Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

Lola listened intently, as the priestess and priest began their blessing. On cue, three harpists perched on a small ridge behind the hawthorn tree began to pluck the chords, and the sound that came out almost brought Lola to her knees – Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D fluttered through the air. The last time she had heard it was at Arthur’s funeral, it was one of his favourite pieces of music. Lola had always been used to the full instrumental version, but today it was stripped bare, and the ethereal sound of the harps brought a tear to her eye. After lighting the candles and incense, the priest and priestess turned to face the gathering. The priest spoke first, his strong husky voice reverberating over the hillside.

‘We gather here in a ritual of love with those who would be wedded. Aibgrene and Daithi please come forward and stand here before us, and before the gods of nature.’

As instructed, the couple stepped forward, with Daithi in front of the priestess, and Aibgrene positioned in front of the priest, as the priestess continued.

‘Be with us here, O beings of the Air, with your clever fingers, tie closely the bonds between these two.’

At this signal Daithi held out his hand, while Aibgrene reciprocated, placing hers onto his. The priest began to tie a white ribbon around their hands.

‘Be with us here, O beings of Fire, give their love and passion your own all-consuming ardour.’

This time a scarlet ribbon was produced and tied. Lola sat in rapture as the priestess continued. ‘Be with us here, O beings of Water, give them the deepest of love and the richness of the body, of the soul and of the spirit.’

A light blue ribbon was added to symbolise the element of water. Finally, the Priest produced a brown ribbon as his female counterpart evoked the spirit of the earth.

‘Be with us here, O beings of Earth, let your strength and constancy be theirs for so long as they desire to remain together. Blessed Goddess and Laughing God give to these before you; we do ask your love and protection. Blessed Be.’

Turning towards the altar, the priestess and priest lifted what Lola guessed was a piece of branch from the hawthorn tree. Holding it aloft between them they placed it on the hands of the newlywed couple as they spoke in unison.

‘For the Goddess and the God are with you, now and always.’

There was a slight pause before they continued.

’Is it your wish, Aibgrene Moone, to become one with this man?

‘It is my wish to become one with this man.’

‘Is it your wish, Daithi O’Neill, to become one with this woman?’

There was slight pause before he answered, but looking into Aibgrene eyes, he spoke softly and slowly,

‘Tugaim mo chroí duit go deo – I give my heart to you forever.’

A soft murmur of appreciation rippled around the crowd. Tears began to fall from Lola’s eyes at the beauty of the words spoken.

‘Then, as the Goddess, the God and the spirits of Tara bear witness to this rite, I now proclaim you husband and wife.’

A loud roar and cheers erupted from the gathering, as the couple kissed to consummate their ceremony. This was continued down the line until each couple was bound.

The evening passed away at speed and each guest danced and ate their fill. As dusk closed in Lola escaped from the tent to enjoy the evening air. Climbing one of the mounds, she sat and marvelled at the beautiful sunset. To her left lay the Lia Fail, dormant now. Some of the guests had been gathering fire wood for the last hour and began to build a large bonfire.

Aibgrene had told her that this was always her favourite part of the evening when they would all sit around the fire, and the bard would tell stories of legend. A soft vibrating noise alerted Lola that her phone was ringing. She had put it on silent throughout the service and had forgotten to change it back. When she lifted it out the display read Alex. Hitting the answer button Lola tried to think of what to tell him. There was no way she could tell him the truth.

‘Hi there, how are you?’ she answered.

‘Lola. Hi! I was calling to see if you would like to go to see a movie tonight.’

Lola sensed something in his tone; he seemed a bit more subdued than usual.

‘Sorry, Alex, I meant to text you earlier to say I would be out of town this weekend. I’m in Dublin with a friend.’

‘A friend?’ he enquired, his tone considerably colder, as Lola caught his train of thought. ‘Yeah, her cousin got married today,’ lied Lola, ‘and her partner let her down at the last minute, so she asked me to come along.’ Just at that, the music in the tent came on, as Faithless began to ring out over the Boyne Valley, Lola couldn’t believe her ears. ‘It must be some party. I can hear the music, sounds more like a club.’

‘I know I’m as shocked as you are to hear dance music,’ laughed Lola. ‘Let’s just say it was a very traditional wedding, and this is the last place I expect to hear Faithless.’

Lola felt awkward, she could sense his irritation as the conversation began run dry.

‘The other reason I called you, Lola, was to ask you to dinner. My father would like to meet the young lady that has been taking up all of my free time.’ Lola hadn’t been expecting that. Lost for words, she began to stutter. ‘You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Lola; it’s not a big deal.’ Lola could hear the disappointment in his voice, but there was relief there as well. She really missed him. It would have been great if she could have shared this occasion with him. So why couldn’t she bring herself to tell him the truth? Lola accepted that here was no denying the fact. She didn’t trust Alex Stein. She was only lying to herself if she pretended otherwise.

‘Don’t be so silly,’ answered Lola, finally. ‘I’d love to meet your dad,’ she lied. The thought made her feel physically sick. ‘When would you like me to come up?’ Alex let out a sigh of relief; even the sound of his breath was enough to send her stomach fluttering. ‘How does next Saturday suit you? You can stay for the weekend.’ Lola couldn’t deny the effect that Alex Stein had on her or how happy she was when she was with him. If only it was that simple, she thought, but life rarely was.

‘That would be lovely! I’ll give you a call when I get back. Okay?’

‘Okay, Lola. I miss you.’ Lola’s stomach fluttered to the lyrical thrum of Alex’s smooth American accent. ‘You too, Alex. I’ll see you soon.’ Lola hung up and placed the phone back into her bag, feeling even more conflicted than before.

‘There you are, Miss Paige. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ sang Aibgrene, as she shuffled up the small satellite mound, struggling to keep her wedding dress off the ground. She had a thick quilted blanket with her. ‘Here you are. I thought you might get a little cold later.’ Aibgrene threw the patchwork quilt at Lola, as she slid down and took a seat beside her. Lola draped the blanket around her shoulders, grateful for its warmth.

‘Do you want some?’ offered Lola but Aibgrene waved off the gesture as she tried to catch her breath.

‘No, I’m roasting with all that dancing about.’

‘Speaking of which,’ laughed Lola, ‘What’s that all about? A bunch of tree huggers listening to dance music, raving the night away. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger.’

‘What?’ laughed Aibgrene. ‘Dance music is great for the soul. It raises the energy levels, which can result in very powerful magick.’

‘Oh please, Aibgrene,’ protested Lola, clearly not convinced.

‘What was your first reaction when you heard it? I bet you smiled and there is no way you can sit still to it. Even if you don’t like it, you have to move. It lifts the mood, I’m telling ya. Add a bit of Faithless or Tiesto to an energy lay-line like the one we’re sitting on now and it can create a lot of positive energy, Lola. You confound me, Lo, you really do. You’re surrounded by these things. You can see it, you can feel it, you can sense it, yet, you still deny it. Why do you do that?’

‘I don’t deny it,’ protested Lola, slightly stung by Aibgrene’s candidness. ‘I just like to have an open mind that’s all.’

‘It’s about time you did open your mind. Who was that on the phone?’

Lola didn’t answer her straight away.

‘You know rightly who it was, Aibgrene.’

‘Where did you tell him you were?’

‘Don’t worry I didn’t tell him the truth, I lied and said I was at a wedding in Dublin.’

‘I know you didn’t, Lo. That’s not what I’m getting at. What I’m getting at is the fact that you chose to lie. You did that for a reason.’

Aibgrene’s words hung thick in the air between them. Lola contemplated her reply. She didn’t want things to end badly between them. It had been a magical day and she didn’t want anything to spoil that. ‘Let’s not do this right now, Aibgrene. Okay?’ suggested Lola amicably.

‘Enjoying the view girls?’ Lola was delighted to see Daithi climbing up to join them.

‘It’s something else, isn’t it?’ continued Lola, admiring the vista and trying to dispel the tension between her and Aibgrene.

‘It sure is, Lola, and even though I live here, it never looks the same. There is always something new about the night time at Teamhair,’ replied Daithi, in his usual gentle tone. The first stars were beginning to emerge as the sky descended into darkness. Shouts came from below and the music came to a halt as the guests gathered around the large bonfire that had been ignited. Lola couldn’t prise her eager eyes away from the bright gibbous moon as the three of them walked towards the large circle of flames to join the other revellers. A few bursts of white light caught the side of Lola’s eyes as she turned towards the hawthorn tree. At first she thought she was imagining it, but then tiny little sparks flashed and moved around again.

‘I didn’t know we had fireflies in Ireland, they’re beautiful. Look!’ said Lola.

Aibgrene looked towards the Hawthorn and began to laugh as she turned back to Daithi. ‘Daithi, Lola didn’t know there were fireflies in Ireland!’ she said, as if they were enjoying a private joke, at Lola’s expense.

‘Yeah, Lola, they’re everywhere! Enchanting, isn’t it?’ said Daithi in response.

‘What are you two laughing about? What’s so funny?’ asked Lola, slightly agitated by the obvious jibe.

Putting his arm around her shoulder, like a parent would do to their child who has just said something innocent, but funny, Daithi whispered into her ear. ‘They’re not fireflies, Lo, that’s the Sidhe. If you look hard enough you might even see Queen Aine herself.’