ADVENTURES IN THE ENCHANTED FOREST (PART SEVEN)
 

King Malignancy


 

   As Claire was hovering over the sea, she noticed a knight on a horse galloping through the waves, and she zoomed over to make their acquaintance.
  "Hello, kind sir! If you don't mind me asking, why are you galloping through the waves?" Claire shouted at the knight.
  The knight reined in his horse a bit. "I'm running away, and I don't want anybody to track me. A tyrannical king wants to execute me because I disobeyed unlawful orders," the knight shouted back. "He commanded me and my men to stab peaceful protesters, and he wanted us to falsely claim that the protestors were violent criminals even though they were just exercising their rights to free speech and freedom of assembly. Even if a few of the protesters had committed crimes at some point, they still had the right to due process before receiving any punishment--like anyone else. Now the king is claiming that I committed sedition and also aided insurrectionists. The king claims that I am a traitor who deserves to hang. His secret police are chasing me, and they're not far behind."
  "Oh, my! That's terrible!" Claire exclaimed.
  "The king has ordered military forces to police the citizens of our own realm when instead we are supposed to protect our citizens from foreign invaders. The king has commanded the knights and soldiers of this realm to murder our own people. I told my men that as honorable soldiers we are obligated to disobey the king's unlawful commands, and my men agreed. First and foremost, as soldiers we must uphold the laws of this land and the constitution--not to do the bidding of a lawless dictator. The king is the traitor, not me or my men!" the knight blurted out.
  "I understand! Please, follow me!" Claire exclaimed. "I can show you a place in the enchanted forest where the secret police will never find you. You shouldn't be riding out here in the open like this."

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Enjoying the Swamp


 

   Claire flew behind the knight and rapidly fluttered her wings to cover the horse's tracks with loose dirt and leaves and brush. They rested near a stream, where they each indulged in a long drink of water. Eventually they came to a cave deep in the enchanted forest. The opening of the cave was just wide enough to enable the horse to pass through into a huge cavern, where the the three of them made themselves comfortable.
  "We are actually in the super-enchanted part of the forest, which tends to frighten the average person away, so I'm pretty sure we are going to be safe here for a while," Claire assured the knight. "Please tell me more about the king," Claire politely inquired.
  "The king is a cruel tyrant who causes divisiveness and hatred and violence, an egomaniacal oppressor who encourages other people to commit murder on his behalf," the knight replied. "He laughs while the masses starve and die from lack of health care while he enriches himself and his friends--'friends' who support the king's cruelty and venality while ignoring his crimes so that they can freely indulge in their own corruption."
  "I saw a king and his family sitting on alligators one day recently. They seemed to be enjoying the swamp," Claire stated.
  "If you saw a king in a swamp with friends and family, that had to be him," the knight replied. "He loves to party with his wealthy friends who bribe him and kiss his ring in full view of everyone right there in the swamp--even though he had promised his supporters numerous times that he would drain the swamp."

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The Moon: Pisces


 

   After a few minutes, the knight continued, "I just had a vision while resting in this cave. The rich are like beasts howling at the moon. They don't seem to realize that the sun is the source of all life on this planet as well as the source of light for the moon as it moves through its phases. The bestial sickness of greed doesn't allow them to see that the spiritual light of the Source unites all of Creation--including all of the people and creatures of this Earth. They have to take all the money and power for themselves at the expense of everyone else, and like animals, the rich harm or kill anyone who threatens them. They don't care about anyone or anything else under the sun."

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Page of Cups


 

   "I understand your feelings of anger and betrayal. Please, try to get some rest," Claire sympathized. "While you rest, I will search for food and try to find out more about what is happening in your realm. Don't worry, I will ask a powerful ally to protect you while I'm gone." The knight and his horse soon fell asleep, and Claire flew back to the knight's realm near the ocean.
  Soon Claire arrived at the ocean and came upon the Page of Cups. "Why are you staring at the golden cup if you don't mind me asking?" Claire asked the Page.
  "Because the fish is kind enough to tell me things. In fact, the fish just told me that you and someone you know are in danger."

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Death: Scorpio


 

   The Page continued, "The fish just showed me Death on a pale horse. Don't fear, though--the vision isn't necessarily showing me that you and your friend are going to die. On the Tree of Life, the figure of death is associated with the Water sign Scorpio--in other words, with transformation. The fish has shown me in the vision that you and your friend are going to experience a change or transformation of some kind. That's all I can tell you now."

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Archangel Gabriel


 

   Meanwhile, after Claire had flown away, the knight fell asleep. He woke up and opened his eyes for a moment but soon closed them again. Suddenly he had a vision of a beautiful angel, who spoke to him, "I am Archangel Gabriel. Claire has asked me to protect you. Sleep or plumb the depths of your mind in meditation. Rest--you are not in danger here."
  The knight fell asleep again. When he woke up, he looked around and asked himself, "Did I dream that an Archangel was talking to me? That's strange, but after all, I am in the super-enchanted part of the forest."

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Moon Goddess


 

   As Claire continued searching the Realm of Water, she came upon a Moon Goddess sitting in flowers. Claire gasped, "Forgive me, great Goddess, I was startled!" Claire exclaimed, "because you are so beautiful."
  "Thank you, child," the Goddess responded. "Not everyone can see me. Most people are too preoccupied with the external world--with obtaining wealth and material objects. They ignore the wealth of the imagination and the subconscious mind and the soul--the inner wealth experienced through many ages and dimensions."   

  "That is so lovely!" Claire declared in wonder. "Please, can you tell me what is happening in this realm now?"
  "Some people know me as Luna," Goddess replied. "Unfortunately, more than a few people who are affected by my light become lunatics. My light can cause some people to experience great inner wealth, but it can also cause lunacy in people who only care about power and money--for they are never satisfied, and they often cause great harm to the people and creatures of the Earth and to the Earth itself. This is the phase that we are in now. Beware, child."
  "I promise that I will be careful, great Goddess," Claire replied, "Thank you for sharing with me."
  Claire waved at the Moon Goddess as she flew away. The Moon Goddess nodded and smiled.

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Queen of Cups


 

   Soon Claire came upon the Queen of Cups, who was gazing into her golden cup. "Beloved Queen--so good to see you again!" Claire exclaimed.
  "Good to see you again, child," the Queen replied. "How are you?"
  "I have a friend, a knight, who is in great trouble for disobeying the unlawful orders of King Malignancy! I am terribly worried about my knight friend," Claire lamented. "Can you please help me with your sage advice, your Majesty?"
  The Queen gazed at her cup. "Malignancy is a false king who has gained power through the help of his friends. He is the puppet of super-wealthy, rapacious men. You and your friend must hide for awhile, but you will both experience inner transformation. In fact, the world is about to experience a great transformation as people awaken to the truth and stand up to defend their honor and integrity and their communities. The bad people will find out what justice really means, dear child."
  "Thank you, great Queen," Claire replied as she curtsied. "I can always count on you."

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Queen of the Stream


 

   Meanwhile the knight rode back to the stream on his horse. The knight dismounted and drank from the stream, and the knight let his horse graze awhile. Suddenly the knight noticed a beautiful queen standing next to the stream. "What? Am I having another vision?" he muttered to himself.
  "I am the queen here. I take care of the stream in this realm, which feeds into a river that extends all the way to the ocean and into the sky and returns to us as rain. The stream satiates the thirst of numerous creatures. You are welcome to drink here. Please satisfy your thirst anytime," the Queen encouraged him.
  As the knight took another drink, he felt one with all the webs of life that were touched by the water. Then his personality vanished. He felt one with the earth and the sky and the cosmos. "This water is awesome! Thank you, your Majesty!" The Queen nodded and disappeared into the forest.

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Ace of Cups


 

   Meanwhile, the knight returned to the cave and closed his eyes. Soon he had another vision: a cup floated above a pool of water as it fountained streams of water to the pool below, and a white dove flew down toward the top of the cup with what appeared to be a communion wafer in its beak. Startled, the knight blurted out, "What is this?" The knight opened his eyes, and the vision disappeared. He looked around as his horse snorted and fell back to sleep. The knight pondered his vision, and he suddenly heard an inner voice.
  "The cup is a holy grail. If you gaze into it, you have visions of symbols that represent spiritual principle, and you feel like an eternal child and experience the infinite abundance of the soul. The dove represents the Holy Spirit who brings down abstract spiritual principles as archetypes or symbols to your plane of existence and who continually purifies the spirit. Drinking from the grail provides you with a profound sense of unity and eternity, which is symbolized by the balanced cross on the wafer in the dove's beak--an archetype of the subtle elements in harmony." The knight frantically looked around the cave but couldn't find anyone but his horse, who was still sleeping.
  "Wow! It's like my personality has completely disappeared! I am really experiencing a profound sense of unity and eternity, which I guess is also symbolized by the circles in the vision," the knight blurted out, and his horse snorted again but continued sleeping.

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Nine of Cups (Jupiter in Pisces)


 

   Claire continued to search for information, but she started feeling a little hungry. She entered what appeared to be a restaurant and encountered a gentleman sitting near nine golden cups on a table. "Kind sir, do you have any scraps that you can share? I'm feeling a bit hungry."
  "Dear child, this is not a restaurant. It is actually more like a church."
  "I don't understand," Claire replied, confused.
  "In a way, this is a church where the spirit is nourished," the man answered. "This nourishment comes from the inner wealth of the heart and the subconscious mind and the splendor of the imagination and the intellect. You may stay here and rest and experience this spiritual nourishment if you wish."
  "Oh, thank you, kind sir!" Claire blurted out. "Can I gaze into your golden cups for awhile? Are they holy grails?"
  "Yes, child. Nine of them on the table reveal that they are associated with the ninth Emanation of the Tree of Life, which is the Emanation of the feminine Holy Spirit, who brings internal and external abundance to our realm," the man explained.
  "Oh, that is so lovely. Thank you for sharing!" Claire exclaimed as she continued to gaze into the cups.

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The Chariot (Cancer)


 

   Meanwhile, back in the cave, the knight closed his eyes again. Unexpectedly he had another vision--this time he envisioned a knight wearing blue armor in a chariot. "I don't get this one either," the knight sighed.
  Suddenly the knight in the chariot spoke: "I am on a quest to find the holy grail and experience all of the dimensions of Universal Consciousness. The grail will guide me on all the paths of the Tree of Life below the Abyss that separates the planes of form from the heavenly energies. I hope to cross that Abyss and enter the Emanation of Understanding, the home of our celestial Mother," the blue knight claimed."
  "Wow, that sounds transformational, even transcendent. I'd like to do that too. I'm a knight. Can I go on that quest too?"
  "Yes," the blue knight shouted as he disappeared into the wild in his chariot.

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Three of Cups (Mercury in Cancer)


 

   Suddenly Claire flew above a harvest festival where three ladies raised golden cups in a toast as they danced. Claire spiraled down to them and exclaimed, "This is so lovely. May I dance with you?"
  "Of course, dear child! This dance is for everyone. Come join us," the ladies all replied.
  "Oh, thank you," Claire exclaimed. Claire danced and danced and drank from a golden cup, and suddenly she felt one with the dance, a dance of abundance that seemed to spread throughout the world and the cosmos. After awhile, Claire became tired and sat down to rest while the ladies continued to dance. Suddenly Claire noticed the abundance of the harvest all around her, and she asked the ladies, "Can I take some food with me? I have a friend who must be starving by now. I would really appreciate it!"
  "Of course! Take what you need. There is more than enough for everyone," one of the ladies replied as she continued dancing.
  Claire found a sack nearby and stuffed it with as much food as she could carry. "Thank you!" she blurted out as she flew away with the sack over her shoulder.

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Ten of Cups (Mars in Pisces)


 

   Eventually King Malignancy and his minions were brought to justice, and the knight could finally come out of hiding. He got married, and together he and his wife had a family. One day as his children were dancing, a rainbow with ten golden cups appeared. He and his wife raised their arms in joy. He thought to himself, "I have traveled all of the paths of the Tree of Life and and have experienced the unity underlying all of creation, and I have found joy and abundance right in the here and now with my wife and children--what a long, incredible journey it has been!"

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All poems, stories, essays, illustrations, and music Copyright © 2025 by Jim Robbins.