Our Story
Well now, there you are, …you would like to know the story behind Rowanthwaite ?Well it is a rather long story to save for a snowy or rainy day, and today is a day filled with sun-shine, so we will keep it short.Do take a seat by the fire, cup of tea? 🫖
Dearest, here is the first chapter of our story …🌿 ahem - Rowanthwaite wasn’t planned. It arrived, quietly, like a story unfolding from somewhere deeper than my mind.It began with my simple intention: to create a place called Sacred Grove, in the cottage I live in, surrounded by trees and quiet in the Shropshire hills of England. I imagined offering spiritual sessions, ceremonies, and teachings,yet something else began to emerge.A Soul Bookshop appeared first, whimsical, light, and magical. Angels, miracles, owls, guardian spirits, and hidden doors revealed themselves. Behind one secret door, a Soul Library waited, ready to hold hundreds of teachings and future creations.Then the Chapel formed, for deeper devotional work. A Well. A Spiral Path. A Rowan Tree. A storybook cottage that mirrors my own. A Village Hall for gatherings. Mr Wise Owl, keeper of ancient wisdom.Piece by piece, Rowanthwaite built itself, a village, a sanctuary, a living story.It truly mirrors my life: the be-loved books of my childhood, growing up near Hay-on-Wye; my mother’s work with Richard Booth - builder of Hay-on-Wye’s bookshop story, and of my decades as an Interfaith Minister leading ceremonies and teachings; my connection to earth, spirit, and the unseen.Rowanthwaite holds the sacred and the whimsical, the deep and the light. It is a sanctuary with a gentle, magical heart, a place where people can arrive softly, breathe deeply, and remember who they are.This is the village that emerged through me, it found me, and now has found you, and is for everyone who is ready to step inside their own story.And that my friend is the first true story of how Rowanthwaite came to be - there are many other paths to this story, for it is a woven path, and those are still to be told.In the meantime, stop, breathe, take your time. Rowanthwaite is a place to wander, to come back to your true self. There is much to read, and that is deliberate.Rowanthwaite is the magical enchantment and story that inspired me as a child, mixed with the holy Presence that always walked besides me.So friend, we are so glad that you are here! 💫With love and blessings,Julie, Mr. Wise Owl and all of Rowanthwaite.
May it open your heart like it did mine whilst building.
Editor’s Note from Mr Wise Owl:
"If your lantern flickers as you read,
do not mind it.
The village likes to underline things."
You might also like to read my Welcome Letter
if you have not seen it yet.It tells how all this began… the scraps, the scrolls,
the late-night lanterns, the quiet Presence
that refused to leave me alone.And if you enjoy a little news with your wanderings,the Rowanthwaite Gazette is over there on the counter.Mr Wise Owl insists on calling it essential reading,although between us, I think he simply likes seeing his name in print.Follow the path, friend.
It knows where to take you.
