THE EQUINOX
us men and women: “Come forth, O children, under the
stars, and take your fill of love! Iam above you and in you.
My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.” Later
She explains the mystery of sorrow: “For I am divided for
love’s sake, for the chance of union.”
“This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division
is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.”
It is shown later how this can be, how death itself is an
ecstasy like love, but more intense, the reunion of the soul
with its true self.
And what are the conditions of this joy, and peace, and
glory? Is ours the gloomy asceticism of the Christian, and
the Buddhist, and the Hindu? Are we walking in eternal
fear lest some “sin” should cut us off from “grace”? By no
means.
“Be ye goodly therefore: dress ye all in fine apparel; eat
rich foods and drink sweet wines, and wines that foam! Also,
take your fill and will of love as ye will, when, where, and
with whom ye will! But always unto me.”
This is the only point to bear in mind, that every act must
be a ritual, an act of worship, a sacrament. Live as the kings
and princes, crowned and uncrowned, of this world, have
always lived, as masters always live; but let it not be self-
indulgence; make your self-indulgence your religion.
When you drink and dance and take delight, you are not
being “immoral,” you are not “risking your immortal soul”;
you are fulfilling the precepts of our holy religion—provided
only that you remember to regard your actions in this light.
Do not lower yourself and destroy and cheapen your plea-
sure by leaving out the supreme joy, the consciousness of
the Peace that passeth understanding. Do not embrace
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