Mayday weekend
Where to begin to describe the fun of the last couple of days... I'll try to give you some flavour:
Saturday morning we jumped in the car and headed to Glastonbury, which oddly enough is a place I've never previously visited, despite living fairly close by, and having read about it since I was a teenager. We arrived on a lovely sunny afternoon, headed to the marketplace and immediately walked into the handsome Mr. David Rankine walking his even more handsome progeny, and surrounded by admiring young ladies. After a short chat, Kim turned up and we hooked up with the various members of the Cardiff University Pagan Society who were there en masse to soak up the Beltane vibe. We walked up Glastonbury Tor chatting away and then sat in the sun gazing over the Isle of Avalon and feeling extremely relaxed and happy.
After that it was back into town again to hit some bookstores - managed to get some great bargains at the wonderful Speaking Tree, my new favourite occult bookstore ever, including a discounted 7 CD set of Rudolf Steiner lectures on Rosicrucianism, which seemed just too damn weird to pass over.
In the early evening, Kim, Cathryn and I convened at the Chalice Well, where some friends were holding a private ritual. We had a lovely time there, though that Healing Pool was cold. We picnicked in the garden afterwards, and talked to old and new friends, including several from the Priestess book that Cathryn contributed to.
After that evening was drawing in, and the sun's warmth disappeared rapidly, so it was off to the pub for drinks and merriment, finishing off with fish & chips in the local Backpackers' hostel. Then we drove to Cathryns parents' house and crashed out.
Sunday afternoon we met up with explodi and axamendes at a place previously unknown to me (and most other people apparently), Stanton Drew stone circle. It's a beautiful place, the second largest stone circle in the UK, after Avebury. Upon getting close to the inner circle, we noticed a couple laying beside the head stone, celebrating Beltane in the way our true pagan ancestors used to. Clearly the land is now more fertile...
After that it was on to Bristol, and The Invisible Circus! Wow... what an extravaganza that was! Possibly the greatest night out I have ever experienced, words cannot possibly express the entire event. I dressed in a black velvet and gold brocade robe, as befitted my status as Orpheus the Magnificent, Prestidigitator to the Courts of the Crowned Heads of Europe. Highlights of the night included a perfectly recreated Victorian seance, including ectoplasm, a spirit kettle that dispensed absinthe, table turning etc. where our little party fitted in perfectly; a zoo full of furries with personality disorders, turning tricks for peanuts; ghosts walking down walls and scattering cherry blossoms from the sky (which brought tears to my eyes); and me playing ping-pong with Satan (I'm looking forward to seeing the video of that). For six hours we wandered around with our eyes the size of saucers.
So today is a day for sitting on the sofa, watching TV, and recovering methinks...
Saturday morning we jumped in the car and headed to Glastonbury, which oddly enough is a place I've never previously visited, despite living fairly close by, and having read about it since I was a teenager. We arrived on a lovely sunny afternoon, headed to the marketplace and immediately walked into the handsome Mr. David Rankine walking his even more handsome progeny, and surrounded by admiring young ladies. After a short chat, Kim turned up and we hooked up with the various members of the Cardiff University Pagan Society who were there en masse to soak up the Beltane vibe. We walked up Glastonbury Tor chatting away and then sat in the sun gazing over the Isle of Avalon and feeling extremely relaxed and happy.
After that it was back into town again to hit some bookstores - managed to get some great bargains at the wonderful Speaking Tree, my new favourite occult bookstore ever, including a discounted 7 CD set of Rudolf Steiner lectures on Rosicrucianism, which seemed just too damn weird to pass over.
In the early evening, Kim, Cathryn and I convened at the Chalice Well, where some friends were holding a private ritual. We had a lovely time there, though that Healing Pool was cold. We picnicked in the garden afterwards, and talked to old and new friends, including several from the Priestess book that Cathryn contributed to.
After that evening was drawing in, and the sun's warmth disappeared rapidly, so it was off to the pub for drinks and merriment, finishing off with fish & chips in the local Backpackers' hostel. Then we drove to Cathryns parents' house and crashed out.
Sunday afternoon we met up with explodi and axamendes at a place previously unknown to me (and most other people apparently), Stanton Drew stone circle. It's a beautiful place, the second largest stone circle in the UK, after Avebury. Upon getting close to the inner circle, we noticed a couple laying beside the head stone, celebrating Beltane in the way our true pagan ancestors used to. Clearly the land is now more fertile...
After that it was on to Bristol, and The Invisible Circus! Wow... what an extravaganza that was! Possibly the greatest night out I have ever experienced, words cannot possibly express the entire event. I dressed in a black velvet and gold brocade robe, as befitted my status as Orpheus the Magnificent, Prestidigitator to the Courts of the Crowned Heads of Europe. Highlights of the night included a perfectly recreated Victorian seance, including ectoplasm, a spirit kettle that dispensed absinthe, table turning etc. where our little party fitted in perfectly; a zoo full of furries with personality disorders, turning tricks for peanuts; ghosts walking down walls and scattering cherry blossoms from the sky (which brought tears to my eyes); and me playing ping-pong with Satan (I'm looking forward to seeing the video of that). For six hours we wandered around with our eyes the size of saucers.
So today is a day for sitting on the sofa, watching TV, and recovering methinks...