Richmond, Tasmania (photographs)

Copyright © Kayleen White, 2014 (where this date is different to the year of publication, it is because I did the post some time ago and then used the scheduling feature to delay publication) I take these photographs and undertake these writings – and the sharing of them – for the sake of my self expression. I am under no particular illusions as to their literary or artistic merit, and ask only that any readers do not have any undue expectations. If you consider me wrong, then publish me – with full credit and due financial recompense, of course :)

[Content Warning] Agent of Bast

Thank the Lady! Brenda was home again, home after another day of grind and stress, managing professionals who were in particular need, this day, of baby sitting. When she was inclined to be  more reasonable she could see that they were under as much stress as she was – well, more actually, but this day hadn’t been that kind to her, and she’d calmly and seriously considered hitting the patronising photocopy technician on his balding head with a nearby ream of A4 paper several times during it. Why couldn’t he just fix the thing without the smart remarks?

Juggling a few small parcels of groceries, she fumbled the key from purse to gloved hand to door, and then stumbled into her sanctuary – literally, as she had a sanctuary to Nepthys, the Egyptian Goddess, located just inside her door. She’d set it up both for the psychic protection, and as a test of any visitors to her little abode: if they freaked out, or showed signs of disapproval, they didn’t get any further.

From there it was just a few steps to her kitchen, pleasantly warm still, despite the dark and cold outside, and place where parcels, gloves and coat could be deposited. More importantly, Luna, her black and white cat, was waiting for her.

Incredibly shy and nervous when she had come originally, Luna had grown into an overgrown matron with ‘tude, a lady who more than held her own with ‘the boys’, Willow and Saffron, but still inclined to be fragile at times, and at times desperate for attention.

Brenda smiled, skritched the right places, and thought to Luna “Well, dear one, how was your day? Did you get some of the sunny places as well?”

She had to wait for a while though, until Luna had finished glorying in her pleasure at the attention, before she could discern Luna’s reply: “Yes, Lady, I did – we all found good places today.”

As she had been attending to Luna, Brenda had sat on the floor – her back had seen better than half a century of service now, and bending was more of a trial that it used to be – and her other cats had come in and sat waiting for her to finish with Luna.

Saffron was closest: a big ginger tom, he had quite a yowl – he thought of himself as the equivalent of a human opera singer – and quite a leap, but an absolute love of food, comfort and pleasure. She’d looked into Saffron’s past – his past lives, that is –and found that he had experienced considerable hardship, having been a street cat several times, and she felt he was here with her in this life to be healed, so she never expected too much work off the old pleasure puss.

Now it was his turn to experience some of that attention, so he ambled over as Luna trotted off – with her curious, double quick march - to get some food, and with much declaiming and posturing, eventually flopped beside her leg. It was an elaborate and very deliberate gesture, and she often joked with her human friends about it setting off earthquakes because of his size, but she loved the affectation.

He had another mannerism she both loved and was awe struck by, which was to jump – despite his size – directly from the floor into her arms. This, however, had taken a little coordination, and, after Saffron had found himself sitting on her back on day that he jumped as Brenda bent to pick something up on the floor, he had agreed that he would wait until she was ready before he did that again.

Eventually the ginger bus was rumbling contentedly beside her leg, and it was Willow’s turn.

Unlike the others, Willow was a long hair, with a particularly Elizabethan ruff that gave him an entirely appropriate owlish appearance at times – appropriate, because of his wisdom ... but he was still an ordinary cat with ordinary desires as well, and was particularly prone to a high sensitivity at times.

It was the sensitivity that made him so good at his work, and thus, as is often the case, it was both a blessing and a curse.

Willow’s joy was to lie on his back in her arms – like a baby, many of her friends said. Given the work he did, she could not begrudge him that.

After he had had enough attention, she gently put him onto the floor, and they began their discussion about the day as set about making her tea, and checking that they had food, clean water, and clean enough litter trays.

She spoke aloud, but was careful to visualise clearly what had happened during the day so they could get a true understanding, and she let them sniff her fingers as she got to critical parts of the story. She’d asked Saffron about this once, and he had responded that she tended to re-release the same smells as she re-lived events, and, given cats under-appreciated sense of smell, that helped them gain insight into how it had affected her. They were, after all, a different species, and did not automatically take things the same way, or apply the same attributions to events.

Then it was their turn. Luna began and filled her in on the doings in the garden – which Luna had observed through the window. She loved cats, but knew the damage they caused, and thus all her cats were indoor cats, a decision she had explained to her complaining companions, but only Luna had been truly unaffected by that. Willow would consent to go outside on a lead, or while being held, but Saffron had been so offended she had given up trying to coax him out whilst under some anti-hunting measure.

One day she would be able to afford a cat run outside, but today was not that day. Today was the day Saffron had tracked the warmth of the distant and hidden Sun as She – the Sun, that is –had warmed various parts of the house, and he portrayed a panorama of locations, positions and pleasures ... much as he did every day, really.

Now, Willow.

“Well, Lady, Grey Cat and Stubby Tail came around today. Grey Cat curled up on that chair on the verandah, and she says two streets over three houses are becoming very tense. They all seem to feel each is intruding into the others space too much. Stubby Tail says there is a new street cat in the park but that cat is waiting for a homeless man who is to come that way, and there is a kitten three blocks away”.

“Should I perhaps rescue that kitten and find a home for it?”

“We will tonight, Lady, I am told by the Great Lady.”

The Great Lady was, of course, Bast, She who Brenda had pledged to so many years ago in this life, as she had done in many other lives. She nodded, and then continued their discourse for some time.

After tea, she rang a friend who had been experiencing a rough week. While she commiserated, Willow and Saffron sat on and by her respectively, purred, and channelled love through Brenda to her friend. Then it was time for some emails and a brief scan of the Internet, and finally, to bed.

This night her partner was away, so she and the cats spread themselves out in style and comfort, the cats luxuriating cheekily in the extra space. An ordinary watcher would have seen them all going to sleep, but Brenda was no ordinary sleeper, for she did much work during her astral travels.

First was the group of three houses.

The astral of Grey Cat was waiting for her and Willow – Luna didn’t care to venture far from home in astral either, and Saffron was guarding their home, and showed them the houses concerned. She hovered, watching and assessing the energies, perceiving the building layers of hostility and anger, provocation mounting on provocation, with Grey Cat pointing out some of the details.

This was definitely Trouble with a capital T brewing, and there were some vulnerable people nearby – families with children, sensitive people, animals, and a few trees that deserved protection. She thought for a moment, then called to the Great Lady for help.

It came, after a few moments, and showed the connections between the Goddesses and Gods: a Valkyrie.

Brenda wasn’t entirely surprised by this: Freya, who leads the Valkyries, was known for her connections to felines, and she had, in any case, worked this particularly Valkyrie before.

“Hail, Kara.”

“Hello, Brenda.”

They smiled, and then Kara continued.

“I hear you have some miscreants who need attention?”

“Well, yes. There are worthies nearby, I feel, who need some protection while they either sort themselves out, or grow up.”

“Indeed there are. We’ve been watching ourselves, actually.”

Brenda was surprised at that, and Kara explained further.

“One of the worthies nearby is a young man who our Lady may wish to Choose at the end of his life. We therefore wish to ensure he is the best that could be chosen.”

When Kara referred to her Lady, she meant Freya, who was not widely known for it but chose the best of those who died ahead of Odin.

Brenda nodded.

“So … what would you like to do now? Do you want our help?”

“Yes, we would appreciate you, Lady Brenda, and Lord Grey Cat and Lord Willow, continuing to monitor and advise us as you deem appropriate.”

“As we deem appropriate? No particular guidelines, then?”

“Well, you have to earn the right to be Chosen, you know, by doing a little bit of work.”

Brenda laughed, and the Chooser continued.

“Tonight, we’re going to rattle a few cages. Lord Willow, I would appreciate you using your sensitivity to watch and ward, and warn us of any threat. Lady Brenda and Lord Grey Cat, I have some images for you to assume – roles for you to play.”

With that, Brenda felt her astral changing, and laughed again as she saw herself adorned in armour – chain mail, shield, plain helm and sword, and Grey Cat swelling to a majestic lion.

“Now, let us go forth and do some damage!” cried Kara, and she strode through the barbed astral barriers –more entangled than trench war barbed wire – with a contemptuous swipe of her sword, and into the central house. Brenda and Grey Cat hurried after.

In the house they found the surly inhabitants – well, their astrals – circling around the lounge, gazing towards the neighbouring houses. Kara strode to the largest, and contemptuously pushed him over, and placed the tip of her astral sword at his throat.

Kara had explained to Brenda some time ago how it was easy to use imagery related to how things worked on the physical with the unevolved. She found those who actually knew what was happening far harder to fight.

The others made to move towards their leader, but Grey Cat – or her image, rather, growled, and Brenda loosened her sword in its sheath and looked calmly at each of them.

They stopped.

Kara had a power voice, and she used it now.

“Cease this madness at once, or you will be dealt with.”

Their leader snarled back at her “You’re just a girl, I don’t take orders from a girl!”

In answer, she visualised kicking him, and projecting her sword slightly into his face. She knew there would be no lasting damage, but the pain would help get the message through.

“You going to stop me, coward? You can’t – you’re weaker than I.”

At that, the leader tried one more time to get up, despite the pain, and was easily held down by Brenda, who knew that this was a test of psychic, not physical strength.

He stopped, shocked.

“Not a nice feeling, is it, knave, to be held weak and helpless by someone who is stronger?”

He glowered.

“You will listen, and take heed.”

He glowered again, but surlier.

Brenda hid her smile, and felt Grey Cat swallow her laughter. It might amuse them, but laughing would not help change the entity they were facing.

Kara continued.

“If you continue this fight, you will find yourself up against stronger forces. And you will lose, and be humiliated.”

She paused to let that sink in.

“There are better ways.”

Kara took her foot and sword off him, but ostentatiously kept the point poised to strike again. He sat up, rubbing face, throat and ribs, and watched her.

“So, cur, why do ye seek this quarrel?”

He was silent, then snarled “I don’t like ‘em. What gives ‘em the right to do God knows what! And where are they from, anyway?”

Brenda had a sense that he was snarling about one house in particular, which apparently had recent migrants in it. She saw Kara half close her eyes, and knew that this meant she was communing with the Goddess Freya.

Encouraged by the silence, the man began to snarl more obscenities, but Kara cut him short – literally. She appeared to thrust the tip of her sword into his eyes – certainly that is how it appeared to the onlookers, and Brenda and Grey Cat had to threaten them again to keep them at bay.

After a few moments, Kara had finished, and projected a wall of energy at the onlookers, knocking them all off their feet, and gestured to Brenda and Grey Cat to follow her as they withdrew.

Once they were well clear of the mess, Kara explained that she had been given permission to show the snarling man one of his recent lives, where he had been a refugee who had been killed for seeking refuge. It had been explained to him that this was the reason he was reacting against those in a similar situation, lashing out in childish pain instead of being “a man”. If he continued to do so, he would find himself arrayed against stronger forces, where he would lose and be humiliated.

Brenda asked if this was the person they were to help, but Kara shook her head.

Kara then checked with Willow – Lord Willow – that they were still safe, and then it was time for the next house, the house of migrants. For this one, they adopted different images: Brenda as a mediaeval lady, Grey Cat as a neater version of herself, and Kara with her weapons in safe stowage.

This time, they found the inhabitants – well, their astrals - of the house cowering, clustered together in the smallest room of the house. This was an exercise in coaxing, offering friendship, and using Grey Cat and, eventually, Willow, to tempt the children out to play. The message they sought to convey was that others cared, and that others were seeking to protect them, and that they would have help nearby.

“Look across the street”, urged Kara, as they left.

The third house had an elderly couple in it, a couple who were angry at the changes they saw and didn’t want, and fearfully judged their new neighbours for not looking after their houses “properly”. For this couple, Brenda watched as Kara brought in different workers, who portrayed imagery that helped the couple remember that they, too, had once been young and relatively radical, that they had been through massive changes, and other personal insights. The messages included someone great across the street, and that powerful forces were watching.

After she had finished at that house, Kara sighed and mourned to Brenda, Grey Cat and Willow that she could give them the opportunity to choose, but she couldn’t ensure that they would.

Willow put his paw sympathetically on her arm, and she smiled.

“Thank you, Lord Willow”, and he purred in return.

“OK, so” Kara said, thoughtfully looking across the road, “our future hero, then.”

This time there were no images. This time the three appeared as themselves, and, as they drifted across the road, a figure rose to meet them, a young, teenaged boy.

“I was watching”, he said. “Will that work, you think?”

“No” replied Kara, “ I know it will work – within the limits that are allowed.”

The boy started to snarl at her but was silenced when she held her hand up, and used her power voice to snap out “No! Silence!”

Sullenly, he did so.

“Child – you are a child, and will be so until you support yourself, so do not quibble with me”, she continued.

“Child, your heart is in the right place, as is said these days. I come from an older age, and I say your heart is true and good, but your mind lacks the wisdom of experience.”

The boy mumbled that he had had more experience than SHE could know.

Kara grasped his chin, and drew his eyes up to meet hers.

“Look into my soul, you ignorant beast, and dare to claim to tell me that, no matter what you may have experienced in your less than a score of years, you know MORE than one who has lived THOUSANDS of years.”

He blanched as he became aware of Kara’s power – and her experience, and then had the decency to blush.

“Your touchiness, child, is a sign of your immaturity. I’m aware of the study that you’re doing – outside of your official school. Your hunger to know more is, in itself, a sign that you acknowledge you can benefit from more experience.”

“How do you know that?”

Kara merely smiled, and then continued, as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Child, if you wish to gain more experience, I am going to ask – ASK, mind you – my friend here if she will consent to have you work with her this night, as she goes about her other duties. If she freely consents, then you may go – provided you agree to be polite and respectful, and provided her companions also agree”

At that, the boy looked at Grey Cat and Willow, and shuddered. He had seen Grey Cat become a lion, and knew they were not to be underestimated.

Brenda felt the touch of Kara’s mind, and opened her awareness.

“Would you mind terribly, fiend, if you take him along for the rest of this night? I’ll have someone else organised after this, but I need some time to do so.”

“That’s OK – provided he behaves. How did you know about the study he’s doing, by the way? If I’m allowed to know”

“You’re allowed – in fact, you need to know. He is doing psychic and occult study, but he is finding it unsatisfying, and will move into a more spiritual path soon. As to how I knew, well, the family cat told me, of course!”

They chuckled, and the boy flushed.

Kara reassured him that wasn’t about him, it had to do with cats.

The boy agreed to the conditions, and, shortly after, Kara left for her other duties, and Brenda was left with the young man.

She looked at him, noting the surliness, and the underlying caring and decency, and then turned to Grey Cat.

“Thank you, Lady Grey Cat, for your assistance, and for the opportunity to be of service.”

They bowed to each other – Grey Cat with her head, Brenda with her body, and Grey Cat wandered off into the astral, tail high.

Brenda turned to Willow.

“Lord Willow, you know of a kitten that needs help?”

“I do, Lady Brenda.”

The boy was rolling his eyes; Brenda and Willow glared at him, and he shrugged. “Sorry.”

Brenda snapped “Follow us”, and then herself followed Willow as they floated a few blocks over.

There, in a darkened house, they could see the auras of several sleeping people – one red with anger and frustration, but dim with exhaustion, one swirling with grey and changing colours – a child’s aura, and one brown, with bands of green and gold, but also dim with exhaustion. Brenda projected her Sight further in, and saw the green orange was the father’s, the other a mother suffering from overwork, the constraints of being at home, and the demands of a clingy child.

She explained this to the boy as she worked, and then turned to Willow.

“Lord Willow, why should the kitten go to this house?”

“The child will bond with the kitten, and relieve the mother; the father is against pets, but seeing the value of this will lead to a change of attitude and the parents will review and change the agreement they had formed some years ago for the mother to stay at home and look after the child only.”

“So … what, she’ll stop being a mother?” asked the boy.

Willow and Brenda rolled their eyes, and Willow explained “No. She will continue to be a Mother – and, in fact, a better Mother because she is able to look after her needs as well.”

He glared at the boy, and continued “Do not presume to question me, child. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have been alive.”

The boy was goggle eyed.

“I’ve just been told off … by a cat?!”

“Yes” snapped Brenda.

“But … but … cats don’t live more than fifteen years, and I’m-“

“Seventeen” interrupted Brenda. “Yes, we know.”

She leaned over and glared into the boy’s eyes.

“All life reincarnates, child, and Lord Willow has been doing this through several lives – most of the recent ones with me, in this incarnation, and I’m a darn sight older than you.”

“Re … reincarnation?” the boy squeaked.

Willow and Brenda looked at each other, and then Willow replied.

“That, young sir, is a conversation we will have another time. We have another quest at hand right now.”

“Yeah … about that. Is the kitten going to be safe? I mean …”

Brenda replied “There is an element of risk. I assume this has been explained to kitten, Lord Willow?”

Willow nodded – a curious move in a cat – and explained to the boy: “We know what we’re doing, young Sir, and we know that there may be risks of harm or death. We don’t like it when that happens, and it can leave us a scarred as a human would be if that happened to them – but we don’t shirk from the duty of care we have taken on.”

“Are all cats like this?”

“No” replied Willow, shaking his head – also a curious thing to see a cat to do. “We have … mature souls, just as we have immature, ignorant or flawed souls – exactly the same sort of range as in humans.”

Brenda interrupted “You’ll see more of that shortly, but right now … where is this kitten, Lord Willow?”

Willow showed them the way, and they found the kitten nearby, curled up under a bush. The boy moved as if to pat the cat, then held back and looked at Brenda and Willow.

Willow responded “Yes, it’s OK, you can pat the kitten.”

The boy did so, and was amazed that the cat quivered with pleasure, and stretched, purring.

“Ah, you’re here to lead me to this new home, are you?”

Willow replied “We are indeed.”

With that, they began moving slowly towards the selected house, the kitten following, cautious. At the house, the kitten was directed to hide in the backyard, and wait until the child came out later that day. Then it was time to leave.

The boy was upset.

“Will he be alright?”

Willow replied “As to whether he will be so, that is up to the humans involved. As to whether or not we have done what we can, we have – and you played an instrumental part in that.”

“What? Me! I didn’t do anything!”

“Yes”, replied Brenda, “you did. You showed kindness from a human, and that will help the kitten be happy to see humans, and thus incline everyone towards a better outcome.”

The boy nodded, thoughtful.

After a moment, he added “Um, we have a cat, and, u, well, er …”

“Yes” replied Willow, “we know about your family cat – that is, in fact, how we found out about you in the first place.”

“Oh … ah … I think … I might … er, be watching my privacy a bit now – in future.”

They laughed as he blushed.

“OK” gasped Brenda, “we have a couple more things to do, tonight.”

“Yeah, what?” surled the boy.

Willow replied: “Help two cats who need it.”

The boy nodded, and with that they were off again, to another house that looked fairly normal, with – going by the glows of their auras - a couple sleeping in one of the front bedrooms.

Willow turned to the boy, and began explaining “When living creatures die, our spirit bodies – the art of yourself you are aware of tonight – survives the death pf the physical, and there is another world a … spirit world if you will, that the spirit goes to.”

Brenda added “it’s a little like another station on the radio: change the frequency you’re tuned in to, and you’re ‘in’ the spirit world.”

Willow nodded – the boy was getting used to that now – and continued “Sometimes, entities have trouble making that change of awareness. In a sense, they get stuck here, in the physical, and need help to make the change of awareness that we call ‘transition’.”

Brenda finished the explanation with “We’re here to help two such cats.”

“Why are they stuck?”, asked the boy. “Were they killed horribly, or something?”

“No”, replied Willow. “They had a loving life, were put down as a result of illness, and now they are reluctant to let go of the love they knew in that life.”

“OK, so … what do we do? Where are they?”

The three had been drifting into the house as they spoke, and Brenda now said “turn around, and look.”

The boy did so, and initially saw nothing – then he noticed what appeared to be a couple of lumps under the bed covers: two ginger and white cats, blending into the awful pattern of the bedspread. Exclaiming, he picked them up, and they nuzzled in for more attention.

As they purred, Brenda commented “As to what we do, what we do is exactly that – show them that there is other love in the Universe.”

After some time, Willow spoke. “Cats, you now remember your lesson. If you’ll follow me, we’ll now go to a place where you can have yet more love.”

With a final head butt each in thanks, they leapt down, and the three cats walked off, tails high.

The boy turned to Brenda. “I am glad I could be of help. Do you do much of this?”

“I do, and a lot of it is as pleasant as that, but some of it isn’t enjoyable or pleasant.”

The boy looked down, thinking hard.

“OK, but … is that something I could be part of?”

“If you wish.”

The boy looked in the direction the three cats had gone, and then thought over the night’s activities. “Yes, I do wish for that.”

Brenda smiled. “Alright then, I’ll come back tomorrow night, and start your training.”

“Will I remember this?”

“Not very well, and mostly as a strange dream, but your recall will get better. For now, try to remember to name of the Great Lady, the Goddess Bast, as I am a servant of Hers, and if you do this work in this way with me, you may become so as well.”

The boy nodded, and filled with determination, was guided back to his body.

Well, it had been an eventful night – not the busiest or most demanding she’d ever had, but now it was time to return along her Silver Cord back to her body. She had, however, one more event for the night – a surprise her feline friends had organised for her.

Some time ago, she had told her partner of her astral work with the cats, and had been asked if the cats wore action hero capes. She’d passed that on to the cats and, tonight, as she floated down to her body, their astrals were waiting, lined up alongside her body, and … wearing capes.

She laughed, patted them, and, accompanied by their purrs, eased herself back into her sleeping body, get some low key sleep for the rest of the night, and then face the next day.

 



Copyright © Kayleen White, 2015 (where this date is different to the year of publication, it is because I did the post some time ago and then used the scheduling feature to delay publication) I take these photographs and undertake these writings – and the sharing of them – for the sake of my self expression. I am under no particular illusions as to their literary or artistic merit, and ask only that any readers do not have any undue expectations. If you consider me wrong, then publish me – with full credit and due financial recompense, of course :)