The Pagan Society So Far...

The Cardiff University Pagan Society has had another eventful term. Here's what we've been up to!

Feb 1st: Imbolc Ritual

The ritual to celebrate the conception of new life beneath the cold of Winter was held indoors and boasted the attendance of over 30 people. The ritual included a Spring meditation and a spellworking based on the three aspects of the Goddess Brighid: Healing, Inspiration, and the Forge. There was also a feast afterwards, and plenty of singing, chanting, and merriment.

Feb 5th: An Introduction to Crystal Healing

Given by Nic Phillips, this talk explored the use of crystals for healing purposes. Nic outlined the different schools of thought surrounding crystals, their relation to the chakras, and simple ways to use them for healing.

Feb 19th: Introduction to the Kabbalah

This talk given by Phillip Harris-Smith was an introduction to one of the foundations of the Western Mystery Tradition, Kabbalah. Phil outlined the structure of the Tree of Life, as well as the theory and myth behind it. Later on he discussed the practical uses of the Tree of Life for spellwork, and taught us how to perform the Middle Pillar exercise: a Kabbalistic exercise used to open the charkas and purify you.

Feb 20th and 21st: Stonehenge Trip

Usually when you visit Stonehenge you have to stand outside the circle, kept away by a grotesque rope fence and surrounded by dozens, sometimes hundreds, of tourists with talking guides. It's not a very spiritual experience at all. However, for the cost of £10 per person, you can have private access to Stonehenge before or after it opens: this means you can enter the stone circle on your own, with no other tourists around, for one hour. This is what we did.

Traveling up on the evening of the 20th, we stayed in the Salisbury YHA, and on our adventures around the Salisbury 'nightlife' discovered a wonderful pub that had its own fairy grotto.

Our private access to Stonehenge began at 8am, and the first thing you realize on actually getting near the stones is that they're bloody big. The second thing you realize is that you have absolutely no idea how our ancestors managed such an amazing feat! Unfortunately, the first thing we realized was that it was also bloody freezing at 8am on Salisbury plain, and so after about 10 minutes our teeth were chattering and we were using the stones as windbreakers. To pass the time and warm ourselves up, some of us decided to chant various Pagan songs we knew. Soon the air was filled with rather shaky renditions of Animal Spirits, Earth my Body, Fly Like an Eagle, and the Goddess Chant. But we danced, we sang, and we felt a lot better for it.

After our brief adjourn with the stone giants we headed over to Avebury, stopping to look at Woodhenge on the way there. (Stonehenge, preceded by Woodhenge, which was preceded by Strawhenge, which was... Oh come on, you don't know if I'm telling the truth or not!) Woodhenge is non-existent now, though there are loads of wooden posts signifying where the original posts would have been. It is thought that Woodhenge was used as a temporary house for the dead.

Finally reaching Avebury, you are struck again by size. Not height this time, but sheer width of the circle: the Avebury stone circle encompasses the entire village! Lunch in the Red Lion Inn and a little light Pagan shopping in the 'Henge Shop', and we were off home.

March 10th: Candle Magic Workshop

This workshop was given by Rebecca Burley, and very kindly held in her home (due to regulations banning the use of candles in the Student's Union.) Rebecca covered the basics of using candles as the main 'ingredient' of magic: charging, anointing, carving, the scripts to carve in, and colour. She also discussed the theory behind candle magic, and left the floor open for others to give their input and opinions, thus drawing us into discussions of ethics, the creation of candles, the use of significator candles, and the significance of flame. The evening was rounded off by lighting our newly carved, charged, and anointed candles and chanting in Rebecca's back garden, closely watched by some inquisitive and confused neighbours!

March 19-21st: Glastonbury Trip

Last year the Glastonbury trip proved to be the highlight of the year, so it was inevitable it would become an annual event. This second annual trip was just as good, though albeit colder and wetter!

We began by driving up to Glastonbury on the evening of March 19th, and staying in the Backpacker's hotel. The Spring Equinox was March 20th this year, and we celebrated by attending the ceremony held at the Chalice Well gardens at 6:00am. Whilst it was an early start, the ceremony was beautiful, evocative, and reflective, and the beauty of Chalice Well at dawn is unrivalled. It was wonderful to see so many (over 90) people gathered in one place to celebrate the Spring.

The rest of the morning was spent shopping. Glastonbury is a veritable treasure trove of Pagan goodies, and you can buy anything from crystals and Tarot decks, to books on all kinds of subjects, brooms, ritual weaponry, and Pagan clothing. Needless to say that by the end of this morning, our pockets were a lot lighter!

After lunch we headed up Glastonbury Tor. We had not banked on it being so breezy though, and by the time we reached the top some of our slighter members had to hold on to something to stop themselves from blowing away. However, I must say that I've been up the Tor in many weathers, and this experience was by far the best: it was just like being in a wind tunnel, and you could lean your whole weight on the wind and be supported by it. Jumping down a step could make you fly backwards, and facing the direction of the wind took your breath away, literally! The power of the elements was made very clear that day, and by the time we got back down to the bottom of the Tor (after about an hour!) most of us had sides that hurt too much from laughter.

On the way back to town we stopped off at the White Spring café, a cozy and weird little café situated in a cave which has the White Spring running through the centre of it. They do great hot chocolate in that place.

On the 21st, the morning was spent either shopping or in Glastonbury Abbey, and then we grabbed packed lunches and headed up to the Chalice Well Gardens. These gardens are the home to the Red Spring, the companion of the White Spring, and the myths that have arisen around the spring say it is the home of the Holy Grail. Whether or not the myths are true, the spring and it's waterfall have been used for centuries for sacred purposes, and the gardens have been dedicated to this use for decades. It is a peaceful, yet powerful place that always leaves a mark on your heart when you visit. This is attested to by the sheer number of offerings left at the spring and the surrounding trees: ribbons, corn dollies, hair, beads, necklaces, notes, windchimes... Left for memories, left as gifts for the Lady of the Well, left for spellwork. The well itself was decorated with flowers and candles for the Spring Equinox, and I was overjoyed to see an addition to the well cover: instead of the famous Vessica Piscis shape on the back, the shape has also been put onto the front, so you can see it when it is up aswell.

Our journey through the gardens began at the top with our picnic, and worked our way down to the well, then the Lion's Head where you can drink the water. Once you taste it, you understand its nickname: the Blood Spring. The iron content in the water is very high so it tastes very much like blood. But it is refreshing all the same. From there we went to the Healing Pool, where you can 'paddle'. The water temperature remains the same all year round, and that temperature is always foot-numbingly freezing! Needless to say, the temptation to paddle could not be overcome by us, and much fun ensued.

The joy continued when my boyfriend chose that moment to propose to me (finally!), and when we had all fully recovered from the jumping around, photo-taking, excitement, and freezing water, we made our way down to the bottom of the gardens where our Hugging Tree awaited us. Pagans are often stereotyped as tree-huggers, but what most people don't realize is that some trees are great to hug: they hug you back. This tree does, and so we couldn't resist giving it a quick squadge before entering the Chalice Well shop, spending yet more money, and heading back to town. (Upon which we spent more money!)

Finally, we went to the Lake Village museum, where we learned about the Iron Age people who lived on the lakes and marshes on makeshift islands around Glastonbury. We grabbed food in the Blue Note Café, before getting 'fairy dusted' by a Good Fairy in Heartfelt Trading, and returning home.

Much fun was had by all, and we will be going back again at the same time next year.