Hawthorn
by Blayze

Sink your awareness down into the earth. Become aware of your breathing. Enter a trance state (using usual breathing techniques…)

You find yourself standing at the foot of a large hill - all around you is darkness pierced only by the brilliant light of the stars… twinkling like jewels embroidered into the velvet cloak of the night sky above you.

By the light of the stars you can see that a path winds in a spiral about the hill. You move to the left and begin to walk along the path - ever twisting and spiralling to the left. You begin to feel the ground slope beneath your feet as you slowly walk the spiral path. Your awareness shifts with each turn as you sink deeper and deeper into trance.

You are aware moonlight growing brighter as you near the summit of the hill and you realise that the moon is rising to hang just above the hill itself. 

Bathed in the moonlight is a tall, ancient stone that stands in the centre of a flat plateau. The spiral path winds ever towards the stone in the centre, one half of which is in shadow, the other illuminated by the silver light of the moon.

Gradually you find yourself walking in a ever tightening spiral as you move closer and closer to the stone… always and ever moving to the left. At last you come face to face to with the towering and ancient weathered rock. By the light of the moon you see that there is an image carved upon its surface… A straight line runs from an inverted V at the base to the top of the stone. Halfway up the line you see one horizontal line extending to the left. This is the Ogham Huath - the Hawthorn carved into the single upthrust spur of living rock.

You feel the power awakening in the stone and sigil as the moon continues to rise. The Ogham stave glows and you run your hand along its length. You feel the energy tingle through you from the tips of your fingers to your feet upon the earth. Suddenly everything shifts and you find that you have passed through the stone into another realm. Mist envelopes you and you experience a moment of disorientation, but you can now feel the stone standing at your back. 

Mist surrounds you. You can feel solid earth beneath your feet. The standing stone is the doorway to the realm of Hawthorn... so if you are wearing any iron, remove it and leave it at the base of the stone. When you have removed the iron, begin to walk forward.... as you do the mist begins to move and shred away. 

It is early morning and the sun is shining. You find yourself standing within a huge circle of hawthorn hedges - broken only by the standing stone behind you, but the centre of the circle is still obscured by swirling mist. You begin to walk to your left along the border of the trees. You see that the hawthorns are covered in leaves that shroud the tough, sharp thorns of the branches. These are old trees, gnarled and densely woven... with lots of deadfall lying on the ground beneath them and tangled amongst their branches. 

As you walk around the border of trees start looking for the deadfall in thick, smallish pieces as well as twigs. Watch out for thorns. Look at the different personalities of the trees, they make up a faery border so ask each tree for it's deadfall before taking it. 

Keep walking the border, collecting the deadfall as you go.

Eventually you walk nearly all the way around the huge circle and you come to a stream that is flowing gently down through the grass from where the land begins to rise towards the centre of the circle still shrouded in mist.

Carrying your wood, begin to follow the stream up the slope until you come to a small area of flat ground beside the water. At this point of the stream, the banks are made of clay and you cansee  marks upon the edge where clay has been dug out many times before. You see that built upon the site is small beehive kiln with a place for a wood fire underneath and an oven at the top. Next to the kiln are piles of cut turfs that have been drying in the sun.

Arrange some of your wood inside the lower portion of the kiln. go to the bank of the stream and start digging out some clay with your hands. Using the water of the stream and the clay begin to shape for yourself a chalice - it can be as simple or as elegant as you like. 

You may wish to draw symbols in the wet clay with a hawthorn twig or thorn. Think about what you learned from the circle of border trees and try to put some of the into the symbols.

When your chalice is ready stand it on top of the kiln in the sunlight to dry. You notice that sitting there is a small pouch decorated with hawthorn leaves and berries. Take the pouch and open it. Inside you find some small flints and some tinder. Light your fire under the kiln with the fire making tools.

Watch the fire and add more wood as necessary. As you have been working the sun has risen higher in the sky and your chalice is now dry. Take it and place it inside the kiln and then pile the turf around the kiln cone to keep the heat in. Place the last of your wood upon the fire.

Whilst the chalice is being fired, take off your clothes and go for a swim in the stream. Scrub your body with the clay. You begin to feel invigorated and at one with the landscape.

Cover yourself from head to foot with the clay and then climb back onto the bank. Still naked but covered with the clay follow the stream back to the hedgerow and walk around it again. This time you looking for two long sticks with which to pull you chalice out of the kiln.

Again talk to the trees and thank them for their hot burning wood that has allowed you to make an offering vessel.

When you have found the sticks you require, continue walking around the circle of hawthorns and back up the stream to the kiln site. You see that the fire has now gone out. Using the sticks, remove the turfs from the kiln to lower the temperature.

Once more go swimming in the stream and clean yourself of clay. Spread your clothing out upon the ground and choose one piece to take with you on your journey... this piece of clothing will be used in your offering, so choose well. 

Still naked, take your chosen garment to the kiln. Using the sticks, remove your chalice and wrap it in the clothing.

The sun has now passed its zenith and the mist has burnt away from the centre of the circle. You see that stream is winding and curving its way down the gentle slope of a hill. Near the top of the hill there is a single, quite tall hawthorn tree growing. 

Carrying your wrapped chalice, follow the stream up the hill to its source... and you see that beneath the tree there is a spring flowing from some rocks and forming a pool at the tree base. Take a moment to feel the essence of the place.... a place of power and the otherworld. A faery dwelling of sacred tree and pool.

As you look at the surface of the pool you see that some of the hawthorn's leaves float upon its surface. 

Unwrap the chalice and carefully scoop water into its bowl. Make a libation of the water to the tree from the chalice that you have made and then drink some of the water yourself.

Place your chalice at the base of the tree.

Now take your article of clothing and carefully tear a strip from it. Remember that the tree that may stab you with thorns, also bears rich berries and flowers that hold the scent of fertility. Hawthorn is both dangerous and protective, it is chastity and sexual abandon... 
Think about something that you need to physically improve about yourself or a self-imposed ignorance that you need to overcome. Put all of this into the strip of material in your hands. When you are clear in your mind about your need, tie the strip to the hawthorn tree and ask the spirits of the tree for their aid. 

Now take your clothing but leave your chalice and follow the stream back down the hill. Don't look back.

When you reach the kiln site, put on your remaining items of clothing, replace the fire tools into their pouch and place them on top of the kiln. Leave all as it was. Now follow the stream back to the hawthorn border and walk around it moving to the right. Keep walking until you come to the standing stone. It will now bear a spiral marking. Take up any iron that you left at the stone begin to trace the spiral as it twists to the right. You become aware of mist forming around you once more and again a feeling of disorientation. 

As the mist begins to clear you find that you are once again standing upon the hillside under the fading light of the setting moon. By the light of the stars you begin to walk the spiral path out from the centre, ever moving to the right. You begin to feel the path sloping downwards as you tread the spiral path around the hill. As you walk you feel yourself becoming heavier and heavier, you begin to be aware of other sounds…. Slowly you reach the bottom of the hill and sit at its base. You become aware of the feel of your body, the shape of your skin and your breath. You feel the blood flowing through your veins . You become aware of the sounds around you… 

When you are back… open your eyes.