by Carolyn Mathews

While Rosemary was casting the circle, I feasted my eyes on the altar, strewn with Easter lilies, bright yellow forsythia, tulips, pussy willow and lilac. Rose quartz, amethyst, agate, moonstone and aquamarine were scattered between them. A statue of a hare sat gazing at the full, bright moon.

The chalice stood in front of the tabernacle, dwarfed by two pillar candles, one black, one white. There was no sign of the elixir-making equipment so I assumed the jars and herbs were tucked safely away in the tabernacle.

One by one, the seven of us took our places within the circle. Rosemary lit some pungent incense sticks, and began by reciting an ode to the goddess of spring, then moved towards the pile of black sheets, already prepared with holes for our heads, and handed them out.

Rosemary called Theo forward first, asking him to kneel down on the soft foam kneeling pad someone had thoughtfully provided. I caught Pete’s eye and he winked, giving me a discreet thumbs-up, just visible under his black silk sheet, so I assumed he was the foam donor.

‘Let us celebrate the feast of Ostara by welcoming the vernal equinox, when light and dark are equal. Spring is a season of buds and newborns, of beginnings and fresh starts. As Mother Earth wakes from her slumber and welcomes new life, so let us be reborn into the light and love of Isis and Ostara.’

That’s her insurance against offending the great mother-goddess, I thought, registering that Rosemary had managed to slip in a mention of Isis.

Rosemary had got to the part where she asked Theo whether he wanted to be reborn and he'd replied, ‘I do', sounding for all the world like a bridegroom.

I thought of his girlfriend, Tegan, concealed behind the altar listening to this, waiting to set off the dry ice. And I wondered whether Sharon and Jay had arrived yet and were at the upstairs bedroom window, watching for their cue to sprint through the side gate to the back of the altar, to provide the sound effects, while Tegan went off to the climbing frame to put on her stilts in readiness for her role as avenging goddess.

By now, Rosemary had garnished Theo with salt, waved an incense stick and a white candle in his direction, and was in the act of sprinkling water on his head.

‘Rise and step out of the darkness into the light!’ she commanded.

With a start, he got to his feet, pulling at his black sheet. His mass of dreadlocks must have somehow expanded, because no matter how hard he and Rosemary tugged, it wouldn’t budge and she was forced to cut him free.

One or two of us started sniggering, probably from nerves. In an attempt to recapture the solemnity of the occasion, Rosemary addressed us all sternly.

‘As the theme of the equinox is balance, please meditate on the balance you wish to find in your own life, and how you can work towards inner harmony.’

Rosemary must have guessed that we didn’t want to loiter over the first course of the ceremony, so she picked up speed, going clockwise round the circle until we'd all been propelled into the light.

After a bit more ritual, which involved planting seeds and snacking on milk and honey cakes, Rosemary finally began her preparation of the elixir. Murmuring an incomprehensible incantation, she placed the ingredients in two jars, poured vodka on them and topped them up with honey.

She then called Theo to stand in front of her. Taking a small dagger from her pocket, she passed it through a candle flame and stabbed at the middle finger of Theo's left hand, while Charles held the chalice to catch the blood. But the dagger simply bounced off his skin.

Charles took the knife from Rosemary and examined it.

Charles walked forward to examine the blade.

‘This wouldn’t cut butter. It’s a ritual dagger, for God’s sake. What are you thinking of, Rosemary?’

‘Shall I go and get something sharper?’ I said, looking for an excuse to go inside and check that Jay and Sharon had left the bedroom.

‘We can’t break the circle now we’ve built up the energy,’ said Rosemary, tersely.

‘Here, give it to me,’ said Theo, grabbing the dagger and hacking at his finger tip.’

‘No!’ I cried.

But by then a spurt of blood had flowed into the chalice from the gaping wound in the tip of his finger.

I raced over to the altar and tore a piece of ribbon from one of the posies, binding it tightly round his finger. As the blood began seeping through the ribbon, Rosemary’s eyes fixed hungrily on it.

‘I think you’ve got enough now, Rosemary,’ I said sharply, wishing I had some garlic to hang round Theo’s neck. Why don’t you finish the elixir so we can get to the finale.’

Rosemary stirred some blood into each jar. Next, she captured some of the liquid with a dropper, then, like a fire-eater, opened her mouth and allowed two drops to settle on her tongue.

Having waited a few moments to confirm that she wouldn’t be damned to kingdom come, she siphoned more of the elixir into the dropper, rested it in the chalice, and approached Theo.

‘You are a child of the gods and I ask them to bless you. May this sacred elixir heal and revitalise your body and blood.’

She motioned Theo to open his mouth and then carefully released two viscous drops on to his tongue.

‘Repeat the last three words.'

He hesitated.

'Body and blood,' I whispered, while Rosemary glowered.

‘Body and blood.’

‘Put some on his finger,’ I hissed, the words bypassing my brain and shooting out my mouth, as sometimes happened.

She looked towards Charles for guidance. He shrugged, so she let two drops fall on to the blood-stained ribbon.

I was next, then Pete, Charles and Max, all of us in tune with the elixir. The taste was strong and aromatic, but not unpleasant. Those two small drops infused my whole body with a welcome warmth. The evening was becoming chilly.

Dido stepped forward.

Intoning the blessing, Rosemary let the elixir drop on to Dido’s eager tongue. After that, all hell broke loose.

 

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