There is always a lesson to be learned. Never underestimate the powers that can't be seen.
Many years back when I was just starting to practise I went to a dark moon ritual with a group of Wiccan friends. We were all relatively new to this so rituals were a fairly new thing. This ritual in particular, I can't say that I didn't believe in the power of the Gods and Goddesses, lets just say I underestimated them and I paid my price.
For this particular dark moon we all decided to call upon Hecate to bring justice to those who were unfair and careless. A long practising Wiccan, nicknamed Yoda for obvious reason, gave us some wise advice, we were all warned that we will first be justified by the Goddess before our rite was completed. Well, I was sceptical and didn't pay much attention to this, nor did the rest of the group I suppose.
All went well with our evoking of the elements and our Gods and Goddesses. In fact, our whole ritual went well and we all agreed that the power was strong that night. We held the ritual outside under a lapa due to rain and plenty of wind. Funny enough, the burning candles didn't even flicker. Inside the circle it was warm and a presence was felt. It was truly an amazing experience.
Almost immediately after that night it seemed that everything was going wrong. My relationships all seemed to fall apart, my grandmother got terribly sick and now needed frail care- with money I did not have after my company went down. I thought someone up there really hated me, until I spoke to the people that were at that ritual. It turns out we all were having a really bad time. All wise Yoda then reminded us of the justification warning. Well that was me, I was gone. Believing I couldn't have possibly been that bad to deserve all that.
Not long after we all got together to perform another rite, this time hoping to be rid of Hecate’s constant battering. The best feeling is that it worked and all those who did me wrong are getting what they deserve. Hecate’s hard sentencing is a small price to pay for all the rewards I reap today...