September 29, 2021

It blew open the first day.

We had settled into our ocean side B&B, everyone recently arrived from the States and dancing with jet lag. I decided it would be good to step into our journey with a soft day of connecting with the land and the ancestors. A gentle beginning in this mystical Sligo landscape I thought. I was wrong.

We went first to a nearby wide sandy beach to be with the ocean and collect Hag Stones. While there are many beliefs though history, a Hag Stone is simply a stone with a natural hole through it. As is the way with the history of mystical women, there are those who say the stones offer protection from evil hags. I prefer the narrative of them being associated with protection, healing, and knowledge as well as representing ancestral wisdom and connecting us with the energies of ancestral insight and guidance. For our journey, I suggested the stones would also carry the energy of a portal to the wisdom and insights that would be offered and gathered on this pilgrimage.

I wandered down to the shore thinking I would look for my stone later. But there it was right in front of me. And there it was in the shape of Ireland with the hole where Sligo would be. The message was clear. Your portal begins here and now. Wow. Somewhat stunned, I tucked the 3″ stone into my pocket and began to gather the women for our next destination of the day, Benbulben.

Fresh air and exercise are excellent for dealing with jet lag and a walk through the Benbulben Forest Park affords that opportunity together with a powerful connection with ancestral energies. There is a small grove on the hillside that I’ve been working with for personal ceremony. It is absolutely a portal to the ancestors and in the last few years I’ve started taking other people to this place. Approaching the foot of the mountain, we climbed a fence and made our way to the grove. I was again stunned. One of the grove trees had fallen across the circle, completely blocking access. There was still a power here, but it felt diminished.

I sat with the roots of the fallen tree for my meditation and my attention was immediately called by a large stone lodged in the roots. After meditating for a bit I reached up and dislodged the stone. One woman in the group noticed that when I removed the stone the weakened globe of light that surrounded the grove collapsed completely. Without knowing she had seen this I had already received another clear message. My relationship with familiar sacred sites was changing. This portal is now closed. It’s time to expand the energy and, in the case of this grove, to find and work with one that holds more capacity. 

The Benbulben portal was closed but the portal of this journey had blown wide open. A profound presence. And the power of it would flow through every sacred site we spent time with. 

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com