Samhain at Glastonbury........ a dialogue, a meeting and a Ritual invite

Welcome back to the tale Seeker, I hope you are following the story and finding something within it that resonates with you're experiences, I'm telling it as it occured, as I saw it through my eyes, this is what happened, what I felt and the conclussions I am able to draw, although please feel free to debate the meanings with me, I welcome honest and open debate and of course all feedback!

Anyhows, back to the tale!

After getting the messages that I shared here with you ysterday, we walked on to the Chalice Well itself, stopping to spend some time communing at one of the seats above the Well, where I began a 2 way dialogue with the Lady (which is something I have always been able to do, now if you are not Pagan you are probably wondering what I am on about, whether I am fully compus mentis or not, but anyone who is attuned can hear the voices of their Gods, all they have to do is open up and listen. Now, whether you personally believe the voices are from an external powerful Deity, from a facet of your own mind that you are externalising in order to be able to work through any given 'issues' or whether it is something else entirely, or even any combination of the above, that really matters not to anyone else, its what matters to the individual that matters and nothing else!)

The Chalice Well, another borrowed picture!

The gist of the conversation was that although it is ok to want to do something, the intent in itself isnt always enough, that instead of wanting we should be doing, and on asking whether this was in Magical or Mundane life, the answer was both! It seems that the desire we both have for living a totally self sufficient ecologically sound lifestyle on our own smallholding, in an earth sheltered home is something that we could be doing more to work towards! Slap on the wrist dutifully received my Lady, information received, and no need for the big stick ........yet!!

The Waterfall, another borrowed image!

Leaving the Chalice Well we descended through the Gardens, following the path of the water, filling our bottles at the Lion pool, lighting votive candles for our Beloved Dead at the Sanctuary, passing the healing pool until we reached the main area near the Gift Shop and Vessica pool.

Vessica Pool and flow form, another borrowed picture.

Whilst soaking up the atmosphere at the beautiful Vessica pool I turned around to see Heather and her husband Andrew walking down the path towards us, que girly squeals and big hugs all round! We were all very glad to see one another, and all agreed that there was more than coincidence in the meetup, as Lee said, 'The Lady works in mysterious ways!'

After catching up and a quick trip to the Gift Shop (I picked up a lovely set of earrings and a charm for my bag) we decided that we'd all squeeze into the MINI and go for a look around Glastonbury together, Heather and Andrew visit very regularly, so know a lot of folks and where to go, so the chance of spending some time with H and exploring the shops with an expert was just too good to pass!

The Entrance to the courtyard where the Goddess Temple is located!

After going into most of the shops in Glastonbury (including a few we hadnt spotted the day before) H asked us if we'd been into the Goddess Temple, which we hadnt, so leaving Andrew behind (he has his own beliefs which we respect and give thanks that he is understanding of H's own spiritual life) the 3 of us ascended the steps up to the Goddess Temple.

The Goddess Temple, Glastonbury, located above the StarChild shop (another fab place for all your herb and incesne needs)

On entering it was to be welcomed by Robin, one of the Temple Volunteers, who showed us where to leave our coats and shoes, then ushered us into the Temple itself, the only space in the Uk specifically dedicated to the Goddess.

Inside the Goddess Temple (borrowed image)

After passing through the veils we entered the main area, making our observances at the altar and then settling down to soak up the environment and commune with the Lady. The atmosphere is amazing in there, peaceful, tranquil, balanced, but full of power, the sort of atmosphere I have only ever before encountered when in a sacred space out of doors before, which did challenge my preconceptions a bit as generally I do prefer to work out of doors nowadays (it wasnt always the case, we had a Craft Room set up in our first house, a converted loft that was painted and decorated with love by us both and enjoyed to its utmost!). I can safetly say that for myself I came to realise that the Goddess true home in the Uk is Glastonbury, that She resides here, and is most evident in the Chalice Well Gardens and at the Goddess Temple, each of which honour her in their own ways, both complimentary to one another. She is present in every area of the Uk, of that I am certain, but nowhere is the focus and power of what has been acchieved in Glastonbury equalled in my experience by anywhere else in the Uk!

 The Goddess Hall, a new building procurred by the Goddess Temple when they found the Temple not large enough to accomodate everyone that wished to attend their Rites.

After spending some time in quiet reflection and lighting a candle in her honour we left, being smudged on the way out by Robin, then made our way outside to meet up with Andrew. After the experience H asked us whether we had decided what we were doing that night, whether we were going to the Chalice Well Rite as we'd half planned, (an outdoor Rite, bonfire, food and a band playing) or whether we were going to go the the Goddess Hall Rite instead, which is where she was going. It took no time at all to realise that whichever we did was fine with the Lady, but having not worked in Ritual with H for 2 years we both felt it was something we wanted to do again, and after experiencing the Goddess Temple it also felt right to go and see how they would construct their Samhain Rite, so we agreed to meet up at 7pm at the Goddess Hall and said goodbye to one another.

I shall end the Tale there for today, and continue with it later, as the next portion is a large one describing the Goddess Hall Samhain Open Rite, which was moving, skillfully executed and did honour in her Name!

The interior of the Goddess Hall, with some of those responsible for it!

Dark Dreams
Suzanne