10/21/2026
Holy cougar! The moment I awoke in this earthen temple of ochre, rose, and sandstone I heard the echoes of my soul calling from a distant cave.
In a trance, I wandered off trail, following the call of descent… winding my way through dense thickets of thorn brush on paths paved by desert animals, snaking my way through arroyos carved out by monsoon rains.
I was so enchanted by the flickers of soft velvet mesquite fronds, the winks of tiny blue-moon juniper berries, the allure of brittle cactus skeletons, the parade of zoomy fire ants, and the scent of a moody storm gathering above—that I wasn’t aware I had wandered directly to the front door of a lion’s den!
The Threshold Walker in me felt seduced by its dark Mysteries and made a subtle motion toward the cave, but my body stopped me dead in my tracks!
Before my brain could even register that it was a cub den, my nervous system sent a chill up my spine, my heart started pounding, and my eyes became laser-focused on how to get out of there FAST.
Because I was surrounded by dense chaparral—meaning pokies, pricklies, and thornies in every direction—including “Catclaw” Acacia and “Crucifixion” Thorn!—there was no way to run out of there without getting shredded.
I calmly yet swiftly began winding my way back down the animal trail I had come upon, before making the startling realization that it was a wild cat who had furrowed out this path.
In that very moment, I noticed a fresh cougar print etched in the sand. A wave of panic—and the realization of real danger—hit me, and I quickly darted off the track. I began briskly wading through the brush, being readily clawed and crucified by the prickly acacias and thorn shrubs.
I bolted back toward the worn, marked path where I had begun and arrived sweating, shaking, scratched, and bleeding. I can still feel a slight tremble as I write these words now.
The Mythopoetic Weaver in me recognizes the gift of this encounter with the predator. These ordeals are often part of soul descent.
The soul has a way of leading us to thresholds where something deeper is waiting to be revealed and reclaimed. Cont’d 👇🏻
