Wow - has it been nearly a week since my last post? My apologies to those of you who were expecting a post on Saturday's Dark Moon, Sunday's New Moon and Tuesday's Spell for Democracy. I missed them. Mea culpa.

This past weekend I took a much needed break from the oppressive noise of the city to spend some time in the country. I was finally in a place with both land and available gardening tools so that I could bury the remnants of a spell that I'd been saving (it's not so easy to bury stuff in the city!). On Saturday I went hiking in the Catskills. On Sunday I did honest-to-goodness yard work - clearing leaves from a half-mile driveway through the woods, raking the front lawn, helping to clean pine needles from the gutters - and it was fun! I certainly got plenty of exercise.

I did have another "Wiccan Don't" moment on Saturday night. I had spent considerable time and effort before I left preparing an unblocking petition spell to Hecate to be performed at a three-way intersection at night by the Dark Moon. My plan was to do this at midnight at the end of the aforementioned driveway and before going upstairs to watch TV in bed I set out all of my ingredients and tools (including flashlight, sweater and shoes). Well, I couldn't stay awake - all that fresh air and mountain hiking I suppose - and when I did wake up it was 1:18 am. The New Moon was at 1:14; the Dark Moon had past. I went down to the kitchen to clean up my spell and offering ingredients, put my things away and get a glass of water. I looked out to the yard. It was DARK. I wondered if I would have made it all the way down that driveway at midnight by myself with nothing but a little flashlight. On the way back up the stairs I encountered a very dark shadow spirit that scared the bejeezus out of me; I ran down the hall to the bedroom, slammed the door and performed an extempo protection spell.

A couple of days later when I'm back in the city, over delicious mujadarra at Algiers in Harvard Square, a friend of mine and I were talking about my failed spell. She thought that the shadow could have been Hecate wanting to know where her offering was. Hecate is not a goddess to trifle with! (I will bring an offering to her to the Samhain ritual to make it up to her for being a bad, sleepy witch.) We got a good chuckle at the thought of me carrying an offering of fish in honey and garlic through the woods late at night. I might as well have been calling "here kitty, kitty, kitty" to the mountain lion who lives there. I hadn't even thought of that! We don't have mountain lions in the city.

Monday I took the train into New York City for an interview for some possible contract work. On the train I had a very interesting conversation about religious observance being a corollatory factor in good work habits, the unfathomable nature of Catholic confession, and the difference between forgiveness and absolution. My interview was in the West Village (my favorite neighborhood in New York) just a block from Magnolia's (I resisted the temptation to buy cupcakes) and ended up being lunch at a fun little restaurant whose name I've forgotten. It was a lovely crisp Autumn day in New York. If every day were just like that, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

On the train ride back to where I'd left the car in Pawling, I started to think that I could get used to this. From the window of the train I think a saw a beaver in a pond. I saw another pond full of swans - I'd never seen wild swans before - a crane and numerous ducks and geese. Back at the house, I enjoyed a couple of hours of absolute peace and quiet. It was glorious. At one point I noticed a young buck standing in the front yard chewing away on grass. The does who usually come near the house are skittish and run away at the first movement from anyone inside. But not this guy. He just hung out for a while and when he was done he strolled up the driveway.

Tuesday morning was back to Boston. I felt refreshed and happy. But I had homework and class that night. My afternoon was busy. Then class, Algiers for dinner and conversation, and home to bed. Wednesday was a catch-up day, answering email and getting back into some work projects. Real life returns.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 7:58 AM