The Nagas

I am still raw from the ritual last night but, my High Priestess said “do you trust me?” So I am here because I trust her more than she knows.  Most of my coven is here as well.  Some of my most beloved ones are here. I would not be here if it were not for my trust in her.  I avoid “losing control” and I suspect that this is her purpose (knowing my High Priestess’s fondness for pushing me beyond what I am comfortable with and for forcing me to discover that my magick is bigger than what I choose to see).

The temple is dim and there are many who have come to experience the rite.   We enter and file past the alter, each of us bowing in respect as we pass.  The priests and priestesses cast their spell, creating a temple within a cave deep in the Earth.  The drums begin and a priestess begins a chant about the shining Goddess, dark and deep and our calling to her and waking us from sleep.  The High Priestess of the rite begins to move.  All those present take up the chant, dancing and moving as the trance takes hold of them. 

I am already beginning to feel the shift, I am not fully in the Temple, the drums and the chant take hold of me and my heart begins to match the rhythm of the drums.  I am drawn to circle downwards; even as I dance I descend.   At first I can feel the presence of all those that are mine, each of my beloveds that are present in the rite. But then I must leave them behind, I must leave them to their dancing and I must descend into the depths of the Mother.  I circle ever downward into the darkness, into the shadows, into the underworld. 

The Priestess meets me there and her body presses against mine, each chakra connecting with mine.  She asks if I will receive the breath of the serpent (the Dragon) and I answer.  She breathes the serpent into me and I take in all that I can.  That kiss explodes inside my soul, inside my center, inside the deepest part of my being.  Then she is gone. 

The chant changes, no longer words but, a joyous celebration of life and I must ascend.  I must return to the living world, my loved ones are there and my work is there and I feel a compulsion to climb back to the surface, an urgency that there is something waiting for me.  I begin to climb. I am running, returning as fast as my heart can fly.  My heart is pounding again to the beat of the drums.  I am back in the temple, and I know that my God is waiting for me.  I am drawn to Him immediately, undeniably.   

My brother has allowed our God to possess him.  This is an act of love that I know is no trivial matter.  I stand before Him, smiling up at Him with all of the devotion that I possess.  He looks into my eyes, transfixing me, seeing into the very depths of my soul and He speaks. 

“You are not done yet, you are only beginning…you must let it go.” 

My brother is released from his service and all grows quiet. The drum beat is low and easy. I sit beside the door where I can see the alter on the opposite side of the temple.  My brother lies on the floor of the temple close enough for me to watch over him as he recovers.  His lover is close by and I am granted a vision of them.  I see them as brothers, lovers and partners.  I can see them as each other’s other.  Always side by side, light and shadow, the Holy King and the Oak King, the Sun God and the Dark God.  They are strength for each other and comfort, balanced and beautiful.

Then the Mystic begins to speak.  She looks directly into my eyes and speaks to my soul as if I were the only one in the temple. “There is one who is present who is struggling with fear.  She must let it go, she must allow love to enter.” Then she speaks to my brother. “There is one present who is afraid to take the next step; he feels he is not worthy.” I do not hear what else she says and then the Witch speaks and again I cannot hear.  Those messages are not for me.

As the drums continue healing rains down upon all who are present. My coven draws together and we sit touching each other. We take the healing and send it to our beloved Guardian.  We send healing to the recent deep wound and the effect is tangible. 

I sleep afterward and dream of Dragons beneath the Earth. I dream of a Tower and two Dragons contending with each other, a storm raging under its foundation.