New Beginnings

On a warm Spring Day of fresh green earth and electric blue skies warmed by a golden sun, my travelling companion, and I came out of meditation by the Well, with an intuition to venture further up Chalice Hill, in search of new beginnings. For a whole year I have journeyed through a long dark tunnel of personal loss, bereavement and change. Obstacles like a landslide of boulders, have been negotiated, removed, or transformed into understanding and wisdom for the ‘NOW.’ I have fallen and almost despaired more than once in this tunnel, but somehow, I got up again, help came, and I carried on. This year, beginning and ending in May, started with a fractured ankle, which even after its healing left me with pain. This was followed by the serious ongoing illness of a loved one and ended with the death of my mother.

My recent visit to the Chalice was different, since I was prompted to take the path, above the Well and Sanctuary, finding somewhere to sit close to the summit of Chalice Hill. This spot radiates a great Peace for anyone willing to open their heart to its Presence.

My inner senses came to rest on the mystical Isle of Avalon, of which this Garden seems to be a physical manifestation. A still place at the Heart of the Universe, where it is said that King Arthur was taken for the Priestesses to heal his wounds. And so, in that moment it seemed appropriate for me to ask to be healed of my own wounds. Tension released from my shoulders in the sun’s warmth and peaceful vibration, as the light penetrated and cleared my mind. I sat there for some time, until the process felt complete then slowly made my way down the hill, calling in the shop before venturing into Glastonbury itself. It was heart-warming to find To Sing with Bards and Angels, my book published in December 2022, in stock on the shelves, so I bought scented tea lights and a new journal for a new beginning, to say thank you to the Spirit of this sacred place.

Top of Chalice Hill from Chalice Well Gardens

Top of Chalice Hill from Chalice Well Gardens

Top of Chalice Hill from Chalice Well Gardens

View across the Vale of Avalon

Travelling on with the good friend accompanying me on this glorious day out, we called in St. Margaret’s Chapel, now also dedicated to Mary Magdalene, before heading into Glastonbury for a late lunch.
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We found a perfect ending to our beautiful day in an old courtyard called The Glastonbury Experience, when we met a young Chinese woman who told us that her name meant wisdom and beauty. All at once, she began to sing in tune with the windchime she was carrying. Things like this happen in Glastonbury. My friend and I both slipped into meditation as her beautiful voice soared, its pure sound washing over us in the late afternoon sunshine. We were three women who had been born into three different nations, harmonic, in our wish for peace across the globe. And isn’t this, what we, the ordinary people of all nationalities and creeds really want?  Throughout the world, we are singing, meditating and praying. Try as best you can to hold on to your Light and your Song.
 
Peace,
Iona

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