The Mighty Rushing Wind

An occasional newsflash - the Skyrrid Fawr Whitsun pilgrimage

Welcome - this is an ‘occasional’ newsletter rather than the regular updates near the end or beginning of the month . . . the reason for this is an update on the progress of the Whitsun work that has been unfolding of late. It is meant as a reminder of our coming Skyrrid Fawr pilgrimage on Whit Sunday 24th May starting at 3pm - if you’re coming please let us know by messaging me via the button below or email at info@mandypullen.co.uk

Last months newsletter, The Thunderbolt, featured our Easter Sunday visit to Skyrrid Fawr (the great shattering), known locally as the Holy Mountain, and experienced its electrifying effect. On Thursday 14th May we decided to return to the Skyrrid and make another ascent, this being Ascension Day (when Christ ascended to heaven). We were drawn, on this occasion, by an astrological conjunction of Mercury and the Sun happening that afternoon. Mercury is the messenger of the Gods and the Sun is the home place of Christ . . . and this particular conjunction was ‘superior’ in its nature and by that I mean that Mercury was positioned behind the Sun from our viewpoint. Rudolf Steiner wrote that when Christ came down to Earth, he came from behind the Sun. What were we to expect?

A different approach

The time of the Mercury / Sun conjunction was 3.24pm so we set off in good time to reach the St Michael ruins at the summit. We took a different route around the eastern flank at the base which was full of life . . . bluebells, bright yellow gorse, may blossom, stonechats, linnets, pipits, willow warblers . . . a typical calm spring day full of sunshine. As we meandered along we realised that we would need to get our skates on if we were to make the summit by the allotted time so we took the path upwards (the climb was shattering in itself) at quite a lick. After many stops to catch our breath on the steep path, we emerged a little way to the south of the summit and were greeted with a ‘mighty rushing wind’, so strong it was difficult to make headway and quite shocking after the earlier calm conditions. The term ‘mighty rushing wind’ comes from the bible and precedes the Whitsun event when the disciples received the holy spirit. With only minutes left we made it to the top exactly at the time of the Mercury and Sun conjunction.

The rain cloud in the title photo (repeated above) was much nearer now and we watched (from a sheltered hollow) as it approached Graig Syfyrddin, a hill over to the north east - we had decided that its name was another word for seraphim. The translation of the word Syfyrddin is not conclusive but is believed to derive from the Welsh noun swfr meaning a noise, murmur, or rustling sound. There was certainly a lot of noise there on the summit of the Skyrrid Fawr.

And then a great sign appeared - a rainbow began to grow on the northern flank of Graig Syfyrddin. It slowly spread over the hill and down the other side with a distinct ‘glow’ above its more southerly point. The photo below doesn’t quite catch that ‘glow’ (photos are never as good as the real thing) but it felt remarkably ‘angelic’.

As the rain cloud passed, the rainbow covered the hill as if the seraphim or angels were showing us a sign.

Following this we began to make our way back along the spine, on the normal route. Another heavy shower arrived, this time it hit us . . . with hail stones! Once the hail storm had passed we paused and waited for the sun to come and dry us off. A buzzard silently soared up past us. My left heel had a blister that needed attention. All this stopped us in our tracks and so we decided to honour an earlier decision to descend the north face - a steep and vertiginous slope on the other side of the summit. So we had to retrace our steps to the summit and we were encouraged by the call, and subsequent siting (with binoculars), of a peregrine falcon on the cliff at the summit - when it launched into flight it sped across the side of the mountain like a bolt of lightning. As we descended, we stopped about half way down to watch a kestrel hunt - flying at our eye level - gliding then turning up into the wind to sit on the breeze almost motionless. And then we took the path on the western flank which wound its way through a magical woodland absolutely bursting with bluebells, birdsong and late golden afternoon sunshine. A real dingly dell.

We certainly didn’t expect any of that!

Magnificent old hawthorn and zinging bluebells

What does it all mean?

The Ascension itself is described as a ‘shattering’ or shocking event - the disciples were thrown into despair at the disappearance of Christ, maybe thinking that he had gone forever. We had ascended the shattered mountain to be present at a synchronous event in the skies - the Mercury / Sun superior conjunction - as a way of offering our acknowledgment (or paying homage) and in preparation for the coming Whitsun (also known as Pentecost) event in ten days time. The heavens were certainly volatile and the three birds of prey seemed to be telling us, in their own ways, of the heavens and how to navigate the mighty rushing winds - to soar, to speed and to hover.

The coming Whitsun pilgrimage

The current weather forecast for Whit Sunday suggests Sun and heat. How fitting as Whit Sunday commemorates the day when the disciples received the holy spirit as tongues of flame on their heads. In Steiner’s work, each ‘individual consciousness’ receives the holy spirit as an individual ‘within a group’ - effectively he is saying that the holy spirit is available to every individual when working with, or towards, the greater good of all, or humanity.

So we will ascend again to receive the pouring down of spirit from the heavens . . . as individuals in a group. There is another astrological alignment featuring Uranus (the planet of shocks and shatterings) which we’ll explain on the day.

There’s more practical information on the web page here. If you’re coming please email me at info@mandypullen.co.uk or message me using this button so that we know to expect you.

We look forward to seeing some of you then . . . Mandy

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