On October 21, 2001 I received my second degree from Boudica via telephone. We didn’t do the proxy thing as we’d thought we might… I just cast circle with the phone and my computer in it for the first time ever. I’m sure we’re stepping into weird territory for die hard traditionalists, but Boudica’s tradition, while very influenced by Gardnerianism and the Farrars, is still an eclectic one – in this case, meaning we have the flexibility to recognize the work I’ve done to date. The second degree is basically about taking a vow to serve your community, something I hope I’ve done in some small way. I ever strive to continue this work as I continue towards my third, a much harder journey. Boudica and I are finding ourselves occasionally acting out the old rebellious, headstrong teacher and slightly frustrated, but patient parent routine. Boudica, the parent in this scenario, stands with her years of experience and knowledge and sees the path in front of her “child”, me, the eager and seemingly restless one… and she warns that child about walking too fast, about tripping and about the time she watched someone else’s feet get all tangled right before they fell. But there’s this thing I do know about being a parent… some lessons have to be learned through experience. Children have to make their own mistakes and part of the pain of being a parent is watching that happen. Part of the joy of being a parent is seeing that sometimes your children find new ways to do things, that they walk maybe not exactly in your footsteps, but that they walk steadily and with purpose nonetheless. So Boudica watches anxiously, ever the mother as I tread the path towards my third degree and start my first Cassandra coven.

Of course, the background of all this is that Boudica and I are gelling Cassandra… and now we’re involving guinea pigs, er, I mean other Witches. 🙂 I’m pleased to announce the formation of the Prairie Fire Coven… formed from a very promising relationship with Rowan and MarshAster. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am so pleased to be working with these particular Witches. They are wonderful and they heal me simply by being who and what they are. We will birth our coven ritually on Imbolc 2002… I hope to have much to write after that date.

On October 26th I went to Diana’s Grove for the Samhain weekend – it was such a great experience despite me getting a nasty cold. I love that place – they have really managed to make a community. When Rowan and I arrived, we were immediately made to feel welcome and wanted. When we asked about Mystery School and made it clear that we would not only be attending (my second year), but that we were also starting the Central Illinois Mysteries, we were embraced closer still. As if to bless us, the Goddess woke me up Sunday morning at 4:30 AM by shaking my bed. After I ascertained we weren’t experiencing a major earthquake, I realized I needed to use Jackson’s Hole (it’s so much more than an outhouse, I feel it deserves it’s official title ::grin:). As I stepped out into the chilly autumn air, I looked up to the sky. The waxing moon had gone to sleep for the night, and the resulting dark left the stars brilliant and twinkling. As I was admiring them, my gaze swept to the northeastern horizon and I was startled to see a brilliant hot pink glow. I took off my glasses and cleaned them, thinking maybe there was something on them, but still the glow was there – Northern Lights, aurora borealis, just plain breathtaking. I ran back into the cabin to wake Rowan, who stumbled out to join me. We stood in awe as the lights undulated across the dark night sky, then quietly went back to bed. My whole week was blessed by this… even though I was sick, it was just a good week. I’m so glad to have this wonderful community to experience.