Descending into the fogou ...

Feeling blessed by the opportunity of deep winter for quietening down and in. Here in the UK we have just passed the winter solstice, the longest night and the tipping point for a slow spiral upwards to Spring with its lighter days and abundant growth. For the last two years I have celebrated this transitional time by crawling into the fogou for the night; going within the earth and within myself to listen deeply. 

A fogou is a structure particular to West Cornwall, although other areas of the UK and other cultures have similar underground chambers (such as the Native American ‘kiva’). These Cornish caves are said to have been crafted 2000-25000 years ago, and feature a passage which descends under the earth, with a smaller inner chamber off to the side (the ‘creep’). Some of these are large enough for several people, like the structure at the Carn Euny settlement. 

The innermost of Boleigh fogou near Lamorna Cove (my home for the night) is just large enough for me to sit in, with a convenient slope which makes seated meditation comfortable for hours at a time. Located on private land within a retreat centre, and therefore well protected, this fogou is said to be one of the most important, due to its entrance-way rock carving (now quite faded).  The fogou sits in a landscape rich with monuments, wells and stone circles; particularly the Merry Maidens which provides a beautiful balance to the intensity of the fogou. I am often drawn there to complete my inner pilgrimage. 

I should say that this blog is very much my own personal relationship with the fogou rather than a historical account - not at all my area of expertise. There has been much discussion about the fogou’s purpose as a storage space, shelter or ceremonial space. Perhaps the fogou served multiple needs within the community - perhaps we will never truly know!  I do know what I and other women have felt in these spaces and I sense their potential for our times. Some great articles can be found online about the history of the fogou and I reference these below.

My first experience with Boleigh fogou was on retreat when I first moved to Cornwall, it was loosely mentioned that there was this cave in the grounds and I spent time meditating there each morning. Little did I realise that I had only made it part way in. I was at first keen to explore how sound resonated inside the earth, being familiar with sound chambers from my own healing journey and studies. Several years later I visited again, with the intention of booking the centre for my own retreats. 

My hands trace the familiar feel of granite as I crouch through the tiny doorway and along a curving passage to the boulder that this time intuits a turning back on myself into deeper darkness with the moths and cave spiders. Crawling (or creeping) backwards into a tiny chamber, an ‘earth womb’, there is a an immediate sense of infinite space in all directions. Like stepping into a ‘portal’; an energetic place that shifts our perception or consciousness beyond its ordinary limits. 

It came to me then that the fogou was in fact a ‘listening chamber’ and I am presently drawn to being very silent inside. I began taking our retreat groups into the space; each woman having the option to sit inside with the support of the others ‘holding the space’ in the passage outside. 

In the deep dark and quiet of the fogou we can shed the layers that are clouding our vision, the noise that is cluttering our inner knowing. Many women have reported receiving guidance or feeling reborn, with a powerful energy buzzing through their bodies afterwards. At the recent retreat my message was simple: ‘stop hiding’.

Perhaps that is partly why I am writing about the fogou now. And yet I am careful to overshare, for each of us must hear our own wisdom. Many ancient cultures have crawled into and under mother earth as an initiatory quest; to consciously descend into the underworld, as we all must do at some point. As a portal to exploring the great mystery of life. 

My recent overnight journey had amazing similarity to the first; there were naturally three rounds of sitting with a common thread appearing each time. The first taking me into that deep infinite timeless space. The second an encounter with challenging feelings; no hiding from the primordial fear that appears like a skewer in the heart. The third offered a beautiful resolution of vision and light emerging from darkness.  I felt connection to an ancient lineage of some sort; ‘you’ve done this before, but not alone.’ Perhaps other women would like to be guided by what I have learned? 

References:

https://druidry.org/resources/fogous

https://cornishbirdblog.com/boleigh-fogou-rosemerryn-lamorna/

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/fogou-book-jo-may-9780906362341