I have long had a love of archaeology; Time Team has to be one of my favourite TV programmes; I enthused over the various relics they discovered on their digs. I realised over time that rather than the Roman finds, I was drawn to the Anglo Saxon and Celtic discoveries, and I longed to know more about these. This corresponded with my (re)emerging spirituality so I would search out practical themed books that related to this.
I think the first author that drew my attention was Glennie Kindred; she writes about Earth Wisdom, natural remedies and the seasonal cycles of the Earth. I was really lucky to attend one of her workshops over a weekend, in which we focused in on each of the Elements in turn, and created wands to represent them; during this we sang and chanted as we whittled at the wood and it felt a lot like coming home, like a light had been switched on and a connection made. These are some pictures of my wands; they now rest on my altar. I would heartily recommend any of her books to someone wanting to learn more about Earth centred spirituality.
Air Fire
Spirit Water
Earth
The next book I came across was Walking the Mist by Donald McKinney, who sadly passed in 2011. It was I am sure the first book I read that referred specifically to Celtic Spirituality, and it really spoke to me. There is a lovely breathing meditation in it that I still use.
You may realise from the blog name, I have a strong affinity to Faerie and a desire to work closely with them; this led to me discovering the work of R J Stewart. He has done a lot of work with regards Celtic traditions and working with Faerie; his books, The Living World of Faery, and The Well of Light: From Faery Healing to Earth Healing are two favourites on my bookshelves
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Another of my favourite books is by Marko Pogačnik - Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings: Working with the Intelligence in Nature. This is a first-hand account of his own experiences communicating with Nature Spirits during meditations, and is primarily focussed on his desire to heal the Earth. Much of his work is dedicated to lithopuncture, or Earth acupuncture a worldwide project to enhance communication with Earth consciousness. This year (2016) he is being inaugurated as the UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Continuing on from this I wanted to learn more about Elementals, and I turned to the wonderful series of books by Jaq D Hawkins - Spirits of the........
Obviously though, there comes a time when you need to move away from just reading about a subject, towards actually experiencing it yourself. This was my next step along my journey, when I began to study hypnotherapy in a Diploma course that was run in conjunction with Shamanic techniques; this was specifically done to allow us to examine the similarities and differences between Western medicine, and more spiritual, esoteric medicine. We studied shamanic journeying, power retrieval and soul retrieval work both on ourselves and then with fellow students as 'clients'. I had some amazing revelations during this time, and yet despite being happy with these techniques, I still knew that deep down I longed to find something that was truly part of my ancestral heritage, something British.
During a meditation a few years earlier, I had had a spontaneous regression; I perceived myself as being on a forest hillside, wearing a hooded cloak, in a heavy onslaught of rain; with an immediate sense of clarity, I knew that this was in Wales, that it was at a time of flooding, and also that I drowned. The image was only with me for less than a minute, and yet the certainty of feeling has never left me. On a visit to Wales, before my illness, I saw a place name on a sign-post and simply knew I had to go there, it was Betws-y-Coed. So I went, and although I didn't feel comfortable in the centre (perhaps due to the many many tourists), I did feel a recognition at the quieter outer edges, it felt very familiar to me. When looking up information on the area later, I found a place called Fairy Glen - perfect for me!!
It was around this time that I became ill with Fibromyalgia and I recognised that I was being urged to take time to truly work on myself and the issues I was carrying from my early life; the condition also meant that I was unable to commit to any long-term training, or any courses held at a distance from my home. And so, it was back to the books for a while. At least now though I had a greater understanding of what I was searching for; something that reflected ancient traditional British, especially English and Welsh folkloric practices; something that felt totally REAL. This was the next step of my journey............
Thanks for reading
Steffi :o)
xx
