interconnectedness so profound, that under the right circumstances, beings could transform from one to another. This does not mean, of course, that everything on the hierarchy of being was equal; it was, after all, a hierarchy. The closer you were to the One, a being of pure spirit, the higher your status in the cosmic order. Spirit was superior to matter (a concept called dualism), and spiritual beings were higher than material beings. Thus the gods were superior to nymphs, who were connected to