A Well Celebrated Solstice...

Blessed Summer Solstice Everyone! 
I hope you had a beautiful morning, day or evening - whatever you did to celebrate. I made a complete spiritual solstice pig of myself and celebrated for about 4 days solid! My body has yet to forgive me....
Hot on the heels of our few days away last week and ignoring the weather forecast, I headed off to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast for a spot of camping with my friend Charlotte and her daughter Jem at a Summer Solstice Festival run by a local drumming group that another friend is involved with. 
An hour later, after a whole car load of camping equipment had been battled with and sworn at, finally vanquished with no instructions and a fortifying cuppa from our new 'neighbours' had been gratefully drunk, we were ready to go and explore the variety of stalls and be entertained for the afternoon and evening. 
Lots of deeply resonating drumming from the Pentacle Drummers, wonderful performances from various Morris groups and dancers and magic from that old scoundrel Devil Stick Pete, but yet again it was the fabulous confident and sexy hip-swinging belly dancers of Tribal Unity that stood out for me. A group of ladies of mixed ages and body shapes, curvy and slim all unabashedly dancing to wonderful music from around the world

Tribal Unity

celebrating the diversity amongst themselves rather than hiding it away and enjoying it - Go Ladies! I rather think my Goddess would particularly approve of them.
Later a simple ritual was held to mark the forthcoming solstice, which included calling in the four elements, the Goddess and the Gods, as well as some bardic story telling about the Oak and the Holly Kings battling for supremacy over the seasons.
The evening was topped off by some brilliant singers and bands; singing a mixture of mournful, joyous, haunting and funny songs about Beltane, Gods, myths, Goddesses, legends and the earth late into the night with some catching up with old friends, followed by a spectacular near full visit from Lady Moon as we headed back to our woodland camp site and attempted to sleep. 

Lady Moon

Funny how much quicker it is to take the tents and awnings down the following day isn't it? After an impromptu visit to the nearby beach on the way home where I collected some beautiful stones for my altar, I managed to sneak an extra hour of sleep in my suddenly oh so comfy bed, before seeing my lovely Dad for Father's Day and then somewhat reluctantly, hauling myself off to my local  Maidstone Pagans Moot that I unexpectedly inherited the Admin and running of a while back! A lot of people had been unable to make it and I was all but ready to cancel it when a new lady said she was definitely coming. My reward, apart form my lovely husband offering to drive for a change so that I could have a cheeky pint, was not one but four shiny lovely new people and a great evening chatting to like minded people about all manner of things Goddessy, Angels, Tarot, Ghosts ... you name it as well as making amazing connection between two people that had lost touch with each other - small world!
As if I hadn't done enough camping to make my bones ache and grumble over the weekend, I packed every waterproof I possessed and made my way with some anxiety to my next adventure a Summer Solstice Camp, anxiety

Sunshine Wheel

due to the fact that I'd only met two people there a mere once before. Big, brave pep talk and stern talking to myself in the car ensued about being confident and all of it being part of my journey, basically telling myself to Woman Up! Just to reassure some of the less confident among you that I do get a bit lonely and isolated too on my path and have wavers in my faith of my abilities and limits and wonder if I should just go back home - quite a lot if I'm honest! Usually grounding or centering myself clears all that negativity and calling Goddess in helps me focus on my strengths and identifying my goals.

Solstice Incense

Deep breath, last minute grounding and as I got out of the car, found myself approached by two lovely people who welcomed me with hugs and introduced themselves, pointing me to where I had to register and showing me where to pitch my tent - sorted. Heartfelt prayer of thanks sent to Her upstairs.

Tent pitched and mug of tea filled, a quick wander round the beautiful camp - Kits Coty Glamping nestling in the North Downs, it's absolutely gorgeous and I was ready to Solstice! I joined in with a colourful selection of solstice arts and crafts that was taking place, like the sun wheel above, easy once you got the hang of it, which we later placed on our own cloutie tree at the site, as well as mixing and blending our own recipe of incense, making and decorating wands, masks 

Midsummer's Eve Walk

and designing flower mandalas whilst chatting with lots of lovely people and recognising a few more familiar faces too.
Before our sundown ritual, we just had time

to walk up to the stones, my beloved Kit's Coty where I often go for a bit of peace or to clear my mind. Walking through fields of waist high grass and wild flowers was pretty magical in the evening sun. 
The children in the group laughing and running ahead up the hill, playing and hiding in the long grass, like they must have done for time immemorial on their journey up to this special place. It really felt like the ancestors walked besides us as we went and I have to say that later on as evening fell, I was very aware of the closeness of these people, I was sure I heard voices nearby but couldn't understand what was being said. 

Offering at The Stones

As we reached the stones, I saw with delight that someone had somehow managed to get through the railings that surround the stones to protect it and placed none other than a corn dolly there for Litha, Summer Solstice or Midsummer - couldn't be a more apt symbol for a Grain Goddess such as Ker could there? Interesting choice, which had me wondering who else visits there regularly and why this corn dolly was so important to them that they went to the effort to place it there!

We celebrated further into the night with a short sundown ritual and a fire, with plenty of bats flying above our heads whilst we drank hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows before catching a few hours sleep. My sleep was disturbed by a strange snuffling and shuffling outside of my tent, first instinct was that it was a crazed wolf, then a rabid fox or a ferocious rat...it was in fact none of them, just a curious hedgehog who blinked with bewilderment when I shone my torch at it. I'm sure I could still hear those voices though! Sunrise came round quickly and was veiled in cloud, but we stood there bleary eyed and fuelled with tea to greet it and perform another ceremony to welcome Summer. I'm still not quite sure how I got through  all day at work, but I did get a much needed early night in a proper bed that night, it may take a while for the rest of me to catch up though!

Have A Blessed Week x x 

Journeys

A Shy Peony at The Druid's Inn

The last few weeks seem to have been all about journeys for me, spiritually, mentally as well as physically. 
On several levels I have felt as though I have moved along my path significantly. Whether that is because on the most basic level I am exploring and writing about the wheel of the year again, perhaps with more clarity and understanding than before, as well as the fact that people have sought me out to ask me questions about my journey, how to start theirs and for advice. I've become on occasion 'someone that will know' - not that I always do and neither do I claim to be an expert I hasten to add! It's

Moon Meditation Journal

as though I  have progressed to the next class up from beginners - with that comes confidence to trust my own instincts, to listen to my inner voice and the knowledge that what I do is right for me but also carries the weight of responsibility and need for wisdom. I feel as though my learning curve has become instinctive now, a purely personal journey where I walk with Goddess. 
Through listening to my own body and my reactions, as well as keeping a meditation journal I discovered many moons ago,(boom boom!) my meditations are usually much more vivid and powerful when the moon is waxing. It also increases my creativity, again adding to the vividness of my meditation journeys- ideas, thoughts floating into focus, that mother line of mine jostling to be heard  and I have been very conscious of the need to tell lost stories, obviously in my own way and a little poetic licence for fiction! I've always loved tales of myth and legend, believing that is probably a grain of truth somewhere in them, this week I have been happily scribbling away, characters developing, plots unfolding fast and furiously to the point where I have had to implement a project book just to note down ideas, as well as making a serious start to

Druid's Cave

planning some more serious and accurate research for other projects  - I won't have time to go to work at this rate!
This week we headed off to Manchester for a concert and stayed with some family nearby which allowed us to explore a bit of Derbyshire and the Peak District, reluctantly Mark let me navigate unsupervised without the satnav. He wasn't at all surprised when we pulled up outside a pub called the Druid's Inn and I told him there was a cave behind known as the Druid's Cave that I wanted to explore... Walking boots on, we went off to explore and found a series of small caves that would have been habitable if a bit precarious!

Cave Entrance

Hidden from the road and in a high out crop of rock it's easy to see where the legend came from - there's even carved steps and a rock with a dip in that could act a bathing pool! A bit 'girlie' for a druid/hermit maybe?
This cave entrance was very feminine in form, if not positively yoni like! It got me wondering just who had lived their before the legendary Druid or Hermit, you can see why it would be a special place for anyone, Goddesses too!.
Bravely and against his better judgement, himself continued to let me navigate off piste - (very rare) this time I steered us to Stanton Moor for a 'short walk' as I misinformed him, to find a stone circle known as the 9 Ladies. legend has it that 10 women were turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath....one stone fell flat so hence the name now!

Hmmm, seeing as they are 4000 years old we can discount that myth, the information said that funerary and ceremonial relics have been found and it has 

long been seen as a special place. Being me, I had to have a little weave in and out of the stones and touch them as I went, some seeming warmer to the touch than others. So quiet there apart from the odd marauding dog, straying away from their owners to check out our packed lunches! I fancied that the tress looked like dancers poised in a tableaux, the odd sway in the wind looking like a discreet lack of balance! Me and my ideas.... Walking back to the car I could almost hear whispered voices and we both heard what we thought were hooves clip clopping on the ground but there were none to be seen, just a few shy sheep a little further along the track. it would Remote and secluded it must have been a wonderful place for a ceremony or ritual  for something special or sacred, I suspect it still is!

My good luck with full control of the navigation continued and on the way back yesterday, I managed to sneak in a few more detours. First we went to Eyam, a small village up in the Dales that had the misfortune in 1665 of being in receipt of a parcel of cloth for the village tailor that was infested with fleas from plague ridden London, what followed was inevitable. Their courage though was exceptional, they barricaded themselves in, quarantining the village - a act which cost them three quarters of the population of the village, but prevented the plague spreading anywhere else. Entire families wiped out in days and weeks, or decimated so that just one member survived. Despite the grimness the stories fascinated with me, a fantastic museum has preserved their memory and celebrates their bravery, their names are real, especially as you walk through the beautiful village and the houses that these people lived in are signposted. One lady in particular kept replaying in my mind all the way home, I think her story will be one I will have to tell in depth - yet another set of

8th/9th Century Celtic Cross

scribbled ideas in my project book. When I asked  Goddess for inspiration, I was thinking creativity in making up a story, what I've been given are facts and stories that inspire creativity, I can work with that! 
Also found a slightly shortened but otherwise fabulous Celtic Cross, dated 8th/9th Century in the church yard that appealed to me, no one knows how long it's been there or where it was previous to the building of the church. The front had the normal Celtic knots on it but the back was covered in odd shapes that almost look like cornucopias with long strands of foliage coming out of them.  Finally the satnav was wheeled out for the sake of himself's sanity, but bless it, our route took us past a sign to a village nearby called Cressbrook.. Now researching any mention of Ker all over the UK  and the world as I have, Ker and cress have been linked, it's even suggested that cress that commonly grows around a well is a derivative of Ker, this could mean only one course of action... Driving into Cressbrook I discovered it was their one week of the year to

Green Man Well Dressing

have their well dressed, most of the others are in July - now just what are the odds of that?!
A brief pit stop had me running down a grassy bank to find this beauty on the village green! Not Ker of course, but the Green Man, Old Cerrunus himself - rather an odd choice for the fund this year for the village church! Next to it they had a  standing stone about four feet tall to mark the millennium, which I thought was a lovely idea - I wonder if people will look at it in a few hundred years and wondered if we danced round it?
Safely belted and locked in the car, satnav firmly on, we headed off on the long journey home my head full of sights and stories that need ruminating and meditating on to bring them alive once more.
Full moon is also Summer Solstice which I will be celebrating in a variety of ways that involves a lot of camping, singing, dancing, drumming and hopefully not too much rain!

Have a Wonderful Solstice or Litha However You Celebrate. Blessed Be x x