The morning of the first full day of The Silent Eye Workshop had not yet dawned. I had slept well, “If I had dreamt I did not recall” words I would hear more than once that day.
I rose quickly, really looking forward to going into the hills to greet the dawn. We had done this in Cumbria and I had really loved it.
I went downstairs early enough to have a coffee before leaving. After a while the others arrived. Stuart was in the conservatory and announced it was too wet and windy to go up to the hills. I have to admit I was disappointed but Stuart asked us to keep our outdoor clothing on and so recreate being outside. Another lesson in mind over matter.
Listening to Stuart describe what we were about to do helped. Then I closed my eyes as he took us through the scene and walked to were we would of been if not for the weather. I still had a niggling thought that the ancients would not of been put off by weather.
Then the magic and solemnity of the moment took over. We had each taken a token and Katie had had picked the one that made her the pole bearer. She stood in the library next door to the conservatory under the light and awaited us to bring her the seven radiances for each pole.
I could explain this but my words would be clumsy, I hope to learn better, so I am inserting a couple passages from Sue’s post A Radiant Dawn
The idea was a simple one… to bring the Seven Radiances that symbolise the essential nature of the Sumerian gods into the temple. For our purposes, we had chosen to work with seven of the most prominent deities, each one associated with one of the then-known planets, referring to them as Planetary Beings, a term that recognises both the life and inherent sacredness of our own planet and those with which we share the solar system.
The symbol of eternity, traced by many feet as the Radiances of the gods were added to the staff, was not an empty act. At the moment when the sun rose over the ancient hillfort, it was a Veil the colour of Love that was added to the staff, and Love was carried into the temple.
The staffs were laid to form a single line above the circle of the enneagram, forming a Sumerian symbol of sovereignty… the rod and circle, the ‘measure and containment’ of that which gives form to the formless; on earth, a symbol of kingship, in the heavens, a symbol of the gods.
We then had a guided meditation similar to ones I had experienced with the group before. Once again I was lifted out of my body to fly up into the beyond on a beam of light I could see many other lights all around and our planet small and glowing below.
When the poles had, had all the radiances attached we followed them to temple where we had more meditation.
I am not sure if I have any of this in the right order, though burned into my memory it seems strangely muddled.
After meditation we went for breakfast and I ate a full English..my body felt as if it had been out in the gales and rain on the hills. I was still finding this bouncing back and forth through space and time strange.
Still there was no time to worry about that then, as after breakfast there was a rehearsal for act two,time to change into our robes to enact Ritual Drama 2: A Second Self and all before lunch?
Below is a photo of Stuart and Sue As Anu and Aruru holding the two poles bearing the radiances.
willowdot21 