3.12.11

edinburgh is, to date, the most amazing city i've ever been to. i'm starting to come to terms with the impact the harry potter book series has had on my consciousness, as edinburgh is the containing for that magick. this place feels like new orleans, there are spirits everywhere. walking around last night was like entering into a majestic dream, almost too much. the second i got here was like getting an electric shock straight to the third eye, my jaw dropped as soon as i stepped off the bus. literal magick. i cannot describe it beyond that, thank god. i feel like i've been waiting to come here for my whole life! giddy like a schoolgirl, i'm in love. i accidentally stumbled upon my hostel last night. i had no idea where it was but i was ok with that. i figured i would just follow my fancy as the city was so entrancing and lo and behold, i walked right to it. i got directions via the internet at a cafe called the black medicine cafe (one of the main places where jk rowling composed the harry potter series). from there i made it to my hostel and then got a bite to eat at a vegan/vegetarian baked potato restaurant. amazing food. i saw a flyer there advertising a balkan gypsy music party that was at a club some distance away. in keeping with the theme of last night, i wandered straight to it without any real regard for where i was going. i showed up a little early and decided to go to a pub nearby and wait for the doors to open. i enjoyed a nice beer and then headed to the venue. i walked into a very smoky room wherein there was circled in the center of the room an entire cabaret, 12 musicians all playing acoustic klezmer music. they even had a belly dancer! i love the mystery of the gyspy community, when i hear that music it is calling to a culture whose home has been everywhere and nowhere. like being at rainbow. i then made the acquaintance of a lovely young girl with whom i chatted at length. i don't remember her name but i remember making some delicious eye contact with her in the venue and then followed her outside. she was from switzerland. after talking for some time we decided to head back in to dance with the next act. this time the band was composed of about 15 people, they were also from switzerland, and they rocked. me and my lovely lady friend danced together almost all night, until the show turned into a raucous mosh pit. one of the best i've ever been in. the entire audience was imbued with a sense of love and respect, and the dancing was magnificent. unfortunately, as the dancing got started my glasses were taken victim by the concert and i was never to see them again. thank god i brought replacements to findhorn. but today i wander around without the ability to see details at a distance. yet it hasn't diminished the lustre and depth of the city. the weather today is characteristically scottish, rainy and wet, very cloudy. you can hear the sound of bagpipes echoing over the streets and i see now the culture from which that music has come. walking past a tour group i overheard the guide describing the criteria by which witches and witchcraft was persecuted in old world scotland. the first telltale sign was red hair. rowan is the name which people with red hair are usually given here. the entire group saw me walking by and we all shared a nice laugh. i am home. love.