30 September, 2020
To Be A Pilgrim
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more”
– Byron, from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
Since the dawn of time, humans have been called out into nature, drawn by the elemental soothing of its cycles – while our world feels more and more chaotic, there is a calmness and a comfort in connecting with the wheel of seasons. Before monotheistic religions claimed their own pilgrimage sites and saints, civilisations worshipped the elemental: the moon, the sun, the ocean, the wind, the seasons, the earth. That connection between the natural world and something sacred still remains, whether you’re a pagan celebrating Beltane, or simply understand the meditative peace that can come from walking in nature or wild swimming.
“In nature’s infinite book of secrecy
A little I can read.”– Soothsayer, Antony & Cleopatra, Act 1 Scene 2
As ‘worshipper[s] of Nature’, in Wordsworth’s words, there are moments when we want to connect more consciously to the natural world, and this is where the idea of a pilgrimage – more conscientious than a walk – arises. In the Encyclopedia Brittanica, pilgrimage is said to ‘link sacred place with sacred time‘, and ‘provide privileged access to a divine or transcendent sphere‘. Where religious pilgrimages tend to centre around specific holy sites, nature pilgrimages are not so tethered. Although there can be pilgrimages to ancient sites like Stone Henge, Avebury, the Ness of Brodgar, Glastonbury Tor and the like, the core magic in a nature pilgrimage is in the natural world itself. In the fields, the forests, the lakes, the glens, the mountains, the valleys, the ocean – all can offer up access to this ‘transcendent sphere’, as if the keys were left lying around for anyone to find.
A pilgrimage connects us to the archetypal Wanderer – the staff-bearing, cloak-wearing, brim-hatted model (think Gandalf in Lord of the Rings). Odysseus, Odin, St James, Dionysus, Khonsu, Hermes / Mercury and many others represent this wanderer spirit. In Tarot, the Hermit – one of the cards from the Major Arcana – is often depicted wearing a cloak, holding a staff and lantern, and represents soul-searching and the wisdom that comes from within.
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with its sweet-smelling showers
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
Has pierced the drought of March to the root, […]
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In every holt and heath, has breathed life into
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
The tender crops, and the young sun
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
Has run its half course in Aries,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
And small fowls make melody,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
Those that sleep all the night with open eyes
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
(So Nature incites them in their hearts),
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages
– Chaucer, General Prologue, The Canterbury Tales
What is the difference between a walk and a pilgrimage? Pilgrimages are conscious acts of connecting to the sacred realm in Nature – whether you’re an atheist or a pantheist, you can still commit to being present and acknowledging the power of the natural world. We at the Nest Collective recommend bringing an intention at the start of any pilgrimage – asking ourselves what we can give thanks for, what we would like to bring into our lives and how we can deepen our commitment to our true selves.
Join our Nature Pilgrimages on October 10th and 17th: Get Tickets
