Candlemas eve was clear and cold, with millions of stars sparkling in the sky. Once in the woods, we slipped on our blue cloaks and made our may silently toward the Guardian Hedge, as we had come to call the ring of thorn bushes. It was going to be our first ceremony in our special place that no one else knew about.
We climbed the low hill crowned with cedars and entered the Grove without speaking. Sitting in the place where the Magic Circle would someday be, we let ourselves see and hear the sights and sounds of the night. There was no moon in the sky, and no wind. Just the snaps and creaks of the woods settling in for the night, and a few scattered animal sounds.
We rose and went quietly to the fire pit. By Penny’s little flashlight, I laid tinder in a protected corner and struck sparks. A flame was born, then a candle lit and carried to the middle of the Magic Circle clearing. Six more tall candles we set around the clearing on logs or rocks.
Returning to the center, one on each side of the main candle, with arms stretched out to each other and hands clasped, Penny said, “We dedicate this Grove to the work of God and his Spirits. We are your Wood Sprites who seek only to do white magic that is pleasing to you.”
Sitting down on each side of the candle, we gazed at its flame.
Silently I prayed for the wisdom to know the right people for the Grove. I let several long minutes pass, then I said, “God, please hear our prayers.”
We laid out all the new candles on the forest floor within the circle of light.
“God, please bless these white candles, that they may bring your blessings to many people,” I said.
“God, please bless these pink candles, that they may bring love and affection to many people,” Penny said.
All of the candles were blessed, red for passion and vitality, yellow for intelligence, green for prosperity and fertility, blue for healing and peace, brown for the animals, and purple for magic.
We gathered the candles and put them back in the hollow under the cedar tree. Penny got out cookies and we sat down.
I said, “God and Spirits, we don’t know if what we are doing is right, but we want to be your children in a way that is fun for us, because we believe you want people to be happy. When we eat these cookies, we will try to remember Jesus and Moses, and all the other good people who have ever lived.”
Just then something small flew into the circle of candlelight. A butterfly alighted on the cookies in front of Penny. “I didn’t know butterflies were out this time of year,” she said.
“They aren’t,” I said, smiling. It flew away. Penny smiled at me with a look of wonder on her face. We ate our cookies without breaking the silence.
Cookies gone, we stood up and Penny said, “Thank you, Grove, for letting us be here tonight and feel your magic.”
We blew out the six candles around the clearing, then the one in the middle, put them all away, and went home to our beds.