The Gnome Pathworking

As you enter the woods, you notice a magnificent tree. It is a glorious old oak with twisting vies and ivy growing all around its wide trunk. Its roots spread out, spanning the earth all around it and giving a sense of expansion and security. Such is the friendly nature of the tree that you feel invited to sit beneath its majestic boughs.

You sit down on the cushioned moss-covered ground with your back leaning against the trunk of the tree. This in itself is a pleasant and peaceful experience and you are lulled into repose by the tree’s serenity. You enjoy the relaxation that being in the company of the oak brings.

Gradually the tree becomes the centre of everything, the only thing that matters in your slumbering mind. After a while you feel a glowing warmth next to you. You look down to see an orb of amber light, glowing and pulsating by a thick root. Slowly the light fades and in its place, still surrounded by an aura of amber light, stands what you instantly recognize as a gnome. He is about six inches tall and wears a moss-green jacket with matching trousers. He wears no shoes and his pointy hat is also green. He has a kindly face and of course a beard, which is very fluffy and more like the ‘old man’s beard’ which blows off trees in the autumn than a human beard. He seems to be very preoccupied with sewing a blanket that appears to be torn in the middle. The blanket is made from leaves, all sewn together with minute stitches, intricately worked.

You watch him for a few moments sewing his little faerie stitches. He seems to be concentrating so deeply on his task that he is completely absorbed, almost as if it were a meditation. You also become drawn into the methodical sewing and you wonder if he is aware of you sitting next to him. As if in reply to your thought, he looks up from his sewing, smiles and nods you a greeting. Then the orb of amber light around him begins to shimmer and glow. It pulsates for a moment and then suddenly disappears, as if it were a bubble that has burst.

Your faerie bubble has also burst as you find that with the gnome’s disappearance the woods appear normal again. The tree no longer dominates everything and seems to be just an ordinary tree. You get up and walk out of the woods into the sunshine, your Pathworking now complete.