Beltane

The Beltane period has been very busy and I have not had time to post. So what have I been up to?

The page layout and printing of the Beltane edition of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple Newsletter. This quarterly newsletter is full of Goddess articles and news and is mailed to supporters of the Temple. As good things never come singly another page layout job came along - the summer edition of Northern Earth an excellent quarterly journal that caters for anyone with an inquiring interest in historical landscapes, folk lore and custom, earth-based consciousness and spirituality or a 'Gaian' vision of the Earth.

But Beltane was not entirely spent with InDesign on my Apple Mac! I spent two days driving around some of the sacred sites of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire with a delightful lady from the USA who was on her first visit to Europe and wanted to see things, 'off the main tourist trail.'

The first day we visited two turf labyrinths (Julian's Bower at Alkborough and the Caerdroia labyrinth at Dalby north of York) before visiting Britain's tallest standing stone, the Rudston Monolith. Rudston is at the heart of a sacred site recorded by the Romans as a centre of worship of the Goddess Brigantia.

The second day we visited The Three Sisters at Boroughbridge - triple standing stones that are unfortunately better known as The Devil's Arrows. These stones must have also impressed the Celtic Brigantes as they built an important settlement nearby. Then we drove to various sites along the river Wharfe, sacred to the Goddess Verbeia, before dropping into Ilkley to see the Roman Goddess Altars that are displayed in the parish church.

Thornborough Henges are not far from the Three Sisters. This is one of the most important Neolithic structures in Britain. The Henges are on private land so it was a joy to visit the central henge for the Sacred Brigantia Beltane celebrations. This is a relaxed gathering to celebrate the return of the sun and the start of summer. Heading this post is a photo I took of Brigantia and Herne at Thornborough.

Oh and I have finally taken the plunge and started Irish Gaelic evening classes. Now I am travelling for a while beginning in Glastonbury before flying to Boston (USA not Lincolnshire :) )