poemtry and prose

Lexi looked at the building. She was in old town, halfway between Pearl Avenue and Newport Way. The store itself was a two story old victorian house, painted light blue with purple trim. Clear crystal balls and old books with dust sat in the window display, sitting at odd angles on sheets that were stretched out across a few pedistals. Dust glinted off the sun as it hit the crystals. A smokey haze waifted up as a green stick of incense burned in a brown, wooden incense holder. Lexi frumped. She was not sure what she was doing there and was not too impressed with the whole building and the contents inside. She had seen a few more of these bookstores in her time and apparently it was the style for new age bookstores these days that catered to all sorts of religious beliefs. Religious tolerance bread ecclectisim and a safe place to study or so she thought.

A hand-painted sign sat out front tucked between a few hedge bushes and trees. Bold black letters read Aquarian Dreams, and surrounding the name were hand painted yellow and gold stars and a black and white yin yang floating against the white board. The wood was weathered and Lexi noticed that some of the paint had started to crack in several spaces. Five brass bells tied around the door jingled and jangled as the door opened and a girl in her mid-twenties bounced out of the room. Her hair was long and blonde and knotted in a bizillion dreadlocks. She stunk of patchuli, a smell that Lexi found less than pleasing. The blonde smiled at Lexi as she skipped down the stairs and strolled lazily up the street.

Lexi stared down at her watch, Naomi was late again. The digital face on her black watch band displayed three p.m. Lexi sighed, "Either I am early or she is running late again." Of course, she already knew the answer to that one, as Naomi was always late to everything they planned on being at. Naomi always passed it off as something she jokingly referred to as Pagan Standard Time or PST. Naomi never had an issue with meeting people on time, she believed in the universe telling her when and where to always be there. Lexi shifted the backpack so the weight was evenly redistributed over her shoulders. She didn't pack much in it but for some reason, it felt heavier on her arms than normally.

She turned her back away from the store and watched cars whizz by her. "Hey you," a voice came from behind her, "I figured you would have already gone inside the bookstore by now." It was Naomi and she walked up by Lexi.

"Nope," Lexi said, "I decided to hang out here for a bit and smoke. You are late again." Lexi smirked, she always enjoyed provoking a reaction out of her friend. Naomi shrugged her shoulders and stuck out her tongue, "Eh... whatever. It is Pagan Standard Time," she leaned over to look at Lexi's watch, it now read 3:15, "According to your watch I am practially on time. So yeah, come on let's go inside. It is getting cold and I wanna make sure I have enough time perusing books."

They walked up the three steps, which creaked with age as they stood on them, and Naomi ceremoniously threw open the door. "After you madame," she smirked. Lexi guffawd and shook her head. Naomi was a strange friend indeed and Lexi was not sure what it was that made their friendship worked. She was a tall woman, still in her mid twenties and in her last year of college. Naomi, on the other hand, was short and perky and in her thirties. Naomi was a witch with blue eyes and long black hair. Lexi had reddish brown hair and green eyes. They had met at a book reading a few months ago held at the Aquarian Dreams bookstore. Lexi was researching Native American totems and their use in religious ceremonies and Naomi had gone because she had nothing else better to do. Their apparent interest in Occult matters was what brought them together. After the reading, Naomi gave Lexi her email and the two emailed long discussions about life and work and studies and this weekend was the first time they could get together to sit and hang out. Naomi choose the bookstore for their meeting place as the two loved books.

"So, how are your classes going?" Naomi said as they checked their backpacks in. The clerk at the counter, a girl with black glasses on and a purple t-shirt handed them each a clothespin with a number and a sticker of a star on it.

Lexi smirked, "They are alright. I am doing really well considering Dylan left me. I still cannot believe that he is gone and out of my life. I know, I know I should not worry about it and that the 'universe' will bring someone new to me but I cannot help it. I loved him, Naomi. I really did." Lexi stuffed the smooth clothespin in her jeans pocket and choked back the tears that were entering her eyes. "Yeah, I will be okay eventually. Just did not expect that to happen so soon is all."

Naomi nodded, "Well you are right on one point... the universe does have a plan for you and you will find someone else. When one door closes another one opens. But," she shrugged, "that is only what I believe and I know you are not really sure about all this hocus pocus stuff anyhoo."

Lexi nodded and plafully swatted Naomi. "It is not that I disbelieve. It is that I am not quite sure if I believe in the same thing you do. Magic is all very interesting but I just cannot really see myself practicing it without wanting to laugh at it. I really do not think I can keep a straight face while calling upon the Great Goddess Whosiewhatsit while burning a candle and singing in a room full of weirdos in black gothy clothing or renissance garb on."

Naomi giggled and tossed a lock of her raven black hair behind her, "That is not all exactly true. We do not sing and not all of us wear renaissance garb." She looked around the store.

The store had retained it's roomy partitions unlike many other stores in the same location that kept the outside house construction but gutted the insides to fit a more modern day store inside it. Each room carried a theme or housed a particular series of books and knick knacks used by a particular religion for celebrations. The main room displayed all new arrivals and had clothing, handcrafted metal and beaded jewelry, tea pots and handmade teas, and local art work for sale. The check out counter stood in the middle of the room and had two flat panel monitors facing away from each counter. A cd player had been tucked behind one side of the counter and it was playing random selections from the five different cds the clerk had put in the machine. Airy music, etheral sounds of keyboards and flutes waifted out into the air from the small, wireless Bose speakers which hung from the ceilings of the store.

Naomi pushed Lexi over towards the doorway that lead away from the mainstream Christian books and cruisifixes and the stigma of a god that was unforgiving to their followers and into the pagan and Wiccan books with their Do It Yourself mentality of creating your own reality and myriad of pantheons of Gods and Goddesses from which to believe in. Lexi breathed in the scents of beeswax and incense and ceder as they moved into the cramped room. Book cases that spaned the entire wall from ceiling to floor met them with an eagerness to peer inside each book and gleem the knowledge contained there in. Candles of all sizes and shapes sat besides some books and on a hand carved circular table that had been placed in the center of the room. A bundle of three candles with handwritten paper spells were sprinkled around many of the larger beeswax candles.

A large statue of a goddess pouring water out from a cup sat in one corner, made of grey and white cold marble. A tag dangled around the goddess's neck: $3000. "A bargin price for something that intricate," thought Lexi. Naomi walked over to one bookshelf filled with books on magic and goddesses. She sat down and started to slowly scan over each and every book cover. Lexi wandered around to the opposite side of the bookcase. She scanned her eyes over the colorful spines and read some of the titles. "Magick in 30 days," "A White Witches Guide to Prosperity and Happiness", "Create Your OWN Reality," and many more books caught her eyes. Lexi carefully picked up the occasional book that looked promising. Lexi had no idea what she was searching for, but she figured that it was not something that was going to be found on a metal bookshelf labeled with some catchy marketing speil about how it was in her mental ability to recapture the power inside of her self to make her reality better.

She sighed. "I dunno if I am in the right mood to be here, Naomi," she said looking down at the black haired girl who was deeply intranced in whatever book she had picked up. "I guess I am just not really ready to head out and be social yet."

Naomi carefully put the book back on the correct spot on the shelf and then looked up at Lexi. She smiled at her young friend. Lexi was a few years younger than her and had a lot to learn about the world around her, Lexi was clearly battling something inside her.

"Sweetie," she said as she pushed off her left hand to stand up, "I know you hurt. I know that he hurt you pretty deeply this time around. But, he is not coming back. We both know this. It was my goal to bring you out today to maybe help get your mind off of things." Naomi looked to her left and right at all the books around them. "Hmm..."

Her wandering eyes then caught sight of a particular rack of books. Nestled between a self standing book case full of tomes on crystals and a three tiered rack of blank books, journals and handmade books of shadows, was a case sitting on top of a half sized bookcase. The case was divided into four small shelves. Sitting on each shelf were small boxes of cards, tarot cards. An idea hit Naomi's mind and she smiled at Lexi.

"Come on over here," she said dragging her friend. "I want to show you something. Maybe this may help." And she dragged Lexi over to the glass case.

Lexi looked at the various boxes of cards in the case. Some of the boxes were slim, others were wide and a few were tiny. She had a hard time imagining how anyone could shuffle cards of such diminuitive size. All had intriguing and catchy names and artwork on the box. Lexi scanned the shelves quickly, "The Rider Waite Deck", "The Crowley Deck," "Shapeshifter Tarot". Images of faeries or people dressed in renaissance garb were mixed in with pictures created by computers or painted by water colors.

"Okay Naomi, I do not get it," Lexi said, "I know what these are. They are tarot cards. Big deal, so what."

Naomi smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Tarot cards. Let me guess, you have never had someone do a reading for you or divine your future with these?"

"No, not really. Never really believed in them or had a desire to have my cards read. You read?"

Naomi nodded, "Yes I do actually. But that's not all good tarot cards are for. You can do much more with them."

Lexi listened to Naomi while staring at the cards, the images were very pretty and she found herself wanting to know what the images behind each card meant.

"For example, I can do an entire magickal spell or ritual with them. Just by using cards that contain certain symbols I want to use inside my reading or show scenes of goals or destinies I want to achieve. I can also use the cards to help me brainstorm ideas for my stories and novels or write journal entries off them. I know some people who even play games like monopoly or Poker or Hearts with the cards. They are a powerful tool and one that can help you get over Dylan and maybe learn more about yourself and the world around you."

Lexi sat down in front of the case. The idea of basing a whole belief system around the cards seemed hokey but plausable. She wished that many of the decks in the case were not wrapped in plastic. There were a few demo decks sitting on the book case underneath the glass case filled with cards but the images on the cards were worn and tired and did not appeal to Lexi at all. Naomi drew a book from the bookcase and showed Lexi.

"See," she began, "this book describes one person's ideas of what the cards are. However, the beauty of tarot cards are that there is really no right or wrong way to read a card. You really create the meaning behind the card and divine the meaning from all the symbols presented on the card."

Lexi looked down at the cold deck in her hand, held together by a metal ring. "But what if I do not like the way the cards look. How am I supposed to connect to them at all."

"That is why there are so many types of decks out there," Naomi said, putting her finger against the bottom shelf of the glass case. "I am sure that if you are interested, we could maybe find a deck that fits your style."

Lexi looked up, to where Naomi held her finger against the case. Her green eyes followed Naomi's long and slender finger with shiny, purple glittery finger nail polish, and looked beyond it, further back into the case. Just beyond the finger, and almost touching the glass was a box. The box sat about three inches tall, just long enough to fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. It was matte black and did not appear too striking. No images of faeries or people graced this box. On the front of the box was a pencil, ink and water color drawing of a reddish-brown fox circled around itself. The fox's head was nestled in its bushy black-tipped tail. Three words were sketchily written above the fox, in a hand printed but computer generated script that simply said, The Windchaser Tarot.