E10

Earth Temple

Wednesday 10th August 1994 (approx 9:20pm)

Earth Temple Air Temple Water Temple Fire Temple

Rob: It's raining heavily. It is early morning.

Barry: The sky is grey.

Rob: The rain makes smells stronger.

Barry: It is early autumn, and the leaves are turning golden. I look to the North, across tall grass. There is a flattened path leading to a tree circle.

I can smell boar.

Rob: There are two boar masks hanging from the maypole. We take them and put them on. Then we move off into the forest.

Barry: I can hear the faint sounds of a flute.

Rob: The rain sounds like a distant murmur.

Barry: A twisting path leads through the woods. We pass underneath tree roots and through dense undergrowth. It easier to smell than to see.

Bits of feather and rag hang from trees on the path. We reach a junction. One path is well trodden, the other much less so, and this is the one we follow.

Rob: I encountered a junction like this once in a dream.

We enter a small clearing with a single massive monolith. It is carved with a crescent moon. Beneath the crescent are three ears of wheat or corn.

I can feel energy vibrating from the monolith.

Barry: The path leads on from the monolith. I can still hear the flute, as we carry on along the path.

We have come across a round burial chamber, its top covered with moss and lichen. There is a small pit inside with remains of a fire, and a clay pot.

Rob: Let's leave them as they are. The path continues on, and the energy is different around the mound. It is dark, but not evil.

Barry: I agree, this is a place to leave behind unwanted qualities.

Rob: Things that are outmoded.

We move on. I can still hear the flute. We move deeper into the forest. The forest floor is dry, the rain is not penetrating the trees now.

Barry: I can see the remains of a house or stone structure. A door hangs in place. I can see the mask described long ago, one side shows the face of the sun, the other the face of the moon, carved into the door.

The structure has no windows. Should we enter?

Rob: Yes, but I don't see a door handle, perhaps we need a mask?

Barry: I feel uneasy about it.

Rob: We could bring more masks. (Continue on)

The path continues. We have been travelling in a straight line. We come to a stop at the top of a steep slope. There is a gorge with no way across. We could go down, follow it or scramble up. We should go down I think.

Barry: Okay.

The rocks are slippery.

Rob: I can sense others.

Barry: Yes. There is an area of flat land over the rise. It looks like a meeting place, where paths converge.

Rob: A coming together.

Barry: I crouch and assume the boar aspect. Now I can sense others.

Rob: Not boars?

Barry: No. I can see a figure in the undergrowth beyond the clearing. It looks like a young girl.

Rob: Not very young, she is pregnant.

Barry: She is crouched on all fours. She shuffles forward to the meeting place, and draws and arc on the ground with a stick.

Should we enter?

Rob: We'll wait and watch for now. She is not the only one present. On the far side of the clearing is a giant, sitting very still. He is about eight feet high I think, and dressed in shaggy furs. At his side is an old man wearing a green velvet robe, he is also very still.

Barry: There is a blue stone at his neck. His eyes are bright.

Rob: His name is Jaltz.

Barry: He looks familiar.

Rob: I've met him before.

Barry: His eyes are like the Green Man's on the cave. I can see your eyes through the eyes in the boar mask. They also resemble the Green Man's.

Rob: Back to centre. The giant and Jaltz enter the clearing waiting for us. The woman goes to the centre and sits. She does not look comfortable.

Barry: Her stick is a wand carved with runes.

I feel that the blue amulet, the wand and mask will allow us to go down the path.

I can still hear the flute.

Rob: We meet under the auspices of power this instant. What offering shall we make?

Barry: We have little, except the effort thus achieved, we are all travellers on the path.

Rob: No. We are travellers, the others are more a part of things than us. Jaltz is ancient wisdom as an old man. The giant is an unfamiliar part of earth - brute strength. The woman is pregnant with potential.

Barry: The woman is I feel both huntress and hunted. She seems the most nervous. She protects her unborn. Perhaps she teaches us to protect that which is not yet fully formed.

Rob: So we have explored the ways.

Barry: I feel that we are currently lacking aspects of communication with deeper parts of the earth.

Rob: No, not lacking. When you touch deeper parts of yourself you are changed.

Barry: I feel that these figures can take us deeper down the paths, and act as guides.

Rob: "You need to recognise this within you. To recognise our place within yourselves. To be familiar with us."

The woman looks ill at ease, it is hard for a man to recognise the feminine within. The giant is the silent expression of the pure strength he represents.

Barry: It is time to leave I feel.

Rob: Turn around. You will find that you never left.

Barry: I am facing the Maypole.

Rob: All parts of the forest connect to this place.

I take off the boar mask.

Barry: The dual aspect, Sun and Moon mask is prominent.

Rob: I am saturated with old energy. I touch the pole.

Barry: I have the energy of a young girl, alive and bright. I touch the pole.

Rob: The Maypole is an earthing thing, it grounds energy back to the forest.