Places of Pilgrimage - Tree roots at Gagnac 9

Tree Roots

Tree Root

Rocamadour

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Amidst rolling countryside, the Enchanted Forest stands encircled by blackthorn and briar. Green lanes pass close by, but to enter the Forest an animal track must be followed. An invisible guide shows us the way, as it showed the creatures who passed this way before us.

The ground wears a cloak of ivy, the trees grow straight and tall. Shafts of sunlight pierce their canopy, to create the shadow aisles and walls of the Forest Cathedral.

The silver trunks of slender trees unite to frame the tall windows where the outer forest may be seen magnified and illuminated.

The birdsong chorus echoes the sustained hum of the bees' drone, as the bass note of the unseen bell tolls.

All is at peace, all is at one.

Trees have been used by shamans since time immemorial as entry points into the world of Spirit - for the tree has it's head in the Upper world, it's trunk in the middle world, and it's roots in the lower / under world.

The most well-known world tree is the norse Ygdrasyl as explored in depth by Brian Bates in his intriguing book "The Real Middle Earth".

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