CHAPTER 1

The Tree and the Keys

Welcome to the Tree of Enchantment

All of creation is driven by a type of "divine discontent." The poem "Unrest,"by Don Marquis, speaks great wisdom about the nature of life, the universe, ourplanet, humanity, and other living beings, both seen and unseen. This unrestmakes us wonder and seek, driven by some invisible and unrecognizable longing.It makes us search relentlessly for the answers to what we are and why we are.This divine discontent propels us on a search for answers—a quest for truth andsatisfaction—only to discover that the prize of our longing is within us andwithin all of nature, as well as in the relationships in between. For those whoseek a spiritual focus that puts humanity at the center of the universe and apath of spirituality centered on the individual, the path of Faery Seership canbe a challenge. In Faery Seership, the truths we seek can only be found withinourselves, within all of nature, and within the relationships in between.

Divine discontent was the seed of the Tree of Enchantment. The Tree grew into aforest of inquiry and self-exploration, wherein the Source sought to understanditself through all of its parts—all of its creations. In this way, all ofcreation is an aspect of and face of the Creator, or mechanisms by which theinfinite explores through the finite. Nowhere in the universe is this curiosityand drive to know more apparent than in the plight of the human species.

Humanity has, since before the beginnings of recorded history, explored themysteries of the universe for the answers to questions it can barely articulate.We seek to fill an inner need whose shadowy face is barely visible beyond thelight of our consciousness, and whose whispered name is lost in the cacophony ofour daily lives. But we must ask ourselves this question: How can we seek forthat which we never possessed? Rather than sailing the vast oceans to satisfy anunknowable craving, could it be that humanity is spurred on by the deep-seatedremembrance of a paradise lost? Perhaps encoded in the very substance of ourbeing is a memory of the first causation and the plan that prompted all ofcreation and our role within it.

Humanity stands in a dangerous and precarious place on the scales of life.Humanity has spent generations believing—adamantly and erroneously—that its ownreligions and perceptions of the universe, as defined by the programming ofpolitics, orthodoxy, and science, really define how the universe works and whereit is going. Think about it: How arrogant of us to believe that our philosophiesalone dictate the intention and destiny of all things! Today, more humans areawakening from the sedation of this programming, filled with an unsatisfiedhunger that drives them to look elsewhere for answers and fulfillment—to nature,occultism, mysticism, and other more arcane approaches. Mind you, there are manyvaluable components to our modern religions, science, and political processes—butthey are completely human and incomplete in and of themselves. What aboutthe rest of creation and the wisdoms contained within their lives and theirrelationships with each other and humanity? This is where Faery Seership and theTree of Enchantment bring new insights from old lore. The old lore gives usvaluable insights into the hidden faces and orders of life and how we, ashumans, must relate to them to become healthy, whole, and aware.

Metaphorically speaking, the Tree of Enchantment taps us on the shoulder,awakens our divine discontent, and declares:

Hey you! The answers you seek are not on that island of self-delusion, self-aggrandizement,and self-isolation. No, the answers you seek are in yourrelationship with the rest of the inner and outer orders of life. Truth is notout there on a cloud or throne in the heavens to be contemplated and revealed bysome distant order of spiritual beings. Rather, it is there within you, in yourblood and bones, and written into the processes of all life. Come home to yourblood. Come home to your spirit. Come home to the spirits that guide, guard, andbless you. Come home to your original family. Make peace with your divinediscontent. Make peace with creation and its attending spiritual forces. Let thepearl be revealed. Awaken to your purpose as an individual, a species, and aparticipant in the collective of creation. Bring your will, passion, andimagination back into the service of the One. Awaken the Dreaming Child ofPromise and be born again. It is time to come back to the Tree, eat its fruitsof wisdom, and let it awaken the seed of spirit within you. The first taste ofthese fruits imparted free will to your species. The second taste brings thatfree will home to the service of creation. Come, sit in the shade of the Tree ofWisdom and find where the branches enfold you. Come, know your spirit family andyour ancient heritage, and be at one.

The Tree provides a clear understanding of humanity's soul experiences inrelationship to the soul of the world of which we are part. However, themysteries of the Tree are only revealed to seekers when they come home to theirskin, their human ancestry, and the soul of nature in its masculine and feminineforms. You cannot choose one branch of the Tree over another. You must choosethe whole Tree or the isolation of the twig on which you stand.

At first, it seems that the Tree grows in a wilderness of despair. This despairis driven by an innate divine discontent within us that deludes us into thinkingthat our inherent flaws form a boundary that prevents us from becoming one withthe Creator. Do not let it fool you into thinking that you will never attaininner peace and oneness with creation and the Creator. You must go into thatwilderness and cry out for a vision, in humility and hope, as a child of theOne. When you have...