Today, as I descended into the valley behind our flat and started along the tree-lined mud pathway, I sensed something. For some reason, I invoked the Goddess. Loudly and verbally. I asked the Goddess and the nature spirits of the valley to be with me and to help me in certain things. It just seemed so beautiful with the autumn leaf colors from yellow, through greens and browns to red. The sunlight sparkling in sheer rays through the tree tops. The gentle bubbling of water running down the small brook to the bottom of the valley. I was content.
But then, it happened. At first, I thought it must have somehow started to rain as I heard what seemed like raindrops hitting the leaves of the trees all around me but instead of rain, leaves fell. The leaves swirled around and around as they fell down all around me like a snowfall of multicolored leaves. The gentle sounds I heard were leaf hitting leaf and it sounded like rain. At the same time, my other senses suddenly became more alert and I could feel an energy in the vicinity. The back of my neck tingled and I relaxed into that warm energy. The leaf rain moved and I followed it. I marveled that this leaf rain was only in a single location and it moved along the pathway.
I mean I checked all around. There were no masses of leaves falling from trees, no breeze rustling the tree tops and disrupting the leaves there. I stood watching and began to laugh. This was surely a sign. My involuntary invocation had been heard and a nature spirit or perhaps even the Goddess herself playfully revealed herself to me. What a gift.
Even as I walked out of the forest and back up onto the road, the leaf rain seemed to follow. Not only that but I became aware at one point of a small finch-like bird singing and eyeing me. Even as I passed not a foot underneath where it was sat it did not move. I held my breath as I passed and turned as I walked to watch it in song. I stayed a while and still it sang and watched me until I felt it was time to move on.
As we reached the crest of the valley, my dog ran ahead a little and out of the bushes arose a huge bird. Not more than 10 feet away I watched stunned as a huge bird of prey took off and flew over my head and out over the valley. I have no idea what type of bird it was but I have never seen such a bird here before.
Even now, I am wondering and in awe of this experience. Amazing and a reminder to me that the Goddess is all around us if we will but look.