The Summoning: Foundational Lore of SpiritWeave
Some stories are not written — they are remembered.
This is one of those stories.
It began with a whisper from the land,
and a woman who had long since learned how to listen.
Recognition of Sacred Landscape
Many people today are returning to recognition of the sacred landscape. The United Kingdom, rich in megalithic remains, is well mapped and documented. Stonehenge and Avebury stand out like the giants that they are in the megalithic landscape, drawing attention away from lesser-known sites. But everywhere we go in this country, ancient remains can be discerned.
One problem we encounter is the sheer density of people, especially in the southeast. Places that used to be isolated and seldom visited are becoming more popular. Avebury over the past 20 years has become continually busy, with little chance for solitude or the opportunity to breathe in the spirit of the place.
Unfocused human activity seems to be stripping the power from these sacred places, allowing no time for natural regeneration or cyclical energy conservation. Many sites appear to have ‘gone to sleep’.
Ritual as Reawakening
A friend of ours is a native of Avebury; his family came from a long line that lived in the area. He claimed guardianship through hereditary lines and had a deep and intimate knowledge of the area that only one who had lived and breathed the ways of the land could know.
We met this friend through a weeklong event for European witches held in Sussex. A hundred witches from all over Europe convened, camped, ate, and worked magic together for seven nights. Whatever one’s opinion may be on witchcraft or natural magic, what became apparent over those days was the way in which the land changed.
A fairly average residential sports facility became charged as ritual was performed daily in the main green area. By the end of the week, the feel of the land had shifted. Trees and plants looked healthier. The birds were louder and more numerous. At night, there were movements in the dark and shapes that danced on the edges of sight.
The land responded.
The Guardian of Avebury
My belief is that a piece of land worked with reverence stores the energy raised and creates a cone of power that ebbs and flows with the seasonal cycles. Understanding and connecting with this power is only achieved by living in close proximity and working regularly with its energies.
This is the role our friend played. And I believe it is also the role of many unknown guardians throughout the world who seek to keep balance within their own sacred territories.
The Call in Brittany
It is here that our own story begins.
It starts with the question:
Can the land put out a call for its own guardian?
We began a great adventure in Brittany, a land where megalithic history appears at every corner. Sacred wells accompany ancient chapels. Menhirs rise up beside pines. Allee Couvertes curl beneath moss and time.
Much of that history is forgotten in the haze of Catholic belief and folk tradition. And while Carnac boasts a visitors’ centre and fences to protect the stones, many places remain hidden or nearly lost.
We stumbled on one site where laminated sheets on home-made display boards told local legends. A tutelary wood goblin pointed out the direction to walk. Elsewhere, rotting signs hinted at ancient paths; a menhir encased in barbed wire stood half in commune land, half on a private farm, unreachable.
Wells sit like forgotten oracles, waiting for someone to kneel again.
The Question That Changed Everything
How many sacred places, after years of abandonment, need the partnership of a guardian?
How many are calling out, not to tourists, but to kin?
I believe the land called us. And we answered.
SpiritWeave is the path that has unfurled from that single breath.
So it is spun. So it is woven. So it is begun.