THE FIVE STONES

I was introduced to Wicca in a restaurant. A gentleman sat down across from me and said. "You have summoned me."

I'm a suspicious man by nature but for some reason I didn't feel suspicious even though I'd never seen the man before. "I don't think so", I answered. "How have I summoned you?"

"You have been dabbling in witchcraft and I have heard the content of your spells. I didn't know it was you, and I knew not the reason I was called to this restaurant. However, as soon as I saw you, I knew it was you that I was supposed to meet."

I had been messing around with witchcraft and I had tried casting some spells. But I really didn't believe in that stuff and, quite frankly, I thought it was just imagination. Now I wasn't so sure.

"My name is Mekoso," he said. "I am of the Grand Rose Order of Wicca. There is an old saying in Wicca: 'When you are ready, the teacher will come.' Perhaps you are ready and perhaps I am the teacher. I don't know yet."

"But why? Do you know what my spells were about? Do you know what I was trying to do?"

"No. I only know that I was called to this place and I knew it was you I was to meet. What were you trying to accomplish with your spells?"

"I was trying to get a job."

"But you have doubt. And, consequently, your spells have not worked. You are dabbling with very strong forces. Luckily, you have been doing so with a pure heart, and that has protected you. But if you want your spells to work, you must believe they have already worked. You cast a spell for a job, it has happened, and your job is waiting. Do you believe?"

I couldn't help but believe. This Mekoso had come to me out of the blue. He was very real. Strange, but real. How could I not now believe? "Yes, I do believe. What kind of job is waiting?"

"I have no idea. I only know that spells work if they are performed properly. You have -- perhaps by accident -- performed your spells properly. But most of all -- as I said before -- you performed them with a pure heart. That is one of the secrets of Wicca. You notice I say Wicca -- not witchcraft. There is a subtle difference between the two. First of all, Wicca is a religion of Love. What we do, we do for the good of all. We never cast spells that can hurt someone or some thing. Secondly, we do not force ourselves on anyone else. If someone wishes to join us, fine. But we very seldom seek new members to our Coven. You are fortunate. For some reason, the Lady and the Lord have called me to you. Therefore, I can offer you a place in our Coven. Becoming a member, however, is not easy. You must go through some training before we can actually make you a member. Does that sound interesting to you?"

I was very confused. I didn't know what a Coven was and I didn't know who the Lady and Lord was. But something inside told me that I'd better not miss out on this opportunity. Something whispered in my inner mind that told me I was about to embark on a joyous journey. "Yes," I answered. "It sounds very interesting to me. What do I do first?"

"The first thing you do is forget everything you know about witchcraft. I want you to get to know yourself. And I'll give you a tool with which you can do so."

He reached in his pocket and took out a small pouch. Handing it to me he said, "Study this carefully for two weeks. My phone number is in the pouch and in two weeks I want you to call me -- if you still wish to do so. Now I will leave."

I took the pouch as he arose. He turned and walked out the door -- and when he was gone it was as if he had never been there. But the pouch in my hand told me that he had been there. I placed the pouch in my pocket, paid my bill and left.

Arriving home, my answering machine was flashing. I pressed the play button and listened: "Mr._____, this is Johnson Trailer Park. We'll start you on guard duty tomorrow on the four to midnight shift. Be there at three-thirty for orientation. You'll be working with someone for three nights and then you'll be on your own."

A job. My mind flashed back to Mekoso's words. "You cast a spell for a job, it has happened, and your job is waiting. Do you believe?"

I believe, I thought. I got a box out of my garage and loaded all my witchcraft stuff into it. I didn't have much. Just a couple of books and some "tools". I wouldn't be needing this stuff any more. I had all the tools I needed in my pocket, whatever it was. I sat down at my kitchen table, opened the pouch and poured it out on the table. It was five stones. They were about the size of a quarter in diameter, different colors and textures and all very smooth. What on earth did five stones mean?

I thought about what Mekoso had said, trying to remember his every word. "I want you to get to know yourself."

And "Study this carefully for two weeks." Five stones. What was there to study?

I picked up the stones and rolled them around in my hand. Then I picked up just one and rubbed it between my fingers. Nothing happened and they sure didn't feel very magical. I pushed them around the table, lining them up in a straight line, then putting them in a circle and an X. It made no sense to me -- but it had to mean something because I was sure that Mekoso was serious. What did the five stones have to do with getting to know myself?

I did know myself. I knew how old I was, I knew my name, I knew that I was six feet tall and 185 pounds of solid muscle. I knew that I was single, seldom dated and was pretty lonely most of the time. I lived alone, was just about out of money and my job had come just in time.

My job had come. Mekoso said I had a job. He knew it without doubt. If he knew that then he knew something about me. I knew we had never met before and that he hadn't known me before he walked into that restaurant -- but he knew me. Was it magical? Was he magical? What kind of name was Mekoso?

I stared again at the stones. What did they mean? They were earthy like a tree or a bush or a -- or a human -- like me. I was thinking too much and suddenly I was tired. I turned on the TV and let my mind wander away from the five stones, Mekoso and everything else that had to do with magic. I stayed up quite late -- even though I was tired. I had to tune my body for a late shift tomorrow night -- and I kept thinking about the five stones.

I reported to Johnson's Trailer Park at three-thirty. This was an unarmed guard job. I would be working the gate. Every two hours I'd be locking up the gatehouse and taking a tour of the park. A guy named Jim was showing me the ropes for the first three nights but after the first night, he'd disappear for three hours at a time. I think he found some place to take a nap. While he was gone -- and since there was very little traffic coming through the gate between six and midnight -- I took out the five stones and studied them.

I'm a stone, I thought. That's what Mekoso wanted me to realize. Everything on earth is simply a part of the great picture. Whether it's a rock, a stone, a dog, a bird or a human; it's part of the big picture. And each part of the picture is equally important. Nothing is insignificant.

I looked at the various colors of the stones and realized something else. We humans are like the stones: Different colors, textures, shapes, and sizes but we are all equally important. We each have a job to do in this world. We each have a reason for being here. Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn is what that reason is. Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? Am I doing it?

I wondered why I dated so little. And why I had such a hard time finding a woman that really interested me. Was I too selfish? Too self-centered? Did I expect too much? Did I ever give a date a chance or did I expect them to cater to me? I looked at the stones again. They were all similar and yet they were all different. We humans are all similar but we too are all different. Who am I? Did I really know my self? "I want you to get to know yourself," Mekoso had said.

What do the stones mean and what do they have to do with Wicca? I was beginning to think that Mekoso wanted me to get all philisophical. I wasn't Plato, that's for sure. This stuff was too deep for me. Or was it? It doesn't take much to realize that I'm just a cog in a wheel and if a cog is missing you get a bump. Every cog is important. I'm going to ask someone out and treat her like she's important. I'll treat her like we're equals. Of course I can still open doors for her and treat her nice like I always try to do. But when she talks, I'll listen. I mean really listen. Is this what Mekoso meant when he said I need to get to know myself?

He also said: "Wicca is a religion of Love. What we do, we do for the good of all." The good of all. That's a heavy statement. Just like the stones are part of the world, I'm a part of the world -- the All.

I worked five nights a week, Wednesday through Sunday. Friday nights were the busiest. My first Friday night I had a family come to the gate about eight o'clock. It was a fifth wheel with a 35 foot trailer. The man driving was gruff. "We need a place for a week," he growled.

"Yes, sir. I'll see what we have."

"Make it snappy!"

I felt the anger rise up. What a grouch, I thought. I was tempted to take my sweet time and keep him waiting. But I thought about the five stones and how they are all beautiful in their own way. This guy had probably been on the road for awhile and who knows what problems he may have encountered. I scanned through my computer listings as fast as I could.

"Here's a great one for you," I said. "It'll handle your trailer with room to spare plus you can drive straight through so you don't need to back it in. It's got cable, sewer, and electric all ready to hook up."

"Okay," he answered, without a thank you. I smiled to myself. Thank you five stones. It's starting to make sense.

It was two weeks and time to call Mekoso. I called and made an appointment.

"What have the stones taught you?" he asked me.

"I've learned that, even though people come in all sizes, shapes and colors, we are all equal. I've learned that I am a small part of the universe and that even though I am small, I am an important part of the universe. I have a gift, as does everyone, and I must seek to recognize my gift and make the most of it. A wasted gift can never be recovered. I have especially learned that I am the keeper of the universal manifests. Everything I do will have an effect on everything else. If I do good, good will result. If I do bad, bad will result. Not just with me but throughout the universe.

Mekoso smiled. "You have done well. It is time now for you to learn about the Circle of the Sun."

"Before I do that, may I ask what 'Mekoso' means?"

"Every Wiccan has a Wiccan name. You will receive yours when the time is right. 'Mekoso' means Magician."

Mekoso then began to teach me about the Circle of the Sun.

***