The cave of Chauvet was/is pure dream speak. One in which the central character, the Lioness, would build the foundation of a greater human awareness. And like all good stories, the story of Chauvet begins at its end, when the Lioness had walked for so long and so far, she was confronted with her own mortality, when her once powerful actions slowed to a crawl, like the Great Rhinoceros, and her sharp vision of youth was now fading with age.
When the Lioness recognized she would be incapable of finishing the great task she envisioned for herself, of witnessing and thus understanding the galactic cycle in fullness, she became deeply saddened that such a journey was beyond the capability of a mortal. She became restless. Her dreams filled with images of water, of turquoise waves that swelled as high as mountains, where she encountered winged lions of stone, that spoke in unintelligible tongues beneath the deep.
The Lioness was overwhelmed by the dreams that flooded her mind. Until one day, while drinking from a pool of water, they made perfect sense. She understood their meaning; that she could speak about her great vision on the cave walls, so that her children’s children’s children could see her life’s journey, the way she saw her own reflections in the pool of water. Likewise, they would know her mind and the bold vision she began so long ago would never die.
Long after the great Lioness was a distant memory, and her children’s children’s children were forgotten in time, a child was born with the same bold curiosity about the galaxy, that the Great Lioness possessed. However, unlike the Lioness’ reflections from so long ago, the galaxy during the time of the yearling was very different. It was beginning to rear up, as if poised to do something.
From the Lioness’ reflections, the yearling realized the galaxy changes imperceptibly over a lifetime, but its movement could be recognized over many lifetimes. She then understood the greatness of the Lioness’ vision, that the Lioness wasn’t speaking about the nature of the galaxy, per se, she was speaking about speaking itself, long speaking, speaking across oceans of time.
And like the Great Lioness, she kept a watchful eye on the galaxy and recorded her vision alongside of her ancestor’s, all of the years of her life. And so the torch was past down through the ages, from one generation to the next, like the rings of a great tree, which continued to expand and grow outward.
Many generations hence, so many that the Stag of Ages grew two enormously long silvery beards, and the great cave of reflections was filled with visions of the countless generations, they had arrived at the same place, but in a very different time that the Great Lioness began so long ago, and understood the fullness of her journey for the very first time.
As previously stated, in context to the other two great caves of the Stone-Age, Altamira and Lascaux, Chauvet was preschool. Yet, the truth is, Chauvet is the most amazing of all of the caves, because it’s the genesis of self awareness and its application in building knowledge of the ages, that is, Chauvet is the Lion’s Gait, that is, the lion’s stride!