An artist friend of my housemate was at the house and said he wanted to paint the Green Fairy but he'd never seen her. So of course I immediately got the necessary things from the wet bar: the absinthe, the sugar cubes, and so on.

I had not originally intended to lead a meditation, just supply drinks. But after we all had some, his speech sped up and he started telling stories about his past nonstop, so rapidly that I thought the fairy would never get a word in edgewise. He might not notice her if she arrived. So I improvised a guided meditation. Those few who have heard what my voice sounds like when I'm guiding a meditation or ritual experience, that's how I sounded. I made my voice slow and calm.

"Ssslllooowwww dddoowwwnnn your thoughts. Be still. Still like you're waiting for bird to land near you. Quiet, still. Slow your breathing. The fairy is coming on silent wings. They are moving in the air, slow, slow, like waves. The only sound is the soft purring of her green cat with white eyes. The fairy moves closer, her green energy throwing green sparks. She will sit down next to you."

At that point he said he thought she was glowing. So, he was seeing something, maybe the Green Fairy, maybe only her glow. It was a successful meditation. 

It is good that I happened to have this experience at this point in time, because that is the last alcohol I'm having for a while. I had a couple of bad results on blood tests so I'm abstaining for a while for my health. I don't know how long a while will be, but hopefully not forever. However long this abstaining phase lasts, I'm glad I ended my previous phase on a good note.

I've been considering how to do ritual without consuming alcohol. Of course when there are other people in the sumbel ritual I can simply serve them either alcohol or a non-alcoholic beverage, as they choose, as I have already been doing for years, and choose the non-alcohol option for myself. But I also do many solo rituals. Normally I would pour a drink, say "hail so and so" and drink, with or without also leaving some of it on the main house altar. For solo rituals without drinking, for most of them I can substitute pouring a drink for the gods or powers and leaving it on the main house altar for them, saying "for so and so" rather than saying "hail so and so" and taking a drink. There is at least one that doesn't want it done that way but I'll figure out what to do for her. The rest of them seem OK with this plan so far.

Perhaps this is the reason the wheat stopped growing in my garden. Because the gods see all time periods at once so they knew in my near future I would not be able to drink the Northern Lights Goddesses Brew. I already stopped making it a couple of years ago, so that works out. 

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 Image: Green Fairy, digital art in a watercolor style by Erin Lale