Energetic Encounters
From the Salty Temple to the Spirit House
On Sunday, the 11th of May, the day before the full moon, I had a powerful experience, following up on last week's post about signs and symbols.
I had a very full Saturday - the previous night I'd been to see hardcore Latin American thrash metal punk bands at the Green Door Store. Although it was like walking into Hades, the energy was cathartic and exactly what I needed. I was with my dear Argentinian friend Eva and her Mayan friend from Central America.
Boom Boom Kid - Argentina
Sunday was a beautiful, clear morning - we've had very little rain lately. The light these months has been remarkably clear, reminiscent of early lockdown when there were no planes or pollution. I wonder if it's connected to the peak of the solar cycle, with powerful rays reaching us from the sun.
I met Eva at the Salty Temple - a place I was guided to during the pandemic through a Siberian tale my teacher Dr Martin Shaw shared about Old Kitna and the Wolf. Through daily practice inspired by Martin's teachings, I began working at this spot - Pier 13 - where magic happens. That's where Eva and I first met, both working with the energy of the goddess Inanna, beginning many adventures together.
We came to perform a ceremony centred around Rose energy - the energy of the heart, self-love, and divine love - opening ourselves to transmit this energy both inward and outward.
As we stepped onto the platform, a man with a shaved head and many tattoos offered his hand: "Can I help you up?"
I politely declined assistance while Eva accepted his help. We explained we were coming to do some work, and he welcomed us, sitting just above our chosen spot on the platform.
As we settled, he leaned over and asked, "Can I just ask, are you both witches?"
After exchanging glances with Eva, I replied, "Well, some might say we're witches. We come here for ceremonial and energetic work, so if that makes us witches..."
"I know. I'm a warlock," he said. "I could see as you approached that you're both powerful." He told me directly, "You're very powerful," then turned to Eva: "When I felt your hand, I sensed power you don't fully realise yet. You're in apprenticeship."
He shared his story of second sight, inherited from his father, and his struggles with mental health and sensitivity. The Salty Temple, he explained, calms him as he meditates by the sea.
"This is a very special place," I agreed, sharing stories from my five years working here. I believe it sits on a powerful ley line I've tracked from the South Downs to the sea, connecting to the hill where I work with the Bronze Age barrow and oak tree. where I practice Utiseta (the Norse wisdom tradition of sitting out).
After our fascinating conversation, we continued our ceremony with rose petals, calling in the four directions as I worked with my rattle, and opening the portal to divine love. For ourselves, self love and outwardly towards others. The light was amazing. We completed by offering our rose petals to the sea, watching them float out and wash back to shore.
A woman named Peta approached us afterward. "I just wanted to share these photos I've taken," she said. "I could see you were doing powerful work." The images showed a beam of light coming directly from the sun onto us.
Peta wore a beautiful necklace with a rare pink stone. She shared how she'd lost this precious necklace in the Surrey hills (the North Downs) but recently had it returned to her. "Never give up hope," she told us, "because things you think you've lost do return." Her message resonated with both Eva and me.
Our ceremonial work had received a blessing from both masculine and feminine energies - the warlock's recognition and Peta's witnessing, captured in that beautiful beam of light.
From Ceremony to Art and Music
Sipping our coffee from my flask (Cuban beans, I think, or Colombian that Is bought in Durham), we headed to the Engineering Works - an old Victorian building rarely open to the public. It sits behind WaitRose supermarket, near the labyrinth in Hove Park (note to self: organize a labyrinth event and storytelling there this summer).
The Engineering Works hosted a craft and makers fair. Leopard and jaguar prints seemed to find me everywhere! I bought a t-shirt - my wardrobe refreshment now complete, celebrating my 13-kilo weight loss over these past months. A shedding of skins.
I also found a notebook with jaguar and white tiger designs and discovered wonderful plant medicine teas - "Monk's Mindset" and “Warlocks Warning” among them. Most exciting was finding opera headdresses from Glyndebourne productions on special sale - perfect for my storytelling performances. The fair overflowed with creative inspiration, beautiful artwork, and colourful prints of parrots and Frida Kahlo.
I've been thinking about Cuba and Mexico lately. I love Mexico, especially Frida's Casa Azul and the peacock-filled garden at the home of Diego Rivera's patron, now an art museum. Few visitors venture to Trotsky's house nearby, though he was Frida's lover before his murder. It's a powerful place - you can feel his presence just as you feel Frida's at Casa Azul where her ashes rest.
I remember sitting in her garden, crying while tourists wandered around. I could feel her story and suffering so deeply. Her art spoke to me as a teenager, before she achieved her current global level of fame. Little did I know then how her work would later carry me through my own losses - my baby, my miscarriages - experiences she also endured. Yet through her suffering, she created such beauty with her art, passion, and life.
Though I find the commercialization of her image somewhat sad, she has transcended into a goddess figure. And this is the way of goddesses - people make icons of them.
The Spirit House
After our art-filled afternoon, I visited the Spirit House (I also call it the Bone House) - home and gallery of artist Jim Sander’s incredible work. Though I'd known about it for some years, I only began attending events there a year or two ago. Walking in felt like coming home, surrounded by bones - materials I work with extensively and find imbued with spirit.
The space encourages creative installations and improvisational music. People bring instruments or use those available, sitting together to make spontaneous music - exactly what we did, as you can hear in the sound clips I shared.
The beauty of it is that you don't need to be a trained musician. You simply feel your way in, using voice or instrument. Perfect pitch doesn't matter - it's about participation. I'm discovering that as you free your voice and rhythm, something begins to release within you.
The Power of Voice
I've always loved singing, beginning with my grandmother in the kitchen as she taught me to cook. Her beautiful voice accompanied her poetry and painting - she was truly an unsung artist. She grew up singing with my great-grandmother, an Irish woman's daughter who played piano. My grandmother later performed for injured soldiers and sailors in hospitals during the First World War. She was never afraid to use her voice.
My own singing journey included performing in the Mikado at school, which I loved. Perhaps one of these Glyndebourne headdresses even came from a Mikado production! But then came voices saying I wasn't good at singing, and my voice closed down. I occasionally sang flat, likely connected to my hearing impairment, but voice is a muscle that needs training.
Despite occasional encouragement when I hit notes well, my voice remained suppressed until recent years. Through breathwork, chanting, and joining a choir, I've begun reopening it. The process has been incredibly healing and freeing - especially important because women are so often taught: be silent, don't express yourself, don't use your voice with sovereignty or power.
This silencing has deep roots in the witch trials and the persecution of women, including my own ancestors - a grandmother murdered as a witch in Aberdeen in 1597, and another who witnessed witch trials in her Scottish village of Prestonpans. I've traced these stories back to the witch wound that has silenced women for centuries.
Today, we're seeing a powerful movement of women reclaiming our voices. We must release the collective traumatic anger about our history without holding onto it, as retained anger becomes toxic. We need to feel it, release it, let go of the past, while ensuring such persecution never happens again. People are still being killed for perceived witchcraft around the world today - an issue recognized by the United Nations.
Full Flower Moon
This beautiful afternoon at the Spirit House completed a powerful weekend. Now as we reach the Full Flower Moon, I look forward to joining my sisters in circle in our yurt in the Sussex countryside.
Watch for my interview being published with Advantages of Age Substack tomorrow (the 13th). I spoke with Javier Vanegas, a Colombian photographer based in Bogotá who works extensively with the Kogui people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Visiting his studio and discussing his work and the Kogui teachings was remarkable. Colombia is such a vibrant country - I can't wait to return.
I wish you a beautiful Full Flower Moon in Scorpio - a sign that's significant in my chart (my Venus and Ascendant). Scorpio brings depth as a water sign connected to the occult.
Much love to you all. Go well until next time. Though I hope to eventually return to my regular Sunday letters, for now they come when they come - but at least weekly for those who follow along!
With love as always
Serena xxx
Hi Serena- I’m continually impressed by the care you take in curating and sharing your experiences. Thank you. You plant seeds you don’t even know about.
Hi Serena- I’m continually impressed by the care you take in curating and sharing your experiences. Thank you. You plant seeds you don’t even know about.