We have a really good and friendly relationship with our local media and they tend to contact me around the festivals to find out a pagan perspective. We had a great article on Samhain, and now we have a neat article for the Winter Solstice. The paper will also be doing a piece on “Tarot Professionals” as a ‘Cumbrian International Success Story” early next year.

Today we continue our theme on building a temple! There’s a lot of practical work in converting an area to a sacred space … it’ll be a few years before we have the entire Temple of Delphi re-created, but we’re working on it!

Re-organising the basement junk.

Well, every festival we get bigger and extend the temple or grove area, so this Winter Solstice we started work on re-organising the junk in the temple/basement, and I made a rather mad purchase of six 6′ pillars on EBay! The shipyard selling the pillars (reinforced industrial cardboard) were very curious as to why anyone would buy them!

I spent a day sawing them to size, and then painted the other half of the temple floor with expensive concrete paint (black) which will be ideal for overlaying white symbols, such as a 9′ circle, pentagram or triangle.

The next stage is to spraypaint the pillars white and decorate them with ivy – the sort you buy for weddings and parties. I now have my eye on a flame-effect lamp for the south quarter for the Imbolc purchase!

Temple Pillars (Unpainted)

Here we see how it looks with four of the pillars upright, and a pile of the off-cuts used to fill a gap (these will make quarter-altars when they’re done). They’ll look a lot better when they’re painted! Temple at the Winter Solstice

And here’s the finished area lit up for an initiation performed at the Winter S0lstice. It is slowly gaining a truly magickal aura as we perform more workings – the whole group noticed something incredible in the atmosphere of the place after our recent dedication of the temple to our patron Goddess.

Temple at Winter Solstice

Well, I got awoken at 8:00am by the lorry driver who’d arrived with the turf. He “needed a hand” unloading the rolls, so I got dressed and spent half an hour in the rain unloading the turf with him. After he’d left, I then spent an hour carrying each roll – one at a time – up the 15 wooden steps to the cleared area. Sheesh. Ouch.

After rolling out a fair amount of the turf, it became apparent how uneven the back edge of the area was, so there was another hour of remedial digging, cursing and raking.

When that was all done, I still had turf to spare, and despite every bone in my body having signed a petition for abuse and delivered it to my rain-soaked and mud-pelted head, I decided to cut some steps between the wooden steps and the lawn. Ouch. No, Ouch.

Five hours later, I had done – well, I really couldn’t hold my cup of tea straight as my wrist had given out entirely, so I was definately done! I went to take a photo of the finished lawn, and lo and behold the sun came out and I got a weird “nature spirit” halo over the lawn! A blessing from Sun and Land.

All ready for Samhain, then! And next summer, G&T on the lawn!

Temple photographs to follow as we get that ready for the ritual.

In the Light of All Seasons

Silenus.

Well, seven hours of tilling the soil and earth and at last we have a level area ready for turfing. I also took the opportunity to build in a shrine/altar area using 100-year old slates from our replaced cottage roof. The turf is now on order, so that’ll be arriving tomorrow! All ready for Samhain.

And I have lost the use of my arms, hips and spine through all the digging and root-work!

Hey All

It’s a little bit funny seeing the hits on this site and not knowing who’s interested in reading all about me digging an “infinity lawn” (as when it is turfed for rituals and a sacred grove, it’ll look like it extends out into the woods around it) or painting a temple (photos to follow) and other wyrdness!

So, leave a comment! Let me know who you are, where you’re from and hey, do I know you from somewhere? LOL.

There’s more to follow in the next few weeks as we gear up for Samhain, hold initiations and parties, and who knows what else as we work out ways to hold ourselves in light against the dark …

In the Light of all Seasons

Marcus

Well, another day outside preparing for Samhain. With the help of a neighbour – himself an astrologer of some repute – I got a banister sorted for the wooden steps, and then spent a couple of hours digging and levelling. I will next level off the area, shore it up, add drainage, and then get turf! We’re planning on a buried firepit in the centre for circles and generally keeping warm!

I always see the astronomical festivals as switch-over points where we change tracks gracefully and elegantly with respect and reverance of Nature’s charms. The Grace of Her who breathes the earth and embraces the sky allows us to marvel and move with the transformation of each and every season. So here now at the autumn equinox I watch the leaves begin to fall to the ground and the air which turns silent, indrawn and hushed, creating the sacred space for Samhain Night to come.

We are holding a big ritual here at Samhain, an important one where we will name our Coven, our Initiates and dedicate each to a particular deity. A blessing and an alignment, alone and together.

And in preparation for this, I decided to clear a space on the wooded bank suitable for an outdoor ritual and also extend the indoor temple space. So it was with some trepidation that I assayed the wooden staircase by the natural pond – having cleared the blackberry brambles (already ripe with blackberries!) – and set to work.

Several hours later we have a space. Not yet suitable for anything, but a space. A space on a wooded bank outside a cottage, with the only neighbours the horses at the stables up the bank.

Now, how does one level a sloping bank and where can I get turf?! And what’s a french drain?!

Handfasting Blessing at the Far Away Centre

I was asked recently to compose and officiate a pagan handfasting blessing for a couple who are close friends and neighbours of ours here at the Far Away Centre. Strangely enough, he is a well-respected Astrologer! The hamlet where we live has attracted a wonderful crowd of people. I wrote the ceremony based on Greek, Roman and Celtic revivalist readings, and used the pseudo-traditional device of the ribbons and the rings for the handfasting itself.

There was a “Myrtle” theme, being sacred to Venus, and I created a special incense based on Myrtle leaves, rosemary, frankincense, sandalwood, and then oils of Bay Laurel, Rose and bergamot to add a citrus top-note. The base was cedar chips to ensure a nice smoky burn for outdoors usage!

We even managed to import some Mirto wine, the national drink of Sardinia, apparently, made of myrtle! That went very well, I can assure you, and we are now probably going to set up a specialist import business for the liquor!

I obviously can’t show photographs of the guests, but there over 30 people in attendence, so it was a bit of a “coming out” ceremony for me also.

Tarot Items

Today a couple of new Tarot items arrived at the Far Away Centre. Firstly, an example of an 18th century woodblock produced Tarot card, and secondly, a rather groovy paperback featuring the Church of Light Egyptian Tarot. It’s interesting that Card XXI is the “Adept” whilst Card XXII is the “Materialist”.  The Sun is attributed to the former, and Pluto the latter, making it a rather convoluted system of attributions, but worthy of further study. Other variations are found in the Major Arcana; the Black Magician (Devil), the Martyr (Hanged Man) and the Conqueror (Chariot). I particularly like the changed titles of the High Priestess and the Empress as “Veiled Isis” and “Unveiled Isis” respectively. That’s evocative when one considers their positions on the Tree of Life. In addition last week I purchased a scarce copy of the Frown Strong deck, which is a 22-Majors deck of magical design!

An example of woodblock printing of the 10 Wands.

A Funky Book from 1967

Frown Strong tarot

Summer Solstice Photographs