I had planned to write this post about Yule, since it's coming up on Friday. Unfortunately, last Wednesday night something happened that changed all that.
Last Wednesday, I had gone out to meet friends. We all gathered at 4 pm, and enjoyed conversation. It was a fun time. I left the gathering about 7 pm, and started home.
As I drove, I contemplated various ways I could get home. I wasn't in a hurry, but I was on the fastest route home, and something kept telling me to stay on that route.
When I got home, I put some things away in my car, and made my way to the front door. Unlocking the door, I found the chain latch was engaged. My first thought was, 'How the hell did that happen?' because it's physically impossible to latch the chain from the outside.
Trying to figure out what was going on, I went around to the back, and entered through the garage. When I got to the door to the house inside the garage, I realized what had happened. The door was splintered.
My house was broken into.
I have a conceal carry permit for my state. I was armed, as always. I walked into the house to find all the lights on, and a pile of my belongings stacked next to the front door, ready to be taken out. The back sliding glass door was open.
The house had been thoroughly tossed. I did a search of the house for any intruders. Along the way, I took quick mental note of things that were missing from their usual spots. Then I called the police.
I live in an area that is surrounded by a city, but isn't part of the city. It's unincorporated, so while the city police department is literally within walking distance, I have to call the County Sheriff. This wasn't an emergency, the burglar was gone (probably out the back door as I went around the house), so I had to find the number for the sheriff's department.
I looked online at their website for a number, all they had was 911 for emergencies. A few minutes of looking through the phone book (remember those?) came up with the non-emergency number.
The number is now in my contacts.
To their credit, the deputies showed up within about 15 minutes. They insisted on clearing the house again, they dusted for prints, and took DNA samples from my bags, full of my possessions, the thief had lined up in front of the door. The Deputies then watched as I unpacked the bags, recovering my almost lost belongings.
On my initial search, I had noticed that my athame, and wand were missing from my Ritual Room. I found both in one of the bags. I understand why the thief wanted the blade, it could be sold. It's one of six ever made, which makes it very valuable, though the thief wouldn't know that.
What I couldn't understand, was why he also packed the wand. It was a birthday gift from a dear friend, and made by an Irish Arch Druid, from the wood of a 5000 year old oak, recovered from a bog. Because it was a gift, I have no idea what the true monetary value is, I expect quite a lot, but to the thief, it would have been just a black stick.
There were a lot of items like that, where they had immense personal value, but no real value, or empty boxes that I had stuffed in a drawer, or items of real value, but only to a select group. It really was a random selection of personal items.
My computers, which have a lot of expensive devices connected to them, weren't touched. The thief went past an electric guitar in the living room, to grab an empty violin case. My 65" flat screen TV was also untouched. Deputies told me they thought it was probably kids. I pointed out that locking the chain latch as an alarm, and barring access, is a professional tactic.
As it turns out, there are only a couple of things still unaccounted for. Nothing truly valuable, nor personal is missing, I definitely interrupted them in the process of robbing me. I spent the next day putting things away, and dealing with insurance for the property damage.
What to do now.
I am writing this on Friday. The attempted robbery happened just two nights ago. A contractor from the insurance company came out yesterday to board up the house, so it is again secure. The insurance adjuster is due here in a couple of hours, to determine the value of the damages. On the mundane level, everything is going to be fine.
The problem is, my Sacred Space, not just my Ritual Room, but my home, has been desecrated. I am really pissed off, and you should never piss off a Witch. The first thing I need to do, is cleanse the property, and reset my Wards. That should only take about 20 minutes.
I hadn't really worried about the Wards, so it's been several years since I last refreshed them. That was my error. It won't happen again. This is a quiet neighborhood. I got complacent and it cost me.
Yes, I recovered most all of my stuff, but I still feel violated. Even though my house is secure again, I wonder about leaving it. Will I come back to find my home trashed, and this time, things missing for good? I do not like feeling this way.
Fortunately, I am a Witch. I have resources at my disposal. The Wiccan Rede says "'An it harm none", it doesn't say anything about self defense. I am one of those who believes that in defense of myself or others, I am quite justified in harming.
So I am creating a spell to take back my piece of mind. I have spent the last couple of nights thinking about how I will do that. First, the spell will ensure the thief is caught...red handed, but that isn't enough. That alone, would be considered Black Magick. He's going to be caught against his will.
I want more, I want him to suffer for destroying my sense of security. Some would say that's going too far. At least, until it happens to them. I want the thief to suffer, for what he did to me, and I want him to know it's me causing it.
The thief left a hand print. I have it. The Deputies found it when they were looking for evidence. I also have the pry bar he used to force his way into my house. Having personal items belonging to the thief, I can, and will, hold him responsible. I haven't decided how just yet, but I will, and when I do, he is going to wish he had never seen my house.
Let me know what you think. Am I going too far? Am I not going far enough. Let me know in the comments below.
