Page 117 of Into the Mist

His gaze held hers. “Then let’s do it.”

“How are you at adlibbing?” Mercury asked.

“Not bad, but I don’t want to mess up your Ritual.”

“You won’t! There is no right or wrong way to do it,” Mercury explained. “The acceptance and the freedom to each having our own beliefs is one of the first things that drew me to Paganism. So, we’re not going to cast a true circle, but it’s respectful to acknowledge each of the five elements before we wake and greet the Lady and Lord.”

“Five elements? I know earth, air, water and fire. What am I missing?”

“Spirit is the fifth element,” she said.

“Okay, got it. So, we acknowledge the five elements, then what?”

“Then we’ll wake the Goddess and God. I’ll greet the Lady. After that a priest greets the Lord—which means you just kinda mimic what I say with a masculine edge. Like, if I greet the Lady and ask her to grant us her power to enchant and create, what would be the male equivalent of that?”

Ford rubbed his beard and then said, “To grant us his power to desire and appreciate the beauty around us?”

“Yes! That’s great! We do that and then we speak aloud what we’d like the Lord and Lady to bless us with in the coming season. Then we can toast to the goddesses and gods—and pour the wine on the ground as an offering.” Mercury grinned up at Ford. “That would be a very nice little Ostara Ritual.”

“Let’s do it. I’m ready.”

“Okay, we’ll face each other. I’ll start by calling the elements and waking the old gods from their winter sleep.” Mercury turned so that she and Ford faced each other. She tossed back her hair, drew in a deep breath, and then began—hesitantly at first, but soon Mercury relaxed into the abbreviated version of the familiar, beloved Ritual. “Air, fire, water, earth and spirit—I ask that you bear witness to our Ostara Sabbat this Spring Equinox night. From the far lands and secret, wild places I ask the old goddesses and gods to awaken from their sleep to bring forth the warmth and light of springtime, and the bountiful harvest that, with your blessings, will follow.” Mercury raised her cup and pretended that it was the chalice that rested on her altar filled with rich, red wine. “We greet you, oh loving and gracious Lady of the Earth! Goddess of the fields and meadows, Queen of forest and stream, mountains and lakes. With the spring you bring beauty and fertility and prosperity, and weask, Great Lady, that you lend us your power to enchant and create.” Mercury lowered her cup and nodded encouragement to Ford.

Ford cleared his throat, lifted his own cup, and in a strong, deep voice invoked, “We greet you, oh friend and protector, Lord of the Wood! God of the wilderness and guardian of all things wild and free. With the spring you bring the heat of the sun that makes everything green and grow, and we ask, Powerful Lord, you to lend us your power to desire and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.” Ford lowered his wine cup and watched Mercury expectantly.

Mercury lifted her hand that wasn’t holding the cup. She pinched her fingers together as if they held a thin slip of prayer paper. “Lady of the Earth, I beseech you to bring prosperity and safety to us in the season to come.” Then she pretended to toss the paper up and even looked above them as if expecting it to blaze into light and then burn before it touched the ground. “Now you,” she said to Ford.

Ford also pretended to hold a paper in his hand. “Lord of the Wood, I beseech you to bring us home and to fill that home with love and protection in the season to come.” Then he tossed the invisible paper in the air with a little laugh.

Mercury raised her cup again, and this time, when Ford did the same, he held it close to hers. “Blessed be field and forests—lakes and streams!”

Without being prompted Ford said, “Blessed be the great powers of life, symbolized by the beautiful Lady of the Earth and the protective God of the Woods!”

Mercury nodded and then closed the Ritual with, “The Goddess and the God—the earth herself has been awakened and honored. This rite of spring is done. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again! May we blessed be!”

As their cups touched in a toast, Ford said, “Blessed be!”

Then, laughing together, Mercury and Ford poured their wine onto the verdant earth.

“You did so great!” Mercury told him. “Don’t tell Karen, but you’re an excellent Pagan.”

“Oh, I won’t.” He grinned. “I’m not one of those kiss-and-tell guys, Bellota.”

The wordkisshung around them like smoke from their firepit. Mercury felt flushed again, and not just in her cheeks. “What doesBellotamean?”

His smile was slow and intimate. “Acorn, of course.”

Their gazes met and held. In the anticipatory silence, the opening lyrics to “Strawberry Wine,” a slow, sensuous country hit from the nineties drifted to them.

“I love this song.” Mercury spoke softly, trapped in Ford’s intense amber gaze. “Such a beautiful waltz. “

“Then let me waltz you around to a song that’s almost as beautiful as you.” Ford offered his hand.

With no hesitation, Mercury took it and let him pull her into his arms. She leaned into his warmth as he guided her in a circle around their firepit.

“This is my favorite Ostara dance ever,” she murmured as she rested her head against his chest.

“May the Goddess and the God grant that it’s just the first of many,” said Ford as he held her close and danced her into the night.