Vermillion In Gold Shadows by Malakai

Chapter 1: la magie opère (the magic happens)

Aline was very pretty. And she was cute in a mousy way, very pretty. Everyone thought so. Her hair was a mousy mid brown, bouncy and silky. She was corn-fed, robust, healthy-looking, Rubenesque. Aline was a comely demoiselle with a no-nonsense New York sensibility, meaning she wasn’t easily influenced or offended. But she appeared bookish, like a librarian, and naive, mostly because she was so gentle and kind, and she had a serene voice.

On Aline’s left was Hodei. Hodei was French. Hodei had dark brown, almost black hair and very fair skin with grey-green eyes like firecrackers on her face. She had a long, straight nose and thick Basque eyebrows. Hodei was curvy and sexy. On Aline’s right was Megin. Gamin-like, Megin was very thin. Her hair was a color in between red and orange. Megin had hazel eyes, lots of freckles, and an easy, natural beauty.

Megin was wearing a very sexy petite V-neck lacy light pink long shirt dress with a lace hem and loafers on her feet, and an oversized black scrunchie in her hair. Hodei wore a summer vintage poplin lilac nightgown with intricate embroidery, a V-neck, long sleeves and a sash tied about the waist. Topped with a trucker hat on her head and sneakers on her feet, she looked very trendy. Aline was rocking the more girl next door look with an English rose cami slip nightie dress, which really accentuated her lower back arch, with matching thong and matching crop cardi with front buttons and black ballet flats.

The girls were all walking down the sidewalk together, coming from a very racy pajama party at a rooftop bar on Houston. The three young women were walking together, arms joined at the elbow. They might have been walking that way because they were protecting one another from any lurkers about that late at night, as they walked north from the Lower East Side, where they had been partying together.

It had been really lovely, warm weather all night, but the clouds had just started to come over and obscure the new moon, making it quite dark, and there was an energy in the air that always happens before it rains. They were walking around that night wearing lightweight, skimpy, sexy sleepwear. They were in their pajamas, which maybe made them feel a little vulnerable in the streets. They were also all wearing jewelry and carrying fashionable handbags. They passed a man standing in the doorway of a building with his hands in his pockets. The man didn’t say or do anything. He just watched them as they passed. He continued to watch them as they walked down the sidewalk. They could feel his gaze from behind them as they went.

Megin tried to act casually by continuing to talk normally as she had been moments before.

Megin, “Aline, you look so good tonight. I can’t believe you aren’t going home with anyone. I thought that tonight was your night.”

Aline, “Tonight was so fun. You guys didn’t have to leave with me. I’m fine going home by myself. I don’t need a chaperone. Or a pity party.”

Megin, “It’s not a pity party. Struan and Bengt are very happy to be left to ogle the ladies in lingerie without being forced to pretend like they aren’t looking. I still can’t believe that girl that was wearing black high heels and a black thong and nipple pasties. Kid’s a hahdo. That biddy is my absolute hero. Can you imagine going to a bar with that on and nothing else?”

Asiling, “I think she looked cold.”

Megin, “I’m talking about her confidence. She owns her body.”

Aline, “I would never go out like that. I think she looked silly. Leave a little something for the imagination, as my mother always tells me.”

Hodei, “Aline, this is not a pity party. I have a plan. When we get to my apartment, I want to show you girls something.”

They squeezed a little tighter as they entered Tompkins Square Park at the corner of Avenue A and 7th Street and tried not to make eye contact with anyone else stumbling through there drunk and in the dark. All three simultaneously realized how vulnerable they felt, and for a moment, they squeezed each other a little tighter. It was a really lovely accident to justify it, as it started to lightly rain and they stepped up their pace to a trot, which slightly gained speed through the center of the park. Then, as they reached Avenue B and 9th and turned north again, the bottom fell out, and the rain began to pour, and lightening was flashing overhead with loud thunder that roared without any separation at all. It was one of those rare summer storms that runs in and is so powerful that everyone stops to notice it. Except the girls were outside in it, and so they broke into a full run.

It was nearing 3 AM when the girls reached Hodei’s apartment in Alphabet City. Hodei lived on the fifth floor in a railroad apartment that she shared with her partner, Bengt. Bengt was not home and was not coming home, so they had the place to themselves. They filed in one at a time up the narrow stairs and in through the door of the kitchen/living room at the back of the building. Hodei flipped the light switch up and down, thunk thunk. Thunk. Thunk. No change.

Hodei, “The power is out. I have some candles.”

Megin opened the window onto the fire escape to let in some of the night air, and Hodei handed Megin and Aline a towel to dry off before pulling some candles from a drawer.

Megin, “Hodei, do you have anything I can put on?”

Hodei, “Bengt has loads of t-shirts. They are so big they will fit you like a nightgown. I sleep in them all the time. You too, Aline. Installez-vous confortablement, installez-vous.” (Make yourself comfortable, settle in.) “Get comfortable.”

When Aline and Megin returned from the bedroom dressed in t-shirts that were several sizes too big for them, Hodei had placed candles around the sofa area on the coffee table and the side tables, and a few on the small breakfast table in the kitchen. She was lighting the candles in the kitchen when they came in.

Megin, “Do we have anything to drink in here?”

Hodei, “I think Bengt left some beer in the refrigerator. I’m changing out of this dress.”

Megin took a beer from the fridge and continued to dry her hair with the towel as she sat down next to Aline on the sofa. Aline was reclining all the way back and watching the storm through the window. The power of it was really exciting to be a witness to. Aline was lost in thought for some time and didn’t notice what was happening around her.

Megin, “Do you want some, Aline? Aline, gagga? Aline!”

Aline, “No. I’ve had enough. Maybe just a little.”

Megin pulled her bright red hair back and over one shoulder and looked down at herself in the little round mirror on the coffee table, and took a deep breath through her nose.

Hodei returned from her bedroom to the living room, dressed in her sleeping clothes, and took a beer from the fridge. The girls had the look of an ad hoc softball team in their colorful, mismatched t-shirts. Hodei lit the rest of the candles in the kitchen area and joined the other two on the sofa.

Aline, “The energy in the air, it’s so warm and humid and it feels like kind of electric. I feel like it’s very purifying and cleansing. It’s really good.”

Hodei, “I agree. Nothing gets rid of my anxiety like a good rain. Worries that have been weighing you down do kind of wash off.”

Megin, “And it feels so cozy inside, it makes me want to snuggle up in a blanket.”

At that exact moment, a bolt of lightning crashed right above their heads, and they all gave a little shout of surprise.

Hodei, “Vous savez ce que je veux faire?” (You know what I want to do?)

Aline, “Quoi?”

Hodei, “Je veux faire un sort magique.” (I want to do a magic spell.) “Enchantements et incantations sur l’amour.” (Enchantments and incantations about love.)

Megin, “I have a boyfriend, thank you very much.”

Hodei, “Not for you. For Aline. Aline, what do you say? Want to find the man of your dreams? Tonight is a waxing moon which is ideal for spells of growth.”

Aline, “Sure, I guess I do. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Megin, “Do you know how to do that? Are you serious?”

Hodei, “Have I ever told you about my grandmother?”

Aline, “If you have, I’ve forgotten.”

Hodei, “C’était un personnage. (She was a character.) She was an artist and she lived very differently from what was traditional or ordinary. She was my father’s mother and my mother was afraid of her. She was a little aggressive, a hard woman, so I can understand.”

Megin, “Did she live in Paris?”

Hodei, “By the time I was born, she had left Paris and was living in a very small village where various different folk belief systems had an important influence on the people. There was the church, yes. But also, the people still practiced very ancient beliefs, sort of in secret. I used to go to stay with her every summer for a month. My parents wanted to send me out of the city, and it was a time for them to get reacquainted. I loved it as well. She had a beautiful garden, and there was a farm nearby with horses.

Hodei, “It felt very real to me, this place. It was more real than Paris. The feeling that I had there at my grandmother’s house was more real; it felt so intense. Not that Paris isn’t also real. But there was something real about it that wasn’t real in Paris. Paris didn’t feel as real as being in nature felt real. It was an awareness I think that everything around me was alive and also sentient. All the animals, and the plants too were conscious beings and they were conscious of my presence as well. I was beginning to learn that we live in a world with many types of conscious beings.”

It was also a magical place. When I was very young, I remember waking in the middle of the night. For some reason I cannot explain, I went outside my grandmother’s house. It was like an angel was calling me. I remember distinctly thinking that an angel was calling for me to come out.

“I got out of bed in the middle of the night. I was trying to be very quiet not to wake my grandmother. I walked down the stairs that creaked under my bare feet. I left the house and went into the fields and then into the forest. Somehow, I knew it was the angels calling me, so I was not afraid at all. It was an especially dark night. The moon must have been behind the clouds. I knew it was dangerous out there. There was a dark figure, a man dressed in black, or it was the silhouette of a man, a deep shadow in the dark. I caught a glimpse of him from afar and followed him. He was walking at a brisk pace. I was trying to keep up with him, but also sort of hiding behind the trees. He was aware that I was following him. He was aware of me to be sure because at a certain point he beckoned to me to continue. He came to a stop by a stream. I could just make him out, a dark stain in the gloom, darker than the rest of the forest.

“I came to stand next to him. I remember that I could not make out his face in the dark. He pointed for me to go on across the stream. It seemed like he could not cross it. In my bare feet, I crossed the stream and soon came to a clearing. What I saw next, I will never forget. There were people totally naked but wearing these very strange and beautiful masks. They were involved in some kind of ritual. I remember watching them for a time from the darkness of the trees. At a certain point, one of the men must have seen me because he looked right at me. I could see his eyes behind his mask. He looked like he knew me or recognized me.

“So I ran home to my grandmother’s house. When I got there, I was being very quiet, opening the door only to find my grandmother standing there in the middle of the kitchen. She frightened me more than anything I had seen and I screamed. She asked me where I had gone and I told my grandmother what I had seen. I told her everything. She explained it all to me. She called it Le Bachique and Heiros Gamos. Sacred Marriage. Qui exalte le vin, l’ivresse, et plus generalement qui manifeste la joie de vivre.” (Which exalts wine, intoxication, and more generally which manifests the joy of living.)

Hodei, “She explained to me places called Akellare where witches hold their Sabbath rituals. She called them Sorginak, which is the Basque word for witches. After that, she taught me many things that maybe you would call witchcraft. She did not call it that. To her it was called Aztikeria. She said it was secret traditions. If you want to know, I can teach it to you. These things are for protection and also for power. And love, of course. Ces rituels sont souvent utilisés dans les traditions ésotériques et se basent sur des symboles, des objets, des prières ou des incantations.” (These rituals are often used in esoteric traditions and are based on symbols, objects, prayers or incantations.)

Megin, “Fascinating. Aline needs a man. I’m so tired of her being the fifth wheel.”

Aline, “Shut up, Megin.”

Hodei, “L’amour est un sentiment magique, et parfois pour le trouver, c’est justement ce dont on a besoin : un petit peu de magie.” (Love is a magical feeling, and sometimes to find it, that’s just what you need: a little magic.)

Megin, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how corny you are.”

Hodei, “You are familiar with cosmic sympathy.”

Megin, “Of course.”

Aline, “I’m not.”

Megin, “Cosmic sympathy is the concept that everything is connected because everything is all part of one whole. Just like the different parts of your body are still one body, the different parts of the earth are not really separate. If that follows, then the idea is that all phenomena are connected.”

Hodei, “Oui, oui. All beings on the earth and even in the heavens are inextricably linked.”

Megin, “It is the idea that supports things like astrology. Cosmic sympathy is the concept that we are all part of a larger cosmic system.”

Hodei, “The universe has an effect on us and our actions have a ripple effect on the universe. It is the understanding of the interconnectedness of all life, and the oneness and unity of the cosmos. So if you can believe that your astrological sign has some significance in your life, you can believe also that magic can have an effect.”

Aline, “I get it. So if spirituality is the experience of the interconnectedness of everything, then why can’t you have some kind of interaction with that energy with intention?”

Hodei, “Personne n’est aussi vivant qu’une sorcière. Personne n’a un contact plus direct avec son propre corps ou celui des autres, ni avec l’énergie créatrice de la vie elle-même. Les sorcières sapent la force vitale, nous l’aspirons, nous en sommes imprégnés. C’est bien, non?” (No one is alive like a witch is alive. No one has more direct contact with their own bodies or the bodies of others and the creative energy of life itself. Witches sap the force of life, we suck it down, we are soused in it. Sounds good, doesn’t it?)

“Everything, everything that we can see and feel, all we can know is a manifestation of source energy. Everything is an extension of source energy. The question is how to tap into source energy.”

Aline, “But that is a good question. How is it done? I mean, how will we even know how to do this? I mean, are there specific things that you know how to do?”

Hodei, “Bien sûr! Oui. I know the incantations and evocations necessary for a spell to catch a lover. All we really need is the intention. I can show you the rest.”

Aline, “I’ll give it a try.”

Megin, “If we are doing magic, I am gonna need another ripper.”

Hodei, “I will gather some things that we need.”

Hodei went to a cupboard in the kitchen and pulled out various things. It was hard for Aline to identify them at first glance.

Hodei, “Voici les éléments dont nous aurons besoin pour réaliser ce rituel.” (Here are the items we will need to perform this ritual.) “Ce rituel a pour but d’attirer l’amour d’une personne qui correspond le mieux à vos besoins.” (This ritual aims to attract the love of a person who best suits your needs.) Have you kept yourself pure for seven days?

Megin, “Not a problem.”

Aline, “Yes. I mean, I haven’t had sex in more than seven days.”

Hodei, “No orgasms at all, I mean.”

Aline, “Still good.”

Hodei, “Then we can proceed. Are you ready to begin?”

Aline, “Okay.”

Hodei, “No, Aline. This is only if you want to. It’s for fun. It’s nothing serious. If you are happy to be single, that is a perfectly reasonable choice to make. We could just summon you a wild lover if you like it.”

Aline, “I think I would rather the lover of my dreams, if I can summon anyone I want. Nothing too serious.”

Hodei, “Fantastique! Megin clean off the mirror. We need that.”

Hodei produced a little brass bell from a drawer in the kitchen and proceeded to walk around the space, ringing the bell. This bell was maybe 3 1/2 inches long, maybe an inch and a half wide at the base. She could easily fit the whole thing in the palm of her hand. And the ring was charming and lovely, not too loud or high-pitched.

Aline, “What is that you’re doing, Hodei?”

Hodei, “I am purifying the space with my little Sanctus bell. It’s a brass altar bell that was used in a little church in the south of France. Isn’t it so precious?”

Megin, “I wonder what the man of your dreams will even be like. I bet he’s an accountant. I bet he likes tennis. No! Table tennis.”

Aline, “I like table tennis.”

Hodei placed three large round candles on the coffee table. In the middle, she placed the circular mirror that Megin had just cleaned, facing straight up at the ceiling. In the middle of the mirror, she placed an antique footed bronze pot and knelt down across from the two other girls sitting on the sofa. They were now facing one another across the coffee table.

Hodei, “This is my ritual offering bowl.”

Megin, “Wow. It’s so witchy.”

Hodei lit a small votive candle and slid it in underneath the bowl.

Hodei, “First, we light some candles around to bring in the element of fire. Fire ensures that there is warmth and also action. Fire is such a good conductor of your intent. It has a strong energy. Fire sends your spell out into the world. So we each have a candle at our right hand. I will light this candle at my right hand. Then, Megin, you will light the candle at your right hand. Then Aline, the same.”

Hodei, “As we light the candle before us, we say these words, ‘La magie vit en moi.’ (The magic lives in me.) You can say it out loud, or you can just say it to yourself internally. Allow yourself to feel into it. I find it is best if I say it in un petit murmure (a bit of a whisper) right to the flame of the candle. La magie vit en moi. Stare into the flame until you become the flame.”

Hodei, “Ma magie s’écoule librement et puissamment ! Je fais confiance à la déesse pour me guider!” (My magic flows freely and powerfully! I trust the goddess to guide me!)

They lit the candles in turn and passed the matches counterclockwise.

Hodei, “And this is moon water that I made on yesterday’s new moon.”

Megin, “Moon water. Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it.”

Hodei, “New moon water brings new beginnings and new possibilities. To the moon water, I am going to add some lavender essential oil. Part of the ritual will be to create a potion that will be energized by our spell that you will use as almost a perfume.”

Hodei produced an old vernacular wooden box that contained all sorts of little glass bottles and bundles of herbs and other things. She took a glass vial with “Lavender” written in red ink on the front and poured a splash into the bronze bowl of water.

Hodei, “I have here an oil infusion of Meadow Sweet, which will give you the opportunity to cross paths with your lover soulmate. It has an almost almondy sweet bitterness to it. This will bring him to your path. And this is honeysuckle-infused oil. It smells citrusy and refreshing. It really adds something magical to the perfume. Honeysuckle has a great power of attraction. It attracts love or a lover. Meadow Sweet brings the soulmate. Honeysuckle brings the lover. Both are so important, together, of course. And finally, the wild Dog Rose petal, which is the most powerful flower to conjure the lover. The Dog Rose is so very magically potent. The Dog Rose has the power to hold his attention long enough for you to seduce him. Now, I have added all these flowers to the bowl.”

Hodei, “Notre désir est le signe que nous sommes des êtres incomplets. Désir de liberté, désir de joie, désir d’aimer et d’être aimé.” (Our desire is a sign that we are incomplete beings. Desire for freedom, desire for joy, desire to love and be loved.)

Hodei, “The left-hand path is a path of empowerment. It is the path of taboo. It is the practice to take control of your own life. When we do magic, we are not just changing the world outside of ourselves. We are changing ourselves. When we do spells and magic for an outcome, to have something or to experience something, we are doing magic on ourselves to turn ourselves into the type of person who does have and experiences those things. Magic changes you. You must will with your intent to become the person who has what you want to have. You have to follow your intent to be the person who does what you want to do. You have to allow yourself to become the person that you wish and secretly know who you really are down deep inside. It takes great strength to walk the left-hand path. And the power that we gain has the capacity to effect change within and without. Change can be generous. Change can be cruel. Power is in your hand when you choose. This is power. You are allowed to acknowledge your desire. What do you want? The left-hand path is an invitation to study your impulses, even the darker ones, especially the darker ones. Witchcraft is an invitation to own those impulses so they don’t own you. Ignored impulses do not vanish. They lurk and wait and wait and lurk. They will come for you. And when they come, will you be powerful or will you be the victim? Passion is a dark current inside you. Don’t deny it; embrace it. It will lead you to your power. Do you want more, Aline?”

Aline, “Yes, I want more.”

Hodei, “Use your passion to focus. Now say it again with all your intent.”

Aline, “I want more.”

Hodei, “I felt that. Did you feel it, Megin?”

Megin, “I really did. That didn’t even sound like you, Aline.”

Hodei, “L’intention que vous mettez dans votre demande sera cruciale pour la réussite de ce rituel. Vous devez ouvrir votre cœur, lâcher prise et laisser le destin venir à vous.” (The intention you put into your request will be crucial to the success of this ritual. You must open your heart, let go, and let destiny come to you.)

Hodei, “Demandez simplement que votre amour s’épanouisse librement.” (Simply ask for your love to blossom freely.)

Aline, “Donne-moi mon désir le plus profond.” (Give me my deepest desire.)

Hodei, “The intention is set. Now we all must unite our energies for this purpose. Let the ritual begin. En nous, il y a au plus profond de nous-mêmes un désir. Donne-nous ce que nous désirons rapidement, rapidement.” (Deep within us there is a desire. Give us what we desire quickly, quickly.)

Hodei chanting, “He . .Ka . . .Te.

He . .Ka . . .Te.

“Hekate, from beside the door, Hekate of fiery counsel, break the gate, we call to you by sacred chant. Three-faced Selene, Klotho and Lachesis, and Atropos. Hail, goddess, and attend your epithets. Hekate, we invoke your name because you rejoice in helping those that belong to you. Hekate, we call upon you so that we are strong as you are strong. Hekate, the one who is radiant, who shone on the whole world, the unquenchable fire that burns forever.”

Hodei, “And so Aline, take your right pointy finger and hold your hand palm down over the wooden bowl, but point your pointy finger downwards like this. Now, moving your whole hand around the outside of the bowl just above it, going in the counterclockwise direction, say these words: Flowers, please conjure me a lover. Let my soulmate cross my path. Make me beautiful to him.”

Aline, “Flowers, please conjure me a lover. Let my soulmate cross my path. Make me beautiful to him.”

Hodei, “Now continue to hold your palm open above the cauldron. We invoke the immortal names, living and honored, which never pass into mortal nature and are not declared in articulate speech by human tongue or mortal sound. We say all these things with fire and water and with spirit. We beseech you, Hekate, greatest goddess, beautiful shining goddess, all-illuminating, you who shook and shake the world, chthonic Hekate, chthonic goddess, and chthonic attendants, dwelling in recesses of heaven and lurking in the shadows and the nooks and crannies, those who are shrouded in the dark clouds, watchers of things not to be seen, servants of the chasm, and all the chthonic spirits of the chthonic dreams and chthonic sins and chthonic realms and chthonic oaths, we beseech you. Come to accomplish the purpose of this love spell of attraction. Attract the lover and soulmate that Aline is ready for. Bring him to her because she is calling. Do not delay. Quickly, quickly. Immediately, immediately. Now, now.”

Hodei, “Alright, Aline. You can put your hand down now. Let’s hold hands together and send all of our purpose and intent into the flames of the candles and into the water of the cauldron. Radiate your intention of love. I love you, Aline.”

Megin, “I love you too, girl.”

Aline, “I love you guys too.”

Hodei, “Say this chant with me.”

He . .Ka . . .Te.

sous la lumière de la lune (under the light of the moon)

la chouette prend son envol (the owl takes flight)

et à la flamme d’une bougie (and the flame of a candle)

nous chantons ton nom (we chant your name)

He . .Ka . . .Te.

nous continuons notre quête (we continue our quest)

du carrefour des potentialités (from the crossroads of potentialities)

finir et commencer (finish and begin)

elle détient la clé pour déverrouiller la porte (she holds the key to unlock the door)

He . .Ka . . .Te.