Entrance to the Chalice Well Gardens at Glastonbury
Magical Healing Waters at the Chalice Well in Glastonbury
It was a beautiful sunny morning when I arrived for the Mary Magdalene workshop at the Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury. While walking up the path, there was the most beautiful scent of roses which must have been wafting down through the archway. All was still, but I could hear the excited welcomes and 'hellos' from the women above in the meeting room as they readied for the workshop that day.
I took a moment before entering, stopping to take it all in. This was a very sacred space.
At the Chalice Well Gardens, Glastonbury, a bell sounds twice a day for a minute silence. This practice started during the Second World War when it was introduced by the Government and broadcast at 9pm each evening. The Gardens carry on this tradition today by the ringing of the old school bell at 12 pm and 3 pm.
The workshop day was filled with love, peace and meditation.
Lead by Amanda, we collectively brought in both the energies of Mary Magdalene and Christ to help us balance both the masculine and feminine within us, and to let go of and transmute anything that needed healing.
It was a very moving moment when I felt the Christ energy in the room.
Strong and silent, he walked slowly into the room, his presence bringing a profound peace. His white robed figure then stopped as he turned his head to look over his shoulder to greet Mary Magdalene. As she entered the room her presence lit up his face. She carried with her a dynamic energy that I can't quite describe. It could almost be slightly threatening (?) Was this the feeling that people had when they met her I wonder? Is this why people today are generally uncomfortable with strong women? To me, she seemed like a fire starter. Passionate beyond comprehension. Yet soothing, loving, warming, and very sure of herself.
Colour sketch for work in progress, Mary Magdalene Mandala.
The two energies, when united made me feel a wholeness and completeness that I've never quite experienced before.
It felt slightly heady. (I can't quite describe it) To me, Jesus felt cool; strong like a rock and persistent like water. Mary was like a rose; stunningly beautiful, scented and colourful. Her energy filled the room. It lit it up with a very high energy. I got the sense that the Christ energy grounded her divine feminine energy. And then the energies danced together in the room, and we celebrated this union in quiet meditation.
It was a beautiful day, and a powerful workshop. I made lots of new friends, and we were able to share so much together in a relatively short space of time. We came from all over, each person with a special intention for this pilgrimage. It felt like dipping into the magical healing waters of all time.
These are the precious moments of life.
Standing barefoot at the symbol of the Vesica Piscis, the merging of the Divine Feminine with the Divine Masculine.
Sketching at the Chalice Well
I returned to the Chalice Well a few days later with my husband. We spend the day hanging out (old hippies that we are) and had a picnic under the great Yew trees. I managed to get a little sketching done, but was really just taking notes and absorbing the atmosphere...
Taking sketching notes at the Lion's Head spring (painting with the spring water which is full of iron). Beneath the font are two cups, which invite the visitor to drink. Also the two cups symbolise the meeting of like minds, the coming together of two people, and physical as well as emotional healing.
I set up in a shady spot to take some watercolour notes. While there my attention was drawn to a group of young women who had come to pray and sing at the fountain.
While sketching my attention was drawn to a group of girlfriends singing the most beautiful songs....I didn't recognise them. One sounded medieval, and another one like a native American song.
As I was sketching, one of the girls came over to look at what I was painting. When I turned to look up at her, I got a bit of a start. She was older than I had previously thought. But there was something about her face that drew me in. Although it showed the signs of age, it seemed timeless....
Meeting her gaze I felt she had stepped through time from the past.
I went back to my drawing to 'ground' myself again, and it was only a few days later when I was working on the sketch for the Mary Magdalene Mandala, that I realised, that she was my Mary! A face that showed the passing of time; a face which reflected a life lived with passion. But who's aura emanated a spirit that was eternally young.
The Vesica Pool at the Chalice Well Gardens, Glastonbury.
The experience of this sacred place will live long within my memory and its healing energy will no doubt be channelled through my work.
If you'd like to know more about the Chalice Well you can look it up here.
Our group at the Mary Magdalene Workshop.
Couldn't resist a selfie.... At the chalice Well showing the wooden lid adorned with the Vesica Piscis symbol in sacred geometry.
Image of the Vesica Piscis from Wikipedia.
More about the Sacred Geometric Symbol of the Vesica Piscis.
The Vesica Piscis is a symbol from Sacred Geometry which shows two circles overlapping, each having its circumference intersecting at the centre of the other circle. It is the beginning point of everything from the division of the cells that form an embryo to the entire worold of Sacred Geometry. There is a short film about the meaning of this symbol by Charles Gilchrist.