Astrology close to the stars
The gnomes, fairies and trolls living in the fairytale country I find myself in are the only ones awake early morning. I clamber over wet rocks along the ones overgrown by thick velvety fur. In all cracks and crevices I picture their houses. Thick branches of old trees look inviting to sit down and listen to the stories the fairies then whisper in your ear. But I can’t be all dreamy. The rocks are slippery and the climb up to the waterfalls is intense. The noise swells to an enormous hubbub until I see the first of the four waterfalls on my trail today. I stare at the masses of water that continuously blasting down, to the raging rivers at the bottom and how the sun and the mist create colourful rainbows.
The parking is a bit busier once I get down, but it’s still a rather early. I wanted to be out hiking before the 3 hour drive to Geilo. The road turns and winds endlessly until I reach the highlands of Hardangervidda In the winter this is the place to be for cross country skiing. Most probably it looks amazing that time of the year too, but now … this is pure natural beauty; I would find it a pity not see the wonderful colours, the glassy lakes reflecting the snow-covered peaks and the wildly swirling rivers.
In the car I try to dig something out of my bag. Again I bump into my Astrology ABC book and feel a touch guilty. I have carried to book to almost everywhere and when I got somewhere I could get into it, I had myself distracted. So I’m heading for an astrology retreat being a complete no-no. But the tension I now feel in my system it not just about not having read the book, I rather listen to people explaining, telling stories. That leaves a lasting memory, studying a book has never really been my cup of tea. I feel a bit nervous about being in a group. How could I have launched myself AGAIN into a group, while I don’t like groups. I should face it every now and then to see if I get any better at it I guess I don’t even know how many of us will be there, but can’t be that much; we’re staying in a cabin. The cabin looks amazing. It’s far from civilisation in the hills, overlooking a green valley. The roof is covered in grass to have the cabin absorbed by its surroundings. But apparently 42 people fit in. Good for me that I didn’t know this in advance!
Of course I reach this point fairly quick that it’s just to much and I implode. That’s when I walk away to let everything settle down, straighten up and then talk about it. After a good, insightful talk with Sol, I feel wiser and stronger to face my challenge with a group. And I feel very tired after all the tears.
While the lectures continue there is a ceremony in preparation; a sweat lodge. It’s a hut made with natural materials. It was used by indigenous peoples of the Americas for ceremonial healing and prayer.
Our sweat leader has had his training with these tribes, which enables him to lead our sweat lodge. But not before telling stories and singing songs that take you to places you didn’t even know existed. He has a great voice and when you close your eyes you’re in his story.
Then we build the lodge with love and dedication. We bent trees into the skeleton of the lodge. I’m the engineer, overlooking the alignment, which is important to create the shape of the star in the roof. A hole combining the shape of the moon and the sun is made right in front of the entrance of the hut. This will be the place for the sacred fire that the fire chief will create. In between there’s the alter. And then there are the Icelandic lava stones that will go from the fire in the hut. There is a ritual for everything. Everything is done with true and utter dedication. We’re not supposed to talk or ask questions during these moments of devotion and love giving that sets the intention for the lodge. The preparations take about 3 days.
I have my moon cycle, which is ceremony on it’s own. There is an additional ritual to make the two ceremonies work together. Cato explains that it is not about excluding women who are in their cycle, but about respecting their ceremony. I end up feeling privileged. I go in after the sweat leader and get to bless every stone that is brought into the hut on antlers with a sprinkle that sets of small stars in the air. Carefully not to create smoke in the hut. In pitch darkness, with temperatures rising we sing indigenous songs. It’s a beautiful healing ceremony giving very deep insights.
And then it’s time for goodbyes to new friends. Gunn Berit and Tareck are two new friends that I take to Bergen. In the car the chatter continues and I listen with a smile. We often stop to take pictures of the awe striking landscape that is sunlit.
Gunn Berit offered me to stay with her. It feels so good to be surrounded by loving and caring people without having to rush anywhere. We drop off our stuff at her place, pick up Tareck and head for town. This is a bit of a shock for me. For more than a week I’ve been in very secluded places. Even when I was surrounded by 41 other people it was quite and I had the possibility to go to even more peace. Now I’m all of a sudden in a city surrounded by many people and quite some traffic. It feels overwhelming. A glass of wine will do good. Red wine to quite me down.
We have drinks and dinner and are joined by Gjert, who was the fire chief. It’s a great night as a closure for this retreat.
The next day the sun is gone. I wander around in Bergen. Feeling a bit dozy after yesterday night. To follow rightly through to my next adventure I have a coffee and cake with Tareck and then head for my 18 hours boat journey. As the weather really turned around it’s not the way I imagined it to be; fjords are wrapped in mysterious clouds and the wind is howling. All this allows me to prepare for Crete!
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