Of OctoPi and OctoPhi: The Eightfold Key
Oh octopus,
creature of the deep,
what is it you conceal
within your secret keep?
Stories of wonder,
stories of play—
or stories of yonder
and dismay?
Oh octopus,
creature so deep,
eight-armed magician,
what secrets do you keep?
With flexible, crafty tentacles
you navigate your world:
one moment inquisitive,
one moment recoiled.
Oh octopus,
creature of the deep,
retreated to your hideout
in the shadows you keep.
Imprisoned by echoes,
your guard held fast.
And, dear oh dear,
a shark swims past!
Ghosts like secret rangers
squirm out of your keep,
announcing potential danger—
no time to weep.
Silent alarms
erupt in your chest,
the old wounds stirring,
never at rest.
But alas,
the shark swam right through,
while you shrouded yourself
in the ink that you drew.
A cloak of confusion,
a poisonous screen—
trapped in your hideout,
you cannot see nor be seen.
Your arms, your tentacles,
ever ready to wound on sight,
oh octopus,
oh what a plight.
Oh octopus,
creature so deep,
master magician,
may I erase the phantoms you keep?
Oh octopus,
creature so bold,
may I have the keys to your heart
to love and behold?
By: Lorea Elia
A Note on the Poem’s Origin
This poem was born from a simple key, a small object, that was withheld.
What could have remained a source of argument or hurt instead was seen as a mirror, showing how much is hidden beneath ordinary choices.
From that moment, the image of the octopus arose. A creature of great intelligence and artistry, yet also of defence and disguise. Its arms can create beauty or clutch in fear. Its ink can protect or blind. Its illusions are so complete that even those who witness them may doubt their own perception.
The poem is a meditation on alchemical transformation: from projection and fear back into the heart, into compassion and care, restoring truth, flow, and love. To see a disguised attack not as an enemy’s blow, but as a call for help from the wounded self — and as a reminder that beneath all defences lies the heart, longing to be seen, longing to be loved, longing to feel whole, safe, complete… never-ending golden Phi.
Glossary of Echoes
Of OctoPi and OctoPhi: The Eightfold Key — the union of two dimensions:
- OctoPi: the earthly octopus, brilliant, defensive, wounded, hiding in ink and arms.
- OctoPhi: the cosmic principle of Phi, the infinite sequence woven through creation, symbol of divine harmony and truth.
- The Eightfold Key: the meeting point — eight arms as eight keys, pointing both to the defenses that close the vault and the openings that unlock the heart, truth, higher self, and the vast embrace of life. Echoes of sacred traditions (the Eightfold Path, eight directions, eight as wholeness).
Octopus — a paradoxical mirror of the self: extraordinarily intelligent and crafty, capable of beauty and artistry, yet also a master of illusion and defense. Its arms can weave, create, and explore, but also clutch, cover, and control. Its ink can confuse enemies or blind itself. Its camouflage is so convincing it leaves others doubting what they saw.
Arms / Tentacles — miraculous extensions of life: they can explore, create, build beauty, reach in freedom. Yet the same arms, when ruled by fear, cling frantically, cover over what threatens to be seen, and hold shut the vault of the heart. Both embrace and cage. Each arm also curls in spirals that echo the golden ratio — the infinite unfolding of Phi. Thus, what seems defensive can also be a map of harmony, the body tracing the divine proportion unconsciously.
Eight-Armed Magician — the octopus in its brilliance, a master of adaptability, curiosity, and creativity. Symbol of life’s wonder, mystery, and potential.
Master Magician — the tragic stage of defense: mastery of illusion so complete that the self forgets it is only a trick. The illusion becomes reality even for the one who created it.
Ink — the dark cloak expelled to confuse a threat. Symbol of projection, illusion, avoidance. But when released in hiding, the ink blinds the self: shrouding perception, distorting truth, making one invisible even to oneself.
Shark — the imagined threat. Not always dangerous, sometimes simply passing by. Represents how old wounds make neutral events feel catastrophic, triggering defenses unnecessarily.
Ghosts / Phantoms — the past still alive in the present. Old wounds, memories, and voices that continue to haunt, though they have no substance.
Silent Alarms — the inner reaction that others cannot see, but which dominates the inner world. A nervous system on high alert, firing at shadows.
Vault / Keys — the sealed heart, where pain and secrets are locked away. The vault hides not only wounds but also the tender child longing for love and protection. Yet within the heart also lies extraordinary power: the ability to heal, to transform, to create — the living force of the divine feminine.
The keys represent access to all of this: to safety, to truth, to love, to the higher self, and to the vast embrace of life itself.