Spring Summer 2025 v3#7 web version

VO LU M E 3 N O.7 • J O U R N A L O F T H E C O M PA N I O N S O F T H E C H A L I C E W E L L

“Expectation, Joy, Unity and Service” S prin g 2 0 2 5

Editorial In praise of Mystery One of the unintended consequences of the internet seems to be its quest to encompass and uncover ‘everything.’ It is all devouring, pushing its users forward into an unknown digital age. In response I would like to argue for the value of mystery, the Great Unknown, the mysterious, the One in whom we live and breathe and have our being. If we take Glastonbury, and more pointedly Avalon, some of the mysteries have been researched and explored and published, probably starting in the 19th century and then accelerating as first ‘The Avalonians’ and then their followers landed on the Isle and began to dig into the multifarious legends and mysteries ; layer upon layer. Yet many layers and mysteries still remain.

If we draw a parallel with listening to music then, depending on individual taste, there is often a feeling, an otherness, generated as the music washes over the listener and takes them into an unknown liminal space. If you are going to go ‘into the music’ you can then experience the magic of other-worldliness. This state was described by the poet John Keats in a letter to his brothers in 1817 as ‘negative capability’. In that realm of consciousness humans ‘are capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries and doubts without any irritable rushing after fact and reason.’ One is reminded of Blake’s visionary work.

170 years after the Keats letter Van Morrison, in his 1987 album ‘Poetic Champions Compose’, still searching for an understanding of the Mysteries, wrote a song attempting to describe ‘The Mystery’ as: ‘Let go into the Mystery Let yourself go You’ve got to open up your heart That’s all I know’.

And later in the song: ‘I saw the Light of Ancient Greece Towards the One I saw us standing within reach Of the sun.’

And Van, in his searching, did visit the Chalice Well in the mid 1980’s and he composed his song In The Garden about his time here.

In the Alice Buckton section in this issue you can read her marvellous poem ‘The Great Response’ that was included in the Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse, published in 1917, where she writes: ‘In glimmering regions, yet unfound, I penetrate The Abyss of Being, and the Springs of Thought: I order things that be: and blamelessly Divide the heavens and the earth, reproved of naught, Of Joy and Power, insatiate!’

And in the final verse writes: MY HIDDEN NAME is Joy! O mortal, yield Unto the Breath that would thy being fill, The Breath of Love!’

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Notice Alice’s use of ‘glimmering regions’, the Abyss of Being’ and My Hidden Name’; all part of the Mysteries which she so celebrated in verse and in her plays.

41 years later Tudor Pole, in the process of securing the Well for posterity, wrote an essay on ‘The Mystery of Transition’ where he tried to take us further into the mysteries that were to come, long after he had departed the earth. He was writing on June 9th 1958 about the changes we are now experiencing; the transition process between one age and another. Our world is quickly running out of resources and WTP foresaw that the ‘heavy Piscean waters of materialism’ would have to become ‘the Aquarian waters of the Spirit’ if we were to survive.

With his usual clear pointedness he described how impurities would be coming to the surface and that sometimes it would feel as though evil had taken control.

This paper from 67 years ago shows Tudor Pole trying to explain the mysteries of required transition when passing from one state of being to another. He pointed out that one of the main tasks would be to gather ‘all that was best’ from the previous Age and integrate it with the new teachings yet to come. No easy task! He wrote that there would be much turbulence in all the spheres and that we would find ourselves in the ‘very midst of an hour of destiny’.

Then, looking ahead, he writes about the great changes which will be taking place ‘in the rhythm and the very structure of all forms of life on this planet’ and within the worlds around it; the mystery of how humanity will be challenged to convert duality into unity by a process to be explored and reached for in joy and expectation.

His final sentences are reassuring, ‘Do not be dismayed by the magnitude of the tasks that lie before us. Let us begin to reflect the Light of Revelation in our own lives and radiate the Light around us.’

In this issue light is attempting to shine on each page in our wonderful photographs and inspiring text. May the value of mystery continue to be honoured as we move further into the new era.

Wishing all Companions a peaceful and joy-filled summer.

PAU L F L E TC H E R Front and back cover photos by Casey Jon. Other photos in this issue by Caroline Glazebrook, Casey Jon and Lois Burt 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 3

From the Chair Hello everyone, I am writing this in the living room of Little Saint Michaels on a clear but cold evening following what has been a glorious spring day. The garden is rapidly unfolding to show the promise of the colourful splendour that will be abundant by the time this is published.

Spring flowers are everywhere to be seen, and I’m filled with gratitude for the team of staff and volunteers that tune in to the needs of the garden and work so diligently to meet its needs.

Since the last Chalice Journal was printed, we have celebrated Yule, Imbolc and the Spring Equinox which many of you will have attended either in person or via our Facebook live Alison and colleagues in the garden feed. As always, these celebrations were filled with joy, love and peace and I’m always moved by the sense of connection we all share, not only with each other, but with the Well and its garden.

In addition to the seasonal celebrations, we also celebrated world water day on March 22nd which was a glorious day of silent mediation and journeying to connect, honour and give thanks to the waters.

It has been a busy winter with a relatively new board of Trustees all settling into their roles and working with Joanna and her team to ensure a smooth transition and a strengthening of the bonds that will carry us forward in unity, love and compassion.

Work has also completed on the project to replace the windows of Little Saint Michaels, and I have been pleased to hear the positive feedback from guests and visitors. After the completion of the work and the annual deep clean the Companion’s Mediations have started again, held every Thursday in the Upper Room at 5:30pm. Please do feel free to come along!

Our attention is now turning to the summer, and we are gearing up in preparation for what we hope will be a period of warmth and sunshine during which we will be able to welcome many returning and new Companions and visitors. We also look forward to the annual Companions Day to be held on the first Saturday in June which falls this year on the 7th. More information on this can be found later in this edition!

I look forward to connecting with you over the coming months.

In love and light, ALISON 4

A New Perspective Over the past year, something remarkable has taken shape at Chalice Well. As a team we have begun to nurture a culture of true collaboration, carefully cultivated through strong, intentional leadership. This transformation didn’t happen overnight, it was sparked by a series of unfortunate events and sustained by Trustees and managers who consistently modelled the values they wished to see. Through empathy, transparency, and trust, we are setting the tone for a more balanced and harmonious environment, where collaboration is actively encouraged.

We are focussed on demonstrating that every voice matters, that diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes, and that working together supports the Ethos that is at the core of all decisions at Chalice Well. Through our actions, welcoming feedback, encouraging crossfunctional teamwork, and celebrating shared success we are creating a ripple effect that is reaching every corner of the Well.

Just as the gardens are flourishing so is the dialogue, projects are evolving from isolated efforts to collective achievements. At each shared interaction we are finding more common ground bringing together our varied experiences and talents to solve problems with creativity and confidence. Communication in all directions is vastly improved, not just in frequency but in quality, all grounded in mutual respect and genuine curiosity about one another’s ideas.

Perhaps most notably, this shift has had a profound impact on workplace well-being. With the demonstration of vulnerability, accountability, and support, team members feel safe to do the same. Collaboration is more than a process change, it is now a mindset. Decisions are based on safeguarding, psychological safety and empowering individuals to contribute authentically and take risks without fear of judgment.

The change in culture is supporting ongoing learning and growth, most apt in the beautiful garden setting we are blessed to work in. As a result of the staff team being encouraged to enhance existing skills and discover fresh ways of thinking we are becoming more productive, resilient and adaptive, ready to face new challenges with unity and purpose.

In just one year, the impact of leadership-driven collaboration has shown to be both powerful and deeply human. In our respective roles as the Chair of Trustees for Chalice Well and the Chief Executive, Alison and I have strengthened relationships, enhanced performance, and created a sense of belonging to provide more individual fulfilment and collective success.

As we look ahead, this spirit of collaboration, rooted in strong, values-based commitment to fair and authentic leadership will continue to shape our path forward. I am honoured and blessed to be part of the process.

J O A N N A DY E R 5

News from the Well Events & Gatherings Weekly Meditations at Chalice Well Monday Meditations

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until 15 September, to enter the silence at the Wellhead for thirty minutes, from 11:30am until the midday bell. Everyone is welcome.

Companions Meditations every Thursday at 5:30pm until 6pm in the Upper Room in our Retreat House. Please come to the front door or Little St Michael’s by 5:20pm.

Previous Events

Our Samhain meditation at the Wellhead inspired inner reflections for this liminal time of going within. With nature shedding her autumn cloak, we gathered under the Guardian Yews for a beautiful ceremony honouring our heart-felt connection to the deep peace of the quiet earth. We offered our gratitude for all that has passed, and at the Vesica Pool we lit candles in loving appreciation for the ancestors.

Samhain silhouettes

Dave and Martin at Samhain

Candles for the ancestors 7

At Winter Solstice when the sun is at its still point in the heavens, we gathered to light the Winter Solstice fire for the returning light. And as the wheel turns, and the promise of longer daylight hours slowly begins, we shared together the energies of joy, gratitude and yuletide blessings. The resonant drum rhythms from Jana Runnalls Drumming Circle inspired people to connect more intensely with the land, the water and the elements. Songs and carols from Avalonian Free State Choir ended our Winter Solstice ceremony as the fire warmed us all.

Winter Solstice well dressing

Winter Solstice fire

Avalonian Free State Choir at Winter Solstice

Our first gathering of 2025 welcomed so many people into the garden on a beautiful day to celebrate Imbolc. Vibrant snowdrops shining in the gentle sunlight are such a potent symbol of the resurgence of vitality and new beginnings of Imbolc. We gathered for a meditation at the wellhead to welcome the first stirrings in our sacred earth, welcome new blessings of regeneration, and honour the constant flowing waters of Chalice Well.

Spring Equinox

A beautiful array of spring flowers to dress the well 8

Imbolc well dressing

Blessed by glorious warm sunshine that lit up the harmonious well dressing, we honoured the first day of Spring and the energies of balance and inner stillness. With so many people gathered together at the wellhead for our midday meditation, we all felt the expansion of heart-centred unity consciousness. Together we welcomed new vitality, hope and springtime.

Spring Equinox at the wellhead

World Water Day: Beautiful birdsong filled the tree tops and all the different sounds of the waters’ journey through the garden guided us to the Vesica Pool where we offered our blessings and our love to flow out into the world. It was so heartwarming to come together with so many people, all feeling the loving appreciation for the waters of Chalice Well and our beautiful planet. Thank you to our sacred waters for inspiring us to give thanks to these and to all waters of the world.

Anthony Ward singing at World Water Day

Companion Tracy Musgrove playing her crystal harp to the waters at World Water Day

World Water Day gathering at the Vesica Pool

THE SONG OF THE WATERS words and tune by Anthony Ward We all come from the waters We are the Sons and Daughters of the Earth.

We all come from the waters We are the Sons and Daughters of the Earth.

Let the waters flow woh Let the waters flow

Let the waters flow woh Let the waters flow As above and so below As above and so below Let the waters flow oo-woh Let the waters flow

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June Workshops Listening to the Voice of the Garden through Dowsing Friday 6 June 1pm-3pm in the Meeting Room and garden A deeply inspiring and practical workshop to learn to dowse with plants, listening to the guidance of the garden, to work in harmony with nature. Dowsing rods are included with this workshop with Head Gardener Dave. Tickets are £35. Please book your place through our website or call the office on 01458 831154

Listening to the Voice of the Garden through Dowsing Workshop with Head Gardener Dave Friday 6 June 2025 1pm - 3pm In this inspiring and practical workshop at Chalice Well you will learn to dowse with plants, listening to the guidance of the garden. You will learn how to find the points of conflict in a garden and also how to find the points of power. You will gain a deeper understanding of what dowsing is and how it can be used by everyone to work in harmony with nature. Dave will also show you how to use dowsing to pinpoint your own specific place as your power point for deep meditation and wellbeing. No previous dowsing experience is necessary. For experienced dowsers this workshop will also enhance your understanding of dowsing.

Dowsing rods are included with this workshop

Only 15 Tickets are available at £35 To book please call the office 01458 831154 or book online www.chalicewell.org.uk/events 10

Sacred Sound Journey with the vibrations of Chalice Well Water Sunday 8 June 10:30am – 12:30pm A sound journey, sacred ceremony and ritual to connect with the vibrations of Chalice Well waters and the earth’s grounding energies, with Julia Phillips, in the marquee beside the flowing waters of the Vesica Pool. Tickets are £20. Please book your place through our website or call the office on 01458 831154

SACRED SOUND JOURNEY with the vibrations of Chalice Well water

Sunday 8 June 2025 10:30am-12:30pm A sound journey, sacred ceremony & ritual to connect with the vibrations of the Chalice Well waters and the earth’s grounding energies. Julia Phillips will lead you through a beautiful meditation & a tranquil sound journey. We will close the workshop in ceremony, returning the waters in gratitude and appreciation. Please bring a notebook and pen to note down your insights and if you would like to lie down, please bring a cushion, mat and a blanket Contraindications: sound baths are not suitable if you have sound induced epilepsy, suffer from severe mental health conditions or are in the first trimester of pregnancy. If you have an implant (e.g. pacemaker, stent, plates, pins) please check with your doctor whether a sound bath is suitable for you

Advance Ticket £20 To book please call the office 01458 831154 or book online www.chalicewell.org.uk/events

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Wisdom of Water Workshop, inspiring your inner sacred wellspring Sunday 8 June 1:30pm – 3:30pm in the Marquee on the lower lawn This beautiful workshop guides you on a journey to meet the Well Maiden guardians of ancient springs – the divine feminine aspect of water. You will also receive guidance from the wisdom of water for your own personal soul enquiries and creativity. Facilitated by Casey and Caroline. Tickets are £20 and please book via our website or call the office on 01458 831154

Wisdom of Water Workshop inspiring your inner sacred wellspring

Sunday 8 June 2025 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Beside the flowing sacred Chalice Well waters, we guide you on a beautiful journey to meet the Well Maiden guardians of ancient springs - the divine feminine aspect of water. You can also receive guidance from the wisdom of water for your personal soul enquiries and explore how your own inner wellspring inspires your creativity.

This beautiful workshop is limited to 20 people, in the marquee, with the waters flowing beneath us. Facilitated

by Casey and Caroline. Please bring a notebook and pen.

Advance Ticket £20 To book please call the office 01458 831154 or book online www.chalicewell.org.uk/events

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Companions Day SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2025 Gates open at 9am until 4:30pm.

Opening Circle around the Vesica Pool at 10:15am We are looking forward to the very special Companions Day with inspiring guest speakers, discussions and sharing. It is one of the ways that we can thank you for your support. We have increased the number of silent meditations in the Upper Room to give more people the opportunity to enter the silence of the Upper Room.

Our theme this year is Living Sanctuary because Chalice Well as a living sanctuary always welcomes pilgrims into beauty and peaceful tranquillity beside the constantly flowing waters from our ancient holy well. Within this theme, our guest speakers will discuss the importance of honouring our planet, especially sacred waters and how Chalice Well supports people’s inner wellspring

COMPANIONS DAY SATURDAY 7 JUNE 9am-4:30pm

Chalice Well is closed to non-Companions. To become a Companion, please see our website

We are looking forward to welcoming Companions of the Well to Companions Day. Our theme is Living Sanctuary with inspiring talks from Dr Michael White, Pea Horsley, Alison Scobie and a panel discussion exploring the importance of honouring sacred waters and nature, which supports our inner spiritual landscape

JOIN US TO LISTEN TO THE INSPIRING TALKS FROM: Alison Scobie, Trustee Update from the Chair Dr Michael White: Wild and World Waters the importance of water including source waters, aquifers, our oceans and Chalice Well, with an attunement to the Deva of the Well Pea Horsley: Revitalising our relationship with Nature through animal communication, cosmic consciousness and energetic activism Wild Sanctuary Panel Discussion and audience questions, with Pea, Michael, Dave Head Gardener and Casey Chalice Well Essences

RESERVE YOUR SEAT AND BOOK A LUNCH: Lunch is a generous selection of salads with a gluten free, vegan savoury for just £13 Reserved table seating is available when you prebook your lunch. Please let us know by Thursday 23 May and call us to book and pay. Because we are limited by the maximum number of seats in the marquee, we strongly recommend that you reserve a seat in advance even if you are not booking lunch 01458 831154 chalicewell.org.uk

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Chair of the Trustees, Alison Scobie will give an update and welcome Dr Michael White FMBA: Wild and World Waters The importance of water including source waters, aquifers, our oceans and Chalice Well, with an attunement to the Deva of the Well. Michael is a Marine Zoologist and ocean scientist. He has spent most of his life on islands and in the remotest parts of our world. Michael is a Fellow of the Marine Biological Association and works at a global level serving on government advisory bodies, such as the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, and the Species Survival Commission. He is deeply involved in bringing Traditional Indigenous Knowledge, Wisdom, and Practices into the mainstream of decision-making. For several decades Michael has studied sea turtles, and because of his deep concern about how humans treat the ocean, he helps to find ways to wake us all up.

Pea Horsley: Revitalizing our relationship with Nature through animal communication, cosmic consciousness, and energetic activism.

In this time of great change on planet Earth, animal communication is the greatest power we possess to restore a loving and respectful relationship with animals and the natural world. Telepathic animal communication is an empathic, heartfelt connection with other species which in turn helps humans to gain a greater understanding of who we are and why we are here. In essence, as we communicate with animals, animals help us discover the heart of who we are.

Pea Horsley is Founder of Animal Thoughts, author, TED speaker, and passionate advocate of animal communication to enhance the relationship between animals and humans. Sowing the seeds of profound transformation, her soul’s purpose is to deepen our personal and spiritual understanding of the natural world, helping people connect to animals and awaken to their teachings through her workshops, Conversations with Nature World Summit, and The Pride – Animal Wisdom Membership. She collaborates with the African Pangolin Working Group, HeartMastery, and South African animal communicator, Wynter Worsthorne. For more about ways to work with Pea, visit www.animalthoughts.com

After lunch we will have a Wild Sanctuary Panel Discussion and audience questions, with Pea, Michael, Dave (Head Gardener) and Casey (Chalice Well Essences) Companions Day lunch and reserved seats Enjoy a delicious lunch: This year we are offering a wonderful selection of salads with a gluten free, vegan savoury, for just £13 (despite the economic climate we are committed to our Companions and we are pleased to confirm that there is no price increase) Reserved table seating is available when you prebook your lunch. Please let us know by Thursday 23 May and call us to book and pay 01458 831154 or +44 1458 831154. Thank you.

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Last year Companions Day was unexpectedly so well attended that there weren’t enough seats in the marquee for everybody. Because we are limited by the size of the marquee and the maximum number of seats, we strongly recommend that you reserve a seat in advance even if you are not booking lunch. Please call us on 01458 831154 to ask for a reserved seat.

Upper Room Meditations This year there are four Upper Room meditations to give more people the opportunity to experience the silence in this unique space. In recognition of the sanctity there is a maximum of 10 people per meditation. If you would like to book in advance, please call us on 01458 831154 and you can also book on the day at the welcome desk in the marquee.

9:30am – 10am 11:30am – 12pm Lunch 12:45-2pm 1:30-2pm 3:30-4pm

We hope you will join us for the Kangaroo Moon concert on Saturday evening 7 June 7pm-9pm, gates open at 6:30pm and refreshments are available.

Kangaroo Moon weave many strands from world, rock, folk and dance with acoustic and electronic influences into a funky, psychedelic, heart lifting wall of sound. Tickets are £20 and please book through our website chalicewell.org.uk or call our office 01458 831154

Save the dates!

We invite you to join us for Summer Solstice on Saturday 21 June to honour the full expression of the sun and the dancing light on the sacred well waters. As the sun is at its still point, before the turning of the wheel towards the deepening time of winter, Summer Solstice is a celebration of our highest potential and a deep honouring for our connection to the earth.

At Lammas on Friday 1 August, we gather in gratitude for the abundance of nature’s bounty, to our community, echoing the traditions of our ancestors who came together in united cooperation, as men and women of goodwill, to bring in the first harvests, laying the foundation for moving into the winter months.

Autumn Equinox on Monday 22 September, As the autumn months begin, we turn our thoughts to what the last year has brought us; what we have learnt and nurtured and what we have given back in exchange. This can be a fulfilling time of year to appreciate our harvest, to see what has blossomed and thrived, what has fallen by the way, and let go of what is no longer needed.

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AT CHALICE WELL

SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2025

Kangaroo Moon weave many strands from world, rock, folk and dance with acoustic and electronic influences into a funky, psychedelic, heart lifting wall of sound On Saturday 7 June in the marquee on the lower lawn from 7pm-9pm.

Gates open at 6:30pm. Refreshments are available Book your tickets before 1 May and enjoy a 25% discount. Early bird tickets are just £15. Normal ticket price is £20

tickets & information: chalicewell.org.uk or call us: 01458 831154

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Introducing the new Trustees Marion van Eupen A little intro about myself: I feel so honoured to be asked to be a Trustee of The Chalice Well Trust.

When I moved to Glastonbury from The Netherlands in 2009, it was a beautiful Spring and I spent days and days in The Chalice Well Gardens; journaling, landing and connecting with my new land. I already knew and loved the Gardens, but that time sealed my relationship with this wonderful sanctuary.

Since then, I have come to be in the Garden and its sacred Waters many times, for myself, with my students of the BrighdeMarion at the Well Brigantia trainings, with pilgrims and visitors to Glastonbury who I take on tours, and in recent years, for the magical evening ceremonies of The Goddess Conference of which I am a co-organiser together with my friend Katinka Soetens.

For me the Well and Garden form the heart and centre of one of the biggest heart centres of the world, being Glastonbury-Avalon. The source of love and healing flowing forever, I feel as a metaphor for divine energy, which for me is manifested mostly through the Goddess Brighid; the Vesica Piscis a symbol for peace and unity, so needed in our world right now; the Garden a mindfully created oasis of beauty in all seasons, an invitation to the senses and to open our hearts.

I live in Glastonbury, just 5 mins walk out of the centre of town, with my husband Alastair, who works in Glastonbury Abbey as a costumed guide. I have two grown-up children, who live in The Netherlands like the rest of my family, which means regular travel overseas.

I come from a very liberal Dutch Catholic background and am a (criminal) lawyer by trade.

Those two energies are harmoniously in balance with my Goddess based Pagan pathways and working as a full-time Priestess. I see the unity, which is such a beautiful energy in the Well and Garden, reflected in myself. The way I serve Brighid’s Love and Peace and the world, is the same way I offer my service to the Well and Garden of Chalice Well.

I accepted the proposal to join the board with gratitude in November 2024 and look forward to giving my energy to the governance of the Trust, learning more about the fascinating story, people and energetics of this sanctuary, and to supporting the staff in the amazing way they are holding this sacred space, creating a welcoming and peaceful haven for all who come to the Chalice Well Gardens for years to come!

Bright Blessings 17

Jacqueline Wright I grew up in an atheist home, and didn’t encounter spirituality in any meaningful way until I was in my 30s, when I travelled on a slight whim to a meditation session at the EarthSpirit Centre. During the meditation I had an awakening experience, and my life turned towards spirituality, with the energy of Glastonbury and Avalon in my heart.

I moved here with my husband and our first child in 2019, and our second child was born here in 2021. Our family has put down deep roots in Avalon and we are all nourished and held by this special place, and proud to call it our home.

I believe that the Divine is in all things, that everything is made of Divine love, and that all faiths, all religions, all spiritual paths, are a journey to the One Divine Source. I am drawn to Vedic practices like mantra, and in my study of the Vedic teachings I learned that inside the Anahata or heart chakra, is the Hridaya. A deep mystery, Hridaya is a sacred portal connecting each of us, at our core, to infinite and unconditional Divine love.

Jacqueline Wright

If Glastonbury is the heart chakra of Mother Earth, it is my belief that Chalice Well is the planetary Hridaya. The energy of the Well, for me personally, is the Holy of Holies. It is so deeply healing, so benevolent, so loving and pure. I am always refreshed and restored by the energies of the Well and the gardens.

I am so grateful to all those who have secured the Chalice Well, unspoiled, as a sanctuary of peace and healing for humanity and the world. I feel deeply honoured to serve as a Trustee and I sincerely hope to play my part in continuing to safeguard and preserve this sacred place.

Michael White Greetings! I first came to the Red Spring in the early 1980s, before the flow-form was constructed, but the seminary had already been demolished. I was deeply attracted to the Well and its chalybeate waters, and have been ever since. In my early teenage years I lived at Tunbridge Wells in Kent, another Red Spring!

Professionally, I am an ocean scientist and have spent most of my life on islands and in the very remote parts of our world.

I have studied sea turtles for several Michael White 18

decades, deeply concerned about how humans treat the ocean, and trying to find ways to wake us all up. Profit-making lies at the heart of our disrespect for the natural world.

I am a Fellow of the Marine Biological Association, based out of Plymouth. I work at a global level and serve on bodies that advise governments, such as the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, and the Species Survival Commission. I advocate strongly to protect the ocean from the nightmare of plastic pollution: it is ubiquitous! I am deeply involved in bringing Traditional Indigenous Knowledge, Wisdom, and Practices into the mainstream of decision-making; and am currently part of a global effort to ‘decolonise’ science. This is very complex as the colonial powers do not want to let go of what they have conquered, whilst, simultaneously, the conquered are aiming for self-determination. I totally support Universal Human Rights and the rule of International Law. I offered to become a Trustee of Chalice Well at Samhain 2024: following interviews I accepted this role and responsibilities. I care deeply for the Red Spring and consider being a Guardian of the Well, its gardens, and the supporting organisation to be an extraordinary honour. So thank you for inviting me.

I am a Member of Glastonbury Town Council and serve on several committees, which is where much of the Council’s work happens. I am presently Deputy-Mayor of Glastonbury and can often be found wandering along the High Street and Magdalene Street; many of you will know me by sight.

I’ve been asked to give a talk on ‘wild and world waters’ as part of Chalice Well Companion’s Day on Saturday 7th June 2025. I hope to see many of you there.

Best Wishes, and Blessed Be

The Healing Mission of Chalice Well ‘The Healing Mission of Chalice Well’ was the title of a talk given by Dr Martin Israel on Companion’s Day August 16th 1969. This was almost a year since his great friend Tudor Pole had passed over. One could imagine the effect of WTP no longer being available for wise counsel and the absence of those hundreds of letters he would write to earnest enquirers before breakfast each day. But now it was up to others to take Chalice Well forward and establish firm foundations that could be built on for the future.

Tudor Pole had asked Martin to take up his mantle as Dr Israel was an experienced healer, teacher and writer with over twenty published books on such topics as angels, healing and questions of faith and doubt. With some inspiring and wonderful thoughts here are the keynotes from Martin’s talk, many of which resonate strongly today.

‘T.P. stressed that the water should only be taken in small doses (seven drops diluted in a wine glass of water, orange juice or milk or similar liquid taken one to three times a day).

Will Chalice Well merely be a place that dispenses water? Will it be a place people go to when feeling ill and hoping to get something by taking the water, even in devotion? If this 19

is all Chalice Well means, I feel our work is rather useless, quite candidly. Though I would not doubt the potency of the water, I regard this as an addition to something much more fundamental: this is cherished and hallowed ground.

There is an atmosphere here, and there is a healing atmosphere which pervades the very senses and lifts people’s imaginations toward higher things. It is this, surely, that has made the water potent through the ages and made it a vehicle of healing.

Even if the water were to dry up the healing atmosphere would prevail. This is really what the healing mission of Chalice Well is about: catering for our visitors and making them realise there is a small piece of Heaven in this place.

This is the true healing gift. It does not require remarkable knowledge: but it requires remarkable love and this is what we are trying to establish in Chalice Well. The water, the atmosphere, are part of this love. When we are working properly Chalice Well will be what our founder wanted it to be: a beacon and symbol for the New Age where people may come and be refreshed, not getting anything in the way of material sustenance, and not receiving lectures and teaching. It is a question of being in silent communion with people that is important.

A person who can give of himself/herself in companionship to another is giving something priceless because the whole life and understanding of the other can be changed thereby. This is what Chalice Well must be about so that the water may be seen in its proper perspective as a sacramental offering. Then we shall see Chalice Well as one of the great spiritual centres, as the very beacon of a New Age. The New Age worker of the future must be a person who is not a personality. They must be a person who is silent, who knows how to withdraw but also able to approach individuals. Too much of the cult of personality has existed in the circle of occultism. Our late Chairman (WTP) hated this and he always disappeared as much as he could. We ourselves must disappear like Jesus ‘escaping from the midst of them’, working silently and well, wanting no reward other than the happiness of those around us. This is the only gift worth having.

Centres like Chalice Well exist that people may know the truth. The truth is that there is a spiritual existence that transcends and pervades the world of phenomenal beings. The world of spiritual reality is eternal and immortal. It can never be destroyed, just as we ourselves can never be annihilated in it.

In true immortality we establish our own true identity, which is not the identity of appearing nice to other people, but rather being good in ourselves. This is the function we Trustees and Workers have for Chalice Well, a place that will not depend on occultism, or prophecies or even astrology, but will depend on its own being, and will use all these things for the proper maturation of human nature. This to my mind really summarises the ideas of the healing mission of Chalice Well.’

DR MARTIN ISRAEL

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Volunteer News It was a dark and windy December evening, the night of the Solstice. The gardens were festooned with faery lights and the effect was magical. Many of our lovely volunteers and staff were gathered around a heartening fire on the lower lawn, sipping mulled apple juice and chatting. However, this is Britain and the weather spirits had other ideas. Before long the wind rose, and the rain lashed down with a vengeance. We ignored it, hoped it might stop.

Alas, it got worse so we made a run for it to the meeting room.

In the dry and blissful warmth, our chief executive Joanna welcomed everyone and made jokes about the good old British weather. She also gave everyone a copy of the Chalice Well book and calendar and a few other goodies. Then it was my turn, and I hope I made it clear just how much these good people are valued for the giving of their time and love.

A feast of cake and scrumptious savouries was then shared over a lot of laughter and sharing of the many wonderful and varied gatehouse stories.

The importance of our volunteers cannot be overemphasised, they are the first people that our visitors meet when they come to the Well. Some visitors can be in quite an emotional state, some have travelled from a long way off and sometimes on a whim, and their stories are many and varied. Our Gatehouse volunteers are the first people they meet and thus the importance of their role cannot be over emphasised.

In many ways, it is a sacred role. The Chalice Well is on the threshold between Glastonbury and the sacred Isle of Avalon and thus could be seen as the Gatekeeper between the worlds.

Long-serving volunteer Edie at Refreshments

The compassion, gentleness, and respect that our volunteers show our many and varied visitors is pure gold. My heart's thanks to you all.

ROSE WHITE V O LU N T E E RS C O-O R D I N ATO R 21

Essences News It's been wonderful to embrace the earth festivals of this new year as we transition from 2024 to 2025. Imbolc has brought us the promise of light after darkness, with the delicate and courageous snowdrops peeking through. The spring equinox has filled our hearts with the joy of spring as the cheerful primroses lift our spirits and the blossoming cherry trees remind us of the earth's beauty and grace. We're excited for the vibrant time of Beltane, knowing that the earth and her waters are beginning to warm, bringing us delight and abundance.

As we move through the first part of the year we are reminded how essences we co-create from one plant can be different at different times of the year; they hold their own unique vibration yet are the same plant. These energies offer wise insights and lessons about healing.

Remarkably, the same plant can share diverse wisdom depending on its season. Take the great Oak tree, for First snowdrops of the year instance- it looks so youthful and vibrant as it unfurls its bright green leaves early in its cycle, yet later, as its acorns drop, it offers a deeper, more resilient and enduring wisdom. As essence co-creators, we tune into these differences and learn about the quieter aspects of nature; this process enriches our understanding of our own cycles and seasons, fostering a deeper connection with the natural world and our inner landscape.

The Chalice Well Flower and Vibrational Practitioner Training offers these wonderful opportunities to connect with nature, guiding us through a full year of learning as we move through the seasons. We explore the plants at different times of the year and immerse ourselves in the beautiful garden surrounding the ancient sacred waters of the Well. It’s a joyful time as we move through the year learning to be with the waters and understanding the language of the plants and their healing wisdom.

To find out more about the Accredited Chalice Well Flower and Vibrational Essence Practitioner Training please visit our website https://www.chalicewell.org.uk/essences/workshops/ or email essences@chalicewell.org.uk

Chalice Well Essence ‘Oak’ | Strength

Oak offers endurance, courage and resilience in the face of life’s struggles.

It is restorative and it can be taken when you want to centre and strengthen yourself. Oak, a noble tree associated with integrity and benevolence tells us ‘you are sovereign unto yourself so be strong in the truth of what you know’. It gives us the confidence to speak our truth with clarity and calm.

The Oak of this essence grows on part of the Chalice Well lands preserved and stewarded for the energies and spirit of nature. Oaks were long associated with the Celtic Druids, which, legend has it, may have had a school or college in these parts. The word ‘Druid’ is derived from the Celtic word for Oak ‘Duir.’

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Making the Oak essence

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.

The Holy Thorn

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.org.uk/webshop/ chalice-well-essences/new-dawn/chalice-well-essence-oak-strength/ CASEY JON E S S E N C E S C O-O R D I N ATO R 23

Garden News Tuning In

Inspiration for tuning into your own garden My younger gardening days were a whirl.

Split between late night gigs as a budding musician and early starts in the garden, I often wonder how I existed on such little sleep!

At the Embankment Gardens in Chelsea I was under the watchful gaze of George, a wise, quiet and very strict Irishman who had seen it all, especially slightly wayward young men. He made sure I was never late and if my energy ever flagged he would set me some labouring task set to wake me up.

The first Star Magnolia of the year

I have to admit I found George hard going, but I respected his firm hand and I loved the garden with its Chelsea Pensioners and colourful local characters.

One weekend I had a big gig, the band I was in was supporting the London Gospel Choir at the Royal Festival Hall, and I was nervous. I was also booked in to work that weekend so I was devastated when George said he would be coming into the garden early on Sunday morning with his family. That meant an early start for me too and I could have done without it. The evening went well and after a very late night I made my way to the garden on the Sunday morning. George arrived a little later with his wife and what I thought must have been his grandchildren. He set up a picnic area and went backwards and forwards from his car bringing a huge feast.

Gradually people started to arrive by the carload, people from every culture under the sun. All ages, families continued to flow into the hut to boil some water. I joked with him that he had quite an extended family. He laughed back, "You're right", he said, "These are all my foster children and grandchildren quite a fold eh". While George had worked for his whole life as Embankment Gardens, he and his wife had fostered a family to be proud of. The love that accumulated on the lower lawn was palpable. I can honestly say I never saw George in the same light again. His firm but fair way with me was perfect fathering, something he clearly brought to all aspects of his life, including his work. I decided to tuck myself under his wing and enjoy his guidance.

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Three beautiful roses left at the cascade

George taught me to tune in… to the people in the garden, to spot trouble before it came to anything, to talk to the people who needed a chat, but mostly to tune in to the plants and trees.

The needs of the garden are really a gardener's priority. If we take care of the soil and environmental needs of the garden, then whatever we plant will naturally thrive. Watching and listening becomes far more important than the doing.

Some years later I was working at Holland Park. The storm of '87 was devastating to the parks in west London and we lost several beautiful old London Planes and a wonderful black Walnut. Several more were rocked and one, the beautiful Judas Tree (Cercis Siliquastrum) near the pond was leaning at 45 degrees and would surely have to come sown. I sat with it while I had my lunch and I had a strong feeling Crocuses on the path that it could be saved. There was a perfect branch and notch that a stake could be placed into, so with that and some careful pruning we stabilised the tree. After a few months I noticed that the stake was slowly slipping with the weight of the tree forcing it lower and lower. In the end some of the branches met the ground; the tree had eased itself into safety. The next year new growth shot up vertically, several strong new branches arose, the one tree now took the form of several young trees. I was amazed at how the tree was rejuvenated in a different form.

Since that time I have seen many examples of how in nature the end has in fact been just a new beginning, something like the storm of '87, a catalyst for change and renewal. Gaia finds a way. She is finding a way with humanity, waking us up to her healing ways, showing us her limitless power and ingenuity.

Tuning us in to this moment when all things are possible.

George retired a few years after I had moved to Holland Park, he had worked in the parks and gardens of London for over forty years. His legacy was that his children, plants, trees and people, still thrive because of his wise love.

One of the new rose arches in the Physic Garden

DAV E B A L I A N 25

News from The Shop Our carefully curated choice of gifts offer beautiful, tangible connections with the garden and the Well. We have sourced artisan makers of ethically made greetings cards, velvet pouches, jewellery and candles to help deepen the love! Our new additions are redolent of the energies here, as a true gift from Chalice Well and a tangible reminder of their experience at the Well.

We have a wonderful shop team, led by Isa who are all so knowledgeable about our ranges and the garden. Customers often comment on the authentic friendly welcome, care and consideration given that helps them say farewell to the garden feeling uplifted and inspired.

The view from the shop of the Golden Roses, the wonderful Crab Apple Tree and the water flowing from the Vesica Pool make the shop an inspiring place to be. You’ll find a great choice of books and oracle cards about healing and sacred water and the messages that water wishes to share.

Lovely books and oracle cards in our shop

Inspiration for your soul enquiries

In the shop and also online, we have a choice of new inspiring oracle cards and beautiful journals for internal reflection and soul enquiries, including Soul’s Journey Oracle, Path of Light Journal and several Rumi books including Gold.

Artisan beaded velvet bags, compact mirrors and keyring are exquisite with many different designs including bee, hare, bluetit dragonfly and swan. We also have hand printed paper greetings cards and garlands that look so beautiful in sacred space and also make wonderful gifts.

Artisan beaded velvet pouches

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Intricate beaded bee keyring

Handmade Swan greetings card

Remembering Audrey Murr Copland Long- time volunteer and supporter of Chalice Well Audrey Murr Copland passed away last year and will be a sorely missed presence around the Well. She led an interesting and remarkable life that eventually led her to come and live in Glastonbury where she was an active participant in Avalon.

Audrey was known as one of the most gifted courtesy of Wikipedia international healers and teachers in Britain and part of her gift was to move healing more into the public sphere and guide it towards more mainstream acceptance. For a major part of her life she worked for the charity The National Federation of Spiritual Healers (now The Healing Trust) both at national and local levels. In addition to this work she was also a Reiki Master teacher and was ordained as a Reverend by the Alliance of Divine Love, Healing and Counselling in America.

For twelve years Audrey was National Secretary of the N.F.S.H. and later became Vice President and was part of the team that established the first ever professional healer development and training programme in 1983. From this came the N.F.S.H. Code of Conduct for healers which was approved by all the Royal Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics and Veterinary Medicine.

She presented training workshops across Europe, North America and Israel and implemented the first N.F.S.H. Distant Healing Service. Among her mentors were Sir George Trevelyan, Frederic Lionel and Lilla Bek. Lilla particularly was a great friend and help to Audrey and it was even suggested that they had worked together over many lifetimes linking them both back to the Essenes. Lilla was a frequent visitor to Chalice Well, often staying in Little St Michaels and soon introduced Audrey to Chalice Well and Glastonbury.

As a volunteer Audrey was a familiar presence in the Gatehouse welcoming pilgrims and visitors and was often ready with a friendly suggestion or question for the Trustees and staff. When volunteers were needed for a conference or event she was always involved and present. Somehow, she usually managed to ask a pertinent question at the Companion’s Day gathering! Her love of the work of Wellesley Tudor Pole was ever present and her support of his vision for the Well and the Trust always at the forefront of her thinking.

We are fortunate that during the later period of her life she was able with her daughter Ruth to produce a comprehensive memoir of her life and work called ‘Challenging Boundaries – For the Love of Healing’. It is well worth searching out as it gives a fascinating account (with case studies) of a life spent in service to the spiritual life.

PAU L F L E TC H E R Recently Ann Proctor passed away.

There will be a full “remembering” tribute to her in the next issue 27

Alice Buckton and Brighid In my sixteen years of living in Glastonbury-Avalon and 21 years of journeying with BrighidBride-Brigantia, I have found that I am (of course) not the only one who devotes her life to serving this great Celtic Goddess and strong woman Saint. All over the world there are many who walk the pathways of Brighid in one way of the other, and in my opinion Alice M. Buckton is one of them.

I would like to share my findings in how Alice Buckton is connected with Brighid and how through Alice Buckton (and of course through many other more elemental and etherical strands), Brighid’s presence can be felt deeply in The Chalice Well and Gardens.

The Bell

Being a Priestess of Brighde-Brigantia (or Bride as She is known in Glastonbury), I came across the presence of Alice Buckton in Glastonbury quite early on in my explorations, because it was Alice Buckton who holds ‘Brighid’s bell’ in the only picture of this artifact that I know of.

The Brighid Bell is a small (cow?) bell, which William of Malmesbury claims, that St. Brighid left behind after her visit of Glastonbury around 488AD. Other items that she was said to have left behind after her stay on The Beckery (now Brides Mound) were a bag, a necklace and weaving implements.

I am by nature a very curious and imaginative person and seeing a picture of Alice Buckton holding the Brighid bell, was a very query evoking image. Who was this woman and why was she holding St. Brighid’s bell? If Alice had the bell, where did she take it and where is it now? Has anyone every asked the ‘Buckton family’ about this?

However, if there is one thing about living in Glastonbury-Avalon, it is that you will have to be able to embrace ‘the mystery’. Most of the information about anything is based on myth and legend and you learn quite early on that a quest for ‘the truth’ will not always lead to a clear outcome. So, after an initial deep dive, which sadly lead to nothing much, I accepted the beauty of the mystery around Alice Buckton and St. Brighid’s bell.

The Pilgrimage

However, the presence of Alice Buckton kept crossing my pathways.

The next time was when my friend Marisa Picardo suggested to explore having Alice Buckton’s Pilgrimage as part of our offerings as Mystical Earth Tours. She had found a description of the Pilgrimage route in the ‘Avalon Magazine’ as part of an article by Alan Royce.

We decided to walk the Pilgrimage, and it brought us to well-known, but also new interesting place that we had never noticed before, like the steps down to the little stream opposite the 28

Red Brick Building. And it showed places that no longer exist, like the ‘tree of sorrows’ next to the Brue.

It felt really special to walk this pilgrim’s path in the footsteps of Alice Buckton, reflecting on those who walked these pathways before us. Here again is a link with Brighid, as the pilgrimage led to Brides Well and Alice Buckton is said to have stopped at the (now lost) Thorn tree near the ‘Lost Bride’s Well’ and hang ribbons and clooties as offerings, before walking to Bride Mound. This practice of giving offerings to Brighid is a beautiful practice we do now still, as we enter Brides Mound, in reverence to Her as Goddess and Saint.

There is also a discrepancy in the stories around this pilgrimage. With the map there was a writing saying that the pilgrimage was set out in the early 1900’s to ‘open spiritual channels; to empower the Blue Bowl, which would mean that the placing of the Blue Bowl by Dr. Goodchild must have been known and linked to the pilgrimage. In other writings it is said that the Pilgrimage was created by Alice Buckton in the 1920’s.

The red thread through the story of the Blue Bowl however, is that this bowl was placed specifically near the Bride’s Well (sluice) by Dr. Goodchild as he was ‘told’ to do so in a vision, and after eight years (in 1906) it was retrieved as foretold by three women: the Allen sisters and Kitty Tudor Pole, sister of Wellesley Tudor Pole, giving all these people who are so important in The Chalice Well’s history, an energetic link with St. Bride.

In this context it is interesting to mention that the connection to Brighid didn’t stop there. Both the Allen sisters, who initially 29

found the ‘Blue Bowl’ in the sluice at Bride’s Well, were clearly so touched by this experience and the role of (St.) Brighid in the recovery of such a precious and mythical artifact, that it inspired them later in their lives.

Christine married John Duncan, a Scottish painter, and it is probably no coincidence that he, three years into their marriage, painted his famous masterpiece ‘St. Bride’, portraying two angels carrying St. Bride from the Isle of Iona to the Holy land. And not only that, but it is also said that he used the faces of his wife and her sister Janet as inspiration of the faces of the two angels in the picture.

Janet Allen went one step further and decided to follow in St. Bride’s footsteps by entering the monastic life as a nun, at which time she took on the name of ‘Sister Brighid’.

The Play

In the years that followed, I became more and more fascinated by Alice Buckton and started to look at her written work, poetry and plays. I also discovered that she was befriended with Fiona MacLeod (pseudonym for Scottish author William Sharp), whose writing about St. Bride I had been familiar with for a long time, especially around my work and explorations of the Isle of Iona.

Maybe it was through Fiona MacLeod that Alice Buckton became fascinated with (St.) Brighid, especially because she calls Her ‘Bride’ which is how She is mostly named in Scotland and the Hebrides (‘the isles of Bride’). Or maybe she was told about the significance of Brighid by Kitty and Wellesley Tudor Pole in connection with the Blue Bowl, or Alice knew of St. Bride from her time in London. We will probably never know.

The fact is that in 1914 (two years after she purchased The Chalice Well) Alice Buckton, who was then already a well-known playwright in London, wrote the pageant play 'The Coming of Bride' which was performed in Chalice Well Gardens.

The play has four acts and plays on Iona, in Ireland and finally in Avalon. Through this play she established many myths and stories of St. Brighid visiting Glastonbury.

Tracy Wise in her book ‘Beneath the Silent Tor’ (page 146) says: ‘There seems to be a happy balance and acceptance, a blending if you will, of the Christian faith upon which ancient Glastonbury was built and of the ancient beliefs of the Druids.’ For me that indicates that Alice Buckton had a deeper understanding of the balance that is held by St. Brighid, the 5th century Irish saint, and the Goddess Brighid, who was venerated by the Druids and still is by many now. An acknowledgement, which is very much in line with the Vesica Piscis symbolism of The Chalice Well, being that of the meeting and merging of apparent opposites, duality into unity.

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In her own words

To end this weaving of the energies of Alice Buckton with (St.) Brighid, here are some of the words of Alice Buckton herself, which for me hold that devotional energy that I personally know so well.

They are two quotes from Alice Buckton’s play ‘The Coming of Bride’. The first one comes from ACT III (plays in Ireland – 481 AD) of the play, and was recently read out by my friend and sister Priestess of Brighde, Alison Scobie at this Imbolc’s ceremony around the Well Head. It for me is a devotional evocation of Bride, Goddess and Saint: ‘Bride the Shepherdess, Bride the dear!

Bride, Bride of the Sunny hair!

Bride of the shoreland, Bride of the meadows, Bride of the song-land, Bride of the shadows Queen of the sunlight, queen of the earth Queen of sorrow and queen of mirth Bride the Shepherdess, Bride the dear!

Bride, Bride of the Sunny hair!’

The second quote comes from ACT I and plays on Iona – 467 AD, acknowledging the connection of not just St. Brighid with both Iona and Glastonbury, but also of the connection of the two sacred islands on an energetic plane. For me it holds a spark of Alice Buckton’s connection to Brighid’s fire: ‘Last night I dreamed a dream of singing! and waking in the dawn, full of strange joy, I bent above the embers of my fire, and lo, a coil of smoke gave birth to flame A flame of many colours, wonderful And in that flame, I saw my dream come true!’

May our dream of peace and unity, held strongly by (St.) Brighid as well as Alice Buckton and The Chalice Well, come true here in Glastonbury-Avalon and all over the world!

Bright Blessings, M A R I O N ‘B R I G A N T I A’ VA N E U P E N

Sources: * Buckton, Alice M.; Daybreak and other poems, Skilled books, India * Chalice Well Press, Chalice Well, the story of a living sanctuary, 2009, 2023 * Frances, Beth; Did Saint Bridget visit Glastonbury, 2008 * Wise, Tracy, Beneath the Silent Tour, the life and work of Alice Buckton 1867-1944; second edition, 2013; Book Printing UK, Cambridgeshire

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The Great Response by Alice Mary Buckton In 1917 Oxford University Press published ‘The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse’. The editors chose to include two of Alice’s poems. In their introduction the editors explained that a resurrection of ‘mysticism’ was underway: ‘…the fortunes of mysticism are mending. It has emerged from the morass of apathy which characterised the eighteenth and greater part of the nineteenth century; it is reawakening to the value of its own peculiar treasure of thought and word…it is as though the world were undergoing a spiritual revitalisation, spurring it on to experience – even through destruction and death – a further measure of Reality and Truth.’

So, here is the poem:

The Great Response Let me come nearer Thee, O Perfect Soul!

Down-looking on me, whereso’er I tread, With earnest gaze from cliff, and sky o’erhead, From clustered leaves and buds and bowers of green – Let me come nearer Thee!

Seeking Thine intercourse I wander wide O’er hills and valleys, under moon and stars, Rapt in a secret tumult of delight At every passing cloud, and hanging light On stream and mountain side.

I kiss thy cheek, fair rose!

Its pearly hue Reflects the darker passion blood of mine: Thy tender breath, responding to the lips, Is sweeter to the soul than new-mixt wine.

Young veined leaf uncurled, And tendril green, Clinging about my fingers slenderly, Thou seest not: what wouldst thou have of me?

What happy sense hast thou, to know the touch Of the unseen?

Blue dome of heaven that guards The living world Like a green gem within a casket rare, Fretted with brooks, and set in silver seas, What Breast contains ye both, the moving Earth And the free Air? 32

And lo! Within my soul Some happy Thing Betrayed the secret sigh of heart’s content: And, from the hollows of the breathless hills There came a quiet Voice: Look around on Me, The Presence, the Desire that moves and fills, The whole – the part!

I rise upon the winds I draw the stars Thro’ realms of night, on paths of trackless dawn!

Mine Eye contains the light of Day: mine Arm Unfurls the cloud, and flings the grateful shade On hill and lawn!

In glimmering regions, yet unfound, I penetrate The Abyss of Being, and the Springs of Thought: I order things that be: and blamelessly Divide the heavens and earth, reproved of naught, Of Joy and Power, insatiate!

I linger in the twilight land of grief: With health divine Breathing on frozen hearts that know me not: They lift their marred and chilly lips to me, Swooning into my bosom dreamlessly, For Grief and Death are mine!

I gather up the fleeting Souls that seem All day to die: Their beauty, melting, passeth not away!

Woven into the golden mist of Life They ‘merge again upon the teeming Strife That worketh endlessly!

And Man, the fairest of my children! Thou That battlest darkly with thy Destiny, Whom I have made for god-like liberty, And fain had lifted up to be with Me – My son and fellow-worker! Know I only Am: unhastening, uncontrolled, My Perfect Will Fulfills its perfect Self, around, above!

MY HIDDEN NAME is Joy! O mortal yield Unto the Breath that would thy being fill, The Breath of Love!

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Alice Buckton ‘The Golden Wheel is Turning’ Examining some of the early influences on Alice Alice Mary Buckton was born to George Bowdler Buckton and his wife Mary Ann in 1867, landing at Weycombe, near Haslemere, in the Surrey Hills into a house that her father had designed. This was an area of Britain that attracted an array of important Victorian writers and philosophers and was undoubtedly a rich source of inspiration for Alice as she was growing up. This placement of this soul, who later was known as ‘Eager Heart’, was interesting in itself for it demonstrates the importance and power of certain geographical places on those who live there and absorb, what Ronald Heaver called, ‘Tertiary Force.’ This force is an aspect of the magnetism that certain places hold being ‘part of the ganglia of the etheric nervous system of the Globe.’1 In this case the developing railway network played an important role as, in 1859, a new railway line from London to Portsmouth opened up the then remote hills of south-west Surrey, allowing an exodus of talent to escape from the capital city to live and create in this new unspoilt natural landscape. If we first name a few of over fifty talents who came to occupy this area in the second half of Queen Victoria’s reign then it will be enough to show the intellectual and spiritual firmament that would surround Alice as she was growing up: Christina Rosetti, George Eliot, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell and George Henry Lewes. However, towering above them at that moment in time was the Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson who Buckton was to come into contact with from an early age.

Alice and friends in Chalice Well garden 34

Tennyson had employed the architect James Knowles to design a house that would echo an ‘Anglo-French manor house of 400 years ago, when Malory’s Morte d’Arthur was first printed.’2 Knowles and Tennyson were both interested in the Arthurian legends and so the house they constructed ‘was to be a sort of Camelot.’3 The Bucktons were living nearby and, soon enough, Alice was to be holding a candle for Tennyson so that he could read from his ‘Idylls of the King’, published between 1859-1884. At his memorial service she spoke of how, ‘his voice alone above everything remains with me. I have never heard such a wonderful voice, and it was as rich a month before he died as it ever was…the very last verse I heard him read was a verse from ‘The Higher Pantheism’’: which states: ‘ The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains – Are not these, O Soul, the Vision of Him, who reigns?’

This poem, written in 1867, was read by his friend James Knowles at the launch of the Metaphysical Society, started by Knowles to seek a rapprochement between religion and science. This, over 100 years before Sir George Trevelyan’s Wrekin Trust’s attempts to do something similar with their ‘'Mystics and Scientists’ conferences.

Alice also remembered Tennyson saying, ‘Whatever men say of me I believe in Spirit and the immortality of the soul. It cannot die. Spirit is everywhere. It is Matter that bothers me.’

Many found the grand man of English poetry unapproachable, yet Alice was to sit on his knee several times as a child as he read from the ‘Idylls’ and it has been suggested that the very building of his home at Aldworth stimulated Tennyson to return to his major grail poem. By September 1868, when Alice would have been five years old, Tennyson was writing ‘The Holy Grail’ after what had been a ten-year famine in the construction of the ‘Idylls’.4 Of course, besides the ideas of a spiritual quest for a grail object or idea, there was the corruption and human failure of the Table Round and Guinevere’s betrayal of the King, that, with the publication of Darwin’s ‘On The Origin of Species’, added to the spiritual and philosophical debates raging in late-era Victorian society. Tennyson, however, still believed that he could compose a national epic in this period by using Malory’s template and applying it to the modern era. He apparently owned copious editions of the Malory (now held in the Tennyson Research Centre in Lincoln) saying, ‘There are very fine things in it, but all strung together without art.’ So he worked away from 1857-1874, with the final piece being published in 1884. There is little doubt that Alice imbibed much from the great man.

Tennyson died peacefully, aided by chloroform, holding an edition of Shakespeare that included ‘Cymbaline’. He had desired a simple funeral but inevitably it took place at Westminster Abbey and it remains unclear whether Alice spoke at it, as some record, or whether the quotes were from a later memorial service at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Haslemere. At the funeral, many of the great and good were there but not the Queen and, at the latter service, a stained-glass window of the Holy Grail was dedicated and Alice paid tribute to the Poet Laureate at length.5 He was buried near to Chaucer and Browning in the Abbey.

Then add to this the influence of her multi-talented father George Bowdler Buckton, with his studies of astronomy (building his own observatory on site at Haslemere), chemistry (studying at the Royal College of Chemistry) and entomology; the latter producing three monographs between 1876 and 1895. He was also very interested in studying electricity and evolution, answering Tennyson’s enquiry ‘How can evolution account for the ant?’ with, ‘the theory presents many difficulties’! Such were the times. Alice engaged in her father’s 35

work and interests and helped with the delicate colourisation of illustrations in her father’s publications.

In 1898, Alice wrote a poem, ‘To My Father’, which includes these lines: ‘ The Holy Mind of Man to occupy, Exploring still, in terms exact and sought !

Has led me too! Upon the patient way Thou and thy daring peers have made so great.’

By then, her voyage into the wider world was underway.

We do not know the exact date that Buckton left home but we do know that she was drawn into the world of slums and deprivation to give help and assistance to the poor of London at a time a half century distant from the creation of any type of welfare state. Thus, Alice came under the influence of the pioneering Octavia Hill (1838 -1912), one of the memorable women of the era who, as a social reformer with no formal schooling, decided to set up safe places for the poor and try to protect nature and woodlands from development. In this task she was helped by her early friendship with John Ruskin who gave Hill three properties in Paradise Place, and five more in Freshwater Place, Marylebone. They would house and look after the poor and the rent was then collected only by women. By 1884, the Ecclesiastical

Recent research indicates that Alice is talking with the famous garden designer and rose specialist Gertrude Jekyll 36

Commissioners saw the wisdom in this and gave her forty-eight more properties in run down areas with severe social problems. Hill then turned them, with the help of young helpers like Alice Buckton, into modest properties. One American admirer said, ‘She was ruling over a little kingdom of 3,000 loving subjects with an iron scepter twined with roses.’6 Octavia and, soon enough, Alice, appreciated the life-enhancing virtues of pure earth, clean air and blue sky and in 1875 she was the first person to use the term ‘green belt’. During this period, Hill also saved Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill Fields from being built on and was one of the three founders of the National Trust; established ‘to preserve places of historic interest and natural beauty.’ Incredibly, she was also a founder member of the Charity Organisation Society that formed the basis for the later development of social work. These must have been very important years for Alice although not much is recorded of her London whereabouts until we hear of her growing interest in the powers of education, shaped by the awful destitution in the cities of England during this period.

It was her belief in education that drew Alice away from London and into Europe until she arrived at the Pestalozzi-Froebel House in Berlin. Its principal for the last twenty-five years had been Anneta Hamminck Schepel (later Annet Schepel). Schepel was to accompany Alice from this moment until her death in Glastonbury in 1931. The Pestalozzi-Froebel House was one of several pioneering educational establishments emerging across Europe at this time. Its founding by Henrietta Breymann in 1872 can be traced back to the work of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), a Swiss educational reformer, much influenced by the ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau and the ideas of Romanticism. Pestalozzi wrote several works explaining his revolutionary educational theories with a keynote of ‘learning by head, hand and heart’.

He sought to promote welfare and happiness among society and thought that education was the key to creating a fairer society.

He abandoned his destiny as a clergyman to follow his ideas as an educational reformer, creating several institutions, including one at Yverdon from 1805-1825, and became highlyregarded for his work although the Swiss state chose to reject many of his ideas. His legacy was that he inspired the development of infant education in Britain through the work of Charles and Elizabeth Mayo and he inspired his student Friedrich Fröbel (1782 -1851) who in turn was to inspire Alice when she landed in Berlin. Part of the inscription on Pestalozzi’s grave reads: ‘ Founder of the New Primary Education He was an individual, a Christian and a citizen.

He did everything for others, nothing for himself Bless his name.’

Fröbel studied under Pestalozzi and took these ideas forward. He believed human beings to be productive and creative and that they should be given the chance to live in harmony. He developed the ‘kindergarten’ system based on: 1. creativity 2. free self-activity 3. movement 4. social participation.

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Thus, children would learn about the world through play, interaction and understanding. This was completely revolutionary for this time yet it is still followed in many countries to this day, particularly in the U.S.A.. His conception of God was mystical and had a lot in common with many of the later ‘new age’ beliefs and this led him to try and find a unity between God, the child and nature. In 1844, he published ‘Mother Songs, Games and Stories’, that proposed education should be based on moral and spiritual principles and that those involved in educating children should be highly trained.

There was obviously an igniting moment when Alice Buckton met Annet Schepel in Berlin for, within months, they had moved to London with plans to revolutionise the education system. In beginning to materialise this they linked with the Sesame Club and Education League based in Piccadilly; a liberal radical organisation that Alice spoke to in 1898: ‘ daughter institutions are springing up in other lands - in America, in Finland and in Stockholm – and shall England lag behind? Is there no such need in our land?’7

Buckton was a very persuasive person and it seems by the time of this lecture she had already secured enough support for her and Annet to launch ‘the first institution of its kind in England, which will be known by the name of ‘Sesame Child Garden and House of Home-Training.’

The house, situated at the aforementioned 43, Acacia Road, St John’s Wood, in London, opened on 6 July 1899. Things were moving along quickly. Annet, aged fifty-five, was to be Principal and Alice, thirty-two, was Vice-Principal. This Home and Child Garden provided residential care and day care for up to sixty children, drawn mainly from poorer families. The curriculum included cookery, needlework, cleaning, laundry, vegetable and flower growing and there were academic studies for older students including psychology, zoology, geometry and the history of educational reformers. There were walks and visits to Epping Forest and Westminster Abbey. By 1902, they were repaying their debt to the Sesame Club and had established a link with Edgbaston Training College in Birmingham.

We know little of Annet Schepel’s thinking except for a paper she gave to the King Alfred School Society in May 1903. In this she emphasises the development of the individual child and its connection with nature and stresses the importance of the teacher being ‘inspired by a glimpse of the divine in human nature…uplifted by the vision of the beautiful.’8 This glimpse into Annet’s thinking allows us to see that her and Alice were on exactly the same page and, in fact, Alice was writing copiously for ‘Child Life’ at this time under the title of ‘Nature Notes for Nature Lovers’. In these articles, Alice stresses that our life-cycle is not only about engaging with flora and fauna but also with the stars, the weather and the cyclical nature of things. To know more of ourselves, she writes, we need to be part of: ‘the great pageant of nature…How much we pass by without experiencing!’ She quotes from Tennyson, of course, and describes how inner city London schools can re-create the beauty of rural scenes for each term of the year – from Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter – the wheel of the year. In her Summer article she writes: ‘ We feel that in summer we have before us the perfected expression of the life that has ever been with us secretly working to its maturity. The inward has become outward, and we look upon it with wonder, holding our breath, lest we should disturb the greatness of the harmony.’9

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Her final paper for Child Life appeared in 1902 and this stressed the importance of the ‘child garden’ that would give the child the experience ‘of the great rhythmic processes of nature, to encourage love of life in all its forms.’ She refers to Fröbel in this, saying that every child should have access to a garden so that they can be in the constant presence of nature, ‘which is one of the direct self-revelations of Deity to man’.10 (This piece is an extract from ‘Teaching Souls to Fly: The Birth of a New Spirituality 18751987’ a new book by Paul Fletcher being published in summer 2025.)

Endnotes 1

R.A. Heaver, The Sanctuary of Avalon. Leaflet, 1960, and Ronald Heaver: The Man and Mission of Albion, Chalice Well Press, 2014.

2

W.R.Trotter, The Hilltop Writers: A Victorian Colony Among the Surrey Hills. John Owen Smith, 2003.

3

Ibid., Pg 35.

4

John Batchelor, Tennyson: To Strive, to Seek, to Find. Chatto & Windus, 2012

5

Robert Bernard Martin, Tennyson: The Unquiet Heart. Oxford University Press, 1980.

6

Robert H. Brewer, ‘“An Iron Scepter Twined with Roses”: The Octavia Hill System of Housing Management’. Social Service Review 39 (2): 1965: 222-231.

7

Cited from ‘Child Life’, 1899, in Tracy Wise, Beneath the Silent Tor. Appleseed Press, 2004; 2013. Pg 34.

8

Stephanie Mathivet ‘Alice Buckton (1867–1944): The Legacy of a Froebelian in the Landscape of Glastonbury’, History of Education, 35:2, 2006.

9

Cited from ‘Child Life I, no. 3’, 1899 in Stephanie Mathivet ‘Alice Buckton (1867–1944): The Legacy of a Froebelian in the Landscape of Glastonbury’, History of Education, 35:2, 2006..

10

Cited from ‘Child Life IV, no. 13’. 1902 in Stephanie Mathivet ‘Alice Buckton (1867–1944): The Legacy of a Froebelian in the Landscape of Glastonbury’, History of Education, 35:2, 2006.

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The Flow of Tai Chi

PETER QUINCE

Every morning very early, at a monastic hour, I go through the tai chi form, which affirms my connection to the universe. The flow of tai chi, which is a kind of moving meditation, replicates the movement of water flowing. I perform tai chi at home when nobody else is around, when much of the world is asleep, usually in the lounge but, weather permitting, in the garden because tai chi follows the pattern of nature, the curves and swirls and eddies and sweepings of the wind.

When I stay at Chalice Well the character of my tai chi movement changes; it seems to be directly influenced by the water from the Well, that precious liquid that flows both above ground and below and energises not only the garden but all the people who grace it, devotees and casual visitors alike. It feels to me that there exists some ethereal connection between the flow of the water around me and the flow of my tai chi sequence. One complements the other, but this is not at all surprising, for the energy of the water which emanates from the Well and flows down the garden directly affects how I perform the soft, subtle, yielding movements of this ancient practice. I become, as it were, an extension of the aqueous nature of the garden.

Sometimes, before standing between the guardian yews, I spend a few mindful moments at the Vesica Pool whose waters describe a figure of eight which precisely mirrors certain aspects of the tai chi form. I gaze down into the water which is basically still and reflective, but nevertheless I can perceive those little circular eddies on the surface which are complex 40

and absorbing and induce my body to anticipate some of the essential movements of tai chi as a kind of rehearsal for physically performing the entire sequence.

It feels as though through these soft vortices I am intimately connected to the silky sweet character of the water; to the stillness which, paradoxically, engenders subtle movement and a kind of wordless prayer. The rhythmic trickling of water is to me reminiscent of the chanting which one hears with quiet delight in abbeys, monasteries and similar holy places. I believe that, in a certain sense, the waters of the Vesica Pool speak to me of the rounded and ever-changing structures of the natural world; the Wheel of the Year exists within the circles that my arms make. According to Buddhist belief, of which tai chi is a physical manifestation, one of the central principles is the ephemerality of all things: nothing remains constant; everything flows from one form into another. Shape-shifting, if you like.

The waters that grace Chalice Well gardens are different every day, every moment; it is worth remembering that. What appears on the surface as constant is malleable, subject to wind, rain, animal and human contact; the influence of ancestors and even the vibrations of music.

The essence remains, the core of its being, despite changeability. The waters flow down from the Well as they are bound by nature to do, but also flow down from the higher plane under the powerful benediction of the Tor; and even above that, the heavenly clouds. In tai chi practice there is a sequence of movements called ‘cloud hands’, which entails the arms lifting to chest level before the body and the moving slowly, gently, from side to side. When I do this I always imagine that my arms represent waves on the sea, my hands being the foam which breaks on the crests of those waves. And when cloud hands blend into the next movement I picture the waves settling, the waters becoming still, my body resting just for a few moments before liquefying into the next sequence.

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It is uncanny how, in the midst of the tai chi form, my body flows as though all my bones have dissolved and I become amoebic and there is no rigidity, and what seemed solid has assumed a liquid quality. The atmosphere within the sacred garden seems to empower me to approach this immemorial practice with unassuming confidence and a kind of quiet respect, as though I need to repay the privilege of actually being present here; also of connection with others and the great unifying and yet multifarious cosmos.

Sometimes I stand in Arthur’s Court by the Healing Pool and close my eyes and feel an impulse to begin the initial movements of the tai chi form, a straightening of the arms before me and lifting of the hands to the horizontal and then a lowering of the body by bending the knees very slightly. I feel rooted like the trees and shrubs that surround me. Something about the power of this serene place infuses me with a controlled energy and I want to expand body and spirit to fill the legendary king’s Court with its foot-bathing channel of water. King Arthur’s Court is embraced by overcanopying trees where trunks and branches mimic certain stances of the tai chi form, as if they would accompany me on a journey from beginning to end when movement settles into heavenly stillness and the breath is momentarily held before being exhaled like a divine wind.

In his inspiring book, ‘Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain’ (please read it!), the acknowledged tai chi master Al Huang says, ‘one of the best images for tai chi is nature, and the movement of nature. The different branches of the same tree do not move the same but they are moving in unity. When you look at nature, everything has its own motion: the tree and the rock and the water running…’ This is precisely how I feel when I wander the gardens of Chalice Well.

They accord with Buddhist practice and, of course, the nature-loving orientation of paganism.

When I have strolled the gardens I am ready for tai chi, I am ready for the divine breath; but I am also ready for anything.

The ancient sage Lao Tzu tells us that although water is soft and weak it invariably overcomes the rigid and the hard. And Alan Watts, author of the classic text ‘The Way of Zen’, says, ‘tai chi exemplifies the most subtle principle of Taoism, known as wu wei, which means to

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act without forcing, to move in accordance with the flow of nature’s course…and is best understood from watching the dynamics of water’. In praising Al Huang, Alan Watts informs us that by going ‘the watercourse way’, he is as fresh as a mountain stream. Or, as I would put it, as beautiful and moving as the constantly energising waters which gather, like the devotees, at the Wellhead and flow down to the Vesica Pool and thence through their invisible but powerful influence into all the channels and rivulets of the land beyond, feeding roots and healing troubled souls.

I stand and wait for the moment, for the signal to begin. I listen for a faint but inspiring trickle of water whose soft voice belies its power. I breathe deeply in preparation, for breath is life; and whenever I exhale, water vapour streams out to coalesce with the evaporation all around me and gives me added strength and vigour.

We are all part of the eternal flow, the one living continuum. I find myself above the Vesica Pool, embraced by the guardian yews. My eyes are closed in prayer, but then I open them and catch sight of distant clouds, before dropping my gaze to the surface of the pool which reflects those same clouds and, if the time is right, the benediction of the moon.

I go slowly, mindfully through the entire tai chi form accompanied by a faint echo of water which trickles somewhere nearby, and reach the still point, the end of the sequence, the resolution, when I know that all is well and I have been encouraged by the red spring’s immemorial flow. I am rejuvenated by the gardens that embrace and protect me in my quest to find peace, love, connection and fulfilment within the constant ebb and flow of an ethereal tide.

Water is life, breath is life, and I have just taken a long healing drink. Thank you, Chalice Well, for being ever-present.

Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: Al Huang (Bantam Books 1973) The Way of Zen: Alan Watts (Pantheon Books 1957)

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