Thirteen in Number

“Where is Ariel? We cannot start the meeting until we have thirteen, she knows that.”

“Ariadne, she will be here, she assured me. Perhaps she was delayed with the elders. Stay calm sister.” Twelve were gathered in an old manor house on Salisbury Plains in England, seated around a large wooden table. The chairs were evenly spaced, and each had leather cushions on the seat and back. Thirteen large candles were lit: one behind each chair. On the center of the table a circle of salt and thirteen leaves (representing the members of the coven) were placed in a pile in the center.

“Here she is now, coming up the path. We can begin our session shortly.”

The door to the old hall creaked open and Ariel came in, a little out of breath from rushing to get to the meeting on time. She was handed a leather bound book and directed to take the only vacant seat that remained.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, it won’t happen again” she said.

“Never mind dear one. Now we can begin. Blessed be one and all, especially on this most sacred of nights, Halloween. Welcome to our new (although a bit tardy) member Ariel. We are blessed by your presence. Good work everyone on disguising yourselves as firefighters and rescuing Australia’s wildlife. That was quick thinking Annielyn.”  Applause all round as one member of the group gave Annielyn a well-deserved pat on the shoulders.

“Is there any old business for the good of the order? No? Okay, on to new business. Next month we will meet in Peru on the sacred ground of Machu Picchu. The elders have suggested we take the form of Alpacas, but we could be peasant ladies, whichever you prefer.” Ariel gave the leader an astonished look.

“The first spell you will learn is written in your Book of Shadows that you just received at the door. By reciting the words within the circle of salt, you will transform yourself into whatever form is needed for any occasion to do the best; be that human, animal, tree, water creature, anything. To take this human shape and join us this evening you had to have the help of the ancient ones, but now you will be able to conduct the spell yourself, without any assistance.” Ariel’s eyes widened and sparkled with glee. 

“That is a real gift, and I am so grateful to you all for accepting me as part of your group. Bless and thank you all” she said.

The high priestess, Ariadne, who had led the coven for over 20 years stood and said

“Young one, we watched you growing up and witnessed all of your altruistic deeds.  You have a good heart and belong here with us.”

She picked up the thirteen leaves from the center of the circle and handed each member one of them. 

“This charm will keep you safe through the coming year, blessed be (she said to each person.) “

We will pause now in our meeting to sample the delicious morsels of food provided tonight by our sister coven “the Merry Merfolk”.  It is they who taught us the transformation spell originally and it has come in very handy for doing good deeds.”

“I understand and present you all with gifts I have made from sea glass (she removed twelve necklaces one by one and handed them to each member. One remained at the end which was hers). Every day I find lots of sea glass on my daily walks.”

“Thank you so much, we will treasure them. You gained the sea’s blessing early on when you held a large leaf over a baby turtle who was trying to make his way to the water. Because of you, he got there safely and still lives to this day as a highly respected elder.”

Ariel smiled and said, “I have a vague memory of doing that, yes.”

Each one welcomed Ariel and all enjoyed the food. Each had something that they were particularly fond of – coleslaw, spinach dip, potato casserole, chicken tenders, lots of different goodies. Amazingly, the quantity of food seemed to multiply with each spoonful that was removed. When each had had their fill, thirteen baskets remained.

“A miracle” came a universal exclamation. “We can take the baskets to the orphanage that we passed on the way here. I’m sure they could use extra food” said Althea. Nods of agreement all round.

“Definitely. Come ladies, take one each and the challenge will not be a burden for any of us; we work as a team.” 

The orphanage caretaker was grateful for the gifts and said the children would have a feast the next day. She invited the kind people to join them but was told that they had to be elsewhere. Thirteen light-hearted souls returned to the large hall they were using as meeting space this month and gathered for prayers of gratitude.

At the close of the meeting Ariadne drew Ariel aside for further instruction and bid farewell to her sisters.

“Tonight, dear one, we need to transform ourselves into dolphins. Special needs children in Florida are counting on us. The others have already begun their journey. When you get to the water, dive in and trust that the transformation will take place. Then swim until you see where you are needed. Blessed be.”

“Blessed be.”

“One more thing Ariel. If you are ever in need, all you need to do is make the sign of a cross in your left palm, and one or more of us will be there to assist you. It is part of the oath we took when we joined, we take care of each other and the needs of the world.”

“I will remember, thank you. Is it just coincidence that all of us have the letter A as the first letter of our names?”

“No coincidence at all. We are called Aware Ones and move swiftly through the air. Our beloved sister Agnes passed last month, which is why we were able to present you with the opportunity to join us. Thirteen we were, are, and always will be, for us it is a sacred number.”

“I understand and will do you all proud.”

“Come now, we must join the others, the children are counting on us.”

“Lead the way sister and I will follow.”

“To the water…”