The Chain of Fate

Discovering the valley where the Chain of Fate was hidden posed a few challenges due to some of the locations along the way not being on any map. Which I thought odd considering just how many detailed maps are available. The journey was also a race against time. Much of it was done just before sunset and it was well after dark before I made it back to "civilization".

The adventure took me further south that I had anticipated, hooked to the west into a deep river valley where that falls were tucked away under the arches (Right).

And there near the falls, as foretold, was the natural cavity cut into the rock itself by thousands of years of swirling water when the river flooded where I found the golden chain.

It was a moderate climb down the rocky river bank in order to get to the falls themselves. Many others who take on the venture reported it to be a difficult climb down and even harder getting back out.

From the overlook area the rocky slopes look intimidating enough. Most of them are sheer drop-offs of smooth rock face. No footholds, nothing to hand onto. But just to the south of the overlook, hidden in the brush, is a trail snaking down most of the way. A little jump at the bottom and one finds themselves face to face with the cascading falls.

Once I retrieved the Chain of Fate I had to make my way north along the river bank until I came to a narrow passageway where the bedrock had actually split in two. From above this same passageway cannot be seen. The ground appears to be solid. An illusion brought on by the angle and the fact that both chunks of earth have a matching pattern to them. You have to be directly over top of the chasm in order to know it's there. And that chasm is the only way back out without climbing gear. But even using the chasm led me to a secondary rock face I had to climb in order to reach the trail heading out. Luckily the secondary face was broken and covered by thick tree roots that gave me the ability to climb.

The Chain of Fate now rests in the altar room at Hera's feet. Another ritualized test completed bringing me one step closer to my goal.

But passing these tests and attaining the power of lightning are two very different things. From here on the journeys will be much more difficult and far longer. Tests of strength, endurance, and resolve are coming from the landscapes alone. Not to mention what the Gods themselves might throw onto the path.

What is to come next might very well provoke Zeus enough to take notice once again as I prepare to return to the island where I discovered the Seven Mile Altar Stone and the fulgurite Eagle. The next leg of the journey will take me back to the Island of the Gods. The same island where Zeus manifested so prominently during the final quest last year. And unlike all of the other quests I have taken on this season, I have no idea what lies in store or what it is I am to discover on that island.

Hemitheos

"Our current obsession with creativity is the result of our continued striving for immortality in an era when most people no longer believe in an after-life."

~Arianna Stassinopoulos

Last week I had the opportunity to travel back to the very spot where this story began and spend the week in the Gardens of Lisocea which have changed somewhat since my last visit. The central lion head fountain is where Hera left the peacock feather that began this tale is now surrounded by over 100 solar lights. One of which sets right inside the fountain marking the exact spot where the feather was discovered. 

The sacred spot continues to be built upon, changed, and maintained with votives of all kinds added throughout and has come to also include 3 graves within the central garden of the lost and beloved pets of the family who maintains the grounds. 

Over 50 different species of flowers have already been planted throughout the gardens for the season with work also being done to the nearby frog pond and river of flowers that flows into it. As of now, not a single day goes by that the Gardens of Lisocea are not tended by the caretakers. 

This photo (left) was taken near sunset over the central fountain, showing the solar light marker where Hera's feather was discovered years ago. The story of which was recounted by the family while setting around a campfire on the third night I was there.

Many spiritual people can recall the events that led them to the path they have found themselves on. Not so many have a photo of the exact spot where that path began, the spot where everything in their lives changed (for better or worse), a spot considered to be sacred - not only by those on the path but to all those who have heard the tale and believe. 

This week long visit back to where this very story began marks a turning point and insights into what is to come. Gifts and votives for Hera's Altar Room were brought back from the trip including a rare hand blown crystal wine glass from Romania. While there I also had the rare opportunity to film a lightning storm which passed over. Oddly, there was no rain and little thunder. Just a grande display of lightning which I was able to film and include into a recap video for The Journeybook titled Hemitheos. (See Below)

Both the visit to the gardens and the new video mark a turn in the video documentary of this journey as I prepare to head west, back into the wilds, in one of the most action packed adventures of the season. The quest is to find and obtain a golden chain votive that long ago was dedicated to Lachesis - the second Sister of Fate and guarded by a giant spider. 

The golden, crystal encrusted talisman is thought to have the ability to cloak the fate of anyone who wears it, rendering them invisible to oracles as well as the Sisters themselves. While the talisman does not have the power to change ones fate it does offer the opportunity for the bearer to change it themselves through their cloaked actions.

But Lachesis did not make the ritual trails to obtain her golden chain easy. It is hidden somewhere in a forested labyrinth, in a hole that was naturally carved into the earth itself by a mighty waterfall, deep within a river valley that is surrounded by dead falls and crumbling shale cliffs. A hard place to find, a hard test to come.