Rise of the Magicians
Begin: I was looking through a set of articles in (Fortune?) magazine about magic and magicians, and their rising influence. I didn't have time to read much of the text, but I did read captions under the pictures. Several of the illustrations amused or interested me, and I entered briefly into the scenes they were pictured of. The lead article was entitled "Magic of the High Cabal", but I did not remember any of the text. On the front page of this article was the first illustration I entered.
First Scene: A group of older men in Renaissance scholar's costumes, Spanish or Portuguese, were putting the final touches on a work of magic. In the center of their workshop wa an enormous globe of the world, about 5 feet in diameter. As part of their spells and incantations, they tilting a suspended crucible of molten lead so the hot metal would pour down onto the location of England on the globe. They seemed in high spirits, and several observers were trying to get a look at the proceedings over a low partition behind the activity.
I returned to the magazine and scanned a couple of pages before entering into another illustration. The caption claimed that publicity surround people like those in this illustration turned many people off to investigating magic at all.
Second Scene: A group of people, all or mostly women, were sitting on the floor engaged in some form of meditation or incantation. They were not in a circle, and all wore very light filmy white robes. While my stay was very brief, I did not feel anything wrong about these people, but I could see how most folks might consider their ceremonies quite Weird.
I then proceeded to a third and final scene, much longer than the others, and one in which I participated rather than just observe.
Third Scene: I entered a place where one of several magical - psychological therapies were performed. I met there a young woman with moderately long blonde hair wearing a white robe, but a much more substantial one than those from the previous scene. Her overall appearance was very attractive, and I felt she had been chosen for her job partially because of that. I approached the narrow counter she was standing behind and looked at the magical paraphernalia set out on it and hanging over it.
Presuming I was a customer, the woman started talking to me about how her system worked. Selecting a few items from the counter, she came around to my side and took me by the hand, leading me back around it into a room behind, talking all the while. I do not remember what she said, but I was impressed by her apparent high degree of competence. She stood me in front of a chair and indicted I should sit down. She asked me, "Can I give you happiness?".
Realizing this to be a loaded question, and part of her routine, I hesitated for a while and then asked, "What is happiness?". She did not immediately answer, but quickly removed my shoes and socks. She said some words of comfort and explanation as she stabbed a hypodermic needle into my right foot, downwards between my big toe and the next in line. I made a sort of moan as she did this, but there was practically no feeling of pain at the moment. She pressed the plunger down and then just left the needle sticking out of my foot, waiting for a reaction.
Instantly, my foot began to throb and swell enormously. A few drops of blood started to well up around the needle from the pressure. My mind moved very rapidly for a moment, but inner calm did not break. I made no external sign of panic, but watched the swelling and felt the sensation with great interest. The woman was momentarily disconcerted at my lack of reaction. She looked up into my eyes and said, "Oh, I see".
End.
This dream was well reviewed and set in memory, but was not actually written down until about a week later. No fragments previous to the opening here were remembered upon waking. I had to look in the dictionary in the morning to find out if "Cabal" was really a word. It is, being an English word derived from the French through the Latin from the Hebrew "Quabbalah".
Throughout the dream, I had the impression of being involved in magic myself, but not part of any group or classification mentioned in the articles. In the last sequence, when I approached the young lady at the counter, I was skeptical, but quickly evaluated her as capable, competent, and perhaps about on the same level as myself. I think her last look and comment indicated she had, after initial misjudgement, come to a similar conclusion.
End.