~moongazy gathering 2016~

last week we came home from our yearly gathering with friends and I came home feeling rejuvenated...well sort of .

it has taken me a week to recover, but because I am feeling so bad with my fibromyalgia that's not saying much to be honest.

it has reached the point that I saw my gp yesterday and going for blood tests today to test for inflammatory conditions...either that or my fibromyalgia has become a whole lot worse.

*****

however the moongazy gathering was, as usual, amazing.

the day we left was a bit stressful because our caravan misbehaved and we had to leave her at home meaning we had load everything into 'gibson' our normal size vw van (if you remember pretty pagan was a much larger van!) but we arrived safely and spent the afternoon setting up camp.

the back of the camper was loaded to the gunnels...complete with ferret cage!

I always love the views in Wiltshire~i have ancestral connections there going back many hundreds of years and so feel very connected to the land.

less than two hours from home is the field that becomes a magical sanctuary for one week every year

swampy looks happy to have arrived

our neighbours

I had really not wanted to go, my anxiety and depression getting the worse of me, but deep down I knew that if I didn't I would regret it.

but I looked after myself, I took time apart when I needed to, when my body and mind told me that I needed to and that helped. although I couldn't combat the pain I managed.

it was worth it.

while I was there the old magic of the gathering worked its spell on me, it helped me find my way back onto my spiritual path.

its as if all of those spiritual souls gathered together generates so much spiritual energy its catching, that the air is filled with this energy and if you stop long enough it will seep into your bones, into your very soul, bringing back that which was lost.

and it works

while there I visited my usual haunts, avebury~where we walked the avenue

collecting sheeps wool from the sheep that graze around the stones

then there was Glastonbury...

anyone who has been there and feel a connection, feel that Glastonbury is their spiritual home will understand the feeling that the Tor is like a beacon. that it is sending out energies across the land to draw us back home and that we will link into this from miles away.

unfortunately I became really unwell while there and so did not spend the day there as I usually do but I was able to visit all my usual haunts before swampy had to take me back...

on the way out of Glastonbury we stopped at the White Spring Temple, something I try to do each visit. despite not feeling good I had to go there, I had to visit each shrine, bathe my hands and face in the ice cold water, stand in the cold, darkness and absorb the energies of the area. then, stopping to fill my two empty bottles with the sacred water it was time to get back on the road.

back at camp all was good

the solstice cafe

stonewylde goodies

our friend chyna is so very talented

so is our friend Eilen...I have this soap, made with hops, and it is so good

kilts are an essential

so is live music

as nights fell the fires were lit...

and during the day crafts were worked on

before too long the week was up and one by one tents, were taken down, caravans collapsed, campers loaded to the gunnels and we said our farewells, arranging to meet at other camps or events throughout the year but all pledging to return and create this sacred site again next year.

the sight of Salisbury Cathedral is like the gateway to the forest, only half an hours drive from home, it is like we are already home when the cathedral fills our view.

and so another moongazy gathering is over, the camping equipment packed away until our next adventure...

~more~

after my blog post of yesterday i felt really positive, as if i had really had climbed a big hill and achieved something. 

this sounds half-way daft but i think anyone out there with chronic health problems-whatever they may be- will understand that at times just small, everyday things can seem like a struggle.

over the last weeks i have sat and thought to myself how daft it is that i can't even open my laptop, just didn't even have the energy to open it and tap keys.

but i am going to try my hardest to keep coming back with posts.

*****

i am presently working on a ritual for our annual Moongazy Gathering. we performed a ritual last year with a few of us, which i blogged about here and this year, given the opportunity, i said that i would write the ritual as we had an idea to create a sacred space for the field we will all be living in for a week.

i was emailing my gorgeous friend and witch Sujee about it and it made me realise how much my path has changed since the experiences i blogged about last year.

for a long time my spiritual path was a winding one of discovery, i didn't label myself as anything more than a pagan. then i found druidry and it felt so comfortable...but not quite *right*

then i had my experience at the white spring in glastonbury and west kennet long barrow and it all changed.

this change is being reflected in the ritual i am now writing and my chats with Sujee~ i am again thinking of how my path changed and how i see myself as a pagan these days.

my spiritual path is much wilder now, a lot more unstructured, i tend not to be overly concerned with perceived rights and wrongs.
there is no single right way,
go with what your heart and soul sings out!

~there & back again~

i have been such a lax blogger, dreadful.

i have had a period of 'blahhhh-ness', my mojo had packed its bags and went on some rambling walkabout.

all i have really been doing is reading, a lot of reading, some family tree work and crochet.

i have had no motivation for anything and days would go by without even turning on my laptop.

last weekend we packed up, hooked lilith onto the back of pretty pagan and took to the road...

not far outside of salisbury we stopped for a quick stopover to stretch our legs, flynts included. usually we stop for a nice mug of tea at this bus but this time we were running late and had no time for tea.

can you see where we are heading?

my spiritual home beckons...

but the low clouds kept hiding avalon from sight

samhain can mean only one thing...meeting up with friends for the weekend and the fairy ball and witches market.

we set up camp at the avalon campsite only minutes from the centre of glastonbury and as it was getting dark we settled down with mugs of tea and our books.

for the next two days we spent our time at the shops and witches market, drinking hot chocolate in the blue note and soaking in the atmosphere.

we stopped at the chalice well and collected water from the white spring.

the white spring temple was closed to my great disappointment and i clung to the iron bars gazing in at the cold darkness, hearing the healing waters flowing feeling like a prisoner in reverse.

all to soon it was time to pack up and come back to this ancient forest

but glastonbury has worked its magic and i have come home full of inspiration and my samhain reading of my shamans oracle cards has only emphasised this feeling