The fairy gulli of Dartmoor

This particular Celtic natural sanctuary always somehow makes me think of the scene from the movie Harry Potter, where the witches and wizards flush themselves down a toilet bowl to get into the Ministry of Magic.

The idea is not all that far-fetched, as openings have always been considered portals to the Otherworld by the Celts, so perhaps it doesn’t have to be a toilet bowl!

This particular stone is one of those portals. It is located in Dartmoor National Park in the southwest of England and is for me one of the most beautiful Celtic sites, because it was not created by man, but directly by Mother Nature!

Over the centuries, a hole formed in the stone, large enough for one to easily slip through, into the river flowing below.

Since time immemorial, druids, shamans and witches have gathered here on balmy full moon nights to ritually slide through the birth canal of Mother Earth. The best time to do this is when it has rained enough, as the river then has enough level so that it reaches the lower edge of the stone.

My friend Julia and I made this trip to the other world, while we were suspiciously watched by my dog, who probably thought that we are now totally crazy. But it was a unique experience, which I would not want to miss.