A Sense of Belonging with Harriet Sams
When your guest says, “The deep ancient side of me responds to the deep ancient side of that site, that place in nature” you know you are in for a fascinating discussion.
In this week’s episode of The Soul Garden I’m talking to Harriet Sams, archeologist, archaeotherapist, intuitive guide and ecotherapist.
I love our discussion! Through the lens of archeology, we talk about the beauty and the pain of sense of belonging. We explore our relationship with landscape through the felt, the known and the unseen. We look at grief at a personal and landscape level.
(The picture above is the view from the burial mound in Cumbria that Harriet had her conversation with the Goddess on the fell.)
“The deep ancient side of me responds to the deep ancient side of that site, that place in nature”
We experience the sunrise on winter solstice at Newgrange in Ireland. Newgrange is a Stone Age (Neolithic) monument in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, it is the jewel in the crown of Ireland's Ancient East. Newgrange was constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 B.C.) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza.
We climb to the top of peaks in the Lake District and explore the story of the wonderful Neolithic ‘Langdale Axes’ (the photo below is a Langdale axe, my Langdale hand and the monarch butterfly embodying ghosts of Langdales past) and we discuss the power of storytelling and its role in helping us bring our relationship with the environment back into balance.
We also look at the relevance of nature-based forms of spirituality in these modern times. One of these forms of spirituality is druidry, which really is just a word for understanding and celebrating the connectedness of the natural world (and our place in it). She explains how druidry for her was part of her quest for "wanting to find a deeper meaning of archeology that wasn't being spoken."
Tapping into our ancestry and tuning into the stories of our landscapes give rise for extraordinary healing. “We all have lost and suffered and grieved for a land that has been radically changed and radically wounded,” says Harriet. Like so many others around the world right now, Harriet and I, each in our own way are doing what we can to help bring about that healing and that reconnection with the spirit of place.
Whether at the COP26 Climate Change talks or standing at an ancient site, part of the process of healing is bringing back the story. And so on that note, I hope you enjoy our story.
The Soul Garden is presented by Georgina Langdale, founder of Archeus and the Centre for Nature Connection. The podcast version of this talk is here.
Archeus offers coaching, guidance and training for navigating life with a deeper connection to nature, and caring for others at the end of life. It is also home to Archeus products including a range of plant essences and elixirs.
Harriet’s links are:
The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids: