Why Cybil Was Born in February

It was very late at night and Cybil couldn't sleep. Her mind was running around inside her head with all kinds of thoughts, thoughts about everything. This wasn't unusual; her mother said that Cybil took after her father. He almost never slept because he was always thinking about everything, too, and was always busy doing something interesting.

Fast asleep in a pile at the foot of her bed were three of her cats. Snoring away on the rug beside her bed was Jupiter, her big, three-legged Great Dane. Cybil loved animals. Her parents rescued them from shelters and bad situations and brought them to live on their farm. As a result, they had donkeys, horses, a one-eyed cow, and bunch of cats and dogs. They had a dozen indoor cats and about fifty outdoor cats that lived in wild prides and slept in the tractor barn. Cybil knew she was the luckiest girl in the world because she had so many animal friends; since she thought of each of them as family, that meant Cybil had the biggest family in the world!

All night Cybil's mind had been chasing itself in circles. She was a very special girl: her parents were both witches, which made her a natural born witch. Her parents had taught her that Magick was all around her, everywhere in the world, which meant Cybil always had lots to think about.

Knowing that sleep was going to elude her, Cybil decided to go talk to her father.

Moving gently so as not to disturb her sleeping friends, Cybil slipped out of bed and tiptoed to her father's den. She tried to sneak up on him whenever she had the chance, but he always caught her–his hearing was that good. But she never gave up trying because he had promised that if she ever succeeded in surprising him, he would take her with him on one of his hunts and teach her his special woodcrafts.

She paused outside the door to her father's den and then carefully peeked around the corner. He was sitting at his large worktable with his back to her, mixing herbs for a potion. Stepping ever-so-silently on the front pads of her bare feet the way her father had taught her, she snuck in.

"It doesn't matter how quiet your steps are, Little One," her father chuckled without turning around, "I still know when you're there."

Cybil's jaw dropped. How could he possibly have heard her?!

He turned around, his smile wide, his dark green eyes twinkling. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Can't sleep?"

Cybil climbed into her father's welcoming lap and wrapped her arms around him, loving the way his wolfish beard tickled her face, the way his strong arms encircled her.

"No, Daddy, I can't sleep." she said.

"Are the imps bothering you again?"

Cybil shook her head. "No, Daddy, no imps. I've been honoring Hypnos like He showed me and they haven't bothered me since."

"Well, then, what's got you up?"

"Daddy, why was I born in February?" she looked up at her father, her big blue eyes expectant.

Her father chuckled. "That's an awfully strange thought to be having at–" he glanced at the cuckoo clock in the corner. "–two in the morning." He squeezed her in his arms. "What brings this on?"

"I don't know," Cybil shrugged. "I was just in bed thinking about my cats. I was wondering if any of them are descended from the same cats that were worshipped as gods in ancient Egypt; and then I wondered why the Egyptians didn't worship dogs, too. That doesn't seem fair. That made me thing about Jupiter's birthday this weekend; and then I thought about my birthday in February; and now I wanted to know why I was born then."

"Well, that sounds like perfectly fine logic to me!" her father laughed. He had a big, happy laugh. "Okay then, I suppose I can tell you. You see, sweetheart, you're a Beltane Baby."

Cybil scrunched her face. "What's a Beltane Baby?"

Her father smiled. He rocked back in his chair and cradled her close to his broad chest. "Beltane is the Festival of Life." he explained. "It's the Sacred Marriage of the Lord and Lady. They meet to celebrate the blossoming of flowers and the coming summer, as well as Their Divine Love for one another."

"So, on Beltane, the Lord and Lady get married?"

Her father nodded. "They sure do, every year. That's why Beltane is so special."

"But Daddy, what does that have to do with me?" Cybil asked plaintively. After all, the whole conversation was supposed to be about why she was born in February!

"I'm getting to that, Little One. Eight years ago, your mother and I celebrated a very special Beltane. We'd been married an entire year and a day that Beltane, so we celebrated the marriage of the Lord and Lady with a Sacred Hunt."

"What's that?" Cybil asked.

"It's where I turn into a wolf and chase your mother through the woods." Her father grinned widely.

"Daddy, you're a werewolf?!" Cybil exclaimed.

Her father wrinkled his nose and snorted. "Of course not. Werewolves are made through something called lycanthropy. I've always been a wolf in my soul. On special occasions I can use my Magick to take the form of one. That's what I did that night: I turned into a wolf, chased your mother through the woods and caught her in honor of the Lord and Lady's Sacred Marriage. Nine months later, you were born. That's where a Beltane Baby comes from."

Cybil cocked her head to the side. "Wait. What happened when you caught Mommy?" She knew very well that her father was leaving something out.

Her father bit his lip, suppressing a laugh. "That's a conversation for when you're a little older, and it begins 'When a Mommy and Daddy love each other very much...' But I'll tell you what," he added, seeing his lovely daughter's mutinous look, "It's time for you to get some sleep. In the morning, you can ask your mother, and if she won't tell you, I will. Deal?"

Cybil narrowed her eyes at her father. "No squelching." she warned.

"No squelching." he promised. Their deal struck, he kissed Cybil on her forehead and carried her into her bedroom.

"Good night, Little One," he whispered, putting her in bed and pulling the covers up to her chin. He kissed her on her forehead again and slipped out of her room, carefully stepping over Jupiter and pulling the door closed behind him.

Cybil nestled down into her blankets, letting her mind sift through the story her father had told her. Sacred Marriages and hunting in the woods. Flowers and wolves and–

Jupiter snorted in his sleep. Cybil bolted upright, startling her cats.

"By the Lady!" she whispered. She had suddenly realized how her father always caught her sneaking up on him. "Daddy's a wolf! He doesn't hear me–he can smell me!"