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

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

Continuing the reasons a bit more............. A fortuitous set of circumstance, or something more?

So, lets explain things a bit further, not only to allow the Seeker who is reading this to understand more, but also for myself to work through the experiences and see what comes from my pondering upon them!

Sometimes this blog will be in the form of a diary, sometimes it will be more of a place to air my thoughts, a kind of personal journal covering numerous aspects of my life, both spiritaul and mundane, sometimes merely somewhere to come and rant n rave, and at other times a place to share my more creative work, my hopes are that it will be somewhere others may find inspiration and that I can work through my thoughts, anyhows, we will see how it goes!

So the start of the blog, the resumption of my writing and hopefully some other aspects of our Crooked Path all come from our recent trip to Glastonbury (we got home last night), which was booked by Lee as a surprise Wedding Anniversary treat (10 years married on Samhain!) We stayed at a BnB on a smallholding, about 10 miles outside Glastonbury (as we would both love to have a smallholding Lee thought it would be a good idea to visit one, which it was), travelling down on Saturday and going straight to Glastonbury before we went to the BnB later on. Our plans were to visit Glastonbury on the Saturday, possibly return on the Sunday for another look around, then explore some of the local area and possibly try and do some photography!

I didnt manage to stop and get a piccy of how it looked in the rain, with the storm lashing down, but this borrowed piccy shows something similar, but no where near as heavy a downpour as we were greeted with!

The Lady had other plans for us though! We had a good trip down in bright sunshine, about 3 1/2 hours from Manchester to Glastonbury, via Bristol (the Sat Nav told us there was a hold up on the lower M5 so took us through Bristol and onto the A and B roads, the upshot of which was we were treated to a fab view of the Tor as we came over the hills towards Wells!) As the Tor came into view it was shrouded in black clouds, with a heavy downpour falling. As we reached the Car Park in Glastonbury the clouds cleared, the rain stopped and we were bathed in sunlight once more, a fortuitous start!

Stock image of the High St, I didnt manage to get the cameras out once whilst we were down at Glastonbury, so please forgive my blatant use of images from the web, its not normal for me to neglect the camera, but this weekend wasnt about photography, even though we thought it may well have been, it was about something else entirely!

Making our way into the High St we started to look around the many shops, as it was our first trip to Glastonbury we didnt quite know what to expect, but having been practitioners for many years and having been into many Pagan shops before, we thought we'd be fine.......... but the sheer volume of choice, the different environments and the incense, added together with the general energy of the Tor (a definite place of power) meant we were reeling by the time we'd been in 3 or 4 shops, overdosing the senses with all manner of good things!

We had an enjoyable time looking in all the wonderful shops, soaking up the atmosphere and generally playing 'spot the xtian' instead of the usual spot the pagan! Some purchases were made, and some heartfelt longings for other items put into our hearts, a fantastic day! By 4pm we were completely sensory overloaded, so decided to head off to the BnB, check in, relax and go for a meal to mull over our experiences.

Hill View Farm, another 'borrowed' picture!

We Stayed at Hill View Farm, a lovely 4 star BnB on a smallholding about 7 miles from Glastonbury itself in Wedmore, Ashton, a good base for exploring the locality, lovely and quiet, with lovely people running it. On arrival it was to find we'd been upgraded to a larger room and that there was a lovely slice of cake and mug of tea waiting for us, definitely a place we'd stay at again! Staying outside of Glastonbury was Lee's idea, as we both really would like to have a smallholding ourselves his thoughts were to get to see what they were like locally, and I have to say, not only did we do that, but also having the separation from Glastonbury itself worked well for us, we were able to visit when we wanted, but were able to escape and put some distance between us and the atmosphere if we wanted or needed it.

After a lovely meal at the Lamb Inn at Weare (great wholesome food, tasty, hot and plenty of it for a very good price) we returned to the BnB and popped Lee's laptop on, to check Facebook (dont ask me why, but we were 'told' to do so) On posting a status update saying we were in Glastonbury it was to find a pretty quick reply from a dear friend and Coven sister, Heathwitch, our former HPS, who was also in Glastonbury!! We hadnt seen H for 2 years to the day, the last time we met was at her Samhain party and Rite in 2008 (when she wore a fab 'Wicked Witch outfit, complete with full green bodypaint), and she immediately asked if we'd like to meet up? Lol, well, synchronicity such as this is something that doesnt happen often, it felt to us all that there was more to it, a message that we were receiving loud and clear from the Lady, 'I'll knock you're heads together if you don't LISTEN!'

We had planned to explore a bit more of the area on Sunday, before returning again to Glastonbury on the Monday to make some additional purchases before we came home (Man, Myth & Magick, The Goddess and Green Man, Lilith, StarChild,so many lovely shops with soo much lovely Pagan orientated things, I could spend an absolute fortune if I wasnt careful!), but after hearing H was in the area our plans changed, it was time to meet up! We posted back to H our mobile numbers, then said we were planning on going to the Chalice Well Gardens that morning and possibly staying for the lunchtime Samhain Rite, but didnt get a reply from her, so set off anyway and hoped that H would ring us and we could then arrange where to meet!

Borrowed picture of the Meadow at Chalice Well Gardens

We arrived early at the Chalice Well Gardens, to find that it was free entry before 12am (as it was Samhain), so after making a donation we made our way first to the meadow where we sat and absorbed the atmosphere and spent some time communing.

Borrowed Picture of the View of the Tor from the Chalice Well Gardens Meadow

 I started to hear the whispers of a voice touching my mind as we gazed at the view or the Tor from some of the seats placed there for meditation. The whisper was that of The Lady, making contact with me for the first time in a while, I got the distinct impression She was glad that we were here, in the place that is Her home!

Borrowed Picture of the Exit from the Meadow and the walk through the bower of trees.

As we walked away from the Meadow towards a walk under a Bower of trees I got a strong message, images and voices, overlapping one another, I shall recount them for you here to draw your own message from them!

'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!'

 I shall stop at this point now, and continue the tale later, thanks for visiting Seeker, thanks for reading so far and bearing with my poor ramblings!
Dark Dreams
Suzanne