The Chalice Spring 2024

VOLUME 3 N o 5 • JOURNAL OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE CHALICE WELL

Names holy to this garden and this place – reveal to us the fountain of these springs –the Source of all human joy and beauty.

Editorial

When Wellesley Tudor Pole first spoke of the decisions facing the Christian faiths in 1907 in the Dean’s Yard meeting in London we can wonder if he foresaw the flourishing of many spiritual paths, including those from the East, that would come to pass over the next century. When Glastonbury celebrated these ‘many paths’ in 2012 there were at that time around 72 faiths and practices in the town who eventually assembled under the yew trees in Chalice Well garden in a show of unity in diversity. That is now 12 years ago and there is possibly even more diversity represented in the town today.

Chalice Well is now a well-known sacred site established within the Avalon temenos with its remarkable waters flowing between the mighty Tor and the rounded beauty of Chalice Hill. It is visited by approximately 50,000 humans a year. It is sometimes called ‘a grail centre’. It is certainly ‘a thin place’ where other levels of reality are available for the true and earnest seeker. Some would call the Chalice Well garden a nature temple with its male yew trees at the entrance and its female yews sitting quietly above the Wellhead. Others have named it as a ‘living sanctuary’ for it is a timeless, ancient place that can help one explore and reveal the mystery of the self.

By tuning in and listening in silence to the ‘Silent Watcher’, the infallible inner guide, one can, from time to time, feel the subtle vibrations which demonstrate the Great Work of Nature. Within this the Chalice Well water demonstrates the Universal Plan, a divine spark of virgin water; the message endlessly flowing to love one another at all levels of being. Humanity, in its myriad states of consciousness, walk up the path beneath the pergola and arrive in the physical reality of a garden with waters or a Well surrounded by a tended and much loved garden. What happens next depends on many things: the consciousness of the visitor, external factors on the day, whether the garden is busy or quiet. The visitor has an experience; good (sometimes ecstatic), challenging (the mirror) or neutral. The physical world and the transcendental world interact. Entering a silence the visitor may be able to pick up the universal resonance which the messaging water is bringing. 24,000 gallons a day. This theme of the qualities and messaging inherent in water is examined in this Chalice and on Companion’s Day this year.

Nearly 60 years and two world wars after his 1907 warning Tudor Pole, looking towards the future, was addressing the beginnings of a new resurgence of the spirit. He acknowledged ‘the din and complexities of modern life’ and the incessant ‘plunge into the darkness of materialism’ acknowledging ‘the furious and uncontrolled winds of darkness’. However, his message was clear; look up, tend, fertilise and water the seeds of hope. He encouraged a Regular Renewal of Intent filled with vision and purpose. This was in 1964 and he was seeing the awakening among the young taking root. He welcomed this revival which he saw as a ‘new dawn’. He said, ‘The rapidity or slowness of this new era largely depends upon the manner in which we act selflessly so that we may act as Heralds of the New Dawn’. His hope was that strength would be given for all to play a ‘full part’ so they could be ‘Light Bearers in the times that are to be.’

As Sophie Knock demonstrates in this issue we are constantly developing our understanding of what water is as the Essence Team prepare to launch an essence of The Blended Ray, inspired by the work of Tudor Pole. We also have his musings on water and many beautiful photographs of the patterns and shapes of the waters in the garden by Caroline and Casey. There are all the usual news updates from the Well and poetry from Anthony Ward and Philomena Houlihan Wood. We also remember an ex Chair of the Trust, Alan Gloak who passed recently. There is the second part of George Wrights view of Chalice Well in 1886 and a thoughtful essay on Visitors’ Books by Peter Quince.

We wish you a beautiful and peaceful summer.

Front Cover: Waterfall in Arthur’s Courtyard

Photo credit: Casey Jon

Back Cover: Photo credit: Steve Hawkins

Caption on Cover: Alice Buckton ‘The Garden of Many Waters’ 1907

Photos in this issue by Caroline Glazebrook and Casey Jon unless otherwise credited.

Paul Fletcher

The Chalice Well Trust is a registered charity, founded in 1959 by Wellesley Tudor Pole and a group of friends. It is dedicated to preserving the ancient spring and surrounding gardens as a living sanctuary for everyone to visit and experience the quiet healing peace of this sacred place.

The Trust welcomes donations to maintain Chalice Well and gardens including Little St. Michaels retreat house, and to further its work. Voluntary contributions towards upkeep are therefore greatly appreciated. Any person who wishes to support the Trust’s purpose by making an annual subscription may be registered as a Companion of the Well.

For further information contact:

The Chalice Well, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8DD UK 01458 831154 • info@chalicewell.org.uk • www.chalicewell.org.uk

Registered Charity No: 1147343 Published by The Chalice Well Trust, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8DD, UK

From the Chair

Dear Companions,

Finally, after what has seemed a long, wet and weary winter, green shoots have appeared everywhere. The sun is, occasionally, tentatively shining and we have arrived in Spring 2024 – albeit a soggy one! At our Imbolc celebration of these first stirrings, we welcomed many of you from near and far and the day was almost a step out of time as all who came, from whatever particular path or direction, welcomed with joy the turning of the year.

Winter is always our quietest time in terms of visitors but the staff and trustees have continued to plan ahead. After the successful implementation of our own water system which supplies all of our buildings, we turned our attention to the state of the windows throughout the site. This obviously involved the approval of the local planning authority due to listed status which has delayed us somewhat, but over the next few months new windows, and some doors, will be fitted in the office and Vine Cottage. Unfortunately, due to bookings and manufacturing restrictions, Little St. Michael’s retreat house will have to wait until a week in October which we have kept free for the work. These windows will undoubtedly help us enormously with our heating expenses as well as being more uniform, secure and appropriate in appearance.

We sadly said goodbye to Nicola Green, our Office Services Manager, at the end of last year and welcomed Joanna Dyer who has taken up the role of Lead Manager within the Charity. This will pave the way for Steve Hawkins, our part-time Chief Executive, to leave us at the end of May. Steve came for a year and has stayed for four and has been pivotal in the re-structuring of the organisation which is now operational and more effective. He joined the Charity at a difficult time not only within the charity but within the world and we all thank him for his endeavours.

In January we also welcomed two new trustees to the Board; Tom Bree and Lynne Sedgemore. Both are already well known at the Well; Tom for his beautiful labyrinths and fascinating lectures on Sacred Geometry and Lynne for producing the pivotal Review in 2020 which formed the basis for the change that Steve has implemented and her subsequent invaluable assistance with staff training from both a practical and spiritual perspective.

We hope now, as a charity, but more importantly as a spiritual sanctuary, to settle back

down into a degree of quietude despite the world we live in and focus on our core purpose: to offer solace, healing and peace to all of good heart; to do this in a quiet, non-judgmental manner and to always remember the principles set by our founder, Wellesley Tudor Pole. Effectively, those who work within Chalice Well are here to “hold the space” and offer this in its simplicity to all who come. In an ever-changing world this is perhaps a little more complex than it sounds, but we have survived well over the past four, unprecedented years whilst slowly restructuring our ways of working. It is now time to put aside individual aspirations for the future of this blessed place and allow the energy to flow, untramelled, within our sanctuary and thus within ourselves and all who find their way here.

Let us all take guidance from our beautiful gardens. The plants and trees continue to flourish year on year, oblivious to the tensions and divisions of the outer world, and even of the inclement weather, providing peace and respite for us humans who are perhaps, at present, more than a little buffeted. And they do this whilst living side by side in harmony with each other. “We are all leaves of the one Tree” said Baha’ Ullah, the Persian prophet, a truth echoed by many other faiths and beliefs. Within our sanctuary we welcome all during these troubled times to come and be still and silent and allow the distractions and manipulations of a fractured world to fade away, if only for a while.

We, the honoured custodians of this small but special place, sincerely wish that all who visit will feel the pure love that emanates here, without prejudice or design, and take heart and healing from it as they walk the often difficult path of life.

And so, as we approach our busy season again, we hope that many of you will be amongst those who visit us this year at Chalice Well, If not in person then through meditation and prayer; a place of love, healing, solace and sanctuary which remains constant despite the machinations of the world we live in.

With heartfelt blessings

Lindsay – on behalf of the trustees of Chalice Well

Events

Caroline writes It is an honour to share the wheel of the year events and gatherings with so many people, who join us in these sacred lands. We love to connect with all of you, especially when you have travelled far to be at the Well. Our meditations on our Facebook page at 9am (facebook.com/theChaliceWell) for each one of our events are such a beautiful way for us to share the energies and love of Chalice Well. We love to read your comments and messages as you join us virtually from all around the world. Together we give thanks for the constant flow of these blessed waters that have welcomed people for so many years.

Samhain

Under the canopy of the ancient guardian yew trees, and twinkling candlelight from the waterfall, we gathered to honour the ancestors.  Melodic harp and song from Tim Raven undulated through the garden as we welcomed everyone to our beautiful Samhain fire ceremony. We invited people to light a floating candle for their ancestors, known and unknown. The etherial candle light and musical sounds they made as they bobbed gently in the Vesica Pool brought a stillness to this liminal time of Samhain.

Lights on the waterfall at Samhain

Floating the hearts

Lighting a heart at Samhain

Mother and child at Samhain

Labyrinth  and Winter Solstice

Tom Bree, sacred geometer, author and teacher, created The Heart of the World labyrinth - a heart-shaped labyrinth in the Cress Field for Winter Solstice. The labyrinth represents an inward journey towards rebirth, so it is especially relevant for the themes of Winter Solstice, as we await the returning light. Tom gave a talk in our Meeting Room about the history and mystery of labyrinths and the meaning of this inspired  heart-shaped design for Chalice Well.

Tom’s human heart shape design included a perfect circle representing the lungs. Tom made use of the circular old stone stage where Alice Buckton performed poems and plays, that by synchronicity, happened to be exactly the right proportion for Tom’s precise labyrinth design!

Tom explained: “as we walk the labyrinth, we are the flow of the blood. At the Winter Solstice, being a time of death followed by rebirth, the labyrinth symbolises the deoxygenated blood flowing into the right atrium, at the entrance to the labyrinth, and down into the right ventricle, and from there upwards into the lungs for the resurrection and revivification, with the breath or spirit. Now filled with the spirit, we go down into the left atrium, then the left ventricle and out through the exit, bringing the spirit out into the world to share with everyone.” The labyrinth was walked by many pilgrims on Winter Solstice.

Our Winter Solstice Fire burned so very brightly and strongly as we gathered together on the lower lawn to welcome the returning light. The Avalonian Free State Choir sang to us all in celebration of this important time of year, as 2023 drew to a close.

The Labyrinth created

Tom Bree walking the Labyrinth

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice fire

Trustees Sophie and Phil at Winter Solstice Wellhead

Caroline and Casey at Winter Solstice Wellhead

Imbolc 2024

Our first gathering of 2024 was imbued with the promise of the spring to come, with luminous snowdrops and crocus greeting everyone as we gathered at the wellhead to celebrate the awakening of the earth and the first stirrings of the trees and flowers. During the meditation, these sacred waters were blessed with the wishes and prayers of everyone gathered and we are full of gratitude to everyone who joined us. We were joined by Nik Greenheart of the White Spring to blend the white waters with the red spring and offer them together to the Well and onwards out into the world.

The Avalonian Free State Choir singing on the lower lawn at Winter Solstice

The Imbolc meditation.

Spring Equinox 2024

At the still point of the Spring Equinox, the joyous birdsong, the sound of the water and abundant beautiful flowers for the well dressing, brought a deep sense of inner calm and centredness. It was wonderful to welcome so many people to our midday meditation at the wellhead and share the energies of new beginnings, renewal, joy and love.

The Well lid dressed for Imbolc.

BOOK NOW! CONCERT AND WORKSHOPS

Dragonsfly in concert

Saturday 1 June at Chalice Well

£20

Dragonsfly bring their vibrant Celtic, Eastern folk fusion to Chalice Well with uplifting Songs of the Waters and ancient Celtic trance dances from the Land. Dragonsfly are funky, multi-instrumentalists playing bagpipes, mandolin, guitar, recorder, bouzouki and vocals, underpinned by driving bass and drums. Soaring melodies, conscious lyrics, lush harmonies and instrumentals. Celebratory, uplifting and lifeaffirming, connecting diverse musical cultures through the heart music of one band. Tickets are £20 and available now from https://www. chalicewell.com/events. Gates open at 6:45pm for 7:30pm start, in the marquee

Sacred Sound Journey with the Healing Waters Workshop

Sunday 2 June

10:30 - 12:30 in the marquee

£15

The vibrations of the Chalice Well waters and the frequencies of healing sound instruments will be expertly woven together by Julia Phillips to create a sacred healing sound journey. Jooles will lead you through a grounding and heart centred meditation and invite you to set intentions into the water which will help amplify them throughout the sounds bath. You will be guided on a blissful and deeply connecting sound journey, immersed in healing vibrations. We will complete the workshop in ceremony at the Vesica Piscis to return the water to flow out into the waters of the world.

Dragonsfly

Jooles Phillips

Sound is experienced not only through our ears but through every cell in our body to help bring a balancing energy for mind, body and spirit. Please bring a notebook and pen to note down your insights and if you would like to lie down, please bring a cushion, mat and a blanket. Please arrive by 10:20am for a 10:30 start

Contraindications PLEASE NOTE: Sound baths are not suitable if you have sound induced epilepsy, suffer from severe mental health conditions or are in the first trimester of pregnancy. If you have an implant (e.g. pacemaker, stent, plates, pins) please check with your doctor whether a sound bath is suitable for you. By going ahead and booking you are agreeing that you have read the contraindications and that you take responsibility for your own wellbeing

Jooles is a Sound Healing Practitioner, Advanced Flower & Vibrational Essences Practitioner, Cacao Carrier and Reiki, Crystal and Chakra Balancing Practitioner.  All her offerings intertwine with her love of the natural world and are held in sacred space, working in harmony with nature, earth energy and plant wisdom.

Sacred Well Dressing Workshop

Sunday 2 June 15:00 - 17:00

£25

Learn the sacred art of Well Dressing and create your own flower petal mandala made with clay, Chalice Well water and beautiful flowers. The ancient tradition of creating abundant floral designs to honour the constant flow of water from a well or spring, is also called Well Flowering.

In this workshop you will be able to connect deeply with the vibrations of the Chalice Well water, flowers and Essences, as you select petals for your own design. You will be able to learn the traditional technique of working with clay and flower petals to create a round clay disc Well Dressing. At the end of the workshop, we will go to the wellhead for a gratitude ceremony, placing your beautiful well dressing beside the constant flowing waters of Chalice Well. You may take your well dressing home with you.

This workshop includes all materials to make your well dressing. Please bring a sketchbook and coloured pens with you to note ideas and colours for your design. This workshop is facilitated by Casey Jon and Caroline Glazebrook from Chalice Well.

Chalice Well Essences Workshop

Monday 3 June 10:30 - 12:30

A wonderful morning workshop to learn how to cocreate a vibrational flower essence in the vibrant Chalice Well Garden. Chalice Well Essences offer a holistic approach to wellbeing by offering an energetic counterpart to any imbalances within the human energy field. Our Chalice Well Essence team will help you to experience the overlighting consciousness of the elemental and devic realms and Chalice Well water. You will be able to tune into the spiritual dimensions of the garden to explore human, earth & cosmic energies.

£25

Saturday 1 June 2024 9:30am to 3:30pm

Companions Day 1 June 2024 Healing Waters

Please join us for Companions Day on Saturday 1 June. We are looking forward to welcoming you to this special day, exclusively for Companions of the Well. We deeply appreciate your wonderful support as a Companion, for all that we do at Chalice Well.

Our theme this year is Healing Waters to honour the sacred waters that flow ceaselessly at the same temperature of 11C and at the same rate of flow of more than 100,000 litres every day. These waters have been a constant place of pilgrimage for thousands of years and so we invite you to listen to our wonderful guest speakers as they explore the history, mystery and significance of Chalice Well and other holy springs.

"There are certain geographical spots or centres where the veil is ‘thinner’ than elsewhere [that] are considered suitable for becoming spiritual and healing oases, through which Light can pass down into our human atmosphere more easily than is the case elsewhere. Such spots are nearly always situated a spring, well or fresh running water. Chalice Well is once such centre and part of its heritage is to be able to act like a sounding board, ie whatever is thought or done there, it becomes magnified and can be carried further"

Wellesley Tudor Pole

Doors open at 9.30am for a Welcome Circle around the Vesica Pool at 10.20am. If you would like a delicious vegetarian lunch of quiche and salads, please call the office on +44 (0) 1458 831154 before 30 May 2024 to book your lunch for £13 per person. Vegan and gluten free options are available on request, so please tell us your dietary requirements when you phone to book

Alistair Jones - Many Paths One Source

“Chalice Well itself derives from a spring of underground water and is sited in an inspiring flower-filled garden.  To normal vision it seems unimportant.  But by what standards do we judge importance? … Could it be that at the present time - particularly at the present timethere is a shifting of the moves which we glimpse here below as trivial and disconnected, but which from a higher viewpoint form part of a grander whole both coherent and imperative?”

(Walter Lang from the introduction to Writing on the Ground by Wellesley Tudor Pole).

The waters of Chalice Well have become a focal point for pilgrims from across the world.  The site inheres a purpose - a plan. People have sensed this for thousands of years and the footsteps to this source have been many and varied.  At first these may seem disconnected, but do these footsteps from the past form, alongside our own varied paths to and from this spring, part of a greater plan – a coherent and imperative whole? In visiting the waters of Chalice Well, are we playing our own small but necessary part in the unfolding of a grander vision dependent on this site for its coming into being?

Alistair Jones is a Companion of the Chalice Well.  He is a former Trustee and now supports Paul Fletcher, the Trust’s archivist.  Alistair has worked in education for most of his life and is particularly interested in the history of progressive education and its links to wider spiritual networks.

Janice Micallef - Sacred Water and the Consciousness of Homeopathy

Janice will explore why sacred water is important in evolutionary homeopathy and why waters like Chalice Well are important for the expansion of consciousness. Janice helped to integrate oriental medical philosophy into homeopathic thinking, leading to the development of evolutionary homeopathy where the focus is on the patient’s life path and purpose, rather than searching for a cure for an ailment or illness. There are more than 25 years research and proof into new homeopathic medicines and new remedies that have been developed Janice’s meditation proving circle. She also founded the two-year Guild of Homeopaths postgraduate course with Colin Griffith and Martin Miles.

Lesley Oates - The Significance of Holy Wells

Lesley will explore our ancestral links, intuitive interconnectedness with holy wells and sacred springs honour our innate special relationship with water. Wherever we encounter water sources our thoughts and feelings engage with a deep sense of knowing, as our minds flow timelessly with the passage of spring and well. Recognising that our personal interpretation of what is shared with venerated waters, as a unique message, is part of the wonder of the power of these special places. She will talk about the history and ancestral significance of Holy Wells and sacred springs and her personal journey co-creating vibrational essences with the naiads, well guardians and spirit of place at the sites of Cornish Holy Wells.

09:30 gates open for Companions of the Well while Vicki Burke plays harp by the Vesica Pool

10:20 OPENING CIRCLE around the Vesica Pool

10:45 WELCOME by Lindsay Smith

11:00 ALISTAIR JONES: Many Paths One Source 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:55 GATHER for the Silent Minute

12:02 JANICE MICALLEF: Sacred Water and the Consciousness of Homeopathy

12:35 LUNCH - please pre-book your delicious vegetarian/vegan/gluten free lunch for £13 by calling our Office team +44 1458 831154

14:00

LESLEY OATES: The Significance of Holy Wells

14:40 CLOSING CIRCLE around the Vesica Pool

Free time in the garden until we reopen to the public at 15:30

News from the Shop

Isa and the team love being in the shop. Isa writes:

This is a very special place -  the heart chakra of the Earth.  The Chalice Well Shop is often the last part of visitors’ and pilgrims’ time in the  garden. Some are buying presents for those at home, or for themselves; to have something as a reminder of their visit to our beautiful garden. Often there are questions we answer, and frequent conversations about their unique experience in this sanctuary. There is joyful laughter, tears of grief and release, a sense of inner peace…most days we experience a whole range of people’s emotions and it is a privilege to hold this space for visitors. This is why we do our best to create a welcoming, caring and calm atmosphere.

Sharing the love!

Among our choice of artisan designed and made gifts are these beautiful sequinned earrings spelling LOVE and a delightful velvet coin purse to match.

Love earrings

Love velvet purse

£19

£21

Caroline writes:

Thank you so much for spending with us, because all the proceeds support the Chalice Well Trust, to keep the garden open every day, and all of the work we do to safeguard this wonderful living sanctuary. Our lovely shop offers gifts, candles, jewellery, crystals, artisan scarves, wooden bowls and chalices, vibrational essences, deeply inspiring books and we are frequently told we have the best choice of oracle cards in Glastonbury!  Our online shop delivers worldwide and so we can send some of the beautiful energy of Chalice Well to you with each order. chalicewell.org.uk/webshop

New Oracle Decks

We have some inspiring new oracle decks in stock, including the Female Archangels Oracle £19.99 which is the first oracle to focus on the female Archangels. Unveiling the Golden Age deck £33, that offer a gateway to transformation and wisdom, through vision, empowerment and insight.

Ethical and sustainable chakra dinner candles

We have a new range of dinner candles in the colours of the chakras that are made ethically and sustainably from plant wax and natural wicks. A set of 7 candles is £21

Unique jewellery

The Vesica Piscis gemstone silver pendant

These lovely silver pendants have a central gem including amethyst, blue topaz and citrine and look so pretty, £33. Before we send them mail order, we bless them in well water.

Sometimes it’s hard to stop gazing at the jewellery in the cabinets! We have some beautiful rings, pendants and bracelets including many unique pieces. They are always beautifully made and with a high vibration.

Wooden chalices

The truly gracious chalices, hand turned by a local artisan, are made in beech, walnut and oak. £48

Essence News from Casey Jon

Once more we greet the spring equinox with a renewed vigour and delight. It seems this winter has been a watery affair and many of us are glad to see the sun shining reminding us of warmer and lighter days ahead. Sometimes when we’ve had many days of grey drizzle or great deluges of rain it becomes easy to forget the blessings of water, but as spring awakens I find myself wanting to honour the waters of our world.

Astrologically the sun, which represents our soul makes a strong connection to Neptune, the planet that rules the oceans and the deep waters of our world. This is a time when we can honour our relationship and friendship with Water, with the Oceans, the Lakes, the Great Rivers, the small streams, the Springs and the Ancient Wells. It is good to remember to also honour the rain, the wild hail and the Avalonian mists on an early spring morning. We offer our love to all those that live within the Waters; the wise salmon, the playful otters, the soulful whales and the joyful dolphins.

And with gratitude we offer our blessings to the Chalice Well for her healing waters, for the gift of co creating essences and the light she brings forth from the darkness of her ancient depths. I hope that as the new spring sunshine sparkles on the Well’s water may it also sparkle in your heart.

We welcomed our lovely new trainee group of Flower and Vibrational Essence Practitioners in March and had the joy of co creating the Snakeshead Fritiillary together. We gathered the Well waters and placed the bowl in a little patch of wildness, a gentle area that the fritillaries were growing and chiming their fairy like song. There were several themes that shone out; one of these was of powerful, deep transformation of fear to love, another of majesty with humbleness; an essence that supports you taking up space, your own unique and wonderful space so you may serve the earth as you were destined too. We look forward to deepening our connection with it, learning more of its wisdom and medicine.

For more information on our Flower Essence Practitioner course please visit our website https://www.org.uk/webshop/essences-workshops/ or telephone our office on 01458 831154

Chalice Well Essence - Star of Bethlehem ‘Shine’

This essence helps in times of change and new beginnings when one requires positivity and a joyful disposition.

The Star of Bethlehem, after which the flower is named, was an unusual and spectacular event. The star’s appearance in the sky portended the arrival of Hope, Joy and Love for the world. Working with Shine can help us to be open to receive and to be radiant.

As this essence was being co-created within a crown of these flowers, one of those present was inspired to sing these words, the resonance of which are imprinted within this essence. ‘And love is my companion who can heal my wounds and soothe my woes. When wilderness obscures my view, love is the light that shines me home. Let every person on the earth choose love and we will shine - for eternity’ The beautiful star of Bethlehem

Choosing Your Essence

Settle into a quiet space, then sense, feel or see which essence or quality you would like to experience, to welcome into your life.

These Essences are most effective when worked with consciously. We suggest calling upon the Spirit of the Well and asking that you may receive all that you need at this time.

We recommend that you take 7 drops, under the tongue or added to water, twice a day, or as intuitively guided.

Available from the shop: https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop/chalice-well-essences/new-dawn/ chalice-well-essence-star-of-bethlehem-shine/

The Blended Ray Essences

The Chalice Well Invocation

I call upon the Overlighting Deva of the Chalice Well, The Spirit Allies working with the Chalice Well Essences, Gaia, Pan, The Christ Consciousness, Ascended Masters and the Blended Ray, My personal Guides, Guardians, Angels and Source. I ask that I may assist in the evolution of consciousness, And that I may give and receive all that is needed at this time ~ Healing, Guidance, Support and Wisdom ~ That I may be my true Self, Co-creating my life journey, And the fulfilment of my Soul’s purpose, with Love, Power and Light. I ask this for the Highest Good of All Beings, And give thanks for these Divine gifts. Amen.

We’ve been working with the energies of the “Blended Ray” with Chalice Well Essences since their inception, as Wellesley Tudor Pole indicated that the waters of Chalice Well would be subject to changing their ‘rhythm and note’ to the new frequency of the Blended Ray in his book The Silent Road.

He went on to expound that, “A quality of Deity hitherto not available to men on earth is now beginning to unfold. This quality or attribute could be referred to symbolically as a Blended Ray, the child of the union of Love and Wisdom. This ray will produce a new rhythm within human consciousness and it is within this rhythm that the message for the coming age will manifest.”

Whilst reading Wellesley Tudor Pole’s The Silent Road the passages on the Blended Ray really struck me. TP describes it as a meeting of the Western Christ Consciousness through Love and The Eastern Buddha Consciousness of Wisdom. This combination of Love and Wisdom feels very apposite for now. WTP believed that “without the impetus provided by the Blended Ray mankind could not change into that upward Rhythm which alone makes it possible to begin the ascent of the upward arch. It is the blending of the Love and Wisdom principles.”

Chalice Well is said to be at the heart centre of the heart chakra and there is a sense that for all of humanity now the expansion of the illuminated mind is possible, that we are being asked to be the light, to bring that consciousness through into our daily lives …

With this in mind it felt that now was the right time to bring through a range of Essences working directly with the Blended Ray. When we tuned into the range it seemed clear that it would consist of seven essences representing the seven rays of the Chakra system (using the Light codes for each one by concentrating it through a crystal of that colour as well as a petal to represent the Nature Kingdoms and that they were to be made in the Cress Field while we were still in the energies of Wesak and Beltane), as well as a Golden Ray Essence (imbued with Christ Consciousness and Unconditional Love incorporating Libyan Tektite and the energies of the Wellhead, the Upper Room, the Lammas Festival and August

Full Moon) and a Blended Ray Essence (embodying Love and Wisdom with Opal and Moonstone and the energies of the Cress Field and the Wesak Full Moon).

The seven Essences representing an energy centre or chakra work by filling the Auric field with Light, the light of the sun; the rainbow encoded into the Living Waters. Meditating beforehand in the Upper Room, we tuned into the Christ Consciousness and realised how this is an anchor or a compass to make everything congruent. We chose petals from the garden on the way up to The Cress Field to embody each chakra centre, as they were so vibrant and rich and deep; the colours holding the vibration. The Chakra Centre Essence bowls were placed in the line of the flow of the Beltane Fire pit up to where the Beltane Wesak Full Moon Blended Ray Essence had been made.

The Blended Ray Essence was made in the Cress Field at Wesak (a Buddhist Festival celebrated on the Full Moon in May, on which the Buddha and the Christ are said to meet in a high valley in the Himalayas. TP felt that there was a correspondence to this in the lie of the land between Chalice Hill and The Tor) and the Gold Ray was created on the Full Moon on the festival of Lammas, the Earth Festival celebrating the Golden Harvest of the Summer.

“Each pilgrim on the way can become a Light Bearer and can draw strength from the Love/Wisdom principle now becoming available through the Blended Ray.” Wellesley Tudor Pole spoke of people working with these energies as “Lighthouses” and “transformers”.

Through working with the Essences we know that they are a perfect medium with which to record vibration and frequency in order to activate the light body and anchor the Unity Consciousness and Unconditional Love needed at this time. Purpose, Blueprint, Presence and Template were all keynotes which came through.

“The Blended Ray will undoubtedly possess a cleansing and harmonising influence within human consciousness and it will bring with it a new vista of revelation for mankind … Revelation is an interior and personal experience and as a consequence each individual should look for spiritual guidance from within rather than from without.”

WTP, The Silent Road.

Each bottle can be used in meditation in sequence or individually as guided.

From the Garden

“A tree quietly exists, never moving except swaying in the wind, yet endlessly conversing with the sunlight and the soil”

Richard Powers, ‘The Overstory’

There was a time when we would all have known our herbs. Our relationship with plants, intimate and respectful, was a symbiotic healing exchange. Knowing the properties of plants, physical and spiritual, meant our survival. Many profound understandings may have been lost and many are still to be discovered. But that leaves us with a huge swathe of plants familiar to us that can change our health and wellbeing the moment we make contact with them.

Dave Balian

The spiritual journey of the great herbalist Maurice Messegue fascinates me. Handed down from generation to generation, plant lore surviving and carrying a key to our collective re engagement with plant spirit and healing.

Messegue was born in Gevarret, Gers, in 1921. He was taught about plants from the earliest age by his father who was renowned in the local area helping the people stay healthy and well using combinations of local hedgerow herbs.Messegue’s father died in a hunting accident leaving the family poverty-stricken, shortly after the Second World War swept through Europe, Messegue fled the German occupation and joined the resistance.

After the war he was called to resume his love for plants and rekindled his father’s healing ways.His method was to diagnose the ailment, sometimes by dowsing if the symptoms were obscure, work out the specific herb combination and quantity, and place the herbs in spring water for hand and foot baths.

After a while his success and popularity blossomed. Now his small clinic in Nice raised the eyebrows of the authorities who took him to Court because he didn’t have any doctoring qualifications. He was found guilty and fined,

leaving him with no option but to find other work. His patients had other ideas, insisting that he carried on.By the time he was next in court he had some significant success stories in his file including Maurice Chevalier and Winston Churchill!

Over the years the French authorities took him to court no fewer than one hundred and fifty times. By the time the last case was heard Messegue had a file of 50,000 successful treatments.

I love that Messegue was so subtle and gentle with the plants and that he allowed the properties of the herbs to be absorbed through the skin. Osmosis, the movement of water or gas through a membrane, is exactly the method a plant uses in photosynthesis, drawing water up through the roots and leaving through the leaves as gas. By using herbs in this way we are in essence treating ourselves like plants, with plants.

To direct the medicinal properties of plants around the body outside the digestive system allows the subtle energies to circulate as well. Plant spirit medicine travels through us as part of this effortless mechanism.

The waters used in Chalice Well Essences are the perfect vehicle for this exchange. The love and care that goes into creating the essences enables each bottle, each drop, to be a singularity encapsulating the healing wonder that is Chalice Well Garden. We receive this gift from the plants every day, our gentle ‘grazing’ of the borders, just pulling out by hand what is not needed allows the plants’ healing through the skin. By not digging the boarders all plant communication runs through the ground, all life forms remain undisturbed. ‘No dig’, allows the garden to remain in harmony and balance. I enjoy listening to the garden, staying in its vibration and tuning in to its mystery and wonder.

Living Waters

From Creation Myths of the primordial oceans to the Holy Wells, ancient cultures and religious traditions have revered the sanctity of water. In Sanskrit there are over 100 words for water and the Bible mentions it 722 times, including in John 7:37 where Jesus refers to himself as the source of Living Water.

Two thousand years later a young forester called Victor Schauberger (1885-1958) from Austria was sitting by a beautiful, clear forest stream when he suddenly experienced his consciousness merging with the water (this mystical experience is very resonant with those which Wellesley Tudor Pole describes in his book, A Man Seen Afar). Through this process and his observation of how water flows naturally in rivers and streams, he realised that water behaves like a living organism and learned many of the mysteries of Nature, including energy transference and the elements necessary to make what he called “living water”. When water is flowing naturally in spirals and vortices, it creates the structure necessary for it to carry beneficial, coherent, life affirming information. He observed that there are two forms of motion in Nature; the outward, expanding flow (centrifugal) that is used to break down and an inward, spiralling flow (centripetal working with implosion energy) which Nature uses to build up and energise.

Water behaves as a living organism and needs to be in constant motion in order to maintain its health. This was later incorporated by John Wilkes (1930-2011), a tutor and sculptor at Emerson College (Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic College) who developed flowforms (such as the one he installed here at Chalice Well) to transmute and purify water as it flows through a series of basins in a double vortex, figure of 8 pattern which simulates a mountain stream; energising, restructuring and oxygenating the water.

There are said to be 9 patterns which are represented in healthy, living water and which can be detected with a basalt pendulum ~ all of which can be found in the waters of Chalice Well!

We know from the work of Jean Benveniste (1935-2004), a French Immunologist, that water stores information. He published an article in the Scientific journal, Nature, in 1988 based on his experiments with very high dilutions of anti-IgE antibody on the degranulation of human basophils. He concluded that the configuration of molecules in water was “biologically active” and the term “ water memory” was coined for this hypothesis as it indicated that water has a memory to retain substances previously dissolved in it.

Following this discovery, the Japanese Water Researcher, Masaru Emoto (1943-2014) demonstrated the effects of consciousness on water in his beautiful ice photography of water crystals. Emoto described water as a "blueprint for our reality” and he showed how emotional "energies" and "vibrations", or hado as he called it, can create structured, coherent patterns which hold the vibration of the information and change the physical structure of water. We were lucky enough to host him at Chalice Well in 2009.

As our ancestors were aware, water connects all life. It covers 75% of the earth, of which 98% is sea water (only 5% has been explored) with the oceans producing 5075% of the world’s oxygen. Our fresh water is extremely precious as most of it is locked up in the ice caps and only about 1% is in circulation.

We see from Masaru Emoto and more recently Luc Montagnier’s nobel prize winning work with homeopathic dilutions, that water communicates and acts as a conduit between spirit and form ~ it translates the vibrational blueprint for the construction of matter. Montagnier claimed in 2009 that, "High dilutions of something are not nothing. They are water structures which mimic the original molecules. We find that with DNA, we cannot work at the extremely high dilutions used in homeopathy; we cannot go further

than a 10−18 dilution, or we lose the signal. But even at 10−18, you can calculate that there is not a single molecule of DNA left and yet we detect a signal."

In 2013 the wonderful physicist Gerry Pollack published a book on the fourth phase of water which he describes as living water. His pioneering research has identified a paradigm shifting fourth phase of water, beyond solid, liquid or gas which he calls the Exclusion Zone. This “EZ” water (which he pronounces as E-Zee) exists between the liquid and solid phases of water; it has a gel like consistency due to having an additional hydrogen and oxygen molecule, which makes it H3O2 rather than H2O. It is a liquid crystalline water/ light and is more viscous and alkaline than water usually is and can hold energy or charge and deliver it. The water in our cells is actually EZ water. Up to 78% of the human body is water, depending on age. This ensures that healthy resonance can be restored if the water we drink and which is around us is coherent.

In observing how Essences are made, we can see that our consciousness and the spirit of co-creation can also create this water. This is why Essence water is more viscous when we make an Essence and how it can hold the imprint of the plant or energy that we are working with.

Last October Veda Austin, a water researcher from New Zealand, came to Chalice Well. She is known for her ice crystal photography and also describes the light in water as holding consciousness. Schauberger and Rudolph Steiner both realised that water acts as the medium, or rather mediator, between the solar and cosmic energies and the energy of Earth and Nature to produce the balance required for the emergence and evolution of conscious life in all its forms and processes. Just as Jesus was baptised with living water, it would seem to be the key for physical and spiritual evolution, healing and consciousness. In the spirit of all these water researchers I would encourage everyone to make their own living water by sending their love and light into the water they drink and to tune into water for themselves to learn more about what Victor Schauberger described as “the Eternally Creative Intelligence”.

Bibliography

Hidden Nature

~ Alick Bartholomew

The Story of Water

~ Alick Bartholomew

The Fourth Phase of Water

~ Gerald Pollock

Living Energies ~ Callum Coates

The Miracle of Water

~ Masaru Emoto

Living Water ~ Olof Alexandersson

Sensitive Chaos ~ Theodor Schwenk

Unpublished “Ponderings” regarding Water

by Wellesley Tudor Pole

Firstly from January 30th 1958 in a letter to Cynthia Legh (secretary of The Big Ben Silent Minute, future Chalice Well Trustee and wife of Lord Grey who became Chair of the Trust after Tudor Pole died.)

‘It may not be fully recognised that the element sometimes called Aether which permeates the realm into which we pass at ‘death’, and which is the medium through which our thought processes operate, possesses certain qualities. For instance, this all pervasive element is a link between our life in three dimensions, and the wider and invisible world around us, and appears to be the substance which we ‘breathe’ when we are released from our physical bodies, equivalent in that condition to the air we breathe in our present state of living, and without which in either case we could not exist.

When Aether is precipitated into mundane conditions, under specific circumstances, it appears to change its form and to split up, or be transferred into the three elements known to us as Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen.

On earth levels, therefore, it would appear that Aether is the basic ingredient of Air and Water, and it is for this reason that air and water in their pure state possess properties and capacities that are unique, in so far as our physical world is concerned.

There is reason to believe that it is through the agency of Light, regarded in its esoteric sense, that Aether can be transmuted into Air and Water and vice versa. (Aether derived from the Greek root, Aitho – to burn or shine.)

When water wells from hidden springs and sources and is brought intimately into contact with the Air, such water always possesses healing and vitalising qualities which vary in strength mainly according to the Rhythm of the mineral substances through which the water has passed in its pilgrimage from darkness into the light of day.

Water from a particular Well or Source never loses its affinity for the place from which it has been taken. If, for instance, a trained psychometrist handles water taken from a special Spring, he will find himself in contact with that Spring and its surroundings, even if the sample of water he is handling has been carried a thousand miles away. This curious property of water is well known in the East.’

Secondly, in a letter to Sir George Trevelyan dated 19th October 1965:

‘I have been experimenting with the use of Spring water as a valuable medium for holding and then giving out healing influence and power. At Chalice Well of course we have available in a pristine state, this radiating therapeutic agency and this fact will become more fully realised as time goes on.

In my own little Sanctuary I place a bowl or chalice of water (not a metal container) on the table beneath the perpetual Light so that the latter’s radiations may flow down into the Water and in a certain way transform and reinforce the health giving potency in a way that more than symbolises “the Water of the Spirit.” I change the water once every 7 days; what is left of it I use for improving the quality of my flower beds (which it does).

Dr. Martin Israel, a gifted psychometrist, has testified to the way such Water has become infused with healing emanations. I find, for instance, that eyes bathed with this water become stronger in vision. That a compress soaked in it will take away intense pain; such as headaches, when applied to the area where the pain seems to manifest. That a small phial of this water carried in the pocket will give healthful results. In my view, wherever the “Light” has been well and regularly dedicated its rays then possess these healing qualities. Seven drops in a wine glass of milk or other liquid, thrice daily, cured a severe case of gastritis in 48 hours.

The Light is an outward symbol of willingness to welcome and serve the great Purposes of Those who are leading humanity step by step out of Darkness into the Illumination of a new and better day. “Healing” in the widest possible meaning of the word is an important part of this process.’

Thirdly, there was a follow up letter from TP to Sir George a week later:

‘The amber rays from a dedicated “Lamp”, placed about 2 feet above an open chalice or bowl of pure water, bring healing qualities and actually “change” the water’s quality. Whether the container is of glass or porcelain, its texture should be blue (clear sapphire) and the change is perceptible after 3 hours radiation. The argon (the nitrogen in air appears to act as a carrier for the argon to penetrate water and so to become a fixative for the radiations) in the atmosphere, although said to be inert, is the agent in a way that brings about a certain transformation in its content, the effects of which do not begin for 48 hours.

Both drunk in homeopathic doses or for external use in compresses, for eye-drops or for massage – when such water is transferred from the chalice or bowl (after 3 hours or so) into a clean clear glass bottle, the latter should be subject, after the bottle is sealed , to natural light for at least another 3 hours or so before use. Drunk as an ordinary beverage, in moderation, it will give refreshment rather than healing.’

From left to right are Michael Orchard (Resident Guardian), Dr Phil Jackson, Alan Gloak, Mary Priest Cobern, Birgit Kotschi , Roy Procter, Lynne Orchard (Resident Guardian) and Sig Lonegren.

Remembering Alan Gloak

In this issue we’d like to remember and pay tribute to a former Chairman of the Trust, Alan Gloak, who passed away on December 29th last year aged 81.

Alan was a very well- known character around Glastonbury and Somerset who pioneered LGBTQ+ issues and rights and was one of the first people in the U.K. to take part in a same sex marriage ceremony after the legislation changed. He came from working class roots but became involved in the magazines ‘Jeffrey’ and ‘Him’ in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Moving from working at a builder’s merchants into the horticultural industry he began to take up local politics and this eventually led him to becoming a Glastonbury Town Councillor and Mendip District Councillor. In Glastonbury he initiated Glastonbury In Bloom and was involved in the beginnings of the Frost Fair. At Chalice Well he took over as Chair from Roy Procter in early 2000.

Roy writes:

‘Alan Gloak was a keen supporter of Glastonbury and a member and sometime leader of Glastonbury Town Council. He later became a leader of Somerset County Council. He was also a keen gardener, maintaining a beautiful garden at his house in Bove Town. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Glastonbury In Bloom and did much in this regard to beautify the town.

By the end of 1999 I had been Chairman of the Trust for many years and felt it was near time to hand over as Chairman, while remaining a Trustee to ensure continuity and a smooth transition to a new person. During my Chairmanship I had recommended that resigning Trustees were replaced by suitable local people in order to improve our connection with the town and local community. Following discussions with Alan and other Trustees, he joined the board of the Trust. He then took over Chairmanship in February 2000.

He was an effective Chairman and encouraged the Trust to develop. One of his main achievements was to initiate negotiations to purchase the property next door to Chalice Well garden, now known as Chalice Well Lodge. This enabled the capacity of the retreat house to be expanded and also added a property that could be let out on short-term rentals if appropriate. I remember accompanying him to Bristol for a meeting with Triodos Bank to seek financing for the proposal. This he achieved smoothly and competently and we have seen the benefits ongoing.’

Roy also highlighted Alan’s skills at communicating with the Charity Commission over several years. Alan and Roy served on a dynamic Board that consisted of those you can see opposite in the photograph.

Alan was replaced as Chairman and Trustee by Kyrin Singleton in February 2005. He was awarded the M.B.E. for services to local government in 2010.

Last words go to Alan speaking about Chalice Well at the 2001 Companions Day:

‘Chalice Well is more than a place of spirituality, it has a power which you can only find and tap into if you are prepared to let yourself go. You don’t, in my book, have to chant a mantra (though you might find it helps); you don’t have to sit in the lotus position; you have to first acknowledge who and what you are, then allow the magic of the place to work. Listen to the sounds of water and wind, the songs of birds, the sigh of a breeze – all these help me and I am sure they will help you.’

Poetry

Two poems by Companion Philomena Houlihan Wood celebrating Celtic pilgrimage places.

Iona Pilgrimage

Sea, sky and shore

Light of the Western Isles. Calling our souls to mystical prayer We follow in the steps of The ancient Holy Ones.

Who came out of the far far West, From the shores of Hibernia they came, Where the white wind sweeps o’er bog

And mountain And nature sings a lonesome lament in the Tall reed beds.

From that land where the wild wet places Knock against the softness of the heart Brown cowled monks rowed ashore And kissed this hallowed ground.

We follow in their wake

Guided by the presence of the ancient Holy Ones, Stepping ashore, we wait by the stone.

Skellig Michael

A jagged rock rising up from the ocean floor

Looming large

Weaving its magic on all Who behold it.

When the monks of long ago Joined with St. Fionan to make their home, Upon the steep rock far away from human kind They knew its isolation would keep them Close to their god.

In their tiny beehive dwellings They prayed and rested And made do with little food. They were hardy men, Who sought no comforts. Their solace and joy they found in Their daily prayers to their Christian God.

Today we look across the wild sea, To their rocky island home And ask how did they survive On that barest of rocks.

We admire their strength and fortitude, Their faith and resilience, Their courage to leave behind Their kith and kin, And give everything over to their maker.

Some of them never left their island home, Growing old and frail

They sat beside their huts

Warm sun on weathered faces. And turned their hearts over to God.

They prayed for all of us

Who might one day pray for them. No bird or wave can call to them now. They have been returned to the earth

Close by the pounding surf

Which circles still their island home.

“LET ME: FIND A WAY TO LOVE”

Let me go and find a way to love. Knowing all who come come from above.

Let me know and find a way to live. learning only love and how to give. To love and give Oh love and give.

The tears of yesterday will fall as rain. Letting go of suffering and pain. Let me explain; suffering and pain.

Above the clouds of the war of yours and mine

The Sun will always rise. Oh rise and shine

Rise and shine; Oh rise and shine.

Let me go and find a way to live learning only love and how to give

Anthony Ward, January 2024

‘The tears I shed yesterday will fall as rain’ is a line taken directly from the poetry and calligraphy of the late Vietnamese Zen Master, Poet and Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hahn, founder of the Order of Interbeing and author of ‘Peace is every Step.’

The Magic of Visitor’s Books

When I visit a holy place or stay on retreat, I read the visitor’s books avidly and with a great sense of anticipation. They are a revelation, an insight into the heart, a snapshot of certain kinds of cathartic experience crystallised between the pages of an often delightful little book. Invariably I am deeply moved by the profound and heartfelt expressions of joy. I understand them. Often I feel like saying, ‘Yes, I have felt that way too –and I still do!’ Such experiences resonate through time. At least that is my conviction and I am sure it is not fanciful or illusory. Those handwritten words which tumble down the page testify to something elemental, primordial, in fact something in the end beyond the power of words to express. But we try, with simple language, to encapsulate a holy, perhaps a mystical experience, and if we fail or fall short, it is with the most virtuous of intentions.

I have stood, pen in hand, before a visitors’ book and thought, ‘How can I possibly convey the sensations, the connections, the oceanic emotions I have felt in this place in the last few days?’ ‘Thank you’ is simple enough but seems somehow inadequate, seems to short-change my feelings. Many retreatants and day visitors wish to encapsulate a never-tobe-forgotten experience with individuality, reference to spiritual beliefs, passion, insight and sometimes relief and gratitude for the healing that has taken place.

Invariably, before I depart from a much-loved place, if there is a visitors’ book on display, and there usually is, I meditate for a while before adding a comment of my own, a kind of elaborate variation on the simple ‘Thank you for your time and hospitality’. I am eager to bear witness to the often profound effect this shrine, temple, chapel, retreat house, holy tree or all-encompassing garden has inspired in me. Sometimes, if there is space in the book, I draw a simplified picture of a tree, a flower, an icon – a heart, a crucifix, a yin-yang image – as I have seen others do; something with a touching non-verbal message, a pictorial reaching out to others.

I know that in time to come visitors will read my comments and perhaps feel a similar connection through the ether, through our common humanity, through a sympathetic energy, although we may be many miles apart and never actually meet in this life. It is good to know you are there, whoever and wherever you are. It does not matter if we do not meet to share hugs and meditation and the stillness of the waters and the stars: our evocative words remain as witness, inadequate as they may be; our imprint lingers, and we have made a declaration that we all inhabit the same vast ocean of feeling and mutually breathe love into the world. Each of us understands what that place meant to us, and still means in absence; how it moves their souls as surely as mine. It is a strange but compelling phenomenon to know that so many people, weeks, months, sometimes years apart, people who are after all ostensible strangers, share something inspirational, healing, perhaps lifechanging and tread the same mystical path strewn with scents and essences.

I think that what lies at the core of such experiences, in my own case but also in the examples of many visitors whose comments grace the books, is a kind of catharsis; an unburdening of concerns; a realisation that there is another way to which others respond; a profound sense of identification; a breath of cosmic love which says, ‘I have never met you

but we know each other; we tread the same path; we are all of the flesh but also of the spirit’. A kind of improvised holy communion. An epiphany.

I am always drawn back to such places, harbouring visions of them in heart and soul; and I desire to know that others who feel the same as I do have been and will probably go again. We form one vast spiritual community, a body of eternal seekers and celebrants. Visitors’ books attest at times to serene witness and at other times to a simple joy in existence; sometimes to awkward confession; but always, behind every word and thought, the lightness of love.

Once or twice a year I go on retreat to St Mary’s Abbey, a Benedictine community in Kent. When I visit, I like to stay in what is referred to as the ‘Thomas Becket Room’, which is on the upper floor of a hugely evocative and slightly medieval gatehouse whose very stonework seems timeless. A small door in one wall of the room looks down into the Pilgrims’ Chapel, which in itself is ethereal and uplifting. A votive candle burns all night like the living soul of the place and accompanies my dreams. Others have remarked on this in the visitors’ book. This room, with its outlook over stunning grounds to the Norman tower and the nuns’ chapel, is touchingly austere, some may think challengingly so. But such austerity serves to concentrate the mind.

On the vintage, leather-inlaid writing desk, the visitors’ book lies open, an invitation to peruse, absorb and encourage some contribution prior to leaving, which one always does reluctantly. The first time I stayed in the room I scanned the pages of this book and, upon reading, felt a tingling in my spine at the sentiments written there in black ink, blue ink, brown ink and in one case brilliant red, which made me think of the blood of Christ. Some of the lovely cursive handwriting is meticulous and reminiscent of medieval script. Clearly those who had stayed here before me had enjoyed a transformative, perhaps cathartic experience, something to cherish within them always.

When staying in Glastonbury I always make a point of visiting St Margaret’s Chapel and Royal Magdalene Almshouses. The place draws me like no other with the notable exception of The Chalice Well. It is an exquisite little chapel with a range of thoughtfully restored almshouses stretching out the back. I have lingered in St Margaret’s Chapel in contemplative silence whilst others have come and gone, some falling to their knees before the icons of St Mary and St Margaret, some lighting votive candles and some simply meditating in that ethereal space. One tall gaunt man I recall: he rested with his hands on his walking staff, closed his eyes and remained utterly still for such a long time that I imagined him turning into a statue, one of the Magi. Nothing could disturb him – or me. He radiated his presence. And we were both so deeply centred.

I scanned the visitors’ book on several occasions, each time marvelling at the obvious effect this holy building had on both devout believers and casual visitors. Someone had written, ‘Slowly blooms the rose within/ Slowly blooms the rose within/ God bless Mary, silent watcher of the beloved’, a pure piece of devotional poetry. Another had simply said, ‘Sacred place to be with yourself in peace and love.’ That sentiment, ‘to be with yourself’, strikes a deep chord. How often, amid the chaos and distractions of the world do we struggle to be with ourselves! Then, in a kind of rhapsody, someone had felt moved to write, ‘Just arrived in Avalon, so grateful to be here again. I am so blessed. Thank you for your lovely healthy energy, Glastonbury. Thank you Universe, God, Goddess to guide me here again for my inner and outer union..’

The last but most affecting place at which I have stayed and grown and gleaned wonderful vibes and ethereal energies is The Chalice Well. It is for me a location like no other, in balance at once natural and mystical, as solid as the earth and as fluid as the spirit, a place of flows and spirals and cosmic dances – and all the retreatants I have had the pleasure of meeting attest to this, either with the spoken word, in silent contemplation or with public declarations in the visitors’ book. So many entries in the book resonate and express far better than I could ever achieve. They seek out the heart of the Well which beats for us all.

One retreatant wrote, ‘My heart is overflowing with love and gratitude for this sacred sanctuary and the ever-deepening journey into her mysteries each time I return’. Poignantly expressed! And each time I return I sense, powerfully and profoundly, the ‘sacred sanctuary’ enveloping me. Another retreatant was moved to say, ‘Thank you for the magical experience. I have received so much healing and am forever grateful for this beautiful space.’ The Chalice Well is clearly a focus for healing and transformative experiences, as I and countless others can attest. The waters seep into the soul, flush out damage and discontent, purify the spirit and perform little miracles at every turn.

Others make frequent reference to the ‘sacredness’ of the Well, the retreat house and the gardens, all seen as one glorious continuum: ‘I feel blessed to have been able to rest in the peace of this sacred place..’ ; ‘gratitude for this very sacred healing space..’ ; ‘cared for by sacred love, joy and grace always..’ It is like a soothing mantra, this sacredness, and sounds to me, reading through, like the very music of the spirit, the spirit of oneness which animates us all and allows us to come together in prayer, peace and positivity.

There is also space in the pages of the book for leavening dry humour: ‘Didn’t find the Grail. Maybe next time! Thank you.’ Indeed, next time, whoever you are, I am sure you’ll find the Grail and much else of joy and healing besides. We are all looking for it; we are all following the flower-strewn path. It is not good always to be solemn, as this retreatant appreciates.

Someone else writes of the Well, ‘Heaven on Earth. Blessed be’; and another offers the comment, ‘My favourite place on earth. Can’t wait to return.’ Many of us can’t wait to return and immerse ourselves in the esoteric atmosphere of sanctity, energy and mystic communion, and then take it away with us to face the harshness and challenges of the wider world whilst holding that sense of holiness inside us.

Visitors’ books contain an uplifting repository of joy, peace, stillness and connection with things of the present and things of the past; a symphony of the soul; a record of profound emotions which retreatants and visitors alike are willingly subject to in communion with other fellow seekers. It is surpassingly joyful that I can say, along with those other grateful celebrants, ‘I was there; I drank the waters; I felt the same grace as you did; I absorbed the healing energies; I recorded it for all time in the little book which lies open and invites us all to contribute.’

May I now rest in a living peace – and then come back again.

Chalice Well Companion Peter Quince.

Stay at the Chalice Well Retreat House, Little St Michael’s

Little St Michael’s is open for bookings following a deep clean and new carpets. The atmosphere is so welcoming and deeply nourishing. Companions of the Well who stay on retreat here comment on the tranquility, the peacefulness and the joy of the early morning birdsong at the wellhead before the garden opens to the public. The silence of the Upper Room, created by Wellesley Tudor Pole offers deep respite and a place to access profound inner stillness.

As a thank you for supporting the Chalice Well Trust, there is no increase in the price to stay at our Retreat House in 2024.

Little St Michael’s is a Retreat House for Companions of the Well. There is a minimum of 2 nights stay and prices are £66 per night. We look forward to welcoming you to Little St Michael’s Retreat House.

If you would like to book to stay at the Little St Michael’s, the Chalice Well Retreat House, please call our Chalice Well office team between 10am and 5pm +44 (0)1458 831154

PLEASE NOTE: we do NOT accept PayPal

Payments can be made by Debit/Credit card over the phone with our Reception Office team, or in person at the Office for cash or card payments. We also accept payments in advance of your booking by bank transfer to our Co-Operative Bank Account.

The Holy Thorn Room in Little St Michael’s