By Fiona Barnes
We have just held a powerful, joyful, inspirational weekend, welcoming alumni and new individuals and families to the land.
The equinoxial weather brought the change of the season to the valley; winds, rain and sunshine.The apple trees bowed down with the bounty of the summer filled boxes and pockets with juicy fruit, to eat, cook or store for those deep winter days. The rare delight of harvesting almonds, the exotic lime green and pink hues of the thick hulls splitting open to reveal the in-shell nut; the creativity of the children to find the right pair of stones to crack open the treasure.
We cooked wonderful meals on the fire, made hedgerow jam from damsons, blackberries, plums and apple, spun wool from our sheep whilst we wove dreams in our hearts, told stories and listened to the saxophone under the stars; punctuated by the conversation of the owls in the oak and the ash above our heads.
We witnessed the joy of living as a tribe, as the older children cared for the younger, within the inter-generational weave of our group,(and acknowledged the grief for the majority who don’t live in this way in our culture).
We held ceremony to mark the Equinox, in a blissful moment of sunshine in the Stone Circle, with each person making a pledge, naming the action they commit to taking to make this a better world.
We came together in song, our heart beats synchronising as we sang out on to the land.
People spoke of their deepening connection to themselves, to each other and the Earth, of their life-changing experiences (in 48 hours!), and left feeling renewed and full of courage and curiosity.
We will meet again in December (13th – 15th) to celebrate the Winter Solstice, come and join us.
https://embercombe.org/winter-solstice-experience/
