Author's note: I wrote this for Halloween but didn't think about the Literotica moderation time, so it will probably be late. Don't whine to me about this not being true to wicca or whatever. I don't believe in any of that noise. This is just silly fantasy. Enjoy it for what it is.
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"Everything is prepared, sisters. Take your positions." Our response was murmured, but it was unanimous.
The pentagram did indeed appear perfect now. We had placed the large black drop cloth on the flattest piece of forest floor we could find. Rachel had then gone about plotting the five points and driving a stake into the ground at each one. She ran strings between them to keep the pentagram's sides perfectly straight and we had carefully poured powdered chalk along those lines.
As the sun neared the horizon, we lit torches and arrayed them around the clearing. In the center went the offerings bowl. I don't know where Marta had gotten the thing, but it was a beautiful semi-flattened -- and heavy -- cast iron bowl. The metal was rough but refined, its surface licked with the charring of many fiery rituals.
Appropriately, with the disappearance of the day's natural light, gentle snowflakes had begun to descend. The air was perfectly still, and the snow muffled the forest's sounds.
"Remove your shoes, sisters. Connect with the natural world."
The ground was cold and rough against my soles. Iona had insisted that the spirits of the under-earth can only connect with us if we connect with them without any barrier. That meant bare feet. I had shrugged at that -- I liked being barefoot. Though it did make for cold soles tonight.
"Open your over-robes, sisters. Connect with the spirit world."
One memo Iona had been very clear about ever since I first agreed to join in was that all five of us must wear identical ritual garments. She had sewn them herself. The inner layer was a gown made of heavy material in a deep green color. It fell to mid-calf and, given how chilly the night was, I appreciated the thick fabric.
Over that was a long robe-like coat of even heavier wool. It had the color of fertile topsoil plus narrow lines of ornate yellow stitching running down the sleeves, cuffs, and break-line. What it lacked, however, was buttons. The over-robe was meant to be opened during the ritual, and was secured only by a housecoat-style sash.
Now, in the dim firelight, with the garment's heavy hoods still framing our faces, we opened the front of the robes. Under them, Iona's handiwork stood out even more. The gowns featured deep plunging necklines framed by more ornate stitching. "Your spirit is concentrated behind your sternum," Iona had explained. "You must allow it and the external spirit world to commune."
Iona was a good friend, so I always did my best not to roll my eyes at her silly ideas about metaphysics. And, truth be told, the gown truly was beautiful. Loose like that, my breasts didn't look as full as they might with a push-up, but I had to admit there was something to this deep-cleavage style. Maybe I was missing out by not buying any tops like this.
The outfit was topped off with a narrow leather choker necklace stitched with the same pattern as the V-neck.
Now, in the dark and cold, arrayed around the pentagram, the five of us stood with our necks and chests exposed to the elements. An involuntary shiver ran through me.
"Sisters! Approach the hallowed pentagram and assume your station of sacred power."
All the silly ritualistic language was getting old.
So-called 'witchcraft' wasn't my thing. Rachel and Iona were long-time friends of mine, though, so I tried not to belittle it. When they asked me to join their 'coven' to replace someone else who was moving away, I thought, what the hell, why not? I liked the woods, and I liked my friends. Plus, the food they made for their witchy meetings always smelled amazing. It might be a fun way to spend the occasional evening.
I quickly found out how seriously they took it, though. Iona, in particular, instructed me on incantations and offerings, and all manner of nonsense. While she was fitting me for the gown, I asked her, "So, have you ever successfully summoned something before?"
"Oh yes," she'd replied in all seriousness. "We always feel some sort of presence. Sometimes it is stronger than others. We have refined our techniques with each attempt, and in almost every case this year we've gotten a stronger connection with each successive try."
I had just given her a noncommittal "I see," and let her go back to her work, wondering if I'd regret agreeing to it.
Like the others, I now knelt and spread the skirts of my gown out in a circle around me. The exception was in the front, where I was supposed to tuck it up against my knees so that it framed -- but did not quite touch -- the pentagram's chalk outline.
"Sisters! Light your consecrated candles to reflect the fire of your spirits!"
Despite my skepticism, as I struck the match and lit the heavy ceremonial candle, I had to admit it all felt more believable out here. The flames of candles and torches cast dancing shadows all about, but the night was eerily still. I looked around the circle. With hoods drawn up, the candles seemed to illuminate only the mouths and exposed cleavage of my companions. Thick snowflakes floated down between us. The entire experience was both creepy and exciting.
"Sisters! Place the fire of your spirit upon the five pedestals and connect your yoni with the holy Earth-Mother!"
This was the point in the script where I most expected to break into giggles. White people saying "yoni" was silly to begin with, but the fact that Iona was basically telling us "squish your cooch against the ground" was even funnier.
When I said Iona insisted we all wear identical garments, she meant we'd wear only those garments. "We must invite the spirits not only with open arms, but with an open yoni," she'd said. She'd even insisted I be bare while she was fitting me for the dress. Though strange, I acquiesced. I wasn't a prude, after all. "Hm, very smooth, I see."
"Don't tell me I have to grow it out. I hate hair there."
"Oh no, of course not. Witchcraft has nothing to do with hair. I groom too." Iona casually lifted her skirt as she said it to reveal a fiery red landing strip.
I tried not to be shocked by how nonchalant she was about it all. "You're not wearing panties now either? Didn't you just get home from work?"
"I never bother with them," she remarked while she pinned my gown's hem. "I feel much more connected with the living world that way."
"Wait, we've hit the bars together in some pretty short dresses..."
"Not a once," Iona giggled. "And trust me, it's a great way to get the hottest guy in the club to come home with you. Or sometimes the hottest girl!"
I was learning all kinds of new things about my friend.
Out here in the chilly forest, however, she was clearly in her element. Once we were all seated, labia against the canvas, she called into the still night. "We call on the spirits of the forest! Lend us your life-force! We call on the spirits of the earth! Lend us your limitless strength! We call upon the spirits of the sky! Lend us the energy of your motion! We call upon the spirits of the ocean! Lend us your power! We call upon the spirits of the heavens! Lend us your wisdom! Hear us, oh spirits!"
"Hear us, oh spirits!" we echoed.