Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

Aibgrene Moone struggled with the key in the door. Finally, after a little forced coercion she heard a faint clunk and the door opened. The morning sun had finally hit the side of the street where her family’s shop sat, catching the many crystals and prisms that were hanging in the window display and around the shop. The familiar and comforting smell of white sage welcomed her as she entered the building. Flicking on the lights, she propped the door ajar and flipped the sign from closed to open.

It had been an unusually busy week at Mystic Moone. Not only was there a great deal of walk-in trade, but orders from her online store were mounting up as well. Usually her mother was there to help, but she had other important business to attend to today. The shop, which sold everything from crystals to cauldrons, had been in the Moone family for decades. Many people had come through its doors, from the curious to the experienced. A full-time maths and philosophy student, Aibgrene loved to take time out from her studies and work at the shop. As it was the start of the summer break, she was delighted to be able to do this every day now. Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, as it was now called, had become increasingly popular since the end of the conflict. Her mother and grandmother had been in business for many years, and they could see the difference the regeneration had made to the area. In her mind though, it would never compare to their old shop, which had been in North Street Arcade. Mystic Moone had survived even the darkest days of the conflict in Northern Ireland, but it was a random arson attack on the complex that had forced her mother to move around the corner to Waring Street. The street name still didn’t sit well with her. Aibgrene’s mother had always had her suspicions about the fire; she suspected foul play. For years developers had been trying to push her and other shop owners into selling up, but they resisted. North Street was a central location for the multinational development company, Stein Corporations, in their expansion of the Cathedral Quarter.

Aibgrene was feeling quite sentimental today. Raised in the ways of the old religion her world was very different to that of her peers. It never prevented her from socialising or integrating; in fact it was quite the opposite. She had none of the tribal baggage that religion and politics had entrenched into most of the people in Northern Ireland. When she was young she used to worry about bringing her friends home, as her mother never made any attempt to hide her lifestyle and spiritual leanings. Of course there were those parents that wouldn’t allow their children to play with her, and those kids that called her a witch. Even then, it didn’t bother Aibgrene. The way she looked at it, she was a witch and a proud one at that. Just like her mother and her grandmother before her. In fact she came from a long line of Bhean Draoi. Bhean Draoi was an Irish word and it was the word used to describe who and what the Moone women were. They were women with magick, druidesses, and wise women. Each had their own personal strength and since she was very young, Aibgrene Moone had decided she would follow in the footsteps of her grandmother and become a healer. She had a talent for it. The Craft was as natural to her as it was for some people to go to church or go shopping. Her church was an open field or a sacred tree. She engaged with the Goddess and God through a reverence with nature and the many herbs she cultivated and healed with. But there was still much she had to learn about her path, the art of healing and the world in which she lived.

Aibgrene felt on edge today. The next couple of weeks were very important as her Seanóir was coming up. This was the third and final part of her initiation and not one that she would enter into lightly. It was on her eighteenth birthday, almost three years ago, that the first of the ancient secrets were passed down. Further knowledge was divulged on her nineteenth and twentieth birthdays, and now in a matter of days, the final and most challenging initiation would take place. The ritual was always the same – fire, drums and meditation. These secrets were never spoken, not in the literal sense. They were communicated telepathically into her consciousness. Not so much words, but a mixture of flashing images, aided by magick and an innate understanding of what they meant. Even now Aibgrene couldn’t fully comprehend how this worked, or where this understanding emanated from. Yet it was deep within. It felt as though it had always been there, hidden in her DNA, just waiting to be activated. Her spiritual awakening was still something of an enigma to her. Her mother had explained that she had been preparing her for this moment all her life, and when it was her turn to have a child, she would do the same.

The walk from the café to the shop had completely rejuvenated Aibgrene; she had thoroughly needed her lunch break. Over the past number of weeks the night visions she had been experiencing had intensified. She had discussed this with her mother, and they both agreed that something very significant was about to be put into motion which only time would reveal. The heavy feeling inside her indicated that the events ahead were not going to be altogether positive, but significant nonetheless. She recalled her dream of the cold megalithic chamber, with the symbols of spirit, body and soul etched into the ancient stone. She remembered how it was briefly illuminated and that a person was there. The girl was about her own age, maybe a bit younger. Aibgrene remembered the girl’s vivid warm green eyes.

The sensor above the door bleeped, indicating a customer. Aibgrene Moone smiled as she greeted the young lady by name. She was a regular customer and no doubt she had come into purchase her herbs for the upcoming Solstice celebrations.