Soul Matters Volume Six: Bondage Battleground

Phil discussed this new assignment with Sanoy when they exited the cave. He wasn’t very helpful. His ensuing comment was Sammuel was probably on to them, but once he transported Agrat and Eisheth to Jehovah’s compound it wouldn’t matter anyway.

There was a pragmatic logic to Sanoy’s assessment. Cop-thinking as Manuel would have it, but Phil knew he would be held to Agrat’s obligation. He couldn’t imagine what Eisheth might want when it was her turn. Although, he realized, he did defeat the fear of becoming absorbed into the pre-human existence the Earth Mother demanded. He did enter Agrat’s world without losing himself.

He fell asleep, for the first time lately, with a sense of accomplishment. He awoke to Becky’s call at 10am.

“Surf’s up.”

“I’m coming,” he said. “What’s happening with Walter?”

“I sicced one of our mutual friends on him. A big buff beach bum who likes to think of me as his big sister.”

“Good thinking.”

They surfed for a few hours under a darkening sky. Then they met at the café. The waiter assured them they were on the lookout for Walter and promised no more problems with him. It was one of the perks, Phil knew, for living year-round in a beach town. The locals took care of one another.

Becky wore a dark blue hooded sweatshirt over jeans, and she seemed particularly happy.

“The psychic self-defense worked,” she beamed at him. “I can really disappear. Well, not disappear disappear, but people don’t notice me. I wandered around the mall for hours, saw all kinds of people I know, and not one recognized me.”

“You’re a natural for this stuff.”

“I think you’re right. I have a gift. Now I need bigger tests to see what my limitations are.”

She smiled at him, and her enthusiasm was infectious. He commented, “You think like an athlete. Test your limits.”

“I am an athlete. I don’t know if I would have survived without sports. Especially surfing.”

She dug into her omelet. Between bites she asked, “What do you think a good test would be? A biker bar?”

“Well, you could go with me and face down a mother of demons.”

Her green eyes riveted him to his chair, “Are you serious?”

“Maybe. More practice is certainly in order. You might try to beat airport security. Dress up all gangster-like and don’t disappear yourself to see if you get a ‘random’ search. Go to San Francisco or something. On the return trip, wear the same outfit and disappear yourself. If they don’t ‘random’ search you, then you might try a biker bar.”

She was still staring at him, her fork-full of omelet half way to her mouth. “A mother of demons?”

“Her name is Agrat," Phil allowed. "I’ve got business with her, but she wants a woman to vouch for me.”

“No big deal,” Becky said and set the fork down. "I can vouch for you."

“Well, she said it would have to be a woman who was willing to die for me.”

Becky flinched, but recovered and barked a laugh, “I mean, I like you, Phil, but die for you? Maybe if you were better in bed.”

Then she smiled, “I’m joking. You’re such a straight-up guy, it’s fun to mess with you. So when do we go?”

“I don’t know. Keep practicing. I’ll be in touch.”

“It might not happen?”

“It probably will happen, but other things have to happen first.”

“Like what?”

Phil put his fork down and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Ask your priest-lady about Lilith and her sisters. Ask her what would happen if they came back from exile.”

“Okay,” Becky grinned, now even more enthusiastic. “I’ve never heard of Lilith.”

“According to legend she was Adam’s first wife. She left him, and God settled on Adam’s rib to make him a more compliant female companion.”

“Eve.”

Phil nodded.

“You do get into weird shit.”

Phil added a smile to his nod and resumed eating.

His day job was becoming more intriguing as he considered his evolving ideal of a healthy community juxtaposed to the realities in the world. Mankind had experimented with many schemes for governance. Each failed in the end for the same reason: entitlement. Rome collapsed as the games at the Coliseum increased, and free bread was handed out to the masses. The Republican ideal of entrepreneurs, the Protestant work ethic, even the Buddhist monastery injunction that only those who work should eat, all pointed to a necessary fact of healthy community. There was no free lunch.

On the other side of it, though, the welfare systems of various countries showed remarkable success. Fully 90% of those on welfare used it as a temporary crutch. They were off the welfare roles within a year and a half. This assumed there was someplace for them to go, however, and Phil came to see this aspect of the system as the weak link. The answer seemed to be a healthy society was peopled with life-long learners. If they lost a job, there was someplace to go to learn a new one. Consequently, the educational system was confirmed as the key. But the required educational system was a far cry from the current bureaucracy with its 40% high school drop-out rate. There would need to be drastic changes, especially in junior high and senior high curricula. In Phil’s mind, this was a challenge for business. With the pressure the corporate world could exert on education, and with a partnering of the corporate and educational values, a new system of life-long learning was a distinct possibility.

The counter-pressure he could predict would be from politicians who relied on ignorance and fear to advance their careers. There were enough of them not only around but also in positions of power. The other problem was corporate welfare, which operated in the completely opposite way of social welfare. Corporate welfare was sought after and 90% of those businesses benefiting from government handouts didn’t get off the roles unless forced to do so by legislation. Those corporations would not want critically thinking citizens in the voting booths who were schooled in the idea that citizens held fiduciary responsibility to the commonwealth. As such, they were educated and firmly committed to electing leaders that managed the finances of government so the citizens weren’t getting ripped off.

Phil finished up and cooked a simple dinner of stir-fry shrimp from a frozen bag-mix. He ate while watching the news on T.V. Then it was time to see what was happening in Manuel’s world.

Phil stepped into Manuel’s patio to Manuel, Raphael, and Sanoy engaged in a heated debate.

Manuel glanced his way, “Glad you could join us.”

“What’s happening?”

Raphael answered, “Sammael rounded up Agrat and Eisheth and imprisoned them with Lilith and Echidna. It was what we were hoping for.”

“But?” Phil prompted.

Raphael went on, “The four of them blew a hole in Jehovah’s compound and escaped.”

Sanoy added, in his cop making a report voice, “Now they’re holding Yahweh hostage in his compound. Metatron has called an emergency session of the Sarim to deal with the situation.”

“Wow,” Phil muttered. “Do they want me there?”

“What do you think?” Manuel snickered.

“Shall we?” Phil sighed.

They flew out of the patio towards the center of the angel-world. Through the roof of the Sarim hall, they landed in seats around the oval meeting area. Dozens of angels were arriving in their appointed chairs as the ruling council members filtered in. Metatron was to their far right. His frail elderly frame was drooped over the desk in front of him studying reports.

As the last of the thirty members of the council arrived, Metatron called the meeting to order. In the spectator seats, filled also to capacity, the buzz of conversation dwindled.

Metatron spoke, “The situation, to summarize, is this: the four sisters blasted their way out of an unlawful imprisonment in Jehovah’s compound. They traveled to Yahweh’s compound and took him hostage. We do not know their demands. A squad of Powers is negotiating as we speak. We can hope the sisters will squabble among themselves and end this problem for us, but we cannot count on it. I will entertain your thoughts.”

Irin signaled he would like to speak and stood, “This was a possible consequence of what my brother and I have foreseen. En Sof is pushing us all to the next plateau of our existence. Much of the status quo will remain, but much of it will not. We can gracefully align ourselves with the evolutionary push, or we can resist it to our detriment.”

Another angel stood, “Or we can view this situation as a disturbance. Evolution is a slow process not a catastrophic series of events. I propose the human who started this deal with Lilith and her sisters. It is his muddle. He should be responsible for cleaning it up.”

Phil remembered he just told Pam something similar. It would be hypocritical of him to deny what this angel was saying, but he shuddered at the thought of facing all four sisters alone.

Another angel was speaking, “If we want to assign blame, we might start with Sammael. He’s the one who brought the sisters together. One could argue this muddle, as you call it, is actually his to clean up.”

It went on like that for some time. Eventually, Metatron stopped the debate.

Without standing up as the others had done, he spoke from his chair, “The human is present, as are the angels assigned to him. I wish to hear from them as well.”

They stood and marched into the grassy area surrounded by the council.

Manuel spoke first, “I resent the idea Phil was doing any more than any spiritual seeker. He was trying to balance yin and yang within himself. He may have taken it beyond where others have gone, or been forced farther afield, but it is the same quest many have taken.”

“Don’t get so defensive,” Metatron sighed. “We need solutions. Do you have thoughts on this, Phil?”

Phil remembered to dress himself in a business suit when they were still sitting in the audience. Now he straightened his tie and stepped forward. “I know facing Echidna somehow changed her. Lilith seemed to be changing as I faced her. I didn’t get to finish with Agrat, and I never met with Eisheth. So, what I’m about to say is not based on firm observations. Still, what I think is happening is the shadow feminine in all its forms is transforming.”

“Are you suggesting the yin has been stuck in its shadow form?” Metatron demanded.

“It would seem so, but I’m not certain.”

The council members whispered among themselves after this exchange. Metatron sat in silence as they did so.

Eventually, a different council member pushed the interrogation along. “Sanoy, what do you make of this?”

“Lilith claimed the balance was supposed to be equality between man and woman, Camael. She said we’ve been out of balance from the beginning. If what she says is true, we have an obligation to restore balance.”

Phil remembered Camael was the head of Sanoy’s order. Camael, in a navy-blue robe, was stern looking. His long face was accentuated by straight black hair, which hung to his shoulders.

Camael directed his attention to Metatron, “I propose we send Sanoy to take charge of the Powers in contact with the four sisters and to escort Phil, Raphael, and Manuel into an audience with them.”

“If we do that,” another angel protested, “the human may complete his mission, and catastrophic change will be inevitable.”

Qaddism stood and the crowd became silent. After a long pause he spoke, “Catastrophic change is already inevitable. The questions are: what kind of change, and when will it happen? I agree with Camael’s proposal.”

“As do I,” a number of voices sounded.

Those who opposed were few. Even so, the council was a consensus body. It took some time to persuade the holdouts, but they finally agreed.

“You will go to Yahweh’s compound,” Metatron directed. “You will consult with the sisters. Phil is free to complete his quest, but we must approve anything else. Am I clear?”

Raphael bowed to them all, signaling it was clear, and the four of them flew out of the building.

“What do you think?” Sanoy asked Raphael.

“Prepare yourselves for combat,” was the terse response.

Phil immediately filled himself with the three energies and formed a bubble around himself. In the distance, a wedge formation of dark angels was approaching. Phil saw the auras of his companions surge with light. Then a squadron of friendly angels overtook them from behind. The Archangel Michael was leading them.

“Are you any better at fighting?” he challenged Phil with a flat military voice.

“I’ve been practicing,” Phil answered a bit defensively. Then he queried, “I didn’t think angels actually fought with one another.”

“It’s rare, but it happens. We will provide cover. You will accomplish your mission.”

The archangel pulled ahead of them and prepared to engage the dark angels. Raphael veered to the right, and soon they sighted Yahweh’s compound. The squad of Powers already in place provided additional security as they hurried into Yahweh’s compound.

Sanoy stopped at the compound's entrance and told them, “I’ll stay here and organize the troops.”

Phil caught a fleeting glimpse of the rounded architecture of this compound, the curved streets, the vendors at their stands, and all the sights and sounds of a biblical town. The difference today was the residents were running for cover.

Inside the massive tent-structure at the center of the compound, a carpeted floor bisected various alcoves each with curtains separating it from its neighbors. Couches and people in serious debate usually filled the alcoves. Today, the place was mostly empty.

At the back of the pavilion was a meeting room. Curtains surrounded it as well. A Power stood guard. It was here Phil had once met with Yahweh.

Raphael spoke to the Power, who allowed them to pass to the inner sanctum. Sitting on cushions across the room were the four sisters.

“Welcome,” Lilith smiled. “I trust you know everyone.”

Phil stepped forward. “No. I never met Eisheth.”

Lilith’s eyes directed him to a woman on her right. Eisheth was red-haired, blue-eyed and dressed in sheer silk. She glowed with sexuality.

“Phil. Do you want to sit by me?” she asked and patted the cushion next to her.

Manuel interrupted, “No, he doesn’t want to sit next to you. And, yes, we do want to know what you four are up to.”

Echidna sat to the left of Lilith, and Agrat was to the left of her. Echidna appeared more serene than before, and her blue eyes glowed as she looked at Phil. All four sisters were decked out in their finery. Phil was disoriented by their combined energy. He reinforced the Flesh, Force, and Spirit energies within him.

“We’ve been in the dark too long, Manuel,” Lilith asserted. “We’re basking in the Light.”

“What have you done to Yahweh?” Raphael wanted to know.

Lilith rolled her eyes and snorted, “He’s sulking in his room.”

“And Jehovah?” Manuel pressed.

“Pompous ass. We smashed his coliseum,” Lilith answered. “Break a boy’s toys and you hit him where he lives.”

“We heard you blew up the compound,” Manuel said.

“No. It would have hurt too many souls. And we couldn’t go head-to-head with Jehovah as we wanted, because he ran off. So we imploded his coliseum."

She chuckled at the memory, and the other three woman smiled as well. Lilith looked at Manuel and asked, "Have you ever been there when he comes out of the clouds, horns blaring, choirs singing? It’s disgusting.”

“We’ve been there,” Phil answered. “What are you planning?”

“We don’t know,” Lilith admitted. “We won’t be separated and locked up again; that’s for sure. The rest we’ll have to figure out along the way.”

Echidna spoke, “What we want is something we can’t have. We want an accounting with the Elohim.”

Phil looked to Manuel with a question on his face. Manuel explained, “You saw it on Mt. Sinai. Yahweh, the mountain god, and the Elohim from the north combined into the One God of the Hebrews. The Elohim don’t actually exist anymore.”

“We need to talk to Yahweh,” Phil said. “Maybe we can work something out.”

“What?” Lilith challenged. “The Elohim are gone. What could you do?”

“Stand in for them,” Phil answered. “You said I needed to give you what you needed. Maybe there’s a way I can do so.”

Lilith shrugged and directed, “Well, somebody go get him.”

Sanoy, who arrived after securing their safety, bowed and hustled off through the sheer curtains behind the sisters.

Eisheth moved in a sensuous unfolding of herself and stood. “You’ve charmed my sisters, human. What did you have in store for me?”

Phil shook his head, “I hadn’t figured it out yet.”

“You know the irony of being a prostitute is we can’t be bought.”

“Then what’s the point?” Phil shot back.

She laughed.

Manuel was squirming behind him, “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“No. I’m just following the clues.” Phil said over his shoulder.

Raphael stepped closer, “We ought to inform Metatron of the situation.”

“We ought to,” Manuel agreed, “but we won’t.”

Phil felt the awesome presence before this mask of God came into view. The curtains parted, and stately Yahweh flowed into the room. Tall, graying hair and beard, he was dressed in a white robe. His face was lined with age that blended softness with hard determination.

Sanoy was a few steps behind and announced, “Yahweh comes.”

“Speak,” he said, and his voice reverberated in Phil like a strummed guitar.

“Lord Yahweh,” Raphael greeted him. “We have heard the concerns of the four sisters. Can the Elohim still speak through you?”

“Can the grape be rescued from the wine?”

“We thought so,” Manuel said. “And you can’t do anything for the sisters.”

“I cannot. The morning star arises according to a pattern set down long ago. I wish I could do something. Their darkness is unnatural.”

Phil moved forward. “Maybe there is something you can do. If you come into me, I might be able to give the Elohim a voice.”

Manuel stepped in front of Phil, “This isn’t like channeling Morrigan. This is a living mask of God filled with the energy of millions of believers. It could fry your circuits if you try to channel him.”

“You got a better idea?”

“I do,” Lilith said. “Link with us and we will control the energy flow.”

A very long pause ensued. Neither Phil nor the angels had to say it, but none of them trusted her. The silence made it obvious, though.

Lilith chuckled and stood. “If you give us what we want, why would we betray you?”

Manuel snorted, “Because it’s what you do.”

Echidna writhed on her twin serpent tails to stand with the others, and Agrat stood as well. They seemed to commune without speaking. Lilith eventually nodded and looked at the others.

“It all began when Man was given dominion over the Earth,” Lilith said. “It was a bad choice of words. We are the Earth. How can Man have dominion over his Mother?”

“Take us there,” Echidna pleaded. “You can do this, my brother. Return us all to that moment so it can be corrected.”

Phil knew what she meant and stepped closer. The four sisters surrounded him, each laying a hand on him. Phil released the protections of Flesh, Force and Spirit. Immediately he felt their combined power. This time, though, it was not drawing him back to the Dark. Rather it steadied and grounded him.

Yahweh’s aura flared brighter than the sun. Phil fought to hold the intention to return them all to that fateful moment in the distant past. Then the spirit of Yahweh filled him. Phil lost consciousness for a long moment.

The brightness he was lost in cleared, and Phil recognized where they were. They were on the barren dark plain of the Akashic Record, the dark gravel strewn landscape of all spiritual memory. Phil and the four sisters floated above the ground as Phil clung to the intention to return to the distant past when the Elohim gave Man dominion over the Earth.

Then the landscape misted over. When the mist cleared, they were walking through a verdant landscape of trees, flowering bushes and grazing ox-like animals. They approached a naked man and woman who knelt.

“My lord, what is thy bidding?” the couple asked.

Lilith whispered, “They can only see you, Phil, and to them you are the Lord. Today El Shaddai gives Man all this. You must give Woman her due.”

He began speaking to the couple, hoping the right words would come through him, “Man, all you see is yours to do with what you will. Woman, should Man not heed your counsel you will both harvest disaster. Man, you may build what it pleases you to build. Woman, it is for you to determine the best use of the gifts I freely bestow upon you. You are partners equal and different. You are Love and Strength, Justice and Mercy, a Song and the Singer. Forget this and you perish. Go forth now and make this Earth your home.”

The scene dissolved in a blinding flash of light and Phil lost consciousness again. However long later, he became aware of Manuel and Raphael. They were holding him as he lay on the floor of Yahweh’s pavilion.

The sisters were dancing, and Yahweh was gone.

“I warned you,” Manuel groused. “Do you even remember anything?”

“All of it.”

Echidna turned to them, “I knew you could do it, Phil. We are free.”

Manuel muttered, “Now we’re in for it.”

Phil brought himself to a sitting position. Raphael knelt behind him with both hands on Phil’s shoulders. Healing energy was coursing through his body.

Presently, Raphael said, “He has been changed. I don’t recognize the energy signature, though. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but I don’t know what changed.”

Manuel asked, “How do you feel?”

To Phil it sounded like a stereotypical psychiatric question and he started laughing. “How should I know how I feel? Blasted by Yahweh, used by the sisters, terrified by the Sarim, chased by dark angels -- all of the above?”

Manuel ignored the self-pity and pressed, “How do you feel right now?”

“Disoriented. My mind and memory are clear, but I have no motivation, no goal. I’m content to just be.”

“Yeah, that’s a by-product of being filled with Spirit,” Manuel explained. “It will pass. So, let me ask you, ‘If there was a goal, what would it be?’ Think in the abstract for a moment.”

Phil looked at the complex problem he faced and tried to logically derive what his next move ought to be. “I must complete my task with the sisters. I must defeat Agrat and Eisheth. Then we all need to visit the Void and confer with Sophia.”

Raphael was nodding his head, “Sounds right. These would be the steps necessary to complete the task of balancing yin and yang within you. Once these tasks are complete, you would be ready to answer Job’s questions.”

“Well, I might as well get started,” Phil said and stood up. The sisters were still dancing as Phil stumbled over to them.

“Agrat,” he called. “Do you still need a woman to vouch for me, or can we complete our business now?”

She turned and her lustrous long hair swirled around her. “The woman who vouches for you will die, Phil. Not a physical death, of course, but a sacrificial death which holds within it a mystery of feminine power.”

“You didn’t tell me that before.”

“I didn’t trust you. Now I do. Bring the woman and we can complete our business.”

Phil stood silent puzzling out what Agrat meant, but Eisheth butted in.

“Then you’ll have to contend with me, Phil. I look forward to our meeting. I’ll wear my finest.” And she laughed a sultry alto sound of anticipation.

“I think I’ve had enough for one day,” Phil told the angels as the energy drained out of him.

“Okay,” Manuel agreed. “We’ll let Metatron know what happened. Maybe we can convince the sisters to build their own compound or something.”

They flew back to Manuel’s patio and Phil returned to his body.

He did feel different, he noticed it as he untangled himself from the full lotus and stood. Getting a long drink of water, he sat on the couch and switched on the T.V. After an hour or so of mindlessly watching animals chase each other around on a nature channel, he staggered off to bed.

The phone ringing on the bedside table woke him the next morning. It was Becky.

“Surf’s up.”

Feeling more rested than he had in days, Phil headed out to the beach. The sun was barely up in a bright blue sky. The onshore winds were stronger than normal, and the surf was medium but turbulent. They plied the waves for hours before retiring to the café.

Becky wore a pink nylon shell jacket against the breeze and straight-leg jeans. They ordered their breakfasts and talked of surfing technique.

Then Phil asked, “Do you still want to go face a mother of demons with me?”

“Hell, yeah,” she smiled. “I talked to Christie about Lilith. Some feminists think she’s the real deal, and men demonized her to destroy the goddess tradition. Most of those feminists are gay and hate men anyway, but Christie believes they have a point.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Phil warned. “Lilith and her sisters are semi-divine in a very unique way. If you remember Eve told Adam she ‘created a man with the Lord,’ you get a glimpse of it. Lilith and her sisters form a quaternary. When they are together they can create out of nothing, just like the Great Mystery. I think there are limitations on their ability to create, but I don’t know what they are. I don’t know if they know. In any event, one of the sisters, Agrat, requires a woman to vouch for me in my quest to balance yin and yang. I talked to her yesterday and she said you would die in the process, but it isn’t a physical death. It’s sacrificial in some way. She didn’t explain further.”

Becky sat thoughtful for a long moment. Then she sipped her coffee and looked over the rim at him. “I’ve been suicidal my whole life, Phil. I don’t fear death. When do we leave?”