hello serendipity

yesterday during set up i was mixing my donated nefertari's tarot into the box at the tarot station when i looked up to see a cat jogging towards me from a nearby open door. beautiful cat, black through the whiskers, glowing green eyes. i dropped down so i could scritch him behind the ears and his owner, one of the residents at the collective who'd been nearby smoking, came dashing in after him to apologize for the intrusion.

"this is not a problem," i explained. "black cats and witches go together like..."

"black cats and witches." we laughed. "his name's osiris," the resident told me.

the top of my head tingled. before i donated the tarot cards, i'd intentionally pulled the high priest, which portrays osiris, so i could use it as an altar image. i've been gradually trying to work more resonant images of masculinity into my spiritual practice. then i have a day like thursday and i'm just like, you know? there's an awful lot of rape and forcible impregnation in mythology and i think i'd rather not have too many reminders of that in the places i go for spiritual renewal. or, you know, hanging around any of my goddesses who might get triggered. but osiris? he's been in my peripheries for a while. osiris was sexually exploited by his sister-in-law before getting horrifically murdered by his brother. he's a sacred victim. i'd like to hold space for him, some time. plus he's in the book. so. i'll be doing that, regardless.

the resident talked for a few minutes, mostly about osiris the cat and his reclusive sister isis. we only thought to introduce ourselves at the end.

"i've always thought judith was the most beautiful name," he told me. "it was my great grandmother's."

the cat bumped his forehead into the center of my palm at the invocation of grandmother, emphasizing the yet unsolved riddle of that moment.