Wheel of Life Full Moon Meditation
Saturday 9th August 2025
12 Noon, local time
Sun in Leo, Fire, the leader/child
Moon in Aquarius, water/intellect
Dear Gatekeepers
This month our full moon meditation is in the watery sign of Aquarius, which is in the southwest of Britain on the British Landscape Zodiac. Here we pilgrimage to Cornwall and visit St Nectan’s Glen. It is an astonishingly beautiful, even magical spot. The glen has been cut by water and erosion during many millennia. Pilgrims and visitors are greeted by a waterfall that drops around 20m into a natural bowl and then emerges through a circular hole cut by the endless stream. Moss and lichen cloak the sheer sides, along with precariously perched trees, so the whole place has a mysterious, otherworldly atmosphere.
Once revered by Celts, who venerated the spirit of the water, and later associated with the 6th Century Saint Nectan, it is still visited today by thousands of people from all over the world. It is believed that King Arthur and his knights came to the glen to be blessed, before heading out in search of the Holy Grail. Christians, Buddhists, pagans and curious visitors with no religious beliefs of any kind are drawn to the place to this day.
Many leave little souvenirs of their visit - single coins wedged into tree trunks, old train tickets from the journey, photos and keepsakes of loved ones.
Here we meet Charlotte in the sun sign of Leo. CLICK HERE
Report on the Gatekeeper Norbury Pilgrimage by Jane Knight
Recently Vicky Wade led a pilgrimage in the area around Norbury Church on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. We met at the Duncombe Arms in the village of Ellastone situated near the larger towns of Uttoxeter and Ashbourne. The pub bears the arms of the Duncombe family. Apparently, a couple used to drive by the boarded-up pub every day and dreamed of buying and restoring it. They decided to embark on their dream when the wife asked her mother if she thought the name Duncombe was related to her maiden name. Her mother replied that she hoped so as the family crest was outside. It opened in 2012 and is an excellent start and finish point.
From the pub we turned left along Main Road then another left along Dove Street to a bridge over the River Dove. It was a very hot day and there were families to the right enjoying the natural ‘water park’ along its banks. Just over the bridge we took a footpath on the opposite side through an overgrown patch with plenty of butterflies. Once through this patch we called on the Kindly Luminous Beings to grant us their hospitality. When we looked back at the unkempt flowers, we noticed a Gatekeeper butterfly. What a wonderful sight to greet us as we set off along the riverbank through a field with solitary ancient trees. We were pleased to enter the shade of the Old Manor parkland along a path with telltale signs of rhododendrons and some specimen trees that had obviously been planted. Vicky pointed out traces of an old railway line on the opposite side of the river. A short stretch (c.250m) of track bed crosses between the old Norbury Station and the bank of the river Dove where there are the remains of the bridge which carried the railway across the river. The line was the Ashbourne Branch of the North Staffordshire Railway, built shortly after 1854 (the date when the land was conveyed to the North Staffs Railway Company). By 1955 the line was reduced in status to a mineral line, and by 1968 the line had ceased to operate.
We negotiated the narrow path, avoiding tripping over tree roots and crossed a wooden bridge. At the end of the path we reached Sides Lane where we turned right. As we walked along, we noticed how trees had grown round and incorporated the parkland’s iron railing fence into their trunks. After a short distance we reached the Church of St Mary and St Barlock in Norbury. The latter is an unusual choice, being a medieval Catholic saint, connected with Finbarr of Cork. The church was built by the Fitzherbert family in 1295 with 14th and 15th century additions.
John Fitzherbert, the third Lord of Norbury, had been Governor of Waterford and there is some speculation as to whether this was related to the choice of the Irish/Celtic saint. The magnificence of the church and the manor next door seemed almost out of place in this quiet rural setting. The manor dates from 1290 with Tudor additions. We spent time exploring the unusual gravestones, admiring the ancient yew tree and visiting the church.
The church felt very calm and welcoming. Although it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the current church is almost entirely medieval, in fact the third church on the site. It contains a number of interesting features: two Saxon cross shafts; an early 14th century chancel unusually large in relation to the rest of the church; the late 14th century perpendicular east window; and late 13th/early 14th century windows on the north and south side. The two Saxon columns have Celtic markings. One is in better condition than the other. It’s interesting that they should be brought into the fabric of the church rather than kept outside. The oldest windows contain eight rare grisaille stained glass windows which intriguingly contain the arms of the King of England, French royal family and Robert the Bruce of Scotland, hardly allies of each other.
Another mystery is how the church managed to escape destruction during the Reformation period. They must have been a very powerful Catholic family to avoid persecution at that time. The chancel also contains two extremely fine alabaster tombs of the Fitzherbert family. There is a possible connection with a great local workman called Henry Yeveley who is now largely unknown. However it seems more likely to have been his father, a tomb engraver, with whom Henry trained. Henry worked as a tomb carver but moved to London where he became a Freeman of the City of London by 1353 and was engaged by the Royal family to build a church which led to many other commissions. There is speculation he might have built the perpendicular window which is a style he pioneered.
On exiting the church we crossed to Roughlow Lane opposite and took a path through a field of wheat which as we exited took us past the old Norbury and Ellastone Station buildings. The station house is a two-story brick building with slate roof with a brick extension in replica style. The platforms are intact and have been incorporated into the garden. We then strolled back along Dove Street over the bridge retracing our steps to the Duncombe Arms. On the way back to our cars we spotted an example of typical British humour. A blue plaque read, “On this site Sept 5th 1782 nothing happened.”
All photos by Jane Knight
The Portland Procession originally planned for 21st September has been postponed to a later date on the weekend of 1st-2nd November 2025. It will now take place as part of Towns of Culture (Portland and Weymouth) Reveal art collaborations which aim to “reveal untold stories, make space for imagination, and bring people together through creativity”. It is hoped funding from the Arts Council will support this combined event.
Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (PSQT) is working in partnership with Gakekeeper Trust and other collaborators on a celebration of Portland’s living land archive and the creation of outdoor learning spaces to connect with the land and its history. The proposed procession includes sound composition, dance and storytelling as well as light installations. Workshops will bring children and the community together to prepare for this event.
The procession will retrace the route of last year’s journey from the Drill Hall up the processional path carrying renewed energy to the Memory Stone Circle. Gathering in the deepest amphitheatre of the quarry, the procession will pass through the location where the Fleet Street portal will be rebuilt. Three future outdoor learning spaces will be outlined with sound and movement.
One of these will be beside the Gatekeeper Stone. The Gatekeeper butterfly will be carved on the stone, metaphorically drinking from the fossilised water. The carving of the book of nature will take place next year, when a further celebration will mark the arch being rebuilt and the two portals of the pathway being established.
The culmination of this year’s procession will be the dedication of the Geomorphology Stone to Professor Denys Brunsden who was a key figure in gaining UNESCO World Heritage status for the Jurassic coast. Music for the afternoon will be composed by his son Martin. This twilight procession and new carvings (including the wording on the Brunsden Stone) will leave a lasting legacy in the landscape of Portland, new memories written in stone.
Angela Shaw, Trustee
With thanks to the Trustees and love to you on your landscape
Rose
Rose.wol2022@gmail.com