Shadowy Worlds Half Seen

Shadowy Worlds Half Seen

In Shadowy Worlds only Half Seen,

Abide those who before have once Been,

All they were and all they Mean,

Are still aware in waking Dream!

With passion and lifeforce they once Shined,

The Ancestors, legion in rank, deeply Lined,

Make contact, share with your Mind,

Wisdom once more for you to Find!

All their hopes and all their Thought,

All they were can still be Sought,

Their presence still can Forth be Brought,

Once more to speak, for us to be Taught! 

Aware again of visions from unseen Cast,

Listen hard to the Legions so Vast,

Learn well the lessons from the Past,

Take the wisdom thats meant to Last!
 

Suzanne Read 13th November 2010

Greetings and welcome once more Seeker! I'm inspired today to look at the existance of the Other Realms, the Ancestors, and the very nature of Balance and Responsibility that exists. A big topic, one that the time of year naturally brings to mind (with Samhain and Remembrance Day and their focus on those who have journeyed from this mortal coil) and a topic that truly can only be understood by the individual when trusting to their own individual worldview and their own Personl Truth. None but yourself can choose what and how you believe in regards to anything, and your own experiences will obviously bring forth your own unique viewpoint, so all I can do here is share my worldview, and some of those experiences that have brought me to my own understandings. I hope they are of some use for you!

If we look to Newtonian physics we find the laws of conservation of momentum, and Einstein points us to the fact that energy cannot be created or destroyed, merely transformed into another state of existance, these all point to the fact that anything that exists must continue to exist in some form when physical life ends. Granted our bodies decompose, we return to the elements that we are made of and become a one with the mundane world around us, but personally I think there is something more to life, our intellect, our thoughts, our very essence and spirit I believe is separate to our physical existance, certain memories and experiences I can remember that I have never experienced in this lifetime point me towards concluding that I have existed before, not as I am now, but as another being, living and learning lessons, some of which I am able to access, some of which I am fated to relearn, but as one who is Witch I do believe I have been recalled to life by the Old Ones, reborn once more to play my part, to do that which They require of me in Their names!

Our bodies are grounded in the mundane, their flesh resident in the world of the mundane, of physics, chemistry, biology, of the 5 physical senses, a product of evolution as much as the shaping hands of the Old Ones, yet our spirits are something more! Our minds, our awareness, our very spirit has the ability to ponder and work within and without the fabric of the mundane natural world around us. Our imagination is boundless, confined only by the limits you put upon it, this ability to transgress the finite and touch the infinite, allowing ourselves to truly become all that our potential suggests is one of our greatest strengths, allowing us to perceive more than absolutes to work in the face of infinity and find our way forwards! As much as our intellect allows us to process the All around us to make sense of it, there is also more that we are capable of, we are capable of abstract thought, belief in concepts that cannot be proven to exist or physically seen, yet we know exist. In the same way that we cannot focus our eyes to a level to allow us to directly observe an atom, yet we can see experiments that prove they make up the fabric of our mundane reality, so it is with the 'realms' in which we reside, we can physically perceive the mundane realm of reality around us quite easily, yet other realms exist that we can become aware of, sometimes by accident, sometimes by deliberate choice!

Science itself is still finding what it believes, string theory, general relativity, multiverse theory, all are plausible, yet we still have no absolute theory of everything, no set of rules that works on all levels of the mundane, yet the universe works without one, minds much superior to my own spend countless hours on finding an understanding of the universe on a physical level, yet most of it is still a mystery to us all!

The first realm beyond the mundane that we can show exists is that of the mind, the seat of our spirit within the physical body, its science is psychology, it exists, it allows our awareness to be and to travel within and without the body, yet cut open a skull and disect the brain and you cannot point to one thing that can show the physical existance of the spirit or intellect in physical existance, it is more ethereal. The firing of pathways in your brain, the electrical activity that forms your conscious thought and allows you to remember, the feelings that make us human, all this still cannot be fully explained by science, yet we know it exists, we have personal experience of it!

It then follows that for anyone who has an open mind, no matter how skeptical they are as an individual, that there must be the possibilities of other realms of existance. Most people will profess a disbelief and some will ridicule those who have a belief (or more). Many who would reject out of hand anything other than physical reality do believe in an afterlife, but what else is a belief in an afterlife other than a belief in another plane of existance?

Take any person, even one with no belief in other realms, and who is unaware on many levels, put them into an environment where they are subject to the influences of Other Realms, and although they may profess that they felt nothing, look to their heartrate, their breathing and let the truth of it actually come forth! Imagine putting them into a darkened haunted house at night, or taking them for a walk in a graveyard at night, their senses will be heightened, they may experience fear, or the feeling that they are not alone, all of which could be explained as nothing more than fear of the unknown. But there we have our clue, they have possibly acknowledged that its the 'unknown' that causes their breath to catch, their eyes to widen in fear, but another name for that 'unknown' could be a touch from the Otherworld, the merest hint of breath from another realm of existance!

Christianity tells us there are 3 realms (if we simplify things a bit for the sake of brevity), the physical world, and then Heaven above and Hell below, yet is this a Truth? Is this all there is, or is it something else, possibly a construct in order to use a carrot and stick to convert and subjugate native peoples to their religion? Only your own worldview can answer this for yourself, but I know what I believe!

As Witch I am somewhat aware of Other Realms, Other Worlds that surround me, a part of who I am is that my awareness is present in more than one reality at a time, though my focus may stray from one to another when I will it. My own personal experiences have proven to me (beyond doubt) that Other Realms, Other Worlds exist, exactly how many, where they lie in relation to one another, whether you can journey (physically or mentally) to them and what rules apply when you are there I will leave to the individual to decide for themselves, I have my own experiences of some of them, that tell me they are real for me, but only you can make your own journeys to experience them and garner whether their 'Truth' becomes a part of your own!

I will however talk about 3 of the Realms I have had the most experience with, the Astral Realm, the Otherworld and the Ancestral Realm. Some consider them to be the same, but for me they are 3 separate realms, akin to each other, but different in how I perceive them and interract with them.

For me the Astral Realm is a place I can journey to through meditation, guided visualization and through pure thought processes, it is a place where I can interract not only with those who reside their, but also a place that I can experience contact with others of the mundane world who have also journeyed their. Constructs can be made and left, and will still be there when you return, places claimed and used, and magick exists in all its forms, the mundane laws of physics can be suspended, if you know how and will it to be. I have journeyed here to a friends Astral home, and recounted the experience, including descriptions of what he had changed recently and left there for me to see, and had them confirmed when I next spoke with him!

The Otherworld is another thing, it shares similar facets with the Astral, but generally is inhabited by those not of our mundane world, it is a place that some of our Beloved Dead and Ancestors also visit, a place you can interract with them and with other inhabitants, those of the Shadow World, the Fae (not fairies, but the Aelfkind, not the benevolent 'fluffy' otherkin of fantasy literature, but the tricksters, the fierce and proud inhabitants worthy of respect and honour in their own right! The Otherworld is all around us, a shadowy reflection of where we are, our perceptions are heightened here, it can be journeyed through without moving in our mundane world, and magic again is rife here!

The Ancestral Realm is a shadowy place for most, some see it as the Summerlands, some as the Elysian fields, some as heaven, it is a place that those who we have loved have journeyed to, to rest, recouperate and reflect before they move further on (either to rebirth or to another level of existance, or simply to be absorbed back into the All). It is not a place ot journey to easily, normally those who reside here will meet us halfway, coming when the veil is thin to the Otherworld in order to communicate with us, as happened at the Goddess Hall Samhain Rite a few weeks ago for myself! It is a place where we do not belong until we are called to pass over, it is where those who now reside their make their choices and decide what they need to experience next, it is a place we should honour and respect and leave alone, it is not for us........ yet!

Having said that though, for me personally I feel we do need to acknowledge and pay repect and honour to 'Those Who Came Before', the legion upon legion of our Ancestors, both those of blood (from who we physically descended) and those of Spirit (who shaped our world, the knowledge and wisdom within it and our own personal beliefs) and Whom now inhabit those shadowy worlds half seen and often unperceived by most. I may light a candle in their names, or choose to include them in our Rites, not just at Samhain (when it is traditional to do so), but whenever I can!

Without our Ancestors, then we would not exist, without their passion, their sacrifices, their triumphs and failures, their will and intent, then we would simply not be here, either as human beings or as Pagans in the modern world! Yet many folks rarely think upon them, rarely honour them and rarely seek the wisdom of ages past, either within their workings or within modern life! As has been said many times by many people, 'If we do not learn from the mistakes of the Past, we are fated to repeat them!' (Look at the Easter Islands and the deforestation and environmental calamity that the islanders brought upon themselves, yet as a species we do not seem to have listened to the lesson and seem intent on repeating their mistakes, but perhaps this time on a global scale?)

Now when I speak of the Ancestors, I am not just talking of the nameless and faceless multitudes from distant past, those from prehistory (whom are those I usually visualise) but also those of a more modern era, those who have died in all walks of life, those whose contributions were small compared with others, but wove with the all to create the rich tapestry that is the world we inhabit. I include those on all sides of all the wars ever fought, I honour their sacrifice and beliefs, the fervour and honour they showed in their beliefs and commitments and the price they paid for it, I honour those they left behind to suffer grief, and those who whatever the circumstance tried their best and did right as they saw it. No-one ever truly starts out as an evil person, we are all victims of Fate, doing our utmost to be the best we can, yet things do go wrong, folks learn behaviours (or fail to learn lessons well enough) that brings their worldview out of alignment with what we perceive as right or wrong, yet who are we (without their experience set) to judge them?

Some of those who came before do show signs of madness, and perpetrate abhorrent crimes upon their fellow humanity, yet are they truly the monsters we deem them to be? Look at the Thurd Reich and all that was done in its name, countless crimes, a true holocaust, yet without it would the world we now live in exist? Could it be (from a very basic point of view) that the Gods saw the need to shake us out of the class ridden hierarchical society we lived in, saw a need to shock us beyond belief to bring a new awareness and compassion to humanity? Have we truly heard and heeded its lessons, accepted the price that countless millions paid in blood, suffering, death and torment in order to teach us these lessons? With all the evils that man still commits against man today, I think not!

From a spiritual viewpoint I include within the Ancestors all those who sought to truly follow their beliefs (whether I agree or disagree with them) and did their utmost to follow their beliefs and share their worldview, but only when it was done out of a sense of wonder, awe and love, something not all religions can truly claim.

Far too many things have been done in religions name that we can look back upon and abhor, some were done in the belief that they were doing right, but many more were carried out not for spiritual progress but for the sake of gaining power over their fellow man! This type of abuse of religion, the misuse if Deity in order to gain ascendancy over another is a false truth and one that I abhor! The use of carrot and stick to convert native peoples all over the world to another religious belief system and remove their indigenous beliefs is one of the biggest crimes of history for me, and one I cannot forgive most of the main religions for perpetrating in their God's names (I will admit some of them felt, believed and thought they were doing right, within their own worldview, but if they had been truly enlightened then would their behaviours have been different?) They have not only destroyed the faith of peoples all over the world, removing the belief and focus of energy that sustains the Gods, but also destroyed countless generations worth of local wisdom and experience, things that once lost are hard to reclaim, especially as without the sustenance of our belief the Older Gods slip further away from us, deeper into the mists of time and become harder to reconnect with, not only as the knowledge of them fades, but as their focus becomes disipated and their identity becomes somewhat lost.

I also include within my Ancestors all those whose work has now been discredited, think of Margaret Murray, she did what she could using what was available to bring back some interest in Pagan beliefs and the Divine Feminine, her intent and belief I believe were true, for her worldview, yet other scholars took delight in shooting her ideas and theories down. Perhaps at that time they were not yet ready for a Reconstructionalist viewpoint.

In fact, although we individually can honour those Ancestors that are our direct kin (in both blood and spirit), those who inhabited the Land we occupy before us, in order to truly grow as a species, we should allow our net of influence to go wider, accepting all those who have ever lived in this world, accepting their truth, their honour, their beauty and their failures, their depravity, their mistakes and the horror of their actions! Only by all upon the planet accepting them all as our forebears, by accepting that we also have a responsibility to learn from their actions, can we as a species learn from the past and grow to fulfill our potential! If we believe that anothers actions have no effect upon us as individuals, allowing others to commit atrocity without our sanction, then we are pacitly giving our permission for them to continue!

We should be aware of the world around us, active in our observation and active in using our voices and energy to share our observations and effect change wherever we can! Without our actions, then the world will remain out of balance, those who have will keep it and remain comfortable, those who have not will live their lives in poverty and fear! Thise who are safe will stay that way, those in peril will have to fight to protect themselves and to remove the threat, and as always when it comes to conflict, those who are stronger will dominate the weaker, both physically and economically. As the world approaches an energy and resource crisis as the population outstrips the planets ability to support us, then things can only descend into darkness as we loose our balance! Only if we begin to act now, finding other ways to live that reduce our impact upon the planet, that live with the Land instead of raping it for our harvests, respecting the Land and all those who live in it, can we possibly find a way forwards, one that will allow us to respect and honour each other and for all to continue living, finding a balance that prevents others from gaining power over us!

This brings me onto my final point, we are all damaged by being out of balance, in the mundane and in our spiritual lives, the mundane is not something I can talk about for your own individual circumstance, but the religious / spiritual side of life is one I can comment on, if only in general terms!

For the past 2000 years or so, since the start of the prevalence of the Patriarchal religions, we have become something less on a spiritual level than we once were, with the rediscovery of the Divine Feminine we have a chance to regains some of what we lost, honouring the duality of Deity as much as we honour the duality of the sexes, we are one species, but two (or more?) genders, we need to be as balanced in our mundane as we do in our spiritual, and vice versa! The Samhain Rite we attended at the Goddess Hall in Glastonbury a few weeks ago brought a vivid and deep experience our way, a connection to the Goddess that made me even think of looking to complete their Priestess Training at some point in the future, but on reflection and having searched my own soul I find that although I admire what it is that they are doing, for me personally it is not a Path I can take. The reasoning, simple, they are (at least it appeared to me) solely Goddess focussed, I admit that in the current world it is probably something that is desperately needed, for some to be so focussed that they begin to redress the balance in favour of the Goddess, returning the world itself to a balance of sorts, but for me I have to find that balance for and within myself, I could not choose to be solely focussed on one side or the other, I have to follow both the aspects of our natures, honouring both the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine, the Lord and Lady, the Goddess and God, as the messages I received said,

'I am the Mother, from whom all that exists flows, for without Me there is nothing, Fear me for I am the destroyer, Love Me for I am the provider, I nourish and nurture, I bring change and growth but also death and decay! Worship Me in all My Glory and Might, Cower before My awesome power, Take comfort in My dark embrace, Draw Power from Me when you have a need, but never ignore Me!'

'I am the Horned One, I plant the seed from which all grows, for without me the Mother is barren and life cannot exist! I am the Hunter, the protector and the Horned One of the Forests and green places, I am He who is cut down so that all life may continue!'

Without both aspects we are nothing, without both sides of our nature being equally honoured we run the risk of repeating past mistakes, swapping a Patriarchal society and religious focus to one of Matriarchical and Feminine focus, no bad thing in itself, but allowing the swing in polarity to go too far would I feel be as disastrous as it has been for the past 2000 years! We need to find that balance, to honour both sides and to work with both!

Thanks for reading, I hope something within caused you to pause for thought or stimulated some process within!

Dark Dreams
Suzanne

Sacred Rite, a delve into the first outdoor circle I cast many moons ago!

 Sacred Rite

Dead of darkest Night in silent Wood,

Heeding the calling that stirs in my blood!

Sacred space swept, circle cast clear,

Soon we start, soon You will be here!

Heart and Intent aligned as One,

Now this Rite truly has Begun!

With Badger, Owl, Fox and Hare,

This Sacred night we do now share!

Calling Dark Mother to claim mine by Right!

As Daughter of Moon and Child of the Night!

Horned One approaches, feel him near!

God and Goddess, You are Here!

Calling You Forth with all of my Might,

Witch, Lord and Lady joined on this Night!

Connection shared with all around,

Honouring You on this Sacred Ground!

Listen hard, hear wind in the trees,

Owl's hoot, wonder what She sees?

Movement seen from corner of eye,

What is it now that we do spy?

Distant Voices half heard in Mist,

You know what I mean, You get the gist!

Working together past and future are seen,

With sight sharply clear and oh so keen!

Deeper workings now to do,

Intent aligned, us and You!

Yet all too soon tis time to end,

Energy sent, others to mend!

Libations given, circle released,

This Rite has now totally Ceased!

Clear the area before we Go,

What has occured here, none will know!

Suzanne Read 10th November 2010

Greetings once more Seeker, welcome and thanks for returning!

I'm conscious that I seem to have been focussing the blog on ecological issues recently, with 2 of the last 3 posts being about our wish to live a more ecologically sound livestyle and animal rights, so todays poem and post are a return to more spiritual matters.

I found myself driving to work this morning with numerous rhymes firing around my head, a vision of a Rite in darkened woods late at night (somewhere we've been so many times, somewhere that calls to your soul), it felt as if I was being 'told' to write about past experiences and those yet to come, as if I was being called to try and share the heightened awareness, that deep connection and the tingle of excitement that comes from holding a Rite in the woods at night!

I recall the first time we were asked to carry out a Rite in the woods at night, this was the first Circle Casting done with the given techniques whilst training with a Family Group, previously we'd done our own Rites in our own Sacred Space (a loft conversion in the old house, that we'd decorated and made special by our focus and the energy we shared in making it) and out of doors in daylight, but being told we had to go out at night, alone into the woods to cast a circle (and just experience the feeling of being there, all alone in the night) was something that caused a little concern, how would we feel, were we to be safe, and what sort of connection would we be able to find!

I shall share here some of what ocurred, written at the time as a part of the reports I had to complete for the Families training, which was back almost 10 years ago, I hope it is of some interest and use to you!

"Dark Moon, and finally I felt ready to go out and do my first circle, after having not felt the time was quite right for the past two weeks I finally found it right to go on the Dark Moon, surely not a coincidence? The night was cold, low cloud, windy at the house when we left and not as dark as we’d have liked (due to all the light pollution from Manchester and the works the other side of the Canal). We both wrapped up warm, packed a few bits n pieces in my rucksack and at 930pm headed off to the park that borders the Ship Canal, deciding once we had got there to use two separate bits of the ‘Beach’ area, Lee in the lee, myself on the headland. When I got up there it was to notice just off the corner of the beach a wonderfully sheltered spot underneath a tree. I made my way down to it to find the tree was directly to north at the edge of my circle area, and the canal to West, again right at the edge of my Circle area, perfect correspondances and representations in themselves! The woods felt peaceful, purposeful and more ‘alive’ at night than they did during the day, though whether this was due to my own senses being heightened by the darkness or something else I am not as yet sure!

There was a branch of the tree descending right to the left (west) of the center of my circle, which made a handy place to put my rucksack and supplies whilst I set everything up. I started by sweeping the area free deosil of any impurities, visualising it cleaning the area, (as although it was out of doors and therefore I felt shouldn’t need cleansing it was obviously an area that kids had played in recently). I then placed my crystal ball to north, just in front of the tree, my feather and incense to the East, the lit lantern to the South, and my chalice to West. In the center were myself, my wand (found late last week, it was a small branch I took from a tree Lee showed me, that I took to try and identify the tree, which was Hawthorn, and measured surprisingly (though maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at anything coincidental anymore! Lol!) exactly an Elle! and a small cake to share later.

I relaxed and spent some time just getting in touch with the surroundings, then taking my spare water I marked the boundary of the circle I was casting. I stood relaxed for a moment or two, and asked the Mother and Dark Father to witness my rite. I was relaxed, aware of every movement around me, the tree’s creaking gently in the wind, and felt somewhat connected to my surroundings.

I started at North, and with my wand traced the outline of my circle widdershins, chanting the Chalm of Making (Druidic, spoken in Welsh / Gaelic and has a rhyme that builds power for myself ‘Amal Nathras, Uthas Bethod, Dochyell Gyenveh’ – ok, I know it’s a bit theatrical, but it seemed to work for me!) I walked the circle edge chanting stronger with each repetition, a total of three times around, as this is what felt comfortable to me.

Next I stood facing North, and invited the Elementals, ‘To those who reside in the North, come forth and witness my Rite, lend me your presence and power’, backing this up with the suggested visualisation, and seeing the tree above and to the North of me in it’s stark beauty. I felt the cold and sure ground beneath me, and a sense of timeless ageless surety, firm, grounding, relentless, stability.

Then I moved to West, and invited the Elementals, ‘To those who reside in the West, come forth and witness my Rite, lend me your presence and power’, again visualising as suggested, and looking to the dark and still waters of the canal to my West. I felt fluidity, emotions coursing through me, a sense of being able to flow and change shape as required by experience and situation.

Next South, ‘To those who reside in the South, come forth and witness my Rite, lend me your presence and power’, Visualising the Sun as I stood facing that way, and conscious of the flickering candle light. I felt warmth, the feeling of protection one gets when in a Father’s arms, the warm glow of friendship and also more, the passion of uncontrollable lust, the heat of the furnace.

Finally East, ‘To those who reside in the East, come forth and witness my Rite, lend me your presence and power’, visualising the wind on my face as I looked to the East, which although it was a windy night wasn’t noticeable inside my circle! I could hear the trees being moved by the wind, creaking and branches squeaking as they rubbed together, but it was not something I could physically feel within the circle itself! I felt a cool moist breeze, the sense of a crisp morning in the mountains, inspiration and intuition, but also ordered thoughts, logic.

Then I stood in the center of my circle, eyes shut and visualised the circle coming above and around me, and my heart glowing as the diamond at it’s center, this felt true and good, as though it was more than any other circle I had done before!

After this I sat for a while on the tree branch, facing East, closed my eyes and meditated, in my eyes at first I could see purple / blue spots, but then I became aware of flickering to my right, and began to sense more of my surroundings, it was as though I could ‘see’ with my eyes shut! I stayed there for a few minutes, and then heard the metal gate at the edge of the woods bang violently, so opened my eyes and looked that way for a few minutes. It was soon after this I saw a light shine upon the grass, it appeared to come from the headland to my North, and was shining downwards onto the grass, though on telling Lee of this he says he didn’t hear the gate bang at all, and that he shone his light in the direction I saw the flash, though as he was below me and the land after rising up to a lip from where he was then fell away towards me, I am pretty sure the light source wasn’t him, as it would have had to shine through solid ground or be reflected 180 degrees for it to appear as I saw it! After I was fairly certain that I was still alone I sat on the floor in the middle of the circle, facing West, and closed my eyes to meditate once more. This time I seemed to float off somewhere else, time seemed to stand still and I have no visual clues to where I was, except it felt different, fuzzy, confusing and almost misty. When I opened my eyes and looked to the South (my left) it was to see mist surrounding the tops of the trees, and seemingly thick in between the branches, but to the West, North and East there was no hint of mist at all! It was almost a shock, it certainly surprised me, and Lee agreed it was strange too! Later when we left I noticed there was no mist anywhere else but around these trees.

After this I blessed the cake and water, ate a little and left an offering to the Old Ones, thanked the Guardians for their presence, ‘To those who reside in the East / South / West / North, stay if you will, depart if you must, thankyou for your protection this dark night’. I then took my wand and walked the Circle boundary deosil, saying ‘This circle is open, but unbroken!’

After this we both met up again, and walked home. Reflecting on the whole experience, it was more powerful and had more connection than I have felt before, and there were some parts that certainly made me feel and think more than I had before. Negatives, well, the area we were in was a little too bright for my liking, we are going to have to look further afield to find somewhere darker, and I think more preparation would be certainly useful next time!

In total we were out for 2 hours, it was 1130pm when we got home, yet it had felt like no more than a few minutes since we had left, time I know runs differently within Circle, and this night was certainly no exception! It was cold out, but neither of us felt it, both being extremely warm when we got home!"

Re-reading it again now it surprises me at how far I have come on from this point, the dark woods at night now hold no fear for me, be they familiar ones I am working or unfamiliar ones that I do not yet know, the connection I now feel has no need of Tools, nor for complex Rites, everything has been pared back to the absolute minimum I need, nothing within and without the circle tend to surprise me any longer, its not that I have become jaded, but more I can feel my connection and know when I am safe!

I may well choose in the future to share some of the other writing from some of the Rites we have done, possibly the first Full Moon Rite we did with that Family, although certain of the Family Rites that we attended I cannot post about, they are 'sub rosa', oathbound and cannot be discussed except with those that were present and only then if we are alone!

I hope you found the poem inspiring, and the writing of some interest! Return soon for more of my musings and some more poor attempts at poetry!
Dark Dreams
Suzanne

A Gentle Touch from the Old Ones....

  The Gentle Touch

Walking along the Crooked Path,

With Knife and Cup, Stang and Staff,

Old Ones walking by my side,

Taking me along, far and wide!

Time to Learn, time to rest,

Trust the Old Gods, they know best!

Finding Knowledge along the way,

Hearing what the Old Ones say!

Heed Their Words, listen hard,

Wisdom found in words of Bard,

Simple things, nothing much,

Yet feel the tingle in gentle touch!

Feeling warm breath from a child,

Seeing beauty in the wild,

Gentle touch of the Mother,

Lying together with your lover,

Sensual meal by candlelight,

Shooting Stars in the Night!

Spending time in good company,

Sharing laughter, You and me!

Moonbeam glinting on the water,

Autmn colours, days become shorter,

A shaft of sunlight in the Mist,

A glimpse of Stag, you get the gist!

Wisdom comes not from a Book,

No matter how hard you care to look,

Knowledge holds dubious value,

Until you know whats true for You!

Only by Doing can we really Be,

Experience begats Wisdom, dont you see?

Live your life with open eyes,

Live beneath wide open Skies!

Take every chance you may get,

Dont live like some coddled pet!

Growth is seldom without strife,

Thats a part of every life!

Call of the Gods, getting Stronger,

You cannot ignore it for much longer!

Let yourself really feel it all,

Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall!

Be open to a sense of Awe,

Follow your heart, live your Lore!

Heed my words I ask of thee,

As you will it, so mote it be!

Suzanne Read

8th November 2010

Welcome once more Seeker, to my musings, my ramblings, I hope you find something that resonates for you!

Today, after writing the above Poem last night, my thoughts swing to how we each individually perceive our experiences, how they effect our 'worldview' and thus affect our 'personal reality' or as a friend put so well, our individual 'Truth'!

We all see and experience the world around us (seen and unseen) through our own individual eyes, our perceptions coloured by our own individual past experiences, filters laid in place by our beliefs and current 'worldview', our own personal take on reality, our own personal 'Truth'. For each one of us this personal Truth, this personal reality is perceived as an absolute, for us this IS our world, our own reality, created by our learnings, our experiences, the hurts and joys that have shaped us as individuals, it is how we understand the world around us, how we make sense of things on a daily basis. It has meaning truly only for ourselves, nothing exists in 'absolute reality' that does not enter our own personal 'Truth' without our own meanings and perceptions being assigned to it.

Yet for each of us, our personal 'Truth' is different, no two individuals can ever have had the same experience set, nor had it affect them in exactly the same way, we may find congruity amongst others who walk a similar Path, find shared experiences that resonate, touch others whose spirits are familiar to us and experience moments (or longer) of absolute true understanding, where empathically we understand exactly the mindset and personal reality of another, but these occurrances are the exception rather than the rule.

For most folks (especially those without an active spiritual path) their personal reality will be very mundane focussed, rooted in the hear and now, they will not feel the touch of those realms beyond the mundane, they will not hear the call of the Old Ones, not because they are unable to, but because they are not currently open minded in that aspect of their life (Im not making a judgement or criticism here, merely looking at how our 'worldview' affects our perceptions)

As children we are unaware of the existance of our own personal 'worldview', we take most things on face value, experiencing everything new with a sense of wonder and awe that as we grow up usually becomes jaded and blase, our experiences colouring our perception and our reality can quickly become so rooted in the mundane that life can become almost meaningless.

For those of us whom have found an active spiritual path (of whatever form) our personal take on reality can be radically different from the mainstream, so much so that others can perceive us as 'weird', 'naiive', 'deluded' or just 'different'! This can manifest itself in various ways, from the odd glance you get from another through to being held up as an objet of ridicule, yet allowing ourselves to become open to other influences, to perceive more than most yet do has its own rewards!

 

 Think back to when you first discovered your personal Path, think back to the sense of wonder and awe, the heartfelt joy you discovered in your connection to all that surrounds you, from those things gross and blatant through to the gentlest whispers, half heard in the night, for most they would have no meaning, but to those who live with an awakened and aware consciousness then we know that there is nothing we experience that does not have meaning on some level! Witchcraft, paganism, spirituality, call it what you will, is not all bangs and whistles, indeed most of the time it is not, yes, you will occassionally experience something transcendant, something that is overwhelming in its power, symbolism and personal meaning, but for most of the time its the smaller simple things we experience that tell us our feet are walking the Path they are meant to be! Im talking of being open to seeing the touch of the Goddess and God in all you experience, from the beauty of a single flower, the power of a storm, the simplicity of a lit candle, the majesty of  a stag in the woods, the touch of a moonbeam on your face, the kiss of the wind on bare skin, the smile of an eye, the smell of the woods on an autumn day, all simple things, yet things with meaning if we care to touch upon them!

I'm not advocating abandoning yourself to unlimited beliefs in every concept you are brought into touch with, nor abandoning your intellect or scepticism, but if you truly allow yourself to Be, grounded in your own personal reality, your individual Truth and in Realism, experiencing all that surrounds you with wide open eyes, then you will perceive much more than most!

Personally I find myself an open minded skeptic, I do not easily believe in things I have not experienced, yet my own experiences, the places and things I have touched, my connection to other realms and to the Old Ones teaches me that they do exist, even if others do not perceive them or believe in them. I try to live my life with wide open eyes, alowing myself to be open to all the influences (seen and unseen) that I come across, sometimes they resonate within and I find myself delving deeper, sometimes they leave me cold and I leave well alone, which is how it should be! Following your own Crooked Path is very much a personal journey, it has to have personal meaning for yourself, what others think or believe really should have no influence on yourself unless you find it also has personal meaning for you aswell!

Only by allowing ourselves to be open to what is around us, to feel and see what is really there (on all levels) and to 'Be' who and what we really are can we truly grow. Knowledge is fairly easy to gain, there are books aplenty on almost every aspect of our life and craft, yet book knowledge in itself does not make one wise. Only through personal experience can we commute knowledge into wisdom, without hands on experience, without knowing exactly how something works for us as individuals and what it means to us personally, then knowledge is nothing more than theory. Personal experience allows us to truly feel and assign true meaning to anything we have learnt, allows us to garner its truth and beauty and thus to integrate it into our personal Truth, making it a part of ourselves and our own personal wisdom.

For most of us this is something we acchieve for some of the time (myself included), for the rest of the time we are focussed on too many other things, work, family, mundane life all impact upon how much we can focus our intent, yet for some it is a state of being that they have acchieved, their focus is firm and their Path impacts every second of their day. They are able to see the hand of the Old Ones in everything around them, something the rest of us would love to do but have not yet attained!

In an ideal world, those of whom are attuned and awakened (at whatever level they perceive) would be eternally free to follow that which pulls us, having time and energy to do so at any moment, but in the current world we live, with its distractions and the way we are forced to live, conforming with societal norms in order to provide food and lodgings for ourselves and our loved ones, many of us find ourselves limited in what we can acchieve, yet yearn to do more, but even by spending nothing more than a few moments each day being totally aware, we can increase our sense of connection and our participation in the All around us! Lighting a candle and some incense, spending time reading something spiritual, meditating or even writing a journal or blog (and thus spending your energy on spiritual matters and really thinking and working through your thoughts and intent) are all good and simple ways to honour the Old Ones on a daily basis if you are unable to do more at any given point!

It is Our intent, our focus, our commitment that is of the utmost importance on our individual Paths, the Old Ones understand all that pulls upon us, the myriad distractions we are forced to deal with, in fact you could argue that sometimes They have placed them in your way to test your resolve and see whether you have the will and commitment to overcome them, sometimes on your own, and sometimes with a little prodding (or perhaps more than a little, the cosmic 4by2 comes to mind here)!

Sometimes life can seem to become derrailled, both on the mundane and spiritual levels, personal and familial disasters occur that seem to have nothing to do with our Paths but do take our focus away from where we wish it to be, but listen deeper, look harder, at some level there will be a reason, it may be a lesson you needed to learn, a change required in your direction, a trial you needed to face, a sabbatical you need to take, or perhaps it is time for you to be melted once again in the forge, annealled into something new and stronger (as Nietsche said 'What does not kill me, makes me stronger')

As I once wrote many moons ago............

'Always remember, no matter how far along the Path you travel, from the valleys of ignorance to the peaks of enlightenment, around the next corner will be another steep and rocky path for you to follow! Sometimes you may need to sit and rest by cool waters, other times you may slip down the path, loosing your footing, other times you will stride firmly onwards and upwards, but remember to always do so with an open heart and mind, for the day you close your mind, believing you know all you need to know is the day you may aswell fall upon your sword and remove to the Otherworld, for from that day forth you will be dead inside!'

 Todays post was suggested by the Poem I wrote early last night (Gentle Touch, featured at the top of the post), and then somewhat further inspired by a blog post made to Musings of a Pagan Angel just an hour or two after I had finished writing the poem, synchronicity, huh? The Blog post Mina Angel made talks about how each of us must find our own 'Truth', how each of our 'worldviews' is equally as valid as anyone elses, definitely worth a read!

Thanks for reading, I hope you found something of interest!

Dark Dreams
Suzanne

Shopping in Glastonbury, a few extra purchases, and the chance of a new Working Group!

Welcome back Seeker, I hope you are still enjoying the Tale of our trip to Glastonbury over the Samhain weekend! Previously we've covered the reasons for the blog's existance, our first impressions of Glastonbury, the hints and suggestions we've been given by the Lady (which we will heed, messages such as these are not to be ignored lightly), the synchronicity of meeting up with a former HPS and the Goddess Hall Samhain Rite, this brings us up to the Monday morning, the dawn of our last day at Glastonbury.

After a hearty breakfast (cereal and fruit juice plus a full english breakfast and toast) courtesy of our hosts at Hill View Farm BnB, we packed the MINI in glorious sunshine, (perhaps the weather was a sign that the Goddess was happy at the honour paid her the night before?) and set off back for our last visit to Glastonbury, calling first at Wilkins Farm for some of his famous Farmhouse Cider!

The Wilkins farm is located about half way between Hill View Farm and Glastonbury, down a dead end road, on the side of a hill, with fantastic views over the Somerset Levels. On arrival at the farm, at 1030am we parked up and went through into the Cider Barn.........

... To be greeted with the most wonderful cider apple smell, a warm smiling face and the choice of lots of these barrels of freshly made cider to taste! After being asked which we'd like to try, electing for the dry we were presented with a half pint mug each, and once that was finished were offered the chance to try all the other types aswell, all for free!! Now Im not one who normally drinks in a morning, nor do I drink and drive, so after the half pint I didnt try any more, and Lee was happy with the dry, so we bought a 5 litre container for ourselves, another for Pat and Colin (as a thankyou for looking after Bella - the dog - whilst we were away) and merrily continued on our way to Glastonbury!

Front of Lee's Top!

Back of Lee's top!

After arriving the first order of business was to go straight to the Goddess and Greenman, for Lee to get his Hoodie, a lovely mossy green thick hoodie, with a stag on the front and a greenman on the back, and lots of lovely celtic knotwork, not cheap but definitely gorgeous and worth every penny!

We'd already splurged on a few items, this lovely gargoyle incense holder..........

....... this gorgeous Stone Circle Oil Burner...........

..... this Maiden, Mother, Crone Chalice (a snip from Lilith), a new hemp bag and purse for me, a new hemp pouch for Lee, a Goddess Wheel (printed card that allows you to see the Goddess of each Sabbat at the time of the Sabbat, very nicely done artwork), some earrings for me, and a few books (you just cant not buy at least one book from a pagan bookshop, especially when faced with the choices in Glastonbury!)

Even though we had already spent enough, we decided to take a last walk around, we'd both been looking at the bronze Hare Statues all weekend, something just said that we needed at least 2 in the house (you cant just have just 1 hare, it would get lonely!), so after looking at the medium size in Goddess and GreenMan we went looking elsewhere, until we stumbled upon the same statues at a lot cheaper price in Man, Myth and Magick!

The ones we'd been looking at were by Harriet Grey, and this one was the first that spoke to us, she is Moondaisy, and of course there had to be a second hare to keep her company..........

........... Buttercup was the next one to catch our eye, and on seeing the prices we decided it was time for us to bring them home! The shop assistant was great, pointing out another Hare in the same range.........

.. whose name is Bluebell, we werent going to buy all three, but after asking whether there was a discount for the 3, and getting a very good deal, we decided to take them all! They are now nicely arranged at home in the lounge, and have already been complimented by several of our friends!

Ok, this post is a little less metaphysical and a lot more mundane, recounting the pagan shopping we did in Glastonbury, but as any Pagan who has the chance will tell you, its nice to be surrounded by lovely pagan orientated things in your home! Most folks who visit us here fall into one of 2 camps when they come into the lounge (with the attendant candles, 3 skulls, large Whicker Man framed drawing (by myself), greenmen, scrying mirror (handmade and given to me by a student I once had), oil burners, medieval type wooden furniture, dragons (lots of lovely dragonspell dragons) and 6 x 4' shelves of herbs in matching jars), they either feel totally at home, or are very nervous, 1 big butch black taxi driver who called once almost ran screaming from the house! lol!

Anyhows, I digress, on returning home to be greeted by a manically happy dog (Bella had missed us a bit) we gave Pat and Colin their cider and invited them for a meal on Tuesday night, then got online to invite H and Andrew and Bear along for a meal and a chat about putting together a new working group.

The four of us gelled so well when we first met and worked so well together as a part of the Circle of the Moon teaching Coven, that although we had to step away (as our focus was moving away from that of the CotM), we've always felt a good connection with them both, and with the message that H and ourselves were given whilst at Glastonbury, it seems now may be the time for us to talk about it and hopefully find a ways to move forwards!

I have a feeling that perhaps the new group will be less hierarchical, with us all on an even footing rather than having a HP / HPS, but that is something we will have to talk about on Saturday when they are coming for a meal! I have some ideas, and know they will too, so it will be a time of listening to one another, finding a way forwards and setting out some of what we'd like to acchieve.

Personally I know that Lee and I would want the group to be balanced, honouring both the Goddess and God, grounded and equally light and dark focussed, with shared responsibilities, perhaps if it happens we will then look to take in others, perhaps even to do some teaching between the four of us, but probably less formally rigid and hierarchical than most other groups, only time and intent will tell!

Today we will be busy at the allotment, preparing for the Bonfire and BBQ, then tomorrow we've some bottles to fetch and some homebrew to sort out, before we will be preparing the house and meal for H, Andrew and Bear's visit, so I'm not sure if I will get much of a chance to update the blog tomorrow, but I will post an update of what occurred at the meal on Saturday night sometime on Sunday! Wish us luck dear Seeker, hopefully this could be the start of something new and something worthwhile for the four of us!

Thanks for reading!
Dark Dreams
Suzanne

Goddess Hall Samhain Rite Samhain 2010 - a personal experience

Greetings once again Seeker, welcome back to the Tale and our recent journey along the Crooked Path.

As I left you yesterday we had just left H and her husband in Glastonbury, after deciding that we would journey together to the Goddess Hall for the Open Samhain Rite that evening, so we'll take up the Tale from that point!

We decided we'd go and eat (again at the Lamb Inn), then pop back to the BnB to get changed and ready for the Rite, now normally when we practice by ourselves we dont use many tools (my Stang and my knife are the only tool I usually dont work without, I know tools are only that, they are not required to allow the practitioner to be effective, but sometimes a tool or two can be helpful), sometimes we use our cauldron, usually we will use incense, occassionally we'll use a few other things, but generally we will work in a non formal manner, using whatever is to hand and speaking directly from the heart without any formal script (although we have used formal rites ourselves and with various groups that we've belonged to), and although we do have ritual robes we dont generally use them (unless at a group rite where it is neccessary), so finding ourselves facing the prospect of going to a formal open Samhain Rite, with no formal dress and without our stangs was something of a problem (especially if like me you suffer occassionally with a low self esteem and dont like to stand out too far from the crowd, for the wrong reason of course! I have no problem with being an individual, nor of standing out when its on my terms, you cant really mind when you are a 5'13" woman with a fairly busty and powerful figure, lol!)

I know the Lady wont mind how you are attired, nor how you look, She is more bothered about your intent and what is in your heart, but I have to say I did feel a bit self conscious about turning up to the Goddess Hall in jeans, trainers, a thin top and a thick wooly jumper, especially as there was to be many Pagans of the local community attending in their full ritual wear! But there was nothing for it, and although those of us not in ritual garb were the exception, there were a few of us, so we didnt stand out like the sore thumbs I had worried about! Lol!

We set off in plenty of time from the BnB, being treated on the way with an Owl flying alongside the car, a Fox crossing the road and pausing to watch us pass and a Hare cross the road, all within a half mile fo the BnB! Travelling along the main road past numerous small villages we saw pumpkin after pumpkin and a fair few kids out trick n treating, something we always like to see when we spend Samhain at home (we normally decorate the house and garden and have a huge pot ot sweeties to give out!)

We arrived at the Goddess Hall just after 7pm, spying H in the queue ahead of us, and being joined by Robin from the Goddess Temple who said hello, making us feel very welcome (Thanks My Lady for that kind thought!). Outside the Hall was a burning Cauldron and a pile of wood for us to add to the cauldron, to release that which we needed by adding to the fire, I cast 'pain' (sciatica, nerve damage, knee and ankle problems) and 'excuses' into the fire, then as the doors opened we all trooped inside, divesting coats and shoes in the entrance lobby before entering the Hall itself.

The hall is a new space for the Goddess Temple, used for Ritual, workshops and as a general meeting place when there are too many attendees to fit comfortably into the main Goddess Temple, it is in the process of being refurbished in some ways, but also in the process of being decorated to do the Goddess the same honour that She is given in the main Goddess Temple. Although the space is new, the decorations for Samhain were excellent, and some of the more permanent fixtures (such as the Goddess pictures for each fo the 8 Goddesses of the 8 directions / sabbats) were already well in place. The site although new had an interesting energy, one that already possessed power, and the space soon filled up as almost 200 assorted Pagans entered the room (the majority being women, although there were a few men present, something Lee was glad about, he connects strongly with both the Lady and Lord, but has issues with anything being too Goddess focussed, preferring things to be balanced, as normally do I)  finding seating (around the outside of the room for those who would find sitting on cushions a bit more problematic) or a cushion in the room. H joined the 2 of us, near the center of the room, and everyone settled down to chat until the Rite began, ostensibly at 730pm, but as more folks were still arriving, it was a bit later than that!

Whilst we were waiting I sensed that the Energy within the room was well out of balance and mentioned this to H, she pointed out the 9 Priestesses standing amongst us in a circle, (each at one of the 8 points of the circle corresponding to the Goddess pictures behind them. The Priestesses were garbed in black with a dark circlet of flowers upon their heads) H said just wait till the Rite starts, thats what the Priestesses are here for, to ensure the energy remains balanced!

Cerridwen and the Cauldron of Inspiration

Not long after this a gong was chimed and the room fell silent, an introduction to the Samhain Rite was made, warning folks of the intention to call down a part of the Goddess into everyone present, and that the Goddess we were going to be working with was a Dark Goddess, Cerridwen, but that Temple Priestesses would be on hand if anyone had any problems! Cerridwen is a Goddess we have worked with for the past 10 years, so not someone we are unfamiliar with (nor She us I hope), nor find usually unduly daunting, but for some of those present their expressions told otherwise! As the introduction was finished the Priestesses balanced the Energy within the room, it almost audibly and visually snapped into a perfect balance, held there by their focus, weaving all our separate energies onto the tapestry of the whole, 1 Priestess immediately to the front of us was holding it like this for most ofthe ceremony, even when the others were busy doing other things. To you, unknown Priestess I give thanks!

The program of events told us there would be a soundscape, Invocation of the Wheel, Poem, Guided journey to the Isle of the dead to meet up with our Beloved Dead, a chance to approach the Altar and light a candle for our departed witnessed by a Priestess, then once the soundscape ends (at a time when it naturally does so) a slow dance led by Katinka and then the closing of the circle and announcements.

The Morrighan, akin to Breagha, the Dark Goddess of Old who was known as Brigantia, Bride and the Morrighan

Next came a quiet time, with gentle soundscape, all the more moving for its dark focuss, centering our internal focus on the time of year, the place we were and the darker energies we would be working with. As this ended we were bid to stand, and the Priestesses called in the Goddesses, as we faced Brigit /Bride I tingled all over, and knew that one of my Patrons, Breagha, was coming forth from the amalgram of Goddesses that Bride / Brigit represents, with my eyes closed I saw a glowing elongated circle, made up of small figures, possibly of  all the women of the past weaving their circles together, overlapping one another to create a tableaux of sensory overload. The Ancestors were with us!

Upon having completed the Invocation we were bid to sit and the soundscape resumed, followed shortly by some breathing exercises and then the start of the Guided Journey to the Isle of the Dead.

The Tor surrounded by water, similar to my vision, but this is not as it was, it was beautifully dark, lit by countless stars in the sky, yet everything had that absolute clarity that can come on dreams, an almost hyper-reality

 The Journey started at night, on the shores of the lake surrounding the Isle of the Dead, for me personally it appeared to be the Tor itself, as it once was when surrounded by water, with a boat gliding towards us. The boat was described as possibly having fae lights, or perhaps a single lantern, possibly as couloured, but for both Lee and I it was a stark black and rough hewn craft, with a dragons head prow and rowed with multiple sets of oars silently towards us, for us both there were no lights, nor did their need to be, the starlight illuminated the scene clearly enough in the still dark of the night! The soundscape of rainsticks, gongs, bells, whispers of voice and silence added to the atmosphere, even the noises from some of those practitioners present were no distraction, more the whole became something much more than the sum of its parts!

On reaching the shore the Priestess in the boat gestured for us to enter, which I did, acknowledging her with a smile, a hand from heart open gesture and heartfelt bowing of the head as I spoke softly 'My Lady', to which she returned the gesture and honoured me with the same! The boat moved swiftly and silently, halfway across the mere the mists descended and the Priestess called down the Power to part them and reveal the Isle of the Dead.

On the shore was an Inn, with a wharf next to it, which the boat reached almost without effort, stepping from the boat it was to be greeted with the desolation of the place, it was cold and frosty, the Inn was dark and foreboding and above us through the trees was the darkly lit Tor itself!

Waiting on the wharf were some of my Beloved Dead, gamboling around were the 2 dogs, Lady and Willow, who passed over the rainbow bridge within a month of each other and whose presence can never be filled (although our rescuse GDxAlsatian, Belladonna does her best and is loved in her own right by us both), who both were happy to see me, much wagging of tails and licks of face. Beyond them were my StepGrandad Roy, who acknowledged me and left with a smile on his face, fading away to nothing more than a breath of mist, then Alison, a friend and fellow follower of Breagha, who smiled, greeted me and also left with a smile on her face, behind her were the Ancestors, reaching back up the hill, nameless and multitude of those who came before, but whispy and only half seen, and as they departed I was left thinking is that all there is, do I mean nothing more to anyone else, is my life so lacking in love and connection that those who came forth stayed but moments before fading into the mists?

Yet there was another figure, a small boy standing at the end of the wharf, who looked at me expectantly and said, 'Mother? Why havent you seen me for soo long?' I hugged him, holding him tight in my embrace, letting my love for my unborn and lost son flow out and enveloping him in my love. Tears were streaming as I experienced this, and again now as I write it, he was never born, was lost to me almost before I knew he existed, and never before has he come to me, never before has he had a face or any connection that I was aware of, yet here he was looking for me, without sanction or regret! Obviously something about the Rite or the trip to Glastonbury or the renewed connection with the Lady has brought down some barrier within me!

With such an emotional and intense experience going on I found myself called back to the boat and transported away from the Isle in a fairly short time, without being able to say much to my unborn son, I dont even know his name, but the Lady was wise in this, stopping me from becoming obsessed, yet giving me a reason to seek out the Isle again in the future, I know who will be amongst those waiting for me next time, until then I know the Mother and Alison will watch over him and he will be free to play with the dogs, Lady and Willow!

I returned to myself fairly quickly, certainly a lot quicker than most, and sat back to ponder and soak up the atmosphere, then again shut my eyes and communed with the Lady, going deep to find myself wrapped in Her Dark Embrace, wordlessly feeling the comfort and peace, knowing I am accepted for whom I am and what I am, that there need be no regret, life is for living, not for worrying about what could have been.

The guided journey / meditation and soundscape continued on for a long while after this, perhaps for me a little too long, but it was good just to sit their and soak in the atmosphere, looking round to see the Priestesses balancing the energies and that many folks were getting something more from the extended time. One mother brought her 2 young daughter to the Rite, both of who had gone to sleep during the guided journey and remained so for a long time after that part of the Rite ended, despite the sheer power and volume of what was to come next!

With a sounding of the Gong the guided vis was brought to a close, the Priestess officiating guided those still on the Isle back to reality, and following this most of  the Priestesses sang in beautiful harmony, yet one did not sing and retained her focuss on the energy, balancing it throughtout!

Next we were bid to stand, and a slow dance and song session started with 'Oh Dark Mother', 'Stone, Bone Crone' and another song, with the energy being raised and our movements increasing in both speed and vigour as we shook the lethargy from our bodies and raised our voices in Her name!

Normally I am quite reserved when it comes to dance, I find it difficult to let go, being too self conscious, but in that place and atmosphere I danced and sang my heart out, even though all this was going on, the children at the center of the room remained asleep, I wonder what dreams they had?

After this the energy was high in the room, and on closing the circle it was grounded in the Goddess Hall, helping to build the power structure on which the Temple is based.

A few announcements and time to leave, the long queue to exit as folks search for their shoes and coats in the massive pile and then out into the blessedly cool night air, a clear night with the stars shining brightly!

The Crone Goddess and the entrance to the Otherworld, where our Beloved Dead and Ancestors reside until their turn for rebirth as a spark from the Cauldron returns to Earth, born once more as Witch in Her name!

We said goodbye to H, after thanking her for being in the Rite with us, it was great to feel her staunch presence next to us, her solid energy there at our side, she had grown exponentially since we last worked together! All 3 of us mentioned the fact that it felt as if the time was right for us to be working again together, along with another friend, Bear, the former HP of the currently defunct Circle of the Moon teaching Coven to which we once belonged, so I said Id try and organise something of a get together in the very near future so we could discuss the possibilities!

After saying our goodbyes whilst walking back to the car Lee shared some of what he had experienced, being asked by the Goddess, 'Why are you here?' to which he replied to bring Sue, to get her a new bag and some earrings, to enjoy our wedding anniversary, to connect and feel the connection, and was told, 'No, why are YOU here in Glastonbury?' A metaphorical slap on the wrist followed as he was told to treat himself to the Stag / Greenman top he had seen, and a few steps further on as we neared the car park he spotted a £20 note on the floor, half the price of the top he had fallen in love with from the Goddess and Greenman shop! 'No excuses' came the reply! Guess we were going to have to return to Glastonbury on the Monday for some additional purchases!

All the stars of the Milky Way, like the fires of our ancestors, and a shooting star, a spark from the Cauldron, a Witch to be reborn!

We returned to the BnB, stopping outside to gaze at the starscape, the fires of the Ancestors decorating the sky, with the Milky Way easily being visible, something we dont see at home due to the light pollution from nearby Manchester. A shooting Star split the night, and the words of one of our former teachers came to mind, 'A spark from the Cauldron, A Witch to be reborn this night!'

I shall stop here for today Seeker, and recount the Tale of our final day in Glastonbury tomorrow, if I get the chance, we have a Bonfire / BBQ to prepare for at the allotment tomorrow, ostensibly a Guy Fawkes night celebration, where we bring along food from our harvests (Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Chilli are what we shall be taking, which we need to make today), but deeper down we all know its a Pot Luck to follow the Ancient Fire Rites that we now celebrate on a new date here in the uk, but that have their roots in a much older and darker practice!

Thanks for reading, for bearing with my tale, I hope you find it of use and will return once more to read as we move forwards on our Crooked Paths!

Dark Dreams
Suzanne

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