Instructions In The Cauldron

“So money will never miss”, she said.

Mal and granny called Christmas Yule and they celebrated it on 21st December, the day of the winter solstice, the period when days are really short and the cold is biting. She told us that solstice meant literally “ Still- Sun”.

“Do you remember, girls, when you get on the panoramic wheel and it stops at the highest point, and then at the lowest? Well, the Sun does the same thing. In winter the Sun is in the lower part of the wheel, it’s more hidden, but it’s there. During the solstice it stops for a while and then it starts to rise again. Christmas stands for the rebirth of the Child Sun, exactly like Jesus who was born in the darkness of a cave.”

From that moment, days get longer again slowly; every year the same magic takes place with exactness. We decorated the house together with our granny with evergreens, which represented life going on, we lit candles, we put some mistletoe here and there, and it was compulsory to kiss each other under it.

The wooden log taken from our oak couldn’t be missing in our fireplace, it was kept lighted during the whole period of the Christmas holidays, then granny gathered the ashes and spread them around the house, keeping telling: “May negative powers keep away from here!”

I couldn’t understand very well what she meant by negative powers, I thought she was referring to unpleasant people.

When February started, the snow fell heavily and the wind blew freezing from the north, Mal punctually arrived at the cottage, with a new broom.

“A present for the wisest woman in the whole county”, he claimed smiling and granny thanked him with a strange word. “Happy Imbolc to you!”

Granny told us that Nature was slowly waking up in that period, so we had to clean and purify the house. It was quite impossible for me to think already about spring, but I always started to notice some changes after a heavy snowfall or a winter illness: days were beginning to get clearly longer and some shy snowdrop was peeping out in the fields.

“Children, you must always remember that it’s sometimes good to have fever, fire burns and purify. Shall Goddess Brigid protect and bless you.”

We knew how much our granny was devoted to Brigid, she often tried to justify herself by laughing and saying: “Maybe that’s because she has got red hair like mine!”

Everyone took her for an Irish woman. I think she had never been to Ireland; but to make up for it she always went to the Irish pub with Mal on St. Patrick’s day. She didn’t like particularly Saint Patrick, I was sure about that, she used to say that every year, but she could never refuse a beer in good company.

Soon after, Ostara finally arrived, on 21st March, the spring equinox: it was a period of perfect balance, with the same hours of light and of darkness. Nature had awakened at last! We used to spend those days painting eggs, which were a symbol of rebirth, and we got the garden ready going to the plant nursery.

Our new family tradition was taking with us our neighbour, who had shown signs of great improvements in the care of her plants in the previous three years.

“That’s surely thanks to the gardener she has hired”, our granny had claimed naughtily.

May was my favourite month: there was our birthday, Marlow’s fair and Nature was at its best, with all those flowers blossoming, a delicious smell of jasmine in the air and the Sun  warming us at last. Celebrations started with May Day, the first day of the month, which was also called Beltane. For that celebration granny used to give us some delicious flower wreaths she made herself and we hang coloured ribbons to our oak.

The 1st May was the only day when we could pick flowers from the hawthorn and we later left some presents for the fairies, like little crumbs or a bit of milk, because people said that those tiny beings were the guardians of the tree and so it was right to thank them somehow.

Granny asked Mal to add a big bonfire to the village fair, just like people used to do in the past at Beltane.

“That’s quite dangerous, Susan, but we’ll see what we can do…”

As foreseen, authorities never let them light a bonfire, but they replaced it with wonderful fireworks and with a tall pole around which people could dance braiding ribbons; they told us that was a very old tradition as well.

“It’s not exactly the same”, granny had said, “but it’ll be alright too. What’s more, children love that!”

Towards the end of school, when we were tired at last and it was hot in England too, it was Litha’s time, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year! The Sun never set.

“You see, the Sun is high on the panoramic wheel, but it’s going to start its descend slowly by now. Isn’t that incredible, girls? That’s all so perfect.”

We put granny’s stones outside at night and we spread a cloth on the grass; we took it back the next morning, before the Sun rose completely, soaking with dew.

“That’s my beauty secret!”, granny told us laughing and putting some drops on her face. “The summer solstice dew. You can’t imagine what is this night’s power!”

It was simply dew for me, but I must admit that I was particularly happy in those days when summer began and that was a real magic for someone grumpy like me.

As soon as we finished school, at the end of July, we left for Palma de Maiorca. The Baleares’ heat and sun was really something strange for us. We spent whole days into at the swimming pool during that period.

“Rebecca, bring the girls to the seaside on 31st July at least, it’s Lughnasadh! I’m not asking you to make bread with them at dawn as I do, but let them stay in the sun as long as possible at least. That’s good. With a cap and sun cream, of course. Remember that, I’ll warn you! I can’t understand why you’re always at the swimming pool, isn’t the sea beautiful there?”

“Oh, yes mum, the sea is wonderful, but the swimming pool  is more comfortable. With no sand, a café nearby and sun beds to relax…”, our mum answered in a persuading voice.

“I don’t understand…what’s the use of spending the days on the edge of a swimming pool?”

“We go there to have rest, mum, we really need that!”, she put an end to the conversation that way.

And then autumn came, Nature changed its colours, the garden at the cottage lost its leaves day by day, days get shorter and cold came back. Mabon, that’s how granny called the autumn equinox. She decorated the table with ivy and she put into some pots the herbs she had been drying in the hot months.

“What do you need all these herbs for, granny?”, Sarah asked her once, passing her hand through the well tied lavender, hanging by its long stalks.

“I can do lots of things with them: my oils, my tinctures, good luck little bags, and I keep them for my herbal teas. You shouldn’t throw away anything, remember that!”

“How is that possible? You taught us that, before spring comes, it’s important to clean the house: to throw away what is useless for us and give our old clothes to the poor!”, I underlined obstinately.

“That’s right, Anne. We mustn’t accumulate, otherwise our house will not breathe and energy gets too heavy that way. Throwing  away the unnecessary, that’s right, it’s foolish to keep too many things. I’m telling you not to waste: if I picked up  so   many lavender flowers, for instance, never too many or more than necessary, I’ll use them all, I’m not going to throw anything away.”

“When are you going to teach us to make oils and tinctures, granny?”

“Give things time, Sarah…”

“Why can’t mum do anything you do? Why didn’t you pass on your knowledge to her?”, I asked her.

“You see, your mother is a woman who can be called hasty; she wants everything and at once. She was born in fifteen minutes, she got married and she was pregnant with you when she was twenty! Whenever she needs an essential oil, she goes to Holland & Barrett and she buys it, if she needs basil she goes to Tesco and gets it. She can’t wait for the plant to grow, to pick it up, dry it and then wait as long as it is needed to macerate and give an herbal oil. I’m her mother, I know my Rebecca! I would have wasted my time showing all these things to her. But I really think she can do that all, since she saw me do it.”

I wasn’t as sure as her about that.

I wished I could know what she thought about me, if she really believed I would be able to work with herbs and stones. Maybe in the bottom of her heart she had already understood she could hand on  her knowledge just to Sarah. I preferred on my part to avoid certain subjects, fearing I wouldn’t match up, I preferred hiding myself and not believing in those things.

IV. Christmas with Major Arcana

It was a cold Wednesday at the end of November,  we were going to the volley club after school, as usual. We didn’t expect to meet our parents when we went out.

“What are you doing here?”, we asked them at the same time.

“Has anything happened?”

“No volleyball tonight girls, we are going home, dad and I have to talk to you.”

That was something absolutely new. It could just mean something bad, but they looked relaxed and smiling instead.

“Are our grandparents well?”

“Of course, Sarah. Who’s better than them?!”, our dad stated. “All day long in the sun and on the edge of the swimming pool.