Where do I start? August and September have been very hectic for
me, and below is some of what I’ve been up to since Lammas. You
can read about each thing in far more detail on my blog, which I
now write almost every day! Well ... every other day then.
Mr B and I spent Lammas in Avebury and the surrounding sacred
landscape with David Rowan, a gifted local astrologist and guide.
Unfortunately it was absolutely pouring with rain, which did
somewhat dampen our enjoyment although it was still very
interesting. Two Stonewylde members had travelled down from
Yorkshire to be there, which was lovely. I signed a whole boxful of
books for John and Esther in The Henge Shop (where Stonewylde
sells like hot cakes apparently) and we enjoyed lunch at the Barge
Inn, the place where serious crop circle people meet.
Sadly I didn’t make it to the Goddess Festival in Canterbury in the
end, as Mr B and I were off on our holiday to Brittany. We had a
brilliant time and spent most of our holiday visiting dolmens and
sacred sites. I’ve written a lot about this in my blog (in August) and
I had several inspirational moments which will be revealed in books
four and five when they’re eventually published.
The most exciting thing to happen has to be the long-awaited
Stonewylde Harvest Moon Gathering. This was held in Monkton
Wyld in Dorset, and was a total, roaring success enjoyed by all fifty
people who attended. Again, there’s lots on this in my blog, but the
photos here will give you a little taste of what a wonderful time we
had. We met in the Victorian Gothic mansion on the night of the
Harvest Full Moon, and we participated in a simple and beautiful
ceremony out under the stars, bathed in silver moonlight.
On the Saturday we took part in many workshops, all run for free
by Stonewylders. Belly dancing, corn-dolly making, tarot, reiki and
singing were some of the things on offer. We enjoyed a massive
cake-fest (oh joy!) and in the evening, the most amazingly wyld
Stonewylde party, complete with campfire and fancy dress.
On Sunday everyone did the Stonewylde quiz (won by our three 15
year-old members and their mum!) and then I read some extracts
from Book Four - Shadows at Stonewylde. We awarded prizes too
- “Best Fancy Dress” to DandelionMoon for her imaginative Mother
Heggy’s crow outfit, “Funniest Blog” to Darcy, “Stonewylde Agony
Aunt and Good Egg” to Cornmother, “Most Dedicated Fan” to Carp
and “Most Prolific Member of the Forum” to Moongoddess. All
prizes were kindly donated by Stonewylders.
The Harvest Moon Gathering was one of the most special times of
my life, and I think that many others felt the same. Something very
magical took over, uniting us into a unique group who harmonised
and enjoyed each other’s company so much that for the whole of
the following week we all moped and dreamed of being back in
Dorset together. There’s talk already of the next gathering - but I’m
still coming down from this one, thank you!
I would absolutely recommend Monkton Wyld as a venue for a
group or event - they’re brilliant and made it perfect for us.
Breaking Stonewylde news
When you read this, Mr B and I will be in the
Netherlands at the Elf Fantasy Fair! This is
thanks to Sorcha, one of our Dutch members,
and I’m so excited about it!
We’ll have a whole Stonewylde room in the
mediaeval castle in Arcen, and I’m billed as a
VIP!!! I’m giving talks on Stonewylde and the
art of creating a fantasy world (not that
Stonewylde is fantasy of course - we all know
how real it is!) and shall be holding court in our
special room, selling books and hopefully
expanding our fanbase in Europe.
Mr B and I have our fantasy costumes ready -
he shall be resplendent in black leather and a
top hat, whilst I shall wear black lace, ruby
slippers and a crow’s wing witch hat. Watch
my blog after the Equinox for pics and the
story!
You’ll be pleased to know we’ve had new
Stonewylde T-shirts printed! There are about
three of the Green Man ones left in small, and
that’s it! The new T-shirts are very different
and I hope you’ll like them. They’ll be on sale
after the Equinox when we’re back from NL.
Still no date fixed for publication of Book Four.
So please stop asking! The first three books
are really selling well, and thanks as ever to
everyone for continuing to promote them.
Exciting things are happening at Stonewylde
and you subscribers to the newsletter will be
among the first to know when there’s an
announcement to be made.
I’m now on Twitter so if you would like to follow
me, you know what to do!
Stonewylde Newsletter 23
September 21st 2009
Bright blessings
to all Stonewylders
at the
Autumn Equinox
What’s been going on ...
The Autumn Equinox
(Mabon)
The Autumn Equinox is one of
the four fire festivals. Like the
Spring Equinox, it's a time when
days and nights are of equal
length, so it’s a time of balance and
equilibrium. Equinox means “equal
night”. In some pagan calendars it's
called Mabon.
The Autumn Equinox
is also the time of
Harvest
Thanksgiving, or
Harvest Home, when
Mother Earth is
thanked for her
abundance and
bounty. This is the
time of the second
harvest - fruits, nuts, berries and the last of the crops.
Lammas is the first harvest, when the cereal crops are
harvested, and Mabon is the harvest of fruits, trees etc.
Many people of all religions and
traditions hold a Harvest
Thanksgiving, and churches can
be particularly beautiful at this time
with their piles of fruit and
vegetables. Pagans of course
celebrate the fecundity of the Earth
Goddess, and all the gifts she
bestows upon us.
This is the time of rejoicing in the abundance of nature.
The light is different at this time of year, a rich golden
colour compared to the brightness of summer. There’s a
smell of woodsmoke in the air, with the nights growing
colder.
Dates for your diary ...
Sat & Sun Sept 26th and 27th - Health & Healing Festival , HARROGATE, Yorks. On both days I’ll be
giving talks and doing book signings with the Magik Thread Bookstall. Organised by the same people who do
the Buxton event, this should be lovely. It’s always so good to see friendly
Stonewylde faces so do come along and meet me. Click here.
Sat & Sun October 3rd and 4th - Mind Body Spirit Festival, OLYMPIA, London.
I shall be at Olympia for both days with the Magik Thread again, and will be giving a
free talk on Sunday at 10.45am. Come and see me at this massive event! I know
several Stonewylders are already coming so please join us. Details of tickets here.
Sat & Sun October 17th and 18th - BSSK event, Goreton Monastery,
MANCHESTER More talks and book-signings at this beautiful venue - I can’t wait!
This will be my last event up in the north for a while so do come along and say helllo. Details here.
Friday Nov 6th - Big Green Bookshop, Wood Green, LONDON
I’m delighted to be invited to this famous independent bookshop for an evening of post-Samhain magic. This
event is free and should be really good fun - it’s a 7pm start. I’ll be giving a talk about the Stonewylde Wheel of
the Year and giving a little gift to all who come. Shop details here.
Sat & Sun Nov 28th to 29th - Kernowkopia Festival, NEWQUAY, Cornwall.
A really exciting event full of workshops, performances and craft stalls - and walks
along the beach are free! I’m giving talks on both days (Sat at 12.30pm and Sun at
11am) and will be on my own little table signing books and selling T-shirts and
greetings cards. I know that a whole group of Stonewylders are coming to this very
special Cornish event, so please do come and meet us and get some shopping done
for Yule too. Click here.
Stonewylde Community news ...
The biggest piece of news has to be the
Harvest Moon Gathering, a culmination for fifty
of us of many months (and in some cases,
years) of corresponding on the forum. The
Gathering was pretty nerve-wracking for many
people - you know what they say about being
wary of meeting up with strangers from the
Internet! Some people who came were really
quite scared of travelling alone all that way
and leaving their families behind, and it was a
very brave thing to do.
We had such a magical time that none of us
will ever forget. Many are keen to do this
again but unfortunately Monkton Wyld can
hold no more than 50 people maximum. Our
Stonewylde community is growing literally day by day, and with all the buzz going on about this year’s Gathering,
I suspect many more Stonewylde fans will want to come another time.
So we’ll have to see what happens next year. It’s a tricky one - finding a suitable venue that’s reasonably priced,
comfortable and can accommodate a lot of people.
One lovely piece of news is that Bilbo has proposed to Sujee and asked her to be handfasted to him. And she’s
accepted! They’re a wonderful couple and clearly adore each other. We wish them every happiness together
and look forward to their handfasting next year.
Daffodil has had her little bulb - a lovely little boy. Congratulations, Daffodil!
We’re still welcoming new members into the Stonewylde Community, having not yet reached our maximum
membership number. Please come and join us - click here to visit the community.
At Stonewylde, it's the
time of the great apple
harvest, and in the
second book this is
described at length,
along with the
traditional cider
making process. The
symbol of this festival
is the acorn,
representing the fruits
of the land, with the
potential for new life
stored within.
The symbols decorating
the Great Barn and the
painted on the stones at
the Stone Circle are the
acorn, conker, corn cob,
dormouse, squirrel and of
course the cornucopia, an
ancient emblem of harvest
and plenty.
Enjoy the Equinox
however you
celebrate, and glory in
the amazing miracle
that is the harvest.
Keats’ beautiful poem
“Ode to Autumn”,
where the bounty of
nature is personnified,
is the best accolade to
this beautiful time of
year.
2010
Sat March 6th - Cornwall & Devon Pagan Federation Annual Conference, Bude
Sat March 20th -
East Midlands Pagan Federation Annual Conference
July 8th to 11th - Quest at Newton Abbott, Devon
I shall not be attending so many events in 2010. This year has been very hectic indeed and I need to
concentrate more on writing. However I’ve already agreed to speak at the following events:
Harvest Moon through Gothic Window
© Cornmother