A Joyous Oestre to Everyone

Tomorrow (Thursday 4-12) is the Wiccan Oestre Full Moon Celebration, I thought everyone mught enjoy hearing how this High Priestess handles her Oestre Full Moon Sabbat.


"What're you doing Gwen?" My brother followed me into the living room.

"I invited Shiloh over for my Oestre Sabbat. SO I am setting up an altar in the living room. Why bro?"

"I don't know if I wanna do any of that witchy-stuff!!" Matt’s eyes widened.

"Too late!!! You're making dinner already!!!!" I laughed at the look on his face... it was my turn to be on the top of the 'mess-with-your-head list'.

"Yup, among other things..." I smirked as I carried several plastic grocery bags from the overstuffed room that is mine.

"What have you got in there??" Matt's curiosity got the best of him as I carefully took out my 'Witch's Tools', athame, wand, chalice, candles and holders. I took incense and burner out. All of this sat on the tile floor as I smoothed a spring green ruffled cloth over the glass table.

"Didn't Grandma DeShaw make that for Diane ages ago?" Matt recognised the tablecloth. "And you're using it for this?"

"Matt, sweetie, if Grandma minded she would have let me know already. I use Grandpa DeShaw's shot glass from Luxembourg too. If anything they're glad I am active in a faith, no matter the label it is given."

"Yeah... well... duhh!!! That's true, you always were the deepest of all of us." Matt plunked himself down on the couch. "What else do you have?"

I pulled my abalone shell, smudging sage and feather fan from another bag. The birds immediately went into as chirping frenzy. They get so excited when I do any magicking in the house.

"So what's that for?" Matt scowled thoughtfully down at the assemblage of stuff.

"These are the candles that sit at the four Cardinal Directions, North, East, South, and West." I put the four pastel coloured candles in their holders. "This..." I held up Grandpa's shot glass. "Holds the salt we need, I want to smudge it before I use it."

"Woah...” Matt was becoming more fascinated as I shared details with him. "What's that for?" He pointed to the cut-glass bowl.

"That's for the water. That will act as the symbol for the element of water."

"What's the salt for?" Matt had forgotten his reservations completely

"That is the symbol for the element of earth."

Matt grinned wickedly. "When do we call up a devil?" Knowing full well I wouldn't do that if someone held a gun to my head. My family practices healing magic, both by choice and skill.

I blew him a laughing raspberry. "Like you want another demon like the one in the first house on First!!!"

The look on Matt's face told me he hadn't forgotten that terrifying summer either.

Mum opened her bedroom door and wandered sleepily out, "Are you moving your altar to living room sweetie?"

"Sure thing Mum. Shiloh is coming over to celebrate the Oestre Sabbat with us."

"Oh that's sounds wonderful dear!" What tine will..?"

A knock at the front door announced my dear friend's arrival. I stood up to answer the door and Matt beat me to it. "Heya Shiloh, c'mon in!" He stepped aside as Shiloh hummed through the door.

"Hi there sweeting!" I hugged Shiloh tightly as she hugged back. “Was it really rough getting here?"

"No, not really, I was looking forward to a hug from you when I got here!"

"Oh how sweet!" Mum leaned over and hugged Shiloh too. "Hi sweetie, Gwen has told us about you, and she always speaks of you with such love you are a part of the family already. So you can call me Bomba if you wish."

Shiloh and I shared a mischievous twinkle; she and I can get into so much innocent trouble!! 'Innocent' in the sense that no one gets hurt or upset, and no one gets into trouble with the law.

But, ohmystarsandmaidenforms!! Can we get into the giggles!!!

When we collaborate on a writing project we get into hysterical fits of laughter, without losing the thread of our tale.

"Hey Ma!! Where's your shorts?"

"They're right...” Mum stared at her tattletale bare legs.

"MOM!!! Your butt ate your shorts!! I gasped before I fell to my side laughing.

"Sayyyy!!!!" Mum sounded half-laughing and half-reproachful as she hustled into her room to do battle with the butt-eaten shorts.

Matt, Shiloh, and myself exchanged twinklings before all three of us began to laugh together.

"You're all just thankless teeth, the lot of you!!!" Mum called from her room.

"Is this gonna mess up your witch stuff?" Matt was still rosy from laughing.

"Not at all Matt. Laughter is a great source of positive energies."

The timer in the stove peeped, and Matt strode to the kitchen to check the boysenberry-glazed ham, sour cream and chive scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole.

"It'll be ready to eat in about a half hour."

"Oh that will be about perfect!!!!! Shi, love, would you like to help set up the altar?" I smiled as Shiloh's eyes lit. She is strengthened and blessed by her faith, yet her insatiable curiosity and appetite for life know no boundaries.

“Ok I mean unless I’m not supposed to?”

That's the awesome thing... there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way, it is simply what feels right, and resonates in your spirit.

“Ok.”

"Would you like to do the smudging love?" I handed Shiloh a goodly clump of my smudging sage, and my feather fan, made of turkey feathers I had gathered myself.

“Um… how?

"Let me get the sage burning and then you purify by waving the feather fan through the smoke four times so the smoke comes to you." I got the sage smouldering nicely and purified myself with four slow, graceful waves of the feather fan.

"Why is it exactly four?"

"Four for the 4natural elements, the four seasons, the four cardinal directions, and the four ages of man."

"Okay...” Shi took the sage and purified herself. I watched as I started to put together my own vision of the altar. I put the bowl, chalice, salt container, and athame in the centre of my altar, and then positioned the candles for the four elements and the head of Man looking to the Heavens for guidance.

Yes, we Wiccan folk pray to a Higher Power and choose to serve the Good.

Shiloh had finished smudging the four cardinal directions and watched as I placed everything where I felt it should be.

"Now, sweeting, if you don't mind, would you be so kind as to purify the wine, water, and salt?"

After she had gracefully smudged the wine, water and salt, I set about blessing them. They passed through the smoke from my jasmine incense, after being rubbed with consecrated oil. I then drew a pentacle in the air with my athame and called the Gods to attendance.

“Come to us, O Gods of Winter and rest!" I faced North and held up the athame. "Bless us with your presence and your gifts of reflection, rest, and quiet."

"Come to us O Gods of the Spring and rebirth!" I tuned to the East. "Bless us with your presence and your gifts of rebirth, new life and hope."

"Come to us O Gods of the Summer and fertility!!" I now faced South. "Bless us with your presence and gifts of ripening, fecundity, and plenty!"

"Come to us O Gods of Autumn and Harvest!" I faced to the West. "Bless us with your presence and your gifts of harvest, culling, and preservation."

I stood in the centre of the circle and breathed the mingled scents of jasmine, sage and our Oestre Feast. "Blessed be." I murmured and returned my athame to the altar. I put a small amount of salt in the shot glass, some water in bowl and wine in my chalice made by hand and circled round the top with the Elven Runes from "The Lord of the Rings".

I scattered Malted Milk Eggs, Marshmallow Peeps, jellybeans, and silk flowers in sweet pastels around the altar.

"What do we do with the candy afterwards?" Matt had been watching in silence, while the cats had found excellent 'begging spots' and were sitting in their feline Zen-state on either side of the altar.

“I love malted milk eggs!” Shiloh winked at me.

"After the feast we eat the altar decorations to celebrate the return of life and greening."

I grinned at the looks on everyone's faces.

"Now... I know that Mum can't be hitting the wine, she has to work tonight, Shiloh and I choose to not drink, and Matt isn't really a wine person, so instead of wine we have... Taa-Dahh!!!! Sparkling cider!!" I grinned as I help up the bottle with moisture condensing on it.

“Yay!!” Shiloh clapped her hands. “Yum yum in the tum tum!”

Mum came out of her room, sniffing like kitties. "When will our goodies be ready?"

"In just a few minutes Ma." Matt called from the kitchen.

"Did I mess up your Circle dear?" Mum worries so well she could be the stereotypical Jewish Mother!!

"No Mum, the whole house is my Circle sweetie."

"Oh, really? All right then dear." Mum settled on the couch with a relieved sigh.

Matt, being the attentive host that he is, poured three glasses of sparkling cider and refilled his glass of cola.

"I would like to propose a toast my dears." I stood and held my glass out. "To Spring, and the Oestre Full Moon!"

"To Spring, and the Oestre Full Moon!"

Since I refuse to dance in front of anyone, and Mum, Matt, and Shiloh won't dance, I felt it best to leave that portion of the Sabbat to those who will dance.

Somehow, I didn't think Matt and I slam-dancing to Devo's "Working In A Coal Mine" is what the books I'd read had in mind!!!

I did try to get Mum to dance, after I got some appropriate music for the occasion.

Shiloh was dancing fearlessly, and giggling.

Matt simply laughed, and wiped his eyes as I cavorted round Mum, pulling gently on her arm and saying, "Peeze Momma, dance wif me!!!"

Shiloh switched smoothly to the Robtica.

Shiloh began to giggle, Matt pointed and laughed in delight before proclaimimg,"Look Ma, even the birds are dancing!!

They were indeed dancing on their birdie perches, skittering from side to side and bobbing in time to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons-Spring".

Cosmo began to whistle in time with the music and Betelgeuse cocked her head from side to side with her crest erect and trembling with excitement.

Shiloh giggled harder and imitated the “Birdie-danse’.

When Mr. Twee-Deedles began his amazing canary-like song even Matt did his best to dance, bobbing in front of the birds' cage and whistling at the birds.

Mum groaned and pulled herself from the couch, I took her arm and led her in a stately promenade around the living room.

When she cried 'enough' and toddled back to the couch I grinned and asked Matt if he would like to do the honours and finish readying the feast.

As quickly as a shooting star fades Matt began to lift the dishes from the oven. He had even made a salad of baby greens and grated cheeses.

He was deftly removing slices from the spiral-cut ham as I brought out plates and cutlery. As Matt made Mum's plate I did a plate for Shiloh and took it to her.

I even spooned some of the boysenberry glaze over her slices of ham, and made sure she had French-fried onion crispies on her green beans.

Since our household does not stand on ceremony (pardon the pun) Mum tucked in as soon as Matt handed her plate to her and she had thanked him.

Matt and I clowned as we filled our plates, pretending to be in a shoving match over the ham, and mock arguing about the cats' and birds' feasts.

"Shi, sweeting, I would be honoured if you would say grace for our Oestre Sabbat Feast."

Shiloh turned a little pink. “Ummm… sure.”

“Dar Heavenly Father, we are grateful to be here as friends, warm and loving, celebrating this special occasion, remembering what has been given us. We are also so grateful for this food that has been prepared for us and we ask thee to bless it that it will give us the nourishment and strength we need. We humbly say this in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

"Amen." Mum, Matt and myself spoke in unison, Mum even crossed herself reverently.

"And now... time for our feast!!!" I forked a mouthful of salad from my bowl and chewed thoughtfully.

“Yum yum yum!” Shiloh murmured appreciatively before starting with the glazed ham.

A sweet, happy silence reigned as the people and critters ate their feasts, the birds happen to adore any kind of prepared potatoes, so they were circling round the napkin with scalloped potatoes on it. The cats had roused themselves enough to use that most potent of feline vocals, the silent miaow.

When we were full as four sausages and cried "No more!!" We visited and nibbled the altar decorations while we giggled softly, and sunk lower into the cushions.

Before all of us suffered a 'food coma' Matt and I cleaned the kitchen and stowed the leftovers in the fridge.

While the birds were preening, and the cats were grooming one another in a purring, breathing yin and yang symbol, I began to snuff the candles, and check for wax blobs on the tablecloth.

Matt was already snoring in his room and I could hear Mum running her bath. Shiloh yawned hugely, and mumbled an apology.

I yawned back and winked as I said, "Well Shi, are you about ready for a pajama party?"

“AYE!!!!!!!!!” Her enthusiasm was delightful and contagious.

I poured the water, wine and salt out of their containers into the front yard and thanked the Gods for their blessings and presences before I cleared away my altar and headed for the bedroom, stowing the tablecloth in my laundry hamper as I went.

Shiloh and I changed into comfy nightclothes and flopped on my bed to have a marvellous pajama party, replete with pillow fights, lots of giggling, snuggling the kitties (Egee claimed Shi's lap as Skye did mine) and the required sharing of spooky stories while Matt sneaked outside to scratch on the wall, trying to scare us.

We giggled, pretended to shriek in terror, and generally spent the rest of the night acting wonderfully adolescent.