“No! Wait!” Anna cried, grabbing the hem of Ruth’s robe. The story of the caves had her riveted and she was desperate to know more. “Tell me what happened next,” she pleaded. “What did Susana do when she got here?”

Ruth settled back down to a sitting position. “Should you not check on your flock before we continue?” she tried.

Anna shook her head. “I can tell the sheep’s location and condition by the sound of their hooves. They are content.”

Ruth chuckled and leaned again into her tale. “Wanting to preserve the ancient wisdom passed on by her mother, Susana gathered a group of women to become apprentices of The Way. Sheltered here within the safety of the caves, these young women pursued a rigorous program of study and expansion.”

“Is it the same as what you have learned?” Anna asked.

Ruth nodded. “Yes. Though there have been changes made to integrate new knowledge, the path an apprentice takes is still much the same. First, upon arriving here, she must spend several years rinsing herself of the poisonous and often degrading influences of childhood—influences from adherents of the male divinity who taught her to belittle or deny her female powers and to defer to authority rather than rely on insight.

“In place of this poison, an apprentice learns to reconnect with the profound power of Creation that lives within her own mind and body. Slowly she learns to fuse her creative powers with the corresponding ones in the mysteries around her by attuning herself to the lunar and tidal cycles of which she is physically a part. Then, through direct and creative contemplation of objects in the world around her, she reopens her heart and mind to the vast and infinite power of the Mother and learns to draw upon her limitless forces.”

Anna leaned in, fully absorbed.

“During the second phase of her training,” Ruth continued, “an apprentice hones her skills of Communion and intuiting through chanting, poetry, and contemplation. And, perhaps most important, she grows to understand the complex and various reasons for illness and masters the application of natural and energetic cures for the body and mind.

“Then, after many years, when she has attained a certain level of skill and awareness, and gone through the ceremony of Sisterhood, she might then be called into the world as an Awakener. Such women travel from village to village, much like Orpah before them, to affect cures and share knowledge of The Way in the hope of reawakening people to the sacredness of the world around them. Sisters Shereen and Naomi will be the next two sent out as Awakeners,” Ruth confided.

Anna was not surprised by this news. She had recognized the considerable powers of both women. “But when do they come back?” she asked.