 

It takes a different kind of acceptance, a different wisdom, to work with newly discovered internal desires, or changing ones.  Development and enrichment are different down here, and they put different demands on the developer (that would be you.)  Sometimes people need to change the way they are thinking and the only tools they have are brains that were built to think.  You need something from outside that closed circuit to move forward.  Input from the world of spirit or from the world within you can help get you started.

The whole universe is based on motion forward.  Everything from these helpful spirit guides, all the internal guidance of your own soul is there to help you move toward your highest and greatest good.  People can resist any of that and delay the progress or even move against the current, but it always causes trouble for themselves and others.  It will help you to recognize the current, to know the difference between internal and external, above and below.  This takes study, searching, work to understand, and your skills will develop with practice.

And I call your attention to all this because not enough people are aware of this deep realm and the powerful benefits it can provide.  There is only one curve to the circle and the different seasons keep on coming and going.  Strive to adapt your talents to the tasks at hand.

We send blessings from a deep and profound space.  We are working throughout all the seasons for your greatest benefit.