SECTION VII - THE CAULDRON
15. Meagan and the Puppies - Kat Dyer
16. A Poem - Ladytoad
17. Morning in MidSummer - Luna Willowsong
18. Northern Ritual Garb - Luna Willowsong
19. A witches Lament to Ebay - Baboo Kyra Finch
20. The Goddess Speaks - SingingOwl
21. Dedicated to Cerridwen - BirdLady
MEAGAN AND THE PUPPIES
copyright 1997 by Kathryn Dyer
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Meagan. She lived with her
mommy and daddy, her big brother Corwin and her beautiful cat named Starweaver.
Meagan and her friend Cindy were visiting one of Meagan's friends from
Circle named Kern. Kern had a dog named Lady. Lady was going to have puppies.
Meagan and Cindy were excited because their parents had told them they
each could have one of the puppies.
One day Meagan got a phone call from Kern. The puppies were being born!
Meagan called Cindy to let her know. They asked their parents if they could
go see the puppies being born. But it was too late at night and they had
to stay home. Meagan asked her mother Elizabeth how long it would be before
they could bring the puppy she choose home. "Well honey," said
Elizabeth, "Puppies and kittens both need to nurse from their mothers
for about six to eight weeks before they do well on just solid food."
Meagan looked surprised, "Is that the same as two or three in animal
years?". "Yes," said Elizabeth, "All animals do better
with the nutrients from their mother's milk to start their lives out right."
"Oh," said Meagan, "But what if the mommy doesn't have any
milk?" Elizabeth shifted the baby sleeping in her arms, "Well,
in that case the people taking care of the animals would give them bottles
just like humans do...in the wild the litter would just go on to the Summerland."
"That would be sad," said Meagan.
"What would be sad?" asked her brother Corwin, coming into the
room. "If a baby animal's mommy didn't have any milk and they didn't
have any humans to take care of them and they went to the Summerland,"
responded Meagan in a rush. "But they would come back to Earth again
sometime wouldn't they?" he asked. "Oh!" exclaimed Meagan,
"I hadn't thought of that." Elizabeth nodded, "And sometimes
animals die and go to the Summerland for other reasons. Remember when Cindy's
dog Bud-Boy had cancer? The vet tried to make him well but eventually there
wasn't anything anyone could do and he went on to the Summerland."
"I hope nothing like that happens to my puppy!" exclaimed Meagan.
"So do I," said her mother, "It's not very likely, Lady
has already raised several litters of healthy puppies, but sometimes puppies
are born that aren't really ready to be in this world." When the puppies
were two days old, Meagan and her mother and Cindy and her mother went
to the farm where Kern and his family lived. It was a long drive and Meagan
and Cindy were very excited. When they got there, Kern came out to the
car crying. Meagan and Cindy jumped out. "What's wrong?" asked
Meagan, patting him on the shoulder. Kern sniffed, "I didn't catch
you before you left. We found Lady's puppies dead this morning!" Meagan
and Cindy were shocked. They both stared at Kern for a minute before giving
him a big hug. Elizabeth had gotten out of the car and turned to Kern's
father Liam who had just come out of the barn. "What happened?"
she asked. Liam shook his head, "We're not sure. The puppies looked
fine last night but it looks like she just abandoned them so there must
have been something wrong that we couldn't see." Meagan looked up
at him, "You mean that Lady can tell if something is wrong when we
can't?" Liam nodded, "Yes, animals have instincts that help them
know when a litter will be able to survive. Since Lady has already had
several litters we know it wasn't just because she didn't know how to take
care of them. Some animals have to be taught how to take care of their
babies, especially if they were orphaned early."
Cindy's mother Anna looked pale, "What should we do now?" she
asked Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked at Liam, "Well, the girls had their
hearts set on having one of those puppies...I think we should give them
a chance to say good-bye." Kern cried louder now, "We can't!
Mommy threw them away!" Now Liam looked shocked, "What? Honey,
Mommy didn't throw them away. Their bodies are in a stall in the barn until
we can give them back to the Earth properly." Kern stopped crying
for a minute, "They are? I looked in the basket after Mommy told me
they were dead and they were gone!" he sniffed a little more, "Can
we have a Passing Over ritual?" Liam nodded, "Of course you can."
Anna turned to Elizabeth, "What does that involve?"
"Well," said Elizabeth, "In this case we would put up a
small circle around the area where the puppies will be buried and ask the
God and Goddess to watch over them in the Summerland until they are ready
to come back to Earth." "They'll be covered won't they?"
Anna asked. Elizabeth shook her head, "That would be like a closed
casket funeral Anna. It's usually easier for everyone if they get to see
that there's not a spirit left in the bodies we give back to the Earth."
"Oh," said Anna, "I don't think I can deal with that...Cindy?"
"Yes Momma?" said Cindy. "Do you want to take part in this
Passing Over ritual? You don't have to, but if you think it would make
you feel better," said Anna, "I don't want to see the puppies
but you were expecting to have one of them." "I want to say goodbye
to them, even if I didn't ever get to see them alive," said Cindy,
"But now I'm never going to get a puppy!" Liam smiled at her,
"There's always tomorrow. Lady is very likely to have another litter
in a few months."
Anna decided to stay at the house while everyone else went down to the
barn to get the puppies. They carried them in an old blanket to a small
grove of trees. Lady came along for a little bit and barked before running
off. "I guess Lady just said goodbye too," said Meagan. Kern
and Cindy nodded. Liam and Elizabeth dug a hole to bury the puppies in.
"Why don't you all go look for some rocks to build a cairn?"
suggested Liam. "What's a cairn?" asked Cindy. "Oh!"
said Kern, "that's when you put a bunch of rocks over where you buried
someone so that it marks the spot and keeps out the wild animals while
the body turns into earth." Cindy picked up a little pebble, "I
don't see how this would keep out wild animals!" Kern and Meagan laughed,
"You've never seen a cairn before, Cindy. We use the biggest rocks
we can carry over there." The children collected a lot of rocks while
the burial spot was being dug while Liam's mother Elsa helped get some
of the bigger rocks that were around. After they had gotten plenty of rocks
for the cairn, everyone got a chance to touch the puppies and tell them
goodbye. Cindy wasn't sure if she wanted to touch them but Elizabeth told
her she didn't have to. Cindy put one finger on a black and white puppy,
"It's so soft!" she exclaimed, "It's hard to believe that
it's not alive." Liam nodded, "Yes, some people tell their children
that dead things are just sleeping but that's not true. When you die your
spirit goes out of your body. But we believe that our spirits will go live
with the Gods in the Summerland for a bit and then come back in brand-new
bodies." Cindy nodded, "We think that our souls go to heaven.
That's kinda the same thing isn't it?" The grown-ups nodded. Then
everyone held hands while Elizabeth put up a Circle. They asked the Gods
to come be with them and help everyone deal with feeling so sad. Elsa told
the children, "It's only natural to feel sad when someone dies, even
if you didn't know them very well. But we will see them again someday,
if not on the Earth than we will meet them in the Summerland...or heaven"
she added as she smiled at Cindy.
They buried the puppies to give their empty bodies back to the Earth. The
children helped build the cairn which would mark the spot. Everyone went
back to the house for lunch but no one was very hungry. Over the next few
weeks Meagan, Cindy and Kern talked a lot about the puppies and how they
missed them. But each day they found that they felt better and less sad
about it. Their parents all told them to talk about the puppies as much
as they wanted but that if someone didn't want to talk about it to come
to them instead. "Some people are scared of death," said Elizabeth,
"And it's not polite to make them feel uncomfortable by talking about
it with them." Meagan hoped that someday she would have another chance
to have a puppy. One day she went to bed and realized that she didn't feel
sad about the puppies dying anymore. "I hope one of those puppies
comes back to be my friend," she told her father as he tucked her
into bed. Starweaver jumped up onto her pillow. "You never know!"
replied her father, kissing her. Meagan snuggled into the covers and fell
asleep dreaming of fields of puppies all playing with her. It had been
a good day.
Northwoods Ritual Garb
by Luna Willowsong
Up here in the nort'land on the border of MN and Canada we frequently find
the following ritual dress appropriate for a majority of the Sabbats and
Esbbats. Dressing for the weather can be a ritual in and of itself!
The following items and suggestions are offered for your first ritual in
the north woods.
1. Thermal underwear of the appropriate color for the ritual you will conduct,(when
in doubt, white works well.)
2. Wool socks. (Please, no synthetics)
3. Insulated boots; to allow for proper grounding. Sorrel are recommended
especially if you will be conducting your ritual in the Big Bog.
4. Flannel shirt; if you are of a Celtic trad it may nice to include the
plaid of your clan
5. Jeans or insulated coveralls depending of course on where and when you
will be casting your circle (Camouflage is always nice as you are more
likely to blend in with the surrounding vegetation and allow the approach
of wildlife to your circle. These are easily located at most hunting and
surplus stores) Kilt's are generally not recommended for the ritual but
let each do as he/she desires.
6. A down vest embroidered with sacred symbols of your coven, your favorite
deities and demi-gods, or your animal totem (Frequently up here we see
Moose, Elks, Eagles, Lions, Gophers, Timberwolves and Vikings emblazoned
on these vests.)
7. A blaze orange stocking hat. (Occasionally red may be substituted!)
8. Sky clad is definitely optional at our rituals. An optional ritual garment
is the tao robe fashioned from white mosquito netting.
9. In lieu of a bonfire in dry years, a coleman lantern is suggested.
10. The quarters may be marked with citronella candles, the kind in a pail,
as the little handle facilitates carrying these to the most remote of ritual
locations.
11. For candle dressing or anointing for self blessing, you may consider
using essential citronella oil to ward off mosquitoes that threaten your
focus when raising the cone of power. (Caution: The mosquitoes here are
quite large, often mistaken for fairies, and known to carry off small children.
You may want to reconsider bringing your wee ones to the ritual)
12. Some of our Scandinavian brother's and sisters have asked if it would
be appropriate to substitute lefse and strong black egg coffee during the
feast of cakes and ale. This again is a matter of personal conscience and
preference. (Yah sure! You betcha!)
Blessed Be!!
Luna WillowSong
June, 1998
THE GODDESS SPEAKS
By SingingOwl
I am Tiamat becoming Aphrodite becoming Athena becoming Kali.
I am shackling lies becoming unfettered truths joyously free.
I am the crawling spider, the swift gazelle, the mighty soaring kite.
I am the first you see at morn, the last you see at night.
I am Nephthys's tears anointing the wounds of Jesus's feet.
I am the golden apple of which Eve did boldly eat.
I am sword of Morrigan, Ma'at's balanced feather divine.
I am words heard, power felt intoxicating as the finest wine.
I am Kuan Yin greeting Hella sharing secrets of each one's abode.
I am Oshun cradling Ereshkigal speaking of love She was never told.
I am the anguished cry of Erzulie found in the song of the nightingale.
I am future peals of laughter found in the abandoned child's wail.
I am Hecate becoming Freya becoming Epona becoming Meilikki.
I am shackling lies becoming unfettered truths joyously free.
I am the crawling spider, the swift gazelle, the mighty soaring kite.
I am what you once hid in the shadows you now expose to the light.
I am Amaterasu of the golden sun, Selene of the silvery moon
I dance to the rhythm of each of my beloved children's cosmic tune.
I reside in the loftiest palaces remaining forever in the down troddens'
hearts.
Upon the canvas of nothingness, I painted the cosmos, My art.
The beauty of Medusa and Venus are in Me intertwined as One.
I cut the thread of destiny which I previously spun.
I am the flames of Sekhmet dancing upon Yemaya's sea.
I show thee a thousand faces, asking only you show one to Me.
I am Inanna ascending to descend the chthonic depths of Mine Own womb.
I am Innanna descending to ascend from My self created tomb.
I am love flourishing in places hate and fury fear to tread.
I am the Blessed Virgin a thousand times wed.
I am Hera becoming Neith becoming Oya becoming Sarasvati.
Each of you a leaf decorating My infinately growing tree.
I am the crawling spider, the swift gazelle, the mighty soaring kite.
Let go of the tortured past and with Me begin thy flight.
I am beyond all religions sweeping spirituality under a holy cloak.
I am every sensation flooding thy soul when first you woke.
I am blood and I am skin and bone and sweat and teh spirit beyond.
I am the endless chorus waiting patiently for the response.
I am the mystery revealed while others lie hidden still.
I am the blessed union of My ache' with Thy will.
I am Pele becoming Sigynn becoming Dana becoming Kali.
I am all that you both fear and passionately desire to be.
I am the crawling spider, the swift gazelle, the mighty soaring kite.
I am She sworn to keep all Mine Own forever within My sight.
I am shacklng lies becoming unfettered truths wildly joyously free.
I show thee a thousand faces asking only you show one to Me.
Unmasked, brutally honest, perfectly pure truly
Earnestly lies, not in the naming but in the fervor of the call.
Tis better to call me something than call me nothing at all.
Published for SingingOwl, it first appeared on Brigid's Hearth: http://members.xoom.com/bhearth/.
No part of this may be reproduced.
