A band of women gathered at the wild and ruinous, 12th century Godstow Nunnery, Oxfordshire, UK, just before the Summer Solstice. I run a soul centred, year-long course for women that is guided by the Celtic Wheel of the Year. As the day of our Solstice gathering fell on the day of the Global Earth Exchange it felt right to include this sacred arts ritual as part of our retreat day together.

The tumble-down nunnery and it’s grounds is now home to many Hawthorn and Elder trees. Red Kites circle above, cows graze grass and buttercups and the bellow of traffic from the A34 hangs in the air. Left litter from parties and other occasions sprout between the brambles, thistles, yarrow and dandelions.

Some of the women felt the presence of the Sisters who had once inhabited this place. The safety that this place had once provided for them, a sense of community and the sacred. Others felt a great sense of loss from the place, even fear, perhaps as the community of nuns were forced to leave their home and lives as the nunnery was destroyed in 1500s.

Many of the women commented that this felt like a strong place, a place of power that had many stories to tell. The mythos of the place is tangible, it seeps through the ivy-cracked walls.

We gathered plastic and glass bottles from the earth, seed-heads and fire wood, paper plates and cow pooh, and on a charred area of grass we created the Radical Joy bird.

Working collaboratively together to create this ritual offering for the earth brought so much meaning and joy for the group. People commented on how well we worked together, how the process flowed and beauty emerged. Some people felt there was more peace in the earth after we held this ritual. After we completed one of our group hung a large Hag Stone in a mature Hawthorn tree. Honouring the lives of the women who lived in this place over the centuries, and the lives of the group visiting today. We then walked to the near-by River Isis/Thames and sang a love song to the water.

It was hard to walk away from and leave the parts of the bird that were ‘litter’ broken glass bottles etc, knowing that cows graze the land; and we did leave the piece intact. Some days later a couple of us returned to remove the broken glass to find that others had been here before us, and removed all the plastic and glass from the bird.

Thank you to all who made this happening possible.