W
elcome, to our Midsummer Night’s Tea Party!
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The solstice is near, and fairy magic is in the air! The waxing crescent moon hangs high in a pale sky as we reach the pinnacle of this year’s daylight. And now, my contribution to the fun and fairy frolic of the day… A fairy pathworking.
Since this fairy-themed tea party is virtual, how about taking a journey in our original virtual reality, the imagination?
Traditionally, a pathworking was a guided meditation along the qaballistic Tree of Life. But twentieth century magicians expanded the concept to pathwork through paintings, poems, myths and legends. Below is a fairy pathworking to introduce you to the five types of elementals. So set down that cup of tea and relax in your chair…
Follow your breath, letting go of the tension and stress of the week, the hustle of getting here on time. Let it go, and breathe in peace and light. Spiral all the pieces of yourself you’ve scattered out into the world back into your heart’s space so you are right here, right now.
Open your inner eyes. Imagine you stand at the edge of a lush oak forest. The midsummer sun warms your back. Gnarled branches arch above a dirt path scattered with leaves and acorns. You step onto it and into the landscape of your mind. The path leads down, into cool shade and dappled light. A white rabbit hops across your path. Moss and ferns and bluebells carpet the forest floor, scenting the air. The trail winds, sinuous, taking you deeper into the forest. A deer with a crown of antlers stops to gaze at you. You look deep into its dark eyes. What message does it have for you?
You hear a rushing sound. Is that the wind blowing through the branches? The flow of a creek? The sound grows louder, and you realize that what you are listening to are the strains of a harp. It calls to you, and you walk toward it, drawn on until you reach a clearing.
A perfectly circular mound covered in tall, green grass rises above you. On top of it stand a circle of five stones, megaliths. Drawn upward, you climb the mound. White roses twine around one of the stones. Curious, you examine the tall stone wreathed in roses. On one side is carved a crude door. You run your fingers over the rough, cool stone, and the outlines of the door gleam silver.
The door magically swings open, and the sound of harp music flows toward you. You walk through and down, down, down a corkscrew stone path that seems to be taking you deep inside the mound. You can see perfectly – although you seem to be inside, the path is lit with golden sunlight. An archway appears before you, hung with gauzy curtains.
You walk through it and are in an English garden. Behind you is a thatched cottage, and before you, a wide, green hill slopes toward a cliff overlooking the ocean. Multi-colored rose petals and green leaves drift down to the ground, landing on your head and shoulders like a blessing. A tall, beautiful woman in a loose gown rises from a table, where a tea is set, and approaches you. White roses form a wreath in her hair. You do not know how, but you understand that she is the goddess Flora.
“Choose,” Flora says.
The rose petals swirl in the air, and they are no longer petals, they are tiny fairies with iridescent wings. They form five, small whirlwinds arranged around you in a circle. In the blur of motion of one spiral of fairies, you hear crashing sounds like ocean waves. “These are the water elementals,” Flora says. Another spiral flashes red and orange, heat pouring from it. “Fire elementals,” she says. There is a green whirlwind, which feels oddly solid, and a white whirlwind that stirs your hair. “And these are earth and air elementals,” the goddess says. The final whirlwind is iridescent, seeming to flash in and out of existence – there and not there. “The elementals of aether,” she says.
“Choose,” she repeats. “Will you work with the water element, fire, earth, air, or aether?”
You stretch out one hand, palm up, and one of the whirlwinds moves toward you. Which is it? Water elementals, fire, earth, air or aether?
Flora speaks. “You who have found your way to the world of the fae know this, all who enter here must prove their worth in the outer world. When you return, take with you your elemental power. Study it and use it in your highest and best interest and in the highest and best interests of those around you. Now go.” She points toward the thatched cottage.
You bow and walk to the cottage door. As you open it, you hear again the sound of harp strings. Passing through, you find yourself at the edge of the oak forest. You have returned to the beginning.
Take a deep breath. Feel the breath fill your lungs. Feel your feet on the ground, the coolness of the air on your cheeks, and begin to return to this place. When you’re ready, open your eyes and stretch. You have returned to the mundane world.
About the Author
Kirsten Weiss is the author of The Hoodoo Detective, book six in the Riga Hayworth series of paranormal mystery novels.
Other books in the Riga Hayworth series of urban fantasies include: The Metaphysical Detective, The Alchemical Detective, The Shamanic Detective, The Infernal Detective and The Elemental Detective. Kirsten is also the author of Steam and Sensibility and Of Mice and Mechanicals, steampunk novels of magick and suspense.
Find her at http://kirstenweiss.com and @KirstenWeiss
Julie Revezzo’s midsummer’s party will be live tomorrow, morning here: http://julidrevezzo.com/2015/06/13/come-join-the-fairy-tea-party/ (I moved her comment from the original post page, but everyone, go check her blog out!)
And, here’s Marcia Moore’s link to her midsummer blog! http://marshaamoore.blogspot.com/2015/06/midsummers-eve-partya-joyous-moment-of.html
“My soul is in the sky.”
Come join me for a Midsummer Night’s Tea Party under the stones and sky on Salisbury Plain: http://www.whiteravenwriting.blogspot.com
Thank you so much, ParaYourNormal, for hosting this Summer Solstice celebration. What a wonderful idea! I really enjoyed writing my post…er, I mean brewing my tea! 🙂
Happy Summer Solstice everyone! And thanks to ParaYourNormal and author Kirsten Weiss for such a great idea for a party! I have TWO excerpts to share today because A) I never can make up my mind! and B) I have two blogs. So please join me for tea, tarot cards and tree-shifters!
http://rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com/2015/06/summer-solstice-scene-from-oak-king.html
http://oberoncalifornia.blogspot.com/2015/06/summer-solstice-scene-from-scent-of.html
Are you a tea drinker? Share your thoughts on Karen Rose Smith’s midsummer blog. http://karenrosesmith.blogspot.com/2015/06/are-you-tea-drinker-by-karen-rose-smith.html
I’m inviting all of you to drop by a Solstice Tea Party with Alice, Lewis and the rest of the gang on my Candy’s Monsters blog.
http://www.candysmonsters.com/a-solstice-tea-party/
A Midsummer Night’s Tea Party at Lisa Carlisle’s site
http://www.lisacarlislebooks.com/lisa-carlisles-stop-on-the-midsummer-nights-tea-party-blog-hop/
What a lovely post! Thank you so much for sharing it!
What a great site this is!
I’m remebering previous Midsummer nights and introducing my most recent novel in my Shaman Mystery Series from Midnight Ink Books, at; http://kitchentablewriters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/a-midsummer-nights-dreamthis.html
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