Introduction to the Twelve Sacred Gateways
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TWELVE SACRED GATEWAYS
The 12 Sacred Gateways symbolise and give access to 12 key ‘life arenas’ that every soul must encounter and master [at least in some form or the other] as they travel on their sacred journey of spiritual transformation and enlightenment. They are designed for those who are interested in serious spiritual development work – they are not for the faint hearted.
Each Sacred Gateway [SG] contains major challenges, obstacles and lessons – when we meet and overcome these spiritual obstacles our strengths, talents and soul gifts emerge and evolve. Each Sacred Gateway holds at least one precious ‘cosmic gift’.
Our innate ‘soul gifts’ are developed or made more accessible by the challenges that test our strengths, resolve and commitment. When we are challenged we become stronger – we look beyond the surface and the obvious – that is when we can uncover gifts and talents within ourselves.
As you journey through the Sacred Gateways you may feel a recognition or resonance. In my experience we incarnate with a particular affinity for two or maybe three of these gateways – they represent recurring patterns that we meet time and time again in our lifetime – therein lie our particular strengths and also our weaknesses or vulnerable points!
Also please note, there will likely be gateways which are particularly relevant to you right now, for where you are on your soul path.
I don’t think we ever fully master all the challenges within the SGs. We revisit them time and time again. Each time we explore them in a way that is deeper and broader in scope. Each time I revisit these Gateways I learn more and discover more about myself and the soul challenges that I’m facing. It is a never-ending journey. It is a constant wheel or spiral of learning.
Also, and I feel this is very important to note, the SGs are not like 12 upward steps, with each one having to be mastered before you can go onto the next. They are not sequential. In other words, you do not have to master SG 3 before progressing on to SG 4. Far from it!
You will find some SGs will seem familiar and be very easy for you to pass through, whilst others you will have to revisit time and time again. Remember that what is easy for one person can pose a huge challenge to someone else. This is why working within a supportive group energy is so valuable and helpful. When you are finding a SG challenging, there will be others who find it familiar and easy to navigate. They will help you through. And another time it will be you supporting those who are struggling.
{It is important to remember as you progress on your journey of exploration through the SGs that if you find you get ‘stuck’ in one arena carry on to the next one, regardless!}
Learning about the Gateways is a valuable skill for any spiritual practitioner. Once we begin to recognise these SGs [for we encounter them many times over in just one lifetime] we can find it easier to navigate our soul journey and fulfil our sacred potential as beings of light. Also our experience and knowledge helps us to help others, as they find their way along the path to enlightenment. It can be very useful to see which SGs are affecting our clients, family and friends.
Many of the challenges will be familiar, but even the very experienced spiritual practitioner can benefit from consciously acknowledging and recognising the nature of these spiritual challenges. There is always the potential to explore at a more profound level. I recommend never underestimating the nature of this work.
The SGs are inspired by many symbols and traditional esoteric wisdom. I teach this as a 12 month course and usually we start around the time of the Spring Equinox in March and our journey follows the Sun’s transition through the 12 signs of the zodiac. The themes of each SG will have correlations to the esoteric tests of that particular Sun sign.
It can be helpful to imagine yourself, the spiritual seeker, as a hero [or heroine!] on a spiritual quest, travelling along the sacred path. This is powerful imagery which can help us to aspire to raise our consciousness further and work with yet more light.
Footnote:
The Twelve Sacred Gateways is a course I started teaching in 2007, having worked personally with the material for about 12 years. I firstly created this course as a way to give me a structured and cohesive way to deepen my own spiritual development and then started to share it with others. As said above, it is a journey of continued learning, each time I ‘visit’ a SG I discover more about myself and my spiritual development deepens and broadens.
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