Day of the Doves

Two doves flew INTO The Sacred Well last Sunday.

No joke.

They were Mourning Doves, which make one of the most beautiful cooing sounds I have ever heard. "Oooo-eee-ooo-ooo-ooo." I grew up hearing that sound outside my bedroom window in the mornings. It followed me to college, where a pair of doves roosted in the eaves outside my 3rd story apartment roof.

But rarely do I hear the soft sound of Mourning Doves in this urban environment. Occasionally I see a pair at the Berkeley Marina if I go for a morning walk, but that's about it.

Last week, the planning committee for Harvest Home Magick and Music Festival (www.cayaharvesthome.com) was meeting here to hash out the schedule and plan more of the many details we are attending to. All of a sudden there was a great fluttering of wings, and in flew the doves. One flew immediately to the bookshelf and landed atop a dish of black obsidian (a message from my Ancestors, perhaps? A message of protection from Aphrodite?) The other hopelessly fluttered against the window, desperately trying to escape. I watch my friend Molly Blue Dawn lovingly cradle the bird in her bare hands and bring him to the door, where we took flight into the nearby tree. Artemisia and I then graciously ushered his mate out the door by whooshing our skirts. She stepped out into the bright sun, looked confused for a moment, then took flight as well.

I wondered about this pair later: in the crazy traffic hectic noise dirty smog bustling bodies of the city, would she find her mate? Doves do not mate for life, but they do mate monogamously for at least a single season. This partnership may continue into winter if it is promising. No guarantees are made for the following Spring.

I do hope this pair found one another, if that was what was meant to be for their common comfort and survival. Call me a romantic. Call me a Priestess of Aphrodite. I love the love story of it. It was the same day as my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. A good omen. May these doves enjoy many a long mating season, and may my folks enjoy many more joyful years to come. Biology encourages us to seek out another body to help us stay warm. We all have our struggles from time to time. Choosing to stay together for a full season, or a lifetime, involves daily practice. Rose quartz, anyone?