There’s a space between the world we know, and the otherworlds of Gods, ancestors and myths, and this space is as thin as a slender golden thread. Filled with boundless light and endless tales, it shimmers in between our thoughts, in between the edges of our sight, between our breaths and between sleep and wakefulness. Spun by the gnarled fingers of ancient powers, this golden thread is a source of endless creativity, weaving new stories and dreams into being, from its dark core. Sometimes it’s creations burst forth like liquid gold, dazzling the whole world with their beauty. Bewitching all who watch the fiery water dance impossible shapes into our world. Sometimes dreams do come true…..
The lochs and lakes of Celtic Britain are ruled by the goddesses of water, daughters of the sea God Manananan. Holding the power of life and death, and creation and destruction within their waters, they give and receive treasures of the soul. As gateways between the worlds they can be places of danger, and places of blessing. Water monsters abound, guarding the waters and their spirits, and sometimes they burst forth startling all who see. Kelpies and each-uisge (water horses) have been doing battle with Celtic Saints since St Columba fought the beast within Loch Ness, back in the 6th Century, but many have received gifts and blessings from the water creatures. King Arthur received the legendary sword Caliburn (it means hard cleft in Brythonic, and is translated as Excalibur in English) from a Celtic lake Goddess……so who knows what magical gifts might tumble into your hands, or into you mind as you stand at the edge of water at the liminal times of day. When the veil between the worlds is thin all sorts of golden magic can bursts forth, and to see it you just need to be present with your eyes and ears properly open…..
For the fact lovers, this was taken on Sunday around 3pm at Threipsmuir Reservoir, in the Pentland Hills high above Edinburgh. There wasn’t a breath of air and the water lay mirror like offering perfect reflections of the sky. When my husband threw a stone into the loch for the dogs I saw the splash was perfectly reflected, and so of course he had to throw more for me….while trying to keep the dogs out of the shot…..there are more to follow with dogs included! The light and colours are just as they came out of the camera…..beautiful liquid gold. The gift of natures magic right before our eyes left me smiling for hours.
breathofgreenair 
Just gorgeous photos!!
Stunning photography. Him Indoors also dead-impressed. Can’t wait to see the dogs leaping into the pools of gold!
Thanks Kellie, the light was perfect and the dogs had a ball too!
Your photos are so beautiful, so stunning, so magical, that I’m at a loss for words. Well, not completely at a loss, but I don’t think beautiful, stunning, and magical are good enough.
I ECHO all of the superb comments about your writing and your photography. Such a romantic setting and a perfect place for your ancestors and the Gods to hide out. Be careful… there maybe an elf or fairy hiding out there too. Thanks for your fantastic art and gift of words.
Seriously, the words out of my mouth when I saw these images were “Damn girl” . Nice job!!!
Then I was moved by your words “shimmers in between our thoughts”. Finally, I chuckled over the imagined vision of rock after rock thrown by your husband, while holding the dogs at bay.
Great post!
What an * incredibly beautiful * photo Seonaid . It encapsulates such a magical fraction of time I can almost hear the collective sound of those golden droplets fall back onto the water .
It really deserves to be in a publication .
A beautiful post and one of my favorites from your blog!
Those are among the most beautiful photos I have seen on WordPress. Evocative and stunning and your words create a pensive mood to match the beauty of these images.
Wow, yet more incredible compliments…I’m really blushing now!
I loved the sense of motion from the splash and the low golden light caught in the water was a beautiful gift from Mother Nature…..which carried me into the realm of myth and magic 🙂
Truly a golden, magical moment
Incredible, Seonaid! I assumed you’d used a clever app but these are superb pieces of photography! I am so impressed. They are stunning! I could just go on gazing at those golden colours. 🙂
Wow Jo, what great compliments.
No clever apps just the camera, me and a stunning piece of nature!
Oh and a very patient stone throwing husband 🙂
We did stand in awe as we watched the light on the water….and then I got very excited when I saw the way the low light was catching in the splash and being beautifully reflected. The colours at this time of year late in the day are just stunning…..the sun was a blood red disc as it sank between the trees.
It’s fabulous work and I do appreciate your patient husband 🙂 We had a lovely sunset yesterday but I’m so often in the wrong place 😦
Manananan, that’s a new name to me!
Ha…well spotted Gilly…it should read Manannan….too many ans!!
Really beautiful shots!
Thank you….the colour and the low light were very beautiful indeed.
What a stunning capture, Seonaid! The splash, reflection, and liquid gold water, Wow!!! This one is qualified to be a magazine cover photo!
Amy I’m blushing 🙂
I was so excited when I saw the reflection of the splash that I just had to try and capture it. Then the images I caught looked like magical creatures emerging from the golden lake….and so the post was born!
Wow – pure liquid magic! Fabulous shots.
Golden liquid magic…..it’s a wonderful combination I feel 🙂
Thank you for transporting me to a place of magic and wonder. Beautifully done!
It’s always my pleasure to transport you Rachael…..I was quite swept away myself!
Sweet Jesus these photos are unbelievable. SO perfect for feeding my Neptunian urges. The colors you captured are nothing short of divine and it is a rare treat indeed to feast upon these images, coupled with such magnetic and alluring words. Today holds magic, of that I am sure.
Deep Thanks,
Amanda
Oooooh….Neptunian urges are hard to resist, and I’m delighted to help feed them! The colours were incredible and I wasn’t sure if I would capture them….but my camera did me proud. Fiery water is just the best, but the golden light captured in the splash was so beautiful it had me squealing and jumping up and down with joy 🙂
Such magical photos, Seonaid. I always enjoy your other-worldly writings. Very ponderable word images indeed. 🙂
That’s lovely to hear….I write such a mixture of posts, so it’s great to hear which ones you enjoy. Nature offers up such magical treats that is hard not to get swept away into her spell !
Wow – you captured a photo that is worth its weight in gold. It is spectacular. Lady – you have major photography skills and your readers get the benefits. Great deal for us. 🙂 Thank you!
Judy what a lovely compliment, and sharing is so much fun, so I think I get a great deal too….it seems it’s win win all round 🙂
Marvelous post. In South America there are lakes and other held water sources that are “owned” by the goddesses who are associated with the Catholic Mary. Many mysteries and miracles.
So many miracles and mysteries as you say, and the stories feel familiar all across the earth. Some bodies of water have a definite presence……something anyone with a spiritual bone in their body would recognise….and many here in the UK have been used and renamed and reclaimed across thousands of years of human history.
Very nice photo
Thanks Nelson…it was a perfect winter afternoon 🙂
How wonderful for you to have thought to generate these ‘explosions.’ They are beautiful. And, your words go so well with the images. You are so very creative, so skilled at getting us to feel what it is you’re saying. I love the idea of monsters living beneath the waves. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you will remember the Grindylow, depicted in J.K. Rowling’s The Goblet of Fire … scarey little beasts! You write that … ‘There’s a space between the world we know, and the otherworlds … filled with boundless light … a source of endless creativity.’ You have described a space which I believe exists, not only at the surface of Threipsmuir Reservoir, but … in the air all around us. Learning how to enter that space is what our art is all about. Wonderful, artistic, thoughtful, creative, post. And, you see what it’s allowed me to do this morning … it’s allowed me to realize that creativity is in the air around me.Thanks. D
Thanks as always David for such encouraging and supportive comments. I’m delighted that my post prompted you to remember that creativity is all around us in the very air itself, and that’s a great reminder for me too. Moments like these are great prompts to remember stuff that somehow we already know!
I am indeed a Harry Potter fan, and I think she was wonderful at weaving old myths into new shapes and forms for the modern mind…..and of course she was inspired by the world of Edinburgh and all its wonderful architecture and sculptures!! Perhaps she visited Threipsmuir on a winter afternoon very like the one seen here before she wrote Goblet of Fire 🙂
What an exquisite piece; perfect harmony between the word and the visuals!
And what a delightful comment, thank you!
The liquid golden light was so inspiring and otherworldly…..the words wrote themselves 🙂
Fine words and fine images – I am looking forward to seeing the dogs again.
Thank you….and the dogs will follow….well mostly silhouetted but still very recognisable, and doing their best to get right into the middle of perfectly lined up shots!!
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
They say still waters run deep… and this is a delightful post that stirs the imagination. Lakes have existed for millions of years as the earth around them shifted and created dips and hollows.. Who knows what events they have been part of and what mysteries they hide in their depths!!!! Stunning photos too.
SUPER!
Thanks 🙂
Beautiful shot and wonderfully written. And the veil lifts for all who see…
Indeed…..and what beauty lies beneath 🙂