Introduction
I found this prayer not in some medieval book or carved on the wall of an ancient castle but written in ballpoint pen on a page torn from a diary and left - along with scores of similar pleas - on an ancient pile of stones in the Forest of Broceliande in Brittany.
Archaeologists say that this is the grave of a Neolithic hunter, but local tradition says that in this forest dwelled Vivien, the Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend, and that here, having seduced Merlin in order to learn his secrets, she ensnared him with his own spells.
The stone pile is known as Merlin's tomb, and each year hundreds visit the site to thank the wizard or to ask for his aid.
When I visited the tomb, prayers - written on scraps of paper or card - were squeezed into gaps in the stones or pinned to the tree that shelters the tomb.
Whatever the origins of the tomb, it has been transformed into a source of power. For this badly signposted spot, a short walk up a muddy track from a cramped, rough car park, had a tranquil, spiritual air that you might expect at a great cathedral or far more impressive stone circles.
Such spots unleash the magick inside us. But even if you never visit Brittany or Stonehenge at sunrise on Midsummer's Day, you can still make use of your own magick.
