ST NECTAN’S GLEN

[imported_YURIMember]

I just got back from a quick trip to Cornwall and drew this amazing waterfall; located at the top of Rocky Valley near Tintagel, this is the waterfall of ‘St Nectan’s Glen’.

(If you cant see the image it’s because I’m having overloaded bandwidth problems on my homepage (please come back later to view) If you can see the picture then quick! cut n paste it incase it disappears! )

I am aware of the legends of the 6th century saint, but having been there the place feels VERY feminine (the saint is a bloke). Of course you can easily google for St Nectans Glen… but before you do,

I was curious to see if, from just looking at this drawing (I started it on location, sat there for over an hour getting a wet arse, before finishing it later) what, if any impressions it gives you?

Please dont see this as a test, I’m just curious to see what people ‘get’ from the picture before ‘knowing’ about the site… there are no right or wrong impressions… I’ll leave it a week or so then I’ll type up all I know about Saint Nectan onto the Psychic Questing Encyclopedia.

Cheers

Yuri.

[imported_SimonMember]

Hey Yuri,

Great drawing. My immediate impression was a rather obvious “gateway to another world” with the river acting as the connector between the two worlds. However, I would like to do meditate on it properly and see if anything further occurs. When my wife saw the picture (she didn’t see the words) she immediately honed in on the yonic aspect of the gap in the rocks – so maybe this partially explains your sense of the feminine.

- Simon

[imported_supernaturalistMember]

It was a while before I could seen the picture, but I got there sometime during Sunday evening and printed it. I tried to avoid looking at anyone else’s comments until I could get my own impressions. Nice picture by the way, worth a wet arse I’d say!

First impressions on Sunday. The face-in-profile in the rock on the left side of the hole jumps out at me. Is that naturally there or did you put it in there Yuri? Also reminded me of the holed stones such as Men-an-toll (does it align to anything?). It is quite inviting – I have the urge to clamber through the hole (not sure how physically easy or safe that would be).

In the night I was half-awake around 1.30am and my mind turned to it. I was ‘thinking’ (if you can call it that) about the face in the rock, and suddenly the hole took on solidity and became the moon (man in the moon, obviously), my imagination taking a few liberties and rounding out the shape a little. A little later on, again in a half-awake state, ‘thinking’ about the water cascade, suddenly I saw the hole as a bowl or cup, tipped up and pouring the water out.

Having now looked at Simon’s comment I suppose my own desire to climb through gels with the portal idea. Apart from doing this physically I imagine one could project one’s consciousness through it.

I might be in the area myself at the end of May, I’ll go if we get the chance. I haven’t been far enough down Rocky Valley to find the glen. By the way, did you hear that a third labrynth has been discovered, cut very faintly into the rock above the other two?

Michael

[imported_YURIMember]

FACE IN THE ROCK; This wasnt deliberate but is interesting, I took photos which will be developed by Friday so they’ll confirm whether the face is there or whether I did it subconsciously… but I was quite fussy with the circumference of the hole so am expecting my drawing to be pretty close to actuality.

AS A BOWL; This idea really appealled to me. The whole waterfall is 60ft high. Comes crashing down into the ‘kieve’ (the waterfall is alternatively called ‘St. Nectan’s Kieve’) ‘Kieve’ is Cornish for ‘Basin’… so quite literally is a ‘Bowl’… time has worn a hole in the side of the bowl and that is the enigmatic opening Yoni that is so astounding a landmark.
Being so close to Tintagel with all it’s Arthurianisms, having a natural bowl/cauldron in the landscape makes it a fascinating Grail… it even had a hermit cell at the top, makes one think of Questing Knights seeking clues, at the very least.

AS A PORTAL; this is very appealling too, and yes, if you are prepared to get soaked I think it would be possible to get through the hole or at least peek through; the hole begins about 8ft above ground level (but you’d also be standing in 3 to 4ft of water making the whole thing about 11ft high… the bowl inside is said to be between 15 and 20ft deep.
I spoke to Andy C recently. Told him that St. Nectan is the Cornish varient of the saints name, in latin he is Nathanus but curiously in Welsh he is Nudd (‘dd’ is pronouced ‘th’, read Nudd as ‘Neath’) Andy then connected this to the Temple of Nudd/Nodens at Lydney on the River Severn (I myself had connected him to Glastonbury, our local deity being ‘Gwyn ap Nudd’, and to the ‘Vale of Neath’ in Wales.
As Bridget is both Christian saint and ancient goddess, could Nudd/Nectan be both saint and god? With Lydney on the Severn, the River Neath in Wales and this astounding waterfall in Cornwall… this old river god seems quite fascinating. Andy see’s Nodens at Lydney as representing both the Abyss and the great river (Milky Way) which I go along with, but Nudd is also a God of healing… the great river abyss and the crashing water into the ‘basin’ really does seem to suggest entrance into an other world
Back to the opening Yoni and the desire to enter. It reminds me of a local tradition to a place called Babcary which is seen as a mother earth womb/vagina, that has a rather fun Somerset saying to it, and this could apply to the hole at St Nectan’s Glen… “Easy to get into, hard to get out of!” Penetration is easy, you just slip in but being born (coming back out of) isnt easy and requires quite a ‘push’!

[imported_YURIMember]

Bumped into a chap in town today. Got talking about St. Nectan’s Glen. He told me quite enthusiastically that he has photos of ‘faries’ from there. orbs and balls of light etc. He has a friend who has a photo that if you look closely is convinced that you can see a Gnome looking back at you… I am now hoping that when my photos are developed that there maybe an anomaly or two.

This was my own feeling at the Glen, that of a fey female energy, Elen, Bride, White Goddess, Titania type feeling; very fae and otherworld-ish… of course this doesnt feel connected to St Nectan, but then again, the ‘Vale of Neath’ (Nudd) is said to be the last resting place of the Fairies in Wales so maybe Nectan/Neath has Fairy affinities?

[imported_supernaturalistMember]

If I’ve got this right, beyond the hole in the picture is the kieve, and most of the waterfall is going into that. Sounds good, I’m pretty sure I can persuade the Mrs to see a 60ft waterfall, especially if it’s a faery site as well. I’ll try and remember to take my camera – good to see that I’m not the only person who hasn’t got a digital camera yet! Hope your pictures have some nice surprises! If I remember, after a short walk down the valley from the Mill and labrynths, the path goes two ways. Do we go left or right?

All the stuff about Nechtan and Nudd is really interesting (and how is the Gwyn ap Nudd booklet coming along? No pressure, I know your busy). What AC says about Nudd as representing the Abyss and what you say about him being a god of healing, the two go together if by Abyss you mean the dark and mysterious deep from which the world comes forth in many creation myths (and I guess you do, as it has the water connection). Eliade wrote (Myths, Dreams and Mysteries) that many healing ceremonies involve a recitation or re-enactment of the creation; by taking the sick person back to the primordial time/place/event of beginnings, they re-emerge as a ‘new’ person. The same principal is also found in initiations.

At the glen perhaps we have the basin holding the waters of the Abyss, and the yonic opening through which the world and life are born . Mythologically speaking, of course.

There are strong connections of the Abyss with the underworld. I’m not sure if the underworld is supposed to be entirely the same thing as the ‘otherworld’, but they seem to be related.

Michael

[imported_YURIMember]

Otherworld/Underworld; – a lot of authors in the 1900′s, writing of Celtic themes, would often describe the Celtic otherworld as an ‘underworld’ and then go on to describe it as some sort of Celtic Hades.

I really dont like this point of view, and a lot of Celtic material doesnt view the otherworld as a ‘Hades’, dark and shady… rather it is described as the land of Eternal Youth, or the Golden Realm etc; so rather than seeing things as light and dark, heaven and hell, I see Celtic ‘other’ realms as parallel universe type things… So I now use the term ‘Other’ as a general title for any realm ‘other’ than our own, this seems to me the most open-minded way of viewing things, rather than describe Celtica in a Classical (Hades/Hell) type way

…So to me the Duat, Hades, Valhalla, Land of the Eternal sun, heaven etc, are all ‘other’ than our realm, and they all have their own personalities, some dark some golden.

To get to Rocky Valley I drove from Tintagel to Bossiney then carried on north up that road. About 2 miles from Tintagel is a layby on the left saying ‘Park here for waterfall’. I did that then followed the path past St. Piran’s Well down to Rocky Valley, then walked up the valley following the stream for 15mins. Got to the top where St. Nectans hermit cell was (now a gatehouse and tea-room, paid my 2.50 entry fee then walked down to the Kieve. at the foot of the waterfall a whole load of ribbons and offerings hang from branches, and people have scratched their names onto stones and left them there… so take something to hang on a branch as an offering or take something sharp so that you can scratch your name onto a stone.

[imported_MeoniaMember]

Hi,

Found an interesting link for the Celtic god ‘Nechtan’ and his wife ‘Boann’ seems quite relavent, having male and female counterparts connected with a well of wisdom…

http://www.maryjones.us/jce/nechtan.html

I visited St Necterns Glen a couple of years back and my impressions were of a positive live giving, rejuvinating force. A Natural Grail and still very potent.

Looking at Yuri’s picture, the faces (one on top of another?) left of the waterfall also stood out to me as a first impression.

Have you had the photo’s developed yet?

[imported_SimonMember]

Picking up on the fairy theme, this week’s In Our Time (BBC Radio 4) podcast is on that very subject. Not a bad little chat though quite rushed, you can download it here: [url:1ovjafb9]http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/downloadtrial/radio4/inourtime/inourtime_20060511-1000_40_pc.mp3[/url]

[imported_YURIMember]

Hey Gordon

Thanks for that link about Nechtan as an Irish god. Connected with a sacred Well is really interesting. This now links with that old ‘oracle head’ topic that keeps popping it’s head up

From previous research into St Cleer (St Nectan’s brother) Cleer was beheaded and miraculously carried his decapitated head to his Holy Well.

I was totally gob-smacked to learn that Nectan himself, too, was decapitated and carried his head to his Holy Well! (St. Cleers ‘head’ Holy Well is in Normandy and St Nectan’s is at Hartland Stoke, Devon) So having the god Nectan equated to a Well of Wisdom is just fascinating… this is paralleling Vixens Well research of Binsey too; – oracle heads and Holy Wells.

Simon, inspired by that bbc download I have started a new thread just for debating ‘Fairies’

[imported_YURIMember]

Well (ha! ) got my photos and got me some orbs. I used a bog-standard kodak disposable camera; and as you can see from the first pic (orb above path) the photos started quite clear and bright.

but the photos quickly start to get grey and grainy; here is a pic of some of the stones with names scratched upon them,

and of many ribbons hung to trees,

But here are the orbs! by now the camera had decided that it should be dark (and it wasnt it was actually quite bright and sunny) At first I thought that this could be rain drobs but it wasnt raining and drops should be pear shaped not round. It could be spray from the waterfall but there was none as I sat here for over an hour drawing and my paper remained completely dry… also, you can see a definite ‘S’ shaped spiral formed by the orbs and neither rain nor spray can do that can it? It was at this location that I felt a strong feminine Elen/Bride type goddess presence.

NOTE; If any of these pictures dont come up for you it’ll be because of my narrow bandwidth on my homepage, so come back again later

[imported_SimonMember]

Excellent photos, Yuri. I particularly like the first one which is realy clear apart from the one orb hovering over the path. Very unlikely that this could the the result of the flash reflecting off water particles in the air (did it even flash for this first one?)

It reminds me of the Newgrange photos that I took. I took two within about ten seconds of each other and one had orbs in it and the other didn’t (the orb one remains here [url:16m431ih]http://www.psychicquesting.com/ftopict-58.html[/url] but the other, orb-less one perished in the hacker attack).

I wonder if there’s a connection between the two sites? Does anyone else have some “orb photos”?

[imported_YURIMember]

How strange.

Part of Rocky Valley (6.5 acres) with old mill and Bronze Aged labyrinth rock carvings are coming up for auction!!!

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/websitefree/

Starting bids around 65,000 pounds… (beyond my pocket) I hope it goes to some pure ‘Fae’ soul.

[imported_EllisMember]

Hi, I’ve just joined this list so I haven’t had much of a look around but this topic caught my eye (not by a long chalk the only one either).
I thought you might enjoy the pics I took a few years back of St Nectan’s waterfall:

http://www.ellisctaylor.com/orcsandorbs3.html

Cheers,
Ellis[/url]

[imported_bluemysticMember]

I just wanted to say that I think your drawing is awesome.
St Nectans is my favourite place of all. I accidentally came across it in 2002 when on holiday in Cornwall. Ever since I’ve been in love with the place. Whenever I go there (unfortunately only twice to my annoyance)it puts me into almost a trance like peaceful state. I beleive that there is definately something magical about StNectans Glenn. Ever since that first visit, it is now a pilgrimage for me whenever I go to Cornwall. I just wish I could go there more often.
Thankyou for sharing your beautiful drawing.

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