Tag: Exploring Second Life 2026

In August 2025, I visited Goddess Temple, a quarter full region design by Sharon Edwyn. Dedicated to the Sacred Feminine and with a particular focus  – although not exclusively so – on the goddess Hecate (HEK-ə-tee). I found it a genuinely magical setting, mixing elements of physical world mythology with a sense of mystery and mysticism.

More recently, Goddess temple has relocated and expanded and in mid-August 2026, Sharon re-opened it to the public, and I was curious to see the new design.

Still occupying a Full private region utilising the Land Capacity bonus available to such regions, Goddess Temple now occupies almost an entire half of the region. More importantly, it has both maintained and extended its sheer beauty whilst deepening its atmosphere of reverence and air of mysticism.

The Goddess Temple was created as a place to honour the Sacred Feminine and to celebrate the Goddess in all her different aspects, forms, and expressions. There are two main temples within the sanctuary, dedicated to Hecate and Aphrodite, but throughout the Goddess Temple you will also find statues, symbols, and other elements representing many different goddesses from the ancient world. Each one reflects a different aspect of the Sacred Feminine and the archetypes connected to it.

– Sharon Edwyn on Goddess Temple, describing Goddess Temple

The setting retains much that will be familiar to those who visited the previous iteration of Goddess Temple, expanding on the overall design and on the motifs neatly folded into it as well. The result is that for those of us returning to the location, there is both a sense of the initial familiarity as might be felt in making a returning pilgrimage and of experiencing something new.

This is particularly true of the Landing Point with its paths, canopy of forest-lie trees and hints of ancient structures. The crossing of paths here, together with the information board, will immediately be familiar to those returning for the first time since the move, but a quick camming around will reveal elements of the new – perhaps most noticeably the much extended path running to the east.

This is a setting split by a long, broad channel of water also pushing its way eastwards. Fed by high falls and dropping over much smaller ones as it seeks the open waters east of the region, the channel at first appears to be and intentional physical barrier to travelling further south into the setting. However, appearances tend to be deceptive.

Certainly, the views south over the water from various points along the paths are tantalising. Across the water and marvellously cut into the high cliffs and rock formations inland are signs of life: vine hung balconies push through the foliage and archways allow glimpses of corridors and rooms from under overhangs and more vines and branches, with some curtained by waterfalls. But how to reach them without getting wet? Even if one to wade across, there are no obvious steps up into any of the visible rooms or hallways.

The answer to that question lies along the east-pointing path and beyond the pavilion it passes, shaded by the forest’s trees. Find the route and it will open the way to Aphrodite’s temple and also to where a gondola sits quietly moored alongside ancient ruins. Accept the Experience on sitting in the boat for the first time, and you will have your means to cross the water smoothly.

In this, your destination is obvious: across the water sits another gondola with room to moor alongside it. It floats beneath the tall figures of carved dogs – the companions of Hecate. Between them and the cauldrons illuminating them, lies the shadowed entrance to her temple.

This temple is utterly magnificent in nature and contains elements related to Hecate’s legend. A tall figure of the goddess stands at the back of the temple against a blue sky, facing the circular pool of water which takes up the main floor of the temple. The sky and water remind us of Hecate’s connections to both, whilst the torches she holds aloft speak to her role as protector and guide. Spaces opening off of either side of the temple form libraries, reflecting her roles as a goddess of wisdom and (perhaps) a practitioner of magic.

One of these libraries offers the entrance to a large complex of rooms and hallways – some of them being those so tantalisingly visible from the far side of the water channel. Most are open to the public. However, I’m not going to describe them here, as they all deserve to be witnessed first-hand. All I will say is that the stairway located mid-way through them leads up to a private residence – so please, no trespassing there!

As well has Hecate, Goddess Temple continues to encompass other goddesses of legend. Here again, the presence of water perhaps plays an important role. Persephone, for example, has a statue out on the water channel. Like Hecate, she is linked to the Underworld, so it is not great leap of the imagination to see the water flowing through Goddess Temple as a metaphor for the Styx, separating as it does the aboveground gardens to the north from the “underworld” of the temple and its associated rooms and corridors to the south.

Aphrodite is also celebrated here, her temple rising from the eastern waters of the setting whilst she also – in the form of Venus – watches over the bathing pool within the underground complex; the pairing of temple and statue with water again neatly referencing her connection to the sea and seafaring.

I could ramble on in this respect, but I’ll save you the pain of my burbling! Suffice it to say, when visiting, be sure to keep an eye out for the signs sitting close to some of the statues, as these will provide additional information for those interested in the various goddess and deities celebrated here.

What I will say is that the new iteration of Goddess Temple builds on the last, presenting a deeply captivating, immersive and beautiful setting, rich in detail. It carries with it a genuine mix of myths and architecture which, whilst based on western histories, also touches on eastern roots as well (e.g. Hindu Shakti) through the modern referencing of Sacred Feminine.

As Sharon notes, Goddess Temple should not be seen as an attempt to manifest any form of historically accurate representation of ancient temples or historic sites. Rather, it is a place in which to find peace; to rest the mind and spirit, and celebrate the natural. For this, the setting offers multiple places in which to relax on both sides of the waters splitting it – but I’ll leave you to discover them in your own explorations!

Slurl Details

• Goddess Temple (Moonlight Dreams, rated Adult)

I try very hard not to let my ego lead me in things (honest! – In fact I try to make sure it remains trapped in the bottom drawer of a locked filing cabinet with a sign on front saying “beware of the leopard – so to speak” 🙂 ).

However, when I learned that I’ve recently been on the mind of a kitsune guardian of a mainland shine, I have to admit I was more than a little curious, so I had to bounce in-world and discover more.

The Kitsune in question – Tamamo – watches over the Imari Okami Jinja shrine. Sitting high on the side of a southern Corsica mountain in-world, the shrine forms part of the Excellens Prefecture, developed and overseen by Deefer Doge and Petros Aabye.

Roughly half a Full region in size, the Prefecture draws inspiration from the Yamadera temple and surrounds in Japan, but folds so much into itself as to be entirely unique. It extends from the small coastal Slendai Harbour up through the Yamadera hills and on up the mountain to reach Inari Okami Jinja. Along the way, the lands present the most engaging of Mainland visits.

However, it’s not a simple case of following the path upwards as if on a pilgrimage: there is a lot to see and appreciate along the way as one explores, complete with paths to outer farmlands and looping trails with features of their own to discover.

This build started as a harbour, my place to sail from plus I wanted a garden, so the onsen was developed. I love building on Mainland, with all its constraints of terrain, I would like to see more of our wonderful SL world nurtured. I also like to explore and with that in mind I always keep my land open to public to use & explore, I do live here but I think I can share 🙂 .

– Deefer Doge on Inari Okami Jinja – Yamadera & Slendai Harbour

Given the size of the Prefecture, there are several points of entry, but the SLurl I’m using here is for Slendai Harbour down on the coast. To help in finding your way around, there is an information board at the harbour (and which is twinned elsewhere in the setting) which will give a map HUD and notecard to arriving visitors (just click the board if these don’t arrive), and the map outlines the major paths and trails.

There is also an Experience-based teleport system available – look for the kuguri rings which have been strategically located around the various locations within the Prefecture. Simply step through one (and accept the Experience the very first time you do so) to be teleported. However I strongly recommend exploring on foot.

The onsen Deefer mentions in her comment above sits just beyond the gates from the harbour to the main trail. Bathing is permitted, and to help keep things personal, it – like a number of places within the Prefecture – resides within its own parcel with Privacy enable.

The onsen also forms part of a looping trail around the back of the harbour -just follow the path over the red bridge spanning the channels feeding water into it – with the route up into the hill resuming via the torii gate alongside of the bridge.

I’m not going to go blow-by blow through everything to see along the way as that will spoil things. However, here are some things to look out for / make note of on your initial climb:

• Slendai Harbour is open to the South Corsica waterway, and so can be reached by boat & has open rezzing should you wish to visit by boat and that sail away after (do mind the wreck partially submerged in the harbour tho!). A jet ski rezzer is also available
• Don’t miss the eastward path just after the first two Torii gates climbing the hill from the onsen. It has a garden surprise tucked away along it and offers a path to the farmlands.
• The Yamadera Shukubo Lodge overlooks the path up, sitting just above misty low-level cloud. Deefer’s former home, it is also open to the public.
• The Admin centre is where Goshuin stamp collectors can collect their stamp – Deefer puts out a new one each month. It’s an area watched over by Miyone (do be sure to chat with her!). There’s also a lookout point to be found here and another route out to the farmlands and rice fields.

However, do be sure to keep an eye out for a small gate just to the left of the Sanman Gatehouse (itself alongside the lodge). Going through this smaller gate will lead you to the Tea House. Tucked away below the Admin centre, it is a lovely haven for peace and quiet – even meditation, given the way the outdoor seating is arranged.

This is actually one of my favourite parts of the setting, and potentially easily overlooked if the main path is followed without paying attention. If travelling with a friend or three, you can also enjoy a board game under the roof the Tea House.

But it is the Imari Okami Jinja shrine, which sits as the ultimate destination. Home to Tamamo, mentioned at the top of this article, it provides a view back down over the Prefecture to the harbour to one side and out over the gardens and trees to the rice fields on the other.

The red torii gates marching up the escarpment to the shrine offer their own guardianship against unwanted spirits making the climb (and a little rest area offers water to thirsty pilgrims as it faces one of the many small shrines to be found throughout the lands here).

Do be sure to respond to Tamamo when she greets you; she is very conversational and can tell you more about the shrine, the Imari, and the prefecture in general. She is both knowledgeable and at times very poetic.

This place is called Inari Okami Jinja. A shrine to Inari – the great kami of foxes, rice, fertility, prosperity, and… well, many things. Inari is generous that way, refusing to be pinned down to just one domain. I watch over it and keep the energy clean. Chase away things that should not linger near sacred ground. Sometimes I guide visitors.

– Tamamo, in conversation with me about Imari Okami Jinja.

The beauty of this setting cannot be overstated, nor can the sense of peace and age; there is so much more to be seen than I have allowed here (see if you find your way to the stone hand and the photo opportunities there). The sense of age is communicated by the mix of torii gates, the way paths and steps branch but then go nowhere, as if overgrown and their purpose forgotten.

From Slendai Harbour through Yamadera to Inari Okami Jinja, this is a perfect part of the Mainland to visit; rich in detail and utterly idea for viewing under a wide range of environment settings as well as its own default. And, needless to say, it is thoroughly photogenic throughout.

My thanks to Deefer for the opportunity to visit and for spending time with me when I did – and again to Tamano for her kind words and our conversations 🙂 .

Slurl Details

• Slendai Harbour (Excellens, rated Moderate)

Back in January 2025 I visited Poetic Moon, a homestead region held by Anu Papp and which she and Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington) had created as a stunning setting – and you can read about it here.

So when Anu invited me to pop over and preview a new make-over for her Full region of Ravenmere, which she has also developed in collaboration with Dandy to create the quite magnificent Ravenmere Redwoods.

I got this region from LL back in 2009, so I have been its keeper a very long time. Its name used be Ravenhart, but today it’s the most beautiful. I live in Northern California, which inspired this build.

– Anu Papp discussing Ravenmere Redwoods

From Anu’s comment and the design’s name, it should be obvious that the region offers a celebration of the California’s mighty Sequoia tree. However, this is more than just a place of the imagination: Anu used data from the physical world to create the terrain maps used in the design to give the region its overall towering appearance.

As regulars to these pages know, I love settings in SL which bring with them a twist of somewhere in the physical world, shaped by the creating minds behind them, and Ravenmere Redwoods totally fits this. There is so much packed into its – literally towering – design.

The landing Point sits some 80 metres above sea level, the region lies surrounded by high forested peaks, some with snow sitting within shadowed sculpts and dips in their sides, immediately mindful of the Sierra Nevada, where the mighty redwood can be found.

However, the land also drops away to one side, providing steps for giants (and trails and paths for us lesser folk!) down to an eastern coastline. This comes complete with a rocky cove that has perhaps seen better days as a focus for commercial fishing, but which also sits as a reminder of all the hidden bays and little coastal centres of activity which once hugged (and still do hug, in some cases) the coastlines of California and Oregon.

Between these two upper and lower extremes is a setting utterly rich in detail, perfectly conceived and photogenic to the point of being a work of art.

This is a place for people to come to and relax. It’s not for business, there are no rentals.  I disabled fly within the region and I’d like people to explore carefully; there are so many hidden areas. All I ask is that people keep activities PG.

– Anu Papp discussing Ravenmere Redwoods

One of those details might be easily missed by visitors on arrival should they be tempted to set out along the path leading away from the Landing Point. However, by turning around and walking just past the fence behind them, they will find a trio of heady walkways stretched out between some of the huge trees, presenting bird’s eye viewing of the rugged and misty lands below.

There’s also a path to be found here as well, running down through the mists and past a fire look-out point, twisting its way to come by turn and and corner to where three redwoods stand guard over a covered a wooden bridge.

Here again, the temptation might be to simply walk on by and over the bridge – which is a route that should be taken as a part of overall exploration, as it will carry visitors on along the eastern shoulder of the setting where more redwoods tower over more regularly-sized trees and a superb view down over the coast can be obtained.

But those paying attention as they reach the covered bridge might spot a sign Some Place Else. It offers a path of discovery to another mountain lake and a grand overlook.

Similarly, just beyond the bridge the path splits again, this time offering a way down to a further overlook above a quite magnificent ribbon lake, complete with a café perched above it to one end, and further trails running around and over it for further exploration.

The two eastward paths eventually join up to point people towards an unexpected – but still fitting perfectly within he region – location: a henge out on a headland. Here, again, keep an eye out for a rocky secret: a crafty little path perhaps originally cut by the passage of water, now offering and alternative means to reach the coastal bay.

Across the region are multiple places to sit and relax. Many are nicely tucked away to give a sense of natural privacy. Some are bobbing on the waters of the lakes and tucked away on the waterfront.

Those following the highland path from the Landing Point will eventually come to an old summer house straddling the path (passing another route down the mountainside along the way!). Beyond this is a large open deck space. This is the Ravenmere BREATHE Meditation Centre.

Breathe Meditation is a place to gather in stillness, breathe together, and remember that our individual practice becomes more powerful when shared in community. It’s a place for people to find peace. On Sundays, I’ll be hosting 30-minute meditation sessions there for those who wish to join me at 7:00am SLT.  Please wear white attire if attending!

– Anu Papp discussing BREATHE at Ravenmere Redwoods

Those who can’t join Anu on Sundays can still nevertheless partake of the opportunity for meditation on their own or with friends – or simply use the space for a quiet time of conversation of contemplation.

That said, wherever you wander within the region, you’re going to feel nothing but peace and harmony.

Rich in wildlife and a fitting soundscape and captured until a Shared Environment ideal for viewing it (although it does lend itself equally to others), Ravenmere Redwoods is genuinely beautiful – a work of art, as I’ve already noted.

When visiting, please do keep in mind the following:

• The region will only be open to full public access for a period of one month from August 15, 2026, after which it will return to Group access only.
• Group access will provide rezzing rights for photo props, etc., – but as always, do please remember to pick things up again.

My sincere thanks to Ana for the invitation to visit ahead of time and for taking the time to chat with me about Ravenmere Redwoods; it was greatly appreciated. Also, my congratulations, to her and to Dandy for creating such an outstanding place of beauty in Second Life.

Slurl Details

Ravenmere is rated Moderate

• Ravenmere Redwoods Landing Point
• Ravenmere Redwood Breathe Meditation Centre

The start of the week saw an invitation arrive from Nomore (Manoji Yachvili) to visit her homestead region and latest art exhibition, Cellophane.

Whilst I was unable to make the opening due to pressures elsewhere, I was extremely pleased and surprised to receive it; earlier in 2026 Nomore had closed her Homestead region to public access, and had also offered what looked like being a final exhibition of her art, hosted by Dido Haas at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (see: Of Inventory, art and the artist in Second Life). I was therefore keen to hop along and see both the region and the exhibition.

I’ve covered past iterations of Fading Shadows numerous times in this blog, and have always enjoyed how Nomore has blended natural setting, architecture and art to create a flowing sense of space and environment.

This is very much in evidence with this iteration for mid- 2026. Entitled The PALM, it presents a minimalist, windswept coastal area of sand and dunes into which the rolling tide has sculpted inlets and bays, and the slopes of the dunes and hills have been smoothed and rounded by the passage of the wind.

There is a sense of age to the setting, both in the way the sands have been so shaped, and in the fact that that an old stone watchtower guards one corner of the setting, the wreck of sailing ship caught on the shoals below it, guarded by an orca.

Across the region, to the north-east, the land becomes rockier, the sands rising to cleave to a table of rock on which sits Nomore’s private home, and the only part of the region off-limits to visitors.

These are not the only structures present within the region; Nomore has a captivating means of incorporating various architectural styles into her region designs which both perfectly fit the aesthetic and which can serve as a home to her art exhibitions. The PALM is no exception.

Scattered across the landscape are four modern building designs, each home to a themed exhibition of Nomore’s Second Life and physical world art. As with many of her past region designs, these have been blended into the setting through the use of texturing and materials – something perhaps most apparent here within the cliff house gallery on the north side of the setting.

Cellophane, Nomore’s latest exhibition is housed with Cory Edo’s Jura Cottage, a building I’ve oft considered playing with myself (still might!), which here again Nomore has superbly blended into the setting through careful retexturing of the base and some of the outer walls

The exhibition is – like many for Nomore – something of a reflection of personal feelings and outlook and accessible commentary designed to prod us into thinking about life and the planet around us. For me, this always makes Nomore’s exhibitions especially attractive; they are both visually and mentally engaging and multi-layered.

Cellophane offers food for thought on modern society and its outlook on a range of matters from global warming through to questioning the purpose of art, whilst gently reminding us that we are all stewards of this planet, and we all have a responsibility for actively caring for it.

In this the use of cellophane / plastic particularly layered; its convenience makes it both ideal for simple preservation, whilst at the same time it is one of the most ecologically damaging materials we can use and which we often so carelessly dispose. It is also a perfect metaphor for our willingness to be inactive participants (if you will) in expressing concern for the directions the world around us seems to be taking.

These thoughts and ideas have helped shape The PALM as a whole; reading the artist’s reflection on the exhibition sheds light on the nature of the region’s form and the idea of slow erosion. Thus landscape and art further come together.

In this, there is perhaps a wider contrast hidden without the quiet beauty of the region; particularly in the contrast between the flotsam and jetsam of human vacationing scattered over the sands and the quiet reminders of the beauty of life in all its forms in our oceans, and which can be glimpsed as we explore the landscape.

Which is not to say the PALM is all about Deep Thinking. Its minimalist beauty is captivating and photogenic; there are multiple places to sit and simply chat or enjoy the passing time; there are opportunities for padding out on the waters via little boats or have a little fun on a springboard.

Nor is the art within the region confined to the gallery spaces or even the ground. Elements of art have been carefully folded into the setting in the form of sculptures, whilst an active Experience operating within the region can be used to hop between the ground-level galleries and those up in the air over the region, which house Nomore’s personal collections of art.

In short, there are multiple reasons for visiting The PALM – and I very much hope that after reading this, you will hop over and see for yourself. My thanks to Nomore for the invitation, and apologies for no making the opening event!

Slurl Details

• The PALM (Fading shadows, rated Moderate)