BLOG Part 15. From Sinai to Schiehallion
We stay in Glastonbury for about 10 days and I am loving the town and its inhabitants more and more. What a crazy, bizarre, colorful, motley crew of witches, healers, vagabonds, gypsies, goddesses, faeries, unicorns, lions, green, purple, and red robes, bookstores with the most occult books together, and of course with Merlin, who goes to ‘his work’ every day. “Just adding a little magic,” he winks at Anne and me. Behind the motley exterior of the whole company is a deep and essential thought: the return of the goddess to the world, and with it the connection with the soul. From Glastonbury we slowly made it to Avalon, the magical island behind the veils. It is here that the sorceress Morgaine, King Arthur and Merlin find themselves, waiting for the time when the world is in crisis and they will return. It is this connection between the two worlds that is so tangible in Glastonbury. The tor is the gateway to ‘The Otherworld’, the world of the soul. But to get there, everyone has to go through their own process of dark sides, pain and disappointment, inner wounds and secret revelations.
Anne and I go through our own personal quest, and as icing on the cake we end up in B&B The Covenstead, right opposite the abbey. Where the ruins of the abbey symbolize the patriarchal masculine, who was over the top – Glastonbury Abbey is known for being the ‘longest’ abbey in England, a foot taller than its ilk, can’t get more masculine than that – so The Covenstead – the witch’s house – symbolizes the feminine in all its diversity. Especially the dark feminine: the house is packed to the brim with skulls, voodoo figurines, wooden pegs to exorcise the devil, dark symbols from all cultures, dragons, protection amulets, images of Kali, Lilith, Medusa, and above our bed hangs a grinning head from Satan. But still; everything feels equally loving and cared for. I expect to pick up the necessary dark energy, but none of that. We sleep like a baby in the majestic golden canopy bed. Even the duvet is in the right mood: black with gold embroidered flowers. This was once the bridal room of Adele Black, the lady of the house, who collected everything in the house. A museum is nothing like that. The last night I feel her presence. I feel a deep sadness, and an enormous anger towards the masculine. I hear from the current owner that she once met a great love in Turkey. It was her “King Arthur” and she married him. But the marriage was an uphill battle and they eventually broke up. Adele sold the house and soon after she died at the age of fifty-two. Angry and disappointed.
Lying in the golden canopy bed, I connect with her soul, which still haunts the house. I understand her anger and disappointment. I embrace her with compassion and reassure her. “Your great love did what he could, but he wasn’t that far yet.” The men’s work makes me understand men so much better, and myself too. We love to do our best, especially for those we love dearly, but sometimes we fall horribly short; We simply cannot go on because of the blind spots and traumas that we carry ourselves. Anger is usually not the right medicine. This puts us in even more panic or overcompensation. It takes great insight, love and compassion to melt the high walls of the male soul. After our ‘conversation’ I feel her soul leave the earthly dimension with a sigh of relief.
Anne and I watch the British series ‘His Dark Materials’ in which people have an animal as a totem that accompanies them everywhere. However, the world is threatened by the dark Magisterium, which separates young children from their totem animal, causing them to lose their souls. In the series, the main character Lyra is told to ask for help from the witches. I understand something of the assignment that Anne and I have in Glastonbury, on our journey to Schiehallion: we must enlist the help of the witches: women like Adele Black, Dion Fortune, and so many other women we know who know the wisdom of the feminine. , to know and respect the goddess from within. We will not solve the ‘climate crisis’ with more of the same: talking, meeting, politics, planning and thinking. We need the soul, and it is the wise women who lead us to it…
As we lie at the foot of the Tor on a sunny day, with Eran and Dawn, a young woman from Israel who lives in Glastonbury, I see a huge orange dragon rising from the hill. I hear the Arabic word ‘Maktub’, which means ‘it is written’. It’s part of the prophecy. It also reminds me of the great dragon from the movie Avatar, who summons all the tribes to the fight against the dark forces. “Do you accept your power?” asks the dragon. I’ve always been afraid of power because I’m so aware of how to abuse power. It’s the last thing I want, so I just walk around it. But I see that I can no longer avoid it. I have to accept my power… What a challenge, but this time it fills me with joy and love. I know my own vulnerability, my pains and dark temptations: now is the time to embrace my strength. Nothing is without risk. Dion Fortune and Adele Black also used their power in the service of the country, of the greater whole, and it will never have been completely unscathed. ‘There is always a price to pay…’
As I look up from my computer, I see the napkin of the coffee shop where we are sitting: ‘Better latte than never.’ The universe gives us many winks on this journey and that is exactly what reveals our path. the synchronicity grows stronger and reminds us that we are on the right track: on our way to the far north, just like Lyra in ‘His Dark Materials,’ or Elsa in Frozen 2. Apparently the north harbors a magical power that we awaken to kiss, to make the Climate Conference in Glasgow a success…
- to be continued –
