Our Glastonbury Pilgrimage

It has been a while since I have taken a group to Glastonbury on retreat and having never stayed at St Michael’s Chalice Wells Retreat House, I was a little concerned how it might be, especially with all the rules; no phones/laptops, no shoes, no meat/fish, no alcohol, no smoking etc.

But there was no need for any concern and to be honest it is difficult to put into words what was, effectively, an mind blowing, heart opening, incredible weekend, which left me on a huge high and no doubt impacted the other ladies similarly - life changing in ways we don’t yet know as it will take time to process and come back down to earth.

Maybe it helped that the group energy was cohesive and harmonious, nine of us Reiki Masters, with the other two ladies also Reiki attuned. This admittedly brings with it a certain energy, which the Manager and Gardener recognised, and were grateful to us for the ripple effect this brought into the gardens - this really is a conscious space and people notice the energy that certainly groups bring and the way this impacts the whole energy system.

The House itself has an incredibly pure energy, helped by it being situated on the St Michael’s ley line, which brought with it, its own energy, especially this close to Beltane.

The lack of phones and WIFI made a huge difference and was quite an enlightening experience for many of the ladies, realising the extent of the distraction phones bring into life, preventing deeper in person connections.

But it was more than that. There is no doubt we were held in love. I wasn’t sure whether we’d sleep, because of the high energy, but the House held us, nestled us in, and while I spent much of the night and early morning on the land, the moments I did sleep were deep and restful, and others experienced the same.

Olga who I have known for a long time now, as she used to cater on the Glastonbury retreats I ran pre-pandemic, out did herself again, with what I am told was outstanding vegetarian meals, vital and abundant and made with love. Karma yoga was involved, the ladies took it in turns to lay out breakfast and do the washing up. This certainly wasn’t a spa experience, but a ‘get stuck in’ retreat.

We all made it up the Tor for sunset at least one night, some of us all three, and some made the journey up there for sunrise too. Both were a treat, always different, town was busy over the weekend with a Medieval Fayre at the Abbey and the Tor was therefore also busy. Friday there was drumming at sunset, Saturday the annoying buzz of a drone, the last night silence - I know which one I preferred!

The yoga was held in St Michael’s room, in the earth, below the gardens and what a treat this was too, to teach such committed students, with joy and laughter and a whole heap of energy swirling around the room. We delighted in Kirtan, courtesy of Carolyn (and Teresa for bringing the harmonium) - thank you ladies.

As for the Reiki, I’ve never felt quite that level of energy, held by the House, and the recipients felt it too, deeply healing.

I shouldn’t be surprised, as this is a healing space; just like Reiki it draws people when they need it most and clearly we needed it. Chalice Wells present itself as a living sanctuary of healing, sanctity and peace to soothe the soul.

The upper room is a meditation space, where people can sit quietly to contemplate, meditate and reflect. There is a dedication to silence in the room, which has created, without doubt, an atmosphere of clarity enabling a deeper connection with the inner self - most of us were buzzing after sitting in this space. There’s a note, which reads: “Somewhere within the soul there is silence. Attain into it. It is a pearl of great prise”. Silence is, as they say, golden, if only more of us recognised this.

Chalice Well is amongst the best known and most loved holy wells in Britain. Since ancient times wells have been regarded as sacred places, giving access to the mysterious and Divine, and at Chalice Wells, the Well is honoured for the healing and restoration it provides.

It is known as the ‘red spring’ because of the red iron deposit the water leaves on everything it touches. Many legends are attributed to these waters including the myth that they represent the blood of Christ. For others the waters are acknowledged as the essence of life and so a continuous spring like Chalice Well is seen as a direct expression of unbounded life force.

Staying at the House, we were given free 24-hour access to the gardens, which felt like a true gift. This meant we could collect the spring water at our leisure. These waters have long been associated with healing properties but there is a subtler, more profound dimension to ‘water-as-healer’ which lies in its capacity to store and transmit energetic information.

The gardens are incredible, vibrant, alive, conscious. One of the many synchronistic moments of the weekend was being connected to Dave, the head gardener. He dowses the land to plant. He is renowned for his “no kill” approach to gardening, and refuses to use tap water with its various chemicals to water the land, and instead grows in such a way it doesn’t need watering, or weeding for that matter, working in harmony with Gaia to create a resonance of peace, love and harmony. He is an Aikido practitioner as well as a yogi, and he has certainly brought harmony, peace and love to these gardens.

I was fortunate to spend each morning with him, between teaching and giving Reiki, dream walking the land with rods, standing, sitting and listening to the trees and plants. This connection, our conversations, my learnings, were life changing in ways I can’t yet put into words. I can sense the symbiosis in our approach to our work, of allowing more of the divine and the heart, for the greater good of the earth, the goddess, Gaia.

I was also fortunate to have the time and energy to immerse in the Tor and gardens on my own at night and early morning, listening and deepening my connection to this incredible land. It felt like a coming home again, a healing, and a resulting deepening to my heart, which was difficult to hear beyond the grief of the past few months. Perhaps then, a re-orientation, and certainly Glastonbury was bringing in people and situations to support this.

We were all on our soul path here together. The white spring has always been my most favourite place in Glastonbury, this dark, candle lit and cavernous space, beneath the Tor where the white calcite spring bursts forth. I wasn’t sure whether the ladies would share my love of it, but I shouldn’t have doubted that, they embraced it in their nudity and immersed in the deep pool, finding the experience incredibly liberating - well done ladies, you did us proud.

Of course town was visited and crystals bought, and Drapers Sheepskin factory, a family run factory near the House, was also supported. And there was much laughter, joy and merriment, and tears of course too - this is a healing space after all.

A Huge heart felt thank you to all who facilitated this trip; Kim in the House, Dave in the garden, Olga in the kitchen and all you beautiful and wonderful women who were drawn here by spirit and honoured your own heart and soul journey, walking the soul path - let’s see what happens next!

Love Emma x

P.s. Thank you Jo for contributing to the photos.