"I have my case of essential oils in my trunk I did two massages today. Maybe we can mix in something fresh like rosemary or mint." Mellissana got up and slammed the rest of the pumpkin mead in her cup and handed the empty to one of the sisters.
"That sounds like a great idea. I pictured her drinking from the mug, but that could be a much more enjoyable gift. And if everything in it is edible, she can wash it and use it when she is finished with the scrub, I love it." Jasinda pepped up and was now sitting on her knees.
"I'll be right back. You guys should start gathering everything else to get the altar set and the circle cast. This will be fun, we get to all help on this one." Mellissana disappeared into the dark.
The sisters finished up their food then half of them worked together to clean up the mess while the rest of them went to help Jasinda get the altar ready for their spell.
Chapter Three
CLAUDIA, MELLISSANA, AND JASINDA GATHERED everything for the spell. Claudia had some parchment and a charcoal pencil in her car from her art class. Mellissana brought her case of essential oils from her car. Jasinda changed into her whites and grabbed the Chicago Bears mug. Seraphina had already placed the box with their staple ceremonial tools beside the altar when she first got there.
"The salt and oil is in that brown bag, I put the paper and pencils in there as well. Oh, and a re-sealable mason jar if you want to put the scrub in there so it doesn't spill. I am going to set up the candles for you." Claudia reached in the box and started to pull out candles.
"Thanks, Claud. I guess that means I should write something down for the spell," Jasinda thought out loud, not really having anything prepared could delay casting the circle on time.
"You could do that or we could all offer Ginger an intention, that way you only have to say a few short things when we open the circle and again after everyone has contributed. We did a spell like this a few years ago when Lucia got married," Mel reminded her.
"Oh yeah, that sounds perfect." Jasinda pulled out the paper and a pencil. She sketched a big heart at the center of the paper, but left the top of the heart open and unconnected. Normally they wrote two peoples names or initials at the center. Tonight she just wrote Ginger's name in an elegant cursive style. She placed it next to the cauldron.
"Here are the oils that I think will work best for your friend. This is Jasmine Absolute, it is one of my favorite scents, I just love the honey-like sweetness. It's great for helping to calm you down, for relaxing on your own, or to heighten a sensual mood."
"Oh that so works either way then!" Jasinda smiled and took the small jar from Mellissana.
"I use this one on all my clients that are going through a stressful time and people with anxiety. The Red Cedar wood helps to center a person so that they can feel like they are able to take control of their life and elicits an inner strength." Mellissana passed over the jars as she explained what their therapeutic properties were. "And this one is also one of my favorites, who am I kidding they might all be my favorite. Ylang Ylang Extract will play well with the floral notes in the Jasmine. When you smell this one, it helps to create a sense of euphoria and is often used again to heighten a romantic mood."
"If we add these with the natural healing properties of that salt and the almond oil; even without the spell, this salt scrub should relax and rejuvenate your friend. Her skin will thank you for the luxurious treatment."
"We could add in some fresh mint or rosemary, if you want something new and fresh. We can just split the leaves over the oil so the tiniest touch of the plants' oils will enhance the aromatic properties of your concoction." Jasinda lined the bottles up on the altar while Mellissana put her case under a nearby tree with the empty box from the covens artifacts.
Jasinda was feeling excited and optimistic about the scrub and the spell they were going to conduct. She couldn't get the image of Ginger's sorrowful eyes out of her mind.
The rest of the sisters joined them in the clearing where the altar was always staged. Claudia walked all the candles around to the small stone structures that were on the outer edge of where the circle would be cast. She smiled at Jasinda as she placed the last one down.
Seraphina stepped up to the altar and put each hand on the shoulder of Jasinda and Mellissana. "Ladies, are you all set?"
"Yes, we are." Jasinda smiled back at her.
"Thank you, ladies, for all making such an outstanding effort to come together tonight. You all prepared an amazing meal and it was my pleasure to have had the opportunity to have shared the time with you all. I'm touched by the spirit of your kindness and the way it is reflective in your willingness to go with the flow and rise to the occasion to help Jasinda and her friend Ginger tonight." She looked around at the women she called her sisters and stepped to the side to let Jasinda address the group.
"Thank you, High Priestess, here is the deal... We are going to do things a little bit different than normal. Of course the moon is just about at its peak height, so our magic will have the highest impact in just a few moments. I will cast the circle as I normally do, but we are going to all do this spell together." Jasinda felt her cheeks scrunch up under her eyes before she realized she was smiling.
"I am going to ask that everyone offer a gift or an intention to Ginger that will be imposed into the scrub and gifted to her whenever she uses it. If you could each come up one by one and help drip in one drop of essential oil from any of these three bottles into the almond oil base while you speak, and then return to the circle allowing the next sister to come up and give her offering."
Mellisana lit the ceremonial flame candle before she walked the circle lighting the other six candles. When she was finished, she took her place holding hands with her other sisters.
Jasinda began to walk the perimeter of their circle slowly pouring out salt as she walked the path. She mixed in a little bit of the Himalayan salt with whatever was in the goblet.
"With this sacred athame, I cast our circle. Our craft is our way, it is our life. With this salt that is part of our essence I create a line to protect us and our energy. May our circle be a portal beyond what we see and beyond what we can hear.
"I ask the Divine Mother to provide and protect our space so we can draw upon the positive energy of nature and the universe. May her will grace us with our intended power and ward off the wickedness of those who do not seek harmony in nature."
As Jasinda walked the circle a second time, she stopped at each cardinal direction and called the quarters, starting at the north first. Jasinda walked clockwise. "I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the North, protector of earth. Please be present in our circle and watch over all that our physical senses may experience."
"Welcome, Guardian of the North Watchtower," the sisters called out.
"I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the East, protector of air. Please be present in our circle and watch over all that our minds may think."
"Welcome, Guardian of the East Watchtower," the sisters called out.
"I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the South, protector of fire, please be present in our circle and watch over all that we may do."
"Welcome, Guardian of the South Watchtower," the coven repeated in unison.
"I call out to you, oh powerful Guardian of the West, protector of water. Please be present in our circle and watch over our actions in our emotions that we may feel."
"Welcome, Guardian of the West Watchtower," the sisters again joined in their welcoming.
As Jasinda walked the circle for the third time, she spoke out, "Thrice I have walked around. Let this circle be bound." She returned the athame and goblet of salt to the altar.
Jasinda stood at the altar looking at the items before her and decided that she would make the scrub in the mason jar. It was narrow enough that it would fit into the mug. If she made it in the mug it could wind up all over the car instead of Ginger. That would not work out well for either of them.
Jasinda poured the pink salt into
the jar filling it two thirds of the way and then topped it off with the sweet almond oil filling it up to just where the jar bent in to create the opening so there would be enough room to mix the contents together when shaken or stirred.
"May Ginger's love and will be shown;
as this flame burns and grows.
By the will of the Divine Mother in all of us,
I ask that Ginger be open to receive what she needs.
May love and happiness come and fill the empty corners
of her soul.
May the pains and sorrows that burden her be freed."
Jasinda lit the parchment on fire and placed it in the cauldron to burn to ash. She stepped back to join her sisters and allowed them each to take a turn adding a drop of oil and a message into the scrub.
"Sending you inner peace."
"Sending you the courage to stand tall."
"Sending you the ability to open your ears and listen to what is offered to you."
"Sending you calmness amidst the chaos."
"Sending you the ability to give yourself time to heal."
"Sending you the sight of truth to see the beauty within."
"Sending you the ability to show yourself unconditional love."
"Sending the reminder that sometimes things that seem like they are good, need to come undone so that you can put better things together in their place."
"Sending the ability to recognize that your self-worth is not dependent on other people's approval of you."
"Sending you the ability to not only forgive others, but to forgive yourself."
"Sending you acceptance, to accept yourself so you don't need acceptance from others."
"Sending you grace because you are grace."
"Sending the freedom to laugh like a little girl."
Jasinda walked back to the center of the circle to the altar. The parchment had completely burned to ash. She picked up the cauldron and poured the little bit that remained into the Mason jar.
"May this warm ash of the fire release lingering negativity.
Let these elements cleanse the toxicity that may block the flow of your passion.
Let this salt from the earth and Mother Nature release your pain.
Let her abundance flow.
So be it-"
"And so it is so," the coven called back before spinning three times extinguishing the perimeter candles.
Jasinda closed the jar and shook the contents and placed the jar in the mug. She picked up her broom and began to walk the circle starting at the northern most point, walking counter clockwise sweeping away the salt. Jasinda made two more passes around the circle, thanking the watchtowers and stopping at each cardinal direction. On her third lap around, she spoke as she walked continuing to sweep, "Thrice is the charm, we have done no harm. Thank you for imparting our gifts, we open the circle and shake our tits."
The women started to laugh.
"What? I didn't have time to write this and needed to make sure it rhymed. You all better get to shaking."
Chapter Four
THE SISTERS PACKED UP ALL of Jasinda's stuff when she was setting up the circle with Mellissana and Claudia. It made departing from the scene much quicker and she was eager to get back to the bar.
She opened the trunk to unload her Bug when she got back to the bar and was surprised to find that all the mead had been finished. Some of the meads that she made for the sisters did not go over so well. Even though this was one of her favorite recipes, that didn't mean that everyone else would go for it.
Mead was not a common beverage these days, although with the craft beer revolution it has started to make a tiny come-back in select circles. You really needed to either grow up around it or acquire a taste for it. Jasinda had done both.
At least she didn't have to worry about making two trips or asking Steve to carry everything in from the car. Although the parking area behind the bar was well lit and could be seen from the road, she didn't love being out there by herself at night. Not to mention she wasn't sure how slammed they were inside the bar, or if Ginger had made it through the night.
Carrying the black bus tub full of what was left of her party supplies, she managed to somehow use her knee to hold one side of the bin to free up a hand to unlock the door. She felt like an expert circus performer managing to balance the tub, open the door, and hold it open without dropping anything as she made her way through the back door to the kitchen.
The industrial dishwasher didn't get a lot of use since they didn't serve food. It wasn't really convenient to go back there to wash bar glasses. If they got backed up and there was time, she or Steve would help out the bartenders and load a rack or two into the machine, but that had only happened a few times. Tonight it would get fired up to wash the mead jugs and cups she'd brought with her.
For the moment she just put everything on the big stainless prep table. She wanted to check in on her husband and snatch a kiss. It was approaching closing time. If they hadn't called last call, she could help them get the last round of drinks out. The parking lot was pretty packed full of vehicles when she passed it before turning down the access road to the rear of the building so she expected to see a bit of a crowd.
The door to the kitchen, when not left open, swung both ways. It was designed that way so that someone carrying food could easily get though without a struggle like the one she experienced coming in through the backdoor.
She walked out into the "dining room", the kitchen door was right next to the service area at the end of the bar. Even the dining tables that were located around the perimeter of the bar were full of people. She only saw Steve behind the bar ringing up someone's drinks and making change at the register. Jasinda looked around the bar for Ginger and feared that she got scared away or had a break down.
"Hey, girl, how was your party?" Ginger unintentionally snuck up behind her looking to get in behind the bar with a small tray of dirty glassware.
Jasinda's heart skipped a half of a beat. "Good, although it wasn't really a party. But it kind of was at the same time." Jasinda was fumbling over her words. "I will explain later. I actually brought you something. I will give it to you later. What can I do to help?"
"Hey, babe. How was your night?" Steve came over and gave her a quick kiss with two mugs of beer in his hands. "Almost last call."
"Ok, I'm here to help." Jasinda shook her head and laughed. "How about I start cleaning up behind you. Looks like you guys have everything under control."
Jasinda helped round up all the dirty glassware in the bar. She figured since she was planning on using the dishwasher she might as well just bring the dirties back to the kitchen to save their hands from having to do anymore by hand. The special bar dish soap and sanitizer did a real number on the skin. When she worked behind the bar for several days in a row, her hands would start to dry out and crack, especially in the winter, they were constantly cracking and bleeding.
She noticed the ease in which Steve and Ginger were working together. Maybe the chemistry was because Ginger was older than most of the girls that worked for them. It was hard to tell that it was her first day working there. Ginger did not have that lost look in her eyes that some of their new hires seemed to have when they didn't know what to do next. Some of the girls worked through it and became great employees, while a few others only lasted a shift or two.
When Jasinda finished up the last rack of glasses, she brought them out to the bar. She must have been lost in thought with the whirling of the machine that she didn't realize that the bar had quieted down and was now empty of patrons.
"So how was tonight?" Jasinda asked as she placed a rack of pints on the corner of the bar.
"Great. Ginger was awesome," Steve said while he put the chairs up on the tables and the top of the bar. It would make sweeping and mopping the floors a cinch.
"Everything is pretty basic. Your register was super easy to learn and you guys set things up in a way that makes sense. So I didn't have to think abo
ut it too much." Ginger put her red hair back into quick knot at the back of her head. "Maybe I got lucky with easy people that were not overly demanding."
"Awesome. So does that mean you would be able to help us out again if we were in a bind?" Jasinda asked her.
"Yeah, whatever you need. I am actually in the process of looking for a new job. I wasn't working when Roger and I were married. I have some money that my father left me and Roger has to pay me alimony, so I want to take my time to make sure I do something that makes me happy."
"Well, if you have the convenience of exploring that option, you are very lucky. If there is anything I can do to help let me know." Jasinda liked what she was hearing. Not that her opinion mattered, but it made her happy none the less to know that her friend was making smart choices and thinking things through.
"Thanks. That means a lot to me. I was unhappy for so long and just accepted it as a way of life. Most people seem like they are unsatisfied in their marriages and jobs. I guess I thought that was just life. I am ready to work on making sure I don't find myself in that kind of a rut again.
"I also forgot how much fun working in a bar or restaurant is. When I was in college, I thought that someday, when I retired, I would open a little place."
"Really...why wait, right?" Jasinda said as she stacked up the pint glasses on the shelf under the taps.
"Tonight was a real eye opener. I see how content and happy you and Steve are. You guys never seem stressed. I am sure that not everything is easy or perfect, but, I don't know, you guys just work. I want that. Even if it is not with another person, I want to feel like my life works." Ginger was wiping the same spot on the bar with such a vigor that Jasinda was afraid she might wear off the finish.
Jack and Ginger (Sacred Heart Coven Book 3) Page 3
