--A short story by G. Ashton

Hilde was sitting on her back porch, early on a late summer morning. She loved sitting out here, sipping her cocoa, listening to the summer sounds.

There were many a time when Hilde was so frustrated, and yet at the same time, she knew all was right with the world. Life happened as it should, and if at all possible, it did help to be able to laugh at yourself from time to time.

Hilde decided it was time to make some changes in her life. She was quite pleased with her solitary status but at the same time something was missing. She had read about every book there was to read on the shelves in the metaphysical section of bookstores and libraries, but they were not giving her everything she needed. She needed something more, more in-depth knowledge, more interaction with similar minded people.

Hilde had chosen several methods of incorporating the path into her daily life. Hilde had grown in her ability to use ritual, but she still wasn't high up there on the list of remembering to do ritual on a regular basis unless something needed her immedi-ate attention. Hilde had her favorite authors, and when certain speakers came to town she made every effort to attend, if at all possible. Not all the speakers who were well known enticed Hilde to attend the lectures and workshops that they were presenting. However, with certain authors-lecturers, she made every effort to attend, and so far it had worked out quite well, although at times not quite the way Hilde had expected.

Hilde had also lucked out in a correspon-dence course on learning Runes on an in-depth level. The "Ancient Ones" certainly had been watching over her when she undertook that endeavor. Hilde had been in one of those times when it seemed as if nothing was happening in her spiritual growth. She started reading ads to find out where learning centers were located and what various modalities were out there for learning purposes. Since Hilde was drawn to the Runes she checked out several organiza-tions concerning the Runes.

The one organization had turned her off

immediately and she just threw the material out and never bothered looking at that source again. However, the one place Hilde thought she would give a try, very cau-tiously, very tentatively. Hilde did not have a high opinion of correspondence courses, but she had nothing else going at the time and she felt she might as well give it a try. Hilde had still been in the dark ages com-puter wise at that time, and had no idea that the place she was checking out was well respected by various authorities on Runes. Hilde had been studying the Runes for over a year when she got "on-line" and again was checking out various ways of studying. She had been cautious, and probably, no not probably, definitely somewhat lax in her studies. When she found out that the Rune correspondence course was legit, she renewed her efforts to put more focus into her studies. Hilde was glad she did. It felt really good to have study materials on a regular basis.

This aspect although good, did not fulfill her needs totally. She needed people in her life. What a weird combination of being solitary and not knowing how to incorporate people in your life in order to have a healthy balance. Hilde didn't want to join a coven, but wanted some type of interaction on a semi-regular basis. "What to do, what to do?" Hilde knew things had a way of happening for the best but she also had a mixed philosophy. "You can't force things to happen, but yet at the same time you just couldn't sit around waiting for someone to wave their magick wand over you and have instant gratification either". Hilde needed to apply herself, but needed to apply herself in the right way, otherwise she would just botch things up.

"Ok, what would be a good way to actively participate in the Wiccan/ Earth Religion community without actually being tied to a coven?" Hmmmm, her favorite season of the year was coming up. Even though Hilde had her health issue of being overly sensitive to the cold, the season from about September through Yule was Hilde's favorite time of the year. She just loved it! There was something special about the fall air.

The leaves turning their magnificent brilliant colors; the energy that filled the air. . Even though Hilde no longer owned a horse, she could close her eyes, and transport herself in time and be there, on horseback, the beauty of the horse trails through the woods, the horse's breath being visible in the brisk autumn air, the snorting of the horse as he loped along the path. The sun coming through the foliage of the trees while at the same time a slight mist coming up off of the morning ground was very clear in her mind At times everything seemed surreal. It was truly magnificent and magickal. Sometimes the memory still hurt from no longer being an active participant in this world, but the power of the mind is a wondrous things, and there were times when Hilde would let her mind wander and just "be." Like just now.

"Wow, back to reality." Samhain was approaching. There were always major happenings around this time of year. A lot of parties and celebrations for Samhain would be available to attend. Hilde contem-plated, was she ready to participate in the preparation of one of these major gather-ings? And then what about the gathering itself? Hilde was not into getting dressed up in costume, had never enjoyed large crowds, especially when she didn't know what to expect, or if she was sure if she would know anyone there. That thought wasn't very appealing, being at a large celebration with no one to "guide" the way. Hilde would have to think about this, check it out a bit further to see about the one celebration that she would even consider attending. Even though Samhain was the biggest celebration of the various holidays celebrated publicly, Hilde knew if she took this step for Samhain, then activities for the other holidays more than likely would present to her. "This is a good approach to take", Hilde thought. (to be continued in our Spring Issue)

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