the capture of the man-eating mares
learning to hold our
horses
 The first
great gate opened before Hera-kles. His Divine Mother guided
him, “If you would be upon the Path of your Divine Sonship,
then
you must enter through the gate and perform the labor
required. Go forth, perform the task and come back
to me
when the deed is done.”
With a bravado born of impulse and
vanity, Hera-kles rushed through the first gate. Eager to
prove
him self, he began his journey of self-discovery.
It was
during this time that Diomedes, a son of Mars, raised man-eating mares
of war. By all accounts there were four of these mares, which
had
been trained by Diomedes to be man-eaters. It was said the
mares
were fed the flesh and blood of unsuspecting visitors. So
fierce
were they, so murderous in their appetites, that men would tremble at
the very sound of their hooves.
These mares
ran wild throughout the kingdom, ravaging the land and killing all in
their path. They were also breeding with horses all over the
kingdom, creating huge herds of warhorses. The country was
being
devastated, ravaged and torn apart.
By the order of
the King of Argos, Hera-kles’ first labor was to capture the man-eating
mares. He set out with his long time friend
Abderis.
They tracked and followed the mares through meadows and marshes,
finally cornering them in a field from which there was no
escape.
There, Hera-kles succeeded in catching and tethering the
mares.
Then
Hera-kles makes a decision he lives to regret. In his
jubilance
he decides to ride ahead to tell the King and, leaves completing the
job of driving the mares to Abderis.
Unaided by Hera-kles’
strength and experience, Abderis grew fearful and began to doubt he
could complete the task all by himself. He found himself
growing
weak, too weak to hold the mares, too weak to harness them and much too
weak to drive them back to the King of Argos. The mares,
smelling
fear, turn on him and in breaking free trample him to death.
Hera-kles
returns to find his friend dead and the mares gone. Consumed
with
grief, Hera-kles goes after the mares again. He does finally
catch them again and this time, he drives the mares back to the King of
Argos himself. Upon completing the labor, he makes his way to
his
Divine Mother.
“What was your labor dear Hera-kles?” his Divine Mother asks him.
“To capture the man-eating mares and deliver them to the King of Argos”
Hera-kles answers.
“And were you successful in performing your task?”
“Only partially” he answers.
“Could you expand on your answer a bit?” his Divine Mother asks.
“I
was successful in capturing the mares and I did deliver them to the
King of Argos. But my friend died in the process.
That is
why I count it as only a partial success, for my friend lost his life
in the undertaking” replied Hera-kles.
“If you could do it over again, what would you do different?”
“I
was over confident and did not understand the severity of the mares
nature nor their destructive power. It was a rash
decision
to put Abderis in charge of completing the task because he did not have
the strength alone to do it. But I am impetuous in my warrior
nature and often fail when it comes to carrying things through to
completion. I have learned my lesson for now I am stricken
with
grief over the loss of my friend.”
“Dearest Hera-kles, you
set off on your first labor with little realization of what the task
required and were totally unprepared for failure. Such is the
way
for all upon the Path, we are not always successful when we first
try. You had to start all over again in capturing the mares,
once
they broke free. It required strenuous effort but this effort
did
eventually lead to success.
The people of the land
call you their savoir, for they are now living free of the rampaging
man eating mares. You have done a service for your fellowman
and
it will not be forgotten.
Do you seek to understand the lesson of the first gate?”
“Yes Mother, I do. I came seeking my Divine Heritage and
recognition. I was not prepared to face failure.”
“Then learn the lesson of the mares.
Hera-kles,
you are comfortable with being a leader. You know
how to
take action. You’ve got initiative. Given any task,
you are
able to summon up the energy required to meet it head
on.
You do not shrink from challenges.
Recognize this quality of
your character. To begin anything requires energy; the energy
to
take action, to initiate. Looking within your self, recognize
you
have this energy at your disposal. This energy, sometimes
felt as
an urge, sometimes felt as an impulse, is part of the heritage of your
Soul. What this energy truly is, is an aspect of your Divine
Will.
This
labor always comes first as it represents commencement upon the path of
self realization. Without Willpower, individually activated
and
self sustained, there can be no self realization. A
God
does not need others to act for them.
The wild mares
represent an unbridled mind. This first labor is to introduce
you
to this part of yourself. It is part of your mental nature,
the
part that gives birth to thoughts and ideas and concepts. Which if left
unchecked, often leads to conflict, ill chosen words and disastrous
consequences.
You had the power to hold the horses,
Abderis didn’t, for the power to harness these horses came from your
Divinity.
You know as a warrior, how important
it is to use your head. Rash and impetuous actions most often
result in woe, suffering and loss, as do actions of brute
force. You saw the people of the land.
You witnessed
their suffering. You witnessed their terror. You
saw the
devastation caused by the wild mares. The same destruction
and
devastation always accompanies unbridled thoughts.
Pay
attention to your thinking. You rushed in to do battle with
the
mares. Your thoughts were on making war upon war.
While
temporarily quieted through your superior force, it was your own
foolish pride that gave rise to the idea that the mares were
defeated. Conflict is not resolved through more
conflict.
Warring will never end war. These were your mind’s illusions
and
acting upon them, is what got your friend killed.
This is
the legacy of the mares. This is the legacy of unbridled
thoughts
and ideas. They require human flesh and blood to maintain and
they leave devastation wherever they are allowed to run wild.
Understand
that your Soul is sometimes called The Thinker, for the Power of
Creation itself lies in thought. As you progress through the
gates, you will begin to draw closer to The Thinker’s patterns of Pure
Reason. This is the highest mental level, known as Intuition
and
is a state characterized by a lack of doubt over who you are, ‘man’ or
‘divine’, for you will know yourself to be both, beyond a shadow of any
doubt.
As you proceed through the rest of the gates,
remember this first labor. You can let your thoughts, your
imagination and your emotions run wild, with devastating effects to
your self and life in general or, you can reign them. You can
rule them, direct them and, govern them. The gifts
of failure ensure success when understood.
When in doubt, simply remember:
Hold your Horses.”
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