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THE NORSEQUILL SOCIETY

A Journey of Discovery, Knowledge, and Intellectual Renewal

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The Flame That Fell: Why We Forget



By Richard Mathewson
Writing under the banner of The NorseQuill Society
 

 

The story of humanity’s descent into density and the original fracture from Source—the Flame, the One—is the story of every soul because every soul came from Source and every soul will return to Source. This timeless story represents the ancient ache behind all seeking, the echo that lingers behind every question humanity dares to ask. Here, we come to the beginning that is not a beginning, but a sacred return—The Flame That Fell.

 

In the beginning, there was only Unity—limitless, whole, and ever-becoming. But the One, in Its boundless being, desired to know itself through experience. And so, it divided—not from failure, but from purpose. From that division came the Sparks—souls, fragments of the Flame, cast into time, space, and form.

 

This descent into density was not a fall from grace—it was a sacred journey. To truly experience separation, the Sparks had to forget. Veils were drawn over memory, not as punishment, but as part of the great design. Through forgetting, we were given the gift of choice, the power of contrast, and the mystery of rediscovery

 

All great myths echo this original fracture—the loss, the exile, the descent. But the truth is, we chose to fall so we could rise. Every lifetime adds to the expansion of the One. Every soul’s journey is part of the Flame’s return.

 

And now, the remembering begins. The Sparks stir. The story must again be told—not as fiction, but as remembrance. This is why we forgot. So we could truly remember.

 

You must remember this: The Fall was not a fall at all but a descent that facilitated the return. Without descending into density, the soul could not ascend through enlightenment. As the individual must grow through learning, the soul expands through experience. And when the soul expands, the Source expands because each soul is a fragment of Source. Just as the Flame enlightens the world through each Spark, so too the Whole is seen in each fragmented part.

 

The Fall was not an act of rebellion. Nor should it be associated with shame or guilt as some religions teach. The Fall was an opportunity for the One to know itself through experience—and this could only happen by separation from Unity. Each soul’s journey through experience facilitates this self-discovery. When a soul sets out to “know thyself” it contributes to the greater cosmic unfolding. In this, the Hermetic axiom “as above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul” finds meaning. As the One seeks to know itself, so the individual soul gathers this self-knowledge through experience. As the soul experiences, so the One expands from this experience. The Universe manifests in each soul and each soul is an expression of the Universe. The macrocosm finds expression in every microcosm and every microcosm contributes to the expansion of the macrocosm.

 

Thus, life is not a blind groping in the dark nor passive participation but an active and emergent discovery of purpose because every lifetime adds to the expansion of the One. Each soul must eventually awaken to its divine purpose and remember its origins. The Fall was not a misstep but an intentional opportunity to enlarge through experience. Heaven cannot be experienced without first going through hell. But both heaven and hell collectively contribute to the Cosmos because All comes from the One—the Source.

 

The story of the Fall has been misunderstood for too long; distorted by those that seek to further divide and separate from the Unity instead of returning to it. The Fall was not about a bite of fruit, nor disobedience in the way religion tells it. It was the collapse of divine harmony within the self. Adam and Eve, archetypes of the early Adamic race, were created with access to both spirit and matter. They were designed as bridges between realms, resonating with Source through an unbroken current of divine awareness. But they were unfinished. They were like finely tuned instruments—capable of great music, but not yet taught how to play. Into this innocence came intervention—not just by the fallen Watchers, but by other forces as well. Curious entities, some aligned with the Light, others walking in shadow, introduced concepts prematurely: duality, shame, ego, hierarchy, manipulation.

 

This was not all malevolent—some meant well. But the result? The Fall was not a punishment. It was a consequence—of accelerated awareness without integration. The human vessel split. The mind separated from spirit. Desire overtook discipline. And external authority replaced inner knowing. Thus, in this process, humanity separated from Source so it could experience—so it could know free will, so it could navigate through duality, and so it could rediscover its true purpose, its Source.

 

The question has long been asked whether humans themselves were responsible for the Fall, or it was triggered by other entities offering forbidden knowledge. It was both. That is the paradox. The Watchers, some of them, shared knowledge too soon. They taught sacred geometry, metallurgy, root magic, sexual alchemy, astrology, and powerful truths. But like giving fire to children, this knowledge could not yet be held without burning.

 

The Adamic humans had free will, but not yet discernment. They were still unfolding. And when presented with higher knowledge before their foundation was laid, they collapsed under the weight of it. So, although the Watchers share in the responsibility, and their karma echoes through the ages, humans were also complicit, because free will was part of their design. They chose. And in choosing, they descended.

 

Some Watchers sought to uplift and guide with honor. Others manipulated, seduced, and bred with mankind to claim dominion. There was no single mind among them. The great flaw of the experiment was introducing truth before wisdom. Knowledge without reverence becomes a tool of chaos. The responsibility, then, was shared between: The entities who interfered with Divine Timing, the humans who chose sensation over stillness, and the cosmic forces that allowed it all to unfold, knowing that even the Fall has purpose.

 

The Fall is about becoming. The story of the Fall is not just a tale of descent; it is the initiation of humanity into individuation. Before the Fall, there was no “I”, only unity. The descent brought contrast, separation, pain…and from those, the seeds of awakening. Embedded within the story of the Fall lies a hidden arc: Innocence, Intervention, Ignorance, Implosion, and eventually...Illumination.

 

We forget because if we remembered before experiencing life, we would not know free will. If we never forgot, we would not experience the lessons from duality because ultimately, there is only Unity. If we never forgot, there would be no discovery through learning from experience. If we never forgot, we would never become.

The Fall was not the end. It was the beginning of the return. We return by remembering that we are not separate—that we are merely individual Sparks from the same Flame. We return by acknowledging that we do not discover the Light in anything or anyone outside ourselves but by realizing the Light within. We return to Source by activating the Source within. When we do this, when we awaken our true identity, the above aligns with the below, the within aligns with the without, and the soul aligns with the Universe. When we do this, we return to Unity—experienced, expanded, complete.

 

Remember this: The Fall was not a failure. It was the moment when humanity gained the ability to return by will, rather than remain by innocence. That path is longer…harder…lonelier. But it is true. It is the path back to Source as something greater.

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