Pilgrimage Routes

Pilgrimage Routes

"Though the long tracks know no glad step,
And the circle goes unblessed;
From their long homes may the old ones
Welcome travellers upon their quest."
   _____ Caitlin Matthews, "Pilgrims' Blessing"


   Pilgrimage is a step beyond tourism, which merely comes to look at places and enjoy them; pilgrimage involves a deeper engagement with the land,with the sacred nature of the experience that is had not only at the destination but along the route as well. Those who travel with a spiritual purpose find pleasure and enjoyment no less than the tourist, but their experience is colored by the reality of their contact with the unseen worlds - not only with the apparent landscape about them, but with its inhabitants and guardians.
    When we re-engage with the sacred place of our spiritual heritage, the ability to be a pilgrim affects our experience of the places we visit; the ability to see beyond the desacralization, the skill to travel the road with expectant and prayerful hearts, the greeting we send out - before we even begin to travel - to the ancestral guardians and spiritual presences who have awaited our coming this long time.
   In pilgrimage, it is the ability to give blessing upon places we visit, rather than seek blessing for ourselves in our travel, that is most appreciated. In offering our blessing, we are able to resacralize both the way and the site: for if we become alive to the generous and sacred nature of each place, so may many others; and we will have become guardians and pilgrims of a new generation for all the generations to come.

"Make your own pilgrimage to a special place or sacred place during the wintertime, drawing upon some of the ideas above."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]

Activities for the Winter Months -

* Practice introspection, meditation, contemplation, drawing upon the peaceful sanctuary of this season.

* Shift burdens by doing something about (e.g. make your will) or by giving up unnecessary patterns.

* Remember your ancestors and celebrate their wisdom.

* In this deep season of darkness and introspection, seek the sun at midnight, the rich treasures that lie in the lap of Winter.

* Be aware of the ancestral teachers, the grandparents and elders of the spiritual traditions, whose footprints have kept the pathways open.

* Cut back old growth in the garden and burn or compost it.  Dig over the soil in preparation for the Spring.

* Walk and meditate outdoors for at least ten minutes daily.

* Be active with like-minded others, in recording, preserving, living and learning about the ancient wisdom of indigenous peoples, especially those in your own land.

* As you travel through the land of Winter relate your spiritual journey to the wisdom of this season.
[From Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews]