And It Harm None Read online

  Book

  13

  And It Harm None

  Isobel Bird

  Contents

  PerfectBound Special Feature

  Keeping a Dream Journal

  Chapter 1 “Good Goddess,” Cooper exclaimed.

  Chapter 2 “Can you even believe the lame theme. . .”

  Chapter 3 “Okay,” Aunt Sarah said to Annie.

  Chapter 4 The broken glass that littered the floor. . .

  Chapter 5 Cooper picked up the empty bottle. . .

  Chapter 6 “You’re putting too much dirt in.”

  Chapter 7 “I can’t believe we’re skipping school,”

  Chapter 8 Kate took one of the heart-shaped cookies. . .

  Chapter 9 “You guys have the strangest friends,” said Becka. . .

  Chapter 10 Kate wanted to kill Sherrie.

  Chapter 11 “We have to get her to a hospital,” Annie said.

  Chapter 12 “We’re meeting at Annie’s house after school. . .”

  Chapter 13 What are we doing here? Cooper wondered. . .

  Chapter 14 “I’m so glad you guys came,” said Annie. . .

  Chapter 15 “Get away from her!”

  Chapter 16 Kate took a deep breath before pushing open. . .

  Chapter 17 Sophia listened as the girls told her the whole story. . .

  About the Author

  Credits

  Other Books

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Keeping a Dream Journal

  I love to dream. Even when I have scary or “bad” dreams, I like them. Dreams are stories that our subconscious tells us while we sleep. Sometimes they reflect things that are going on in our everyday lives. Other times they seem to mean nothing at all.

  In many cultures and spiritual traditions, dreams are very important. Some people believe that dreams are messages sent from the gods. Others think that dreams are the secrets we can only tell ourselves when we are asleep and our conscious, fearful minds can’t stop us from saying what is really true.

  Whatever dreams are, and wherever they come from, it can be a great deal of fun to keep a dream journal. This is simply a notebook (or computer file, if you like) where you write down what you dreamed the night before. My dream journal is a little notebook. I keep it beside my bed with a pen, and when I wake up I quickly jot down a few notes about the dreams I remember. Sometimes I even wake up at night and write down what I was dreaming. I try to make my notes as soon as I can because often I forget what my dreams were as soon as I wake up and start thinking about what I have to do that day. Even dreams that seem incredibly vivid and unforgettable can start to fade as soon as I wake up, so I try to always capture whatever I can remember of my dreams before I begin my daily routine. Even when I can remember almost nothing, I write down key words or images that come to mind. Sometimes I’ll remember more later on in the day, and then I’m glad I have those first thoughts to help me fill in the blanks.

  Why keep a dream journal? For one thing, it’s simply a lot of fun to look back over what you dreamed a week or a month or even a year ago. More than being entertaining, though, a dream journal can help you see things that are going on in your life. I have dream journals going back several years, and sometimes when I flip through them I come across dreams I had that made no sense at the time but now mean something to me. I’m often amazed at how the dreams I had mirrored events that were going on in my life or that occurred shortly after, even when I wasn’t aware of exactly what was happening to me. And often when I really pay attention to my journal I start to see those patterns as they’re happening and can act on them.

  For example, several month ago I began having the same dream over and over again. It was one of those seemingly endless dreams where I was trying to do something very simple (in this case write down a telephone number someone was giving me) but I just couldn’t do it. I heard the numbers wrong. I wrote down numbers the person speaking to me wasn’t saying. I put the numbers in the wrong order. For various reasons, I just kept getting everything wrong, and both myself and the other person in the dream grew very angry and frustrated. I would wake up from this dream exhausted and unhappy. I knew the number was something important I was trying to do, and the fact that I couldn’t write down a simple number made me very unhappy.

  I didn’t know what this dream meant. But night after night it would show up again. Finally, after about a week of having the dream, I sat down and thought about what it might mean. Clearly my mind was trying to tell me something. So I made a list of things in my life that were troubling me in any way. I thought maybe the answer to my dream would be there.

  One of the things on that list was an argument I’d had with a friend a month or so before. She had said something that had made me angry, and I had responded with something that had made her angry. As a result, we hadn’t spoken since. I’d been telling myself that we hadn’t spoken because I was busy, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw that I was avoiding calling her because I was mad. And the more I thought about the argument that had started everything, I saw that the real problem was that neither one of us had been listening to what the other was really saying. It had all been a big miscommunication.

  In that instance, my dream had been prompting me to call my friend and apologize. My frustration at not being able to understand the telephone number being given to me in the dream mirrored my frustration at not being able to make my friend understand what I had been trying to say to her in the conversation that had ended in an argument. It also showed me that I hadn’t really been listening to what she had been saying to me. Once I called her and we talked, the dream never came back.

  In other instances, dreams have given me the ideas for pieces of my books. In Second Sight, for example, Cooper has a dream about the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele. That came directly from a dream that I had about Pele. Similarly, the character of Jane appeared in one of my dreams. I had reached a point in writing where I felt unsure of where to go next. So I stopped writing and decided to let my subconscious take over a little bit. That night I did a dream ritual (see below) and went to bed. I dreamed about a girl playing guitar, and that’s where Jane came from.

  Many people say they never remember their dreams. Well, I used to be one of those people. Even my most wonderful dreams seemed to disappear as soon as the sun came up. So I decided to create a little ritual around my dreams. I adapted the following exercise from a ritual I read about in a book about shamans – wise women and men who perform very deep meditations in which they go on journeys to the spirit worlds. Try it for yourself and see if it helps you remember your own dreams.

  Dream Guardian Ritual

  Before going to sleep, close your eyes and picture a path or set of stairs leading to a doorway or arch, any kind of opening that appeals to you. Before the door stands a guardian. Picture what this guardian looks like to you. It is the Guardian of Dreams. It could be a woman or a man, or it could be an animal, tree, or any other thing you think of. The Dream Guardian takes the shape of your own thoughts, so there’s no one way to see it.

  Approach the Guardian. Greet it and wait for a response. Perhaps it is in words. Perhaps it is a nod or a gesture. When you receive it, then ask if the Guardian will allow you through the opening into the world of dreams. Ask it to send you on a journey in the night, a journey to find something or to learn something. If you have a set goal or destination in mind, state it.

  If the Guardian opens the door, step through. If the Guardian does not open the door, thank it and return the way you came. It is not time for a journey.

  If you are allowed through the door, you will probably have a long dream or a series of dreams. When you wake up, write down what you remember in your
dream journal before you do anything else.

  Note: This ritual is designed to help you recall your dreams. But if you don’t remember anything, it doesn’t mean that your ritual has been a failure. Sometimes our subconscious needs to journey without our conscious mind. Many times I have done this ritual, had a night filled with dreams or one long dream, and remembered nothing the next day. But I have been filled with renewed energy or happiness, as if part of me has had a satisfying trip.

  –Isobel Bird

  CHAPTER 1

  “Good Goddess,” Cooper exclaimed. “Was it this cold last year?”

  She was standing at the edge of the water in the cove at Ryder Beach. The waves washed gently over her bare feet, wetting the hem of the white robe she was wearing.

  “It was colder,” answered Kate from behind her. Kate was attempting to start a fire in the circle of stones they had just finished making, and the matches were giving her a hard time. The wind wasn’t helping, either. Every time she got a match lit a little breath of air would come along and blow it out again. It was as if the wind was teasing her, and it was becoming annoying.

  Annie was having better luck with the candles. Those at least were in glass holders, which made things easier. It also made it easier to stick them in the sand, forming a larger ring around the makeshift fire pit.

  Soon Kate was encircled by a ring of flickering light.

  “Finally,” she said as she struck yet another match and held it to the newspaper she was using as kindling. This time the flame held, and soon the paper was crackling away. Shortly thereafter the driftwood that formed a pyramid over the paper caught fire as well.

  Cooper dipped the bowl in her hands into the waves and let the water fill it. She carried it back to the circle and set it near the fire. Another bowl already sat there, filled with salt, and a bundle of white sage leaves tied with red string lay beside it.

  “I think that’s everything,” said Cooper. “Are you witchlets ready to get this party started?”

  “By all means,” Kate said.

  “Let’s do it,” added Annie.

  The three of them stood around the fire Kate had started, looking at one another happily. Above them a perfectly round, full moon gazed on as they began their ritual.

  Cooper picked up the bowl of salt. Taking a pinch in her fingers, she walked clockwise around the circle of candles, sprinkling the salt behind her as she went.

  “With the power of earth I cast a circle,” she intoned. “May it be as strong as the mountains and as fertile as a garden.”

  She returned to the center of the circle and placed the bowl of salt back on the ground. Then Annie picked up the bundle of sage. She held it to the fire’s flames until it began to smoke. Then she walked around the circle, just as Cooper had done. The smoke filled the air with its pungent scent as Annie waved the sage gently from side to side.

  “With the power of air I cast a circle,” she said. “May it be as wild as the wind and as loving as a whisper.”

  When she returned and placed the still-burning sage beside the bowl of salt, it was Kate’s turn to strengthen the circle. She took a piece of driftwood that she’d set aside and lit it in the fire. As she carried it around the circle she said, “With the power of fire I cast a circle. May it be as fierce as a wildfire and as warming as the sun.”

  When she had come back to the others, Cooper picked up the bowl of seawater. They each dipped their hands into it, cupping some of the water in their fingers. Then they each turned to face outward in a different direction.

  “With the power of water we cast a circle,” Cooper said, sprinkling the water around her area of the circle.

  “May it be as mysterious as the ocean,” Annie continued as she spread the water in her hands over the sand in front of her.

  “And as healing as rain,” Kate added, completing the circle by sprinkling the ground around her.

  The three friends turned to face one another once more.

  “The circle is cast,” said Annie.

  “We are between the worlds,” Kate said.

  “And we are very chilly,” added Cooper solemnly.

  The three of them cracked up. “I don’t think that’s part of any circle-casting ritual I’ve ever read,” said Kate admonishingly.

  “Hey,” Cooper said. “It’s all about being spontaneous, right? There’s no right or wrong way to do this stuff.”

  The three of them knelt in the sand around the fire, making themselves comfortable. Annie picked up the bundle of sage leaves and tossed it into the flames, where it burned slowly, emitting clouds of smoke.

  “That was a nice addition,” commented Kate.

  “I picked it up at the bookstore,” explained Annie. “Sage is good for cleansing sacred space. Dixie used it in the ritual we did at my old house,” she added, referring to a Wiccan friend who had helped her try to send the ghosts of her parents through the veil when Annie had mistakenly believed that they were angry with her.

  “Now we’re all cleansed and cast and sitting here in sacred space. Can you guys believe we’ve been doing this for a year now?” Kate asked.

  “Yes and no,” Annie replied. “It seems like just yesterday that you came and asked me why I had checked out that book of spells.”

  It had, in fact, been almost a year since Kate had discovered Spells and Charms for the Modern Witch in the school library while doing research for a history class assignment. That was the book that had started it all. First Kate had done the Come to Me Love Spell, with disastrous results. Then she’d enlisted first Annie and then Cooper—who had both previously checked out the same book—to help her fix her mistake. They’d made an even bigger mess of things, and ultimately they’d been forced to ask for assistance from some local witches before things were finally straightened out.

  Now the three girls had gathered at the cove to celebrate a year of friendship and magical work. It had been at the same cove that they’d done their first serious ritual. Since that night they’d done many rituals together. In that time all of their lives had changed in ways they could never have expected, and they were far different people from the ones who had sat there the February before.

  Now they sat looking into the flames of the ritual fire. At that first ritual they had each given up to the fire something that they wanted to free themselves from before then asking for certain things to be brought into their lives. For their anniversary ritual they had decided that they would once again give things up to the fire. Only this time the things they gave would be offerings of thanks for everything that had happened to them. They had learned that one of the principles of magic was that you should always remember to thank the universe for helping you achieve your intentions.

  All three of them had brought their gifts with them, but they hadn’t discussed with each other what those gifts were. Now they took them out and held them in their hands.

  “Who wants to go first?” Kate asked.

  “I will,” said Annie. She looked into the fire and paused as she thought back to the night a year before. “My wish last year was that I not worry so much,” she said. Then she laughed gently. “I’m not sure I worry all that much less, but I do know that I’m a lot more confident now than I was then. And the things I have to worry about now are so much more interesting than they were then,” she added.

  She looked at the gift in her hands. It was a small painting she’d done, a watercolor on paper. It depicted her dancing beneath the moon, her arms stretched out and her head thrown back.

  “I feel a lot freer because of what’s happened to me this year,” she said as she held the picture to the flames and watched it begin to burn. “I was able to finally say good-bye to my parents, and even that little disaster with aspecting Freya last summer had some good parts to it. I also feel very lucky to have friends like you guys and a community like the one we’re part of.” The paper was burning swiftly, and Annie dropped it into the heart of the fire, where it blackened and curled.

/>   They waited a moment, watching her gift turn to ash and smoke that soared up from the fire pit. Then Kate said, “My turn.”

  She held up a small cake. “I baked this,” she said. “It’s an almond cake. I read in some book that people used to leave almond cakes as gifts for the Goddess in some cultures.”

  She crumbled the cake into the flames, where the bits and pieces blackened. Kate watched them burn.

  “Last year I wished that I could not be so afraid of change,” she said. She sighed. “Well, I certainly had a lot of chances to work on that this year. I’m not sure how I did, but I think I learned a lot. Between Aunt Netty’s cancer, breaking up with Tyler, and coming out of the broom closet to my parents, I had enough change to last me for quite a while.” She looked at Cooper and Annie. “Not that I believe for a second that there won’t be even more changes coming up,” she finished as they all laughed.

  It was Cooper’s turn, and she held out a piece of notebook paper. “I wrote a song,” she said. “It’s about how I’ve changed this year because of being involved in witchcraft. I’m not going to read it to you,” she added, “and this is the only copy of it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. I want it to be a real gift, something I’m giving back without keeping any of it for myself.”

  She consigned the song to the fire, watching it smoke and burn.

  “Last year I wished that I could give people more of a chance,” she said. “I think I’ve been able to do that, at least a little. I gave T.J. a chance, and it turned out to be really great. I met Jane, and I’m really thankful for that. And I gave Wicca a chance,” she added. “That was the most important thing.” She looked at Kate and Annie. “I mean besides being friends with you guys, of course,” she said, grinning.

  The three of them sat around the fire for a while in silence, watching it burn. The waves lapped gently on the beach and the sea air blew over their faces. Then Annie began to sing, quietly. “We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return.”

  “Like a drop of rain,” Cooper and Kate joined in, “flowing to the ocean.”