Santiago de Compostela, Spain: the path of the heart

We follow Marko PogaÇnik wisdom: Legend tell us that the waves of the Atlantic Ocean cast the coffin bearing the mortal remains of Saint James onto the west coast of Spain. This was James the Elder brother of Jesus Christ, who earlier had died a martyr´s death in Jerusalem. After James´coffin emerged in miraculous fashion at Santiago de Compostela, the most important pilgrim route of western Europe began to take shape. The first pilgrim to take "The path of the Heart" is thought to have been Charlemagne at the end of the eight century. In the follow centuries the network of roads that led to Santiago spread throughout Europe, from as far away as Finland, Poland and Sicily. Today, every year countless thousands of pilgrims still make their way to Santiago.
This designation of the pilgrim road to Santiago as "The path of the heart", what does it mean? If we speak of the power of the heart, we are thinking of a power that is capable of bringing even unconquerable opposites that is born the quality that we call love.
After travelling hundreds of kilometres, pilgrims always perform a ritual at the Cathedral of Santiago. It takes place in front of the romanesque "Portico de la Gloria", tha cathedral´s main doorway. The pilgrims walk slowly in a long file round the doorway´s central column. The top of the column bears a magnificient representation of Jesus Christ and illustrates the expanses of celestial universe. At the bottom, and therefore on the ground are two leonine-style dragons, chiselled with wide-open jaws. The pilgrim first touch the area of the top of the column, to affirm their relationship with the heavens. Afterwards, they walkter a pilgrim has touched round the column and stick both hands into the dragon mouths, symbolically touching the depths of the inward universe and participating in the vibration of the nether world.
After a pilgrim has touched the two opposite extensions of the universe, the invisible part of the ritual begins to unfold. This is this spiritual superstructure, on which the majority of pilgrims regrettably miss out. They are interested in the ritual´s formal side, and usually take particular care to be photographed as they perform it. The Christ figure at the upper end of the column shows what occurs during the ritual superstructure. The figure´s hands, held at heart level, are oppened like the two wings of a gate, meaning that the gates in front of the heart chakra are open. Thus the human being begins to shine, radiating the power of love.
The closing ritual in the cathedral of Santiago is constructed on the same model as the pilgrim way itself. The pilgrim road from Roncesvalles to Pamplona across leon to Santiago ressembles a tunnel of light through which the pilgrims move. one can compare this light tunnel with the central  column of the cathedral door. Above the light tunnel runs a soul pathway. In geomancy the concept of the soul pathway signifies a power highway along which move those souls of humankind that at the time are not embodied in matter. They inhabit the celestial universe and glide along souch soul pathways to pursue their goals in the hereafter.
The soulpathway represents the outwardly oriented viewpoint that we have labelled heaven. On the pilgrims road to Santiago in contrast, the inward space of earth is represented by the strong currents of archetypal earthly power that underlie the pilgrim route. They represent a kind of foundation on which the light tunnel was gradually built. Over the centuries, the persistent movement of pious pilgrims along the route has provided sufficient light-forces for its construction.
Taking the view point of the individual human being, the soul pathway above the tunnel corresponds to a tiny chakra situated above the neck chakra. Also, the stream of elemental power below the light tunnel corresponds to an equally small chakra lying below the sex chakra. When human beings make their way along the plgrim road to Santiago, these two chakras are activated by their resonance with both sotreys of the tunnel. In consequence, the heart chakra that vibrates in the middle between them awakes and begins to shine.