JO urn AL OF t H e CO m PA ni O n S OF t H e CHAL i C e W e LL
Editorial
Dear Companions,
In the beginning it was 2005 and I was a volunteer looking after the books in Little St Michael’s lounge. Quite suddenly there was one of those upheavals that seem to occur every so often at the Well and I was asked to become the editor of The Chalice journal. Maybe I’d been prepared for this throughout my life as I’d edited a school magazine and later started my own poetry magazine in Yorkshire which had morphed into an ‘underground’ periodical of the time (1968-71) leading on to creating a network of small publications called The Northern Free Press. So it was that I was never that far away from publishing small magazines and newsletters.
The first editorial I wrote for The Chalice was in 2006: ‘This is the world now; in every department of life, continuous change. And so we change, we flow, we adapt.’ And so it has proved. In the editorial I attempted to describe, in the first of many such efforts, the living intention of Chalice Well manifesting as the chemistry of the natural world and the co-creative working of humanity which could be broadcast through the waters to the entire world. That year we published a collection of views about Chalice Well called ‘This Enchanting Place’ that was visioned, edited and brought to life by Ann Procter, who we now remember fondly in this issue. The book contained short essays on many different aspects of the Well and it included my first foray into writing about Wellesley Tudor Pole.
At that time we had just hosted Dr. Masuru Emoto at the Well and he was part of our purposeful intentions to create a vibration that attempts to help everything be at peace and remain in balance. Peter Quince has much to say about this in his Sacred Energy essay in this issue.
It has been a long and interesting journey that has included the research into Tudor Pole’s writings which led to the publication of ‘Light upon the Path’ in 2015. During that research in the north east of Scotland I was able to read letters from over 100 years ago when Alice Buckton was running Chalice Well and she remarked that the Isle of Avalon was becoming once more a centre of renewal and inspiration. Alice was determined that Chalice Well should not become a centre for occult practices but that all people of goodwill should have access to the gardens and the waters so that religious and spiritual thought and feelings could be simply acknowledged in that joyous manner which belongs to a child-like heart. She describes ‘two flame-throated robins have been playing and picking some crumbs in my balcony as I write, and behind them is the lilac-filled garden and the rising hill of the Tor.’
Like the young Tudor Pole, standing at the Wellhead in 1904, seeing the vision of the future, Alice too described ‘the Vision that was deliberately accepted in that first day I set foot here, and have never one hour relinquished or doubted as I watched its Great Unfolding.’
For all of us who have followed in their footsteps, and there have been so many of us, we should be grateful that our founders committed to their vision of this enchanting place, this living sanctuary, this grail centre intended to encompass the union of Love and Wisdom in a daily expression of service. By being in the gardens with an open heart we can hopefully play a small part in this Great Unfolding.
Paul Fletcher
From The Chair
This edition of the Chalice marks a year since I received the honour of becoming chair of the Chalice Well Trust and it has been a year filled with change, healing, love and compassion. In my first year I was keen to concentrate on the wellbeing and safety of the Chalice Well Trust staff and volunteers and hope that, with Joanna’s help, we have taken steps to create an environment where all feel valued and supported. While the gardens continue to nourish, heal and provide unconditional love to us all, we can easily lose sight of those who hold space so beautifully for the many thousands of people who visit throughout the year. I feel a deep sense of gratitude at being part of a team who are called to serve the Chalice Well and hold the legacy left by the founder of the trust, Wellesley Tudor Pole.
The summer has been a busy one and, as we approach Autumn Equinox, I feel the need to slow down, stop and look back in awe at how magnificently the gardens have been throughout the year. From the first stirrings of snowdrops and crocuses to the feast of colours and smells that have accompanied us all through the summer, each day has brought more and more splendour. I am slightly jealous of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere who find themselves at the beginning of what I hope will be a joyous journey through Spring and Summer.
Here in Glastonbury the gardens will slow down and recede into late autumn and winter before the cycle of rebirth starts again. It is a time of harvest, of reflection and of gratitude for the wonder that is Mother Nature, the Chalice Well and its surrounding gardens.
I wish you all a peaceful autumn and winter.
In love and light,
Alison
Front Cover: Lammas Well dressing (Caroline Glazebrook)
Back Cover: Robin on Peace Pole (Casey Jon) Photos in this issue by Caroline Glazebrook, Casey Jon unless otherwise credited.
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
News from the Well
Caroline writes
BELTANE
Beltane joy, love, blessings and gratitude flowed as abundantly as the eternal Chalice Well waters. Our 7am ceremony in the Cress Field was a beautiful circle of chants and songs to the beats of Jana Runnalls Drumming Circle and magnificent Grandmother Drum. One of the wonderful Beltane traditions is lighting the Beltane fire, lifting up our Beltane wishes and gratitude as the flames leap in the air. Jumping the fire when it has died down to embers, is symbolically leaping from the old into the new.
On the lower lawn, beautiful songs from Alento da Lùa were perfect for this vibrant Beltane. Glastonbury Border Morris Dancers added to the joyful May Day energies. As we danced the Chalice Well maypole, we weaved a union of feminine and masculine through red and white ribbons, to bring blessings of joy and good fortune for everyone.
SUMMER SOLSTICE
At Summer Solstice - the longest day of the year, we could feel the expansive energies of renewal, abundance, and illumination. The peak light and energy of the Solstice invites connection with nature's rhythms, and reflecting on our inner light as the sunlight reflects on the Chalice Well water flowing through the garden. It was truly beautiful to share these blessed Solstice moments together in community. Our gardening team had gathered petals from the abundant roses, so that we could invite everyone to make an offering to the Vesica Pool in gratitude for Solstice blessings and for the well water. Thank you to Heloise Pilkington for singing to the sacred waters for this beautiful ceremony.
LAMMAS
Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh, is the earth festival that marks the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. It is a time to honour the abundance of the land and express gratitude for the bounty provided by Mother Earth, especially for the first grain harvests. The golden-hued well dressing reflected this abundance, and the gratitude we feel to spend time at the Well. Beautiful plaited loaves from the local baker, Burns the Bread, are a way to share this gratitude with others, reminding us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature and to cherish the gifts of Mother Earth.
Beltane celebration in the Cress Field
This year’s maypole
Save the dates:
Samhain 31 October
Midday meditation at the wellhead. 4pm fire ceremony under the Guardian Yews
All souls 1 November
Silent meditation at the wellhead, 11:30am-12pm
All saints 2 November
Day of Silence in the Meeting Room, all are welcome for a few moments or longer, between 11am and 3pm
Winter Solstice 21 December
Midday meditation at the wellhead followed by Solstice Fire Ceremony on the lower lawn at 12:30pm to welcome the returning light.
Clockwise from top-left: Summer Solstice Well Dressing; preparing for the Solstice Meditation; Heloise Pilkington singing to the waters; offering rose petals to the Vesica Pool
Martin making homes for House Martins
House Martins have been in decline due to loss of habitat. One of our initiatives in this year, as part of Glastonbury in Bloom, is to put up many house martin boxes, especially ones that are suitable for modern composite roofs in the local area that are especially suited to the way martins nest and rear their young, and will last for decades.
At Chalice Well, Martin has put up several new homes for these house martins and hopefully this will provide a thriving home and support.
Companions Facebook Group
Since we launched the Companions Official Facebook Group in June this year, it has grown to over 500 members. It offers a useful forum for Companions to share their love of this special place. We welcome your photos and comments about what this living sanctuary means to you.
We thought we’d share some recent comments:
“My heart always rests at the well. Sending love to this magical place and its people”
Isa Rain
“After much cherished visit to the beautiful Chalice Well gardens. Always so peaceful and sacred and I am forever grateful to all who look after this very special place”
Debbie Sturge
“I love to lie on the lower lawn and sense the peace that washes over me as I allow myself to still my mind and connect with the natural flow of life that surrounds me in this wonderful place”
Carol Gregory
“Every spot of the Chalice Well had a different kind of magic and beauty. The flowers, the green, the fountain, everything was nurturing”
Patricia Romero-Abreu
“My first visit I was walking around crying with relief and something stirred deep within. I’ve visited several times a year since. I’m so grateful to all those who tend the garden and all those who support this magical place”
Deborah Zaher
“I have been visiting for over 30 years and my father in law has been a Companion for over 40 years, great to be connected and looking forward to seeing future events and just general knowledge. Blessings to you all.”
Lisa Ceridwen Glass
“I have never known such peace and serenity! Thank you for all who share their experiences”
Christine Camm
Power Chair
In July we took delivery of the powerchair that offers access to all parts of the garden. It is in addition to the mobility scooter that is available to all visitors via Reception. Our aim is to be as inclusive as possible. Everyone is welcome at Chalice Well and our ethos is many paths…one source. This powerchair makes all the paths accessible, to King Arthur’s Court, the Lions Head, Wellhead and the Meadow.
Initially, booking the power chair will only be possible for registered care homes and charities. If you know an organisation that would be interested in booking the power chair please contact our office or email us.
Chalice Well Diary and Calendar process
Caroline writes:
The Chalice Well Diary and Calendar for 2026 are full of beauty and useful information about the Well, the significance of the waters that flow ceaselessly through these sacred lands plus quotes from Alice Buckton and Wellesley Tudor Pole. The Diary offers daily inspiration as you walk your path.
The process of creating the Calendar and the Diary begins months in advance. We will often be in the garden on the way somewhere, but suddenly stopped in our tracks because we just have to capture the way the light is falling, the magnificent colours or important pollinators, or the shimmer on the water.
In June we gather in the Meeting Room and lay out all of the contenders on the floor, by month. At first it is an overwhelming task, wondering how we will choose just some of the many amazing photos. In our circle of sharing and discussion, we shortlist and then make our final selection. After that I have a long, attention-to-detail process of designing the layouts, adding beautiful quotes, ensuring the dates, lunar and event information are correct, so that the Diary and the Calendar become evocative of Chalice Well, helping people to feel an even deeper connection with the garden that surrounds this ancient holy well.
The Calendar is £11 and the Diary is £15 available in our shop and also online chalicewell. org.uk/webshop
Parched Grass
The garden has been remarkably resilient and colourful despite the intense heat of the summer, although the grass is looking rather parched. It really makes us honour and appreciate nature.
Garden Passes
The Chalice Well Annual Garden Pass gives you free entry to the garden 365 days of the year during public opening hours. They are available for buy from the office and gatehouse.
Single Annual Garden Pass for 1 adult and up to 3 children
Joint Annual Garden Pass for 2 adults and up to 5 children
Companions Day Review
Companions Day overview
Caroline writes
Thank you so much to all Companions who came to our special Companions Day with the theme of Living Sanctuary. The Peace well dressing, so beautifully created by Penny included a basket of rose petals gathered from the garden so that Companions could make their own offerings to the well. to What a day of inspiration and one love!
Pea Horsley spoke of how we can deepen our understanding and appreciation of Mother Earth through communication with trees, animals and birds. Dr Michael White shared first hand experience of why humankind needs to be much kinder to the oceans, wild waters and how places like Chalice Well can inspire harmony in nature. Caroline introduced the day talking about Wellesley Tudor Pole’s founding principles of unity and goodwill - very much embodied by staff, trustees and volunteers working together in true heart. Alison, Chair of Trustees, gave such a thoughtful speech of gratitude and joyfulness.
After a delicious lunch with harp music from Vicki Burke, a lively panel discussion including Dave and Casey inspired an even deeper connection with these sacred lands and the living waters that flow constantly through the garden. Anthony, our orchard keeper led us in a song about peace and Marion helped to bring the beautiful day to a close. We wove with love and it rested in people’s hearts.
Part of the beautiful well dressing created by Penny for Companions Day
Extract from Caroline Glazebrook’s Companions Day Welcome
The visionary founder of the Chalice Well Trust, Wellesley Tudor Pole said: “If we are willing to show friendliness and compassion toward those who control the Kingdoms in Nature, they in turn will help us to restore health and wellbeing to our minds and bodies and to harmonise the conditions which surround us”
When WTP set up the Chalice Well Trust 66 years ago in 1959, he intended to welcome all supporters of goodwill. He called this group Companions of Chalice Well, and stressed the importance of them being supporters, not members. In exchange for their support, they would receive benefits such as free entry to the garden and being able to stay at Little St Michael’s with the opportunity to access the garden out of hours, retreat into the special energies of the house.
The Chalice Well Trust was founded to preserve and safeguard the Well for the public good in perpetuity. Wellesley Tudor Pole asked Companions to foster unity rather than duality and uphold the ideals of the Grail - Purity, Courage, Integrity and Comradeship. He stressed the importance of custodianship of this 'holy and spiritual site’ with the need for goodwill for the Well and its surrounds to succeed in holding a spiritual energy as we pass into the Age of Aquarius. WTP advised that Companions could share ideas with the Board of Trustees, who in turn, may act on them if they were in keeping with the overall purpose, strategy and focus of the Chalice Well Trust.
TP wrote so often about the unifying effect that happens when men and women of goodwill everywhere unite, in co-operative thoughts, words and actions. Goodwill is the
beautiful principle of respectful kindness for Chalice Well, for our wonderful team and for each other. It is the idea of heart to heart connectedness. The ethos at the Well is to be of goodwill and true heart to work together to sustain this sacred place as a beacon of hope throughout the world. This is why we protect Chalice Well by not allowing anyone to use Chalice Well for commercial gain, as this would imply that they are involved with the offering and of course, no one has the right to represent Chalice Well without being explicitly asked to do so.
As we know, Chalice Well lives in our hearts and we all connect with this living sanctuary in different ways, giving each of us a sense of home.
Alison Scobie, Chair of Trustees’ Address to Companions
Every tree, plant and lawn is loved, listened to and cared for by Dave and his team while Martin ensures the structural integrity of the site.
I’m in awe of how some very subtle changes have increased the potential of the garden to hold space for so many different species of grasses, insects and birds. The house martin boxes are proving a great success, and I’d like to thank all of you who have contributed to them.
If there were any remaining doubt as to the brilliance of the gardening team then please take a moment to walk up and appreciate the well dressing beautifully created by Penny. Currently the team is busy planting wild thyme in order to entice and welcome back the blue butterfly.
Over the past year I have had the opportunity to stay in Little St Michaels and have been amazed at how held and supported I have felt by the house during these periods. This is in no small part due to the way the house is loved and cared for by our amazing team of housekeepers.
As we all know Glastonbury and the Chalice Well is said to be the heart chakra of the world and the heart of this place is the Well and the waters.
Over the past year the office team, under Kim’s expert guidance, have been busy reviewing and updating processes and systems, making them simpler and easier for all to use.
The shop continues to thrive with many visitors taking a few minutes to go in, browse, and share their experiences with the staff. I love that everyone is guaranteed to find a friendly face and a warm smile every time they step over the threshold. My heartfelt thanks go out to Isa and the team for creating such a loving environment.
Another person I would like to congratulate is our wonderful Casey who has, over the course of the year, taken on more responsibility in the creation, management and production of the Chalice Well Essences. Well done Casey, you are doing an amazing job.
Now Companions Day is just one of the many events held at Chalice Well throughout the year. Although these are all team events, very much at the helm is our very own Caro.
I am continually surprised by the way she manages to capture and harness a single spark of inspiration and turn it into a day filled with gentleness, love, beauty, compassion and appreciation. I’m sure today will be no exception.
In addition to the staff we have, of course, a team of volunteers who support us in all areas, from being the first face people see on the gatehouse, to helping in the garden and holding space for the weekly Companions’ meditations in the Upper Room. I am ever grateful for their dedication and service to the Well, its ethos and WTPs legacy. I also congratulate Rose who has managed to fill some very large footsteps left by Tim last year in the support of our volunteer team.
Last but not least I’d like to thank Joanna Dyer for her support, her willingness to work with the board to co-create an environment where all can flourish.
Wild and world waters,
The importance of source waters, like Chalice Well, and sustainability of the ocean
Water is the most precious resource on our planet: we cannot live without it. Water covers 70% of the planet’s surface area, linking everywhere that has a coastline. Because the ocean also has depth, when we take volume into account we see that 97% of the biosphere (those parts of our planet where life exists) is in the water: the true Cradle of Life.
We know little about the deep ocean, in fact we discover new species every year. We barely understand how creatures can live at such great depths (pressure in the Mariana’s Trench is 1000 times greater than at sea level); yet life is abundant in that dark cold environment. We have mapped less than 0.001% of the deep ocean floor.
Our daily activities are often powered by fossil fuels. The ocean absorbs excess heat from the atmosphere and as water temperatures rise, warmer water holds less oxygen, creating dead-zones. One other huge problem is plastics in the oceans and littering our shores.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ecosystem on our planet with tens of thousands of islands scattered across Oceania. The Pacific Islanders have deep knowledge about how to live in the watery realm: far from the industrial world but still impacted by overfishing; and ocean-borne plastics that have all come from the consumer world. Why don’t we learn from those living close to nature?
From New Zealand comes this Message of Hope: In Aotearoa the Sacred River Whanganui gained legal personhood rights in March 2017 when New Zealand law declared that the river is a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and metaphysical elements. Whanganui Māori have a saying: Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au: I am the river, and the river is me.
So what can we do? Be conscious, be aware. I ask each of you to adopt a body of water:
a river, stream, pond, ocean or beach, maybe a waterfall. Somewhere that calls you. Learn about it. What wildlife lives there? Are their needs being met? How healthy is the ecosystem? What does it need you to do? Is there an Elemental you can connect with? Does it have any legal protection? Does that work?
Chalice Well is a living sanctuary. Coming to this Hallowed place: a Well within its own garden. All of us here know that the Red Spring keeps on flowing, changing little through the year. A continuous flow rate and temperature.
Where do these waters come from? Is it rainfall collected in aquifers? Or something far more mysterious? Is our Red Spring source water? An Element created deep within the earth which did not originate from the surface. An alchemical act. Fire and Earth metamorphosing into Water. Perhaps this is the first time these waters have come into contact with the open Air.
We know the Red Spring has abundant Life-force, we experience the difference as we drink this Water. We walk in these beautiful gardens, lovingly tended by the gardening team. Surrounded by insect life and serenaded with birdsong. We add our Prayers to the energies of this wonderful place. In turn it nurtures, supports, and heals us. Think how being in Nature makes us feel. The overarching theme of today is a Living Sanctuary : we humans are part of that story. Adding what we can, taking as we need, sharing our thoughts and feelings: with others, or in silence with the Inner Realms. Many of us receive insights, dreams, answers to our Prayers. Healing. We celebrate.
The Red Spring water flows through the rivers to the sea, then offshore into the global ocean. It takes its gift of healing with it. Each molecule interacts with the polluted waters that are a consequence of humanity’s destructive behaviour. This means that our Red Spring can physically take healing around the planet.
We are about 70% water too. Taking care of the Waters, means we are caring for ourselves.
Dr Michael White
Revitalizing our relationship with nature through animal communication, cosmic consciousness, and energetic activism
All around us, the Earth speaks—not in human words, but in frequencies, in sensations, in sacred silence. And today, we are being asked not simply to protect nature, but to remember her, to reawaken our relationship with her, and to listen once more to the voice of the wild.
This is not a new task—it is an ancient remembering. One our ancestors carried with reverence. One our hearts still know.
We are called to walk this path again through three sacred gateways:
1. Intuitive Animal Communication
2. Cosmic Consciousness
3. Energetic Activism
Let us begin where the voices are waiting—softly, patiently—with the beings who have walked beside us for millennia.
Intuitive Animal Communication
Relearning the Soul-Language of the Animal Kingdom
To truly revitalize our relationship with nature, we must begin by restoring our kinship with the animal realm. In ancient times, the bond between humans and animals was considered holy. Our ancestors hunted only with prayer, listened to birds for omens, and followed the migration of herds as spiritual guidance. We did not dominate nature—we participated in her great dance.
Intuitive animal communication is the remembrance of that sacred bond. It is not fantasy, nor fiction. It is a birth right—one that lives in your cells, your spirit, your subtle awareness.
Each animal carries a consciousness, a vibration, a sacred role. The wolf teaches loyalty and intuitive leadership. The owl speaks of mystery and inner sight. The horse mirrors our power and our freedom. Your own animal companions at home—your dog, your cat, your bird—are not here by chance. They are soul allies, teachers, and healers in fur and feather.
This communication does not require words. It requires presence. It begins when you:
• Still your mind.
• Open your heart.
• Feel, sense, and trust.
A glance becomes a message. A dream becomes a conversation. An ache in your chest may not be your own, but a transmission from a creature in pain. These exchanges are subtle, but profound. They offer us insight, emotional resonance, and spiritual instruction.
When we learn to listen to animals intuitively, we do not only hear them.
We hear the part of ourselves that remembers how to live in balance.
And we begin to recognize the deep truth:
We are not at the top of the pyramid—we are part of a circle. A circle of life, consciousness, and interdependence.
To ignore the voices of animals is to ignore a language of Earth.
To hear them again is to remember the original wisdom—the primal unity of all beings. This practice is also activism. When we honour the voice of the animal, we protect them—not just with laws, but with love, with advocacy born from soul connection.
So I ask you—next time you see a crow on the wire, a cat in the alley, or a deer in the distance—don’t look away. Stop. Breathe. Open your field. Ask silently: What do you want me to know?
And then…listen.
You may be surprised by what returns.
the panel taking questions
Caroline and Casey’s workshop inspiring a deeper understanding of the wisdom of water
bringing this year’s Companions Day to a close
Jooles Phillips leading a deeply relaxing sacred sound journey
Shop News
Isa writes:
This summer was very hot and our own apple juice was in high demand! It is produced with handpicked apples that have been cared for with so much love by our garden and orchard team. No wonder it is so delicious!
We are beginning to turn our focus to the coming season when the energy is more about going within and contemplation. In addition to our extensive range of oracle cards, we have the new Divine Masculine Oracle. This is so useful to explore the divine masculine wisdom and is relevant for women as well as men. It is so popular and has sold so quickly, I have already re-ordered. It is £20 and available now.
The Kanika Oracle is another brand new deck that we are the only shop in the UK selling them.
These oracle cards inspire a bone deep somatic journey, very connected with the ancestors. This deck is helpful for self-discovery, healing, and spiritual clarity. It is £44 in the Chalice Well shop.
We have such a wonderful selection of inspiring books, including the new Return of the Feminine and the World’s Soul and The Shamans Book of extraordinary Practice.
You will also find soulful greeting cards, the majority are made locally, like many of our range of beautiful things. As a Companion, we want to say thank you for your support and offer a 10% discount on gifts as well as a 5% discount on books.
We look forward to welcoming you to the shop next time you’re in the garden.
Teaching Souls to Fly
Paul Fletcher's new book Teaching Souls to Fly tells the story of a Golden Thread running through time examining the development of spirituality from 1875 when Madame Blavatsky began her work through to the massive gatherings around the world at the Harmonic Convergence in 1987.
In 12 chapters Paul shares his in depth research and knowledge about the 10 men and 11 women who were central to the emergence of a new spirituality in the present era.
Teaching Souls to Fly is available from the Chalice Well shop and our online shop, £13. It is living up to its title, because since we started stocking the book, they have been flying off the shelves!
You can read more about what inspired Paul to write this book in the interview with him in this issue.
Garden News
Penny Vivian writes:
We start harvesting these beautiful rose and other flower petals, therapeutic herbs and seeds to share from the garden from May onward. They are hand collected and dried, an all consuming process in August & September! They then carefully packaged for the shop with the help of our seed volunteers.
The majority of plants in the garden are designed to support pollinators and beneficial insects, including a variety of bee species. There is now an under planting of herbs through many areas of the garden for this purpose.
One of the beautiful rose arches leading to the Physic Garden
All of this summer’s hanging baskets contain edible flowers and tomatoes
We have worked to re-introduce the Chakra theme to the main borders, gently weaving the colours through the existing planting from the Lion's Head to the Well Head gate. The plants have come from specialist supplies and many from our nursery here at Chalice Well.
Grower Penny Vivian with the flower crown for the maypole
Dave, Head Gardener writes:
The word ‘spirit’ has many meanings and interpretations. Words like manitou and wakan from the indigenous first nation mean both spirit and mystery at the same time. As gardeners we are blessed with the opportunity of encountering the spirit and marvelling at the mystery of it.
The spirit has been with us since our birth. trying to guide us along our soul path, where the veil is thin the spirit can show itself and in that we recognise its truth. Working with trees, plants and animals form the shamanic path, the Old Ways still inform the new and the New Ways are often the journey back, the deepest mysteries of the shamanic. A lifelong quest of revelation informed by spirit can seem removed and remote in these times, There are many aspects of the shamanic path, but for me as a gardener, only one is necessary - to be able to ask the garden what she needs is the only requirement. This simple question opens up an avalanche of answers and a world of interpretation that requires a sea change in gardening ways.
But where to start? how to ask?
In my years of gardening at Holland Park, I would take my lunch and sit under the huge London Plain tree situated directly outside the orangery, It would usually end in a quick forty winks with my back resting against her cool smooth trunk. Deep in my subconscious, a wheel began to turn. A wheel that opened a door behind which lay a library of past experiences and the ear that hears the spirit that whispers through the tree.
As a youth in a large organisation, I learned by watching and talking to the park keepers of Kensington Westminster and Hammersmith. They were supreme. Taught by their parents and grandparents in the gardens and allotments of wartime and post war London, their effortless and natural understanding of growing led to London's open spaces being the envy of the world and the pride of its residents. Privatisation and chemicalisation were beginning to change that. As Neil Young so beautifully stated “it was when the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates". However, to continue with Neil,"I was not stopping there, I had my own row still to hoe."
After leaving London to work on a Devon farm, a problem arose with the water supply. Having seen dowsers at work I thought I'd give it a go. I was surprised to find I was able to trace all the underground water courses with dowsing rods. Gradually over the years this turned into a general means of communication, at first with the elements, then with trees, plants, people and energy. To communicate with spirit is to learn the language of truth. When asking of the rods, simple truth are the only words that get through, the only currency
Ready for planting
the spirit deals in, as in the quantum. By expressing the truth, then truth will be returned , and in waves.
The language of spirit is truth.This realisation is itself my deepest truth. My question to the garden is "what would you like me to do?",
The development of my gardening after voicing this request has led to many changes, and a journey back to a simpler way and a deeper relationship. Minimal tools, a no dig, no kill ethos and a vision of a garden that looks and feels natural and gentle. This thins the veil and allows the spirit to flow freely through all.
The colour choices in the main boarder at Chalice Well serve to calm the soul, rising through the chakras as we rise towards the Well, wild flowers with cultivated plants merge and blend, dead or fading leaves gently removed, density of planting saving our precious water, minimal pruning and always when the sap is down creates minimal plant stress, canopy space created in the winter months, occasionally areas that have become too successful i.e. thick with newcomers! will be lifted but I make sure the flow of information through the bed is intact.
Knowing and understanding where the elemental points are in the garden and what they represent is vital. They give us a map of the garden and enable us to see the meridians that run through the land and what they represent. Rather like the aboriginal song lines, they are the pathways our animals often walk. Every garden has all of these, you just have to ask "let us see" , By honouring them the spirit recognises we are working with her.
When the sheep arrived two years ago they were sung to every day. One of the lines of the sheep song was " sacred sheep on the ancient hill" This song was used to call the sheep down for their daily check but this song wasn't just for the sheep, it was for the spirit of the land , to acknowledge the sacredness of the animals and the land, to call into the other realms to all the spirit beings who have always been the guardians of this mystical and magical place, the songs for the crows, jackdaws, bees and badgers also flow through the garden at this time These dream songs are part of our journey back, It is easy not to see the importance of these simple offerings to the spirit and dismiss them, in reality they are the songs of truth to the heart of the heart.
Asking your garden "what would you like me to do?" places in our hearts the correct order of things, places the spirit in the driving seat and us as the walking plants, and remembering the shamanic path of protecting mother earth while glimpsing the spirit.
Essence News
Casey writes:
Dreaming with the bumble bees as we settle into the colder months…
As we gently move into the mellowness of a rich autumn we offer our gratitude to the radiance of the sun which has offered it’s warmth and vitality for the summer months. The autumn approaches with it’s harvest and fruition. The earth has ripened and the waters are beginning to cool.
The wild honey bees are beginning to slow down, their honey stores have flourished through the summer months, and they’re topping up their stores for the winter months ahead. Our beautiful bumble and solitary bees are fine-tuning their winter homes so they can survive the darker and colder months as the season moves onwards.
What a beautiful tapestry the earth has woven—autumn’s amber glow, the quiet hum of bees preparing for winter, and the thinning veil of Samhain inviting us to honour the cycles of life. I take a moment to pause, to wonder what a bumblebee might dream of as it drifts into its nourishing rest. Imagining a bee’s inner world reminds us how intimately its life is tied to the rhythms of the seasons. Connecting the bee’s annual cycle we are shown how nature, and spirit are all part of the same seasonal dance. The bees are a vital part of our essence co - creation at Chalice Well, and this quieter time of year gives us an opportunity to honour them and all they give us. Perhaps we can all send a ripple of love and appreciation to the tiny winged guardians of our gardens so they know they are cherished, you never know our dreams may entwine as we all move into the winter’s deepening…
We look forward to starting another practitioner Flower essence course in 2026 after a fallow year. This break has given us the time and spaciousness to revisit and gently reflect on the course we offer, and it has been a joy to welcome new inspiration and blend the old with the new.
To find out more about the Accredited Chalice Well Flower and Vibrational Essence
Practitioner Training please visit our website www.chalicewell.org.uk/essences/workshops/ or email essences@chalicewell.org.uk
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’
Choosing Your Essence
Ask yourself the question “What do I want more of in my life right now?” Then sense, feel or see which essence or quality you would like to experience more of.
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.
Co-created with the Nature Kingdom in the Chalice Well Gardens, each essence is an ally supporting us to become who we want to be, to fulfil our purpose and create the life we want to live. They help to remind us of our light within, our divine spark that is connected to everything. As an expression of the Spirit of the Chalice Well these essences contain a design for the unfoldment of human evolution and consciousness. In working with these natural energies we are offered a pathway through vibrational transmission to joy, love, peace and wellbeing.
This essence is available through our shop: https://www.chalicewell.shop/webshop/chalice-well-essences/new-dawn/ chalice-well-essence-star-of-bethlehem-shine/
Star of Bethlehem
Volunteers News
Rose White writes:
As I write this article on one of the hottest days this year, I find that somehow it is already halfway through August . It has been a busy summer on many levels for our lovely volunteers, with Beltane and the Summer Solstice seeing the gardens overflowing with local folk and visitors alike. In June we also had our summer Volunteer gathering after the gardens had closed. It was the perfect evening, warm, sunny, lots of delicious food provided by a local caterer.
What a lovely evening to have a garden party to thank our volunteers who contribute so much to Chalice Well. Many have been volunteering for years; several for more than 10 years and some for more than 20. So it was a great pleasure to recognise their commitment and service to the Well.
Our chief executive, Joanna, handed out awards to some of our long standing gatehouse volunteers who have given selflessly to the Well for, in some cases, decades. We awarded a Life Time Companionship, a complimentary stay in Little St. Michaels Retreat House and a Private Access.
I have a lot of gratitude and respect for our volunteer team, and made a point of thanking them for their efficiency and care in dealing with the outstanding volume of visitors, especially at earth festival times. The Well is always busy at these times, but this year was exceptional. Maybe it's the current astrology, or the solar flares, or recent predictions of a beautiful 'New Earth', and maybe we're all just ready to welcome a society that is based on harmony and acceptance of diversity, and above all, Love. After all. Love is all there is, ever was, and ever shall be.
Finally, I am much looking forward to our winter gathering in December, I so enjoy these events. To be able to all meet together is always illuminating and great fun. The date for this event will be advised in due course.
If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer please see our website or call the office.
Honouring Tony Arihanto, the Green Man at 90
Many Companions will recall the familiar presence of the Green Man at Beltane and Winter Solstice events at Chalice Well. Tony Arihanto was behind the amazing costume and headdress, honouring the spirit of the forest and the cycles of the wheel of the year.
In November this year, Tony celebrates his 90th birthday and his long connection with Chalice Well. Decades ago, he became a Companion and came often to spend time at the Well, Glastonbury Abbey and the Goddess Conference. But it wasn’t until his 70th birthday, 20 years ago, that Tony moved from Cambridge to put down roots in Glastonbury.
Tony began volunteering in the garden and his love of the abundant beauty all around him sowed the seeds taking photographs. The joyful celebration of nature’s seasons at events inspired him to become a familiar figure as the Green Man and also to photograph the gatherings. The Chalice and our Facebook page have featured so many of his photos over the years.
Tony says his favourite festivals are Beltane and Winter Solstice - the blessing of the Yule log for the woods and trees, with the themes of going within, connecting to the nourishing energies of the earth, ready for rebirth with the returning light. Tony says: “Winter Solstice is like coming out of resting into new light and Beltane is about the expectancy and awakening of the full light and possibilities of the summer. ”
Over the many years of being a Companion, Tony has seen changes in the garden landscaping and planting. What always remains consistent is the peacefulness and beauty of the flowers. He says : “My favourite place in the spring is the bank beside the Grandmother Beech tree. It's absolutely beautiful in March with a host of golden daffodils. This tree was very special to me throughout the cycle of the seasons. I often sat beneath her boughs contemplating, meditating or just enjoying her special energy, becoming one with the ever changing beauty of the gardens.”
Some other favourite moments for Tony, were experiencing the garden softly cloaked in snow, with an added dimension of stillness. Several years ago, our Buddhism event had a profound effect on his life, especially the ceremonial sand mandala creation by the Tibetan monks interspersed with prayers, chanting & bells. Tony says: “What with the energy-field of the event & garden plus the beauty of the surrounds, my heart felt full & very much at home. I had rediscovered something that had been lost within. Throughout I was inspired by the sacred honouring of everything and the attention paid to every detail. It was a great lesson in mindfulness that added an extra dimension to my life.”
We wish Tony a happy 90th birthday, with gratitude for the photos and presence over so many years.
These are some of Tony’s wonderful photographs which filled the Chalice for many years
A golden thread of mystical ink.
Caroline sat down with Paul to talk about his profound connection with Chalice Well and editing 50 issues of the Chalice so far.
Paul Fletcher is a mystical man who is always listening and shares his wise learnings through his writings. His deep connection with Chalice Well spans decades and he is Editor of the Chalice Journal.
As this is the 50th issue that Paul has edited, it seems an unmissable, golden opportunity, to interview Paul about his profound connection with Chalice Well.
Paul is a prolific writer and his books include Light Upon the Path - the previously unpublished writings of Tudor Pole; The Story of a Living Sanctuary about the history of Chalice Well; A Small Book of Healing - a superb distillation of wisdom about healing and the spiritual path. His latest book is Teaching Souls to Fly
Caroline: This is the 50th edition of the Chalice Journal that you've edited. What are some of the things that you have implemented or enhanced over your 50 issues so far?
Paul: I was asked to take over as editor of The Chalice in 2005, so this is 50 issues in 20 years. Up until then, it had been more of a newsletter a few times a year. As I found my feet, we felt that there could be a better format as a journal based much more on Tudor Pole’s original vision when he started the Messenger in 1967. It had been through several different formats after The Messenger, under several different Guardians.
I've been involved in publishing small magazines all my life and the new format grew fairly quickly, quite organically and beautifully, because there's so much creative energy that arises from within the gardens, the water, and the people who are working here at any time and writings from Companions who sent things in. So it expanded into many more pages, but two issues a year which is easier to manage. Within the pages is a library of absolutely amazing pictures and it's probably the only source document that tells the story of the changes during this historical period.
We know that Companions really value the historical information and articles, and so many keep it as a library copy of information. What else do people tell you that they love about The Chalice?
Some people really like the news and the pictures, particularly if they've had a year when they can't visit. Their heart sings when they see pictures of the well dressings, and different things, like snowfall, or now with the grass scorched in the hot summer sun. We've had very good writers and we've published a lot of interesting, serious pieces, for example from Glennie Kindred, Tom Bree and Steve Nation.
I get a lot of feedback that people really enjoy reading the keynote of the editorial which is what I try and write. Often that is a really mysterious process, when I have no idea what to write. And then, as the deadline approaches, it seems semi-magical as the issue comes together and suddenly themes or little echoes that go through the journal mean I can sit down and write the keynote.
Your connection with Chalice Well is something that has been present in your life for such a long time. Do you recall your first experiences?
The first time I visited was in 1971. I came from Glastonbury Fair, the now legendary Glastonbury Festival. It was an experience that completely blew me away. I went up the Tor, and then came into the garden. We had great friends in Glastonbury who we would visit regularly. Over the 80s and 90s my connection strengthened, and I read Tudor Pole’s books and spent time with George (Sir George Trevelyan) who spoke and wrote so eloquently about him.
In 1997, I was embedded in North Wales, but I knew I would come and do something, very much in service. Circumstances changed and synchronicities happened and I began as a volunteer sorting out the library of wonderful books in LSM.
To me, you are a mystical man who is always listening. Please tell us about when you've found yourself really listening to the garden.
Once I was with trustees in the meadow and I perceived a huge amount of activity amongst the fairy kingdom elementals, gnomes, the whole panoply. What I was experiencing lasted about seven minutes before the people I was with asked if I was all right because I was very pale. What I was seeing was a sequinned aquamarine being who came towards me and we acknowldeged to each other.
Another time, I was in the Meeting Room after a few hours of meditation during a Day of Silence. I realised something was looking at me and after hours of meditation, you see in a different way. There was an elf standing there, glistening and silvery. He telepathically asked me, ‘are you seeing me?’ ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘What have you got to say about what we should we be doing?’ He got quite irate, stamping his foot and saying, ‘I wish you'd all stop doing and just be! This is a place of being.’
What do you think the message from elementals is to us now?
They really wish humanity would stop developing land. We've been given this beautiful Edenic plan and we seem determined to pave paradise. But it is changing because people are in this
process of remembering our connection with Mother Earth. For instance, the Meeting Room used to be a rose garden, so development happens, and it's got to be wise development.
You have written a great deal about Wellesley Tudor Pole and you are deeply connected with him and his message. He was writing when words were formal, but I find Light Upon the Path - your book about his previously unpublished writings - is like sitting down with him and having a chat over a cup of tea. What is your connection with TP like for you?
I began experiencing the garden in the way that Tudor Pole particularly talked about and the work that he'd done in 1958 and 1959, when he founded the Trust. He intended that the gardens were to be open for all visitors and pilgrims, and he very much thought it was a world centre. This is what we're in the process of seeing now, with visitors from all around the world coming because of the particular qualities of the water and the living sanctuary that is here. Tudor Pole also believed this is a pilgrimage site and a grail centre. Grail Knights for him are men and women. Tudor Pole gave us the Credo cosmic belief system, which I think is one of the most interesting things.
What are people going to find so very relevant for us now, in your latest book, Teaching Souls to Fly?
This is hopefully going to inspire people to go on their own journeys of discovery, and to understand why these pioneers came in. The title comes from William Blake’s words “teach these souls to fly” in his prophetic Book of Urizen. I thought about what all these pioneers had been trying to do. They had all been trying tell people about soul work.
For a long time I had been expecting someone else to write about the pioneers in spiritual history, but no one did. A few years ago I went through a near death experience, recovered and wrote The Small Book of Healing, and I thought that would be my last book. But I started to feel agitation in the realms, that I should write about these pioneers. So, I lit a candle, meditated, had a blank sheet of paper, and pretty much 11 of the 12 chapter ideas came in the morning. I knew what I was going to be writing about, and what the story would be.
When the book starts, Henry Olcott meets Madame Blavatsky in upstate New York, and they realise, in that moment, there's a mission that the master teachers from the other realms, want to become known. And it's their job and it's going to be hard going. Those master teachers had waited hundreds and hundreds of years for the vehicle. She wrote about the spiritual history of this planet with a very peculiar technique that I describe in the book. So from the beginnings in 1875, we can trace a golden thread that somehow connects all these spiritual pioneers with particular reference to their activities in Albion and Britain.
Of all the many cosmic mirrors there are on the planet, why do you think Chalice Well is so important for this time now of humanity's awakening?
Chalice Well is a living sanctuary, in the heart chakra of the planet. The garden is deepening consciousness as you go through the different parts.
I'm in service to the Trust that Tudor Pole created, which is a chalice to keep this living sanctuary protected.
Remembering Ann Procter
written by her husband Roy and their daughter Jane Sweetman
A huge hole has been created in this world with the loss of Ann from all our lives, but her legacy will be apparent for many years to come, we are sure.
Ann made a huge contribution to the spiritual dynamic of the world. She was an exceptional person- strong minded, practical and steadfast - and one of the forerunners of those who from the 60’s onwards, were determined to draw our attention to the perilous state of the world as we continued to ignore the danger signals associated with the unchecked growth of materialism and the lack of understanding and respect for the whole person in body, mind and spirit.
Ann was such a trailblazer of her time with massive experience in healing, astrology, and counselling. She was a strong yet sensitive woman and quite a force to be reckoned with. Her journey of recovery from TB in her formative years surely moulded the person she was to become. She achieved great physical resilience despite such a poor start, living to a great age – yet was more than prepared to leave this world when it was right for her.
Ann was born in Kingstone, Herefordshire where her father Oliver ran his GP practice from the house. She grew up helping to look after the patients, who would arrive at any time – the surgery was effectively A and E for that large rural area. Later, she went with her Dad on his extensive home visits, learning to drive along the way.
A few years after her marriage to Roy in 1954 and moving into their house in Camberley, preparation for childbirth led to Ann’s extensive work with the National Childbirth Trust, including running group classes for expectant parents in her home. She also trained as a social worker and worked at Holloway Sanatorium, a psychiatric hospital. Independently, she taught ‘Relaxation for Living’ classes, providing self-help for people suffering from stressrelated issues. Alongside this she attended numerous courses and workshops focussing on spiritual and psychological subjects, subsequently gaining qualifications in Transpersonal Psychology and Psychological Astrology. She set up her practice in psychological counselling following registration with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and gained Healer registration with the National Federation of Spiritual Healers. She saw her clients as “whole people” and respected them as such. Her great knowledge of healing and spiritual perspective was welcomed as a member of the Scientific and Medical Network.
In 1984, Roy’s employment moved them both to beautiful, rural Somerset. Here, Ann established a new practice offering counselling and teaching. Colleagues at the Ninesprings Natural Health clinic clearly remember when she introduced herself to them. She joined them on the management team, already in the role of ‘wise elder’ to the youthful group there. With her sharp organisational skills, they found her very efficient.
She ran sessions at the Bristol Cancer Help Centre (which is now the Penny Brohn Centre), having done previous pioneering work with people who had cancer diagnoses. Ann continued
to nourish her gift in spiritual healing and Roy found his niche in dowsing as part of their work ‘Healing Sick Houses’. This became a very busy practice and together they attended several thousand cases. They wrote a book about it in 2000, updating with a second edition twenty years later with a new publisher. Ann and Roy also taught accredited courses in ‘Accessing Your Intuition via Dowsing’ for several years. Attendees at their sessions have shared how exciting it was to explore the little-known areas of dowsing and ley lines with other interested and open-minded people.
Her work with Roy, with energy lines in properties and the landscape, was legendary, giving huge benefit to those affected by disturbed lines which they would dowse to identify together. Her high quality relationship with Roy was always evident. They shared a love of Chalice Well and became Trustees soon after moving to the Glastonbury area. Ann supported Roy while he was Chair for fourteen years.
Ann was supportive, helpful, intuitive, understanding, and wise, combining a highly professional approach with great sensitivity. Of course, she was a highly committed healernot only of people, but with Roy of sick houses too.
She was a very special person and we thank her for all her support, love and kindness to so many. We wish her well at her spiritual passing into the next world.
A few additional words from Paul:
Ann Procter loved the Chalice Well. She took up Trusteeship, after many years of supporting, in the second half of the 1990’s and served on the Board with her husband Roy. During this time she started an interim newsletter called The Garden Gate and later was instrumental in assembling and editing the first official book about Chalice Well ‘This Enchanting Place. Facets of Chalice Well’ published in 2006.
In her introduction she wrote, ‘Something here at Chalice Well makes the heart sing (chant). Sufi mystics say that spirituality is the tuning of the heart, and one can obtain it neither by study, nor by piety. It’s not only the heart which resonates, it’s that special core within the heart which opens to the soul or spirit. Being at Chalice Well often helps to make that connection more real.’ Ann assembled thirteen facets from different writers who loved the Well. She saw them as different faces glowing on a diamond. This book is now a collector’s item!
Later she was to help with the building of our new eco-toilets with a substantial financial contribution. An abiding memory from the later years is of the evening Ann arranged in memory of a very long serving volunteer Pip Bourne, who had recently died. Ann stood on the bank to the left of the main path and led everybody in singing ‘Jerusalem’. People present, including Pip’s elderly son, were astonished by the atmosphere in the gardens on that evening.
We all owe Ann a great deal of thanks for all her years of outward and inner service to the Well.
The Silent Road –In the Light of Personal Experience
These are four timely extracts from Wellesley Tudor Pole’s first book, The Silent Road, published in 1960.
A Personal Note
I think the time has come for me to explain to those readers to whom I am unknown that I am quite an ordinary person. Those who know me fairly well may perhaps wonder at times why I am so interested in the supernatural, but they are usually too polite to show their curiosity. What I find so strange is that the people I meet never seem to have lived anywhere except in the foreground. They appear to have no interesting background to their lives, with the result that if I try to share an unusual experience with them, one similar for instance to those that form a portion of this book, they stare at me as if I were in some way abnormal. This makes life difficult at times, because one longs to compare notes with those to whom such or similar incidents are familiar. Probably I have been unlucky in this respect. I sometimes meet those who tell me strange stories of events that have happened to others but rarely can one track down these ‘other people’. Usually when one does the stories they tell are not after all ‘first hand’ but have been related to them by ‘other people’ still.
Let me add that on rare occasions, and in most unexpected places, I have met men and women remarkable for their spiritual or mental qualities. Healers, seers, prophets, sages, initiates from East and West. All these have come my way and I am the better for the privilege of having met and talked with them. However, I have never contacted knowingly anyone with whom I could exchange views in an intimate way, at the particular level at which I stand myself. This may be my fault. The loneliness of life for one who differs from his fellow men, in ways that are significant and seemingly important, can be very grievous.
There is one problem that has faced me ever since I was a boy. It consists of the fact that I never know for certain whether experiences which are of daily occurrence to me are considered unusual to other people of my time and age. What is no mystery to me seems far too often completely puzzling to those to whom such incidents are related. I cannot find a way for solving this particular problem.
A relative of mine by marriage is a famous mathematician and astronomer. I admire his range of knowledge beyond measure and yet am completely baffled by his mental outlook. Should he by chance read this book, he in turn will, no doubt, be baffled by experiences
which to him will seem as mysterious as his are to me. If we are wise we shall not dismiss each other’s standpoint out of hand. Rather should we try to look for a place where our minds can meet. Meanwhile he would no doubt be justified in assuring me that whereas his level of thought and action were of benefit to his fellows, the same could not be said for mine. I would hesitate to claim anything in this respect, but it is a pity if such experiences as come my way cannot be made of help to others. This is a matter about which no one can judge for himself, but if the motive is good and one strongly desires to serve those who are in need, opportunities are not too far to seek.
‘Tell Her to be My Mother’
A lady came to see me to talk over a very intimate problem. She told me that she longed for a child, but her husband had no such desire. My immediate reaction was to explain that no outsider should intervene in such a matter. As I was speaking, a pleasant-looking boy of about six appeared upon the scene and, pointing to my visitor, said, ‘Tell her to be my mother’, to which I replied, ‘Go away and don’t try any monkey tricks’. In surprise the lady asked to whom I was speaking. I said I was speaking to her, and, being annoyed, I added rather unkindly that if she could not manage her husband in a better way than she had described, she did not deserve to have one. To soften the blow I said I was sure all would be well, given a little patience and a cessation of resentment. My visitor then left, but not before leaving a fivepound note on the table. So soon as I discovered this I had it returned immediately. Never in my life have I accepted fees for the use of a faculty which, however one may regard it, should be treated with respect. It is not a faculty to be bought (or sold) or to be envied. Its use calls for great care and its availability brings immense responsibilities and the need for discipline and training.
The sequel to the above incident was the arrival of a baby girl a year later, happily welcomed by both parents.
The Problem of Evidence
Readers will naturally ask for tangible evidence to prove that these stories are true. How can one supply outside evidence to support the truth of interior experiences? I have no wish either to be believed or otherwise. Some day we shall no doubt be endowed with wider vision and understanding than is the case at present. Many of the experiences that come my way raise problems which cannot be solved easily. What does it matter? Beyond the duration and perplexities of time Eternity stretches out into the Infinite. What is important, I think, is to avoid snap judgments based on incomplete knowledge and to exercise patience whilst keeping an open mind.
The Transience of Existence
A wise man whom I met many years ago in Damascus assured me that our present state of existence is nothing but a transient dream. When I told him about what may be called my ‘other-worldly’ experiences he replied that these were ‘One degree nearer to reality’, but still fashioned from the texture of dreams. The search for reality is indeed as elusive as the quest for the Holy Grail, but by the very essence of our make-up the search must go on. Truth in an absolute sense must be like a jewel with a million faces, and no doubt there is a separate doorway into Heaven for each one of us. Perhaps, on the other hand, there may be only one door into those nether regions which we shall probably be fated to visit, if we decide to give up the search for truth? These nether regions are very interesting. Many invaluable lessons can be learnt by visiting them and by talking to those who are compelled to reside there. Such a visit can have more salutary results than the effect of listening to a thousand sermons. I suppose no one is quite free from his own personal hell, here and now, just as no one need be deprived of his own private heaven.
In all three of Tudor Pole’s books published in his lifetime he chose to end them with a Q & A section. Here is his answer to the question: ‘As earth moves into the Aquarian Age, what specific differences will we notice? Will, for instance, the vibrationary tempo change?
WTP: A gradual quickening of men’s perceptive faculty is already in evidence and this is not confined to members of any one creed, class or race. The use of the term you refer to as ‘vibrationary tempo’ may cause confusion because the word ‘vibration’ is often applied solely to the electrical and allied material fields of operation.
The rhythm of life and thought is already beginning to be attuned to a new keynote, suitable for use during the coming dispensation. Here again the subject is too vast to be dealt with in a casual note like this. However, as a hint to help the discerning seeker, this can be disclosed. 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. No word has yet been coined to describe this new quality or to define its attributes or effects. The word ‘new’ in this connection only refers to the fact that the newness applies to human consciousness now for the first time, in so far as evolution on this planet is concerned. The keynote for this quality will be sounded in a very special way, by the Christ messenger now believed to be approaching our level of existence.
(Tudor Pole goes on to say that the cleansing process may prove drastic and testing but its effects will certainly not be harmful or depressive. We will continue WTP’s discourse on this subject in the next Chalice.)
Sacred Energy
Peter Quince writes:
I always feel it the instant I arrive; that charge of positive energy that sustains me during my stay at Chalice Well and for long afterwards. I know that other visitors and retreatants feel the same way because we have spoken at length about it. It is hardly surprising. The place possesses a transformative hidden power, a profound resonance, a mystical but all too obvious charge, a connectivity which blesses and empowers all who enter the gardens and leaves its imprint. There are references to energy in the Little St Michael’s visitors’ book; clearly we are all enhanced by it.
Energy is the basic building block or motivating force of the cosmos, which manifests itself in so many different forms, some obscure, some that wouldn’t be recognised as ‘energy’ as such, some that transform us into beings more potent than we were before, some that generate love and understanding, and some that elevate us above the mundane, so that we can survey with passion the landscape of our lives.
Each of us can be seen as vibrant generators of positive energy. When our batteries run low we come to Chalice Well or some other sacred site to plug in and recharge ourselves. I know this from long personal experience; I know this from the magical effect that flowers, trees, icons, offerings, water and the very earth itself have on me; how my heart leaps and my body tingles in response to all these divine influences; how my sometimes turbulent mind is stilled and my tense body loosens into the rhythms of the garden. Gardens, of course, are stores of great spiritual nourishment, places which enable us to grow and blossom.
Energy can be divided broadly into two opposing forms: hard energy and soft energy. Hard energy is released, for instance, when lightning strikes, when explosions occur, when individuals engage in aggressive confrontations, when cars crash, when tsunamis overwhelm the coastline. It is essentially destructive. Soft energy is released, perhaps one should say absorbed, during prayer and meditation, during the healing process, during ecstatic moments of music and dance, in the midst of creative activity and in the contemplation of the natural world. It is, literally, energising.
The energy that directly and most obviously powers everything on earth comes from the son, although the moon’s gravitational pull dictates the movements of the oceans. The sun’s energy drives us, promotes growth, warms us when we are physically and emotionally cold. Solar energy, in conjunction with aqueous energy, greens the Earth, feeds Gaia. But contemplating a more expansive energy on a grander scale beyond that of our solar system, which after all although vast is finite, one discovers cosmic energy that drives everything of which we are aware; and cosmic energy, like time, appears to be infinite.
In Oliver Smith’s ‘On This Holy Island’, the author meets a fascinating woman who declared that she had been nowhere in Europe like Glastonbury. She sleeps more peacefully there than anywhere, sensing the maternal embrace of the ley line flowing under her bed. Other pilgrims declare that the bombardment of cosmic energy in Glastonbury can get too much and they can only handle the town in small doses. For my own part, I rarely sleep more soundly than in the retreat house at Chalice Well, my daytime superabundance of energy settling into a gentle torpor; and the positive energy of Glastonbury itself supercharges me in a gentle and controlled fashion and never becomes too much. It actually inspires me to feel more creative than usual, for which I am eternally grateful.
Creative energy itself is a huge benefit, a release, a way of understanding the world and investing it with meaning, whether one paints, writes, sculpts, composes music, cultivates the soil, engages in craftwork or involves oneself in sacred ceremonies. When I sit at my desk and write, or produce a few line drawings, or perhaps sow seeds, I feel elated; I feel that I have added meaning to my life, which may in turn add meaning to the lives of others. The very act of creating something from nothing, as it were, graces one with a kind of soft personal power – a power for good, a means of delighting others, a transfer of essential energy. One’s creative energy percolates through the reader, the listener, the watcher, the diviner; those who pray, celebrate, join hands and hearts and seek each other’s spirits.
Drawing by Peter Quince
I have lingered by the sea, close to the water’s edge at high tide when massive breakers tumble over one another and my hair blows back and my skin tingles and I feel the pulse of the planet and feel a kind of quiet ecstasy. I have
not only witnessed but deeply experienced the astounding kinetic energy of water and felt uplifted above the beach as though I were released into the air.
At Chalice Well the power of water is different; quieter, subtler, whispering rather than thundering; intimate rather than brazen. But it is powerful nonetheless. The gentle gushing, trickling and flowing at King Arthur’s Court and the Lion’s Head enchants me as it does so many others. It serves to heal us spiritually, quite apart from its homeopathic potency. This form of energy is generous, sublime and truly magical; the mystic in me absorbs it hungrily.
In her book ‘Feng Shui’, Gill Hale tells us that this ancient Eastern art can dramatically improve one’s health and happiness by ‘maximising positive energy and harmony in the home, garden and office.’ She goes on to say that ‘underground streams produce energy spirals, the effects of which are felt in any buildings directly overhead’. I have always intuitively rearranged furniture and various objects, aligning them, sensing that there are proper, beneficial positions and potentially negative ones: cushions, statuettes, books, vegetable plots and so on need to be ‘just so’. Often I am acutely aware of compass directions, begin tai chi facing east, go through the form and finish facing east. Honour the sunrise; it feels important to do so.
Gill Hale goes on to tell us that our ancestors built churches and standing stones on ley lines, the network of surface energy lines running across the countryside, performing an ‘acupuncture of the Earth’ as they tapped into its energy. That resonates with me when I engage in my daily tai chi practice, having subtly rearranged at least some of the features of the lounge to satisfy feng shui principles.
The ‘chi’ or life-force flows around the body along channels or ‘meridians’. Hindu medical texts call the energy of life ‘prana’ and, as I’m sure many of us know, the seven chakras are vortices or spinning wheels of concentrated energy. Perhaps, not surprisingly, when I think of these wheels, these chakras, I am reminded of the Wheel of the Year, which is central to the celebrations and ceremonies held at Chalice Well. It all links together; perfect circles of energy which in my mind includes the two interlocking circles of the Vesica Piscis joined by a lance, a vision which so deeply affects pilgrims and devotees at the Well and elsewhere. Its geometry, of course, symbolises the union of heaven, earth, spirit and matter, and for me combines the forces of energy both above and below.
When I attend the Samhain ceremony between the Guardian Yews, I am forcefully reminded of the power of fire. When we gather round and hail the spirits of east, south, west and north; when the flames of the fire illuminate our faces; when we scatter fragrant petals into the flames; when devotions are made and the ritual deepens – then we all, I am sure, sense a kind of communal energy which, sparked by the fire itself, burns brightly within us and serves to underline our connection with the elements, the essences of life. The Earth itself, the timeless solidity beneath our feet which both anchors and elevates us, yields vital energy.
In his volume of essays entitled ‘The Force of Spirit’, Scott Russell Sanders says, referring to the force that underpins the entire Creation, ‘whether we call that magnificent energy Spirit or Tao, Creator or God, Allah or Atman or some other holy name, or no name at all, makes little difference, so long as we honour it, Wherever it flows…we feel the pressure of the sacred.’ I feel the abiding, unnameable energy, regard it as the spirit’s lifeblood and wish
on a daily basis to honour it, hand on heart, which I do in the midst of meditation and tai chi, which is meditation’s moving manifestation. The bodily flow of tai chi mirrors the flow of water and the vortices of air,
In ‘A Complete Guide to Chi-Gung’ – chi-gung literally meaning ‘energy work’ – Daniel Reid tells us, ‘breath becomes the master regulator of every energy in the human system, balancing emotional and cerebral energies…and harmonising the human energy system with the powerful force fields of nature and the cosmos.’ When I breathe deeply, mindfully, between the Guardian Yews and, as happened at Samhain last year on a fine, clear evening, watch the sun set in silent wonder with others who participated in the transformative fire ceremony, I feel an incredible surge of positive energy, a joyful enkindling of body and soul, an ascent of the spirit onto a higher plane. It is worth experiencing the gardens just for that, just for its solar blessing. The sun gives of itself without reward.
I think of the power of dance, music, art, dreams, devotions, chants and holy gatherings; the beneficial effects of mutual praise; human embrace and heartfelt salutations; the warmth of fire and the breath of wind; the baptism of water and the delight afforded by myriad flowers and all sentient beings; the stunning poignancy of religious icons; the heavenly presences of sun and moon and a cornucopia of stars. All these things energise us, strengthen us, inspire us, purify us. Each dawn is a new baptism.
But we are not only blessed with these energies, we need them – to live, to breathe, to pray, to create, to honour our ancestors, to celebrate the cycles of nature, to heal each other, to hope and work for a more peaceful world, to recognise people and hallowed places for the things they are; vital pieces in the complex jigsaw of our lives.
And finally, we mindfully radiate the energy of love, which underpins all and sees us safely on our journey.
On This Holy Island: Oliver Smith, Bloomsbury (2024)
The Force of Spirit: Scott Russell Sanders, Beacon Press (2000)
Feng Shui: Gill Hale, Hermes House (1999)
A Complete Guide to Chi-Gung: Daniel Reid, Shamballa (1998)
Peter Quince
