Journeys through nature

Wherever we find our special place in nature we feel refreshed. Our vibrational selves resonate with elements of Mother Earth held deeply in our hearts and souls. Colours and smells, sights of birds flying or in trees, trees flowering, steep breathless hills and streams all connect our memory to a sense of time and place. You may say: “I’m a mountain person” or “I feel at my best beside the sea”, perhaps associating this with actual physical experience or from an evocative image giving you a surge of positive well-being.
 
In Cornwall we say that Cornishmen and women are always drawn back to their roots. Lots of houses have names like ‘Kalgoorlie’, brought back by our mining forefathers from working in Australia. The land itself calls us back, its vibration existing in every atom of our physical and emotional being. Being essence practitioners and producers, we intrinsically know that, as part of a vibrational universe, our physical and emotional bodies respond to imbalances in our energy fields, and that we have flower and vibrational essences to help us rebalance ourselves.
 
Interestingly, intuitively, people visit ancient sites all over the country and feel better for it. In Cornwall, St. Michael’s Mount is a vibrationally powerful place. It is the most visited National Trust property in England and has been a place of pilgrimage for over a thousand years. Monastic life was built over Neolithic dwellings, which were populated where four ley lines cross. St. Gothian’s Sands, close by Godrevy Beach, draws people all year round. Few realise that this is one of the sites where the first missionaries of Celtic Christianity landed, and that St. Gothian’s Chapel is hidden under the sands amid the remains of ancient huts, and its flowing spring holds the vibrating echoes of pilgrimage and healing.
 
Cornish Connections
When our ancestors arrived they walked across land bridges and plains, travelling to all corners and establishing their custody of the land. They made their primal connection with spirits of the landscape and shore and built round-houses on Cornish tors (hills), always close to a water source. Water was venerated as a constant in these precarious pagan times, and it can be imagined how rites of passage would play out, as important life moments were reflected in this flow from source.
 
Cornwall is known for the saints, missionaries, that landed in coastal areas, bringing their passionate belief in a type of Celtic Christianity that was an amalgamation of Roman, Jewish, Coptic and Egyptian Christian traditions, taking influences from trade routes through Gaul, Northern Spain and Greece. High-born families sent their sons and daughters to monasteries for a good education, and some became monks and nuns. These emissaries travelled from Ireland and Wales to places like Cornwall.
 
In West Cornwall saints landed in St. Ives Bay at the Hayle Estuary and St. Gothian’s Sands. Those that weren’t massacred by local chieftains settled throughout the west and their names are linked with the mediaeval churches that remain as sentinels on the horizon. They adopted the sacred waters of our pagan ancestors as they built these churches close by. The new religion became integrated with the accepted ceremonial role of springs and wells, these ‘holy wells’ then honouring the sacred spirit of the place.
 
My Cornish Holy Well Essences Journey
Just as we are all drawn to our own refreshing vibrational place, Cornish Holy Well Essences reflect my resonant connection with the fabric of West Cornwall, my revitalizing landscape. Teenage angst was salved with hugging the odd standing stone, and when I could drive, I was drawn to visiting stone circles and holy wells. My essence journey started after visiting Sancreed Well, where I felt I was given a message: “You’ve got to make essences here!” What was that all about? I’d used Bach essences, but never considered making an essence. I had to find out more. Studying with Sue Lilly of Mandala Complementary Studies helped me become an advanced practitioner, during which time I started to make essences at holy wells and sacred springs. By coming to the Gathering I met other enthusiastic essence people who inspired me to work with the naiads, light beings and spirit guides who wanted to be involved with making these new essences. It sounds instant, but it took ten years to bring Cornish Holy Well Essences out into the world. This set of essences reflects our ‘shared knowledge through experience’.
 
Cornish Holy Well Essences
Essences are co-created at the Cornish Holy Wells and sacred springs by me and those energetic beings who choose to take part in each ceremony. The combined energy signature is captured in a mother essence. No well water is used as it is hard to know if the wells have been contaminated by animals visiting them.
 
Each essence stands alone, and yet as a set, the Essences honour the stage you are at in life, and the factors which may be affecting you at this time. Using the whole set can take you on a deep journey, whenever you feel in need of insight into your personal situation. For a life reading you select essences from four distinct Signifiers, which designate the focus of your enquiry. Four Aspect essences reflect the factors influencing your enquiry. The two Lodestone Essences are the protectors on your journey. Using the set  you can select a combination essence, from a Signifier, two Aspects and the Lodestones. Each set also includes unique selection tools: The Voyage Compass map and selection cards. Each box set has a hand-crafted interior and also includes a clear quartz crystal to continually refresh the energy of the essences. The circular part of the label design is the ordinance survey map symbol for a well.
 
An Essence Selection for Now
I went to my set of Cornish Holy Well Essences and dowsed. What came out was surprising but aligned with our communal story.
 
Stellar-Well: Axis (Sancreed Well)   This signifier essence encourages us to step into the Universe to see things from different perspectives, from outside of both our physical selves and emotional selves. The aim is to gain distance from our habitual rational thinking, which enables us to look at issues from different angles and get perspective on who we are, so that we can reposition ourselves in a more favourable place.
 
Ask yourself: “what axis do I live by?” Dictionary definitions describe this as ‘a fixed reference point for the measurement of coordinates.’ If you were to do a mind map of where you are at present would you be at a fixed point? Has this changed? Would you like it to be different? Allow yourself to envisage something new; open the window and let in fresh air, light, hope and inspiration.
 
 
Sancreed Well is stepped deeply down into the earth. Phosphorescent mosses grow on its side and sound disappears, giving a feeling of timelessness. The essence was made by placing the mother essence blend on a dowsed spot beside the well. Joining me were the guardian of the well, the naiad, and interdimensional light beings. The energy shared was instantaneous – the qualities of the essence created to help us travel outside of our idea of ourselves, and to identify our true potentials. 
 
Sing-well: Celebrate (Lower Boscaswell Well) This is an Aspect essence, and it renews our hopes and dreams and reminds us to celebrate all aspects of this physical life, to ‘sing’ it out. There is a strong feeling of being at the heart of the ancestral community here at this well. Its proximity to the coast may connect with the beliefs of our ancestors in the power of the sea. As you sit beside the well, the lightness and vibrancy of this place makes you feel as though you are caught in a song. Celebrations and ceremonies centred in part on important events like baptism, betrothals, weddings and hopes for the future. The cycles of the Celtic year could have been played out here between the land and the sea.
                                    
Steer-well: Direction (Giant’s Well)  This is one of my Lodestone essences. Situated at the top of Trencrom Hill, from this well you can see the south and west coastlines of West Cornwall with its patchwork of fields and woods laid out before you. The ribbons of roads and lanes are easy to see from this perspective and you can trace your route in many directions. This essence may be appropriate if you feel aground during your voyage and need to see the route clearly, knowing that you have made the right choice for yourself.

On your voyage you may find progressing through the different aspects of your reality difficult at times so Steer-well, and its sister essence All-is Well, are the lodestones provided as you traverse the waves.
The Combination Essence
In guiding us to these three essences, the Cornish Holy Wells are asking us to dare to dream. We should start by celebrating the good things we have in our lives and what is important in our personal narrative. Wherever we feel stuck, we have permission to look outside ourselves, to safely consider if where we are is where we want to be, and, if not, how to work towards changing this. We may have to be honest with ourselves.  We are safely held during our search, allowing ourselves time to assimilate thoughts and feelings.
 
Our present is unexpected and has thrown up challenges to our perceptions and expectations. Ralph Waldo Emmerson said, “It’s not about the destination, It’s about the journey.” As with other essences, using Cornish Holy Well Essences balances the positive with the negative aspects which have emerged. We are on the journey and essences can help. As we journey together or alone, we can share an Irish blessing for travellers:
 
“May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God grant you always,
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.
May the Saints protect you,
And bless you today,
And may troubles ignore you,
Each step of the way.
God be on your road every way you go.”
 
There are lots of wells and springs, holy and not, in every part of this country, the continents and the world. Honouring these sources, by visiting and spending time in contemplation there, sends ripples of energy throughout the collective connection of the wells, raising their vibration, waking up their healing abilities for us all to access. Visiting your local well or spring will spread a little love for all of us. Thank you.
 
Lesley
 
You can order the selected essences from the shop. 
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Article published in Essence Magazine the BFVEA (British Flower and Vibrational Essences Association) quarterly. To find out more about BFVEA and getting their magazine go to: www.bfvea.com
References
Rees E. (Illustrated by Rees. M) (2000) Celtic Saints – Passionate Wanderers Thames and Hudson. IBSN: 0-500-01989-4
 
 
 
 
 
 
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