The sky is an undefined shade of grey giving no clue as to whether
or not the clouds will open themselves up for me today. It’s a cold
and windy morning and a thin veneer of frost has settled on the trees
and bushes overnight giving a sparkling coat to the miles of awakening
earth before me. In my path lies a circle of standing stones known as
‘the King’s Men’, intriguing to visitors and locals
alike. To me though they are more than architecture or an interesting
item to view. What they represent is an ancient longing of ancient souls
for something divine: something elusive, yet always within. This I feel
as I step into the circle.
Most magical and religious traditions have some concept of sacred space.
However, it can be difficult to define exactly what this space is, what
the point behind it is, and how you create it for yourself. So for the
newcomers to the idea, and for old hands looking for a different perspective,
this is my attempt at explaining what that special somewhere really is
based on some magical places I have been.
The passage above describes the Rollright Stones, which are roughly three
miles from my home. They consist of a stone circle, a single standing
stone and a dolmen otherwise known as the King’s Men, the King Stone
and the Whispering Knights. The circle is dated from between 2500-2000
years BCE. They are local limestone and lie on the borders of Oxfordshire
and Warwickshire near the villages of Great Rollright and Long Compton.
The Rollrights are not as big as Avebury or Stonehenge, and this is part
of their appeal. They are made of local material by our ancestors who
lived on the same land as us. It feels like home there, and the creators
feel like family rather than a distant theory. This place is sacred because
of the history and heritage it holds for us and what it represents in
terms of the sheer effort that must have gone into creating the scene.
As you step into the circle you get a sense of a different space and time
as, in a clichéd but spectacular way, everything slows down. This
truly is a place to sense the sacred in the beauty of the land around
us, in our ancestral legacy and in the sheer amazing way that even if
you have never heard of the stones and stumbled across them one fateful
day, the moment you step into the circle you will feel a different kind
of link with our earth.
As I pass through the enormous front doors of the temple and enter
the special room for our shoes I already have a sense of respect and excitement
at what I am about to see. The men who showed us where to stack our shoes
brought out some boxes. It seemed they had bought an entire fruit stall
especially for us. Barefoot and laden with apples I tiptoe towards the
music and the heavy scent of incense. From the naked ‘shoe-room’
the actual temple is incredible. Every surface, wall and person inside
is decorated with beautiful patterns and colours. The people are respectful
as they worship, but not silent. Some sing along with the music, and the
shared whispering of many prayers is surprisingly loud.
This was a Hindu temple in Birmingham, perhaps not where the earth loving
would expect to find a connection with Divinity. It was not a strictly
Pagan encounter but I did learn a lot that could be applied to Pagan practise
and to the understanding of sacred space.
What first struck me as a sacred part of the temple was the welcome I
got as I arrived. The people were complete strangers to me yet as I went
through the doors the smiles on their faces, their willingness to help
and their encouragement as I went into their temple to learn about their
faith was fantastic. They were completely open to helping me learn and
tried to make it as memorable as possible. As well as the fruit they gave
me some special sweets and some pictures of their shrines. I really was
welcomed into their community and I think this unconditional friendship
and support is something we should strive to achieve in Pagan circles
whether small for friends and acquaintances or public.
This temple also showed me the value of sharing celebration with others.
Every member of the community had some part in decorating the temple and
each had a part in the blessing and cleansing ceremony I saw which literally
took up the whole space. Every person was involved and each could express
their feelings in their own way, showing that it wasn’t necessarily
the temple but the souls within that made the place sacred. Everyone really
was equal.
I never thought I could be so hot. I was told earlier that this is
the hottest day Florence has had for the last hundred years and after
walking up hundreds of steps up a steep hillside in the baking sun I am
definitely a believer. At the top of the hill, after recovering myself
from my collapsed position on the floor, I am standing outside a brilliantly
white building. I cover my shoulders with a shawl and enter. The coolness
is lovely, and if nothing else the contrast between the heat outside and
the cold in the cathedral makes this a sacred place. It is dark and the
air seems milky and soft. Lit only by candles, my eyes take a moment to
adjust before I can see the columns rising up above my head and the great
marble walls stretching upwards. In front I can see steps leading either
up to the sky or down into a pitch-black shrine where people are praying.
Some are singing and the voices echo around the building. Walking around
I can see many frescoes of saints and many tombs of Italian artists. I
am aware of the squeaking of my shoes and use this as an excuse to stop
for a moment and gaze at the beauty of the art and the scale of the building.
Christianity is not my area of expertise, and while I did not particularly
like the building of the church in Florence, Italy, from it I took away
some lessons in reverence. What made this space sacred was the fact that
for the worshippers it held their God. As soon as I stepped into the church
I could feel the quietness. The moments spent there did show that amongst
the happiness and excitement of our rituals there should be moments of
consideration and quiet reflection. Let there be mirth and reverence amongst
us, as it has famously been put.
Giggling and chatting, I quickstep through the streets with my friends
to the ‘Glastonbury Experience’ where the temple awaits us.
Not knowing what to expect but imagining what delights we might find we
charge up to the door…and stop. Inside it is silent. Feeling slightly
silly but knowing our silliness is understood and forgiven we take off
our shoes and step inside. All around the room sit women from all walks
of life contemplating the beautiful shrines and the amazing harvest Goddess
figure who stands welcomingly at the altar. We light candles and sit to
contemplate what all this really means.
The Goddess Temple in Glastonbury, Somerset was created by a team of
people headed by Kathy Jones, and is the first of its kind in the country.
It is a beautiful place and there aren’t enough ways under the sun
to thank them for all the hard work they have put in on behalf of us all.
This is partly what makes the temple sacred to all who enter. What the
altars and shrines represent is not only the Goddess and the love we share
for our earth, but the coming together of the Goddess loving community.
It is a testament to how much strength, commitment and creativity there
is amongst us. The magnificence of the temple is based on this, the love
of the Goddess and the friendships between us. In creating our own sacred
spaces and the temples of the future we should bear this in mind. Whereas
we all know that we don’t need a temple or indeed anything to find
sacred space, places like this bring us together and initiate new changes
in us we cannot necessarily find anywhere else.
There are many other kinds of sacred space, such as astral places created
in your imagination or simply your home or garden. The last place I want
to mention however is the wild places you find on a long walk, maybe in
the middle of a wood or on a mysterious path created by animals. These
places in nature are just as valid a sacred space, as attractive to your
soul and as potentially life changing as any of the humanly created spaces
I have already described. Every place on earth has a spiritual meaning
for someone, bringing them closer to their Gods or Goddesses. Whether
it is a grand temple or a quickly cast magic circle that communion with
the divine, primal essence of the universe is the central point to sacred
space. Creation of sacred space is easy; all you have to do is find somewhere
that appeals to the divine in you.
