rise and root

***

~*~*~*~



The Flame Haired Solstice Dreamer

Cold winter brings the Everfrost and jewels every tree
In a forest new as birth and old as old can be
A flame~haired dreamer wanders there and shelters from the wind
And spins her dreams around the trees to break the ties that bind
She takes her thread and spins anew and how the Greenwood smiles
As she spins a spell for freedom and for her spirit Wylde

The dreamer finds an ancient oak and shelters in his lee
In a forest new as birth and old as old can be
Tis summer now and birdsong weaves its magick through her spells
And humming bees drum drowsily in the foxglove's bells
The dreamer sits beneath the oak with yarn upon her knee
And spins and knits and weaves her dreams and sets her spirit free

***
"When birds fall from the sky and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people...shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. they will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow"

Hopi Prophecy

~old church at imbolc~























i am expecting some of my newer readers to wonder why on earth a pagan would choose to go to an old christian church at imbolc?

well, the church, high on a hill, is built within a big round earth work, and the yew has been dated to over 1,000 years old and i, and others believe, as is usual with many old churches, that the original site was either a small settlement or a sacred place for the ancestors of this area.

i have always been drawn to this place and since moving back here after ten years of roaming dorset i find the pull to go up there even stronger than before.

but i only ever go there when i am called and yesterday it was strong despite the freezing weather.

it is really peaceful there, and to me it has nothing to do with it being a graveyard and a sanctified area~that has no meaning for me in a religious sense.

the peace is deeper, taking me out of this time, further back, to a time before christianity claimed it as its own








10 comments:

Cyndee Greene said...

I am so moved by the trunk of the yew!
I would love to just sit against it....or have a picnic under it...

JuliaB said...

hmm.. old churches like that are often built on sites where there were shrines to Brigit so ofcourse it would make sense to go there at Imbolc .. perhaps that was the stronger than usual pull? x

Twiggy said...

Beautiful place.
Twiggy x

Patty said...

I love the photos. I love old churches and the cemeteries that are usually assoiciated with them. I think it is just fine to be Pagan and visit them. To me there is a peacefulness at places like the one you have shown us.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos. I can see the attraction with the church.

Pixiedust said...

That Yew tree is stunning. xxxx

Jaime said...

The pictures themselves, speak a million words. Wow! Being a traditional witch and a pagan - I am drawn too. I would have loved to see this area in person.

Rowan said...

This looks a lovely place and I can see why you are attracted to it. There is a peace and serentity about it that is often found in very ancient places where generation after generation of our ancestors have gathered. Will reply to your e-mail over the weekend, sorry for the delay - reason is in a recent blog entry.

Moonroot said...

Lovely photos!

Tipper said...

Whatever the reason-I'm glad you went-and took us along! I loved the pictures-it does look like a place of "old" a place of "peace".

All things share the same breath~the beast, the tree, the man, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.



Chief Seattle






Johney Gaul~1915

Johney Gaul~1915
1890-17 september 1918~France