It's a lovely, warm day today, although I still reckon it'll snow end of Mar / beg of Apr, as it has done for the past couple of years.
But today made me think of spring, and spring in the UK is truly beautiful with the grass looking greener and the smell of everything as flowers begin to bloom...
It makes me feel like getting out and exploring the country, and one of my favourite past times (which, sadly, I have less time and money for nowadays) is to go out hiking, specifically near and around stone circles. For those of you unfamiliar with stone circles, Stonehenge is the most famous of all, but there are lots of little, lesser known ones dotted around the UK, and their energy is amazing.
I don't make a secret of the fact (nor do really go shouting about it) that I'm 100% witch at heart, and there's nothing more grounding and refreshing to really connect with the land, especially when you spend most of your hours at a laptop, belting out blog posts and stories.
Needless to say, that a lot of my inspiration for current and upcoming books have been based on my love of magick, Paganism, and teachings of both witchcraft and shamanism (from various traditions).
In my latest book, The Sands Of Time, I mention how apple trees are a doorway into the land of Faerie. In The Witching Pen, I explore magick in a more urban way, by placing some of my characters in a new age shop in the middle of London, and concluding the events of the story in a 'hotspot' at Hyde Park.
One of the things that makes the UK truly unique, is that all you have to do is drive / train journey for no more than 20 minutes to get from urban to countryside. You're greeted with a complete change of scenery, but neither less magical than the other.
One of the closest magical places for me (about an hour's drive away from where I am), is Pewley Downs in Surrey (nr Guildford). The north and south downs of Surrey as a whole are quite something: they're ancient, but the land also seems to carry itself as if it's brand new and still flourishing in the present. Very strong energy -- very strong indeed.
And this is the part of the blog post where readers begin to think I'm a little weird, but hey, I am. I actually have danced naked around a fire in the snow before. No -- you'll never get to hear about it, but feel free to read my stories, and wonder if there's any fact to the fiction ;)
What are your nearest and favourite magical places in the world?
Dianna x
But today made me think of spring, and spring in the UK is truly beautiful with the grass looking greener and the smell of everything as flowers begin to bloom...
It makes me feel like getting out and exploring the country, and one of my favourite past times (which, sadly, I have less time and money for nowadays) is to go out hiking, specifically near and around stone circles. For those of you unfamiliar with stone circles, Stonehenge is the most famous of all, but there are lots of little, lesser known ones dotted around the UK, and their energy is amazing.
I don't make a secret of the fact (nor do really go shouting about it) that I'm 100% witch at heart, and there's nothing more grounding and refreshing to really connect with the land, especially when you spend most of your hours at a laptop, belting out blog posts and stories.
Needless to say, that a lot of my inspiration for current and upcoming books have been based on my love of magick, Paganism, and teachings of both witchcraft and shamanism (from various traditions).
In my latest book, The Sands Of Time, I mention how apple trees are a doorway into the land of Faerie. In The Witching Pen, I explore magick in a more urban way, by placing some of my characters in a new age shop in the middle of London, and concluding the events of the story in a 'hotspot' at Hyde Park.
One of the things that makes the UK truly unique, is that all you have to do is drive / train journey for no more than 20 minutes to get from urban to countryside. You're greeted with a complete change of scenery, but neither less magical than the other.
One of the closest magical places for me (about an hour's drive away from where I am), is Pewley Downs in Surrey (nr Guildford). The north and south downs of Surrey as a whole are quite something: they're ancient, but the land also seems to carry itself as if it's brand new and still flourishing in the present. Very strong energy -- very strong indeed.
And this is the part of the blog post where readers begin to think I'm a little weird, but hey, I am. I actually have danced naked around a fire in the snow before. No -- you'll never get to hear about it, but feel free to read my stories, and wonder if there's any fact to the fiction ;)
What are your nearest and favourite magical places in the world?
Dianna x
Britain can be pretty. There are a lot of beautiful places, and when the sun is out . . . lovely.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I have a particular place - outside - where I feel magical. But, I do feel at peace when I'm inside a theatre.
I always wanted to be an actress, after studying Musical Theatre at college that want kinda dimmed a little, but I still get the chills mixed with excitement/nerves and awe when I'm in any theatre.
A whole different type of magic for me ;-)