the spot and the X

It’s been over a week that I’ve been in Britain, first in England, and now in Wales. Tonight I’m in what is considered the spiritual heart of Wales, St. David’s. I can see why. This afternoon I sat on a cliff above the sea, paying homage to the beauty all around me. Behind me were the ruins of an ancient chapel, with its accompanying holy well. And as with most sacred Christian sites in this land, it happens to be surrounded by the remains of a stone circle. St. David’s is a small village, remarkable for its ancient cathedral that would be better suited for a major city. It’s sacred site a-go-go around here! Sitting on the cliff, with the myriad light jewels sparkling in the water below, I felt the thrum of life humming in everything.

Tonight is the first time I’ve been alone in a long, long time. At home, it’s unusual to have a night alone. Since landing in Britain, I’ve spent every evening in the company of friends. After the week of build-up to doing two initiations, and the celebrating that came afterward, I needed some downtime. I’ve been staying at Susan’s farm house near Carmarthan, the supposed birthplace of Merlin. Susan was one of the priestess’s initiated, and she drove me here today. The cell phone I brought which was supposed to work has not, and there is no internet available here. So the aloneness is palpable. I’m enjoying it immensely.

In this most mythic of settings, it’s been a mythic week. Without forethought, these initiations were scheduled close to the year anniversary of my Feri coven sister’s ritual of commitment to Lucifer. This was a move which all the rest of us were solidly against, and which have rendered the fabric between us all, but has also provided the unique gift of making me carefully shine a light on what of Feri and Reclaiming I value, and jettisoning what smacks of sorcery. So strange, the disparate paths the members of the coven Triskel/Triskets have taken!! I find myself here on this wild coast, thinking about my own path, and thinking about this human quest for power and our compulsion to make monuments to the sacred…creating structures that sing “power abides here!”, creating the X that marks the spot.

Gazing down at the swirling water this afternoon, wildflowers all around, I could feel the power of the elements in this place, the uniquely stunning mix they make here that causes all but the most sensory blocked human to be in awe of the beauty of this planet. Years ago, when I was teaching magic to activists, one asked me about “creating” sacred space. She asked “Isn’t every spot on earth sacred?” Today I thought a lot about that, how, yes, this whole planet is sacred…and every moment also. “Creating” sacred space is really a sort of remembering that we stand in sacred space, and places like this are not anymore sacred than others, but something about their beauty and particular energy helps us remember to breathe deeplyand cherish the moment. Sitting on the edge of the cliff, I didn’t need a stone circle or mighty cathedral to worship the fierce intricacy of Gaia, or to give thanks for the gift of being alive.

Could there be a connection between the urge of humans to create monuments and our urge to create rituals? With both, it seems it’s important to not lose sight that they are only a means of remembering, the spot remains, whether marked with an X or not. I felt clearly this round of initiations that I don’t pass power at all, but something about the ritual reminds or wakes up the initiate to the power that has been in them all along, the simple current of life force that sings thru all of us, just as these rocks, ruins, and mighty cathedral serve as signposts to what is actually already here. What could be better?