Just A Little Push...

Merry Meet Family and Friends!

So, yesterday morning, for reasons still unclear to me, I recalled an incident that happened when I was a child. I guess I was perhaps 5 or 6 years old, give or take a year.

There was a girl my age by the name of Theresa who lived in the house next door to ours. She wasn't my favorite playmate, but her Mom and mine had been friends for years and so we played together often.

On this particular occasion, Theresa and I were playing in her backyard. The yard consisted of a small patch of grass next to a driveway covered by jagged, gravel rocks about the size of quarters. I can't recall what prompted her on that day, but for whatever reason, Theresa pushed me, hard, and I fell backwards onto the sharp stones. The palms of my hands had broken my fall and while I wasn't physically injured, I remember being hurt, emotionally, by her actions.

Sitting on the ground, brushing away tiny pieces of rock and dirt from my sore hands, I looked up at Theresa who was staring down at me with a self-satisfied expression of triumph. Being a timid, non-confrontational child, the thought of defending myself or of retaliation never entered my mind...nor, did it have to. What happened next became one of those inexplicable moments that burned itself into my memory.

As I rose to my feet, brushing off my clothing, I turned toward Theresa. Just as I did, I watched her falling backward onto the ground EXACTLY as I had only moments before, as if pushed by unseen hands. "You, you pushed me!!!", Theresa wailed from the ground below me. "I'm telling my Mommy!". But I didn't! I couldn't! But, how could I explain what just happened and more importantly, who would ever believe something that I couldn't believe myself! At that moment, a voice came from somewhere behind me. It was Theresa's mother. "She did not push you!", her Mom yelled from the window. "God punished you for pushing her!"

God's punishment? Really? Well, perhaps not in the Christian sense of the definition. I do believe, however, that on that day, in that moment in time, I was given a rare gift. Not the gift of karmic retribution for a child's unkind act, but of a glimpse into a World that exists beyond what we recognize as reality and a first knowledge of those that have our backs from beyond the veil.

Over the course of time, I have gratefully been on the receiving end of guidance and/or protection by those who walk between the Worlds. At my request? Perhaps. At others, not so much. It's on those occasions that a little "shove" in the right direction or when necessary to get someone's undivided attention is most welcome.

Possessing all the frailties bestowed upon humankind, I must confess that I have encountered situations in which my anger and frustation have gotten the better of me and I've danced the fine line of magickal ethics. Let's be honest, shall we? As mere mortals, our hearts are often in conflict with our heads. It might take a house falling on us to recognize the difference between what we want to do and what we should do. Thankfully, those instances have been few and far between, but hey, at least I admit it! In working with Hecate, or more aptly, in my devotion to her, I have seen lessons that bore her mark that were perhaps more harsh than anything I might have conjured up, but that were perfectly succinct, leaving no question as to their teacher!

I've since learned that it's not always necessary for me to push back quite as hard as I'd like to. I am comforted by the knowledge that there are those that walk beside me that are willing to do the pushing when I'm vulnerable and just need a little time to brush myself off!

In Darkness, Light!


Tracy