African Hut Diary

Beginning work

The first picture shows conifer poles thrown into the allotment by Sandy, who has the plot opposite. Sandy seems to think our allotment is some kind of a dump. But as I can generally make use of everything, I stored them upright until I had a use for them. When I had the idea for the African hut, I chose the straightest ones and cut them to 7ft6" lengths.  I marked off just over two feet at the bottom, for sinking into the ground. I thought they should have about a third of their height underground. I did all this by instinct. I had no plan at all for the hut and received directions as I went on. I was especially puzzled to know how the roof would be done.

Left:

clearing the ground - an 8ft dia circle at the top of the allotment

This was the first part of the allotment that was ever cultivated, digging into it was like digging up the past - I remembered how hard the soil had been to work, and look at it now after 17 years - so fertile, soft and open

Below: different stages in the setting of the posts

The Weaving of the Willow

Then came the fun part. I finished setting the posts before leaving for Ireland on May 12. When I got back on May 24 the weather was bad, but as soon as I could I started collecting willow for weaving.  A large willow had grown up out of some rustic fencing put in on the next allotment. This was shading my peas, it was all the excuse I needed to start chopping! I sorted the willow wands into two heaps as I went - large enough for the main structure, and the rest, which will do for the roof.

View from the top of the centre post. I lashed these sticks to the post to form a support for the central rope ring from which lengths of rope will run to a rope connecting the tops of all the posts. I figure there will be 36 rope 'spokes' and the shorter lengths of willow will be woven into this - it should be possible to do it from a stepladder inside the hut. as I was taking the photograph from the top of the stepladder, Fasal arrived for his daily inspection, Benji showing the way. In the background you can see my sadly dilapidated 20ft poly greenhouse - the roof blew off last year and I have not replaced it

Two posts wide apart form the front opening. I have used the thick ends of the wands facing towards the opening. They are bound tightly with twine to help keep them rigid, and then sawn off close to the post, to avoid injuries.  Coloured wools can be wound around these later, making a more attractive finish. I quite like the way they look now!

Making the roof

Once the walls were finished - roughly half the height had to be woven from willow fetched from the riverbank - dragging it back along the canal towpath - I bound all the posts together with thick twine, including the doorspace.  I made a rope ring for the top, resting it on the crosspieces I looped lengths of rope through it in the four directions, tightening them by degrees to make sure the rope ring stayed central. When they were secure, I looped ropes through to come down to each of the posts.  I tightened them in turn keeping the ring central.

As I finished the roof, the gibbous moon rose above the shoulder of the hut. Looking out from doorway of hut as it grew dark, a spirit orb can clearly be seen in sky. This might be a reflection of the flash seen on the polytunnel, but when you see the other orbs, you might think again.

      need to see this full size to see orb

  Intrigued by the way the Moon rose over the shoulder of the hut, I resolved to go each night and photograph the Moon's progress. This was the second night, June 8.  Full Moon was due on 11th. Spirit orbs (2) can clearly be seen in the sky on the right of the picture. 

There was a marvellous sunset going on so I turned to face west, putting the hut on my left (door of hut faces north, back of hut to the south). A peculiar disc appeared on the photo, reminds me of an ancient coin - Anglo Saxon I would say, looks like the head of a king with a primitively drawn crown.

Although I returned the following night, the Moon never rose above the hut at all - it slid along behind the houses. The same thing the next night. This could be due to the Northern Lunar Standstill effect - see Victor Reijs.  Eighteen years ago I was initiating my friend on Cowling Moor. We were at the Hitching Stone, it was full moon, we were up all night and saw the strange phenomenon of the Moon rolling along the horizon of the moor all night. This was probably the last lunar standstill.

Hut pictures June 18

Winding the centre post

Judy in America makes wands - these were a new concept to me when I met her, but I am gradually gathering knowledge about them. They produce a kind of energy, and Judy says that the energy is mainly produced in the wrapping of them - not what you wrap them with so much as the act of wrapping itself - of course you are creating a spiral and this has its own energy.  See also orgone energy which I am now studying in earnest. Judy mainly makes her wands of bamboo, she wraps them in copper wire and other metals, and she places crystals at their tips. There is a whole science in the shape and facets of crystals, depending on configurations these are used for different purposes and create different types of energy (crystal page coming soon). For instance, you can transmit, receive, heal and all kinds of other things.

      Judy thought I should make a wand for Wolf, but all that I could think of was that I wanted to wrap the centre post of the hut.  For this I chose some white rope from Clarks Hardware stores in Nelson. It was only later that I realised that I was in effect creating a wand, but more than that, I was creating an orgone accumulator - energy from the earth is being pushed up in a spiral of 169 bands and released into the sky. This not only represents the rising of the spirit after death, the freeing of the soul from the material body, but can be used to project energy into the ether, to be collected by people who need it. This can be directed with specific intent by prayers and smoke from the ground at the base of the post, and by attaching pictures of the people you wish to help to the post itself.     

To prepare for the wrapping of the centre post, I first dug a pit near the base of the post and buried some sacred objects, pictures and mementoes there. Then I inserted one end of the rope into this pit. I began wrapping therefore from the base. I put the rope into a plastic carrier bag so I could hold and swing it round the post as I went on. I had no idea how much rope it would take - 50 metres in the end - I had to make two joins which I glued down. As I worked my way up I had to use a chair and then a stepladder. It was difficult working in the confined space as I got nearer to the roof. The top end of the rope I stuck through the roof so that it connected with the sky. Thus the hut was a conduit between earth and sky. Energy was pulled down from the sky into the hut and earthed in the ground.

Picture: inside: base of post has large natural white quartz rock found in river. Offerings bowl upside down to keep rain out.  

"What this hut needs now is a pair of buffalo horns over the door". 

I looked on ebay and found these - they were exactly as I had envisaged them, and they were listed as 'buffalo". However I found later they are not buffalo, they are longhorn. I have a page on symbolism here. They were what I had seen in my vision. When they arrived, this is how I reacted:

"Looks like a bad toupee! I can imagine maggots and all sorts in there - I feel sick! best thing to do, wrap it up again. 

Here I have placed sacred sage (in bag) and some flowers -  skulls to the rescue! -  Marguerite, Moonface, Jethro, roll of tobacco - the two little skulls who visit the Hut, the two resin skulls Ami and Amigo, tobacco tin, Calea Dreams. adding some pictures of Wolf to help contain and direct the buffalo energies - they are so powerful they fill the room and make me dizzy - our hut in the allotment; Wolf with the upside down tree; with the blue tit;  in the mad hat; his blackout birthday in Gisburn Forest; at Starnberg; his Canary Wharf picture. Since then I added packages of crushed gemstone. This will all remain in place in the drumming room/skull room for the healing energies to 'cure' the buffalo's soul. There is a great feeling of unhappiness with this buffalo, and of a truly awesome scariness. The horns will be installed at the hut on the night of the next Full Moon."