Last week
Wendy Rule and her husband Timothy van Diest were in The Netherlands for a workshop and an intimate concert at Ons Ding in Haarlem. Wendy is an amazing Australian singer / songwriter and witch, whose incredible voice brings her mostly pagan songs to life with the help of her very musical and talented partner Timothy. Last time they were here (in 2010) I missed the concert because I got ill, so I definitely wanted to be there this time!
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| Astrid made this beautiful pic of Wendy & Tim on the North Sea beach |
Thursday night Wendy and Timothy offered a ritual music & meditation workshop. Including them we had a nice group of about 12 people, men and women. We all sat around a simple but wonderful little altar. Deosil, starting with Wendy, we each told our name, astrological sign and why we were there. Only a few signs missed, so we made a great astrological mix. :)
Wendy smudged us one by one with American sage, accompanied by Timothy's magical flute and her own voice. Wow, what a treat... We cast the circle by holding hands, making a connection and passing energy. The elements were invited in a special way: again deosil we each welcomed the element in our own words, for example by stating what it stands for. First a round for air, one for fire, water, earth and finally spirit.
Then Wendy led us into 5 meditations, one for each element. She performed a perfect mix between spoken guidance and singing words or just sounds, while Tim enchanted us with his wonderful guitar play. After each meditation we discussed what we had experienced. Of course I can only describe my own experiences...
AIR: Lying down I felt myself floating away into the air. I was a bird surfing on the winds. I felt free and happy. I flew over fields and seas and cities... I flew into a cloud and became the cloud, gently floating across the blue sky. When I had enough of that I felt tiny, sitting on a big white bird. I think it was a goose and I thought of Nils Holgersson. I was really reluctant to be called back, but I knew I had to, said goodbye to the goose and returned.
FIRE: This was a dancing meditation with rattles and singing. Because I can't stand in the same place very long I had to sit down, but it still worked. :) Wendy whipped us up with her voice. It was impossible to sit/stand still, we moved wildly and the sound increased. What a passion, what a fire. Woohoo!
WATER: Being a Virgo I should be an earthy type and I am in some ways, but I always had more with water. I love water, I am water. Lying down again this meditation was divine... We started at the surf of the beach with the water coming in. I let myself float on the water and just drift away. After some time the beach was gone and there was only water around me. I wanted to dive. When I did I turned into a mermaid. The water was beautiful. There were fish and other sea creatures around me. I even saw Atlantis. I literally was in my element... Wendy slowly called us back. I know I would go back there though...
EARTH: For the earth meditation we sat down in a circle with our drums. We drummed in a steady rhythm, the heartbeat of Mother Earth. The rhythm got me into a trance. I saw images of her beautiful lands, mountains, forests.... If felt like the meditation lasted forever, but that was fine by me!
SPIRIT: We sat around the altar and put energy into the flame of the candle by vocal toning. All together, but with our own individual sounds that made a beautiful noise, first a bit chaotic but slowly blending into one. I always start a bit shy, but grow into it. There were beautiful voices improvising around me and they took me into it too. The fountain of sound exploded into spirit like a rocket and showered down on us again.
We thanked the elements by calling them out loud in any way we wanted. Loud, soft, saying, singing, shouting, whispering.... but still one voice together. Goosebumps all over. What a magical way...
Wendy opened the circle, but of course it was unbroken. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again!
We brought our cakes and wine in and had a wonderful 'after-party'. We had a lot of yummy food and drinks. I had made fresh kiwi-juice and bought some chocolate (what else, haha).
What a wonderful, wonderful workshop....
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Friday night I came back with Ron for the concert. Ons Ding was filled with chairs for an intimate living room concert. I think there were around 25 people. Most I already knew, some were new to me.
First Wendy cast a circle through singing. Wow, so beautiful and strong! Then she and Tim started off on a musical adventure....
Wendy sang songs from her many
albums. She told something about each song: what it was about, how/why she wrote it, etc. I recorded one, but I was sitting in the back so the images aren't great:
During the last living room concert in Ons Ding (with Kellianna) our hostess Astrid had sung a song too. Thursday night I asked whether she was going to sing again. She is a bit shy about her voice (not necessary at all, but I understand), but decided to go for it anyway. She told about her connection with the beach and sea while using her ocean drum, and sang her song about the goddess Nehellennia. We all enjoyed her performance:
Then Wendy & Tim took over again and continued the concert. Wendy told us about a song she wrote for Tim when he was coming to her Australia. I accidentally recorded the song, but my camera was in my lap so there are no images. The song is great though and I decided to upload it anyway. Because Wendy wrote it for Tim I made it a tribute to their love:
Much too soon the last song was sung and Wendy opened the circle. We stayed a while for a drink and to talk to our friends. Wendy sold quite some albums I think. Good for her, she deserves it!
Thank you Wendy and Timothy for a wonderful workshop and concert!
Thank you Ben and Astrid for hosting both and having me/us!
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