Croning Day

Apologies for the delay of a week!

So, I started the day with a walk in Wytham Woods. It seems I was particularly interested, as so often, in wounded or dead trees. I was struct by the huge variety in the forms of beech trees. Their trunks can look like a giant's braided ropes or postmodern elephants. In some trees, the damage after a fallen limb looked like an emptied pod from which some extra-terrestrial had emerged. There were cases of herbaceous plants growing on the dead bodies of trees: life from death made so evident. And the autumn colours added such vibrancy!

After this, I picked up Gary and Elise and we drove to the nunnery where we met Ally. She ran through the ceremony, checking that I had brought everything. Gary and Elise agreed to be involved.

It started with Ally welcoming to the place the cardinal points - east, south, west, north. She ended by closing that connection. In between, we talked of gratitude and lessons and what I was letting go. Then I stepped through a threshold into becoming Crone, and Ally crowned me!

Maybe the very best bit was when she read a poem she had chose for me: "Dark Mother" by Siobahn MacMahon - which I hope you can hear the poet read here.

The slideshow has a lot of pictures from Wytham and one of a crowned Crone.

After this, we went for an incredible meal at a wonderful pub, The White Hart in Fyfield, which, it turns out, is owned by my old college at Oxford. A strange coincidence.

It was a wonderful day. Ally was just superb - and seeing Gary and Elise made it all extra special!