Last month I had the honor of aspecting the Goddess Hecate,
as Bone Mother, for a joint Harvest Ritual with my coven and another of our
Tradition. Aspecting is a form of divine
embodiment practiced by my Tradition. In
the weeks leading up to the Ritual, and in the weeks since, Hecate Bone Mother
and I have shared many conversations and She has impressed upon me Her desire
that I share some of those conversations here. When that Lady “impresses upon you Her desire…” well, I learned a long time ago not to argue
with such “requests”. I am going to
comply eventually anyway. Life is easier if I dance to the Music the Gods are
playing. And I learn more effectively
when I don’t waste time avoiding the lessons. That being said, it is unusual to invoke Hecate in that
aspect, especially at the first Harvest.
The Sun, while waning, is still strong. The light is still long. The
Summer heat is at its greatest. Green growth
is abundant and full. She was thrilled, to
be invoked, and to have the pleasure of being in a body, even one with the
limitations mine possesses, at this season, so full of Life. The first thing she imparted to me was this;
“You have work to do Witch, get off your ass and get
started.”
She was referring to the spell I work to bless my
grandchild. I had just learned that my second grandchild is expected in early
December, but not having done any witchcraft to manifest the child, as I had
before my first was conceived, I had not yet begun to work the spell. Next was a discourse on the Magick of Bones. (Which of
course would include a spell to manifest a child in Strength and Beauty among
other blessings). The importance of our
bones, the strength of them, the way they are the vehicle by which we move in
the world.
“You need to move yours more.”
And She is right, to keep this body useful, and strong, I
do need to move more. Specifically, I
need to dance, and often.
“You are not yet ready for a nap in the Boneyard, you are
not yet ready to be dust. You have
living to do, you have work to do, and you need to get to it.”
I get tired sometimes, like everyone else, I get
weary. The troubles of the day are more
than sufficient, some days they are overly abundant. But I am indeed not dead
yet, nor am I ready to turn to dust. I
still have living to do, I still have work to do, I still have loving to do.
“Every bone has its purpose. Some are for walking and
climbing, some are for stitching with a needle, some are for embracing loved ones. Just as every essential part of us has a use,
none of them are without purpose. None
of our Bones are to be disowned. None of our essential selves are to be
either.”
Those parts of ourselves that we despise, that we desire to
abandon, are in fact necessary. They are
our very Bones. They are the structure
that helps us stand and move and they are the parts of us that will remain longer
than any other. They are quintessentially
us. Even more than our Blood, which will turn to dust in the blink of an eye. The Ritual was about the Sacrifice of the Harvest. She wanted those present to offer to Her their
Bones. To offer a part of themselves, to
release something of themselves that She could then give back to them as a new
thing, as a magickal tool to help them grow, to be used upon their journey in
the future. Now, in aspecting a Goddess for a group ritual, especially
such a One as She, I would have expected Her to express Herself with some
solemnity, some mystery, some poetry even but, that is not what She chose to
do. Rather, She used my repertoire of
swear words, such as it is, (evidently, I need to expand my vocabulary a bit) and
She spoke quite bluntly, no pulling punches, no dancing around things. Truth be told, I spent a few days afterward worrying
about it. And the conversations continued.
“…and why is it any concern of yours? I choose what words and what manner of speech
will serve me in the moment, and it is not your worry how I choose to present
myself. You only need to be strong and
flexible and to keep your heart open so that I may touch those who need Me to
in they way that they need Me to.”
It took a few days but, I thought about how she received each
person’s sacrifice. How She did so with such compassion, and respect and
reverence. She truly valued each Bone She
was offered. And She gave to each person
love, blessing and magick in turn. And
that was my hope as a priestess in that Ritual, to serve Her well, so that She
could bless those present. Once I was able to let go of my worries over how my service
to Her was perceived by others, She pointed out that I had yet to make my own
sacrifice to Her. Indeed, I had not been
able to choose. (Sometimes the immediacy of Ritual can help force us to choose,
and in that moment, we discover what we need most.) I had time, too much time perhaps. I thought about what I remembered of the sacrifices She had
been offered by others, many were surprisingly repeated over and over
again. So many human Bones are shared
among us. But I eventually discovered
what my sacrifice was supposed to be. I
was discussing with her my worries about becoming an old woman, especially my
concerns regarding my eventual loss of vision, and the fact that many things
that I had hoped for in this lifetime were no longer possible. I decided to offer to her those hopes, the
hopes of a young woman for blessing that life can hold for a young woman and
that eventually become the safety and blessings of an old woman. And then She did the most magickal thing.
“You do not need to give up this thing.”
She was correct. I
had lumped one thing into that sacrifice that was not “something that is no
longer possible”. And so, She gave it
back to me. It is not ‘a thing that will
happen” but it is “a thing that can happen” if I choose to make it so. I have a blessed life, and it is good to know
that if I choose, I still have time to manifest a dream from my youth. I can make that a part of my life as an “old
woman”. Hecate Bone Mother is now Someone with whom I have
relationship. She even chose a gift from
among my possessions. A necklace of
black and amber beads with a fossil of a nautilus shell that was given to me by
one of my Elders at my third degree initiation.
Although I liked it very much, I had never worn it, nor had I given it
away, I did not know why. But almost two
years later, it was still among my things. She chose it immediately upon being asked
if she would like a gift from me. I suspect we will have many more conversations in the
future, and some She may wish for me to share with those who choose to read
this blog. In the meantime, I am not
dead yet, I am not ready to turn to dust nor to take a nap in the
Boneyard. I have work to do and I need
to be busy about getting to it. Blessings from the Bone Mother. Blessed Be.
