The Ceremony of the Trees - Part Three

It is only now, when I have left this place that I am able to return, and even now sometimes on the drive in I am overwhelmed with tiredness or lethargy. It's not right...I love to be here, it's my family home, the landscape of my childhood, it's where I left the magic...buried in the woods.

I have returned to claim it.

A journey revealed a vision and this is how it unfolds...

My feelings were unsettled as I drove home...home...I still call it that even though it's been a year, home is where the heart is, so they say. As I approached, my old stomping ground, I saw a Crow land in one of trees above me. Crowe is an ancestral name on my Mother's side, and Crow is one of my Totem's.

The Crow suggests a time of new beginnings, there is energy and magic surrounding me, a period of great potential is emerging. It suggests new opportunities and I should be watchful so that I may act on them as they arise. Conversation will be important if I wish to get that which I need. Group activities may provide the best format for me at this time, rather than solitary pursuits; a means to rediscover the magic within my life.

I took it as a good omen for the work that I hoped to do and tried to quell the uneasy churning within. As I grew nearer to the forest a sense of foreboding settled round me not aided by the dankness of the day. I parked up and skittishly got out of the car. I collected my things and paused as I debated whether or not to lock up...I looked around...there was no sign of him...heaving a sigh I hit the button, the car was now secure...but I was not...

I clambered over the gate and the fencepost's, twice catching myself on the barbs wrapped around it, though luckily neither pierced through. As I entered the woods a huge, Heron swooped up from under the bridge, it glided up the length of the river and disappeared from sight...I reached frantically for my camera all fingers and thumbs, at it's breath taking grace; unwilling and unable, to tear my gaze away. My feelings of despondency fled.

The Heron signifies that I am a woman that knows what I want emotionally. There is the implication that I am are used to being emotionally independent, though in relationships am found to be both reliable and committed. It advises me not to be impatient when it comes to love but to take action when needed and reminds me that I am not the person that I used to be, meaning that others may have to reassess their former opinions of me. The Heron tells me that assuming I follow my instincts, remaining true to myself rather than the guidance of others, I should embrace the opportunities presenting.

I stood silently, feeling the earth move and settle around me; I placed my hand on the Sentinel's sturdy trunk. "I've come for you," was all I said. Turning, I raised my hands to Spirit and began to call aloud; my voice rang unheeded through the branches and carried across the water, beyond the roar of its crashing over rocks. The Ancestors heard me, they came and lent their strength. To each tree I took a crystal; as I journeyed to make contact with the Spirit held within each ancient trunk, I slowly sketched a symbol onto the surface, drawing the energy into the stone and allowing the Spirit to cross over. When each crystal was charged I left it at the base of the tree, allowing the energies to merge, as I proceeded to the next. I was not disturbed...

When the fifth and final working had been done, I sat. I sat where I always sit and allowed my eyes to roam...what would I hear...where would I be drawn...what would nature bring me.......silence...emptiness...nothing...

The energy was gone.

It was my magic that brought the woods to life, the Spirits were my guides...they never let go of me...I left them behind...and my magic with them...

I collected my crystals...

As I climbed the gate for the last time, knowing I would never return, a wave of sadness washed over me. I gave thanks...for the good times, for the memories, for what we shared. With a bittersweet feeling I jumped the last few rungs..."Ow!" The wire finally caught me, third time lucky, thought I - damn. Touched then by a presence of old, I was kindly but firmly reminded; gifts are always exchanged, balance must always be kept. The price for this working, my blood...the blood of my ancestors.