Sunday
Sunday was a big day for both myself and Jenny, as our talks were today. Jenny's was her very first, and she was kinda bricking it for most of the weekend. But we'll get to that later.
We began our day (after breakfast, of course) with Elm's Woodland Walk- another tradition for me. Despite being in the same area every year, Elm always has something new and interesting to tell us, and he does it in a captivating manner. Plus, there's the added comedy of his daughters, who like to mess with him. This talk was also enhanced by someone who set up a moth trap and had some really beautiful creatures to show us.
After a shopping break, we came to the talk that Jenny was both anticipating and dreading: hers. Walking A Pagan Path, which was about her experience with eclectic Paganism and advice about when you feel lost. I don't know why she was so worried- she smashed it! Her talk was concise, witty and very relatable. She's still receiving compliments now on how well she did.
The plan after the concert was to go to Tatje Ikonen's talk on Finnish Spellcraft, but the concert overran... I'm hoping she'll do another talk in future so that I get a chance to attend. It's a topic I have never explored before and it sounds fascinating.
Next came a workshop that I was eagerly anticipating: Lunchtime came and, with that, was a concert from Inkubus Sukkubus. I was stupidly excited for this as I am a huge Inkies fan and I haven't been able to see them live for such a long time. Jenny and I were up front, dancing like crazy... then Candia gave her ivy circlet to Jenny. It took all my self control not to dive in front of her and intercept it!
The plan after the concert was to go to Tatje Ikonen's talk on Finnish Spellcraft, but the concert overran... I'm hoping she'll do another talk in future so that I get a chance to attend. It's a topic I have never explored before and it sounds fascinating.
Next came a workshop that I was eagerly anticipating: Walking Between The Worlds with Julie Huggins. We all chose an individual focus for our meditation and then Julie took us through a Shamanic Pathworking to help us find an answer and an animal guide. I'm not going to go into my experiences, as they are quite personal, but I will say that I am still working through what I saw (with Julie's help) and looking into the animals I saw, as two appeared to me. This workshop also reminded me just how intrigued I am by Shamanism and I intend to keep looking into it. I have read books by Flavia and Barbara on Shamanism already, and I bought another by them during the weekend. I also have a book on British Shamanism by Anna Franklin, which I got from the Staffordshire Pagan Conference, that I am eager to dive into.
After this workshop was supposed to be one on Intuitive Magic by Moira Hodgkinson, but she sadly couldn't make it. However, the Dagda stepped in with a drumming circle. This was my first ever drumming circle and I was eager to try out my tabla (an Indian hand drum). Admittedly, my tabla wasn't that loud, but I do think I contributed a little, and the energy was absolutely amazing. I never wanted it to end... although I had to leave early to prepare for my talk.
My workshop this year- Heartbeat of the Earth- was about using movement to connect to the natural rhythms of the Earth. We danced for a solid 20 minutes, which was a big surprise to everyone involved as it barely felt like any time at all to them. A lot of them said they had no idea just how relaxed they would find the experience, expecting to end up puffed out and tired. Instead, we all felt quite calm and energised. One of the ladies who attended floated the idea that perhaps the rhythm we find in the Earth changes depending on the time of the year, which has given me a new avenue to explore. This will involve my dancing in random places at different points in the year so, if you're in Brighton for Witchfest and you see someone prancing about on the seafront, that'll probably be me. Also, I'm curious to see if the experience varies depending on the "dominant" element (for the Gathering, it was Earth and Fire. For Witchfest, it'll be Water and Air).
As Barbara's talk ran over, a few people who said they would come to my workshop ended up missing it (I hear it was very intense and a wonderful experience)... so I might do a repeat of this particular workshop at Witchfest.
Last up was a closing ritual to end the weekend. It was a mass blessing followed by a Spiral Dance, which I always adore. This one was especially brilliant because the speed of sound meant that one half of the circle was half a bar behind the other... so whenever we crossed paths in the Spiral and found ourselves singing different bits, we were collapsing into giggles. I did, however, feel inspired by the earlier chanting workshops to up the volume of my singing so that those around me could maintain timing too. I also felt confident enough (thanks to Susan Marie) to change the key as well, as the one Steve Ward chose was too low for me to comfortably maintain. A year ago, I would have just stuck to that key and sung quietly when the timing went awry- a throwback to when I used to be teased for singing loudly (I shan't go into that, but it's one of the reasons why I didn't continue my singing training), which made me nervous about belting in front of people I don't know that well. And people I do know well. None of that now- I'm gonna sing loud and proud!
After dinner and losing miserably at the raffle, Jenny and I went over to the Taurus Lodge for the Firewalk workshop with Oona. This is my third year doing the Firewalk and it's an amazing experience every single time. This past year has been pretty great for me, for the first time in a long time, so I had nothing but positivity to give to the fire, looking to increase my confidence, knowledge and strength to keep my dance school growing (incidentally, I came home to an email from another school vying for my one remaining extra-curricular spot). During the workshop, I also got to break an arrow- something I've wanted to do for the last two workshops but didn't have the nerve to volunteer. This year, I went for it. I'll be hanging the broken arrow on my wall... although still trying to figure out which wall though.
The firewalk was incredible as well- I got to walk it three times and, once again, I barely felt the heat. I have no scars on my feet, and I felt extremely energised. I also took my newly acquired Carnelian crystal over the fire with me and it's now buzzing with energy as well. The effect is basically the geological equivalent of coffee!
Jenny and I returned to the Marquee to listen to Ghost Stories... and get more food. The intensity of the firewalk made us all really hungry. As a result, I discovered something quite delicious- cheesy chips with baked garlic. I know it sounds really weird, but it's so good! Health issues aside, I could eat that all day (I won't though- I wouldn't fit into any of my new clothes, including a backless halterneck that I never thought I would pull off... but it now has the Mr Shanti stamp of approval).
The Ghost Stories were a lot of fun- I'm definitely going to go over some of my experiences with ghosts and make my own contributions next year.
Since the Perseids meteor shower was going to be visible this weekend, Jenny and I did intend to stay up and stargaze. We thought we saw a meteor during the firewalk, but we weren't sure. But our plans kinda fell apart when we realised it was far too cold to do anything but climb inside our respective sleeping bags in multiple layers and wait until morning.
Monday
Morning came pretty early for me, with my bladder reminding me that it was imperative I wake up at 5.30am and deal with a rather pressing issue. That being said, I was glad I woke up that early- as the photo at the top of the entry shows, I was greeted by a gorgeous sunrise and a mystical fog that settled itself around the camp. Also, the bathroom block was lovely and warm, which was a welcome change to everywhere else!
I went back to my tent and got some more sleep before it was time to wake up and get ready for breakfast. After some last minute shopping came the part that everyone hates: packing up to go home.
I was actually packed up quite quickly, but I hung around to see friends and say goodbye properly.
I went home to a very excited husband and a cat who pretended she didn't miss me.
It was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait for the next. It was also a particularly special Gathering for me, because it marks 10 years since my first. Here's to another 10 and beyond!
Many heartfelt thanks to Merlyn and Cath for making this possible every year, the Dagda for keeping us safe, Andi and Kelly for supplying booze, the Artemis Cafe for all their amazing food (especially the lasagne and the baked garlic), all the speakers for their expertise and the attendees for giving the Gathering its amazing atmosphere.
Blessings,
Shanti
xx