Chapter 6
ablution not absolute
starlight, stoke the inner fire
The rain had stopped for the moment but the atmosphere was heavy with the promise of more to come. I started off towards home but changed course after a few blocks, turning down an alley that I knew would lead to the shrine of Amarasu. Formerly the goddess of the Earth Sun, she had evolved over time into the great Star Mother and taken on many of the shining, motherly aspects of the ancient Christian mother, Mary. She was love, she was light, she was compassion. She ruled the heavens and the afterlife and protected her children throughout the universe. She had been my mother’s favorite kami, or enlightened being, and tonight I needed that connection.
Below the temple steps, I slowed. I hadn’t even realized I’d been running
