Magick Of The Moon

Work

The first day was filled with a lot of questions and answers, how she wanted the house fixed up, how long it would take, how much it would cost, by the evening when everyone left and she dropped her aunt back off at her house, Ara was worn out.

She had decided today was the day she was going to move into the house, so when she got back, she made dinner and fed her dog, after she went into her office that would soon be her center room. She pulled out her crystals and books, lit her candles and put her hands around her globe.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated all her might towards centering herself, to shift the stress to a different area so she could find peace, when she felt as though the light was surrounding her, she concentrated on the pull she felt around Kevin.

The glob glowed in her hands and her eyes magnified their color, signifying she was in her trance for seeing outcomes of the future, the future always changed, she did not see herself coming home, she had never saw Kevin, or her aunt.

But now she saw possibilities, Kevin would bring either great happiness and joy or great loss. Fearing this she dug deeper, she seen that he was a part of her soul, someone the goddess had given her to heal her heart.

Ara had a choice to make, this she could see clearly, accept him, whether it be love or friendship, or reject him, the last would lead to a road of loneliness, solitude. Accepting him would lead to great happiness and love. She could not see if it would lead to love or friendship, and she would not press it.

There were consequences of looking too deep into the glob to get all the facts, she would just settle for what she got, she wasn’t happy that she had to choose between herself and another being for happiness, she had hoped she would find it on her own, she was afraid of the past and thought giving in to him would open all that up, Ara had a lot of thinking to do on this topic, so she let it rest and drew herself from the seeing world.

With great concentration and will power, she focused all her energy on her candles, feeling the power and heat of her inner flame rise to her hands, spreading out her fingers towards the candles she opened her eyes and watched as the flames danced to life, the heat leaving her hands and traveling to the wicks, with this she said a simple chant.

“Goddess of the moon, bring me wisdom, let me succeed at what I seek, help me aid to bring this place forth to its former glory, as I will so mote it be.”

The wind picked up and she smelled the earth, this was usual, but on the tip of that she smelled sandalwood, this brought tears to her eyes, and before her stood the woman she did not expect to see again, her mother.

“Mom?” she said on a sob.

Lilith smiled at her, “Yes, my dear love.” She said back.

Ara gasped and stood, walking to her mother arms outstretched, her mother backed away and held up her golden hands, “I’m sorry my little love, but I am not real, I am just a guide, you cannot touch me.” She said with sadness in her face.

Ara nodded and wiped her tears, “Why are you here mother?” she asked her.

Lilith smiled again, “Because of you, my child, my light, my heart. You have grown into the most wonderful woman, so powerful so light, you are far beyond the white witch that I ever was.” She said to her.

“I don’t feel as such momma.” Ara said.

“But you are my sweet Aradia Luna, you are, you can feel it can’t you? The pull of this place? The magnetic power it radiates for you?”

“Yes.” Ara nodded.

“I never felt that, not until I gave birth to you, my girl. You have so much of the goddess in you, it took you going through hell to find your piece, and that Aradia is what makes a witch so powerful, you connect with the earth, the air, the water, and most of all, the fire. Your power is your beauty and your heart.” She told her.

“I know, I miss you guys every day.” She said to her mother.

“As we do you. Your father sends his love.” Lilith said, “Don’t cry my little one, your life is going to get so much better.” She said to her.

Ara shook her head, “How? I’m afraid, not like after we lost you, but afraid I’ll be run out again.” She said to her mother.

Lilith shook her head, “You have to trust in your people, trust that they have changed.” She spoke.

“Alright, and what of Kevin?” she asked her mother.

This made the smile on Lilith’s face more genuine, “He has grown into an even better man than your father and I could have hoped for. The day he was born was the day I found out I was pregnant with you; I felt the same pull to him as you do. Its only because of fate, and love, that the goddess has sent you the other half of yourself.” She told her.

“Does that mean he is a warlock?” she asked.

“No child, the only power that man has is over your heart, trust him, some way, so you’re not lonely please my dear,” she begged.

Ara nodded, “I will.”

“Good, use the magic here Aradia, ground yourself make a life, there is some darkness up ahead for you, but with the right path, if you choose to take it, you will come out as victor.” Lilith informed.

“What darkness?” Ara asked.

Lilith frowned, “I cannot say, for I cannot see, it blocks my sight as it blocks yours, you will fight, you will lose some, but you will win, if and only if, you take what is given to you.” She told Ara. “Now my beautiful one, I must go.” She spoke

She started to fade, and Ara panicked, “When will I see you again?” she asked running forward.

“Not until you need me one last time, but I will always be, I will be the trees around you, the butterflies on our flowers, the fish in the sea, the lightning in the thunder, and when you need me, I will come, I love you sweet Aradia Luna, believe in the moon as you do the sun, and love with all you are.” She said then she was gone.

Ara wiped the tears from her face and vowed to do what her mother told her to. But for now, she closed all her spells set her candles to sleep and bid her magic room a good night, taking Larz up to bed with her she climbed into her air mattress and fell fast asleep, dreaming of the man with green eyes.

She also dreamed of a black cloud, something inside of it growled and hissed at her, “No magic can stop me.” It whispered sending chills down her spine. “You cannot defeat me child.” It said to her.

“I will try with all my might.” She said back to it, in her dreams she sent a lightning bolt towards it, it screamed and dissipated, the rest of the night she spent in a dreamless sleep. Waking in up the next morning groggy and exhausted.

~**~

Bright and early as promised, Kevin showed up to start work, having a little saved back from when she left and what she made up in Florida she was able to pay him all of it upfront. And while he worked, she was going shopping.

She had left all her things back in Florida for her ex to have, he took over the lease and she had no way of hauling all of it. So, she needed a lot, and was not too sure if she would be able to get it all, she had her money saved back for her store, locked away so she could not use it, she had a feeling moving back would break her a bit, and thankfully everything she needed was not going to cost much.

Ara walked into a secondhand thrift store, there she found two beds frames and all, almost everything she needed for her kitchen and bathrooms, this would be a work in progress to fill this house.

When she was done there her and Jenna took that load to the house and the men were nice enough to load it all in for them. Suddenly Jenna looked at her niece, “Oh my lord, Ara, I almost forgot, all of your parents’ things are in a storage unit across town!”

Ara swung around to her aunt, “Why didn’t you tell me?! I thought we sold it all.” She spoke.

Jenna shook her head, “No my dear, I would not sell your parents belongings we sold the house to help you but not what was in there, and I forgot because well they just take payment out of my income every month along with everything else, it just dawned on me.” She said to her.

Ara sighed, “It’s alright Aunt Jenna, we will go look what is in there and when the renovations are done, we will move what I keep in.” she said hugging her aunt.

“I am sorry dear.” Jenna said.

“It’s truly alright.” Ara said giving the old woman a hug.

They got into Jenna’s jeep and drove to the storage shed, truthfully there were about 4 shed to go through, in there she found everything from her childhood, going through it all brought so many memories to her, but she knew somethings had to go. All her childhood toys, her baby things except a few that called out to her. Old pots and pans old broken furniture, a lot of it was still good and with this she found ways to fill the big old house.

They were able to downsize to two storage units by the end of the day. After that Jenna helped her set up her mattress and frame in her room, they ate dinner and retired for the day, Jenna staying in a guest room on the 2nd floor, because she was just so worn out.

                                 *~*

Again, that night she did her rituals to help center herself, again after she fell asleep, she had a dream of the dark mist creeping closer to the town, to her.

Waking up at the crack of dawn feeling as if she had not gotten much sleep Ara made her way to the kitchen on the main level of the manor to make coffee to clear her much fogged brain.

As the coffee brewed, she looked out her window towards the belt of trees in her side yard, she had this feeling it was there, the mist, behind the line of trees, just watching her, gathering its strength. Ara knew she had a fight blooming, what she did not know is if she had the strength to fight it off and save everyone she cared about, little did she know soon enough she would find out just how powerful she truly was.

After the coffee pot was done brewing, she added some sugar and half and half to her coffee, not too much to where it was to sweet, just enough to calm the bitterness of how strong she liked it but still being able to taste the coffee. Taking a sip, she let out a pleasured sigh and took her cup outside to watch the sun rise.

She thought about the last few days events, about how her aunt was getting along, she even thought about Kevin. He would not be over to do anything today he had said something along the lines of having other business to attend to. Ara frankly did not care, she was having a hard enough time thinking when he was around, not liking that certain affect he had on her.

Today was her first day at her store, today she would go in and see how much work was done to the store so she could figure out when she would be able to start unpacking what she brought and start the shipment of what she had yet to bring here. Deep in thought she did not hear her aunt come out to the porch with her own cup of coffee, “That must be one hell of a daydream.” Her aunt said.

Startled, her hand jerked, and the cup slipped from her hand, “No!” Ara said and with a flick of her finger the cup paused in midair, just waiting for her to rescue it from shattering into a million pieces. “You scared me to death.” She said glaring at her aunt.

Jenna laughed, “Heaven’s sake child, you’re still breathing.” Was all she said and sat down beside her after Ara grabbed her cup.

Setting her coffee down she looked at her aunt. Jenna was for sure reaching her age in appearance, her hair was almost all grey not the dark brown it had been when Ara was a child, the wrinkles and dark circles under eyes were also showing her age, and her stress.

“How are you feeling today Aunt Jenna?” Ara asked.

Jenna gave the girl a smile, “Oh I am just fine today, just a little tired.” Was all she said and watched the sun start to peak over the horizon.

Feeling her aunt’s sadness was just one of Aras many traits, empathy, this meant she knew when her aunt was lying, she knew when she was overly sad, and she knew today was one of those days. She could feel the sadness and the loss and the yearning for the woman’s husband to be back at her side watching this sunrise, the thought made Ara’s heart ache as well.

“I love you, Aunt Jenna, and I’ve never told you how grateful I was to you when I was younger, even though I scared you. You were always there for me, always willing to make me feel better, you were my rock.” Ava said.

She seen a tear roll down Jenna’s cheek but felt the joy sore through her, she felt her words lift her aunt’s faith and mood, “I love you to Ara, I always will.” She said with a smile.

After they were done with their coffee and the sun was all the way up Ara went to go get ready for the day while her aunt did the same. Ara decided to take a shower in the bathroom on the 2nd floor since it would be a while until her new added in bathroom would be finished in the spacious attic that was now her bedroom.

After she was done and dressed, she grabbed her aunt and, to her pleading, dropped her off back at her house. Ara wanted to keep an eye on her aunt after what she felt this morning, but the woman was stubborn and set in her ways.

Pulling up to the little store on the corner of 2nd and Main she walked up and unlocked the door, taking a step in she was surprised to see the remodels done and the store waiting for its future to unfold.

Smiling to herself she started to haul things in from her car, walking in and out with big boxes didn’t go unnoticed, she would smile and wave to the people who stopped and staired at her, a few women would grab their kids and walk off, others waved and some just smiled and walked off, yep she would definitely have the whole town talking about her moving back by the end of the day, and frankly for the first time in her life, she could say she didn’t care, she would welcome it.

Ara spent hours getting every little thing put up the way she wanted it to be, little trinkets were kept by the counter to keep people from steeling them, potions went on the shelves with labels and the purposes for them so that the people would understand what they were meant for.

Globes and mirrors stood in the center of the small shop to help with the light and spark she wanted in there. She hung up little lights to give the shop a fairy appeal, she wanted this place to feel as magical as her own house did. In the window displays were the broom sticks she had made herself, woven with magic for certain purposes.

Cauldrons and other big objects were displayed on tables leading towards her office. She was happy she had not gotten disturbed by anyone the whole day; she was able to concentrate and send off notice for the rest of her things to get shipped first thing in the morning, and they should arrive later that week or beginning of the next week.

Ara took a deep breath and stood back to admire the little amount of work she had accomplished today, she loved it, the place had just the right charm for her, she just hoped all would love it as well.

Being shipped where homemade jells and lotions, bath bombs and candles of all kinds robes and hats for fun, and the ingredients she would need to make more potions along with books on witch craft, because no beginner should attempt their hand at this with out proper training and the books she would get would help with all of it, they were books her mother had told her about, books that helped her when she was on her own and needing to learn.

Ara decided 5 pm was good for the days work and locked up the shop after chanting a little spell to protect everything in the store form robbers or even the black mist she was afraid was in fact real from her dreams.

When she was done there, she headed to her aunt’s house for supper and to make sure she was set for the night. Jenna did not like the fact that Ara was fussing over her, saying she was a big girl and can-do things herself and had been since she was old enough to walk, Ara just smiled and made sure she took her meds and went to bed.

By the time she got home it was nearly 8 pm, she decided she would cook some dinner and then have another night of meditation to center her powers and herself before bed, and maybe ring up a potion to keep the dark mist out of her dreams for the night.

She cooked pork chops with some fried veggies and homemade lemonade, after she was done eating, she cleaned up her mess and put the dishes away and made her way to her magic room. She always smiled when she came into this room, the air was always light and filled with energy, and it always faintly smelled like her mother.

Casting a circle, she sat in the middle of it with her crystal in her hand and breathed deeply, picturing the light surrounding her, feeling the air move around her feeling the heat of flames as they danced in the fireplace she had started, she felt her concentrated sweat remove itself from her forehead and swirl around her.

When she was in her trance, she felt herself slip away from reality, she no longer felt as if she were in her house, but in a field, she could have sworn she felt grass around her ankles. That was when she opened her eyes and saw a field of sunflowers dancing in the wind, and beside her was her mother, her eyes were closed and her face was towards the sky, and she had a smile on her face.

“Mom?” Ara said, looking at her.

She smiled wider, “Hello my child.” She said back.

“What is going on?” Ara asked.

Her mother turned her head and looked at her, “I told you we would meet again,” was all she said.

Ara smiled, “I’m glad to be here with you, but where am I?” Ara asked.

“This is a field I took you to when you were just a year old.” Her mother stated, “You loved it so much you just blabbered away, ran and touched as many of the sunflowers as you could.” She said laughing, “This place brought you peace, and I wanted that for you now.” Her mother filled in.

Ara nodded, “Ok, so what do I owe the honor this time?” she asked.

“We need to talk Ara.” She said turning to her daughter fully.

“Ok.” Ara said.

“You don’t fully understand what you are capable of, I read your mind the other day when you were afraid you couldn’t defeat the darkness,” her mother stated

“It’s self-doubt mother, an issue every human faces.” Ara stated coolly.

“I know this, I too was human once.” Her mother said with a sad smile.

“What are you getting at mom?” she asked.

Blinking back to the topic her mom carried on, “Ara, you are a grand witch as well.” Her mother told her.

Ara nodded, “Yes I know.” She said, “I have to much power to be less than.”

“No, my dear, not just a grand witch you’re a grand white witch,” she said getting to her knees.

“What?!” Ara exclaimed sitting back more, shock on her face.

“Yes, you were born from me, a grand witch born from centuries of grand witches, and every few centuries there is a white witch born, the most powerful of all, some come into their powers right away while others take a while to get them, some are destructive at first and lock up the grand white powers so that they don’t hurt anyone, and others know how to control it.” She explained.

Ara shook her head, “No, mom there is no way, I cannot control all the elements and then some.” She argued.

“Yes, my girl, you can, you just don’t notice it because you don’t try other then when you are centering, you can create mountains and move earth, water, fire, why do you think the darkness wants you?” she asked.

“This is to much.” Ara said standing abruptly.

Her mother stood up as well, “Aradia I don’t have much time, this is a lot, I know but I didn’t want you to come into them and be shocked and be out of control, you need to start training, call your aunt, my sister you will know her number when you open your eyes, she will help you control your powers, you have so much potential in you child, my dear Luna, you are the queen of us, and you will make more much more powerful witches in the future, but for now you need to train, you need to grow, make a life, fall in love, and you need to fight, you need your destiny with you on this Ara, I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again, but when you need me, and I do mean the moment you need me the most, call me, I’ll be by your side to guide you, I love you.” She said and she started to fade.

Ara slowly opened her eyes, and she was back in her house in her circle, she saw numbers running in her head so she jumped up and wrote them down, after that with shaky hands she closed her circle and started on the block potion for sleeping, by the time she was done it was midnight and she could barely keep her eyes open. She called for Larz, and they made their way up to bed, where she dreamed of nothing, and for the first time since she moved back, she slept through the night with determination of her future, Aradia was her mother’s daughter, scared or not she would prepare for a fight she was not wanting, she would save, make a life, and think about the love part. She would do her all to keep her life and everyone else’s life safe.

And that night the darkness crept to her window and watched her sleep, it took all its power to do just that, it was not ready yet for the heart of this white witch, she took precautions to keep it out of her mind, but it would get stronger, and soon her potions would not be enough. Creeping back into the shadows… it waited.