I’ve been tempted to post up the other stories I’ve written (not about Herne) and maybe one day when I’m on the home laptop I’ll make a proper page and link for the story I wrote for Herne, and the other short stories.

Last week was full on. Tuesday to Saturday I was at University workshops, doing presentations that myself and those in my group had worked incredibly hard on. It was such a fantastic experience! It was stressful, and I smoked (broke my 18 month no-ciggie run), and we laughed (and laughed and laughed) but it was amazing! I’m so glad I’ve decided to go back to studying, and I am absolutely loving what I am studying.

This has also been a week of really coming out of my shell. I used to be quite introverted, and I guess anyone who knows me now will just laugh at that! But in the last few weeks, I’ve finally broken down a lot of barriers that were stopping me from being, well, me. I’m a loud mouth, a smart arse and incredibly opinionated. And I love it!

Herne has played such a major part in this last week and a bit. I felt him every day with me at University, giving me the strength, the drive and the focus to get through. I’m so incredibly grateful to have him apart of my life. I’m also finding that the message he gave me a while ago is becoming quite clear. At the moment, I can’t read about Paganism. I can’t listen to Pagan music (and I’m missing listening to Spiral Dance and Damh the Bard, too!) and I can’t even stomach listening to the audio-books from the OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) which I sometimes listen to at work. I just can’t do it, because the message I’ve been receiving is…stop. Stop trying to follow the set path. That’s partly why I found myself walking the Pagan path, because it was one that I could experience for myself.

So I’m finding that I’m stepping away and leaving everything behind – Sea Witchery (not that I’ve been able to do any of that of late, but I’ve been reminiscing), Traditional Witchcraft, Druidry, the remnants of Wicca from when I first began – all of it. My path is one of dedication to Herne, and what Herne stands for – sovereignty, sacrifice, the hunt, being your absolute best. I’m choosing not say ‘hunter’ because he was so much more than that. I’m not one for hunting – I’ve never used a gun, and I remember freaking out at the idea of holding a magazine. But to Hunt can also mean to stalk, set out for a goal, and to achieve that goal. Herne did this again and again as a man, he set out for the hunt and achieved his goal.

What I’ve realised this week more than anything, is that through doing this university degree, it is in a sense part of the hunt, and part of how I will be honouring Herne. At the end of this course I will be a qualified Environmental Health Officer. Through this course, I’ll be looking at the environmental impact on human health, re: water conservation and quality, biodiversity, noise control etc. I honestly can’t think of any better way to honour a man who became a Deity, who was and is still all about honouring his environment and honouring his country, than to be studying this Bachelor of Natural Science (Environment & Health).

It’s a wonderful feeling to finally understand who – and what – you are, and what your purpose in life is.