Wishing wells were once believed to be guarded
by faeries or other Nature spirits, who had to be
appeased with a coin before the wish would be
heard. These and other holy wells may have first
gained their reputations because of healthful min-
erals in their water. Since early people would have
drunk from them unaware of this reason, they re-
garded the curative powers with awe. Romans
brought valuable gifts to please the well spirits
before they drank, thus gaining their favor. It is
said that water taken from three different wells, if
poured half on the ground and then administered
to the sick, will cure fever. —Patricia TelescoI have soaked in natural hot springs deep in the
redwood forest of Oregon, and out in the Mojave
Desert, and in Colorado canyons. Some have been
crystal clear, and others so thick with white clay you
felt you were bathing in milk. In one called Hot Creek,
there are these big circular holes in the shallow creek
bed, where you can sit around the outside of them up
to your neck and dangle your feet in the upwelling hot
water from below. If you swim underwater across the
holes, you can feel with your entire body the crashing
of huge boulders being churned far beneath; it sounds
just like the heartbeat of the Mother!Waterfalls
Waterfalls are sites where both wonderful rituals
and terrible accidents have occurred. The power
of the rushing water has an almost hypnotic ef-
fect, and often draws people inwards. Some say
the voices of the ancestors are echoed in the crash-
ing waters, and can grant wisdom and insight as
well as reverberate with warning.
—Patricia TelescoI have been to Yosemite Valley in NorCalifia a
couple of times, in the Spring, when its many water-
falls are swollen with the melting snows high above.
There are trails that you can climb to take you above
them and below them. The sound of the crashing wa-
ter falling from hundreds of feet above is nearly deaf-ening, and you get totally soaked by the spray, but
the rush of excitement from the negative ions formed
in the rainbow-filled mists will take your breath away!Tidal Pools
—by Abby Willowroot
It is in the tide pools that we have a chance to
experience sea life in microcosm. A tide pool can be as
small as six inches square and only a few inches deep,
yet it still may be filled with a wide variety of life forms,
some familiar, and some you may never have seen
before. Look deeply and remember what you see. With
the next tide, many of the inhabitants will depart, and
others come to live for a time in the tide pool, along
with the barnacles and other long-term residents of
these miraculous seaside kingdoms. The tide pool you
see exists for only a few hours, and then it is gone
forever, replaced by a new pool and new creatures.
Every tide pool is a living reminder of life’s truths of
fragility, change, and impermanence.
Tide pools are places of infinite wonder. They are
to be experienced and explored, but never ever plun-
dered. Gifts of the sea wash up on the shore with each
high tide. The treasures of the tide pools are all-impor-
tant parts of these tiny living biospheres. To take from
a tide pool is to intrude upon another realm, and the
home of other creatures. There are
many lessons to be learned by ob-
serving these small
magical environ-
ments without
interfering by
our presence.Caves
From the most ancient times, caves have been felt
to be the womb of Mother Earth. As soon as we gained
mastery of fire enough to allow us to venture into the
twisting passages that had never known the light of
day, we entered a world whose only other inhabitants
were blind bugs, fish, and newts—and sonar-equipped
bats. In the dawn of humanity, caverns became our
first temples.
In 1986, I made a pilgrimage to Les Eyzies, in the
Dordogne Valley of France. There, 20,000 years ago,
Cro-Magnon peoples had made their homes in the
fronts of the countless caves in the incredible cliffs
that tower over and surround the valley. And in the
deep hidden recesses they had painted magickal im-
ages of the animals that shared their world. Here are
some notes from my journal:86.3.7.8:00 PM — Today we joined a tour to la
Grotte (cave) de Font-de-Gaume—one of the few
painted caves still open to the public. This is what I
came to find. And I was amazed to discover some-
thing that the photos can never show. The “paint-86 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
Corrected pages 3rd printing.1.p65 33 6/10/2004, 2:59 PM