Five of us held an impromptu solstice gathering at the Snow Well in Greenwich Park. We brought fire, water, crystals, a quartered pomegranate, an abandoned bird's nest found on the way and chocolate lovingly made that morning. We worked with a meditation from Dion Fortune's Sea Priestess, sent that morning by Mara Freeman:
Sink down, sink down, sink deeper and more deep
Into eternal and primordial sleep.
Sink down, be still, forget and draw apart,
Sink into the inner earth’s most secret heart.
We each went down into the depths then came back up and shared our experiences. Visions of a well and of the white lady or snow queen who was not strong.
We continued, sharing a sip of water from the white spring in Glastonbury:
Drink of the waters of Persephone,
The secret well beside the sacred tree.
Waters of life and strength and inner light –
Eternal joy drawn from the depths of night.
Then rise, made strong, with life and hope renewed,
Reborn from darkness and from solitude...
We experienced a rising of the light from below the ground and all around us the darkness lifted and the sun made its presence felt.
After a ceremonial sharing of the chocolate, we caste the pomegranate to the four corners of the park as a blessing.