The Power of Faith

Rachel should have known the marriage wouldn't last. Her and Bill had been so young and idealistic. They truly believed that love could bridge the gap between their two religions. But from the very beginning, she felt his reluctance to accept her beliefs. Even though she had said nothing when he put up the Christmas tree, Bill had been very annoyed when she lit her candles. Eventually she totally abandoned the rituals she had known so well as a child.

The situation was much more difficult at work Rachel did her best to ignore the stares and snide remarks that were whispered loud enough for her to hear. Every December the entire office was adorned in red and green, even the bathroom mirrors so she was forced to see her reflection framed in ornamental colors reminding her how different she was from the rest of the employees.

Rachel tried to gain strength from the five-pointed star she wore indiscreetly around her neck , but eventually even that small ornament only increased her isolation. Not one single person would sit with her during lunch. Her direct supervisor watched her every move, criticized her in front of other staff and made her work life intolerable.

Once the children were born, Bill had insisted that Jonathan be Baptized and Sarah two years later. When she'd try to teach them some of her own beliefs, he'd fought with her until she finally gave up. So it was no surprise when he'd ask for the divorce and tried to win full custody. It had been a difficult time, but in the end the Judge had renewed her faith, if not in her religion, but in the First Amendment guarantees of religious freedom and she had won.

Fortunately for Rachel, the divorce settlement provided her with enough financial security that she was able to quit her job and move to small town in New Jersey, where there was one of the largest population who shared her faith.

Now, standing in front of a strange new house with her two young children, Rachel was both excited and apprehensive. The movers finished unloading the truck, took their money and left. Jonathan and Sarah busied themselves unpacking and exploring, while Rachel went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She looked at the old worn box the movers had left on the table. Opening it slowly, she began unwrapping the items that had been hidden from light for more than a two decades. The polished candlesticks were still shiny, the candles had never been lit, the prayer book was almost new. She tried to read the strange alphabet, and was pleased to discover she still could understand the words.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden chill that passed through the room. Rachel heard her children scream when the lights began to flicker. Rachel ran into the living room. Furniture was flying everywhere. Ghosts were circling the room menacing Jonathan and Sarah who were sitting in the middle of the floor, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, their eyes shut tight.

"Mommy, make them stop!" Sarah's screams rose above the sound of breaking glass.

Rachel ran to her children and picked them up in her arms. She carried them into the kitchen where dishes were crashing out of the cupboards. She sat the children down on the floor and emptied the remaining contents of the box onto the table. Rachel pulled out a large black robe and put it on over her clothes, grabbed the candles and a lighter while the sound of the spirits were getting closer.

Rachel reached into the pocket of her robe and took out a black sheath with strange markings. Inside was what appeared to be a dagger. Although it had a been a very long time since Rachel held her athame, it felt like a familiar friend in her hand.

She held the point towards the ground and began to draw an imaginary circle around her children. The instant she returned to her starting point, the dishes were still.

"You'll be safe inside the circle," she told her children, "Don’t move. I'll be right back."

Rachel took the candles, a white, a red, a black and a blue from the box and walked back into the living room. She held the athame with both hands and drew an imaginary circle around her. Rachel then placed the candles at the four points in the circle and lit them.

Next, she held the athame over her head and said, “I call to the Goddess to enter this circle.” She then touched the tip of the athame to her left hip and said, “I call to the God of the North for protection.” Next, she moved the athame to her right shoulder. “I call to the God of the East for strength.” Then, to her left shoulder. “I call to the God of the West for peace.” Then placed the tip of the athame on her right hip. “I call to the God of the South for love.” Rachel then placed the athame on her forehead, completing the pentagram.

Then she held out the athame with both hands straight in front of her and began walking slowly, drawing an imaginary circle around the entire room and said in a loud clear voice, "I am Rachel, High Priestess of Nibor. My power is far stronger than yours. I command you to leave my home and my children and their children’s children and never return."

Suddenly, dead silence was followed by ghostly moans as the furniture began moving back to where it had originally been placed. Ten minutes later, all signs of supernatural activity had ceased. Rachel put the dagger into the sheath, returned it to her pocket and smiled. For the first time in too many years, she felt the strength and power of her religion. The power of her Wiccan faith. She returned to the kitchen, took off her robe, and picked up the book.

"Come on kids." She said to her children. "I have a lot to explain to you and even more to teach you." She began to read. "In the beginning there was the Goddess......"