Our Own Sacred Landscape; now in Indie Shaman

 

Our Own Sacred Landscape.

I went for a walk, one autumn afternoon. I wanted to sit and meditate, so I chose to go to ‘my place’. We all have one, I hope, even if it’s just a quiet corner of a small garden. At that time I was living in a suburb of Bristol, and ‘my place’ was locally called The Bowl; a six acre disused council tip, hidden behind a leisure complex. Sounds grim, but it was beginning to come back to life.

As soon as I entered the bowl, I knew something was different there. I could see a flock of what looked like finches, bobbing about from bush to bush. They had a scratchy, sharp song, but as soon as they were aware of me, they began to call their alarm. Chat-chat-chat…"

So opens my latest article of Indie Shaman, which was published in 
issue 51 available now (just £3.99!). 

It's the story of 'The Bowl', a wild  and forgotten patch of land in a busy, built-up area, not even six acres across, hidden between a Cineworld complex and a six-point roundabout.  It was less than a mile from the Bristol home we brought our children up in, but I only discovered The Bowl one day, I went looking for wild rose bushes.   

The article tells the tale of what happened next; how someone can get caught up in a whirlwind they weren't expecting. I contacted Avon Wildlife to ask if they knew there were skylarks, and indeed, also linnets, whitethroats and stonechats nesting and using this tiny patch of forgotten land. The Wildlife Trust they told me it was under threat from developers, and they were looking for someone to head up a campaign to save it. 

So began an eighteen month crusade that drew in neighbours, my son and his mates, my husband and, (of course), all the druids I knew. We formed a little group which had meetings with  local councillors as well as the Wildlife Trust, around the dining table. We gave talks, spoke on the radio, had an information stall in the local mall with boards full of photographs of butterflies, wild plants and trees. We started a petition and presented the thousands of signatures which we'd gained tramping the streets around the area to a council meeting. We were even on the local telly news.

With my friend Gail and the trees we 'guerilla' planted 

But what drew me to the bowl, was not a campaigning fervour. It was the fact I'd found a place I could consider sacred, and that felt all my own. I honoured one specific bush there, a lovely wild rose that grew proudly beside some everlasting peas. Her flowers were the colour of rose quartz and her leaves sparkled with a lime green gloss. Each time I want to The Bowl, I'd circle her thrice and talk to her. And she would answer me. I was working with a specific local goddess at the time, the Celtic goddess Rosmerta, and I knew the rose bush represented her. 

"The year had turned, and it was mid-summer again. I went to The Bowl, now definitely ‘my special place’. with my husband to hold a small, personal ritual. We worked around Rosmerta the wild rose bush, now the largest and loveliest rose in The Bowl.  Afterwards, we wandered around, in meditative mood, when I stooped suddenly, to examine what I thought was a bee, taking nectar from a grass vetch.

The artwork that is now at The Bowl

I was mistaken. I was looking at a spreading colony of bee orchids. We’d already found pyramidal orchids at The Bowl, but I’d never seen bee orchids before, and on this midsummer’s day it was the perfect discovery. My Rosmerta rose bush was thanking me for the effort we’d all put in."

How did it all end? Did we manage to stop the developers? Sorry, you'll have to read the Indie Shaman article to find out! This magazine is filled with wonderful stories with a theme of pagan, shamanic and mystic, so it's an excellent buy. Just go to https://indieshaman.co.uk/shamanism-magazine/ to find out more