Highland Raven (The Celtic Blood Series Book 1) by Karsak Melanie

Author:Karsak, Melanie [Karsak, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Published: 2014-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

After Beltane, my training in the magical arts continued. Epona finished her lessons on Ogham then turned to the symbols carved into the standing stones by the ancient people of the land, the Picts. My father’s blood was the blood of old Alba. I was descended from the woad-painted Picts. The first people here, the native people of this land, the Picts, practiced ancient and arcane magic. Engraved on stones, worked into embroidery, and even tattooed on bards, Pictish symbols were everywhere. I wanted to know what the symbols meant.

“Why do a husband and wife exchange a comb and mirror at their wedding?” Epona asked as we stood alone, deep in the forest, beside a large boulder. Epona had cleared away some lichen and fern to reveal that the stone was carved. On it were many symbols, boars, crescents, and a set of double discs, but it also had a comb and mirror carved thereon.

“I always thought it had something to do with the woman’s beauty,” I replied.

Epona smiled at me. “As do most people, but I want you to look at the actual objects,” she said, and from her small bag she pulled out a small round hand mirror and a comb. She handed the comb to me.

“What is it made from?” she asked me.

I felt the pale-colored comb. On it, someone had engraved the image of a merwoman. “Bone.”

“But what kind of bone?”

I shook my head. “Stag?”

“That is whale bone, a great creature of the sea. And, of course, you see the traditional merwoman carved thereon. Have you ever noticed there is always a merwoman or some sea creature carved on the comb?”

I nodded. She was right.

“The comb,” she said, “is a symbol of the sea. If the ritual is performed properly, the comb is always made of whale bone and always decorated with water images.” She took the comb from me and set it on the boulder. She then lifted the mirror to reflect my face. I’d become toned from my work in the smithy. The sunlight overhead made my black hair shimmer blue and brought out the violet color of my eyes. Behind me, the forest glowed vibrant green. “A woman, and her womb, is all earth, but around her is all spirit, air. She is ready. She is all. She is the fertile land. Around her is the air of heaven. But her womb cannot grow without—”

“Without seed…water,” I said.

Epona lowered the mirror. “Land and sea. The mirror and the comb are fertility magic. They have nothing to do with beauty. They are a reflection of the two forces, male and female, that come together to bring life into the world, the land and sea merging to become one living force,” Epona said then turned and touched the stone. “Someone married here.” She reached out to touch the symbols. “In days long past, true love was pledged here. Long forgotten.” She gently put the items back into her bag, and we headed back to the coven.

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