Working with the Land

A Spring Handfasting at Logan Rock

Posted by Laetitia on April 16, 2018
Posted in: Community, Events, Rites of Passage, Working with the Land. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Yesterday Cassandra and I had the pleasure of Handfasting a lovely couple at Logan Rock.

Walking over three fields and stiles carrying heavy bags of ritual tools was indeed an energetic workout for the day!

The forecast had warned of rain, the winds were high, but Cassandra and I have taken on the role of Celebrants in all types of weather so it does not deter us if the couple are happy to proceed.

We found an area with a flat surface for the small table used as an altar and placed large stones upon the altar cloth in order to anchor it while placing accoutrements upon it.

It was the first time we had Handfasted a couple while they were holding their small son as he did not wish to be separated from his mother, but was well-behaved during the ceremony.

There were heavy rain showers during the morning, but as soon as we began the introduction …as if by magic…. the sun appeared from behind the clouds and we had a dry ceremony!

The high winds gave Cassandra a challenging start with her bullroarer, but when she activated it, the strong sound resonated around the space.

The couple’s infant son took was curious about the procedure and while I anointed the couple Cassandra kept him amused by playing ‘peek a boo’.

The forecast of rain seemed to deter visitors that day and we had the space to ourselves.  We also had plenty of room at the site for jumping of the broomstick.

We were pleased that all went well for such a warm and loving couple on their special day.

Thank you to Charley our neighbour for taking these photographs while she and her mother exercised their dogs. They enjoyed the ceremony and thought the vows beautiful and emotional.

It was not until were in the Logan Rock Inn that the rain showers returned. A satisfying and successful day and we wish them happiness for the future.

Here is the feedback we received:

”

Our handfasting was a truly magical experience made all the better by Cassandra and Laetitia.
They made the lead up to the ceremony stress free and went above and beyond our expectations making the day perfect. It was a pleasure getting to know them and for anyone looking to have a Handfasting ceremony we would highly recommend them.
Thank you both again for all your hard work you gave us the perfect day we wouldn’t change a thing.” J&A

During the evening we met our dear friends Mike Chappell, Mark Lewiss and Craig Weatherill at the Queens Arms Botallack for a meal.

 

It is always a pleasure to see these fabulous ‘pillars of the community’, we had a splendid evening.

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Lammas Reflections 2017

Posted by Laetitia on September 28, 2017
Posted in: Seasonal, Working with the Land. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

The summer of 2017 consisted of a hot weather in June, July and August were surprisingly cooler with a considerable amount of rain. The corn collected for the construction of dolls had a different texture from the previous year. Some of the local farmers harvested earlier due to extra moisture.

We had a busy summer work-wise and spent time contemplating our harvest resulting from the year’s projects.

Our group met during the evening of Lammas to constructed new dolls and Brigid crosses.

Image – John Isaac

We then ventured out into the local fields of St Buryan to build a fire and burn our old corn dolls and crosses. It was a beautiful moonlit night with hardly a breeze. As each member of the group placed their corn in the fire we had time to reflect on the year that had passed, sacrifices we made and the lessons or rewards reaped as a result.

Image – John Isaac

 

Image- John Isaac

The flames and embers from a fire are hypnotic. This provides an ideal setting for scrying as many moving shapes are formed by the flames and smoke.

Conjuring and drawing energies from the fire and earth below, the moon and sky above,  the eyes of the elementals surrounding and observing along with the company of the ancient ones creates a powerful potency to draw upon and work with.

 

There was no better way to celebrate the harvest of our creativity throughout the spring and summer of 2017.

 

Working on the Wild Side Workshop July 2017

Posted by Laetitia on July 9, 2017
Posted in: Working with Spirit, Working with the Land, Workshops. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

This particular workshop occurred during the full moon phase. It was workshop 3 utilising different methods of spirit communication. During the afternoon we focused on elemental spirits and then other spirit forms during the evening. The energies from the full moon came to the fore and provided  profound experiences for our group.

Cassandra took the group members to woodland and set exercises for them to encourage insight into the hidden world of the elementals. I remained at the cottage on this occasion as I had some urgent work to do for another client.

The exercises need total focus and discipline as it is easy to let your mind wander onto other matters, however this occurs less with practice. The group returned to the cottage to discuss their personal experiences and discoveries.

After guided meditations in the evening to set up a protective space and connecting with spirit symbols and guides, we utilised various methods of spirit communication.

We discussed symbolic meanings of visitations and experiences during meditations.

The group then experienced methods of psychometry, scrying and use of a communication board.

We had significant evidence from spirit communication particularly with the psychometry exercise. It is wonderful to see their reactions when group members discover they can access information from tuning in to these objects.

This particular workshop is intense and group members work hard and therefore achieve results. They left us commenting on how much they had learnt about the subject and also about themselves.

“”Thanks to u both, I got such a lot from the workshop, really interesting & so useful to me on a personal level. If you do decide to start a development group let me know. Amazing workshop, I’m completely worn out today & cant stop thinking about the things I experienced, thanks so much xx“

“Third workshop done and this weekend was amazing. Cassandra & Laetitia have been amazing teachers. If you get the chance book your place on their workshops. Again thank you ladies was amazing weekend see you September”

 

Wise Woman Walk and Handfasting June 2017

Posted by Laetitia on June 28, 2017
Posted in: Events, Rites of Passage, Working with the Land. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

After an energetic 3 days at our local Mazey festival we were booked for a ‘Wise Woman Walk’ by a couple who also requested to be Handfasted at the Men an Tol.

We took them to Madron Well and Baptistry first where they enjoyed a hedgerow walk.

We arrived at Madron Well and while discussing the clouties, two men arrived and asked Cassandra questions about the history of the site.

Madron Baptistry is wonderful at this time of year with all the lush greenery of summer.

 

We were pleased to find no cattle present at the Men an Tol as it would have caused a problem regarding the Handfasting ceremony. The weather was perfect for our adorable couple.

Setting a sacred space at Men an Tol is a wonderful experience.

 

The couple loved the heartfelt words of the ceremony and their vows were full of emotion.

I connected their hands with a Handfasting cord while explaining the procedure.

It was then time to partake of the special honeymoon brew we had made.

It was indeed a privilege to Handfast this adorable couple and spend time with the land’s wondrous grounding energy after an energetic but fabulous weekend.

 

Working on the Wild Side Workshop May 2017

Posted by Laetitia on May 21, 2017
Posted in: Community, Events, Working with the Land, Workshops. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Workshop 1 Working with the Land

After our Swiss workshop in April on a larger scale, we have returned to our usual Spring and Summer workshops with a smaller group. It was a beautiful sunny weekend but still quite cool for the time of year.

On Friday evening we discovered more about our members, their lives and spirituality. This raised some interesting spiritual topics, ideas and experiences.

During Saturday afternoon Cassandra discussed the use of magical charms and working with clients. All members of the workshop are given copies of correspondences for the construction of charms, the planetary hours and tables. They were also shown the use of an Ephemeris.

I (Laetitia) then took the group through the process of planning their charms and constructing them. Each charm is unique as the maker chooses their own ingredients, metals, gemstones, plants and aromatic substances  to generate energy within them. Not all people enjoy or are able to sew charms bags and will use another method of housing their chosen ingredients.

On Saturday evening I took them through the process of blessing their charms at the hearth. We then visited the magical Boscawen-un stone circle as the sun was setting and gave members of our group time with the stones and feel the energies of this wonderful site.

As the last person completed the circuit the star of Venus graced us with her presence, shining brightly in the sky. We then raised energy to magically charge their charms.

The temperature lowered as the darkness enveloped us and it was time to return to the glowing embers of our hearth to partake of Cornish mead and saffron cake. A fabulous weekend!

If you would like to join us for one of our workshops, visit the relevant page for details and see our feedback on the Testimonials page.

Feedback from this workshop:

“Such a lovely few days with all of you, lots of interesting discussion & lessons learned, looking forward to seeing u soon Had a great weekend with these amazing women & two lovely guys, I would highly recommend trying one of their workshops.”

“Hi thank you both for a great weekend really enjoyed and got a lot out of it.”

“The weekend was wonderful!” 

Celebrants for a Handfasting May 2017

Posted by Laetitia on May 11, 2017
Posted in: Community, Events, Rites of Passage, Working with the Land. 2 Comments

It was a wet and misty day at the Merry Maidens for this Handfasting ceremony. Cornish weather is unpredictable and in this type of work you carry on regardless. It is not always glamorous with perfectly posed photographs but extremely satisfying. The following photographs are by John Isaac.

This was the feedback we received:

“Can’t thank you enough for your amazing witchery, excellent crowd control, and the winning one liner of the day by Laetitia “tell them you’re a bit tied up at the moment” when the groom’s phone went off in his pocket during a crucial handfast situation. Cassandra said it would be memorable and it was, and you both played a very major part in making it so! To quote Lou Reed – just a perfect day! Thanks again. Will keep in touch.”

We enjoyed a wonderful day with a fabulous group of people…. and there is nothing better than praise from an experienced and wonderful wise woman on how impressed she is with my work.