Date: 2006-09-28 23:26 Subject: Departure for & Arrival in Edinburgh Security: Public

      Standing on the cusp of departure for a trip...it's one of my absolutely favorite moments.  All the preparations are completed, the packing is all done, and not only a change of location awaits, but a change of heart and mind await as well.  It's truly as if changes in latitude create changes in attitude, to quote one modern-day minstrel.  More eloquently perhaps, in  The Hero With A Thousand Faces   Joseph Campbell describes this as  "Crossing the Threshold" :

                The hero eventually must cross into a dark underworld, where he will face evil and darkness, and thereby find true enlightenment. Before this can occur, however, the hero must cross the threshold between his home world and the new world of adventure. Often this involves facing off against and quelling a "threshold guardian".

     I suppose the TSA and airport security in general is about as close as the modern day secular pilgrim gets to facing off against the threshold guardians, but yet even this is a definite liminal space.  The humble acts of handing over one's identity (passport) and removing one's shoes in order to pass through onto "the other side" is certainly required on the journey of any pilgrim.  I think it all has to do with the intention of the journey.  But for me, the real beginning of any pilgrimage is the thrill of the adventure that lies ahead, and it always reminds me of Keats's "Ode On A Grecian Urn" : 
               Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter...

     The anticipation of what lies ahead is such a delicious feeling, that I seem to have to constantly remind myself to keep a shred of reality in check.  It's just too tempting to allow impossible dreams of shagging Dan Radcliffe to replace reasonable expectations of bad weather, dodgy accommodations, long queues, sad, cold showers, and less than tasty food.  A pilgrimage, although not required, often involves experiencing hardship, and often it is the learning of how to face this "evil and darkness" with grace and even gratitude that one finds true enlightenment.  I think in the end, one realizes the wisdom that where one finds truth is not at the destination.  It is in the journey.   

     Flying from Cincinnati to Gatwick, then picking up a commuter flight to Edinburgh was our route.  I have to admit, however, I felt as if the gods were winking and nodding to me, when the attendant at the Long Term Parking at  the Cincinnati airport directed us to a spot in Row JK.  Hmmm...not a bad way to begin a Potter Pilgrimage, ehh??

     Seventeen hours after we had left home we arrived in the city of JKR herself, the birthplace or perhaps more like the metaphorical womb of Harry Potter.  In spite of my enthusiasm to see the place where Harry gestated, jet lag and fatigue were beating my good intentions hands down.  We were thrilled to find our B&B at Gerald's Place truly a haven. Five minutes from the airport, situated on the edge of Queen Street Gardens, with a big soft bed, lots of plump pillows, a power shower, relaxing lavender and bergamot oil shower gel, a tea tray full of yummies, and the entire series of Potter books...oh, I couldn't imagine paradise being sweeter!

                                        Coming up next time...Edinburgh and Cho's revenge

Date: 2006-09-26 19:32 Subject: Introduction Security: Public

      Wikipedia describes a pilgrimage as a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith.  A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

      So why a Harry Potter pilgrimage?  In a real life full of difficulties and heartache, quite simply, Harry Potter and its fandom have become my sanctuary for escape.  Cannon and fandom are my lovely places to visit and linger within to bring some joy and succor to my everyday existence.  So having the opportunity to travel, being the Anglophile I have been since I discovered British Literature in high school, visiting the sacred sites of Potter in Great Britain seemed a natural.

     But why visit at all?  This is perhaps where I must admit to the absurdity of myself.  For me, there is something completely satisfying about being in a place where something or someone of significance has been.  Sitting in the same spot where JK Rowling did and viewing the same prospect she did whilst writing The Philosopher's Stone, walking on the same bit of earth as Dan Radcliffe  as Harry learning about Quidditch,  and sweeping into the same room as Alan Rickman did as Professor Snape to begin another year of Potions with ickle firsties, among many others, fills my heart with indescribable joy.  To somehow share in the magic created by those who have brought such pleasure to my life by being where they've been, seeing what they saw, and trying to feel what they felt...Somehow it brings that intangible just a little more within reach and makes it something I can experience in a concrete way.

     So this journal is an attempt to record and explore not only the what's of my trip but the why's as well.  My hope is to recall and honor the places that have been involved in bringing so much magic to my very muggle existence.