Spiritual Awakenings


A Link in the Chain The Desert Mystery School


by Marcia Detwiler-Scupin


Southwest, but the entire Western world – are drawn to practices they may not realize have a common root in the Western Mystery Tradition.


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This ancient, esoteric, but decidedly Western spiritual path has, since the Renaissance, been referred to as the “Golden Thread” or “Golden Chain.” It encompasses practices as eclectic and diverse as the study of Tarot, astrology, Kabbalah, magic, alchemy, Wicca, and the Enneagram.


As its name implies, the Tradition has roots that extend from the Middle East throughout Europe and across the Atlantic to the Americas; it is based on Western, not Eastern, ideas and methods. Self- awareness is the ultimate goal for seekers in both hemispheres, but those who follow the Western Mystery Tradition are encouraged to


follow their own unique avenues to achieve it. The Desert Mystery School, based in Tucson, seeks to be a way-shower for people who seek spiritual transformation but struggle with Eastern mysteries, practices and language. If you have tried Eastern paths and found they didn’t jive or flow with your Western heritage, perhaps the esoteric spiritual path of the west is just what you’ve been searching for. The Desert Mystery School was birthed as the brain- and heart-child of local teacher and author Amy Wall in 2008. Amy is the author of The Tarot of Awakening: Initiation into the Kabbalistic Western Mystery Tradition and teaches Kabbalah in local synagogues. The School now encompasses the skills and experiences of other instructors. The Rev. Erlina Edwards is an ordained Interfaith Minister


Amy Wall Erlina Edwards Carol Emerson


and a certified teacher of the Trifold school of Ennea- gram studies; Carol Emerson is a local Wiccan teacher/ leader. A fourth staff member is Californian Donna Heath, an evolutionary astrologist teacher who is also an ordained Kriya Yoga priest. Amy, Erlina and Carol run the day-to-day operations of the Desert Mystery School; Donna flies in to teach her classes. Although Amy, Erlina and Carol teach independently of their school and maintain private practices, they synchronis- tically gravitated toward each other about a year ago. “Each of us brings a piece of the puzzle,” Amy says. “Through the School, we can do deeper work than any of us could do on an individual basis.” “Mystery Schools have been around for thousands


of years,” says Amy, “but they rarely have been acces- sible – you usually had to know someone to join.” Amy decided it was time to correct that by starting her own school, with the “build it and they will come” expecta- tion that serious students would be attracted to West- ern teachings and bring their own insights and energies to the learning experience. The Western Mystery Tradition is built upon three strong legs: sym- bols, practices and self-knowledge. As Amy explains, “Symbols help us learn to see the world as a symbol of the Divine.” Practice, in the form of


any people who seek a spiritual path here in the West – not the American


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Tucson


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