SECTION III: STORY TIME

8. CatCorner - Sorcy SummerWind
9. Fiona & Julian - Selene SilverWind 
10. Meagan Stories - Kat Dyer

CatCorner - I'm Having Kittens

It's three in the morning, and I'm on the graveyard shift. That is not exactly the best place to be tonight, because my Queen, Chi-Chi, is bound to be upset when I come home. She is due to have another litter in the morning, and she has made it perfectly clear in the past that she does not appreciate being left alone for the last few days. For one, she is so heavy that she can't hardly walk (I swear, she always looks like she'll have a dozen), and remembering her waddling about is all it takes to make me feel homesick. And for two, she now demands to be fed much more often then twice a day. Having to wait 10 hours is not going to improve her disposition.

She usually lays on the floor all the time now (YOU try to jump up on a couch with your own bodyweight doubled and wobbling about), and since it is impossible to get comfy in a position somewhat resembling grace, one lays on one's back, with the offensive tummy displayed for all to see and comfort one. She is a sweet mommy though. She's been softly purring to herself for the last few days, and pointedly sat in the bathroom and stared at the -then still empty- corner where I usually make her bed for delivery, until I got the message. But other then rather wanting to keep her company, I know it is not time yet. How, you ask, can I be sure?

Because I have learned that cats can be just as versed in the arts of magick then any of us. Last time, when I HAD to be away just that weekend, my little cat perfected her own abilities to 'call' me. I was on the way back from a trip out of country, five hours away from home, when I first 'heard' her. It was an intense sensation of 'feeling' my cat holler, mind you, not how one would imagine that is possible, but from the inside of my head, going outwards. You know, that kind of 'get a move on' miouw that beats nails on the chalkboard hands, err, paws down. I have always wondered how it is possible to hear transmissions without vocal cords involved, and that incident had answered all my questions in that department for good. My ears still ring just thinking about it.

Now, I'm not particularly unbelieving about feline accomplishments, what with having a Siamese as a familiar, but this surprised me nevertheless. Telepathy with a kitty cat? Unheard of, even for me. So I quietly listened into myself, and the yowl came again, this time so loud, it made all my hair stand on ends. I immediately went to answer, and since I have not yet mastered the silent transmission, I talked to her with my mouth. Fellow travelers waking up looked around to find out what was going on (hey, my friends think I'm somewhat on the weird side anyhow, so it's not as if they are not used to seeing me do things to write home and tell your family about, but this must have been funny even for them). Here I am, telling my baby to hold on to her britches, "I know baby, I hear you, I'm coming.... hold on, I'm on the WAY". The driver got sniped at and instructed 'to step on it'.

For the remaining hours flying down the interstate, I faithfully answered every call, and by the end of the trip I was sweating myself. How the little beastie managed to transfer her labor pains is beyond me, but believe me, transfer them she did (that'll teach me).

She had me racing up the stairs at two in the morning, and sit down on the bathroom floor with coat and boots still on, just so she could heave a giant sigh, climb into my lab, and break her water. The first kit was born not 10 minutes later. After that, she graciously removed her claws from where she had them buried into my hands (just in case) and allowed me to get out of my travel clothes, and put on something comfy (can't you hurry up for crying out loud? Uh-oh, here comes another one), and put down another blanket for ME. I fell asleep spreadeagled and dead to the world on the bathroom floor, while my right hand was pulled into the delivery box, in firm grips of two soft little paws. I was there, that was enough.

I awoke with every muscle complaining, to the soft light of a new day, and five brand new bundles of perfection. As I slowly and tiredly changed the towels and made their bed anew, I vowed never to leave town around a due-date again, and to heck with prior reservations.

I looked back over my shoulder when I left the nursery to crawl into my own bed, and the little devil cocked her pretty head at me and winked, fully aware that besides bringing bliss to five more families, she had accomplished teaching another necessary lesson to her human.

© Sorceress SummerWind, February 1999

It is now two days and five happy furry kittens later. This time, Queenie decided to go ALL the (witch) way. Despite her fluffy bed in the delivery room, despite the fact that I was catering to her every wim, SHE decided she was going to have her kits in the kitchen, with a kettle cooking in the background, and country music softly blaring out of the radio. Who was I to tell her no? So, one more time, I watched a litter being born while lying on the floor :) At least my kitchen floor has carpet and is considerably more comfy then the bathroom. She did, however, consent to being relocated in the nursery after all was said and done. Tired, but happy, I settle back to see yet another batch grow to purrhood.
Goodnight, Brightest Blessings, and always a full bowl of cream on thy table.....
Sorcy

With Spring Comes Change - By Selene Silverwind - Slvrwind@aol.com

With their wedding only six weeks away, Fiona and Julian were engaged in a flurry of activity. To add to their already hectic schedules, they received word from the City Housing Bureau that there was finally a two-bedroom apartment available for them in a new building at the edge of the growing City. Fiona told Julian the good news and together they made a schedule for packing and wedding planning, hoping they would be able to finish moving within the week. Fiona suggested that they do a purging of their old stuff as they packed and bless the new apartment before they moved in. Julian thought it was a good idea and went down to the storeroom to retrieve three large boxes. The first was for the maybe-keeps, the second was for the give-aways, and the final box was for the throw-aways. Slowly they sorted through all their belongings, packing the items they wanted to keep as they went and getting rid of all the excess. After the sorrow of the previous year, they both wanted to start a fresh new life together. Fiona pulled a box down from the top of their closet and began to sort through it. As she went through the box she found clothes she had worn as a little girl, trinkets she had saved from childhood vacations, and letters she had written and never sent. She called Julian over to help her decide what to keep and what to get rid of. "I don't think I can get rid of any of this," Fiona sighed. "Then don't!" Julian exclaimed. "I have an old trunk in my storage unit that we can keep our momentos in!" "Well, we don't need all of this! I certainly don't need baby clothes." Julian placed one hand on her stomach and kissed her gently. "You will soon enough, love." Fiona's heart filled with warmth as he uttered those words and she kissed him back. "You're so right, sweetie. I'll put the baby clothes in a special box marked: For the Future." Julian stood and crossed the room to his desk. He slid open the bottom drawer and removed a small envelope he had tucked inside. He went back to Fiona and put it in the box with the baby clothes. "What is that?" she asked. "A letter for the future," was all Julian would say, taking the box out of her hands and setting it aside as they resumed sorting through their belongings. Amidst all the packing, they still had a wedding to plan, so they took a break from their sorting to visit the caterer and the park where the ceremony would be held. They also went to two sessions with one of the City's approved couple's counselors from whom they learned the skills necessary to make their marriage last. The City provided the sessions free of charge to all those who were planning to declare their commitment to each other in a formal ceremony. The City did not discriminate by sex or sexuality whom was considered a couple or what comprised a family. In their first session, Fiona and Julian discussed their expectations for the marriage and found them to be similar. Knowing that all couples will experience some conflict, however, the counselor taught them how to fight in the second session and had each of them tell each other why they were grateful for each other. "I am grateful for that look in your eyes when you say you love me." Fiona said, as the memory of that look brought a warm glow to her skin. "I am grateful for all the ways you support me, every day." Julian replied, gazing at her with love. The counselor asked each of them to write their lists down and look at them whenever they were angry with each other to remind them of the reasons they were together in the first place. Fiona and Julian decided to make a ritual of it. Fiona removed the white candles from the altar and replaced them with pink candles. She added a red candle for passion and burned dried rose buds for romance. She and Julian each took a small piece of parchment and carefully wrote out their lists, then blessed them and placed them on their altar. As Fiona stood gazing at the altar, she realized what she was going to give Julian for their wedding. Fiona and Julian resumed their packing following the ritual. Finally, after a week of packing interspersed with wedding planning, all of their belongings were boxed and bagged. Fiona gathered white candles, candleholders, and two sage wands and tucked them in her backpack. Together, they went to their new apartment and prepared to cleanse and bless the space. Fiona placed one candle in the center of each room and lit it. She handed Julian one of the wands and they set them ablaze from the candle in the kitchen. Fiona walked to the front door and faced it. She waved the wand over the entrance, marking it with a banishing pentagram. She turned to face the apartment and pranced around the room singing, "Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!" with Julian following behind her, chanting the same words. She went into the first bedroom, which would serve as their office, and blessed it for good work. She then went into the master suite and blessed it to bring them joy, restful sleep, and great sex. She continued on to the kitchen and blessed it to bring them sustenance and health. Finally, she went back to the living room and blessed it to be the center of their home where only pleasant feelings could reside. She picked up her bag from the floor and pulled out a blanket, which she spread on the floor. She turned back to Julian and took his hands. As she pulled him toward the blanket, he looked at her with a question in his eyes. She laughed and embraced him. "We need to bless this space one more way." Julian caught her meaning, "I know. It's in desperate need of breaking in," he said with a glint in his eye. Fiona moved to her knees and pulled Julian down to her. "Exactly," she murmured as she kissed him deeply. Julian wrapped his arms around her and lowered her to the floor. They made love slowly, but passionately, for the first time in their new home. The living room filled with their love and it pervaded every other room, making it a sanctuary for the lovebirds and all who entered. The next day Fiona called down to the city dispatch from their old apartment and requested that one of the electric moving vans be delivered to the building. A few moments after Fiona hung up the phone, they heard a buzz at their outer door. Fiona looked at Julian, "I didn't think the vans had drivers..." Julian shook his head and shrugged, "I didn't either." He crossed the room and opened the inner and outer doors. "Sarah!" came his shocked cry upon seeing who was waiting at the threshhold. "May I come in?" Sarah asked politely, training her gaze at the floor. Fiona came to the door and looked Sarah over for a moment. "Yes, come in." Julian looked at Fiona sideways, but Fiona just nodded at him to let her in. Julian stepped aside and allowed Sarah to move slowly into the room. Fiona followed her into the living room. "Please, have a seat. May I get you something to drink?" she asked, keeping a pleasant tone in her voice. Sarah turned to her. "No thank you. I won't be long." She continued into the room and sat on the armchair facing the couch. Fiona and Julian took hands and deep, calming breathes as they stepped to the couch and sat down. The three of them sat looking at each other in uncomfortable silence for a long moment before Sarah finally spoke. "I'm sure you heard what happened to the cult I was involved with..." Fiona and Julian nodded in reply and steeled themselves against her intolerant speeches to begin, but there were none forthcoming. "I need to apologize to both of you. I was confused and searching for something to fill a void in my life. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong people. I'm going to be moving back to my home City, but I wanted to come by first and say I'm sorry for any pain I may have caused either of you." Fiona and Julian looked at each other in surprise. Fiona spoke first, "Thank you, Sarah. We really appreciate that." "And we hope you will find what you are looking for in your home City. We're just glad you were saved from that cult." Julian added. Sarah nodded, "Me too. Before I could bring major harm to anybody." Sarah stood and Fiona and Julian stood with her. "I see you're moving. Good luck with your lives." "You too," Fiona offered. The threesome walked quietly to the door and Fiona and Julian stood arm-in-arm as Sarah stepped into the hallway and the doors swished closed behind her. Julian turned to Fiona and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad she got out of the cult. And I'm glad we don't have to worry about her interfering with our lives anymore." Fiona looked up at Julian, "Me too, sweetie," and with that she pulled him in for a long kiss. Before they could become any more involved, the intercom buzzed, signaling the arrival of the moving van. Fiona and Julian began the task of filling the van with all their belongings. Julian carried the heavier boxes while Fiona carried down the odd-shaped items. Finally they loaded the furniture into the van and Julian sealed the doors. The couple went back upstairs to take one last look at their first apartment together. Fiona wandered through checking all the drawers and closets for left behind items while Julian closed the blinds and turned off the appliances that had come with the unit. They met back in the living room where Julian took Fiona into his arms. "This is it," Fiona said. "I guess there's no turning back. I'll be getting my things out of storage tomorrow and then our stuff will be officially joined," Julian replied. "You can still back out..." Fiona teased. "Yes, love, I want to leave you now," Julian teased back, as he lowered his lips to her neck. Fiona giggled and squirmed away. "Don't start. We have to go with the van." Julian released her from his hold and stepped back, "Okay, okay. Let's go." Julian reached for her hand and together they walked out of their old apartment, taking one more step toward their future together. Fiona and Julian climbed into the van and rode it across town to their new apartment. They quickly unloaded all their belongings into their new place and began the business of unpacking and debating what should go where. Fiona went to the window and pulled open the blinds. She caught her breath as she took in the picture perfect view. "Julian, come over here." Julian crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he gazed out the window. "Wow." They stayed like that for several minutes as they stood in awe of their view. They had a west-facing window that looked out over the plains and Mount Komo. The sun was setting over the still snow-capped peak, giving it an ethereal glow. Fiona turned to Julian. "I can't believe our luck. This is amazing." Julian only nodded his head and lowered his lips down to hers, his ardor stirred by the majesty of the view. After a few moments they parted and continued unpacking. Inspired by the mountains, Fiona decided to set their altar up near the window. She placed the bookcase along the wall and retrieved the altar box. She carefully draped the Spring Equinox cloth over the shelf and placed her silver candlesticks atop it. She had recently found white candlesticks ringed with molded flowers, which she set in the holders. Tomorrow she would find a flowering plant to add to the altar, but for now she laid out their tools and placed tokens of each element in their proper quarters. Once the altar was done, she joined Julian to unpack the kitchen and bedroom. The phone rang as they worked and Fiona raced to answer it in the living room. It was Lady Celesta. "Merry meet," Fiona said brightly into the phone. She listened for a few moments before continuing, "No, we don't have our computers set up yet. Thank you for calling and inviting us. We will certainly be there." Julian came into the room as Fiona listened a moment longer. "Tomorrow night would be great. Why don't we meet you at seven?" Julian shot her a questioning look. "See you there. Blessed be!" Fiona hung up the phone and explained to Julian. "That was Lady Celesta. She was inviting us to the Ostara ritual two nights from now. And we are going to go to her shop tomorrow night to make more plans for the wedding." "That all sounds good. I'm tired of unpacking. What do you say to making a picnic dinner on the floor and cuddling for awhile?" Fiona rewarded his suggestion with a kiss. "Sounds like a great idea. You get the food, I'll find the dishes." Julian headed down to their new convenience mart while Fiona dug through the boxes for her plates and silverware. After dinner, they retired to their new bedroom to break that room in too. The next morning, Julian got up early to go to his storage unit while Fiona went in search of plants. She had discovered that they had a garden plot on the roof of their new building. It was a little late to be planting seeds, so she decided to buy plants that were already flowering. Julian and Fiona returned home at approximately at the same. Julian helped her carry in her flowers and planting supplies and Fiona helped him carry in his furniture. Julian began sorting his stuff into keep and give away piles. They would call the charity truck tomorrow to come pick their things up. There wasn't much call for charity in the City, so most of it would be recycled, but some of it would be sent to Cities that had not yet been restored and modernized and where there were still needy people. Fiona spent the rest of the day in her new garden planting lilacs, tulips, and daffodils, all flowers appropriate to the Spring Equinox. She also put in rosemary, lavender, and thyme as they were herbs that were always appropriate. As she worked, she decided to include one of each flower in her wedding bouquet. Fiona completely lost track of time as she became absorbed in the earth beneath her hands. Julian came up to remind her that it was time to go to Lady Celesta's to continue with the wedding plans. They finished planning the ceremony entirely that night, including their costumes and Lady Celesta's script. She instructed them to write the vows they would make to each other at the handfasting. They promised to have them ready before the ceremony and said their goodbyes until the ritual in the morning. Fiona and Julian awoke early the next morning to take ritual baths before going to the sabbat celebration. They dressed in their spring finest and gathered spring treats in the kitchen to take with them to the potluck feast after the ritual. Their excitement grew as they boarded the train and realized they were returning to the place where they had first met in person. They watched eagerly out the window as they saw the fairgrounds approaching. The train pulled into the station and they bound off the train with the several other revelers ready to join the festival. The site looked and felt very different from the previous year's Beltane celebration, most noticeably due to the lack of protestors outside the gates. Fiona took Julian's hands and led him through a blooming archway that surrounded the gates. The grounds were dotted with spring flowers and festive booths of spring refreshments and crafts. A face-painting booth was set up near the entrance and everyone who entered was invited to have their favorite spring symbols painted on their faces before the ritual. Julian had a sun painted on one cheek and a rainbow on the other. Fiona had a chain of daisies painted across her forehead and pulled back her dark hair with another chain of daisies to show it off. As they stepped away from the booth, Julian swept Fiona up into his arms, just as he had the first time they had met all those months ago. "You, my love, have made me the happiest man alive." Fiona giggled and kissed him, "And you have made me the happiest woman in the world. What brought that on?" "This place. The memories. I love you." "And I, you." They embraced and kissed passionately once more until they heard the bells calling them to ritual. They parted lips and joined hands as they walked to the place of ritual in the same location that they had celebrated their first sabbat together and would spend many more sabbats together in the future.

MEAGAN'S OSTARA
copyright 1996 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. One day in spring Meagan was walking with her father in the woods behind their house. He was showing her some of the plants that lived in the woods. Michael smiled down at Meagan, "Well, soon it will be Ostara Meagan. We will be planting seeds to celebrate. Do you know what kind of seeds you want to plant for the harvest in the fall?" Meagan thought hard. She knew that Ostara was one of the holidays when pagans ask the gods to make the fields fertile so that there would be food for winter. "I like flowers, daddy," she said, "but I wish that I could plant niceness." Her daddy looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Meagan, "sometimes I have a hard time being nice to one of the boys at my school. He's really mean to everyone. I don't like being around him. I know that I should be nice to him even when he's mean to me but it's really, really hard to do. That's why I wish that I could plant some niceness." "Hmmm," said Michael, "Do you want niceness for him so that he won't be so mean, or niceness for you so that you can be nice to him even when you don't feel like it?" Meagan stopped to pick up Starweaver who was rubbing her legs, "I'd like him to be nice to me, but if he won't then I guess that I need some more niceness for me to give to him." Michael nodded, "I see. Well, it wouldn't be right to work magic on him without asking him first." Meagan gasped, "I couldn't do that!" "No," said Michael, "but there's no reason that you can't plant some niceness for yourself."

They turned a corner on the path and started back toward their house. Just then, Meagan's big brother Corwin came racing toward them. "Hey!" he shouted, "Mom's got the eggs to dye for Ostara!" Meagan clapped her hands in glee and jumped up and down. "Run ahead," said her daddy, "just make sure you save some for me." Meagan and Corwin ran back to the house. They slowed down when they got to the door. It was a safety rule in their family not to run indoors unless it was an emergency. Meagan didn't think that her mother Elizabeth would think that eggs were an emergency. When Meagan got inside the kitchen she saw her best friend Cindy sitting at the table. Cindy's mom Anna was standing at the stove with Elizabeth. "Hi!" said Cindy, "My mom met your mom at the store and she said we could come over and make Easter eggs with you!" Meagan slid into the chair next to Cindy. "Cool," she said, "but we're making Ostara eggs!"

"Meagan!" her mom turned around, "that's not very nice. You know that Cindy is Christian and not Pagan!" Anna turned with her, "Actually, we don't celebrate Easter as a religious holiday like some Christians do. For us, it's just the day when the Easter bunny comes! Here kids, we have special dyes made from herbs for you to use. You should put on these gloves first so that you don't dye your hands!" Meagan and Cindy quickly put on their gloves while Elizabeth and Anna set out the dye pots. There were all the colors of the rainbow. Meagan had learned a name that helped her remember the colors of the rainbow. "Roy G. Biv," she told Cindy, "that stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet." "I know that," answered Cindy, "and I remember that you said red was for fire. Yellow is for air. Green is for earth. Blue is for water." Meagan smiled at her friend. They colored all the eggs and put them in special racks that Corwin had made for the eggs to dry. Soon it was time for Cindy to go home. "Mom says I can come back on Easter and we'll have an egg hunt!" she told Meagan. "I'll ask my mom if you can spend the night before!" said Meagan. She gave Cindy a hug goodbye.

Meagan couldn't wait for the holidays. Soon it was time to celebrate Ostara. Her parents had explained that Ostara was also called the Spring Equinox. On the equinox the day was just as long as the night. They told her that even though the Christian church had taken a form of the name ostara for their spring holiday, Easter was based on the Jewish holiday of Passover. Christ had been celebrating Passover when the bad people came to take him to jail. The other members of the coven came to Meagan's house. She and Corwin helped to decorate the circle with flowers. Just before circle was going to start Michael took Meagan aside. "This is for you," he said, as he handed her a big seed that was colored bright pink. "What is it?" asked Meagan. "Well, tonight we will all plant seeds to represent things in our lives that we want to grow over the summer. This is a seed to stand for niceness." Meagan hugged her daddy close. "Thank you" she said. She couldn't wait to plant her seed.

It took awhile for Meagan's seed to grow. Some days it was still hard for her to be nice to people who were mean to her. But thinking about her growing seed helped. When Easter came, Cindy was sick and couldn't come over to Meagan's house. Meagan was really mad. Her parents reminded her that Cindy didn't want to be sick. Meagan stopped and thought about it. Her parents had sent her to her room because she had gotten so mad that she had been stomping all around the house. She thought about how she would feel if she were the one who had been sick. Soon Elizabeth came to tell her she could come back out. "I'm sorry mommy," Meagan said, "could we make a basket to take to Cindy so that she will feel better?" Elizabeth smiled, "I think that that would make her feel much better." She took Meagan downstairs and helped her make a basket for Cindy. Later they took the basket to Cindy's house. Meagan couldn't go in because Elizabeth and Anna didn't want her to get whatever Cindy had. She stood in the yard and waved up at Cindy's window. Elizabeth came back out, "Cindy said to tell you thank you for the basket. It really made her feel much better. It was very nice of you to think of doing that for her. Especially when you were so mad about her not being able to come over today." Meagan stopped at the car, "I guess that my niceness seed is growing." Elizabeth smiled, "I guess that it is."

Later that night Meagan lay in her bed with Starweaver curled up beside her. She was still a little sad that Cindy could not come over to hunt eggs. But she felt proud that she had thought of doing something that made Cindy feel better. Her niceness seed was really growing big. All in all, she thought, it had been a good day.

SECTION I: HOLIDAY LORE
* Ostara - StormWing
* Oestre - Baboo Kyra Finch
* A Druid's Pondering - LadyToad
* Spring Equinox - Sarolta 

SECTION II: FAMILY ISSUES
* Promoting Pagan Family Values - Selene 
* Pagan Parenting - WindSeeker

SECTION III: STORY TIME
* CatCorner - Sorcy SummerWind
* Fiona & Julian - Selene SilverWind 
* Meagan Stories - Kat Dyer 

SECTION IV: ASK AUNTIE AHN
* Online Help Corner - Ahneke GreyStone

SECTION V: RESOURCES
* Herblore - Dor (Poem by Kyra)
* Wicca 101 - Rhiannon Diana 

SECTION VI: PAGAN HAPPENINGS
* Events List - Selene SilverWind 

SECTION VII: THE CAULDRON
* When the Goddess Hides Her Face - Samantha
* Critters - Baboo Kyra Finch
* Return from the Shadows - Riversong Drusea'
* Wise One - Samantha