The Chalice Spring 2022

VOLUME 3 No. 1

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JOURNAL OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE CHALICE WELL

If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things Spring 2022

Editorial Dear Companions, welcome to the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of the Chalice. The editorial this time is largely made up of inspirational quotes that hopefully will be able to support us as we strive to move through the challenging waters of this current transformation. It is a way of providing hope and empowerment when the outer conditions of living are difficult for so many.

A dear friend of the Well, Steve Nation, who works for World Goodwill at the United Nations, recently pointed out a wonderful quote from Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ part of which appears on the front page of this issue: ‘Love all God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.’

This quote of Dostoevsky’s is taken from the Patriarch Bartholomew’s ‘The World as Sacrament’ that also says: ‘In order to achieve this sacramental vision of creation, human beings are called to practice a spirituality of thanksgiving and self-discipline…then we shall learn to care for plants and animals, for trees and rivers, for mountains and seas, for all human beings and the world. Then, we shall be instruments of peace and life, not tools of violence and death.

Then, everything will assume its divine purpose, as God originally intended the world.’

As we observe the cycles of the year we see the Earth and the Gardens here in this valley quietly growing larger, like some annual miracle. You visit every two weeks and all is changing before your eyes. The natural world is growing and clothing itself in joyous colours and the dance of warmth and cold is ongoing as we move towards the summer months. Growing, maturing, fruiting, decaying; the beginnings rise directly out of the endings and those endings lead on to new beginnings. Eleanor C. Merry had a lot to say about these cycles: ‘More and more warm observation of Nature fills the heart. To say that one expands into the world is the same as saying that one feels one can ‘become’ this flower or that cloud, this tree, stone, branch, leaf, moisture, soil, warmth, wind – everything. In feeling this, the consciousness of one’s Ego is not really lost but is found anew entering each and every thing.

This is an ancient and universal experience.’

In places like Chalice Well, and indeed Avalon, where the veils are thin one can find it easier to enter this inner place of the soul, a perceptive reflection of the true self; I in you and you in me. So in this issue we almost have a hymn to Nature as we focus on the elemental emergence of spring in the Chalice Well Gardens through the sensitive photography of Caroline Glazebrook and Casey Jon. We hear about the subtle and magical power of this place upon a group of schoolchildren from Trustee Alistair Jones, the Gift of Giving from W.T.P., lots of news from the shop, gardens, essences and the office, we remember the Arthurian scholar and Chalice Well neighbour Geoffrey Ashe and ex-Trustee Marigold Freeman-Attwood and last but certainly not least we have an indepth article from Tom Bree that takes us from the descent of autumn equinox through to the ascent of spring equinox.

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‘We are undergoing a process of becoming and, one day, peace and harmony will be within our reach.’ This quote from the totally surprising new book from Delia Smith, yes that Delia, called ‘You Matter – the Human Solution’. Her book is full of wisdom accrued by studies over the 80 years of her life with many helpful and inspiring quotes including this from Emily Dickinson: If I can stop one heart breaking, I shall not live in vain, If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.’

We hope to see you at the Well in the coming months and maybe at the returning Companion’s Day in July.

Paul Fletcher Front Cover:

Daffodils at Lions Head ~ Photo by Caroline Glazebrook

Front Cover Caption: Quote from ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ by Dostoevsky Back Cover:

Yew trees ~ Photo by Caroline Glazebrook

Photo Credits:

Other photos in this issue by Caroline Glazebrook and 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

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From the Chair Finally, Spring has arrived and the garden is beginning to burgeon with life, and colour and hope abounds. Chalice Well has weathered the recent storms with just a few fallen branches as we similarly came through another winter, and now, as restrictions have slowly eased, we are returning to some sort of “normality”, at least on one level.

As many of you will know, we have been continuing our Earth Festivals online over the past two years but we were so pleased to be able to return to hosting Imbolc and the Spring Equinox celebrations in “reality”. We now have a core team of staff and trustees who plan and organise these events and dress the Well early in the morning, which is a magical time of day to be in the gardens. It was such a pleasure to see Chalice Well filling with people once more and everybody radiating good will. We continue to film the “livestream” meditation around the Well for those of you who cannot be with us in person and are now in the process of planning for Beltane. We hope that many of you will be able to be with us for this wonderful celebration in spirit if not in person.

Companions Day is also happening this year on Saturday 9th July, a little later than usual as our normal date would have clashed with the Jubilee Celebrations around the country, and we also hope to see many of you there. We will be taking a small part in the Glastonbury Jubilee celebrations themselves with readings of Alice Buckton’s poetry, from a book once owned and annotated by her, to take place in the Cress Field so please look out for more details of this on the website. There is also some news about the Heart of the Well retreat, hopefully in this edition, which will be held in November in Little St. Michael’s for a limited number of Companions.

On a practical level, we now have a new Office Services Manager, Nicola Green, who arrived in October in the midst of a grand clear-out of the office which was truly a “baptism of fire” for her. She stepped seamlessly into the role and into Chalice Well and has been and still is simplifying and implementing systems of working which were obviously affected over the past two years by staff shortages, lockdowns, track and trace, et al; all of which forced us to work with limited staff in a confined and disjointed environment. There is a short resume of Nicola’s background and the team she is working with later in this edition.

now an open and welcoming space for you to visit and for our staff to work in. Technology is also being rationalised and updated as are all office systems and whilst this has been disruptive on some levels we are beginning to see the benefits already. We are indebted to all the staff and volunteers for their forbearance during this transitional period, particularly after such a difficult few years. On a practical level, many of you will be pleased to hear that we will resume taking cash payments from 1st April which is also the date when our summer opening hours begin.

On a deeper level, I know not what the world situation will be by the time that this edition goes to print, but at present our attention has been moved from pandemic to warfare. Chalice Well remains untouched, maybe even stronger, and no doubt has endured many such storms before, both recorded and buried deep within the distant past. We are so very lucky to be able to link in with this space of peace and power, a World Peace Garden, where we can discard all fear and anger and blame and sit with and hold the ever-present joy of a living sanctuary.

As we navigate these constantly changing times, we have the tools within us to stand steadfastly within our light and send out love and joy to mother earth. We have the beloved energies of Chalice Well to help us to do this when times get hard and all who find joy here are linked by an invisible but ever-strengthening thread which holds firm the vision of a better world, a kinder place and a true heaven on earth for ourselves but, more importantly, for all who come after us. Love will always triumph over fear and, in this time of rebirth and moving forward, we can choose to leave behind the negativity of the past few years, live in “the now”, enjoy the beauty of Chalice Well, of nature and of our planet.

I would end with some words from Wellesley Tudor Pole from “Times of Tribulation”, as relevant today as they were then: “Realise that the sun never ceases to shine; however dark the clouds may be which seem to obscure its light, these clouds are temporary, in relation to eternity, and possess no real substance for this good reason; let us give thanks.”

Lindsay Smith

We also welcomed Vanese Hawker as our new Retreat House Manager in November and once again she has stepped in at the end of difficult times with enthusiasm and aptitude to bring Little St. Michael back into a fully functioning retreat house. Vanese has been a volunteer at Chalice Well for some time and many of you may have met her working in the garden. She will also be including a short resume together with an introduction to her team of housekeepers in this edition.

The office building has had a complete refurbishment over December and January and is 4

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News from the Well Caroline Glazebrook writes: It is wonderful to welcome back so many people for gatherings and meditations, as we mark the Wheel of the Year fire festivals together.

The Well is a living sanctuary, where love can flourish. As we gathered together at the Wellhead for the Spring Equinox meditation, the deep love and appreciation for this sacred place shone out from people’s hearts in a beautiful vibration of unity consciousness.

We shared this quote from Private Dowding, written in 1917 by Wellesley Tudor Pole, that is so appropriate for these times, and so full of inspiration:

along to the Spring Equinox midday meditation and it was so lovely being in the garden with everyone. We love it here!”

Abbi Lefort “today was so beautiful in every way. Thank you” Claire Hughes: “ I had the most amazing afternoon there. The weather was beautiful and the energy totally grounding” Patricia Cannon: “ I drank the water, felt soo much better and relaxed!!”

Lan Fields: “ I adored the Chalice Well Garden spending hours there. What energies, what Love, the trees revelled in the vibrations”

“If you will dwell in peace, learn to love deeply. Never cease loving. Love God by pouring yourself away. Love your fellows by giving them all you possess of light and truth. Love LOVE for her own blessed sake. Such love will bring you nearer to heaven” WTP

The return of the lower lawn!

Imbolc Dressing at the Well

Well Dressing at Spring Equinox

Our livestream meditations from the Wellhead on our Facebook page https://www. facebook.com/thechalicewell are helping to share the beauty and grace of the Well with people worldwide. Thank you to everyone who joins us virtually. We love receiving your messages and knowing how Chalice Well touches your heart.

We have had so many wonderful comments including: Karen and Paul: “we love watching the livestream meditations from the Wellhead.

They make us feel like we’re in the garden when we can’t be. We came 6

Spring Equinox dressing of Mother and Child statue

Photo: Ian Bursill 7

Save the Dates!

Beltane ~ 1st May 2022 we hope you will join us at Chalice Well for a wonderful 7.30am ceremony, with Jana Runnalls and the Grandmother Drum Circle, and the Beltane fire to celebrate May Day together. Later in the morning, we have beautiful music from Nathan Lewis Williams and Dora Darling live on the lower lawn, plus maypole dancing and Morris Dancers.

Full details are on our website and on social media.

Companions Day ~ Saturday 9 July 2022.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming Companions back to the Well for the first time in two years. We deeply appreciate your wonderful support for all that we do at Chalice Well. Doors open at 9.30am for a 10.30am Welcome Circle around the Vesica Pool, followed by talks about the rich tapestry of Chalice Well heritage, insights into creating and maintaining this incredible garden and unique holy Well. We will also hear about co-creation at Chalice Well through tuning into nature through myth and history.

A delicious lunch is available to pre-book. Full details are on our website.

Carolyn and Nigel Concert ~ Saturday 9 July 2022 7.30pm We are delighted to welcome Carolyn Hillyer and Nigel Shaw back to the Well for an evening concert. Advance Tickets are on sale in person from the office, the gatehouse and online from the shop Sound Healing Sessions at Chalice Well ~ Sunday 10 July and Monday 11 July 2022 Beautiful sound baths with Solfeggio, crystal bowls, chalices and pyramids to restore, balance and nurture. Full details and how to buy tickets are on our website.

The Exit Pool In early Spring this year, Martin Faulkner and Ark Redwood designed and created a new exit pool at the bottom of the garden.

Two beds for pretty Acer trees look so much like angel wings around the omega shaped seat.

The seat allows visitors to sit with their feet in the water, watching it flow towards them from the Vesica Pool. It creates a new way to honour the red spring as it flows out of the garden to the Abbey and beyond.

Ammonites set into the seat were found in the garden and provide a present connection with Avalon’s watery past.

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Introduction to the Chalice Well Office Services Team Nicola Green writes: I am pleased to introduce myself to you all. My name is Nicola Green and I joined the Chalice Well Trust team in September 2021 in the new role of Office Services Manager. Together with the amazing team here, we take care of the administration processes – including reception, finance and companionships.

My background is in the corporate world where I held various Director roles within the engineering manufacturing and charity sectors. As a Fellow of the CIPD, I am also self-employed as an HR Consultant where I support organisations with their people Dianne, Fiona, Kim and projects.

Nicola A few years ago, I felt that it was time to spend more of my time working in a field with a strong spiritual connection. My husband and I formed an organisation which runs online spiritual development circles and podcasts - an approach which worked well during lockdown. It was then by pure chance that I came across this post at Chalice Well which offered me the opportunity to combine my business experience with a clear spiritual purpose and ethos. I moved to Glastonbury from East Devon with my husband in November 21 and am starting to settle in to a completely different life with the great support of everyone here.

There is clearly a positive culture and good relationship between Trustees and Staff at Chalice Well.

We have prepared an Operations Plan to deliver the top priorities of the Trust and the Office Services Team are busy working on several improvement projects at the moment.

We started with a renovation of the office to improve the working environment. This involved everyone moving out to work in the Meeting Room for a few weeks in the winter and we all enjoyed the amazing sky views from this room. Now we have moved back to the fresh, clear office and have a good physical foundation in place, including a new room for staff meetings which has been called ‘TP’s Meeting Room’.

Layout of the new office Here are some of the improvements that we are delivering at the moment ➢

The new Exit Pool created by Martin Faulkner

1st April 21 saw a range of changes: ~ A return to the longer summer opening hours -open until 6pm ~ The re-introduction of cash in the Gatehouse and the Shop ~ A small price increase was administered to help contribute towards rising costs ~ A new Till was installed in the Gatehouse which supports our volunteers and links to our finance system 9

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The Companionship database and Direct Debit system had changed a while ago and we are focusing on completing this process by tying up any loose ends and improving the information which is provided to Companions. Our thanks to all Companions for your understanding while we finish this exercise. ➢ A site Maintenance Plan is in place to ensure that we deliver essential maintenance routines, and that any areas of repair are addressed. ➢ The Chalice Well Finance, HR and general Information Management Systems are being upgraded.

I am looking forward to meeting you all in the months ahead and wish you a beautiful Spring and Summer.

News from the Shop It is all about love. How people’s hearts light up when they visit the Well, hearing stories about customers’ experiences, noticing how their connection with the Well deepens through our range of beautiful things. I have been busy developing gifts that are richly redolent of the energies of this living sanctuary, that we are all so blessed to hold dear in our hearts.

Introducing Vanese Hawker – the new Retreat Facilities Manager ‘It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself to you all as the new Retreat Manager.

Like so many, my life has been profoundly touched by the Chalice Well and I know firsthand the importance and significance of this unique living sanctuary. It seems that, perhaps more than ever before, humanity needs places where one may take time to retreat from the everyday, connect with the sacred and re-align with the truth of this precious life.

The retreat facilities team, each of us from different paths, have been united by our love of the ‘one source’ which the Chalice Well so beautifully and powerfully represents. Myself, Fran, Gill, Nina, Sarah and Amanda come together with a desire to support others in their enjoyment of the sacred. We each have a special connection with Little St Michael’s, the Meeting Room and the Upper Room and it is our pleasure to have guardianship of spaces that bring so much to so many.’

Monday Meditations at the Wellhead Trustee Phil Roberts writes: ‘As we move into Spring with the promise of warmer weather, we are very happy to announce that we will be holding a weekly meditation in the garden.

This will be in addition to the Thursday evening meditation in the Upper Room, which will continue as usual. Open to all, the meditation will take place at the Wellhead from 11.30am on Mondays, ending with the sounding of the midday bell. You are all welcome to join, with the first meditation taking place on Monday 25th April. We hope to see you there. If you are unable to join us in person, and you have the time, we invite you to light a candle and meditate with us.’

Heart of the Well Retreat The Heart of the Well retreat returns this November. The dates are Friday November 18th to Sunday 20th. Further details will be on the website or please ring the office for more information. The retreat facilitators will be Lindsay Smith, Sophie Knock and Alistair Jones with at least one talk from Paul Fletcher.

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Deva of the Well We are often privileged to witness people’s amazement when they come into the shop and their eyes fall on the Deva of the Well prints and cards. “I’ve just seen her!”, “Oh wow, I’ve just experienced this!”

Georgia Lambert painted the Deva of the Well following her own experience of the over-lighting, protective and loving energy of the Well. The Deva is seen as a benevolent guardian, welcoming people to receive the abundant energies of the Well, overflowing like a chalice of love.

We have wonderful new canvas prints and large posters of the Deva of the Well. The high quality canvas print honours the majesty of the original oil painting. The A2 poster enlarges and enlivens the energy of the painting and is printed on special crease-free material.

They are available in the shop and also online £22 for the poster £63 for the canvas print. https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop/cards-and-a4-prints/ 11

Silent Minute Timer

Jaine explains more: “it’s a place that inspires me in its beauty and energy vibration and I wanted to somehow capture a sense of that, of a pulse of pure love that is held there, as it nestles below Glastonbury Tor. The Red Spring bubbles up from Mother Earth and magic dances its wild dance through the Wheel of the Year festivals celebrated there. It is an honour to create something for Chalice Well – I’ve really loved making this piece” Angel Realms A4 print £10 and greetings card £3.50 are available in the shop and in our online shop https:// www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop

Chalice Well is a World Peace Garden and we observe the Silent Minute at midday and 3pm. Many of you will be familiar with the sound of the old school bell in the garden sounding a minute of reflective silence.

Our visionary founder Wellesley Tudor Pole co-founded The Silent Minute during World War II and we observe it every day as a way of coming together, to lend our energy, as “men and women of goodwill everywhere”, without attaching to an outcome, or directing our thoughts to anything other than the higher realms.

WTP explained how he intuited the way in which the angelic realms put our freely offered energy to positive, healing use for humanity:

With love from the shop team, Elaine, Isa and Caroline

“Up in the celestial regions it seemed numbers of radiant little angels carrying cornucopiae filled with myriads of multicoloured and flashing stars which they were emptying out into the dark firmament. From where, lines of light were being revitalised and spreading downwards towards the human worlds.”

“We create a united and harmonious channel through which the power of the Creator can become available for our strength and guidance. In the Silent Minute we offer ourselves in selfless service to be used for the benefit of all. This attitude of mind can be summed up in the words ‘Here am I, send me!’ “ WTP We have new Silent Minute Timers in the shop and also online. Like a one minute egg timer filled with iron filings to chime with the iron-rich well water, the timer sits on a magnet in a wooden base. As the iron filings fall into the bottom glass, they form mesmerising magnetised patterns. Three quotes from WTP are given on the box including “there is no power on Earth that can withstand the united co-operation on spiritual levels of men and women of goodwill everywhere” Silent Minute Timer £14 in the shop and also online www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop

Angel Realms at Chalice Well Jaine Rose created this beautiful commission for Chalice Well called Angel Realms. The wheel of the year, changing seasons and sacred significance of the Well are all depicted in these A4 prints and greetings cards, and it seems as if there are new details to discover each time you gaze at it.

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Isa: “I love being part of creating welcoming space where everybody feels at peace” Elaine: “It’s a joy to work in such a special, sacred place and to meet so many beautiful souls”

Caroline: “The energy of pure love that is so vibrant here at the Well is present in everything I choose for the shop and the online shop, and influences absolutely everything we do. We all love to help deepen people’s connection with this unique place, through beautiful gifts that carry the vibration of the Chalice Well.”

All photos by Caroline Glazebrook

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News from the Garden When I was anticipating writing this article I thought I wouldn’t have much to write about. However, after having checked over the garden diary from the past six months or so, I see that, actually, there is quite a bit!

Firstly, I can’t write about the Garden without mentioning a particular visitor who suddenly appeared at the end of November. I refer, of course, to our avian Companion, Bessie Bantam, who, over the next three months sought to endear herself to many of our visitors, and in the process became somewhat of a social media star in her own right!

During her brief time here she certainly showed that chickens have a distinct personality, and the love and joy she brought out in people encouraged her to be friendly and fearless to all she met.

So, back to the Garden itself.

In October, in Berry Corner, were planted three new shrubs: Cotoneaster rothschildianus (yellow berries) and two dwarf Viburnum opulus ‘Compacta’ (red/orange berries). Later, in February, we added Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliant’ (red berries), Aronia prunifolia ‘Nero’ (also red), and Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Snow Queen’ (white berries), which should complement the longestablished purple-berried Callicarpas already in situ.

In January I coppiced three of the Hazels growing in the Hazel Grove, plus two incongruous upright junipers, (which I had been wanting to cut down for many years).

This was done so as to provide more light to Berry Corner, at least for a year or so, as the hazels will of course grow back. Coppicing is good practice, especially from the hazel’s point of view, because if you simply plant a hazelnut the resultant seedling will live for thirty or forty years, but if you coppice it every five years it could live a thousand years!

Talking of longevity, reminds me to mention that, in February, I planted another olive tree in the Main Borders. This was the one previously donated a few years back from an official group from one of Glastonbury’s twin ‘towns’, the Greek isle of Patmos. It had been situated in a pot outside the Shop, but I felt it wasn’t really happy, so I thought it would get to live a long life in the Garden. Whether it lives for a thousand years I will leave for a future head gardener to bear witness!

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The alpine beds look particularly colourful right now, and partly the reason for that is that one of my esteemed garden volunteers, Colin, has taken responsibility for tending to its needs, and its present fine state is testament to his efforts in that regard!

Finally, many Companions and visitors over the winter and spring could not fail to notice that changes have been afoot in the lower part of the Garden. My long-time colleague, and stonework supremo, Martin, has been gradually transforming the old Exit Pool into a brand new feature, which manifested from his own creative imagination. I think future visitors will be pleased with the result! The purpose of the feature will be to encourage people, especially on hot days, to sit and cool their feet surrounded by colourful planting. I say ‘colourful’ because I intend to plant primarily hot colours, i.e. reds, oranges, and yellows.

Should be quite a sight! There are already two Japanese maples planted in the centre of the beds: Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ & Acer palmatum shirasawanum ‘Yasemin’, which also had been in a pot outside the Shop. Behind them, in the Lower Bed I will be planting two columnar red-leaved berberis. There will also be a trellis erected straddling two of the posts outside the disabled toilet, under which will be planted an evergreen climber. This will not only help to provide more enclosure for those sitting at the Exit Pool, but also seek to screen the toilet from view, especially as the door will insist on mysteriously opening all by itself, as if by magic!

Ark Redwood

The crab apple in full glory 15

Chalice Well Flower and Vibrational Essences Spring 2022 As the wheel of the year turns we are glad to greet the blossoming and vibrant energy of the spring. As I speak the sunshine is pouring into the garden once again and the flowers and plants are opening showing us their beauty, resilience and joyfulness.

We have started a new year of the Flower and Vibrational Essence Practitioner Training and have been delighted to welcome a new group of Chalice Well Practitioners in training and look forward to us all discovering what beauty and wisdom we will learn this year whilst we work with the nature kingdom here at Chalice Well. It’s always an exciting time as this journey begins to unfold…

We co-created the Ash essence together as a group, in March, the first of the year…as always it was an honour to work with the trees and listen to their wisdom…

These two beautiful Ash trees stand at the top of the western boundary in the Meadow, they seem to protect and keep watch over this part of the garden, the guardians of this gateway.

It was a grey day with sunshine breaking through at times and the wind winding its way through the Ash’s branches, a truly elemental day. Whilst the essence was nestling amongst the roots of one of the Ash’s we could hear a blue tit singing at full throttle amongst the branches above and then two ravens appeared with a bird of prey circling us.

The Ash’s presence was very calm, still and light filled, and though there was a sense of busyness around with the birds singing, lambs bleating and spring bursting forth they held a strong and still presence… a sense of calmness, balanced strength and safety amongst the storm, as one of the group said an anchor.

We look forward to bringing this essence into our range of Chalice Well Essences.

For more information on our Flower Essence Practitioner course please visit our website https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop/essences-workshops/ or telephone our office on 01458 831154 16

Chalice Well Essence Trinity of Holy Thorn ~ Transformation The Trinity of Holy Thorn Essence offers support during times of transition, bringing clarity and a centredness of being.

Created on an Easter morning in co-operation with the three Holy Thorn (Hawthorn) trees in the Chalice Well Gardens, it carries the wisdom of surrender, and through its cleansing and purifying energies assists with the transformation of suffering.

The Holy Thorn tree is associated with the Legend of Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus, in Glastonbury. On arriving after the crucifixion, he planted his staff in the ground of Wearyall Hill where it took root and blossomed.

This tree (Crataegus monogyna ‘Biflora’) is not native to Britain but originates from the Middle East. Its biennial flowering with white blossoms and red berries at Easter and Christmas time is a source of wonder to many.

Available from the shop: https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop/chalice-wellessences/original-nine/chalice-well-essence-trinity-of-holy-thorn-for-transformation/

The Wheel of Life Vibrational Essences The Wheel of Life Essences embody moments in time with seasonal energies and cosmic forces. They add grace and flow as we navigate the fulfilment of our projects and dreams, and facilitate the Soul’s authentic expression into form, living from our blueprint and fullness.

The Essences also aid in the bringing of Spirit into matter, giving our inner promptings life.

Like the power that grows a plant from seed to stem, leaf, flower and fruit - they enable our dreams to unfold with a deep sense of natural order, anchored by the deep stillness of the Well.

These were co-created by hundreds who gathered at the Well to observe and experience nature’s cycle through the Wheel of the Year midday meditations. These fall on the indigenous Celtic Festivals of Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lammas, Autumn Equinox, Samhain and Winter Solstice.

During these ceremonies all present connect to the seasonal and Devic energies and each other and this is imprinted upon the water within the crystal bowl placed on the Well.

In the coming months we will be celebrating and honouring Summer Solstice ‘Peak Energy’

Summer Solstice – Zenith Peak Energy This Essence is an energiser, embodying peak potential and life-force. For when you want to give more fire to your purpose and projects in the world, and finding your place in community.

This Essence was made during the height of Summer, the Solstice, marking the longest day, when the solar principle is in its full radiance and the earth is reaching fullness.

Available from the shop: https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/webshop/chalice-wellessences/wheel-of-life/chalice-well-essence-zenith-summer-solstice/ Casey Jon All photos by Casey Jon

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Spring blossom blows hot and cold with hungry sheep on the hill The time of Spring Blossom is with us again as we reach the end of March. There are spectacular displays of flowers in the Garden including the red and pink and white delight of the Crab apple tree by the shop. Up the path in the long bed are the delicate white blooms of the Amelanchier and in the meadow the incredible symphony of white that is our Japanese Cherry.

It’s the same story in the orchards. As I write now after the recent warm dry spell pear and cherry and plum blossom are to be seen on the lower slopes of Alice Bucktons.

However as is often the case after the early sun and heatwave comes the cold snap with sleet and snow showers today and the threat of two or three nights ahead which may bring freezing temperatures and damage to flowers and fruit.

Fortunately our main crop – Apples – do not blossom this early and should be fine this weekend. Meanwhile the ‘woolly mowers’ – Tim Fouracres flock of sheep – are offering tell tale signs of needing to be moved on as they are finding very little grass left on the dry slopes and are becoming far too interested in weeds and garden waste and testing out the tree protectors to get at the juicy bark. After a quick exchange of emails Tim will be moving the hungry sheep on to Tor land over the weekend hopefully before they get up to too much mischief in Bucktons Orchard!

Finally just to confirm that as in the Garden most things are back to normal in the orchards and I hope we’ll be blessed with plenty of apple blossom and fruit this year and the opportunity once again to open the main orchard to Companions in early October for the return of our Apple Day celebration with storytelling, apple picking and juicing for all.

After the massive disruption and threat of COVID and the clouds of war in Ukraine it is a great privilege and blessing to me to to be able to return to manage the orchards as part of a very much revitalised and renewed Garden and Staff and Trustee team at the Well.

With blessings and gratitude as ever Anthony (Orchard Keeper)

The future belongs to the young

Alistair Jones

A School visit to Chalice Well

“For youth is not a time in life - a number of years - but it’s a condition of mind.”

Sir George Trevelyan (1983)

In a letter to Chris Langlands, Wellesley Tudor Pole wrote that Chalice Well had an important purpose to serve as a place: “Where Youth can be helped to perceive the true purpose of Life and Ways in which they can begin to play their part in carrying out this purpose as they venture forth into the ‘maelstrom of the outer world’”. On the 10th February, thirty-nine Year 5 and 6 pupils from a school on Salisbury Plain visited the gardens.

This particular school is interesting as the majority of the pupils come from an Armed Forces background and have experienced high mobility as a result of military postings.

Furthermore, the pupils’ parents are regularly deployed meaning that fathers, mothers, and occasionally both are away from their children for several months of the year. Add to this the complications and traumas caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and it becomes clear that these young people have had to face several challenges in their lives. It was with this in mind that I brought them to Chalice Well.

As we made our way onto the lower lawn, a profound stillness permeated the gardens.

The bell rang and the children fell into a hushed silence. They enjoyed hearing about Major Tudor Pole and the creation of the Silent Minute and were particularly interested by the manner in which a former soldier was instrumental in the founding of the Trust.

We passed through the Guardian Yews and into Arthur’s Courtyard. Here some of them walked through the waters and asked me such things as, “What is this place? Why do I feel so different here?”, both questions that did not necessarily need answering. We then went to the Lion’s Head and I noted the silent respect that the pupils showed as they drank from this holy spring. From here we made our way towards the well. Again, with barely a word, the children formed a circle around it. It struck me that something deeply symbolic was playing out. Drawn from the Commonwealth, the pupils of this school come from a variety of different backgrounds. Nepali, Fijian, African, Canadian, Indian, European, between them the children represented most of the continents of the world. This was a global coming together of Youth, a Youth that have been deeply affected by the impact of Covid-19 and other international events. The silence they shared together offered them healing and inner stillness. In the meadow afterwards, many exclaimed that they could feel a difference in the atmosphere at the Chalice Well: a sense of peace and wellbeing that they had not felt elsewhere. They continue to be deeply affected to this day.

In Beyond Religion, the Dalai Lama said, “I am hopeful that a time will come when we can take it for granted that children will learn, as part of their school curriculum, the indispensability of inner values such as love, compassion, justice, and forgiveness.”

It is clear to me, as it also was to WTP and to Alice Buckton, that the Chalice Well will be instrumental to this.

“The future belongs to the young.

It is a young and new world which is now in process of development and it is the young (or the young in spirit) who must create it.”

Sri Aurobindo (1909)

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Remembering Firstly, this time we are remembering Geoffrey Ashe M.B.E.

mystique.’ The interesting thing is that there seems to be some quality in the place which defeats or diverts them.’

Ashe argued for the ancient sacredness of the Glastonbury landscape and this could always be felt when listening to Geoffrey giving one of his talks. He would often highlight the sixth-century Book of Melchin, one of the lost volumes from Glastonbury library, where a fragment says that the tomb of St Joseph and the Grail talisman will one day be found and ‘Thenceforth nor water nor the dew of heaven shall fail the dwellers on that ancient isle.’ He would also emphasise the words of Austin Ringwode, the last of the monks expelled from the Abbey, who said, ‘The Abbey will one day be repaired and rebuilt for the like worship which has now ceased: and then peace and plenty will for a long time abound.’

Geoffrey spoke at both Companion’s Day and Apple Day here at the Chalice Well, always literate and well measured. He had co-founded the Camelot Research Committee with historian and archaeologist Ralegh Radford and they had excavated Cadbury Castle.

When Hollywood made the musical ‘Camelot’ in 1967 they had consulted him. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was made a Freeman of Glastonbury in 2015 yet he still lived quietly at the foot of the Tor at Chalice Orchard.

While accepting visiting professorships at universities in America he met and married Patricia, herself a professor at the University of North Alabama, and it was Pat who posted that Geoffrey passed peacefully in his sleep after an evening spent reading and discussing a book by C.S. Lewis.

Our neighbour, friend and pioneering Arthurian scholar died on 30th January, aged 98. He was a quiet yet deep promoter of Glastonbury, ‘the ancient Avalon’, and investigator of its stories, legends and myths. He tackled these subjects in books such as ‘King Arthur’s Avalon’ and ‘Avalonian Quest’ showing Glastonbury’s ‘surprising importance’ in the politics, culture and literature of Britain. When he examined the legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea and the Grail and King Arthur’s burial he called for new thinking and explanations about these subjects.

Alongside John Michell, Geoffrey was one of the first to write about Glastonbury being re-born in the 1960’s in the underground magazines of that era such as Gandalf ’s Garden. He named Glastonbury as The Extraordinary Place and tackled the deluge of new spirituality that arrived later by holding two midsummer conferences in 1979 and 1981 that filled the Town Hall.

He wrote, ’Trouble and disappointment have followed, again and again, from approaching Glastonbury in a spirit which does not fit a place with so potent a mystique of its own. Too many have tried to force some preconceived idea on it, to use it as a base for prepackaged teachings, to ‘lay their own trip on it – in fact to exploit the 22

His wisdom is expressed in the final pages of ‘Avalonian Quest’ when he writes: ‘Personally I believe in re-birth. The Strong Magic is creative as well as demoralising.

If a rebirth is ever to happen, it cannot be forced. No one knows what form it should take or (if we state the matter in terms of the Unseen) what it is that the presiding beings intend. To try to exploit the energies is dangerous. The future must be allowed to unfold. Better any number of quests, even if some are illusory, than the arid pretence that there is no quest at all.’

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And also remembering Marigold Freeman-Attwood

Her friend, ex-Trustee and Roy’s wife, Ann Procter writes: “We met Marigold in Guildford town hall early in the 1970’s. Roy and I were attending an inspirational healing event with a very youthful Matthew Manning. During a break some participants were expressing a wish to attend a group exploring and developing their healing abilities. I had a lot of experience in facilitating groups so I offered to host one in our home in Camberley and get it organised. It turned into two groups - one held in the afternoon and the other in the evening, and Marigold was a regular and valued member of the afternoon one for over ten years. She introduced Chalice Well into some of the discussions about healing places, so we visited while on holiday. We “caught the vibe”, paid our subs and have been Companions ever since, forever blessing her for the introduction.

“Meanwhile we got to know Marigold better and appreciated her loving kindness, along with a forthright and practical grasp of whatever came her way. We learnt that she produced three children before her first husband, an army officer, was killed on duty. “So I married a fellow officer” she told us, “and had some more children with Warren”. No nonsense about this lady!

Marigold Freeman-Attwood, who died recently aged 98, was a Trustee of Chalice Well for over ten years in the 1980’s and 90’s. She was born in Derbyshire in 1923 into a wealthy family where she was regarded as a ‘dreamy misfit’. Early in her life she developed a passion for literature and was to learn hundreds of pages of poetry off by heart. In 1941 she went to Somerville College at Oxford University to read English where it was said that ‘she drank poetry.’

During the war years she was recruited by Bletchley Park and to this day the secret work she did there was kept ‘under wraps.’ All we know is that she did work on the Colussus computer programme that eventually broke the German high command’s secret messaging.

After the war she was typical in that she craved ‘normality’ and continued to write poetry (unpublished) while marrying a soldier, David Wedderburn. They had three children and when David died in action in 1960 she married another soldier Warren Freeman-Attwood and had another son. In the following years she became interested in the emerging ‘New Age’ philosophy which is where she probably came into contact with Wellesley Tudor Pole and eventually took up Trusteeship at Chalice Well.

This was the period when Taras and Moya were ending their time as Guardians and Leonard and Willa arrived from Findhorn (roughly 1985-95). At first in these years, Trustees were mainly drawn from people who had known WTP and lived and worked away from Glastonbury. It was Marigold who helped oversee the retirement of Lord Grey as Chairman and the securing of Roy Procter to replace him. As she was stepping down she emphasised the need for more local Trustees. During her time she had worked on the Board with Pip Bourne, Frances Coxwell, Cynthia Howles and Mrs Atkinson. Now with Roy, Antonia Yates and Dr Hugh Sharp they began the transition to more local Trustees.

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“Fast forward to 1984 when Roy’s employment moved us to Somerset. Marigold, as a Trustee, made sure we were welcome at the Well. Then, in 1990, came the phone call which blew Roy’s socks off: Marigold asked him to join as a Trustee with a view to becoming Chairman! She felt that the Trust needed new leadership: Lord Grey, who had been Chairman at WTP’s invitation, was getting on in years and lived in Cheshire.

Most of the other Trustees also lived far from Somerset. The Board needed new life, she reckoned, (wo)manned by people living locally. Marigold was a woman who saw a need, worked to remedy it, and got things done. It took about a year, then once she had achieved her aim she retired. Roy is forever grateful for wise conversations on the phone thereafter, so, actually, she never really left!

“Marigold was also a published author. We have her book about Leap Castle, Irish ancestral home of her maternal grandparents. burnt out and ransacked in the Troubles in 1922. Her research into its long history was meticulous, and she tells of childhood visits and then a recent one to see how restoration was progressing. It’s an entrancing read.

“We kept in touch with her for years, especially on her birthday, which she shared with WTP, April 23rd - St George’s Day. She was capable of slaying a dragon if necessary, but it would surely be done very tactfully.

“We treasure our memories of her.”

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Robin at the Wellhead A robin perched above me at the wellhead, angled its beak at the lid and watched me closely. Not postcard red but rust-coloured, like these salubrious waters. I closed my eyes as others had. I drank in the spirits in a preternatural silence. I heard nothing but the wingbeats of that curious bird, flitting, antidote to utter stillness.

Yet still it did not chirp as robins do in full throat. It seemed to understand.

With lowered eyes I sat, simply being, doing nothing in deep Zen fashion.

The wellhead embraced me, its waters sending messages of love and light down the garden between living sacraments.

When I opened my eyes the robin had gone, but not far. On a bench by the Vesica Pool it took crumbs from my hand, bread of life, chalybeate wine. I wonder, between the well and the pool, between you and me and those who watch, if there had been a fusion of souls, a symbiosis: bird and man and something in between, within the stirring blood – beside the still waters.

Peter Quince

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The Gift of Giving Wellesley Tudor Pole Most people are taught to accept that the main objective in life is to get and to hold, without any question arising of the need to give in return. As a result, the Law of Love is violated with consequences that are only too apparent on every side.

Those who give freely all that is within their power to give will find that their own needs are always met. To give in the spirit of selflessness is to get, but to attempt to get without giving is surely contrary to Divine Law and can bring no lasting satisfaction. I think it can be safely said that the working of this law is as applicable to nations as it is to individuals.

Nearly all world problems could be solved by an understanding of the principles involved in giving and in the giving of thanks.

The following illustration has been used before, but it is very apt: There are two seas in Palestine. One is filled with fresh and sparkling water. Trees and flowers grow around it. Fish live in it and its banks are green. The pure waters of this sea, which possess a healing quality, are brought down by the River Jordan from the hills around Mount Hermon. The Master loved this sea and many of the happier moments of His Ministry were spent beside it. It is a place filled to this day with serenity and power.

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea. Here there is no life, no song of birds, no children’s laughter. The air hangs sinister and heavy above its water and neither man nor beast nor bird will drink. This sea is dead.

Is it not worthwhile to observe the Silent Minute at Nine each evening in the spirit of thankfulness that seeks no reward beyond the joy of giving?

There are those who use the Minute to ask for strength and courage to meet and solve their own personal problems and perplexities.

There are those who use the Minute to link themselves in thought and prayer with absent relatives and friends or with loved ones who are no longer here. Many keep the Minute in prayer for the nation’s leaders, for understanding between the peoples, and for the coming of universal fellowship and peace. Then there are others who remain silent and receptive, listening for the still small voice of guidance and inspiration.

An increasing number use this simple prayer: ‘May Thy will be done on earth. Show me how to do my part,’ and then remain quietly still, knowing that the opportunities of service will come to them in God’s own way and time.

Complete uniformity of method in keeping the Minute is not to be expected, but it is hoped that a bond of fellowship may invisibly unite all who meet in silence at Nine each evening. What I would like to suggest is that we should agree to keep what for many is the most important moment of the day in the spirit of thankfulness. By this I do not mean to suggest that Remembrance and Resolve, the other two watchwords that have been chosen for the Minute, should be absent from our thoughts, but simply that Thanksgiving should be the predominating keynote of the Observance.

To give and to give thanks, in the increasing recognition off Christ’s presence in our midst, will fulfil the law and bring us happiness and peace.

What makes so mighty a difference between these two seas of Palestine?

This is the difference – the Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the waters of the River Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out. The more it joyfully gives away the more it receives in return. This is the Sea of Life.

The other sea hoards every drop of water reaching it and gives nothing in return. The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. The other sea gives nothing and does not live. It is truly named ‘The Dead.’

It seems to me that to give and to give thanks will open many doors that would otherwise remain barred against us.

Jesus gave thanks and blessed the five barley loaves and the two small fishes in the sure knowledge that as a consequence the Divine Law of supply would be brought into operation. He gave thanks to His Father before the manifestation had taken place, and abundance followed as a natural sequence. It is easy to give thanks after a blessing has been received, although we often forget to do so. It is not so easy to give thanks when everything looks black and the problem facing us seems to be insoluble. Surely this is the thanks that counts because it flows from a faith which understands the working of the Law of Love.

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The whole world is today in dire need. Man-made remedies prove again and again to be but crumbling expediencies. In the Silence the hesitant beginner will experience the inflow of the power and life of God, although perhaps at first unknowingly, but with realisation will come Thanksgiving.

The Silent Minute is observed each day at Chalice Well by the ringing of the old bell at midday and 3pm.

The 9 o’clock Minute each evening is currently promoted worldwide by the Global Silent Minute.

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Descent into Darkness, Ascent into Light Tom Bree In times of crisis and rapid change there will often be a turning towards spirituality. This is because spirituality addresses the unchanging Realities of the Absolute which accordingly act as a contemplative anchor, keeping the ship of the soul grounded within everchanging earthly currents and winds.

But when actually out on a voyage – away from the safety of port – the wayfaring soul still has the unchanging certainties of the starry heaven above to look up to. The ‘Stella Maris’ – Star of the Sea – is forever poised directly above the northern point of the horizon and this is why she is a symbol of both Isis and the Virgin Mary. As the celestial north pole – the central pivot of the circulating stars – the Stella Maris is the heavenly guide who helps the sailor to cross the ‘seven seas’ leading upwards to Her ‘harbour of salvation’ in the eighth heaven.

Such a heavenly harbour is mentioned in the opening invocation of a prayer written by the Knights Templar during the period of their persecution in the early 1300’s.

Coptic Archangel Michael painting on glass

by Joanna Laxton

“May the grace of the Holy Spirit be present with us. May Mary, Star of the Sea, lead us to the harbour of salvation. Amen.”

Another very important contact that the human soul can have with the Eternal and the Unchanging is through the drawing and contemplation of beautiful geometric forms.

Whatever culture or religion we are in, indeed whichever ‘spherical’ planet we reside upon, the eternal forms of number reflect that which is forever true. So, to geometrically ‘incarnate’ these numbers is to encourage both our body and our mind to recollect that which is forever real.

To draw a circle is to prayerfully remember the One, i.e. via the centre, which remains forever equidistant from all points on the circumference. The One sees all things at once as it forever casts its vision along every radial pathway leading from centre to circumference.

In his Consolation of Philosophy the Christian-Platonist philosopher Boethius describes the Eye of Providence’s all-seeing vision in a similar way to this albeit in relation to time and the timeless…

“What is, what was, what is to be, In one swift glance His mind can see” 30

The depiction of the Eye of Providence at the apex of a pyramid – essentially the summit of the ‘holy mountain’ – is due to the fact that this is the one-and-only point on the mountain where all pathways to the summit can be seen at one and the same time. And despite there being many different pathways they all lead upwards in a return to the One. But down here in the earthly world we live in the ever-changing seasonal movement in which there is an endless cycle of death and rebirth. The greening of springtime feels like a blessing each time is arises out of the deathly darkness of winter. The subsequent growth of life through summer, leading to an autumn harvest, can remind the soul of a life well lived. But there will always then be a necessary movement back downwards into the earth once again because the seed needs to return to the dark womb of the earth before it can be reborn. Only then can the greenness return in the following season and irresistibly ascend once more towards the divine light of the sun.

As an art teacher I lead students through the drawing processes of beautiful geometric patterns. The previous paragraphs presumably reflect that there is always a philosophical and poetic dimension to this practise because the primary reason for drawing geometry is to encourage a remembrance of the spiritual world. Through engaging in the beauty and harmony of the everchanging seasonal world we are reminding ourselves of the unchanging spiritual world in a similar way to how each prayerful circumference that we draw, within the cycle of time, circumnavigates an unchanging and timeless central point.

I am about to publish 10 years of research in which I have been looking at the use of geometry, cosmology and musical ratios in the design of the first English Gothic cathedral which is here in the city of Wells where I live. I have also decided to instigate an educational project here in the city which I am calling the Wells Institute for Sophia in Education (WISE).

The project is designed to teach practical arts and philosophy in the light of sacred tradition.

The city’s cathedral and its remarkable cosmic design will act as the backdrop to the project.

In relation to some of what is written above I am also planning to run courses around the eightfold division of the annual cycle. Such a division of the year features in various traditions that follow a solar calendar. In medieval Christian tradition for instance the solstices, equinoxes and cross-quarter days were directly associated with particular feasts.

Due to calendrical changes over the centuries the spring equinox now generally falls around March 20th. But in the old Roman calendar the vernal equinox was on the 25th March and this is why the feast of the Annunciation was celebrated on this day because there is a very early Christian tradition that understands Christ and John the Baptist as having been conceived at the equinoxes and born at the solstices. This is why June 24th – the feast of the Baptist’s birth – is still referred to as Midsummer’s Day even though the summer solstice currently takes place a few days prior to the 24th. So the idea that the recognition of the solstices and equinoxes is un-Christian is actually a modern perception. The early church associated its festivals with the annual cycle so as to accord with what they looked upon as the innate cosmic rhythms of God’s Creation which accordingly helped to reflect the Christian mysteries.

To follow the patterns and cycles of nature and the wider cosmos is to synchronise oneself with the overarching cosmic pattern in which we find our existence. To work against these cycles or to simply ignore them is to wilfully assume that we are in control of nature and decide how She should function. We follow such a course at our own great risk. The environmental crisis is surely an indication of the worrying cul-de-sac that we’ve 31

now ‘temporarily’ found ourselves in. But there does seem to be an increasing recognition of this impasse which is beginning to show itself in mainstream thought rather than only ‘alternative’ ideas. We are all children of Gaia and so one day we may all agree that reverence and love should be accorded to the Great Mother who sustains us rather than exploitation for material gain.

In my educational project here in the city of Wells I have recently run its first two courses. They took place around the two equinoxes in September 2021 and March 2022.

As joint courses they were called ‘Descent into Darkness’ and ‘Ascent into Light’. They followed these two equinoctial themes in relation to the art projects that were worked on along with the philosophical and symbolic ideas that they contained. At the Descent into Darkness course the participants began by drawing a medieval labyrinth and then painting an image of Archangel St Michael onto glass. At the Ascent into Light course participants painted an image of a rose. As will shortly become clear both of these themes are cosmologically symbolised by the rising and setting movements of the planet Venus as both the Morning and Evening Star.

Descent into darkness focused upon the autumn ‘fall’ downwards into winter and the symbolic storyline of Lucifer’s fall into the deathly underworld as a result of the War in Heaven. This storyline is described in the Book of Revelation and is associated with the feast of Michaelmas which occurs around the Autumn equinox. The Archangel St Michael is the central figure within this theme of spiritual warfare.

The medieval Christian understanding of Lucifer, the fallen angel, is essentially a story of egoic pride that trips itself up as a result of its own self-inflation. Isaiah’s description of the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14:12-15 was used as a focal storyline to address human pride which became personified in the form of a proud angel called Lucifer who attempts to raise himself to equality with God. Such an act of egoic pride inevitably leads to his downfall into the deathly underworld of Sheol.

‘Lucifer’ or ‘Light Bearer’ is actually the Roman name for the planet Venus as the Morning Star and indeed this storyline of Lucifer’s rise-and-fall is naturally reflected by the cosmic movements of planet Venus as both the Morning and Evening Star. There is a tradition going far back into the ancient world in which the rising and setting of planet Venus is understood to be an image of ascent into heaven and descent into the underworld.

The most famous ancient example of this is the story of Inanna who was the Sumerian equivalent of Venus.

So Lucifer first rises as the Morning Star in the east although it is a hubristic rise in which he proudly attempts to raise his egoic self to equality with God. The inevitable outcome of this is for him to then fall into the underworld as the Evening Star setting below the western horizon. This fall is understood to be the result of the War in Heaven at Michaelmas. So as the light falls into the darkness of winter, Lucifer falls to his necessary humiliation in the lowest depths of the pit.

The potential for egoic inflation within the human soul inevitably condemns itself to a necessary humiliation as a result of its hubristic overconfidence. But the immense value of such a painful experience of downfall is its capacity to encourage inner spiritual growth which can help the soul to understand the importance of humility, emptiness, selflessness and service-to-others. Such a valuable experience of personal growth accordingly opens up the possibility for the soul’s exaltation back upwards into its True heavenly state which can 32

only occur through the receipt of Divine Grace rather than being forcibly attained through egoic self-advancement.

Lucifer’s story is accordingly counteracted by the Pascal storyline of Christ who is also an image of the planet Venus. But Christ’s ‘Venusian’ movements are the opposite of Lucifer’s in the sense that he first descends into the underworld of Sheol, after the crucifixion, so as to liberate all that is dead and fallen within the human soul whereby there can then be a return of the soul back up to its True ‘non-egoic’ state.

The soul’s remembrance of its True Self is then reflected in the Resurrection of Christ as the ‘Bright Morning Star’ in the east. But, most importantly, this particular rising of the Morning Star is described in the medieval proclamation – The Exsultet – as being ‘The one Morning Star who never sets’.

So the story of Lucifer, the fallen angel, which occurs around the autumn equinox at Michaelmas, is counteracted by Christ’s Pascal journey in the spring light of Easter. The feast of Easter is still calendrically calculated as being the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. In this sense both Lucifer, the fallen angel, and Christ, in his resurrected form, are states of the soul, in its earthly incarnate journey of inner-learning, in which the spiritual wayfarer is afforded the possibility of remembrance or ‘anamnesis’ of True Self via a necessary and ‘harrowing’ journey through the underworld.

As already mentioned the craft element of the Descent into Darkness course involved drawing a geometric labyrinth followed then by painting an image of Archangel St Michael onto glass. The glass painting was taught by my wife Helen Bree. The theme of the second course, Ascent into Light, was that of the heavenly fivefold rose that is so central to the Divine Feminine.

In medieval Christianity this symbolism is understood primarily through the Virgin Mary as the ‘Thornless Rose’ and ‘Mystical Rose’. But also through her title Stella Matutina or ‘Morning Star’. Much like Christ and Lucifer the Virgin Mary is also symbolised by the planet Venus. But Venus has also long been symbolically associated with the rose. It is clearly also significant that the movement of planet Venus in relation to planet Earth actually creates a rose-like fivefold geometric pattern. This is because the difference between their orbital periods closely approximates the Golden Ratio which naturally creates fivefold geometric symmetry in the dividing-up of a circumference. So in this sense Venus is the fivefold rose of the heavens and indeed the title ‘Queen of Heaven’ is one that is often associated with the planet Venus whether it be Inanna or the Virgin Mary both of whom have been more commonly referred to by this title.

The heavenly female guide is a theme that pervaded medieval Christianity whether it was the Virgin Mary as the Stella Maris or Stella Matutina or Lady Philosophy as the ladder of ascent in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy. There was also the female depictions of the Seven Liberal Arts who symbolised the seven planetary spheres through whom the soul would ascend to ‘Sophia’ or Wisdom in the eighth heaven. But perhaps the most direct example of a heavenly female guide, accompanying the soul through the heavens, is that of Beatrice who accompanies the poet Dante in his ascent through the planetary spheres. This is described in the third and final stage of Dante’s Divine Comedy. At the culmination of this third and final stage Dante reaches a giant white celestial rose. The petals of this rose are formed of significant male and female Judeo-Christian characters from before and after the time of Christ. But at the very centre of the rose is the Virgin Mary.

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The Virgin Mary is, in one sense, a personification of the Edenic summit of the human soul – the higher part of the soul who is in a perpetual face-to-face relationship with the One. The reason why the Morning Star is visible to the human eye, down here on the Earth, is because she reflects the light of the sun down to us from the heavens. The sun itself is still below the horizon and thus beyond our human vision but the Queen of Heaven is elevated to the degree that she can see beyond our Earth-bound human horizons. She is an image of the soul that has returned to the Edenic state and hence she is the ‘thornless rose’ because the rose’s thorns are said to have grown as a result of humanity’s fall from grace. It is actually in the garden of Eden, at the top of the Mountain of Purgatory, where Dante first meets Beatrice.

This Edenic female is also Persephone in Eternal Spring prior to her abduction by Hades after which her agrarian cycle of winter underground and summer overground becomes established. But this fluctuation between darkness and light originates from an eternal state of greenness and equinoctial springtime which in Christian terms is Eden.

As if to remind me of the unpredictability and changeability of the ‘non-Edenic’ world in which we live, the brilliant stone carver Nick Durnan – who was originally scheduled to teach on the Ascent into Light course – came down with a virus one day before the course and had to pull out from teaching. He was going to teach participants to carve a stone rose – but that will have to be for another time. At the last minute I managed to enlist a friend from the School of Traditional Arts at the Prince’s Foundation who lives not far from Wells. She is called Samantha Buckley and specialises in Indian Miniature painting.

She helped participants to paint a rose in the Indian Miniature style so as to remind us of an ascent into light.

To join Tom’s mailing list send an email to tombree@hotmail.com Tom’s upcoming book is called “The Cosmos in Stone – sacred geometry of a master mason”.

To pre-order a copy of the book write an email to thecosmosinstone@gmail.com

Give Peace A Chance artwork This artwork is called ‘Give Peace A Chance’ (84cms x 69cms) and is the work of Chloe Natalia:

‘It was made back in 2019 but seems more relevant in the world of 2022. It is a fusion of the word for peace in 40 languages. Some languages are immediately recognisable and some probably not so; hidden in there is Burmese, Chinese, Arabic, Hawaiian, Swahili, Japanese and Hebrew. The word, poignantly, at the heart of the piece is PEACE in Ukranian and Russian.

My artworks are made exclusively with paper, transforming the 2D into 3D by cutting, layering and sculpting. This piece is an example of one style of my work which involves cutting many concentric layers of paper and then constructing space between the layers to create the depth. I find my inspiration in nature, geometry and music. The messages I like to share through my art are more often than not one of spreading love, peace and positivity.’

More examples of Chloe’s work are on her website: www.chloenatalia.art or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/chloenataliaart

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