She walked down the hidden woodland path carefully, making her way in the darkness to her secret grotto. It wasn't a long trip, only about a 30-minute hike before the branches and brambles abruptly ended, and the clearing spread before her in open invitation. She was especially pleased to find that no one, animal or human, had discovered and disturbed her special space. It was a perfect night for her sojourn here, for the moon was high and full above her, the pearl-like face bright against the starless night, and the air was practically crackling with energy.
Every hair on her body stood upright as she moved towards the center of the clearing, making her feel awake and alive. She found the stone altar in the middle of the clearing, erected by her own hands on a previous visit, and knelt before it. Setting the small bag she carried on the earth beside her, she fished inside and withdrew her tools one by one. The altar cloth came first, the white satin cloth carefully draped over the smooth flat stone table to protect the tools that would follow. A small bowl was placed on the northern section of the altar, then a small incense burner to the eastern end. A red candle, mounted on a brass candleholder, and a packet of matches were placed to the southern edge, and a glass wine goblet to the western end. She laid these out carefully, lovingly.
The last few objects in her bag were wrapped together in a black square of velvet, and she placed the package in her lap before unwrapping it. There, against the midnight-shaded cloth, rested four objects. The ceremonial dagger she withdrew first, laying it on the alter cloth just beside the goblet. There were two statues, one of black onyx in the shape of a well-built man, and one of white marble depicting a beautiful woman. Tonight, she would not need the Goddess statue. No, tonight, her worship would only be for the God, in all his glory and divine right.
She set the black carving in the very center of the altar, and withdrew the fourth object, an elaborate silver flask of wine. Carefully wrapping the marble statue back in its dark casing, she placed it back into the bag, then set the now-empty sack under a nearby tree, out of her clearing. Returning to her altar, she filled the empty bowl to the north with soft soil, and poured the red wine from the flask in the goblet.
When her altar was prepared, she got to her feet. Her dress was simple, a white sundress that buttoned from the breast to the hem. With the white orb as her sole witness, she carefully undid each button on the gown, until the fabric hung open and loose about her shoulders. Beneath the simple garment she was naked, and she carefully shrugged it from her arms and set the gown on top of her carrying bag. Anyone who came across her as she walked back to her worshipping place would have sworn she was a forest nymph. Her hair was black, shining blue in the night's only light, and her skin was nearly as pale as the round orb above her.
Her body was lithe, a dancer's body, her breasts small and firm, her stomach flat, her legs long and her buttocks well muscled. A light breeze rushed through her clearing as she knelt again on the flat earth of the grotto, causing her exposed nipples to pucker with the cold sensation. She closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for a long moment, and then began her ritual.
"I hail to the guards of the Earth, and I welcome you to my altar," she began, her fingers brushing the bowl of earth, feeling and envisioning the energies of mother nature flowing into it and spilling over into the northern half of the altar. Turning her attention to the incense, she lit a match and set the tiny stick to burning, perfuming the air with a delicate scent.
"I hail to the guards of the Air, and I welcome you to my altar," she continued, seeing the smoke as the element she called upon, watching the breeze send the tiny stream of smoke into different designs. She continued the same way, lighting the candle for the blessings of Fire and finally sipping from the goblet for the infusion of Water, thus calling all of the elements to her table. Their energies all around her, infusing her with their power, she turned her final attentions to the black onyx idol in the center of her worship. "I call upon you, great one, Father of all life." Her fingertips caressed the figure of the God, running over the carved muscles, feeling the first small spark of heat within that stone body.