THE SACRED GROVE OF BOMARZO : 3rd stage

That is why one then discovers a strange, gigantic rock which, upon closer inspection, represents a sleeping woman. Her head resting on a stone, her arms loosely stretched out alongside her body, her torso nearly constituted by the mountainside, Ariadne is there to explain:

"You who have passed the tests, you are entering the Kingdom of Dreams."

The Dream is a dangerous thing.

Cerberus and the Whale with its gaping maw stand guard.

As if this were not enough, a Dragon defends the entrance against the assault of the impure forces represented by the She-Wolf.

These three guardians prevent one from lightheartedly adventuring further into the Kingdom of Dreams for, not much further on, an immense maw opens up: the entrance to the underground world.

"All thought is erased"
is chiseled on itslips.

Plato's lesson comes to mind: knowledge based solely on the senses resembles that which a prisoner could have, enchained at the bottom of a cavern, with his back turned to the light. He will only have knowledge of the shadows of objects, projected against the walls by the outside light. The true appearance of these objects, as they would appear in sunlight, cannot be grasped by a prisoner of the senses.

At the grotto's exit, which has offered one the possibility of being reborn by means of a return to the matrix, the visitor to Bomarzo will be dazzled both by the sun and the allegories of another reality.

The sleeping Ariadne had offered the thread of the Dream, and it is in dreams that the link between the visible and invisible worlds becomes apparent.

Another maw draws us. Beyond the terrifying entrance, the metamorphosis is complete.

The first man was created, the Garden of Eden has been rediscovered.

The three worlds -- subterranean, terrestrial and spiritual -- are now one in the new man's vision.