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Teddie glanced about the dimly lit room and smiled. Earlier that day she had opened all of the doors and windows to allow the gentle breezes to bring the
softness of the early summer into her home. She had cleaned her house thoroughly in the bright light of the day, in preparation for tonights ritual.
The ritual was to be for the New Moon, the moon of
beginnings, of positive energies, of her connection with her intuitive side, with her inner self. The ritual of her future.
Walking down the hallway to her bedroom, she inhaled the soothing scent of vanilla drifting from candles that she had lit. She ran a bath, smiling as she poured richly scented bath oils into the water. Turning off the lights, she paused in the flickering candle light before getting into the bath. The heady scent of the bath oils caressed her soul as the warm water caressed her body - she felt all tension draining away. Her mind wandered over the events
of the past six months, and to the ritual that lay ahead, where she would celebrate her re-birth, her coming into her own.
Walking back down the short hallway, Teddie entered the candle-lit living room. She walked over to the altar that she had set up on her coffee table
earlier. Facing the east, it was a gentle testament to herself. The table was covered with a bright scarf that she had brought back from one of her trips to New Mexico.
On it were four white votive candles, representing four of the seven directions. To the right sat a vase of roses, and the shell that she would use for the tobacco give-away. To the left were larger candles, already lit, with the High Priestess and Star cards from her favorite Tarot deck placed in front of them. The cards gave her strength - the High Priestess
representing her inner knowledge, the Star representing the hope for the future that that
inner knowledge had brought her. Next to the cards was a small container to burn her sage in.
Picking up a bag from under the table, Teddie breathed deeply the scent of white sage as she opened it. She placed several leaves in the container, and lit them. Walking slowly in a circle around the room, she held the gently smoking sage in front of her. She raised it in each of the four directions, silently blessing the energies of that direction. When she was done,
she picked up an Eagle feather from the table, and used it to gently move the energies of the sage smoke over her, to cleanse her, protect her and make her
ready to enter into the ceremony.
Kneeling in front of her altar she began the invocation. "I respectfully ask that my guides, angels and Higher Self be with me at this time. I ask for the
guidance and protection of the Archangel Michael, and his blessing on this ritual."
She lit the candle that she had placed in the direction of the east first, saying out loud: "Let the power of the white light bless and purify this
ritual. Let the powers that be educate me and hear my pleas." She repeated this three times, in each direction, from east, to south, to west, to north.
Teddie then picked up her packet of tobacco from under the table. Taking a pinch between her fingers, she raised her hand to the east, thanking the energies of that direction for being with her and asking for their
direction. She repeated this three times for each of the seven directions: the spirituality of the east, the emotions of the south, the physical grounding
of the west and the mental grounding of the north, Father Sky above, Mother earth below, and, lastly, to her own heart chakra, for the inner spirit. Each
time, Teddie placed the tobacco in the shell she had placed on the table.
After she finished, she walked over and sat down in her favorite chair. She sat up straight, with her feet placed firmly on the floor. She closed her eyes, and began a chakra meditation. As she focused on the color of each chakra, she breathed deeply and rhythmicaly. By the time she was done, she was in a deep meditative state.
Her spirit left her body and moved along the path in front of her. Teddie had been this way many times - she knew the path well. It appeared to her as
a path leading to the ocean shore - narrow, with no trees, dwellings or people to hinder her progress. She floated - her feet not touching the ground. She found herself in her Sacred Space - that mental place that
she had created for herself. It was an all white room - with doorways and window
arches, but no doors or windows. Only those that she invited could join her here.
Sitting down in a chair that she had created for herself - one that hovered off of the ground and moved at her command - she willed it to face a large,
blank screen. Through this screen she saw her past and present, and what could be for her future. It was here that she had spoken with her paternal grandmother, who had come through the screen and sat with her,
reassuring Teddie that the energies of her grandmother and father would always be with her.
Teddie brought the screen up to review the past. She saw herself doing the work that she had done for over twenty-five years. She saw her friends, she saw all of the projects that she had worked on, all of the joy, and then, the eventual burnout - when her field no longer supported her personal creative needs.
There was the continuing thread of relationship throughout these same years - the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows that had ultimately lead her to
leave the relationship and move closer to her family. She felt the many times during the first year after her move that she questioned her decision. In her
heart, she knew that nothing would have changed, that her path needed to be the one that she was on.
Teddie's current path had taken her light years away from her former path. She worked now in the field that had formerly been her avocation, her chosen
field of study for personal growth. There had been stumbles along the way - venues that did not work for her. But she retained the joy of friendship gained from those venues.
Teddie focused on the screen, and saw the many of the things that she had written flashing by. An old and constant love had come back in many new ways
to allow her to express her thoughts on the things that were important to her. Closing her eyes, Teddie allowed herself to float back into her body and
re-enter consciousness.
Rising from her chair, Teddie walked over to her alter. The light of the flickering candles gave her peace. Kneeling before the alter, she intoned: "I
send blessings to the moon, and give thanks for her guidance."
Teddie remained kneeling before the alter, her eyes closed, her mind quiet. She allowed the visions that the moon and stars sent her to appear before her. She saw the packed boxes around her - the ones that in a few days time would be winding their way to New Mexico. She saw herself driving from the lush green of her current home, close to the ocean, through the inlands to New Mexico.
She saw Santa Fe as she had first seen it - the narrow, winding streets, the jewlery laid out on the sidewalk, the many different colors, the wonderful
architecture. She found herself walking in the mountains near Taos, feeling renewed, regaining a sense of purpose. She would do all of the things that
had come to her - teach her ways, practice her healing and become a student of others. Slowly, Teddie let the vision go. It was part of her, it was there for her.
Teddie extinguished the smaller candles, leaving the larger ones burning. She picked up the shell holding the tobacco give-away, and walked outside, to the
trees at the back of her property. Facing the east, she held part of the tobacco in her hand, sending thoughts of thanks to the energies of the east.
She raised her hand and gently tossed the tobacco, watching it float down to meet the earth. She did this in each of the four directions, then to
Father Sky, Mother Earth, and to her own heart chakra.
Teddie looked up into the night sky, and felt the power of the stars running through her. Here was the energy of hope, and the knowledge that her future
was a vast stream that was just beginning to flow.
Bonnie Cehovet
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