Wrinkles in Space

The view looking Northward from near the flagpole at the top of the hill in Queen's Park in Glasgow.

Have you ever been to a place over and over again and then suddenly one day, you notice something that you never noticed before? Maybe it's a building that must have always been there, but it somehow never quite registered in your mind. Or maybe you look at a wall and think, "Was it that color yesterday?" and you are sure, absolutely positive, that it was some other color before. Sometimes you can ask your family or friends, and they will tell you that this thing that you just noticed is exactly … [Read more...]

The Fox in the Park

City Fox in Glasgow

Once again, I find myself in Glasgow. There's something surreal about being here this time. The first time I walked up the stairs to the apartment where I spent September to January and where I will spend the next month was strange. This is familiar home-not-home territory. Sitting in the living room now where I took that picture of the thick fogoutside in January feels a bit odd. I'm dancing with my relationship with this place that was just a mental picture before my first visit last July but … [Read more...]

Knowing our places, inside and out

mop

T. Thorn Coyle's book Make Magic of Your Life might not, at first glance, look like it will have much in it of relevance to Pagans seeking to connect with the land beneath their feet, and the all-species tribe which it supports. The book focuses on desire and making desires into reality, taking the reader on a journey with the four powers of the Sphinx: to know, to will, to dare and to keep silent, and a fifth power, the power to manifest. It is an excellent book, filled with illuminating … [Read more...]

The land is made of stories

"The Coming of Bride" by John Duncan (1917)

Today in the Christian calendar is Epiphany: the official end of the 12 days of Christmas. In the Roman calendar which was adopted by Christianity, the 12 day festival of Saturnalia, beginning on 25th December, was a period out of ordinary time, a time of divination through dream and weather watching of what to expect in the year to come. For all that the period between the winter solstice and Epiphany is a time of rest, review and renewal, it's always a relief to me to be able to put this … [Read more...]

Whose land (spirit) is it, anyway?

The Loupin' Stanes, one of Eskdalemuir's two stone circles.

Welcome to A Sense of Place, a new blog where four contributors with different perspectives will be sharing thoughts and experiences of our places, our connection with the land and all its peoples (human and otherwise), and the relevance of these to our Pagan spiritualities. Why this topic? I have two wonderful Pagan friends from the USA who are currently living in Scotland. When they arrived a year ago, they told me that they had wanted to come to Britain because “this is where you keep … [Read more...]