Two things were standing out reading Purgatory 9 this time – one is how the beginning of the change happens through the dream of the Eagle and of being unified with the Divine. In some ways meaning that it is first when the Goal is discovered, or envisioned, or revealed, that the process really has begun. Before that, we have more of a slow preparation, or the Ante-Purgatory in Dante’s words. What ignites the real change, and the real Purgatory, is the Gate – but this is found through, or right after the vision, of the final end point and the Divine Light.
The second thing that stood out this time was the one verse line about looking back once inside of the Purgatory, means to go back out again. In some ways this could be seen as the idea that the learning in purgatory carves out a new track, a new being, a new life, and if one falls back to one’s old tracks, one has to find back into the new again – once more. Staying on the new habits, is the good path to moving forward.