The following story appears in More Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul by Arielle Ford, Dutton, 1999.
Signs of Love
By Carol Allen
As a Vedic astrologer, I am a big believer in omens. Vedic astrology, the ancient system of astrology of India, teaches that there are signs around us at all times pointing us where we need to go or revealing hidden truths and information.
I’ve observed many omens while in session with clients and at important events of friends and family. Once, while doing a reading for a man at my home, I mentioned that the coming year would be very difficult for his love life. Just as the words left my mouth, my smoke alarm began blaring with deafening loudness. It was set off by the incense I had burning on top of my piano – something I lit in the same spot every day for years – never setting off the smoke alarm until this moment! I took it to be an omen that his love life would indeed be difficult.
The universe was using the smoke alarm to concur with my prediction. As it happened, the man called me a year later and confessed that his romantic life had been uncharacteristically a shambles all year. I especially pay close attention to omens at weddings because they are such significant life events so the energy is more intense. I was in the wedding of a dear friend years ago. I was a bridesmaid. The couple had had a whirlwind courtship and didn’t know each other very well. As the big day approached, the bride had more and more concerns about the impending nuptials. She loved her fianc? quite a bit, however, and decided to ignore her fears. As we stood in our fancy dresses moments before the ceremony, she handed me the ring box that contained the ring she was to give her intended. I opened the box and discovered, to my great dismay, that the diamond was cracked! I had never even heard of a diamond cracking and didn’t know it was possible! Aren’t they the hardest substance on Earth? I sheepishly showed the bride. This symbol of her love for him was damaged which I took to be a negative omen regarding their relationship. The ceremony went without a hitch yet there was another negative omen at the reception. The hotel had forgotten to place the bride and groom figurine on the top of the cake. I decided to keep my mouth shut about that sign.
As I feared, the couple had a very rocky time for two years, even splitting up and planning to divorce for almost a year. Happily, they have worked through their issues and are reunited.
Another good friend was married with considerable trepidation. The minister failed to sign their marriage license – no small oversight! As I was afraid of, the marriage dissolved in less than a year.
I recently attended the wedding of a college friend. She and her groom had chosen a gorgeous country estate garden for the location of the ceremony. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The guests sipped champagne under bougainvilla flowers, chatting about the happy twosome. All seemed well. As we took our seats and the precession of bridesmaids and attendants began, though, a nearby siren wailed loudly. “Oh no,” I thought. “A bad omen for the marriage.” To my almost disbelief, more and worse omens followed. As the minister requested the rings, a tiny girl with garlands in her hair toddled over to the bride and groom and dropped the pillow and rings as she reached them. While others in the audience chuckled, I bristled. Later, the two lit candles from one large candle and placed them on an altar before them as a symbol of the light of their union. To my shock, a breeze picked up and the groom’s candle blew out! The omens were obvious. The two had their work cut out for them. A couple of years later, I heard they were having a tough time.
I have seen positive omens, too, of course! At the wedding of my sister, lovely butterflies flew around the happy couple throughout the ceremony. What thrilled me most was that a calico cat came from out of nowhere and nuzzled the feet of the minister the whole service. Frogs happily warbled in a nearby creek. It was as if all of nature came out to celebrate the occasion. I took these all to be signs of their assured success. Ten years later they are going strong.
Needless to say, I was curious to see what omens might occur on my wedding day. My groom and I decided to elope in Las Vegas. We planned to have a spiritual ceremony the following summer for our loved ones but didn’t want to wait that long and needed to do something legal.
Neither of us could believe we were actually going to become husband and wife in Las Vegas. Let’s face it, it doesn’t have a reputation as the most sacred, spiritual place in the world. Once we thought of it, though, we couldn’t get it out of our minds. We decided to just have a great time and really play up the whole Vegas aspect. My husband is a big Elvis fan. He’d even played an obsessed Elvis look-alike in a film. He decided that we should get an Elvis impersonator to marry us. “The King” must officiate. For weeks when we’d discuss our upcoming Vegas trip, he’d put on an Elvis accent and declare, “The King’s gonna marry us, Baby.”
Once in Vegas, things started going our way. Our hotel room was upgraded up on our arrival from a regular room to an expensive suite. To our disappointment, though, we discovered that no Elvis impersonators actually perform weddings. All we could find was an Elvis that would walk me down the aisle and then put on a three-song concert following the service, all to the tune of $160.
“Forget it!” exclaimed my Groom-to-be. “Let’s go on a helicopter ride instead.”
So much for “the King” marrying us.
The big day arrived and we decided to go the International House of Pancakes for breakfast before heading to the courthouse.
“We’re getting married today!” I said to our waitress.
“That’s wonderful,” she said. “I got married at a little chapel here in Vegas twelve years ago and have been very happy ever since.” Aha – another good omen.
As we gobbled our Swedish pancakes minutes later she arrived with a plastic bag.
“This is for you. Someone left it weeks ago, ” she said, handing us the bag. “I’ve been waiting for a bride and groom to give it to.”
We opened it. Inside was a Nevada tourist license plate that read, “Wed ’97.” An excellent omen.
Hours later we arrived at the Silver Bell wedding chapel. We were introduced to our minister, a very sweet older man who had been married fifty-five years himself. As a video camera recorded the auspicious occasion, he led us through an extremely moving, poignant, religious ceremony. Not exactly what we’d expected out of a cheesy chapel we’d chosen from the yellow pages! We both wept as he declared us man and wife. It was a very special moment.
In gratitude, we shook the man’s hands and asked him his name.
“It’s David King,” he replied. We exploded in laughter. The King had married us, after all!
A most excellent omen.
