Last year in my Hedge Riding Series, I mentioned that I often visit my Garden in the Otherworld. In fact, I do much of my work within my Garden. I failed in that series, however, to explain exactly what that is or how to create your own. I wish to remedy that today and seeing from the survey many of you want more hedge riding posts, so I am killing two birds with one stone! You may notice that I am tagging this post as part of the series as well, which will make it easier for people to find it.
What is Your Astral Garden/Office
Like a physical office, your astral office or garden is a place from which you can work in the Otherworld. These two sacred spaces work in tandem with one another, allowing you to safely and efficiently conduct spirit work. Different witches refer to the sacred space within the Otherworld differently. For example, Poppy Palin refers to it as an astral office, Katie Weatherup a sacred garden, and Devin Hunter a White Room. Personally, I just call mine my Garden because that is really what it is. Whatever you call it, your sacred workspace within the Otherworld likely already exists in some fashion within the deep recesses of your mind; you just have to activate it to travel there and work out the details. I agree with Palin in that referring to it as an office, we recognize this space as important and work related. However, unlike a real office, this place is a sanctuary, free of harsh lights, buzzing computers, and weird smells. Your sacred workspace should be a place of safety as well as a place that is stimulating and calm.
Each person's workspace will be different and will likely be a mix of reality and fantasy. I love how Palin refers to it as Alice in Wonderland meets National Geographic. This is by far one of the best explanations as to what your workspace will end up looking like in the end. When you set up your workspace you will use both fantasy and natural realism. You could have rivers of gold, talking trees, singing meadows, large crystal caverns, faerie rings, endless moors, or something less fantastic, like a simple lake with a tree stump beside it. The last example is exactly what my Garden looks like. It is a temperature deciduous forest, like those found here in Georgia and Michigan where I was born, with a cool, clear lake in the middle. Beside the lake is an old tree stump where I spend most of my time sitting and talking with my guides. Around the outside of my garden is a wrought iron fence. Normally it is advised to not have concrete or steel trappings of modern society within your garden, but this is the boundary that spoke to me as the protector of my sacred space. Furthermore, most creatures don't like iron, meaning anything that wishes to hurt me can't pass through the gates. Some people say there should be nothing that is modern manmade inside of your garden, as it brings pollution and destruction into the Otherworld. Others say go for it if it helps you work. I strongly encourage you to do what works best for you, whether it be a garden or an actual office space. You may find, however, that it is naturally natural. That doesn't mean that there won't be buildings in your workspace, but they may not look like the buildings we are accustomed to today.
How to Set Up Your Astral Garden/Office
To begin setting up your sacred space within the Otherworld, begin jotting down or making a mental note of what you would like your space to be like. I knew mine would be a forest right from the get-go and that's really all I started with. I did not elaborately plan my Garden, but you are more than welcome to. Spend time making notes and even sketching some drawings if you like. Whatever helps you make a mental note of what would be the perfect space for your spiritual practice within the Otherworld.
After you have a plan, you will need to journey there. Begin by setting your purpose for your journey. This can be as simple as stating, "I will journey to my sacred space within the Otherworld." If you want, add in that you will meet your guides there. Setting the correct purpose and traveling with intent will guarantee you travel to the correct destination. For more on this and hedge riding, please refer to my post How to Hedge Ride.
Once you have successfully arrived in the Otherworld, you may notice that some things are missing or that the space is completely blank, even with all of your elaborate planning. Each person starts building their astral space differently, so don't be upset if there is nothing or only a partially complete space. Mine has grown over time and continues to change as I grow. If the space is completely formed, which is rare, spend time exploring it and getting to know it. Otherwise, you will need to begin making your dream a reality. Begin walking the space, even if there is nothing there and imagine what you have designed coming to life before you. You may do this by waving your hands or calling forth what you want. My personal experience was less formal. I remember seeing the wrought iron gate and a dense forest, but beyond that was nothing. As I walked through the gate and into the forest, the world began to develop on its own exactly how I wanted it to be. The deeper I walked more details appeared. I didn't expect a lake at the center, but there it was, perfectly round with a beautiful moss-covered stump on its shore. It was perfect.
I encourage you to spend no more than 20 minutes at a time setting up your office or garden or whatever you want to call it. It will take a lot of energy out of you, so be wary of spending too much time there when you are designing. Also, bring your guides along with you! They will love to help you design your space. Meka galloped around, flowers growing in her wake. She was so happy to help me create a home. I'm sure your guides will want to do some designing too, especially because they will be spending a lot of time there as well. And that's it!
Honestly, this is one of the easiest things to do regarding hedge riding and a heck of a lot of fun! I would absolutely LOVE to hear about your gardens and offices or whatevers in the comments below. I always love hearing about other people's experiences in the Otherworld, so please leave a comment, send an email, or leave me a message on social media.
I haven't crossed the hedge yet, but I have approached it. I start out at the top of a wrought iron spiral staircase that goes up and down. I travel downward, spinning and dropping, and eventually I get to a gravel path in the woods. The lighting is weird, like the sun has gone down but it is still a bit light out. I walk through the trees and I can see what I THINK is a bonfire at the end but I haven't gotten there yet. Thank you so much for your blogs!
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you have crossed, but haven't made it very far in yet! Keep working on it and more and more of the world will open up to you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey and thank you for reading.
DeleteHi I'm very new to hedge riding and I'm not really sure what happened to me in the moment. I was meditating like I normally do, and then suddenly I stopped following my usual breathing technique. My body from the neck down felt numb, and I was in a forest of thin tall birch trees with a grey sky above me. There were leaves everywhere and it felt cool but not cold. I could feel the leaves beneath me and I stood up and looked around, I saw a fox who I tried to speak to me but something told me he wasn't going to talk to me. I assumed I was in the otherworld and wanted to leave carefully because I'm still unfamiliar with it, but I wasn't sure how I entered in the first place, I turned around and saw a tree but the tree opened up like it was being split in half until the inside made a perfect circle. On the inside was a long black tunnel and I assumed that it could work so I followed inside, as I went I realized that it didn't feel right so I decided to turn back but forgot that i should have had some kind of protection on from the beginning so I envisioned a green bubble of protection around me and turned around towards the entrance of the tunnel but standing in the entrance way was a large creature with a deer skull over its face, and i couldn't see its legs but it had large hands. I calmly walked up and touched its chest assuming my bubble would protect me, and it didn't react. I walked right past it and just decided I would try laying down on the leaves and letting myself sink into the earth. As I fell through it felt as if it was staring at me. I came back out of it and now I am just wondering what happened.
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you did slip into the Otherworld during your meditation. This isn't entirely uncommon, especially those who are seasoned in meditation. I'm glad you followed your gut and didn't descend further into the tree than you felt comfortable. The fox and creature you encountered (which may have been a Jotun) seemed like they were curious to find you where you were, almost as if you didn't belong there. However, you did the right thing protecting yourself, trusting your gut, and leaving the best way you knew how. You did an AWESOME job! Prior to meditation more, I'd make sure you spend more time grounding prior to meditating so you don't slip into the Otherworld again unintentionally. You can also hold a grounding stone, such as black tourmaline which will help root you here in our world.
DeleteI apologize for taking so long to respond. I've been so backed up with work, comments, and emails. Its hard to get to them all right away! Thank you for reading and commenting and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
Hi, I'm new to hedge riding, but Im wondering if there could be an instance that, instead of a gate or a tunnel-like stated in the other comments, a bridge that connects both worlds (our and others) could be a regular tree itself. - I know thats confusing; ill give you some back up information: basically i was doing one of my regular meditations starting out in my safe space in my head.As the meditation progressesd i began following this brown fox- that led me to this really old tree. There was nothing different about this tree; but it held a much different energy. I felt as if I was almost being physically pulled/pushed through the tree itself (a similar feeling to an unwanted out of body experience). During the time i felt i was being pushed (which was oly like 5 seconds max) I had amost no ability to control my body movements. I know thats a confusing question (sorry if its weird) - but it was the first time that i felt I had no control over myself, so i just thought id ask.
ReplyDelete100%! How you enter the Otherworld is unique to you. I've heard of people walking a spiral, going through a well, using a bubble, or going through a random door in their home. Our minds use imagery that works for us to understand the transition. I too travel through a tree that otherwise looks completely normal. Mine has stairs though once you enter it to move up or down between the realms, but its still a tree. I encourage you to explore it more, at least if you feel comfortable. Hedge riding is not a particularly comfortable experience, much like traveling is not the most comfortable situation. But once you get there, its so very worth it! I wish you the best of luck on your journey!
DeleteHoping for some clarification. It’s stated that hedge riding differs from astral travel that you are bodily there. I highly doubt that one is teleported to the spot but there seems to be some slight intimation that this is true. Are you saying that the subtle body travels with our spirit form?
ReplyDeleteHello! So in both cases of astral project and hedge riding, the experience is occurring outside the body, not within such as during pathwalking or meditation. Astral travel and hedge riding are both forms of spirit flight. The main difference is where one is traveling. In astral projection, you remain on our plane of existence. During hedge riding, you are in the Otherworld. Usually people associate traveling through the realms using the World Tree as a guide. In both cases, the only control you have is over yourself, but your body is staying behind in our realm. This is why protecting your body is so important before leaving, because you can experience soul loss or even have another unfriendly spirit move in. Hopefully that clears things up a bit! I do have an infographic on the topic that you can find here: https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2019/12/astral-projection-vs-hedge-riding.html
DeleteI'm new to hedge riding, and on my first true journey, I found my Garden (I didn't know what it was at the time). I was looking to meet my spirit guide, Stoney.
ReplyDeleteI descended through the floor into a forest clearing, surrounded by tall, skinny white doors. Between the doors, I could see giant oak trees and misty golden light beyond that.
Once I sat down, I felt the coolness of a clover patch and I instantly felt at home. I vaguely recall thinking "I wonder if this is where Stoney lives", and I saw a blue orb excitedly bopping around beyond the doors.
I invited my spirit guides in after casting a protection circle (and I had asked for protection from Hathor before riding) and the blue orb became a tiny blue squirrel, clearly Stoney, who I knew was a squirrel or chipmunk. I think he's a sprite or Earth elemental and not an actual squirrel though.
I'm hoping to visit again soon, give him a heads up I'm coming, and bring a small offering for all the help he's given me.
That's so wonderful! What a magical visit! Thank you for sharing and reading. <3
Delete