With sleet and snow in the offing, it is a good time to think about making plans for warmer times. Sometimes, plans do not work out quite as we expect.
Galanthus Nivalis
Snowdrops are the heralds of spring—the first joyful signs that warmer days will soon return. When their glorious green shoots emerge, bravely pushing through the soil, you know you have survived the darkest ten weeks and that the days will now only lengthen.
Despite their diminutive size and delicate appearance, their ability to emerge through cold earth and withstand snow and frost (giving them their French name pierce-neige, “snow piercer”) speaks of a quiet strength, inviting us to recognise the same within ourselves.
Copyright Stephen Short
Though thought to have been brought to the UK around the 1500s, it is hard to imagine the landscape without them. Fully naturalised, they feel deeply embedded in our collective psyche as a symbol of hope.
In pagan belief, colours held great significance: green promoted health, while white conveyed strength. The white light of the winter sun grows stronger during the time snowdrops bloom; these flowers herald the coming of spring, bringing with them the promise of new life and nourishment.
Mythology
“The flower has a long association with the Christian festival of Candlemas and was often used to decorate churches during the celebration. This earned it the alternative name of Candlemas Bells. Greek myth connects snowdrops to Persephone’s return from the underworld. When Hades stole her away, the world fell into a dark winter. Upon her negotiated return for half the year, snowdrops were associated with her reappearance.
The plant’s rich admiration in its native lands likely prompted monks to bring them to Britain as Christianity spread. The Bible tells of Eve’s tears, upon being banished from Eden, turning into snowdrops as an angel took pity on her and Adam’s plight in the cold, barren earth.”
Copyright Stephen Short
From Monastery Gardens to Modern Medicine
Snowdrops likely began their British life in monastery herb gardens, perhaps used medicinally. Eastern European folk medicine reportedly used the bulbs to relieve pain when rubbed on the head. They also play a role in modern medicine: galantamine, used to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, was first extracted from snowdrops.
“In addition to their symbolic significance, snowdrops have been prized for their medicinal properties. The bulb contains compounds believed to aid in healing wounds and bruises.
Traditionally, snowdrops were used to treat headaches and as a painkiller. In modern medicine, a compound in the bulb has been used to develop a dementia treatment.”
There is a church called the Church of Our Lady at Warnford, Hampshire, which is renowned for its snowdrops. They carpet the ground all around the church, acting as a protective winter/spring blanket. The church opens to visitors every Saturday during February. I had booked to go on February 7th but, most unfortunately, was unable to go, so Church Warden Stephen Short kindly sent me the lovely selection of pictures below.
Copyright Stephen Short
“Dating mainly from the 1190s, Warnford Church, the Church of Our Lady, has an earlier tower and Saxon roots. The first church on the site may have been built by St Wilfrid in the 680s. It is known locally as the ‘Snowdrop Church’ due to the abundance of snowdrops that blanket the grounds in spring.”
The Snowdrop Church
“Deep in the woodlands of the Meon Valley, the Church of Our Lady of Warnford stands in peaceful isolation. This is hallowed ground where God has been worshipped continuously for thirteen hundred years. The church serves a scattered parish of farms and cottages, for there is no real village centre of Warnford.”
We are also told:
“A single-vessel church with no architectural division between nave and chancel, but with a wide span. Assertive west tower with big Romanesque strip-buttresses on the corners, of three stories, with Romanesque round-headed windows in the top two stages, and two circular windows at the top of the third stage. No sculpture on the tower except roll mouldings between the stories and around the windows. (The east face of the tower and the whole parapet is of brick, with an attractively cogged lower frieze.) Two inscriptions help date the fabric of the building and are likely also Romanesque in themselves. The font is also of the 12th century, but heavily mutilated.”
“Two ancient stone tablets, written in Latin, lay claim to the founding of this church by Wilfrid during his time in the Meon Valley. The people of Warnford believe that Wilfrid made his headquarters here, although the source of the claim has not been found. In any case, Adam de Port, the Lord of the Manor who lived in Warnford 500 years after Wilfrid, respected the link with the saint and rebuilt the church in stone in 1190.”
I am delighted to tell you that I have decided to take a tour on Friday 31st July, and I do hope many of you will join me. I never quite know how energetic I may be from year to year, or whether this may be my last year, so this feels especially meaningful to me.
Over the years, I have been privileged to meet so many wonderful and special people from all over the world who have given me immense joy. We have shared a strong sense of togetherness and love. Many arrive at the start of the day burdened by the obligations and worries of everyday life—tense, with hunched shoulders and anxious expressions. By the end of the tour, the change is hard to ignore: they are different people, with relaxed smiles, a sense of happiness, and a more positive outlook on life.
This transformation fills my heart with joy and thankfulness. Those memories will stay with me forever, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has shared them with me.
Wiltshire contains numerous sites of national and international significance, most notably the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge and Avebury.
I have to limit the number to 16.
Booking for the Crop Circle Tour
We meet at 10 am at the Silbury Hill car park. Silbury lies between Marlborough and Calne on the A4.
Special Addition
There is going to be a very special addition to the tour this year. Last year, for the first time, Maria Wheatley—world-renowned dowser and Avebury expert—joined our group for the morning. Such was our delight and fascination that Maria has kindly agreed to take us again on a tour of Avebury and its stone circles.
Her knowledge is immense, ranging not only across Avebury itself but drawing on a wealth of information about the wider area, now designated a World Heritage Site.
Travelling in as few cars as possible, we will begin the day by going to Avebury to meet Maria, who will be showing us around and sharing her insights into the magic of this remarkable place. I recommend bringing dowsing rods (these can easily be made from a pair of metal coat hangers).
“For nearly 30 years, author and researcher Maria Wheatley has researched megalithic sites across the world. Maria is a second-generation dowser and geomancer who is the UK’s leading authority on geodetic earth energies, ley lines, and grid lines.
She has lectured worldwide and has shown the British Dowsers and other dowsing societies how to locate and find geodetic earth energies. Maria has worked alongside experts such as Rodney Hale to prove the existence of earth energies and how the stones can transmit electromagnetic energies.
Maria was the first independent researcher to track down and photograph the elongated (long-skulled) people of Stonehenge. Her exciting new finds regarding the long-lost people associated with the ancient monuments will soon be published in her forthcoming book, which will be a world first.
Maria has tracked down a unique priestesshood of Europe, the Bronze Age King or Priest who once ruled Avebury Henge, the Neolithic Queen of Stonehenge, and has unearthed new finds that show us how and why certain monuments were constructed and used.” The Avebury Experience
After we have had lunch at a pub, there is also a really good crop circle exhibition nearby which we can visit, situated close to the pub.
After that, we hope to set off and visit a circle, travelling in as few cars as possible. However, last year—for the first time in thirty years—there were no circles available for us to enter. Instead, I took the group on a very special tour of the surrounding sacred sites, such as the famous West Kennett Long Barrow. This whole area is throbbing with energy, as recognised by our ancestors.
By no later than 4.15 pm, everyone will collect their cars from the Silbury Hill Car Park, and we will then set off for our special private evening entry visit to Stonehenge.
I feel it is important to let you know that this can be quite a strenuous day, as we do a lot of walking. That said, some people may not wish to walk as much as others and can do only what feels comfortable for them. There will also be people who may not want to go into every circle. It is a very relaxed and happy day.
Due to the vagaries of our weather, I suggest it is advisable to bring wet-weather gear and strong walking shoes. Please also bring water, as it can be thirsty work!
I have 30 tickets, and as sometimes people come to visit Stonehenge without joining the crop circle tour, I will be at the Stonehenge Visitors’ Centre by 5.15 pm with members of my crop circle tour group who also wish to visit the stones. The entry time is 17:45 (5.45 pm).
This tour includes an optional extra: a very special private evening entry visit to the magical and mystical inner sanctum of Stonehenge. This allows you to stand right up close to the giant megaliths and feel their amazing energy; and, if the weather allows, we will watch the sun set behind the stones—another magical moment. This is an experience you will never forget.
Please book ahead of time to ensure a ticket and pay in full. Last year, I experienced difficulties when several people were desperate to obtain tickets after the last booking date. These tickets are like gold dust.
Tickets will also be available to those who are not on the crop circle tour. If you are not with the tour, in order to find me, I hope to be wearing a yellow jumper.
If we arrive early at the Stonehenge Visitors’ Centre, there is also an excellent exhibition space with a wealth of information and a wonderful video about Stonehenge. If you arrive before me, you may enter the exhibition free of charge—just say you are with Lucy Pringle’s group. There are also shops and a café.
We travel to the stones by coach from the Visitors’ Centre.
I do hope I have mentioned everything!
Having just finished writing this letter to you, I feel newly invigorated and look forward to a very special and important year ahead for us all. This is a time of positive thinking. Embrace the Light and Capture the Joy.