Memphis had a feeling it would be the woman from the newspaper shop, but that didn’t stop her from dropping her cup of coffee in surprise.
Despite the serial killer on the loose, the rest of Memphis’s first week at work went well. She turned in her first set of horoscopes and they ran that Wednesday. They were very well received by the readers. She decided to break her predictions into two parts: the first twelve for the old-fashioned, and then she added Orion and Ophiuchus as bonuses.
• Sagittarius 12/18 – 1/18
• Capricorn 1/19 – 2/15
• Aquarius 2/16 – 3/11
• Pisces 3/12 – 4/18
• Aries 4/19 – 5/13
• Taurus 5/14 – 6/17
• Orion 6/18 – 6/23
• Gemini 6/24 – 7/20
• Cancer 7/21 – 8/9
• Leo 8/10 – 9/15
• Virgo 9/16 – 10/30
• Libra 10/31 – 11/22
• Scorpio 11/23 – 11/29
• Ophiuchus 11/30 – 12/17
She referenced data from Virgil’s research to explain their presence:
Six thousand years of history is encoded within the stars, and a true astrologer can peek into the stars and foretell the future. In astrology, the position of a star—even of an entire constellation—is irrelevant. All that matters to western astrologers is the position of the Sun, the Moon, and planets along the ecliptic. Only the longitude, the latitude of a celestial body, doesn’t matter and is often overlooked. Other aspects and constellations below and above the elliptic plane were hardly ever considered. The real important aspect is the ecliptic plane, and the astronomical background may have value only when speaking of Astrological Ages.
There are at least thirteen constellations traced by the ecliptic—the thirteenth constellation being Ophiuchus—and the constellation of Orion practically touches the ecliptic. The Sun enters the constellation of Orion between the eighteenth and twentieth of June, and Ophiuchus on the twenty-ninth of November under the Egyptian sign of Wadjet.
The Greeks needed to remove one of the original fourteen constellations from the zodiac—the constellations on the elliptic and through which the Sun passes in the course of a year—in order to accomplish their desire to have each sign rule for an even thirty degrees of sky.
Orion is opposite to Ophiuchus, making the transition from twelve-sign astrology to fourteen-sign astrology easier and more straightforward.
The true Astrological Zodiac begins with Aries, but includes some celestial bodies other than the Sun, the Moon, and the planets, and these inclusions are quite rational from an astrological standpoint. True Astrology eliminates the dual rule of Venus in Taurus and Mercury in Virgo and makes the asteroids of Ceres and Vesta the new rulers of Taurus and Virgo. Orion and Ophiuchus have unique rulers in Pallas and Chiron. They are the gates to the higher world. This makes more sense and is a true reflection of the heavens.
Memphis created a chart to better see the differences between the two zodiacs.
Zodiac Sign
Planetary Ruler
Capricorn
Saturn
Aquarius
Uranus
Pisces
Neptune
Aries
Mars
Taurus
Ceres
Orion
Pallas
Gemini
Mercury
Cancer
Moon
Leo
Sun
Virgo
Vesta
Libra
Venus
Scorpio
Pluto
Ophiuchus
Chiron
Sagittarius
Jupiter
As the Earth slowly wobbles, its tilt changes and affects our view of the constellation the Sun is in at a given time. With time, as the Earth tilts, the constellation Ophiuchus seems to hit the elliptical path. The Sun spends more than half a month’s time in Ophiuchus. The sign opposite Ophiuchus is Orion. Now the Earth is tilting to the other side of the sky. Orion is on the side that Earth is now tilting toward. Today, our Sun actually rides the cusp of Orion two to three days out of the year and the Sun is just a couple degrees away from entering Orion.
Ophiuchus sits in the general direction toward the center of our galaxy, The Gate of the Gods. Orion sits in the opposite direction in the anti-galactic center, The Gate of Man.
The Gate of Man; The Gate of The Gods. The phrases struck a chord. She’d heard or seen them before but she couldn’t remember where.
Memphis saw the ties to Egypt in Virgil’s research and began to delve deeper into the country’s history for more answers. There was a great deal of material on the subject.
According to Egyptologists, the most important constellations in ancient cosmology that were used in certain cults and religions revolved around four important figures in Egyptian mythology: Isis, Osiris, Horus, and Seth. Osiris was the Egyptian god of enlightenment and wisdom who helped the Egyptians evolved from barbarism to a civilized society. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris, and represented motherhood and education. Seth was the evil brother of Isis and Osiris who schemed and succeeded in killing Osiris and taking control of ancient Egypt. Horus, conceived by Isis from the deceased Osiris, would grow up to defeat Seth and restore ancient Egypt to its rightful rulers.
The constellations, planets, and stars that correspond to the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses are as follows:
Osiris-Orion-Moon
Isis-Sirius-Earth
Seth-Taurus-Mars
Horus-Leo-Sun
Mars is a god of war and truly fits the image of Seth bringing chaos onto the world.
As Memphis unearthed more information, she began to see signs that these “myths” might actually be facts. For example the Great Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt had mathematical, geometric, and astrological connections to the planet Mars and to the first monuments erected to the Gods in the solar system. These monuments were located in Cydonia, which is on Mars.
Located in the region of Cydonia are large four and five-sided pyramids that have geometric alignments—a hallmark of design by any intelligent life form capable of constructing buildings. The most obvious and talked about feature at Cydonia is “The Face.” Several people have noted similarities between the “The Face” and the ancient Egyptian visualization of Horus, who would avenge the death of his father by defeating the evil Seth.
This information was amazing and too much to be a coincidence. She really wished she could discuss it with Virgil.
Memphis had already begun to receive fan mail—a total of five e-mails. Two of them were from the same person, but it felt great to be appreciated. She refreshed her screen in hopes that another individual found her to be creditable for the management of their week. The red circle on the left side of the mailbox icon popped up, indicating she had new mail. Excited, Memphis clicked on it to access her inbox.
She had one e-mail from human resources about her health insurance, and another from a [email protected].
She opened the message and discovered that it was from Virgil White—he’d finally replied to her inquiry from last month. It seemed so long ago. He wrote that he would be happy to create her natal chart and if she already had one, he could help her decipher it. He would just need her birth information and a copy of the chart to review. Luckily Memphis had been carrying around her chart since she rediscovered it.
She ran to the copy room, scanned the chart, and ran back to her desk to send him the e-mail attachment. Lawrence looked up and gave her a curious smile. He’d been treating her like a newly released psych patient since the coffee incident on her first day. She didn’t tell him or Jill that she’d spoken to the third victim, Vanessa Cobbs; she hadn’t wanted to draw attention from the police on her first day of work. It wasn’t as if she had much evidence to provide. She gave her some lotto numbers that just happened to be the winning ones. It couldn’t have been the reason
she died. If it was, then the murders would be called “the Lottery Winner Killings.” She was guilty of nothing but helping a sista out.
She ignored Lawrence and focused on composing an e-mail response to Virgil. She explained that she was an orphan and her foster parents gave her a box containing her natal chart. It would be great if he could shed some light on its origins. She didn’t have an actual birth certificate; she was left at the hospital after some sort of accident and then placed in foster care after no one claimed her. She attached the scan and hit send.
Well, that was that. Hopefully he wouldn’t take another month to respond. She began to work at reviewing aspects for next week’s horoscopes when she saw she had another e-mail. Virgil had already replied, and he was requesting a meeting with her. She was just about to respond and suggest that they meet that evening when Jill came over and enveloped her in a hug.
“Em! Congratulations on your first week. We’re taking you out for drinks after work.”
“Oh, thanks Jill, but I—”
“No buts. You are coming out with us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, most of the staff is going.”
Lawrence popped his head over the divide. “Welcome to your first work-sponsored Happy Hour.”
She looked down, avoiding his eyes. “All right, what time?” she mumbled.
“We’ll leave around six,” Jill said as she walked away.
That was in half an hour; she definitely couldn’t step out to meet with Virgil. She sent Virgil a short reply to suggest that they meet early the next day. He promptly replied with a time and place close to her office. She probably wouldn’t get any sleep that night in anticipation of what caused Virgil’s heightened interest in her chart.
Chapter 11
A mass exodus took place at exactly six, with all of the newspaper employees making their way to a sake bar located around the corner from their office.
“This is a really nice place,” Memphis remarked as she sat on a barstool. She selected one by the wall, hoping that she would blend in and Lawrence wouldn’t notice her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him—he was charming and would probably win an award for being so congenial—but he made her feel unbalanced and she liked to remain in control, especially with everything that’s been going on in her life. And he also had girlfriend. He was likely to push her over the edge; luckily she was against the wall, because he appeared by her side.
“Thanks. It was my turn to pick a place this week; I thought you might like it. Jill mentioned that you enjoyed sake.” He grabbed the stool next to her and sat on it cowboy style. Anyone else would have looked like a cheesy frat boy, but he looked appealing.
He selected the bar with her in mind? This man was not making things any easier for her.
“Oh, I didn’t know there was a weekly happy hour. Jill never mentioned it to me,” she responded, changing the subject.
“Well, boss lady usually doesn’t grace us with her presence, but I guess your attendance was an exception.”
“I see.” She didn’t feel comfortable with a spotlight on her relationship with Jill. She hoped that none of her other coworkers thought she was hired because she was Jill’s friend.
“We know that you’re close friends, but we also know that you’re very talented.” It seemed Lawrence had read her mind. “Your horoscope predictions are well researched, but they’re also very intuitive. You have quite a sixth sense there.” He cocked his head as if to examine her.
“What do you mean?” She signaled the bartender. She needed a drink. His comments and the fact that his leg repeatedly brushed against her thigh made her jumpy.
He gazed at her in admiration, and she felt warm under his scrutiny. His eyes were so blue, but it wasn’t their allure that unnerved her. It was as if he saw right through her. She was known to have a poker face, but he managed to read her so easily.
Just the other day she was thirsty but refused to get up from her desk before she finished writing her assignment. Lawrence suddenly appeared with a cup of water and a cup of ice. She was anemic and liked to chew on ice, but she usually only did this when she was alone because it annoyed anyone in earshot. He could probably tell she was thirsty by reading her body language, but she could not figure out how he knew about her ice chewing habit. Maybe Jill mentioned it.
Another thing that she was unable to explain was her own heightened sensitivity to him. Though he used the same language when he was on the phone with a good source or a bad one, she could always tell when he was agitated when one did not pan out. She knew when he entered a room; it was as if his presence electrified the air surrounding him. It made her jittery, and she would find an excuse to leave the room. She would feel his eyes on her as she left.
That was another issue—his staring. She would look up and meet his gaze, and would be startled by the intensity in his eyes. No one had ever looked at her in awe. She would practically run out of the office at five thirty on the dot to avoid any after-work invitations that she knew were on the tip of his tongue.
Now she was lodged between him and the wall. There was no way she could escape without making a scene. She looked over his shoulder at Jill and their coworkers. She envied them sipping sake and laughing so easily. They were oblivious to the tension and sparks that crackled in the air surrounding her and Lawrence. Jill didn’t even notice that the guest of honor wasn’t interacting with anyone else.
“They’re having fun, and so should we.” Lawrence diverted her attention from the crowd by sliding two shots of sake in her direction. She didn’t notice when he placed the order.
“This one is watermelon and this is strawberry.”
“Pardon?”
“The sake is infused with different flavors,” he explained.
“Oh.” She felt a bit silly. To hide it she picked up a shot and sniffed. It smelled just like watermelon.
“Bottoms up.” He tilted his head and threw back the flavored alcohol. She was mesmerized by his Adam’s apple. He caught her staring when his head came down.
Memphis hastily brought the glass to her lips and took a nervous sip.
He raised an eyebrow as if in a challenge. Memphis narrowed her eyes in acceptance and threw back the drink. It felt warm but nice going down her throat. It wasn’t too sweet, and the watermelon flavor was delicious.
“Yum,” she murmured and licked her lips.
She could feel his reaction before she saw that his eyes changed to a light shade of gray. He looked at her longingly, but he quickly changed his expression. They sat in silence. Memphis grabbed the second shot and threw it back, and Lawrence followed suit.
“Two more please!” they both called out to the bartender.
They received another round of drinks, which they quickly downed. Memphis was surprised that she was holding up so well; the alcohol barely affected her. Usually she was such a lightweight. She looked at Lawrence, or Lawrences—there were two of him. Maybe she was more intoxicated than she thought.
She felt dizzy and attempted to shift her weight on the stool. She nearly fell off, but Lawrence caught her before she fell. His arm was around her waist, and his face was close to hers. She smelled the fruit on his breath but knew that wasn’t the only reason he smelled so good.
His lips were parted and she wondered if they kissed would he taste more like strawberry or more like watermelon. He leaned forward and it looked as if she would find out.
The moment ended with Jill’s sudden appearance. “Looks like someone had a bit too much to drink,” she laughed. “Em is such a lightweight. Poor kid; you should really call it a night.”
Memphis opened her mouth to protest, but Lawrence smoothly interjected and offered to escort her home. He was headed uptown to Queens and could make sure she got home safely.
She felt Jill’s warm hug and then the cold chill of the night air as they stepped outside. It sobered her up enough that she realized she was getting in a cab with Lawrence. She tensed up.
�
��Relax,” he whispered, and brought her down to rest her head in his lap. She listened to him as he continued to speak soothingly and ended up falling asleep.
They arrived at her apartment, and Lawrence paid the fare and carried her up to her apartment like she was just a light bag of groceries.
How did he know where she lived?
“Jill gave me your address,” he answered her unspoken question. He gently placed her down on the sofa.
“How do you do that?” she demanded, filled with liquid courage.
He didn’t try to pretend that he didn’t know what she meant. “You’re very easy to read.”
“That isn’t true.” She learned to hide her emotions—her weaknesses—at a young age. She was an expert.
“Yes, it is. You may control what shows on your face and even your body language, but your eyes give you away.” He kneeled down and leaned in close. “They’re beautiful by the way. Very unique; I’ve never seen brown and blue swirls.”
He traced the outline of her eyebrows. The apartment felt extremely small.
“I want to show you something.” She sat up and took his hand, ignoring the sparks she felt by touching him. She took her keys and led him out of her apartment. They climbed four flights of stairs to the roof; he followed her quietly and didn’t even complain about the number of stairs. He waited until they were on the roof to speak.
Written in the Sky* Rise of the Wadjet Witch Page 8