Merry Part, Merry Meet again
Our final session as a group and the one session that made all that walking, singing of the piggy pig dog song, the wind and the rain worth it. Although this course had many highlights and created wonderful memories the unique experience of having access to the stone circle will remain with me and I will assume everyone else also.
The day started at silly o’clock being that we needed to be at Stonehenge for 7:30am as we had access to the stones circle from 8am till 9pm. We arrived at the education centre and grabbed a coffee and prepared ourselves with a nice harmonising mantra lead by Yvette.
We then jumped on the bus to the stones, Professor Tim Darvill was our guide he lead us to the Heal stone and removed the barrier, and let us on to the grass so we could see things that your average tourist does not. We could see where the old road was, the Stonehenge hole (Aubrey Hole). We then walked the remaining part of the avenue and into the stone circle.
The first impression I got as I walked between the stones and into the circle was how small it was inside. The tall stones tower above enclosing the space and shielding you from the weather its almost womb like.
In last weeks instalment The Penultimate Instalment we found out we had an infestation of pagans yes you know those peaceful people that worship the ground you walk on.
But enough giggles as well as writing blogs and poetry I am also a pagan priest and a few weeks back in discussion with Danny and Yvette I adapted a pagan blessing which was put to the group last week to see if they would like to take part. There was also an option for people to take an active part which they did. A copy of the blessings with notes is available here.
The basic premise of the blessing was to reinforce the unity of the group and share a common moment and connect to the healing aspects of the elements. Each element is given as a spoken blessing with a representational gift of the element. Normally these gifts would be a feather or incense, a lite candle, a sip of water or a shell and a crystal or stone. But adaptations needed to be made, due to what could be taken in to the circle so we had a feather for air, a disposable lighter with place and date on one side and the symbol for fire, Chinese symbol for fire and a good luck rune or Sigel for good luck or protection for fire, a swimming award from Chris for water and some blue stone from Yvette for earth. The nice part about the rite was that it took on a life of its own each person gave his or her own personal blessing as the main part went on.
It has been more than a few years since I have done a public rite, but the support and interest and acceptance from the group helped keep me focused and relaxed.
After the blessing we all went off and did our own things, some people made music, some sang, while others walked silently around the stones. No matter what peopled did they now have a unique happy memory.
Professor Tim Darvill was around to explain and answer questions on the stones and their history and many took up the chance to widen their knowledge and understanding of the archaeology.
As our time with the stones was coming to an end we all gathered and raised those ugly umbrellas from our time in Fargo woods (For a flash back We sang in woods and rain) and sang a few songs and left for the bus.
Many of the group decided to walk back and yes I was on the bus well there’s a reason they provide a bus; it’s a long way back to the education centre.
The final part of the session was an informal affair we had Alphonse on the Balafon dress in a bright Dashiki their where singing bowls and people milling about having polite conversations.
There was fruit and biscuits and bacon rolls, and vegetarian rolls the only thing missing was waiters carrying trays of champagne it became a real social affair interspersed with a gender battle of the piggy pig dog song.
As the session came to an end there were many hugs of friendship and many kind words of thanks for all involved.
Next week we meet the first group to share our experiences so there may be more to come…
Further information
Aubrey Hole http://www.the-stonehenge-enigma.info/2012/07/stonehenge-mike-parker-pearson.html
Professor Tim Darvill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Darvill
Authors Resource
Name Mr BPD
Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk
About Author I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.