#0022: Circle of Three Series #8: The Five Paths, by Isobel Bird

[orbitaldiamonds]

Circle of Three #8: The Five Paths
by Isobel Bird

p.11-12 "We're going to cast the circle in a different way tonight," Annie informed them. "I want to try something new. Since there are four of us I want us to take a different direction. I'll be east, Sasha will be south, Cooper will be west, and Kate will be north. I want us each to think about our direction, the element it represents, and the qualities associated with it. Then we're going to go around the circle, each of us saying a word that comes to mind when we think about our direction. We'll go around a couple of times. Try to imagine a circle of light forming as we do it."
   She paused for a moment as they all thought about the elements they were representing. Then she said in a clear voice, "Inspiration."
   "Passion," Sasha said, following her.
   "Mystery," said Cooper.
   "Strength," Kate said, finishing the first round.
   They continued, each of them saying a word. As they did the words formed a kind of chant, their voices rising and falling as they thought of differrent things to say. "Flying, dancing, diving, planting, wind, fire, waves, stone," they said, the words coming to create a rhythm. "Bird, dragon, whale, bear, birth, life, sleep, death."
   After they'd gone around several times Annie said, "The circle is cast." She let go of Sasha's and Kate's hands and motioned for them all to sit down. Then she took a bottle of clear liquid, opened it, and poured the liquid into the cauldron. Striking a match, she dropped it in as well, and the cauldron sprang to life with bright flames that burned without smoke.
  "Rubbing alcohol," she said as the others looked at the fire. "A little trick I picked up in chemistry class."
  "Very nice," Cooper said.

p.59 "It's called a pentacle," Cooper said. A pentagram is when you draw it on something. A pentacle is when it's in physical form."

p.84 "Just as they are during the Spring Equinox, or Ostara, the hours of light and dark are equal on Mabon," Sophia told them. "But where Ostara herself aids the growth of the light, we're now entering the season of darkness. The days will shorten and the sun will become weaker and weaker. This is a very important time of year for witches. Samhain, or Halloween, is coming up, followed by Yule in December. These are two of the most meaningful and wonderful of the sabbats."