Welcome to Stars and Stones!
"The Great Wheel Turns and the Stars Sing to the Stones"........
After my recent travels along the Serpent Spine of the land visiting the ancient Stone Temples of Albion from Orkney to Penzance, I have come to understand that journeying to these Holy Places awakens and changes you in ways that cannot be described, as you touch the very same Stones the ancestors touched, or perhaps you, yourself did in another lifetime.
As we enter the Aquarian Aeon, the Dragon Lines of Albion are awakening, inviting those who remember the old ways to reconnect with the magic of the Land, Stones, Skies and Waters.
for those who feel the call to this work, we will be offering some deep immersions into the Ritual Landscapes of Albion, during some of the most Astrologically potent times of the year.
As we Journey along the to the sacred sites of Cornwall, Anglesey and the Cotswolds this year, Jupitera the Golden Goddess, will return to Her sign of exaltation, Cancer the Moon Mother.
Jupitera in cancer is powerful transit for remembering and reclaiming our connection to our Ancestral Mother Lines and Motherlands making these trips extra special this Summer!
~ The Lunar Womb Temples of Kernow ~
Cornwall or Kernow in the celtic tongue is a place seeped in myth and legend. Many believe there is a sunken land beneath the waves off the coast, said to be remnants of the lost land of Lyoness or Atlantis.
We are offering a two-day ceremonial journey through these sacred sites of West Penrith on 5th and 6th of July this year, just after Jupitera, the Golden goddess enters the Sign of the Moon Mother to connect with the energies of soul healing, fertility, and heart expansion.
We will journey to the ancient ritual site of Men a Tol, where the famous holed stone still stands. It is believed that Men a Tol was once a much larger stone temple, used for fertility ceremonies. Even now, legend says that if you pass through the centre of the Stone, you can become pregnant.
We will follow the path of Leys to the Lunar Womb Temples of Boscawen-Un and the Merry Maidens. Both of these circles have 19 stones, marking the Eclipse cycles of the Celestial Goddess, marking them as places of deep feminine power, aligned with the cycles of Moon and Menstruation.
In these circles, we imagine Priestesses performing Oracular and ecstatic rites, honouring the fertility of the land. As with many stone circles in the UK, it is said that the Merry Maidens were women caught dancing on the Sabbath and turned to stone, a echo of the imprint of puritanical religion over the rites of the Holy women.
At Boscawen-Un the Great Dragon Lines cross, as they do at Avebury, Stonehendge and Avalon. The Welsh triads tell us that this was a meeting place for the Druids during celtic times.
The perpendicular central stone gives this site the appearance of a Star Clock. Boscawen-Un is unique in its formation, with one large quartz Stone guarding the entrance. The energy here is deep, elemental and incredibly powerful.
We will also visit the ancient Mystery schools/Star Temples of Carn Euny and the Holywells that surround the area.
The cost of this trip will be £250, to include all transportation to and from Glastonbury via bus and one nights shared (please request if you would like a single room) accommodation in Cornwall! We will leave Glastonbury at 9am on the 5th of July, returning late afternoon early evening on the 6th.
Concessions and part payments will be available. All are welcome but Spaces are limited, a £75 deposit secures your place. Click the link below to sign up!
~Anglesey, the lost Mystery School of the Druidesses ~
Many of us who are called to the old ways have memories of living on Anglesey/Mona, learning Healing, Magic and Star Lore. Home to Priestesses and Druids, there is an energy here that reminds us of times when we knew the deep Mysteries of the cosmos.
Anglesey, like Her counterpart Avalon is a place where the doorways to the otherworld open, and the Goddess can be met in all of Her many faces.
Anglesey also carries the imprint of the Last Massacre of the Druids in 55BC, as described by Roman Historian Tacitus. This makes it an incredibly powerful place for us to visit, to reclaim our power and connection to the Ancestors.
We remember the Priestesses and druids of this land, who prophesied and then witnessed one great Aeon becoming the next, standing at the threshold of a collective turning point as we do now. Anglesey is a reminder that they tried to destroy us, but we are still here. The structures and megaliths of this island still hold the memories of what we once were. They are a reminder that the Goddess and the old ways will not be forgotten so easily by Albion and Her peoples. They we still be standing in another 10,000 years as our civilisation rises and falls and our bones become dust.
Steeped in Magic and Mythology, Anglesey is home to many ancient Temples, including the famous initiation chamber of Bryn Celli Ddu, "The Mound in the Dark Grove."
The Burial mound of Bryn Celli Ddu sits in the ancient landscape next to the river Briant. The Goddess Briant is a tutelary Goddess of Anglesey, connected liguistically and sharing many similar archetypal qualities with Brigit, Lady of Falme and Water, creativity and poetic inspiration.
Many ritualistic artifacts and offerings have been discovered during excavations of the site, which reveal it as a place of ceremonial importance. A replica of the famous spiral carved stone sits outside, with the original now safely held in a Welsh museum. The patterns etched on the metamorphic schist rock, alongside their unusual shimmering green colour and scaly texture evoke the energy of famous Dragons of the land.
It is believed by experts that before the construction of the mound in around 3000 BCE, these stones were originally placed in a circular formation, similar to other sites like Stone Hendge. In 2000 BCE it was reshaped into a passage grave, and much later in 2000 BC the mound was formed.
The entrance of Bryn Celli Ddu is aligns with the rising of the Solstice Sun at MidSummer and Midwinter. Peter Knight also speculates that it holds a significant connection to the Venus Cycle, marking it as a powerful Goddess centred site.
During our journey, we will also visit the magical lake of Llyn Cerrig Bach, The Dark Pool where the Druidesses made offerings at the great turning of the Ages, alongside many other cromlechs/burial mounds, standing stones and places of goddess worship.
Anglesey is the Motherland, a place of Alchemy, Initiation and Rebirth where the layers of the old self are stripped away to reveal the raw magic of the soul self. To visit here and rest in Her embrace is to be forever changed.
Come join us on the 3rd, 4th & 5th of October for a two day ceremonial journey through the many sacred sights and stone temples of this most Holy and Sacred Isle. Let us walk int the foot steps of the Druidesses, so that they may reveal to us wisdom and mysteries they died to preserve………
The cost of this journey is £230. We will meet you on the Isle and transport you to the hidden places that were once sites of ritual and initiation over a two day period, and return you to your car in the evenings.
The cost of the Journey with a nights accommodation is £300. This price is inclusive of a stay at the beautiful Hotel and Spa at ~
https://treysgawen-hall.co.uk/
Please note that rooms are Twin Share. Your stay will include use of the Spa Facilities and breakfast and dinner are available to purchase if you choose!
If you need transport to Anglesey, we can offer a pick up point on the afternoon of Friday the 3rd of October from Glastonbury. For this option we will leave on Friday the 3rd and make an extra special visit to the reputed site of Arianrhod's mythical Castle off the coast of Wales on the way to Anglesey. This transfer and extra nights accommodation at the spa will be an additional £130.
A non-refundable deposit of £75 secures your spot, part payment plans and concessions are available. please email me to enquire!
Or email me for more information at oracleofalchemy@gmail.com
~ Long Barrows and Sacred Sites of the South ~
Last Summer, our explorations of the Ancient Stones of Albion drew us to the magic of the Cotswolds. Buried within stunning hills and valleys of the Southern Lands, are many lesser known Stone Temples and Holy Wells.........
Inside one of the chambers at Belas Knap
For years I had been drawn to the beautifully shaped Long Barrow known as "Belas Knap" which literally translates as ~ Beacon Mound.
One warm afternoon we made our first pilgrimage to this Sacred Site, which sites high up on the Hills, giving panoramic views across the lush green landscape.
We wandered through the Woodland following the faery paths that lead towards the Barrow as the light of Sol danced through the leaves of the trees.
The shape of Belas Knap is unmistakably feminine, like a Fertile Birthing Goddess with wide open legs, or the Horns of the Cow Mother, perhaps symbolic of its construction in the Great Age of Taurus.
Here, We can feel the Presence of the Ancestral Mothers calling us to remember.
Ariel View of Belas Knap by Richard Smith
It is interesting to me that so many of the local place names that sit in close proximity to Belas Knap have the word "Bee" hidden within them, from the Humble Bee Woods to the BeesMoor Brook which flows past.
Could this have once been a special place for the Bee Priestesses of the land? There is certainly an energy of abundance and nourishment that can be accessed at this site.
Belas Knap has an unusual North Facing Entrance, denoting a connection to the rising of the Sol during the Summer Solstice period, another indication of Her connection to the Solar/Bee Goddess energies.
We can imagine this Long Barrow as a Cosmic Hive of ritual and ceremony, as place of both Burial and Resurrection as the regenerative and healing powers of the Golden Light of Sol flooded into the Chambers illuminating them at specific turns of the Wheel of the Year.
Prolific Dowser and Ley Line Expert Maria Wheatley says of the site ~
"The magnificent long barrow is connected to Avebury Henge and Stonehenge by a planetary ley system that links the planets of the solar system"
️️Belas Knap is one of the best preserved and most famous of the "Cotswold Severn Long Barrows" so called because of their unique chambered style, "false" entrances and the fact that they are all built in close proximity to the River Severn, who of course to the ancient people was the Goddess Sabrina Herself.
A high concentration of these Barrows can be found within the Gloucestershire area. They an also be found in Wales and Wilstshire, suggesting tribal connections within Neolithic times.
Close by sits he mysterious Uley Long Barrow, a place i feel is deeply connected with the Dark Goddess and Scorpionic Mysteries and Nympsfield Long Barrow which has a more playful and spacious energy. Nearby in the Forest of Dean sits the magical healing waters of Saint Anthony's well.
This year we will be taking Sacred Pilgrimage to these sites and many more of the beautiful and healing places in the Southern landscape on the 16/17th of August.
We will leave and return from Glastonbury on both days, you can choose to join us for one or both of the days. The cost of each day is £65.
Or email me for more information at oracleofalchemy@gmail.com
Aphrodite bathing in the well waters
All images by James Meath you can find his work here