[039] How the Lightning Came to Be

Once, a long time ago, three brothers went out hunting. They carried bows and they traveled far. After a while, they saw a Great Blue Heron flying far overhead.

They shot their bows and brought down the great bird. As they approached, the Heron said to them, “Wait! If you will pull out your arrows and let me go free, I will grant you each a wish.” To the brothers, a wish was worth a great deal more than a bird, so they agreed.

The oldest brother said, “I wish to know all things, and to behold all things perfectly in my mind. I wish to imagine and understand all there is to imagine and understand.” And so, he pulled his arrow from the Heron and was immediately transformed into a Star - for a Star sees and knows all things.

The second brother said, “I wish to create anything I would like, with my own two hands. I wish to have all crafts at my command.” He too pulled out his arrow, and at once he was transformed into a great Tree - for all things can be made from a Tree.

The youngest brother was now alone with the Great Blue Heron. He looked up at the sky, at the Star which used to be his brother, and missed his companionship. He looked at the Tree which used to be his other brother, now a part of the forest, and missed him dearly. It broke his heart to think that his two brothers would live forever so far apart, one in Heaven, one on Earth.

And so, he decided his wish. He said, “I wish to be together with my brothers. I wish to walk between them and share their sorrows and their joys.” The youngest brother pulled his arrow from the Heron and was transformed into Lightning, which even now is the bridge between Heaven and Earth.

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This story, and many other wonderful essays and images, will soon be published in Gnostic Technology vol. 3

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