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© 2007 Kate McManus
In January of this year, I visited Glastonbell again, and the minute I set my feet on the earth I heard "A new earth" -- the land was changing. This was the first visit on my own. Over the six years of coming to the place, I was always with others. My choir, a bushwalking group, groups of friends, and each time I felt it demanding of me a different life; but I refused to listen. "Live for spirit" it said to me once, just 2 years before my home burned down,, the fire destroying most of my material possessions. That call was frightening, and I felt I had too much to lose. I lost it anyway! On this January visit, coinciding with a full moon and the first anniversary of my mother's death, I was excited about what I might experience. I checked in with Lorraine, the custodian and started the journey to the linking cave. In my pocket I was holding Dalmatian jasper, it had felt good to continue the tradition of gifting the land with crystals which I had started last year. I'd also bought small pieces of rose quartz and moonstone crystals for the linking cave altar. This time my meditation experience was different. No demands for radical life changes, just the gentle, loving energy of the Great Mother whose main message was "Relate to others and the Land in a new way". That message made sense to me when I reflected that it was a "2" year for me in numerology, a time to learn and grow with and through relationships with others. Moving down to the Cathedral cave, I took the Dalmatian jasper crystal from my pocket and asked for guidance where to place it "Just throw it in the well," I was told So I did, but looking for it among the leaves, it was hardly visible, and to me this was not right, I wanted to move it so that I could see its shiny black on white spots under the water.
If it truly was a gift for the land then why did I place such conditions on it being visible to me? Had I really given it away? Although I had spent only a couple of hours in the caves, I felt as though I was receiving the first stage of a major lesson in life. Almost at the top of the walk back to Belltrees, I felt such joy and gratitude that I wanted to leave something else, so I took my bloodstone bracelet from my left wrist and gently placed it over the head of a small plant; they just seemed to belong. And the feeling in return! Such utter joy at the freedom to take such an unplanned action -- an impulse -- without knowing or wanting to know the reason why! I knew I'd be returning, and more lessons were to follow. In preparation for the Sacred Earth Sunday for January 2007, I spent some time in meditation. Which crystal to bring this time? And then the thoughts... "Is this just a habit?" "Have I created a an expectation?" and underneath "I hope I'm not asked to bring the... crystal;" a fear of parting with a much loved stone. In the end, I brought the one I had originally intended, the lavender seer stone. After the meditation, I revisited the Cathedral cave and the pond. It was a source of such delight to know that those black insect-like dots belonged to the Dalmatian jasper, and I wondered about its interaction with the water and the creatures of the pond. Was it performing a cleansing function? Making the water more potent for other life forms? I saw my bracelet and mentioned the impulse behind its adornment of the plant to a fellow visitor. The second Sacred Earth Healing Sunday was approaching, and this time I was visiting with friends Sandhya and Inanna, both women who I knew would understand and resonate with Glastonbell's special powers. Again I ask and again the response... this time I am asked to bring a crystal -- the Rose Quartz Heart -- The Big One.
After cleansing, it disclosed a message for me "A heart that was lost has now been found". I kept it on my bookcase near my bed, cleansing it regularly for over a year. It was precious to me and I did not want to let it go. Still, I brought it with me. After our wonderful meditation in the linking cave, we completed our ritual in the Cathedral cave. It felt natural and easy to place the heart in the deepest part of the cave, the breast of the great mother. I enjoyed our dancing, wonderful lunch and sharing with others of like minds, and let the crystal go from my consciousness. After such a joyous and serene day, I sat in meditation that night and became aware of the rose quartz heart. With some sadness, I recalled the emptiness of its place by my bed. And then the message "Your crystals are here and you can take them back whenever you like". This was said so gently and kindly, with understanding of my feelings. Suddenly I saw the heart in the cave and realised that I hadn't lost it, it was being transformed by the land, cleansed and healed... and I had access to it and the other crystals anytime I wanted. I made up an essence using my pendulum: "Rose Quartz Heart in the Cathedral Cave". Placing a glass of water over a circle containing the name of the essence, I allowed my pendulum to move over the glass and transmit the vibration of the words into the water. Then I drank it and waited. "Welcome Kate to the sacred land of Glastonbell, welcome to our healing powers". I heard the words then saw the land moving and breathing, and understood its creation by Ancient Gods walking through the land holding Goddesses who shaped within. The essence of the land and the heart shared personal messages as well. So I learned and was taught to redefine the loss and the gift I thought I was giving the land, which was given back to me in a far more powerful form than I could have anticipated.
There, glinting in the sun after the storm, it catches the attention of another human, surprised and joyful at finding a Heart transformed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate McManus is a Reiki Master who uses flower essences from around the world for self-healing and for her clients. She has recently started to combine astrology and essences with great results. Kate lives in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains of Australia with her two dogs Roxy and Aggie and Persian cat Hamish. Her passions are the Australian bush, singing and the essences. You can email her at She can be emaile at kate.mcmanus4@bigpond.com. DESIGN CREDITS: This page was designed by Deborah Bier; photos are from Clipart.com.
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My relationship with Glastonbell has spanned several years, but it is only in recent times that I have come to see its profound power and allow it to tutor me in life.
Late last year I visited the sacred land with a friend. Having meditated beforehand, I received a strong message to bring a crystal -- a small rose quartz with me. My Friend and I, intending to visit the linking cave, somehow ended up in the valley of the continents. Perhaps sharing our stories and deepening our friendship helped us let go of our focus and allowed the land to lead us. We started moving upward and came upon the cave memorial for Philip Simpfendorfer, the founder of Glastonbell, which contained his ashes; I knew that this was the right "altar" for the crystal as it asked to be left there.
"Leave it Kate, it's not for you." 
I didn't want to do it! This rose quartz heart was special. For a start, it was a gift from the Universe to me. I'd found it in the gutter at Katoomba after a rainy week. Just getting out of a friend's car, I saw something glistening among the muck and the leaves moving towards the drain. We were on our way to Tai Chi and were late. Nonetheless, I reached into the dirty stream and there it was, shattered in parts but still whole, still beautiful. 
The rains came last week, powerful insistent downpours, spurting out of gutters and swirling down creeks. I kept thinking of the heart in the cave and imagined
the rain rushing down the cliffs at Glastonbell, collecting in the cave and taking with it the heart shaped crystal. Down it goes, through the creek, over to Dargan's dam perhaps and -- incredibly so -- is collected with leaves and man-made refuse until its progress slows to a stop in a gutter in a street in Lithgow.