Gorge de Galamus
‘The otherworld of the Celts was not remote like the Christian Heaven. It co-existed with nature in earth, sky, sea as a parallel reality, perceived through the inner senses of the visionary, intuitive part of the mind. At times and places of transition, dusk, dawn, seashore, sacred sites, doorways, bridges: the barrier of consciousness which separated the otherworld from everyday reality was thin, could more easily be crossed.’ Meggie’s Journey by Margaret D’Ambrosio.
Summer 2020, I returned home from Arran, restless with the codes of the otherworld still fresh in my body and mind and thirsty for further adventure. Inspired by reading the O Manuscript by Lars Muhl describing secret châteaus, caves, and coves in the foothills of the French Pyrenees and their links with Mary Magdalene and mystery school magic.
Travel to France was currently unrestricted and I was pulled toward warmer climes on remote hillsides before the cold Atlantic winds of winter blew in to billow and buffet my cottage, I closed my eyes and let unseen forces guide my finger to a point on the Atlas… landing at Le Gorge de Galamus. I had tingles already and booked up for Equinox.
Galamus: the meaning is uncertain but to me, intimates ‘Gal’ from the Gaels, the Gauls, the Earth and her beauty; gaol means relationship in Gaelic. Amus, amos: god given, to love, to cherish, to carry. Our god-given, balanced relationship of love with the earth, nature and each other in our true natures.
The cragged, jagged juggernauts of rock tower upward toward lapas lazuli blue skies, Goliaths of the Gorge of Galamus. The horizontal serpentine ridge of hilltops interrupted by the diagonal zig-zagging chasm, plunging awareness vertically deep down to the cool turquoise pleasure pools of the River D’Agly (of the Eagle). The templar cross perfectly illustrated in nature’s way. The convergence zone: emanating heady heights of electric/magnetic magnificence. Illuminating Jagannath’s kinetic merging of Krishna and Radha, Lords of the Universe as a home-coming, to the otherworld.