After preparing the sanctuary and calling in the directions, I cast the cards on what appeared to be an altar, but later learned was once the base of a statue of Heracles previously held in the temple (dated, based on fragments found at the site, to the 3rd century BC). Here is the verbatim transcript of the message, from May 5, 2005 at 12:21 pm EED:

"We need to remember that we build our community surrounded by a larger world in which fear seems to dominate. This condition is really a firewalk for the people on the planet, as the challenge is primarily fear itself.

"We have protection from that fear as long as we make a conscious choice to stay in the light, and to remember one another. And remember what to do with the awareness of collective fear: be mindful of the fact that it represents an impasse after a long history of pain and struggle, which we can view as the death and dissolution of our shared reality -- or as the opportunity to raise awareness in this moment and recognize that we have nothing to lose by the choice to love, to take one another's hands, and to walk through a seemingly impossible situation.

"No matter how closely we align with the state of love within us and around us -- no matter how deeply we touch the impossible -- we are reminded that the body memory of the place we have been is never far from awareness; for the moment, it comes with us as a potential experience or projection in the world around us. Inner fear may become an outer experience, as may love.

"It may be that the abundance of love enters our lives -- that toward which all honest seekers direct their true quest. But should it appear, should this blessing befall you even in the world as it is today, and even as your life is in the condition it is today, let that experience remind you to face the source; to acknowledge the root of the power of love, which is the inner fountain of life we call self-love, compassion for our existence, and respect for the life we carry through this world, wherever we may be."

--e.f.c.