Sunday, May 22, 2022

The Lure of the Priestess - (The Wisdom of Coyotes Book Two) Chapter Two Exerpt


   


  As Jimmy drifted to sleep, he heard the faint cry of a lone wolf in the distance. He could feel the cool night air on his naked chest and saw the shadows of the trees cascading along the path created by the round, red, moon. He took a few steps out into the darkness, then, found his feet moving faster. He crouched as he ran and soon, the change began. The wind whipped through his fur causing it to stand on end as he gained more speed. He was galloping toward the clearing; a majestic white wolf. It was an incarnation that he had never experienced outside of the dream world. He never had the desire to shift into wolf form. He was the son of coyote.

    In the clearing, spotlighted by the moon glow, was the she-wolf. Adorned in black silken fur with her haunting blue eyes. She was larger than him because, in this form, she was stronger. She sat with a regal grace befitting the High Priestess of the Forest.

    He was confounded as he gazed upon her. She was so many things to him. She was the evil creature who used forbidden magic to transform herself and ravage the old world witches. She was his mentor and friend since childhood whom he loved with all of his heart, and she was a longing. She was a primal craving rooted deeply in his walker spirit and he wanted her.

    He approached her slowly. She sniffed the air around him and stood. When they were nose to nose, she licked his face, then rubbed her thickly manned neck against his. He saw stars that burst into cosmic light as his blood rushed through him and as they embraced, they lost their animal incarnations and were kneeling together, naked, on the cool grass.

    She touched his chest sending a shiver straight to his soul and he gasped. She smiled, leaning in closer to press her lips against his. His head was swimming and though he tried to push a conscious thought to the forefront. A warning, a memory, a glimpse of the terrible life he would live if he chose her, he was entranced by her. She whispered in his ear. The words were inaudible, but the act prevented him from summoning a clear thought of his own.

    The fight was leaving him and he was hers for the taking. Seduced by the whispered incantations of the ant’ jihnii but though his body had surrendered his strength, his mind kept reaching for something, any thought that might break the spell. As he reached the bounds of desperation, a face appeared in his mind. It was Jessie. Her flowing red hair and childlike smile, but mostly, her eyes. The way they seemed to be looking inside him without a hint of judgment. The way she made him feel like he shouldn’t be ashamed of what he was. The eyes that told him that he had a future in the world of men, even though he wasn’t entirely one of them.

    He clutched Katherine by the arms and shook her. In human form, he outweighed her by close to one hundred pounds and could easily subdue her. He flashed her a look of hatred and transformed into the coyote. Coyote was fast and sly and would run without looking back.

    He was in the tree line when he heard her. She cried, “How long will you deny what you know in your heart? You belong with me and I will have you.”

    He awoke and wiped the sweat from his brow. Each night it became harder to block Katherine from his dreams. She was breaking him down with every visitation and he wasn’t sure if he could stay strong. He got up from his bed and walked to the window. Peering out, he saw the two birds resting in a nearby tree. They were taking great joy in seeing him restless and would surely report back that her tactics were working. She would never stop.

    He needed help. In the morning, he would talk to his uncle. Uncle knew that the witch was pursuing him, but he didn’t know about the dreams. He didn’t know that she was winning. Perhaps together they could come up with a plan to, at least, get her out of his head.


 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

February 1st Imbolc Begins

 

What does that mean?

 

In Noelithic Ireland and Scottland Imbolc was meant to signify the midway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox and is celebrated from February first through the evening of February second.

The holiday is primarily celebrated by Wiccans, Pagans, and other neopagan religions. Ibolc is the Celtic Sabbat that resides between Yule(Christmas) and Ostara (Easter) on the Celtic Pagan Wheel of the Year.

The Goddess Brigid

Imbolc became a festival to celebrate the goddess of fertility, poetry, crafts and prophecy.

Brigid was one of the most powerful goddesses of Celtic religion. She was the daughter of Dagda who was the oldest god in the Tuatha du Danann. According to myth, she was born with a flame on her head and was reared on the milk of a mystical cow. She was credited with the invention of keening, the traditional wailing for the dead performed by Irish and Scottish women,

In ancient times Ibolic was celebrated by crafting a likeness of Brigid out of oats and rushes, dressing it, and placing it in a basket overnight. The following day was celebrated with bonfires in tribute to Brigid.

Christianity

In the Christian religion Brigid morphed into Saint Brigid who is one of the three patron saints of Ireland. St. Brigid is also the saint of milk and fire. She is the patron saint of Irish nuns, newborns, midwives, dairymaids, and cattle.

 

A twelfth century legend claims that the nuns of Kildare built a fire to honor St. Brigid and the fire burned for five hundred years and only women were allowed near it.

The church enacted the holiday, St. Brigid’s Day to take place on February first and replace the pagan Imbolc holiday. It is a feast day when on effigy of St. Brigid is washed in the ocean and surrounded by candles to dry. Crosses crafted out of stalks of wheat and created and called St. Brigid crosses.

Modern Celebrations

Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia, Feats of Pan, Snowdrop Day, Feast of the Waxing Light, and Brigid’s Day.

Modern pagan celebrations of Imbolc are often small and include bon fires or fire rituals. It is a time to celebrate femininity, new beginnings, and fire.

 

 

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Mercury Retrograde


I’ve never been a big believer in astrology. Sure, I peek at my daily horoscope on occasion but I know those horoscope writers are rarely experts in the field of astrology. If I were to truly delve into astrology there would be more to it than just a sun sign. I’d be researching birth charts and educating myself on all sorts of things that I just don’t have the time or interest to invest in.

Now, moon phases and their effects on human behavior is something else. I’ve always been intrigued by full moon madness and since the moon effects the tides and we are made mostly of water, I can get behind that scientifically. This leads me to the topic at hand. If the moon really does affect us as a species do the planets in our solar system affect us as well?

Since 2019, it seems that I have been informed by the media and social media every time Mercury has gone into retrograde. I’m not sure why this information suddenly became so important. I’m fairly certain Mercury has been doing this for as long as there has been a Mercury but since we are currently experiencing our first Mercury Retrograde of 2022, I decided to look into it.

What is Mercury Retrograde

A Mercury Retrograde occurs once every four months. It was previously believed that during this time the planet changed direction and moved “backward” in its rotation around the sun. Later, astronomers determined that this is simply an optical illusion caused when Mercury briefly overtakes Earth in its orbit.

The Planet that rules communication

Verbal, written, and internal communications are said to be affected by Mercury. Not only the way we communicate with others, but, also the way we communicate with ourselves in our internal dialogue. It’s said that it’s best to slow down and reflect before communicating thoughts or ideas during this time.

Energy influence

Mercury Retrograde is said to cause some people to feel drained and lethargic while others are feeling restless and full of chaotic energy.

Intuition

They say that if you are sensitive to intuition you may become overwhelmed during Mercury Retrograde. Thoughts, premonitions, and empathy will be at an all-time high. Maintaining emotional boundaries will be difficult and will lead to energy drain.

The past comes back to haunt us

Mercury retrograde is a time of reflection and in that reflection things from the past return to us. Sadly, in some cases, this includes our exes.

Don’t make big changes

They say that you should never sign a contract, make a big life decision, invest in a major purchase or cut your hair during Mercury Retrograde.

Your place in the zodiac

It is also thought that how Mercury Retrograde will affect an individual is directly related to their astrological sign. For me, a Pisces, this current retrograde is supposed to cause past trauma to resurface. Cancers will be tempted to break their New Year’s resolutions and sink back into comforting habits.

What does it all mean?

For believers, Mercury Retrograde is a real phenomenon that causes real, though not life-changing, shifts in our daily lives and overall sense of well-being.

For skeptics, planetary retrogrades are merely an optical illusion with no capacity to impact humans, energy, or human behavior.

For me, I’ll be on the lookout for communication from my ex and swiftly delete any texts that I might receive. Talk about past trauma resurfacing!

This article was originally posted here: https://medium.com/@BonnieJTaylor/mercury-retrograde-78d9438e3540