A Dream of Eris:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I was preparing to lead a ritual. There was a lot going on, and I wasn’t getting too much help. I was about half-dressed, running around in my jeans and no shirt while trying to get everything set. It was August, and the wind was blowing quite strongly.<\/p>\n
I don’t know where we had found this place: it was beautiful and green, a grove of old oaks and various other trees. There was a stream that ran across to the east of the grove, and more forest on the other side. It was, in a word, perfect.<\/p>\n
Part of the preparation for the ritual involved hanging something from the trees. It was higher than I could reach, though, so I asked someone if I could stand on their shoulders. I got up to the first tree, climbed on his shoulders, and could just reach where I needed to tie off the ribbon, but only if I leaned against the tree.<\/p>\n
The tree was covered in poison ivy, though. Being shirtless (and very short on time), I just shrugged and leaned back against the tree and the ivy, reaching up high. I had to grind my back against the poison ivy to reach high enough, and I could feel it scrape into my skin, but I did it anyway.<\/p>\n
I dealt with the same issue on at least one other tree, again pushing against the poison ivy roughly to reach high enough.<\/p>\n
Everything finally in place, I went to put on my robe. I grabbed it from behind the altar and pulled it over my head. I belted the robe and straightened the altar.<\/p>\n
Monika’s sister suddenly appeared on the other side of the altar and started to help. We talked a bit (I don’t remember the exact conversation), but it was about the ritual and the setup. She was wearing some sort of robe with flowers in her hair.<\/p>\n
Well, we started the ritual, and it was quite beautiful. During an invocation to nature spirits, finches appeared almost out of nowhere and began to fly around in a large mass. During the invocation of deities, the entire grove was covered in huge orange feathers (no, I have no idea what that means).<\/p>\n
After this, I began an invocation to Eris (“You what done it all,” etc.). For some reason, I was inclined to walk around the circle upon finishing it, and I stepped outside the trees and moved toward the stream, probably to make an offering. As I came around the last tree, I saw Eris, Her back to the ritual (which was still going on). She was as beautiful as I remember Her, with long red hair, a smile, and a long white dress. I stopped, thinking about what to say.<\/p>\n
“You know that oneness your parents share?” She asked, Her smile no longer gracing Her lips.<\/p>\n
“Yes?”<\/p>\n
“It will last another 12 hours.”<\/p>\n
I was stunned, and I was silent for a moment.<\/p>\n
“Is there anything you can do?” I asked.<\/p>\n
“No, there isn’t. Sorry, dear.”<\/p>\n
I woke up at that point. It was 7:16 AM.<\/p>\n
My mind was racing: It was a Sunday, so going home wasn’t an option unless the emergency was real. A list of scenarios ran through my mind: my father suffering a heart attack, one of my parents being in a car accident, and several others.<\/p>\n
I called that day just to talk to them. It was good to hear their voices.<\/p>\n
I waited until 7:16 PM, dreading that the phone would ring that night. It never did.<\/p>\n
I think I’ve decided that Eris thought I needed to reflect on how much I love my family, and that I needed to talk to them again.<\/p>\n
And if a Goddess can use a little white lie to get the point across, can we? I dunno. Let’s assume the jury is still out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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A Dream of Eris: I was preparing to lead a ritual. There was a lot going on, and I wasn’t getting too much help. I was about half-dressed, running around in my jeans and no shirt while trying to get everything set. It was August, and the wind was blowing quite strongly. I don’t know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,16,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-chaos","category-essays"],"yoast_head":"\n