I have just returned from THE MOST AMAZING time in Orkney, making a dream come true and finally visiting Ring of Brodgar. It didn’t disappoint. This is the most powerful stone circle I have ever visited and to spend a full moon at it was just one of the most gifted coincidences, which I will never forget, not least for the 40+mph winds, but the solitude and the energy, and all the learnings that came with it.

The island itself is beautiful, a soft undulating landscape which creates a very feminine energy. The place is positively littered with tumulus, cairns, brochs and menhirs making it a stone-lover’s place to be. The stone circles though, of Brodgar and Stenness were really the draws for me, I love stone circles and these are the most northerly in the world with various astronomical alignments and an energy that is like no other I have ever experienced previously.

I was certainly pleased to be there and the whole trip, the turmoil at leaving the boys and the guilt that this brought up which asked me to dig deep into patriarchal wounding around the notion of ‘mother’ and the anxiety that came with tight flight connections that had me almost miss onward flights and for my bag to get delayed in transit on two occasions (and still delayed even now), the stepping outside my comfort zone to walk Ring of Brodgar on my own in the wind and the rain, by moonlight, my friend too cold by then to join me, and the energy that greeted me, to say nothing of the peace that comes from living without WIFI in a pod in the the middle of nowhere for 5 nights, well it certainly all took me on an inner journey.

I learned a lot. Especially that our children survive without us and that their dad can be pleased of a break, that it is absolutely OK to take time out for ourselves, that this doesn’t make us selfish, or bad mothers, or any of that patriarchal crap, that standing stones are just incredible and that latitude makes a big difference to the moon’s transit across the sky, that chanting the Śraddhā Sūktam (for faith) from the Rig Veda over and over again can literally strengthen faith and remind us to trust in the bigger picture, come what may, letting go over and over again, even if that feels uncomfortable and edgy and we have to surrender to that - which was ultimately what the Aries full moon was all about - surrender and faith.

And I’m still digging into that now. Returning home without a bag (still lost in transit) and a charger to my phone, an iPod broken, car brakes needing fixing, and on it goes…but it was ALL worth it. It was an incredible five night break, and while there is so much more I could write, I don’t believe words will ever be enough to share my experience, that it really was between me and the earth and the moon and my stone friend. And actually, that’s probably how it should be. And even that awareness has made me stop and reflect about what is said and what isn’t, about just ‘being’ without having to share. But I couldn’t help sharing a little bit, and the photos, which speak more than the words.

From Standing Stones of Stenness to Ring of Brodgar

Love Emma x

Orkney stone adventure

Oh, that moon and shadows

It's all up in the air!