Suzanne Read
As a student of Traditional Craft I have long been an advocate for completing our workings and Rituals out in the woods at night, and also that to celebrate certain Rites at some of the more special places – sites of the Ancients and places of power – is something that enables us all to achieve deeper results than staying put and working within the normal space that we inhabit every day. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that working in the home is not effective – nor that I do not utilise it when there is a need – but instead that taking the time to prepare and undertake a journey to a special working site, and to work in a place that is removed from the mundane, adds another complete dimension to what it is we are doing. Indeed, even the journey to the working site – the effort needed, and the walk into the dark woods at night – can become a part of the whole Ritual and experience, a walking meditation and pilgrimage that helps to prepare us for the journey we are to undertake and the working that is to be done.
For myself, and the Hearth of Albion that I work with, we are fortunate to have an ‘old craft’ working site – the woods and mines of Alderley Edge – within 15 miles of home, which makes it an ideal location for our Rites, there are other sites we have also worked – some as far away as Orkney – but in the main working a local site is perhaps the best option for ourselves. To use a site regularly, to get to know the nuances of the energy and spirit of place, and to build a legacy of past Rites that culminate in an ‘otherly’ awareness cannot be surpassed.
I have been working the ‘Edge’ – as it is known to those familiar with it – for about 20 years now, both as solitary and as a member of our Hearth. Strangely enough I had never known what it was about the ‘Edge’ that drew me to it, until after years of research I managed to trace my paternal ancestry back to 1544, and to find that my ancestors had lived and farmed in the area for over 300 years, perhaps an ancestral calling is what has drawn me back to the place in modern times – note I am not claiming any of my ancestors were Witch or pagan, nor that they worked the Edge in an occult manner, but merely that they lived in the area itself, my validity comes not from claims of ancestry or passed down lineage, but instead from who I am and what I have done, alone and with others, we reap the rewards or the consequences of our individual actions, as it should be.
The town of Alderley Edge itself is a small and wealthy village, about 10 miles south of central Manchester, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain and the Derbyshire hills, the town is filled with the ‘hoi polloi’ of South Manchester, footballers and millionaires aplenty, and the woods that are above the town atop a 350 foot high sandstone ridge are their playground during daylight, but at night the woods change, they awaken, and revert to something older… The woods of Alderley Edge have been inhabited and mined for copper for over 2000 years – the Lindow Man bog body is from no more than 5 miles away from the Edge – and the area has an interesting occult history, beloved of both Alex Sanders and also of Bob Clay-Egerton, and used by many of the occult groups of Manchester and the surrounding area for many years.
As part of our research and working of the Edge we were aware of the 20+ miles of mines that honeycomb the area, and of the Derbyshire Caving Club (DCC) that look after the mines for the National Trust. We attended one of the DCC open days and got to go underground into one of the most spectacular mines – Engine Vein – both loving the feel of the place, and soon after we joined the caving club, finding a few likeminded folks who appreciate the lore and history of the area as much as we do. As members of the DCC we have access to the mines whenever a keyholder is on site, so have spent many hours exploring the mines, travelling miles underground and deep down 350 feet into the womb of the earth, enjoying not only the peaceful atmosphere and the historic location, but also of sensing something beyond the mundane, the echoes of past rituals completed underground and the shadowy footsteps of the miners of old. Truly it is a special place indeed, also evidenced with the use of the Edge and the mines by Alan Garner as the setting of his bestselling book ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’. The only part of the mines we had not explored was the ‘boat ride’ a canoe trip inside a flooded level of almost a mile, 300 feet underground, that travelled from one mine to another.
Above ground there are several ‘working sites’ that we use, some have been popular in the past – such as the ‘Druids Circle’, a reconstructed stone circle on the site of an older Cromlech – and others are less widely known, including a waterfall, various crossroads and other more private ‘sites’ that we have used ourselves, but apart from some quiet personal rites we had not worked any specific formal rituals underground, the option of working underground always seemed a little difficult to arrange, during the day there are often folks visiting the mines, and at night, well, there are some insurmountable Health and Safety issues with accessing them at night, along with the issue of trying to persuade a keyholder to be there in the dark…
However, all that changed when I was gifted with an experience unlike any other by members of our Hearth and friends in the caving club. A few years ago I managed to come by a copy of the book ”Coven of the Scales – The Collected Writings of A R Clay-Egerton’, inside which were some details of known Initiatory Rites and Trials that had been used in the past, specifically at Alderley Edge, Bob does not say exactly who had used these ‘Rites’ but as one who always seeks to push the boundaries and to go deeper and experience more I talked through the lore and information with members of our Hearth, mentioning how wonderful it would be to face such an initiation – although faced with such a trial they all blanched white and told me their own Initiatory journey and experiences above ground at the Edge had been ‘quite enough thank you very much!’
Initially things were planned for my 49th Birthday, but one of the key people involved was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks beforehand, so a delay was agreed until he had undergone treatment and recovered, and the experience was then organised for Samhain a few days after my 50th Birthday in 2017.
As I said, I knew nothing about what was planned, but after we returned from a holiday in Scotland the day after Samhain, my husband then surprised me by telling me I had to be at the entrance to Engine Vein Mine at the Edge for 1pm the following day, to be in caving gear and to bring wellington boots and some of our ‘old coins’ with me! The next day he then left me at 9am with me trying to work out what was going on…
On arrival at the Edge I was then presented with an opportunity to physically take a journey I have taken spiritually many times, to cross the Styx in the company of Chiron, the ferryman, aboard his boat and then to travel through the underworld, meeting some of its denizens, before a rebirth and return to the land above, an experience influenced and inspired somewhat by what I know was used by some of the other Traditional Witches that have used the Edge in times past…
At 1pm I arrived, in caving gear and wearing wellies at the entrance gate to Engine Vein, on stepping through the gate I was met by the black robed and hooded figure of Death, complete with scythe, who also got a few funny looks from the mundane walkers passing by… Death bid me come forward with a wave of his thin and bony hand, he then handed me a card, printed upon it in olde script was ‘Tempus Est – It is time’…. Death then motioned to the mine entrance, and swung open the creaking door to the mine, closing and locking the door behind me with a finality that had some serious symbolism….
In front of me the downward shaft was lit by candles every 10′ or so, the atmosphere was warm and humid, dark and silent, as one would expect from the very entrance to the Underworld… I had been here in the physical spot many times before, and yet, it was strangely changed and unfamiliar…
Death then handed me the next card ‘Mors non Loquitor – Death does not speak’, followed by another card that said ‘Omnia Terminus Tum Incipit – Everything ends, then begins’, and then finally ‘Hac iter ext tibi – This Journey is Yours’!
I was then bid to move forwards, which I did, with death following me, I was painfully aware of his scythe behind me! We travelled down, through twisted tunnels that descended ever deeper towards Hades, lit by candles to lead us onwards until we arrived at the deeper shaft, and the ladders that led steeply down… We descended, 5 or 6 metal ladders until we reached the bottom of the mine 350+ feet below where we had entered. Faced with one tunnel, and a choice of 2 directions, one blocked by mine wagon and 3 candles, the other direction lit by candles disappearing into the distance, it was evident which was the way to go, so we turned to the left and follow the tunnel deeper underground….
After about a quarter of a mile forwards the tunnel is flooded, with cold dark water, my way forward was blocked, yet a light was coming from across the water filled tunnel. As I stood there the light moved towards me, revealing a boat, paddled by a tall and thin figure dressed all in black, his face not visible, as though not there at all… As he neared the shallows Death then handed me the last card, ‘Memento Mori – Tel: 0800 Don’tcalluswe’llcallyou’ and then ushered me towards the boat.
The Ferryman stood and bade me to come forwards in silence to the boat, which was lit by red lamp and a candle in a jar at each end and nothing more. Chiron – for it is he – held out his gaunt skeletal hand and asked for payment, 3 coins – some old 1940’s pennies that are no longer legal tender – are passed over, one for each eye and one for the mouth, and once paid I was motioned to take my seat in the back of the boat….
Chiron pushed us off and paddled us into the dark in absolute silence, an eerie red light from his lamp and the 2 candles at stern and prow the only illumination, we moved swiftly forwards, through caverns and tunnels, over water as clear as crystal, further and further into the stygian total darkness for about 10 minutes, occasionally I had to duck under some of the low roof, sometimes we were drenched by water tumbling or dripping from the roof and occasionally our direction changed, skilfully managed by the Boatman.
After an unknowable length of time some candles and their reflection became visible in the distance, the boat approached swiftly and skilfully docked. A scaffolding board made a makeshift berth and I was bidden to climb out, 3 candles illuminated a blanket that lay on a raised area – a funerary platform – and Chiron indicated I was at my destination, he then paddled the boat away, soon becoming lost to me in the tunnels…
I lay down, finding a comfortable spot and closed my eyes. The light was distracting, so I extinguished all of the candles and lay there in the total darkness, the only sounds that of my breathing and of water dripping and falling into the Styx. I lay there as one dead, my mind stilled, visions and thoughts formed and came forth, a conversation occurred, a purely personal experience of a sort I cannot share, but that had deep personal meaning…. I lay there unmoving for what felt like a few minutes, but I am told was actually almost an hour, it is strange what sensory deprivation in such a situation does to the mind…
Then from the darkness, as though from a great distance, a deep voice quietly called my name, then again, slightly louder, I responded, asking who calls me, to be told to ‘Move towards the light’, looking around I saw a dim glow to my left, away from the water, and so I climbed up the slippery and muddy slope towards where the glow was coming from. I had to climb up a short 6′ ladder to then move further forwards, with each step the light was growing stronger, and then a log at waist height was baring my way, a glance over the top was to find a dirty wooden ramp, inclined at about 45 degrees downwards…
The light was beyond the ramp, which ended with an opening about 3′ from the floor, stepping over and sitting down I slid on the mud down the ramp and emerged into a new tunnel, candles lighting the tunnel ahead and a black clad figure before me, long black hair, a short gnarly frame and a face hidden by veil, no words were spoken, but I was ushered to move forwards from the past and along the muddy and wet tunnel.
Onwards, ever onwards I moved, the tunnel changing from lofty chambers 20′ tall and wide to low enough to bend me double, the floor uneven and often filled with water up to 8″ deep, illuminated by candles with candles every 30 or 40 feet – I had my caving helmet and lamp with me, but chose not to use the light when I could manage without it. About a quarter of a mile and another figure, clad in black, long black robes and long black hair underneath a black veil, again ushering me forwards, from present into the future and further along the tunnel…
Again another quarter of a mile, the gap between the candles getting longer and the way more perilous with every step taken, then the third and final figure, short, powerful, masked, ushering me forwards this time into a tunnel that was dark ahead, into the future…. Perhaps the 3 figures were 3 of my friends, or perhaps they were the Nornir, the Fates of Norse mythology, or perhaps 3 faces of the darker Goddess… It matter not, what matters is the effect it had upon my psyche, the experience was all encompassing…
The tunnel became triangular, the faces of the walls polished smooth like the scales of a serpent and getting smaller and smaller like the final opening of a womb…
At last a ladder appeared ahead of me as the tunnel came to an end, time to climb up, and at last a place I am familiar with, a chance to move forwards and climb higher, to leave the realm of Hades and climb back up to the light, after 4 hours plus of descent and journeying over 2 miles throughout the Underworld.
Upon emerging into the final chamber it was to find my friends awaiting me, a feast then followed, a dram of whisky and a chance to talk, it seems that this whole experience had been planned by the 5 people present plus another 2 friends, who were to have taken another part, but unfortunately were unable to make it, so it was left to me to experience and understand those other aspects of this underworld journey and the rebirth for myself…
I am not claiming that this experience was the same as our forebears experienced, but instead it is a hybrid Ritual journey, crafted by my kith and kin using inspiration and lore from the past and formed as something special for me to experience, a priceless gift given in perfect love and trust…
I share this not to brag or to seek acclaim, for my part was not premeditated, I was just the fortunate recipient of the thoughtfulness and work of others, but instead I offer it in the hopes that it provides inspiration to others. In taking the journey I experienced something magickal, a gift beyond price, and something I can now return to at any time that I feel a need to. It was intensely personal, but also deeply moving, and the fact that my friends had spent such time and effort into giving me an experience like no other – indeed they spent 3 hours lighting over 1000 tealights to light the mines – all of which had to be collected on their way out – truly it brought home to me how our practices, although personal, can be enhanced when we are in the right Companie and when we work in Gyfu, in true service to one another…
Within the Craft we often talk about defining experiences, and of the format that initiations can take – although rightly so such information is often closely guarded lore, as to share it would reduce the impact of the Rite and negate some of the personal learning for the Dedicant – yet with this Rite being neither a formal Initiation (our Hearth Initiation takes the form of a Ritual journey at night travelling across the woods of Alderley Edge with multiple ‘encounters’ along the way) or being something that is oathbound I am afforded the chance to share it. Perhaps all the better to provide common understanding or to explore the symbolic death and rebirth of the journey we each take.
To achieve such a thing is all too often beyond the scope of many groups – I had once experienced a half-hearted initiatory rite within one group we once belonged to, completed in someone’s front room, with dedicants waiting in a porch to access the space when called forwards, which left me disappointed and unfulfilled – but how many of us actually get the chance to go out and to experience the underworld journey for real, or to face our fears in the dark? If you are charged with providing such an experience to others then please, do all you can to make it special for them, push the boat out, use all the bangs and whistles, do something extra in the hopes that those who receive such from you will then gift it forwards to others in the future…
I hope the tale of my experiences inspires, perhaps it will give some imagery that can be of use, and perhaps it may give a pause for thought, if you had the opportunity to gift another with such an experience would you? To do something so special for another without regard to payment or getting anything from it yourself, that is truly a mark of love…