Tween places and Portals
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Last night I was sitting in my usual spot, that spot I go at about 8:00pm-8:30pm when the boys have driven me to insanity, the cats want cuddle time, and the tv is on, and I am just not a tv person. I dont like to watch it, sure there are some tv shows I really like, but they are never on at this time. Usually the boy is in the bath, or doing his nightly get out of going to bed routine. This is when I go and retreat. I usually sit on the floor, and meditate, play with the cats or take a bath.
Something particular occured last night. As I was sitting there on the floor, zoned out, I was staring off to my right, there is a large arch way that seperates the bathroom from the bedroom and off set from that about 4 inches in is a bookshelf. This is no particular bookshelf, nothing Witchy or Pagan about it, it holds mostly novels, and computer books. So as I was sitting there, I began to think of tween places. Im a huge fan of tween places. I love to walk the banks of lakes, rivers and streams these are all tween places, corners in a yard, the edge of a forest etc. Before I go on, many of you might be wondering what is a tween place? and why does it even matter?
Well tween places are places, in between. They are in between here and there, this world and the next, the mundane, and the magical, but most importantly they mark, and are the places that allow one easy entrance to the other side. Witches of old, were often called Hedgeriders, or Hedge Witches. They are not the Witches of today who call themselves hedgewitches because they are gardeners or work with herbs, this meanings is quite a new meaning in fact. What a hedge witch really is is one that crosses the hedge. The hedge used to be the boundary between the town and the outside world. This was rarely crossed as many times it was dangerous to venture out of the boundary. So they earned this name by crossing the "hedge" Now you may be asking how does one become a Witch by walking out of town, well that isnt quite what I mean. What I mean is that the hedge was a representation of the end of the town, the end of the unknown and safe places. When a Witch would cross the hedge it meant that he/she was parting the veil and crossing from the mundane into the the unknown and spiritual world. This was achieved through deep meditation and oftentimes the use of tween places and portals.
I want to take just a moment to say that what I was speaking about above is achieved through deep meditation, trance and journey work. Not basic light meditation, though basic meditation is a wonderful practice it serves as more of a restorative practice rather than a deep, mind and spirit altering practice. Once deep trance, meditation or "hedge crossing" has been achieved you find that it will become easier and easier to enter that state, and "cross the hedge"
So what does all this have to do with portals and tween places? Well not only are boarders of towns, tween places (the place that marks between here and there) but doorways, arches, the end of land, the edge of a lake etc are all "tween places". They mark the exact spot that is between here and there. "There" being the other world, Avalon, Annwn, Summerlands etc. I oftentimes use Alice in Wonderland an example and it is a perfect one at that! When Alice peered into the rabit hole she was in a tween place. So now you understand what a tween place is, and deep meditation, you can begin to understand their significance. You see once you are in meditation you can enter the other side through this tween place, you can even enhance these journeys by sitting in or at the edge of these tween places. It is said that in these places you can see with the naked eye what is on the other side, meditation is not needed! (but practice, and alignment with the spirit beings is) In these tween places, I can feel the energy stronger than anywhere. There are many times gifts that are left for me, bones, feathers or messages! In return you can leave gifts for the Ancestors, or the Faery race. A windowsill is a perfect example of a tween place, and therefore a wonderful place to make an Ancestor shrine, or Faery shrine.
So back to what I was talking about above. There is a Portal in my room, there is an arch way, a tween place, with a bookshelf against it, so it is a tween place in a tween place, and THAT is a portal. I had zoned out, and was in a light meditative state, I began to breath rythmically, and enter a deep trance state, I could see the energy move, and the portal crack open, and then I KNEW it was a portal! I will admit that I was so excited that I didn't explore it more, it wasn't the excitement of a portal. I have experienced those before in my walks through nature, and in deep Shamanic Journeys, it was the excitement of the realization of where it was. It was so mundane that I had not thought that there could be so much magick! Needless to say this will be explored more through meditation and journey work!
Let me know what your favorite tween places are, or if you have discovered any portals! And if you want to know more you can check this book out!
http://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Rider-Underworld-Eric-De-Vries/dp/0979616875
Something particular occured last night. As I was sitting there on the floor, zoned out, I was staring off to my right, there is a large arch way that seperates the bathroom from the bedroom and off set from that about 4 inches in is a bookshelf. This is no particular bookshelf, nothing Witchy or Pagan about it, it holds mostly novels, and computer books. So as I was sitting there, I began to think of tween places. Im a huge fan of tween places. I love to walk the banks of lakes, rivers and streams these are all tween places, corners in a yard, the edge of a forest etc. Before I go on, many of you might be wondering what is a tween place? and why does it even matter?
Well tween places are places, in between. They are in between here and there, this world and the next, the mundane, and the magical, but most importantly they mark, and are the places that allow one easy entrance to the other side. Witches of old, were often called Hedgeriders, or Hedge Witches. They are not the Witches of today who call themselves hedgewitches because they are gardeners or work with herbs, this meanings is quite a new meaning in fact. What a hedge witch really is is one that crosses the hedge. The hedge used to be the boundary between the town and the outside world. This was rarely crossed as many times it was dangerous to venture out of the boundary. So they earned this name by crossing the "hedge" Now you may be asking how does one become a Witch by walking out of town, well that isnt quite what I mean. What I mean is that the hedge was a representation of the end of the town, the end of the unknown and safe places. When a Witch would cross the hedge it meant that he/she was parting the veil and crossing from the mundane into the the unknown and spiritual world. This was achieved through deep meditation and oftentimes the use of tween places and portals.
I want to take just a moment to say that what I was speaking about above is achieved through deep meditation, trance and journey work. Not basic light meditation, though basic meditation is a wonderful practice it serves as more of a restorative practice rather than a deep, mind and spirit altering practice. Once deep trance, meditation or "hedge crossing" has been achieved you find that it will become easier and easier to enter that state, and "cross the hedge"
So what does all this have to do with portals and tween places? Well not only are boarders of towns, tween places (the place that marks between here and there) but doorways, arches, the end of land, the edge of a lake etc are all "tween places". They mark the exact spot that is between here and there. "There" being the other world, Avalon, Annwn, Summerlands etc. I oftentimes use Alice in Wonderland an example and it is a perfect one at that! When Alice peered into the rabit hole she was in a tween place. So now you understand what a tween place is, and deep meditation, you can begin to understand their significance. You see once you are in meditation you can enter the other side through this tween place, you can even enhance these journeys by sitting in or at the edge of these tween places. It is said that in these places you can see with the naked eye what is on the other side, meditation is not needed! (but practice, and alignment with the spirit beings is) In these tween places, I can feel the energy stronger than anywhere. There are many times gifts that are left for me, bones, feathers or messages! In return you can leave gifts for the Ancestors, or the Faery race. A windowsill is a perfect example of a tween place, and therefore a wonderful place to make an Ancestor shrine, or Faery shrine.
So back to what I was talking about above. There is a Portal in my room, there is an arch way, a tween place, with a bookshelf against it, so it is a tween place in a tween place, and THAT is a portal. I had zoned out, and was in a light meditative state, I began to breath rythmically, and enter a deep trance state, I could see the energy move, and the portal crack open, and then I KNEW it was a portal! I will admit that I was so excited that I didn't explore it more, it wasn't the excitement of a portal. I have experienced those before in my walks through nature, and in deep Shamanic Journeys, it was the excitement of the realization of where it was. It was so mundane that I had not thought that there could be so much magick! Needless to say this will be explored more through meditation and journey work!
Let me know what your favorite tween places are, or if you have discovered any portals! And if you want to know more you can check this book out!
http://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Rider-Underworld-Eric-De-Vries/dp/0979616875
