Doing What the Book Says: A Cautionary Tale
Last edited Sat Mar 31, 2012, 10:12 PM - Edit history (1)
Author: Bronwen Forbes [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: March 1st. 2009
Times Viewed: 11,385
I was young, I was a shiny new Pagan, the Internet – which made contacting my fellow religionists as easy as calling my mom – was about ten years away from being invented, and by gosh I was going to perform this solitary sabbat exactly as The Book told me to! (And no, I’m not going to tell you which “The Book” it was. It would only embarrass me further and wouldn’t do the now-deceased author’s reputation any good. Okay, okay I’ll give you a hint somewhere below) : By the time I’d finished my ritual, I’d nearly burned the house down – a house that included my dog, four cats, and my born again Christian (now ex) husband.
But I learned a valuable lesson that night, a lesson that I see more and more new Pagans ignoring these days:
Books (and now the Internet) are no substitute for practical, hands-on experience with a group of like-minded people. But allow me to continue my illustration:
The Book said I needed a cauldron for this ritual, so I found a really cute brass one at Pier One – it even had soldered-on brass feet which I thought was particularly important – it’d be up off the hideous pumpkin orange shag carpet in my den because Gods forbid I scorch the hideous pumpkin orange shag carpet. The Book said to pour about an inch and a half of rubbing alcohol into the cauldron. And light it.
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As Star Treks' George Takei would say, Oh Myyy!
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Her room being that of a typical teen was way to much of a hazard. So giving her privacy, we all cleaned up the kitchen and then cleared out of the kitchen. She had her particular items on hand that were needed, including what I thought was a rather large number of candles. Then without encroaching upon her area we stood steadfastly nearby, with the fire extinguisher at a handy distance, ready to evacuate the pets.
Of course, nothing as exciting as what you implied happened, and now I've learned to relax. Still it is a memory I will cherish of my bright and independent youngest child. 