Glastonbury Wild Hunt

Yesterday I was lucky enough to travel to Glastonbury for their first Wild Hunt, in honour of Samhain.

There were Morris Dancers, Performers, Dragons, Ritual Speeches, and a Bonfire.

The atmosphere was electric with pagan goodness. The turn out for this event was incredible.

You can get a good idea of it's size from this video (sorry about the quality) The dragons were definitely a highlight of the event. We had to follow them up through the wonderful town of Glastonbury, to the bonfire ground near the Tor.

There was drumming and stamping, howling and cheering.

We took over the whole town. Antlers and cloaks were everywhere you looked. People sporting our Samhain lanterns, and others with their canvas drums, giving us a marching beat. The traffic was stopped for us and the dragons. People were leaning from their windows to see us.

Witches and Proud!

Half way to the Tor their is a spring, said to be healing. There is almost like a temple, where there is silence save for the running water. Candles are lit at different altars which are dotted around what can only be described as a cave. People bathing in the healing waters, whilst others are meditating in the darkest corners. Offerings of jewellery, and feathers left in a china bowl.
It was humbling to be in such a place.
I did however ignore the sign that told me no photography or mobile phones were allowed, and snapped some sneaky shots. Only to be rewarded with my phone crashing the second we exited the cave, and not returning to life until we arrived at the bonfire site.
*message received*

They had a lady collecting prayers and the names of loved ones who'd passed on, onto bits of paper, so they could be added to the bonfire, as part of the ceremony.

Another highlight for me was this incredible speech made by 'The Green Man' - I only caught a segment of it, but his words were so powerful. I got lost in them, and the emotion of what this event signified.

This was the first time there's been a Samhain celebration this big in Glastonbury, or of this nature in the UK. It was incredible, and I'm already booking holiday to go next year aswell. The wonderful people who made this happen, did a beautiful celebration for Beltane this year, with a maypole, and a big fire. I hope to attend that next year also.

This truly was a magical experience for the solitary witch. With so many magical and spiritual people in one place, the very air around us seemed on fire. There was no shame, no judgement, just joy and remembrance. An honouring to the gods, the wild hunt, and to our ancestors.