Stars and Stones forum reviews

12 to 14 November 2010 conference

This year’s winter Stars & Stones conference was another fascinating mix of topics ranging from a world tour of sacred landscapes, to the displacement of North American Indians, to some beautiful musical soundscapes. It was well attended by a lively mix of new and regular participants - all good company. The food was excellent as usual and this year there was a group of traders offering a variety of wares in the magnificent new Cart Barn.

My overall reaction was to wonder at the amazing scope of the conference and the depth of information and insights that the speakers offered. The two discussion forum sessions enabled participants to start getting to grips with the many questions and issues that arose. For example how could we reconcile the differences between sun worship, polytheistic faiths including paganism and monotheistic faiths including Christianity?

The weekend began with a fascinating talk by Paul Devereaux about the acoustics of archaeology and a delightful recital and soundscape experience with Clare Hedin. Paul Devereaux’s key note talk about magical mindscapes set the tone for the whole Stars & Stones weekend and asked us to look at the similarities between many spiritual and sacred landscapes worldwide. His allusion to “places with faces” was a deeply memorable theme.

Cosmo Verner introduced the Saturday and Sunday sessions with a moving meditation and the sounding of a Tibetan bowl. Greg Sams challenged us to think about sun worship and Christianity and we were left wondering whether the world is now looking for some middle way. Celia Gunn enchanted us with her recollections of living with the Sinixt Indians in Canada and her campaign to free them from dispossession and public oblivion.

We were treated to an exploration of previously unexplored areas of the Egyptian Pyramid temples by Robert Temple. He took us down the deep Osiris shaft, just off the Sphinx causeway, into an extraordinary chamber with a sarcophagus on a plinth surrounded by a small canal and explained his theory that other royal tombs are right under the temple where they would be safe from tomb robbers. Clare Hedin concluded the Saturday evening session with another magical soundscape experience.

We all took a fresh look at the civilisation of the Bronze Age across the world with Lucy Wyatt on the Sunday morning. She argued that modern civilisation is based on a thin veneer which is highly dependent on unsustainable energy sources whereas the Bronze Age city cultures were sustainable from the beginning. Will Lord gave us another chance to see a practical demonstration of flint knapping from the Stone Age.

Robin Herne took us on a walk though some of the many facets of the polytheistic paganism of the British Druids and we finished the weekend with another intellectual somersault from Anthony Thorley when we were asked to consider how the god Lugh (aka St Michael, St George and the Lud of Ludgate) should bring the 2012 Olympics to Hackney ! No wonder we were all left struggling to pull all these fascinatingly different ideas into a coherent whole!

The Stars & Stones conferences are an opportunity to hear a remarkably wide range of learned experts take us into their specialist fields and discuss the numerous esoteric and practical implications for our consciousness. They succeed in their aim to throw light into the darkest recesses of the wonders of mankind’s relationships with the earth and the cosmos from pre-history, through the ages and into the future. They are simply inspirational.

Stars & Stones was held as usual at Lawneys Farm at Rougham in Suffolk. The delightful venue and the excellent catering are exceptional on the conference circuit. Special thanks are due to John Agnew, who compéred and hosted the winter Stars & Stones conference, to Clare Higson who organised and coordinated the event with consummate skill and to the many other helpers, caterers, traders and supporters who made it all possible.

Richard Summers, Principal, Essential St Edmunds, November 2010.

April 2010 conference

Lucy Wyatt speaker "April 2010 was my first time at Stars and Stones, the boutique conference near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. I have to say I was very impressed. The talks were fascinating, informative and very wide ranging. What made it so special is the setting and the personal welcome that Clare Higson and friends give you. They make you feel part of an extended family: one in which we not only have each other's company but also the chance to discuss freely all manner of esoteric subjects. I am much looking forward to the next conference."

Nina I was literally blown away by the depth of knowledge and quality of the speakers. The atmosphere was intimate, the speakers were very approachable, be it at the dinner table or during a question and answer session at the end of their talk. The most memorable experience for me however, was the optional geomancy workshop I did on the first day. Here I had the opportunity to really experience the essence of what the conference was all about, a way to work in co-operation with earth's co-habitants, both seen and unseen.

More reviews coming very soon!