Iris sat shivering on the chilled grass with only a thin, white robe between her skin and the darkening night. She had been sitting in the forest glen adjoining the Sacred Circle clearing for what seemed like hours under the watchful gaze of the high priestess of the Order of Our Lady of Salt, trying to maintain a state of meditation and clear-mindedness. Tonight was to be the night of Iris' initiation, and she was both excited and afraid. It was September 23rd-- the Autumn Equinox-- also called Mabon, and 11 days after her 18th birthday.

The other members of the Order finally began arriving in small groups, chatting cheerfully amoungst themselves and changing into their robes behind the trees. The high priestess lifted her head, and pulled herself up into a standing position.

"Iris. Continue your meditation-- I will be back soon with the high priest and the others, and the initiation ceremonies will begin shortly after." The high priestess smiled. "Your wait will soon be over." She touched Iris' shoulder for a moment, and then turned and walked through the clearing toward the chatter.

Iris breathed in deeply, and tried to concentrate on stopping the butterflies in her stomach. She had been rehearsing the proper responses to the ceremonial questions for days, but she had no idea what would happen to her between the spoken parts, and she couldn't help but be nervous for that. She closed her eyes and waited, continuing the deep breaths.

Minutes later she heard a sudden hush of the voices, and a rustling of robes as the group began filling in the glen around her. Iris opened her eyes, and saw the high priest approaching holding a long strip of white cloth. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet, and she grabbed her Measure from off the ground before she stood. (a Measure is a rope cut into the exact length of the outline of a Wiccan's body, and is said to hold that Wiccan's life force) She stumbled a bit, feeling the strength returning to her bent legs. He moved behind her, and she only had a minute to glance around at the familiar faces before the cloth descended over her eyes, and she could feel the high priest securely tying the knot at the back of her head.

Next Iris heard the sound of cloth falling and felt a light tap on her shoulder. This was her cue to drop her robe and stand sky-clad (nude) for the first time with the sky-clad Order. She took in a deep breath and quickly dropped her robe around her feet. The cool fall air sent goosebumps across her flesh, but she remained tall and straight with her arms hanging to her sides. The Order fell in behind her with the high priest and priestess standing before them. At a silent cue from priestess, the Order-- including Iris-- went down on both knees where they were standing. The ceremony was beginning.

The high priest drew in a deep breath and called out, "Hear the words of the Threefold Goddess, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Dianna, Aphrodite, Ceridwen, Isis, Arionrhod, Brigid, Aradia, and many other names!" He lifted his arm and pointed in the direction of the high priestess.

The high priestess drew herself up and held her head proudly, taking on the aspects of the Goddess. "Whenever you have need of anything, once in the month-- and better is it when the moon is full-- you shall assemble in some secret place and call upon the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise! She who would learn all sorcery yet has not won its deepest secrets, them I will teach her, in truth, all things as yet unknown! Sing, feast, dance, make music and love in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit! My law is love unto all beings, for behold, I am the mother of all things and My love is poured out upon the earth!

At another silent cue, the Order stood and followed the high priest and priestess out of the glen and into the Sacred Circle clearing, leaving Iris behind to continue meditating. Iris was still feeling jittery-- which wasn't helped by the fact that she was kneeling naked and blindfolded in the forest-- but now that things had begun, an inner calm had started to make its way into her mind.

The Order, led by the high priest and priestess, walked in a clockwise motion around the clearing three times chanting, "We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean." The Order then stood in a circle outlining the clearing, facing the center where the alter had been set up. The high priestess took the athame (sword) from the altar and traced a circle around the Order. When she returned to the north, she knelt and saluted crying, "Hail and well come, frosty Spirits of the North. Lend to us your power and protection this night, that Iris Seaton may be given a true initiation to justly wield the power of Earth. So mote it be!"

The Verbena of the Order created a wall of dark-green protective light springing up from around the circle and reaching into the sky while the Acolytes watched. The Order called, "So mote it be!"

The high priestess then advanced to the east, knelt and saluted crying, "Hail and well come, bright Spirits of the East. Lend to us your power and protection that Iris Seaton may be given a true initiation to justly wield the power of Air. So mote it be!

The Verbena then created a wall of lemon-yellow light within the wall of green, and the Order called, "So mote it be!"

The high priestess then advanced to the south, knelt and saluted crying, "Hail and well come, fiery Spirits of the South. Lend to us your power and protection that Iris Seaton may be given a true initiation to justly wield the power of Fire. So mote it be!"

The Verbena next created a wall of crimson light within the walls of green and yellow, and the Order called, "So mote it be!"

Finally, the high priestess advanced to the west, knelt and saluted crying, "Hail and well come, tireless Spirits of the West. Lend to us your power and protection that Iris Seaton may be given a true initiation to justly wield the power of Water. So mote it be!"

The Verbena finished by creating a wall of dark blue light within the walls of green, yellow, and red, and the Order again called, "So mote it be!"

The high priestess returned to the center of the circle, and the high priest took the athame from her hand and raised it into the air crying, "I call upon the Horned God! I call upon the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone! I call upon the Spirits of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water! I call upon the Hosts of the Mighty Dead! And I call every true Wiccan within this circle to witness that we are here to consecrate Iris Seaton as Priestess and Wiccan. The circle is cast!"

The Verbena then caused the four walls of the circle to bend together overhead and flow together under the ground to form a hemisphere of bright white light around the group. Once finished, the Order called "So mote it be!"

The high priest strided over to the edge of the circle closest to the glen where Iris was waiting-- members parting to give him an open space-- and then used the athame to cut a gate in the circle. He passed through the gate, walked over to where Iris was still kneeling, grabbed her by the upper arm-- almost yanking her from the ground-- and led her roughly, only to push her back down to kneel at the edge before the gate. Iris remained silent through it all, just trying to keep from tripping and falling. She had suspected this wouldn't be an easy evening, so she prepared herself for anything to happen. However, she couldn't help but catch her breath and freeze when she felt the sharp point above her heart.

The high priest took the athame and balanced the sword-point over the blindfolded girl's heart-- the point pressing into her skin. As he began to speak, she turned her face up towards his. "You stand at the edge of a place that is between the worlds, in the presence of the Gods and under the watchful eye of the Mighty Dead. If you go any further, you embark on a path that cannot be safely turned aside before your death. Feel the sharpness of the blade at your breast, and know this in your heart: it would be better for you to throw yourself forward and spill out your life than to enter this circle with fear or falseness in your heart."

Iris swallowed and answered in a strong voice, "I come with perfect love and perfect trust."

The high priest smiled and laid down the sword, lifted Iris to her feet, and kissed her quickly on the lips. "Thus are all first brought into the Circle." He then took back up the sword, and led Iris through the gate and up to the alter where the high priestess was waiting. Walking back to the gate, the high priest sealed the gateway, creating a whole sphere once more. He then returned to the high priestess' side, and the circle of members began a quiet and sustained "Aummmmm."

The high priestess then began the Five-fold Kiss. "Blessed are your feet, that have brought you to this place. Blessed are your knees, that shall kneel at the altars of the Gods. Blessed is your sex, without which we could not be. Blessed is your heart, formed in strength and beauty. Blessed are your lips, which shall speak the Words of Truth. Are you prepared to take the oath?"

Iris responded, "I am."

"Then kneel." The high priestess took Iris' Measure from her hands. "You who have from birth been called Iris Seaton but now seek to become Nettle-- do you willingly pledge yourself to the God and the Goddess?"

Iris then placed her left hand on the top of her head, and her right hand on the soles of the feet. "All between my two hands belongs to the Gods. So mote it be."

The others then raised the volume of the "Aummm" slightly.

"And do you swear to keep silent all those things that must be kept silent, and to respect that which is taught to you?"

"I willingly swear to keep silent all that must be kept silent, and to respect that which is taught to me. So mote it be."

The others then raised the volume of the "Aummm" a little more.

"And by what surety do you swear all of these things?"

Iris inhaled and began, "All of these things I do swear, by my mother's womb and my hope of future lives, knowing well that my Measure has been taken in the presence of the Mighty Ones. Should I fail utterly in my oaths, may my powers desert me, and may my own tools turn against me. So mote it be. So mote it be. So mote it be!"

All the other Order members then cried, "SO MOTE IT BE!" ran to Iris, grabbed her quickly, hoisted her completely into the air, and chanted "Nettle! Nettle!" over and over again as fast as they could as they carried her three times quickly around the circle. When they returned to the starting point, they placed her onto the ground face-down and all pressed her firmly into the earth with their hands. Gradually, the pressure relented to gentle massage. Through all of this they had continued chanting "Nettle! Nettle!"-- falling off in volume and speed as the pressure on her body was relaxed.

The high priestess then said, "Know that the hands that have touched you are the hands of love." She then removed Iris' blindfold and helped her up. Iris looked around the circle in wonder, taking in the softly-glowing white sphere she was standing within, and glancing around at her smiling fellow sky-clad members. "In the Burning Times, when each member of the Coven held the lives of the others in her hand, this would have been kept, and used against you should you endanger others. But in these happier times, love and trust prevail, so take this, keep it or burn it, and be free to go or stay as you please." She then handed the Measure back to Iris.

The high priest then stepped forward with the athame, handed it to Iris, and led her to the West, where they both knelt. Iris saluted the West with the athame, and the high priest announced, "Behold, restless Spirits of Water! I bring before you Nettle, who has been consecrated as Priestess and Wiccan!" The two of them then repeated this presenting at the South, West, and finally North.

When the presenting was finished, the entire Order-- including the high priest and priestess and Nettle-- joined hands in the Circle. Together the high priest and priestess called, "Thank you Spirits of the Mighty Dead, Spirits of the Four Elements, and awesome Lord and Lady for hallowing our circle. Go or stay as you will-- our circle is ended."

The Verbena of the Order then closed their eyes, concentrated, and dissolved the protective sphere layer by layer. Once the Verbenas' work was done, the high priest and priestess called out together, "Nettle's initiation rite is now at an end! Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again! Blessed Be!"

The rest of the Order then shouted "BLESSED BE!" and began cheering and running up to hug Nettle, the newest of their Order!