Have you ever encountered a fairy ring – a cluster of mushrooms that forms a circle? Some people believe they’re notable, magical even. I’m usually curious as to why they happen. I’ve seen at least three different species do this, so I don’t think it’s species-specific. Whether it’s related to habitat or geographic location or soil structure, however, I don’t know. But I’ve encountered a few, and the hardcore naturalist in me says it’s just a random pattern – nothing special. The witch in me however, me says otherwise.
It’s taken me a long, long time to trust my instincts. I was so logic and science focused for a long time (ahem, naturalist? Go figure) that I would talk myself out of listening to my gut. In part this was due to not understanding that my instincts were genuinely telling me something. I would tell myself that it was all in my head (ha, ha, that’s pretty ironic now) and my physical reactions to places and people were imaginary.
But it didn’t stop me from have some intense energetic experiences, even before I knew what was going on. And what exactly was going on? Several things, as it turns out. Many people have a bit of some psychic ability or other (yes, there are different types). And many people go through their lives unaware of their subtle gift – this deeper connection to their higher selves and world around them. Through experience and the help of someone else with this gift, I eventually discovered that I am clairsentient – I have the ability to physically feel certain energy around me. I discovered at the same time that I am also an empath – I literally feel what others are feeling. Between these two abilities, I have pretty good reason to follow my ‘instincts’.
What are clairsentient experiences? For me (since it can vary) here are a few notable examples:
In 2001 while in grad school I co-led a trip of students to Yellowstone to study the wolf reintroduction process that had happened there in the nineties. On one of our day trips we hiked up to see the Rose Creek pen, long since empty of wolves. But stepping into that acre-sized enclosure where several different wolf packs lived at different times, I could feel their energy – it was electrifying! What an amazingly magical experience. Damn, I love canines!
I also really love ancient Egyptian myth and history. In 1996 I took a trip to the middle east to visit a high school friend. While there I spent 4 days touring Egypt, including, of course, the Pyramids at Giza. The main pyramid was open to tourists (and it was Ramadan, so the whole place was crowded and festive) and I went in to check it out. As I entered and crossed a catwalk to the stairs that would take me down into the tombs, a feeling of dread hit me hard. I pressed on a bit farther and peered over the railing at the deeply descending staircase, and knew right then, that if I went down there, I would be buried alive. It was such a deep, primal, and certain fear that I couldn’t question it – I nearly ran back outside and then had to try and explain to our puzzled guide why I couldn’t go into the pyramid.
I would later discover in 2019, while working with an energy healer, that the fear and dread came from a past life experience in ancient Egypt. I had tapped into my higher self – or vice versa – and genuinely re-experienced emotion from a trauma I had undergone. In fact I am still claustrophobic from that experience to this day. But I’ve also never been any place so powerful and magical as Egypt. The energy from the artifacts in the Cairo museum (and every other place I went, but especially in Cairo) was palpable.
In 2007 I finally attended my first public Pagan ritual. And as I mentioned in my article about my path through Wicca, I was blown away at the feeling of energy circling the room as we all worked together. That experience was what propelled me into a community where I would eventually find a teacher and a coven and find my footing on my spiritual path.
I started out talking about fairy rings, and wandered a bit farther down the path of magical places than I had intended. But to come back to my original musing – fairy rings: magical or mundane?
To paraphrase Stephen King, I told you all that to tell you this: no matter how hard my logical, naturalist self insists on a mundane, senseless pattern when it comes to fairy rings, I have indeed encountered some that have an… energy to them. Wishful thinking? All in my head? Probably not – I’m learning that my ego doesn’t have all the answers.
