Crossing Into The Unknown.
Hail and Hallowed Hunting my friends and fellow witches. As you know I performed my trance ritual today for the New Moon. Just before I began the ritual, a spider crawled across my leg. A real one, though small. I took this as a good sign because the trance spider always seems to appear when I'm about to have a particularly vivid experience. Unlike last time, I was able to descend, the problem was the visions were more disjointed than they normally are. And I was interrupted partway through it. I tried to record the experience, so I wouldn't forget what I saw, but I found it difficult to pull myself out of the visions long enough to say anything. What I needed was someone to prompt me to speak. During this ritual, I once again made my offering to the Fae, calling to them so that I might learn more of what it is I am supposed to do. I have a general idea, but no solid method for doing what it is. In this vision, the first thing that I saw was a teacup, much like the one I saw when I first met with the Fae in what I believe was more of a neutral setting. However, this time the cup didn't hold just tea and I didn't make the mistake of almost drinking it. Inside of this teacup were larvae, moth larvae I believe, though at first I thought they were simply large maggots. The cup was filled to the brim, filled to overflowing, with moth larvae, tea, and green herbs which I believe to be mint. It was after I saw this teacup that the man appeared. A man shrouded in shadow with a Cheshire smile. I've seen him before, more times than I can count. In dreams and visions alike. I asked him who he was, what he wanted. I know he wants something, though it took me a long time to understand that despite him being there for so long. He wouldn't give me his name, or even speak to me though. Just grinned, turned, and walked away. I went to follow him through the darkness and he disappeared. In his place a black cat, as dark as the darkness around it, was walking towards me. A black cat with startlingly white or silvery paws coming towards me. I looked down at my feet as it wound its way around my legs, and there was a bowl, a large glass bowl filled with water. Inside the bowl, beneath the water, was a spider, a spindly spider like I'm always seeing. I took the bowl in my hands and turned it over to dump the water out. The spider seemed to be reaching towards the surface, trying to escape. But when I turned the bowl over the water remained where it was and the spider looked like it was walking along the glassy surface, one leg extending out of the liquid. It didn't seem to be in any pain or harm at all. I looked like it belonged there. The bowl vanished and suddenly I was standing on a glassy surface, just like the spider. Only it was a pond or a lake. The body of water was massive, I couldn't see how far it stretched on, but there were fish swimming beneath the surface that I was standing on, doing slow figure eights. They looked like Koi fish. Off to one side there was a book on the lake's surface that flipped open on its own, ruffling pages turning to a specific point before stopping. But when I moved towards it to see what page it stopped on and what the page said, it vanished. I felt compelled to walk across this lake even though the book was gone and there were only the fish and water and darkness in every direction. So I continued on in the direction the book, moving past where it had been. It became so cold, the chill in the air seemed to seep into my skin. And then it began to rain, great curtains of rain falling so heavily you could hardly see in front of you. But I could just barely make out a silhouette in the distance ahead of me. No matter how far I walked I never seemed to get closer. The rain didn't ripple the lake's surface, it was as still as glass even as I walked across it. And mist rose from it, huge, cold, white clouds of it, the further I walked. There was always a ring around me though that no mist crept into it, allowing me to see the surface of the lake clearly. It was almost like the eerie opposite of a lantern light casting its glow – darkness instead of light. Other images swirled in and out of my vision, from the mist around me and the water below. Images of a man tall and blond from one angle and brunette at another. Sometimes I saw myself with him smiling or laughing, others I saw myself alone and in agony. There was music sometimes, soft flute or harp or lyre, the sound of bells and singing. Other times it was disconcertingly quiet, even the rain didn't make any noise. There were all manner of beasts too, just out of discernible sight. Suddenly there was a presence behind me. I could feel it and hear the rustling of clothes that sounded like leaves in autumn. Just as I went to turn around, just as I caught a glimpse of the tall shadowed figure, the phone rang and I was ripped from the vision. I wasn't afraid during the visions. But frustrated at not getting the answers I needed. And trying to understand the meanings of what I saw, puzzling those things out, has been difficult. There are certain parts that I am not sure of the meaning of. It took me a long time to relax enough to descend this time around. Which is unusual. Part of it was probably because I was worried I would see nothing again. But it was a struggle to get to that point and took me much longer than it usually does. I cannot say I'm surprised by that though, after dealing with this feeling of being bound from my craft. Still, the entire experience was...not frightening, but unnerving. And it's made me terribly curious. I may not wait until the full moon to descend again. It is possible my trance states will become more frequent in these next months. It feels like that is important and at the point impossible to avoid. I hope you all had a magical Friday The Thirteenth and an interesting New Moon. If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them. Hallowed Hunting, Ydra
