Sorcerous Omens

A few months ago I made a small batch of Juno Talismans for a few students and did not mail them on time. These talismans are parchment and peacock feather in a glass vial. Somehow something wet got on them or in them and while there was no mold visible, they smelled mildewy or moldy. Needless to say I burned them and am in the middle of making a new batch right now. A student asked “Since the bad batch was consecrated on the Juno global rite, do you feel that it might be a bad sign from her?”.

The answer is no. In this case it was not a bad sign from her and I didn’t even have to divine on it to know. Why? Because Omens like this should be read as part of a constellation of events, and in this case all other signs were good. My petitions of Juno have been met, students reported good results from the rite, and there has been nothing that would indicate displeasure on the part of Juno or any of her retinue other than these talismans that were not stored well.

Why am I bothering to write this? Because I have noticed over the last few years a tendency from people to look for trouble where there is none. Rather than bravely facing the world of spirit as Sorcerers who can handle their itshay, a lot of people use what they know of magic to make themselves even more superstitious* and paranoid.

So the next time a candle sputters out before burning down, or makes a pool of wax that looks ominous: ask yourself if there are other signs, magical or mundane, that would cause you worry. If not, its probably just a breeze and wax doing what wax does. The next time you get sick a few days after a ritual, ask yourself if there is a flu going around – since you are probably always doing a ritual of some kind or other it stands to reason that any time you get sick will be after a ritual. Bugs showing up in summer? Boss being nasty? etc etc. Look for the constellation of events that would indicate a problem. Then divine on it.

*This is not the case with the student who asked the question about Juno BTW. Her questions was totally reasonable in context. I just used it to spring into this post.