Chapter Four #2
She spoke of the earth’s relationship with the moon. The polarity that drove the ocean tides. The amount of water in the human body and how some believe that, too, is energized by the moon.
“Our minds are so very powerful and often untapped. Clutter pulls at us every day. I invite you to let go of whatever clutter does not serve you. Whatever just came up in your mind now . . . and now . . . Is it a person? A worry? A situation beyond your control? An obstacle? A memory or past haunt that keeps you from living your best life? When you’re ready, take the paper in front of you and write down the things that you want to release this full moon. ”
The roof, Luna thought. She had yet to hear from the insurance company and worried that the expense to cover its repair would force her to take her sister’s offer to help. And to include Ash to help.
Ash wouldn’t want to, but he would do what he could if asked.
Luna never wanted to ask.
Luna picked up her pen and started to write.
Let go of worry and fear about the roof.
That thought brought her to the next.
The roof was only the beginning. The heater in the house was old. By the grace of God only knew what, it hadn’t died.
Chipped and peeling paint had been patched over the years.
Maybe the reason Nana married all those times was so the men in her life could help keep the place up.
Luna had no intention of inviting a man in her life. Least of all to help with the house. She never wanted to feel obligated to a man again.
Luna paused, that thought rolled around.
Obligated to a man.
Where had that come from?
Dependent on a man . . . that felt right.
Like her mother and grandmother before her. Two women whose lives circled around men.
One whose still did.
Where was her mother? Was she still in Indiana where she’d followed the latest in hopes of being loved? One of the many men she placed in a position above her children and responsibilities.
Luna shook the thoughts of her mother from her head.
It didn’t matter.
Luna’s pen tapped into all of her whirling thoughts.
Let go of the pointless memories of Mom.
Let go of the worry of paint and plumbing . . . and heaters.
Luna stared at her paper.
I’ll work harder, she mused. Take on more to make up for the rising cost of the house repairs.
She would not ask her brother and would continue to deny her sister’s offer. Hell, Harper’s husband always seemed to be out of work, or on probation with a company that ultimately downsized with him on the chopping block. They couldn’t afford taking care of two houses.
I’m going to let go of the worry and focus on action.
I’m not going to run away from my responsibilities. Which is what her mother would do.
And just to prove a point, Luna wrote one final line on her paper.
Let go of my mother.
When everyone was done writing down their releases for the month, Jorden brought a lit candle next to a small firepot in the center of the circle.
“When you’re ready, give the moon what you want to release by burning the paper.”
Luna glanced at the ceiling, wondering if the smoke alarms would go off.
Shayna leaned in first. She gripped her paper with a pair of forceps and hovered it over the flame.
The paper caught quickly and burned clean as she dropped her intentions into the pot.
The forceps were passed from woman to woman.
Luna watched as the fire ate up her concerns and dissipated in an instant.
Jorden chimed the singing bowl again. “For a moment, imagine all the things you wrote down were gone. Like a magic wand made it all blow away. How do you feel? Lighter? Open for better things to come?”
The other women were opening their journals.
Jorden glanced at Luna and Miley.
“Write down what it looks and feels like tomorrow when you wake up and everything you burned in the fire is behind you. Focus on what comes after. See what comes up.”
Luna pushed her cushion back against the wall and pulled her knees to her chest.
And her words flowed.
Thirty minutes later, Jorden offered tea while some of the women shared what they’d let go. Others talked about their wins from the last full moon. When it was Luna’s turn, she shared about the home repair concerns but left out all the crap about her mother.
“Have you tried sage?” Shayna asked.
“Sage?” Luna asked.
“Yeah. Sage the house. Get rid of the bad energy.”
The other women nodded as if they understood.
Miley shrugged.
“Does it work?”
“Cultures have burned sage and palo santo to cleanse spaces and rid bad energy for centuries,” Jorden said.
“Indonesian cultures make daily offerings with flowers with incense and set it by their front doors, at temples, at the entry to their business, all with different intentions. Prosperity, happiness, friendship, health . . . anything you can think of as a way to invite these things into their lives.”
It was fascinating how Jorden didn’t answer any of the questions asked with definite answers, more of an explanation as to why something would work.
“When I was married, I’d sage the room my mother-in-law used. She never stayed more than three days,” Shayna told them.
Miley laughed. “Maybe she was allergic.”
Shayna shrugged. “It worked.”
On their way out through the retail space of the store, Jorden gave Luna a thatched bundle of sage mixed with lavender.
“What do I owe you?” Luna asked.
Jorden waved her off. “On the house. Consider this a tool, only you have to tell the tool what to do. If you intend this to clean your space, tell it to clean your space.”
“Thank you,” Luna said.
“Let me know how it works.”
“I will.”