Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm (13 page)

Regular contact with nature not only enhances our link with the Faery realm and our ability to sense Faery beings, but it also helps to keep us grounded in our bodies and aware of the physical world around us. We don’t necessarily need to live near obviously marked sacred sites to find points in the landscape where our realms overlap; in fact, the most powerful place for you will be the site where you find yourself undisturbed by the footsteps of well-meaning spiritual tourists.

Trees

Trees are our closest spiritual relatives in the plant kingdom, with their roots reaching into the underworld and their branches like arms reaching towards the sun. As such, they are an excellent first point of contact with the inner spiritual landscape and its inhabitants. Many trees have a strong individual spiritual presence. Others have something more like a hive consciousness, and others can act simply as a window or bridge into another reality. The latter are often hollow trees or trees that have an obvious opening in the roots through which our energy bodies can travel into the underworld. Trees such as oaks, which have a very strong individual presence, can often be home to dryads, who can be useful allies in the Faery realm if they are willing to work with you. Like people, they have distinctive personalities and even moods (though their moods are far slower to change than humans, of course). You must bear this in mind when trying to make contact with the spirit of a tree, for if it is hostile, it is best to leave it alone and find a contact that is more amenable. When first opening your sense to energy, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between positive and negative signals. This is something that will come with practice as you hone your intuition and ability to interpret the signal that you are receiving. Again, contact with trees is an excellent place to start!

First Contact

When you have found a tree that you feel drawn to make contact with (for trees particularly associated with Faery, see
chapter five
’s section on tools), try not to make the mistake of blundering in without properly introducing yourself. Would you go up to a stranger on the street and hug them? Probably not, and if you did, it would most likely result in total bafflement at best.

To begin, stand a short distance from the tree and take in every detail that you can, using all your senses. Breathe deeply and slowly, remembering that the tree inhabits a very different rhythm of life but is no less alive than you are. Mentally acknowledge the individual physical and energetic signature of the tree, and open up your own energy to make a tentative first connection by opening your arms, palms open and facing out. If you feel that it is appropriate, approach the tree slowly with one hand outstretched. With the palm open, see if you can sense the energy field of the tree as you approach, stopping either when you feel the edge of the energy field or when you have an impulse to do so. If you are not used to sensing energy and are unsure what to be looking out for, it may manifest as a temperature change or a tingling sensation or even an unusual sensation elsewhere in the body. If at this point you feel the tree does not wish to make contact, it is best to politely withdraw. If, however, you feel welcome to proceed, you may greet the tree and move on to touch the bark of the trunk.

If you are unsure how to greet the tree, this may simply be an energetic exchange or you may choose to sing a short phrase or note. I use a simple salute in which I touch my lips, heart, and forehead and then present my hand outwards in a giving gesture. This represents the devotion, truth, and union of words, thoughts, and deeds, and I also use it to greet sacred sites. Now it is time to close your eyes and allow the energy to flow between yourself and the tree. Images, sensations, and sounds or simply a feeling of peace may come. You are likely to have different experiences with different trees. If the tree is willing, send your awareness into its roots and then into its branches. Try to gain a sense of the tree as a living and aware being. When you have spent the time that you both need for this contact, which you should feel naturally, withdraw gently and give your farewells. If you have had a positive experience, your link will strengthen with repeated visits and you may well forge a valuable inner world contact. This can be further sealed with appropriate offerings and journey work.

Natural Gateways

Gateways are portals found within nature where it is possible to pass through from this worldly awareness into otherwordly awareness. They are an excellent place to begin a walking meditation such as the Walking in Awareness exercise at the end of this chapter. The most common gateways found in nature are when two powerful trees grow together and their branches link overhead. There is a strong energetic presence when this happens, and you may sense or even see a distortion in the air between them. This most commonly occurs with trees most strongly linked to the Faery realm (as you will see listed in the tools section of
chapter five
).

Exceptionally powerful gateways may be found when natural arches or holes azre formed from stone, such as in St. Nectan’s Glen in Cornwall or Arch Rock on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Caves are obvious gateways into the otherworld and the perfect place to contact and experience earth elementals and underworld beings. Other gateways may be found simply in a gap between hedges or stones. To acknowledge the gateway and experience the shift in awareness, move forward with awareness and stand between the two trees (or whatever is forming the gateway) with your arms reaching to either side, palms outwards. Breathe, close your eyes, and simply experience. When it is not possible to stand in the gateway, you will still find the area around the site to be magickally charged and a good place for connection.

above
: St. Nectan’s Glen in Cornwall
below
: Arch Rock on Mackinac Island, Michigan

Rivers

Water flows through the landscape in rivers and streams just as it carries blood cells around our body in arteries and veins. It is an intrinsically magickal substance and brings an enchanted quality to any area it flows through. Although rivers may not be seen as gateways in the landscape as such, by allowing yourself to relax and simply listen to the natural music of the water, worries can be eased away, and it becomes easier to enter an altered state in which connection and communication can be achieved.

Rivers are often home to water elementals and also attract various Faery beings, as well as possessing their own spirit and identity. The spirit of a river can be a powerful ally for healing work, as you can, with repeated and extended physical contact with its energies, learn to “plug in” to its cleansing energies. This is particularly helpful with ailments caused by energy blockages.

To greet the spirit of a river, open your heart to the flow of energy, and listen intently to the sound of the water. Allow music to rise up within you, and let your song join the sound of the water, linking your energies.

Lakes and Ponds

Naturally formed lakes and ponds are clear gateways to the otherworld, with many having their own ancient folklore attached to them, such as Dozmary Pool in Cornwall, England, which was said to be the home of the Lady of the Lake. There are many tales of faery queens and ladies whose realm is beneath the surface of a great lake, and, as in many of the old stories, there is a magickal truth hidden within. Lakes and ponds of still water are nature’s magick mirrors, full of memory and mystery. If you are able to visit a lake during a full moon, when the moon is reflected in the water, this can be a particularly potent time to experience otherworldly energies.

Wells and Springs

Wells and springs, where the waters of the primal underworld emerge into our own surface realm, are extremely important in Faery Craft. They are sources of purity and healing and are usually under the guardianship of at least one Faery being, sometimes in partnership with an elemental. Both site and being/s should always be treated with the utmost respect; given time and attention, they can become powerful allies.

It would be wise to discover if you have a well or spring within reasonable travelling distance of your home, as this would be an excellent source of water for any magickal work you wish to perform, including consecrations and purifying space. Find your own way of greeting the well and its guardian/s, perhaps including a phrase, song, and a physical gesture of peace and honour such as the triple salute as mentioned in the previous section on trees. Offerings that leave no debris are also appropriate, but nothing should be placed actually in the waters themselves unless there is a justified long-standing tradition of doing so specific to that site. There are many wells and springs that have established connections with ancient Faery lore and myth, but in truth they are all connected and all sacred. All wells are one well, and when your awareness and sense of connection grows, you will start to feel the power that is held by their network of energies and the powerful link to the renewing energies of the underworld.

Hills

The Faery nobility are said to dwell within the hollow hills, and there are many examples throughout the world of high places where the power of the spirit of the land can be felt. Throughout folklore there are tales of people being taken into Faery through entrances in hills, often relating to genuine cases of real disappearances or mysterious deaths. One of the most famous of these hills is Doon Hill in Aberfoyle, Scotland, which is where it is said the Reverend Robert Kirk, author of
The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Faeries
, was taken into Faery to become a mediator between the worlds. Another famous example of a Faery hill is Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England, beneath which it is said dwells Gwyn Ap Nudd, the Faery king.

Ancient hill forts also are particularly powerful locations for contact with Faery and the ancestors. Not all places of power have such established folklore associated with them, but they often seem to stand out from the landscape and can easily be spotted. Faery hills radiate a certain charisma that is difficult to explain but is readily felt, in the same way that charismatic people stand out from the crowd. Often sites of ancient power may have hill forts or churches built upon them, as people throughout history have been drawn by their natural magnetism.