Love is more than a concept, even the highest love. But when showcased in a certain framework, love is paramount. Still, love is not all. Without wisdom to guide it and power to bring it through to completion, love remains a mystery. More often than you might think, love shines through the framework of story. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’ll retell a classic spiritual love story in a way that outlines the spiritual path. Even if you’ve heard it, real magic can occur in the retelling. Open your mind and your heart.

To prepare you for love’s denouement, I’ll explain the real mystery school, its tradition, and what it’s for. On the “left-hand” path, the outer (exoteric) schoolhouse devolves. On the “right-hand” path, it evolves. The inner (esoteric) school sponsors your evolution. I’ll explain the reality of open secrets opposed to those beyond the veil. I’ll cover the main work of mystery schools, which offers remedies for apparent evil, because every love story, fiction or fact, must have an antagonist to come between the lovers. But it must still end happily. Then I’ll reveal the plot of that favorite and oh-so-real tale of divine love — a tale that has lasted through the ages.

Valentine’s Day can bring unbidden memories. It’s the stuff of retailers’ dreams. But do the marketers of candy, flowers, and perfume ask from whence such memories spring? Do they spring from relationships in this life experience, past or alternate lifetimes, or the dream plane? Or does the idea of love and romance come from original love that conjures a profound longing for ultimate, spiritual reunion?