Rogelia's House of Magic by Jamie Martinez Wood Page A

apologetically. Rather than face off with her mother, she decided to swallow her anger. Rogelia was waiting for her, and there was magic at hand. “Do you mind if I go back?” Marina asked politely.
    “No, that’s fine. I just wanted to know where you were,” Marina’s mother said, picking up her wineglass and magazine and heading toward the den. “One more thing. Don’t pick up any bad habits from Rogelia’s granddaughter. After all, she lives in the barrio.”
    Marina quickly turned around and nearly sprinted down the hall. Had her mom always been so snobby about their maids? And what was her deal with the barrio?
    When Marina stepped back into Rogelia’s room, she sat between Fern and Xochitl on the bed and shrugged off her thoughts about her mother. She grinned eagerly at her friends, then turned her full attention to Rogelia.
    Rogelia smiled warmly at the three of them as though she was surveying a mound of clay sitting in the center of her potter’s wheel, just waiting to be molded.
    “
Curanderas
work very closely with nature,” Rogelia said. “When you are disconnected from nature, you are disconnected from yourself. You will be learning how to recognize and learn from nature’s patterns. This requires courage and dedication.”
    Rogelia took a rabbit’s foot from her shelf and handed the furry totem to Xochitl, who hastily passed it to Fern. Fern gave Xochitl a quizzical look before accepting the rabbit’s foot.
    Rogelia let her gaze rest on Xochitl. “This talisman from the rabbit is very sacred. Rabbits represent fear.” She looked at Marina and Fern. “Many years ago, Sorceress and Rabbit took a long walk through the woods. Rabbit became hungry. Sorceress picked up some stones and turned them into bread crumbs. Rabbit hesitantly ate the bread but did not say thank you. Later on, Rabbit stumbled and Sorceress healed her friend with herbs.”
    Marina nudged Fern, who stared, mesmerized, at Rogelia. In fact, she had to pry the talisman out of Fern’s hand so that she could rub it intently.
    Rogelia continued her story. “Rabbit trembled. ‘You scare me,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen anyone do the things you do. Stay away from me,’ he said. Deeply hurt, Sorceress said, ‘From now on, Rabbit, you will be afraid of everything.’ The following morning Rabbit sensed Wolf’s presence. ‘Don’t eat me, Wolf!’” Rogelia made a terrified face and held her hands up above her head.
    Fern laughed.
    Rogelia smiled appreciatively before continuing. “From that day, Rabbit became afraid of all things, and forever calls these fears to him.” Rogelia stared at each girl in turn. “When you begin your journey into
curanderismo,
you may encounter many hidden fears. Do not be like Rabbit and talk endlessly about your fears, as if you do not have the power to conquer them. Whatever you focus on grows. Think about what you want, not what you don’t want.”
    Marina decided she really liked learning from parables. Perhaps these were the kind of stories she had missed by not knowing much about her Mexican heritage or her grandmother.
    From the altar, Rogelia picked up a seven-day advent candle that featured an image of San Miguel, or Saint Michael, his foot pinning down a demon, on the front. “With the power of truth on his side, San Miguel gives us courage and strength to overcome fears.” She set the candle down.
    Rogelia pointed to the red, blue, and green advent candles and in turn lit each one. “The red candle represents Fernanda. The blue candle is for Marina. And Xochitl is symbolized by the green candle. Take a stick here.” She pointed to a cup filled with wooden skewers. Fern, Marina, and Xochitl each selected a stick.
    “I would like you to commit to learning with me for one season. Tomorrow will be the first day of summer.”
    “Summer solstice,” Fern chimed in with a huge smile.
    “Yes.” Rogelia smiled at Fern’s enthusiasm. “Over the next week, I will have a
plácita
with