The Hedge Druid

Dear readers, followers and passers-by,

This blog has reached a monumental milestone today. This is our thousandth post. Of course, our first task is to congratulate you all, whether new or old comers to this material, for spending your valuable time considering our humble ramblings.

I think it is apposite for me to re-state our aim at this point. We began as a journal recording our findings in the world of dowsing primarily. Soon the fledgling arts that comprise modern druidry (or “edge wizardry” as Kal calls it) began to have a stronger influence on our work. When we consider how much we have developed as spiritual people over the last six years it is astonishing to us. We often say that we have lived a second lifetime in that period, and you, dear readers, have all of this development recorded in one space as a testament to that work.

Our aim has not changed much since we started. Back in 2008 we wanted to record the truth about our dowsing discoveries. We still do that. We wanted to be prepared to be wrong about our ideas. We often re-develop and re-record our new findings, sometimes completely overthrowing ideas that we held before. I find that constantly exciting. We wanted to unpack the “loony bin” of ideas that we saw other people involved with, and to discover for ourselves which parts of those ideas had validity. The “bin” is almost empty!

What I feel we offer now are new perspectives on old ideas. I feel we take dowsing along a different path – the path of psychic questing. We offer new insights on mythological archetypes like the Arthurian archetypes and Celtic deities like Bran and Cailleach. To some extent I think we also re-vitalise, repair and restore many of the ancient sites that still exist in the isles of Albion through our interactive visits. You get to share these stories.

I call them stories, but only in the sense that we want to entertain while we record information. Our prime directive remains being truthful about our experiences. Whilst most of the activity recorded here occurs deep within the recesses of our minds, our aim is still to allow as much as possible to accurately spill onto these pages. There are always astonishing reflections, refractions and confirmations occurring around us in Nature as we work. What has been most difficult for us is to bring those reflections into the stories we tell, and to accurately record their feel, their qualities, their purpose. Yet, ironically, these are the crucial aspects which give us the confidence to continue on our paths.

Therefore, even as I make the statement that we are blogging a true path, that requires an act of faith on your part. This faith, this hope that what we say is ‘real’ and practical, this relationship that develops from the very words that we write and which you read – that is the very heart of druidry, for it is the AWEN itself. The living inspiration of truth-seeking, and its poetic reflection back on to us as feelings of love, joy and respect. This spirals around lifting us all higher on your journeys towards inspiration, motivation and hopefully elevation.

Thank you all. Seen and unseen.

Gwas and Kal.

Meeting with an Ice Dragon

Throughout this Spring Equinox I had been through Air, Water and Earth elemental experiences. Ancient wisdom and a good deal of expectation suggested that Fire was on the cards. If initiate is the lowest level of induction then what do you call someone just below that? That’s where you will find me on the knowledge of Dragon Lore scale.

One day…when archaeologist or knowledge seekers unearth the ancient Internet Cache’s they will find a copy of this blog and wonder at its ignorance? magnificence? Stupidity? All three? I’d love to be a fly on that wall when it happens. For now, let us go on to the final tale of the Spring Equinox, ice-dragon time.

Would it come? It was by no means certain. My intuition – via the dowsing rods – said maybe. I had left a trail (as I had done in Ireland three years ago) at Castlerigg, Derwent River and the Fraternal Yews.

I asked the rods whether the Dragon would come? They were non committal. Another clue to suggest that dowsing cannot predict the future. I wondered whether I could get a percentage chance of meeting. The answer was yes, so I asked…what percentage chance is there of me meeting the dragon? 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75. apparently 75% it was. Good enough for me.

Did I need to prepare in any way? No, all that was sorted. Time to act. I was certain that the meeting would occur inside the cave (as it had been in Ireland) and this was confirmed as the rods led me to another part of the cave (see last post on time travel).

Once I found the place I placed my back against the wall and let my mind empty. I felt my energy stir and knew my double was in there somewhere. Good to know since I had been told that the encounter would be impossible without it. As far as dragon encounters go. An Ice-Dragon encounter is harsh. It began with a headache coming on fast. Now I’ve never suffered from migraines (touch wood) but from descriptions, that’s what this felt like. It reminded me of the freezing cold of the day I first met with this dragon at the Druids Circle.

The ache made me lose focus a few times, but I managed to keep it together and then, after long moments (longer than usual) I sensed the dragon was here. The commune in exactness isn’t that important, the gist of it was this.

We have a bond, a bond that neither wanted but now must live with. Let’s make the most of it. You are tainted with Dragon Essence as I am tainted with Human smell. Those who know will recognise these and act either in favour or not. Should they not, and the need arises we will come to each others aid.

And that, it seems, was it. Commune over. Bugger off! An interesting thing though was that it seemed that I was communing through my energy self. Using it as a conduit if you like. That was more interesting than the commune, other than the notion of the Dragon Essence? What was that about? Was it like ‘smell’ but better?

I pondered this whilst asking whether I was done at the caves. The answer to that was a surprising no. I had one more unexpected encounter to go through.

Kal Malik – smelling of dragons

Since Imbolc I have been reading up on yew trees. The aim is to assimilate as much knowledge as possible about this incredible species so that when Spring Equinox comes around I will be able to begin the process of understanding my yew staff’s potential powers. At the moment it is merely a piece of yew with a stag’s antlers on top. Soon I am hoping that we will forge a relationship that will be as fruitful as the one I had with my ash staff.

To start the process off I read Allen Meredith and Janis Fry‘s book “The God Tree“, as recommended by Philip Carr-Gomm‘s blog post.

Yew are the God

This book revealed many amazing insights which I had never considered before such as:

• yew trees may have been transported here from the staves carried by such well-known early Celtic Christian saints such as Cadoc, Patrick, Christopher and Bueno
• the trees may be the source of the myth of the “golden bough”
• the yew tree is the origin of the concept of the World Tree – or the Tree of Life

Read the rest of this entry »

Toiling

It’s complicated. Whenever I think about relativity my brain starts to cook. I don’t mind being mentally inept when it comes to understanding temporal mechanics, after all it stumps the best scientists too.

Gwas and I had arrived at a sacred site called Long Meg, but this wasn’t the place of interest. Instead we had learned that there were some caves along the side of a river. So off we trekked through mud and wood. At some point we got turned about and ended up on a much longer trek than we had anticipated. It didn’t dampen our quest however. As is often dictated, the toil of the journey is equal to the reward received at its conclusion.

In a previous post I mentioned that my Energetic Self had dropped (aligned) in and announced that it was capable of taking me back in time. What a breath-taking statement that was. But it was time to test it. The Fraternal Yews had provided the place where my double and I were again inhabiting the same body.

We arrived at the caves and what a fantastic set of caves they were too. Definitely the place for some serious magic. I asked whether this was the place that I would do some Fire Element work and the answer was yes. I also asked whether this was the place where I could do some work with my Energy Double. To be specific, was this a place where I could do some time travelling? Yes! Excellent. Which first?

It seems that the Time Travel aspect would be first. So I dowsed if I was ready for this feat? No, I needed to do some preparation first. I followed the rods through the small cave system and the took me to the darkest part of the caves. I sat – or rather – squatted down and let myself align with the energy of that spot. I could feel my double swirling within me. I think it knew what we were about.

Minutes later I was ready, I knew it. Inside and out. I let the rods guide me to another part of the cave system and this would be the place. Time travel. Oh my gods! As told in a previous post, my dear mum had passed in her sleep. Now, I was going to traverse time to that quiet night.

Caves Shape Energy

I had lit several incense sticks and was guided to place them in a circle around where I stood. Oddly, I needed some of my blood too. Fortunately (coincidently or synchronistically) I had cut myself at our previous stop and so had a ready-made gash that I could peel at to get some fresh blood. Preparations made, I closed my eyes and let myself go into the hands of my Energetic Self…

Imagination…I wonder sometimes whether it is imagination or reality. We have this damnable need to verify, justify and quantify our experiences don’t we? Did it really happen? Was it my imagination? Was it illusion or delusion? Then there is the almost silent voice that asks…what if it was real? The philosophical argument can be left to other posts. But for this one…

From Root to Solar my energy surged up towards the Heart. My energy-self slammed from the Crown through Brow to the Throat and into my Heart – Trashing the gateway as it did. Both energies mixed and rose up again to the Crown and…

Time turned, quite literally into a stream. I shot down it at quite a pace and then slowed to a point in time. It was some time in the early hours of the morning and I stood by the bed my mum was lying in. Odd, I thought I would be able to hold her hand, but couldn’t. I wasn’t real, I was energy that was aware.

I felt and saw the sprinkling of light starry sparks that was her energy. They were drifting out of cohesion. Fascinating I thought. But then the thought of thinking that took me. Here I was at a momentous time and I was self-analysing. I tried to seek out my own emotions but couldn’t seem to grasp them. Why wasn’t I feeling sorrow, loss? Or even gratitude for this moment of meeting again? My double (or rather me – it gets complicated) added a thought…now you know how I don’t feel… the “don’t” was emphasized.

The emotions that I had expected were absent – not because they were absent – but because my emotional sense was missing. I had nothing to do but to observe. For some reason I knew that my mum could feel me there. She wasn’t awake, she wasn’t suffering in any way that I could see and more importantly (to me) she wasn’t alone.

Energy sings. It makes sense that it does. But when you start to play with your energy-self you realise that truly, energy sings. At that time and space. My energy was singing in tune with my mums energy. That was how she knew that she was not alone. And then…something just…faded…a sense of life. It didn’t rise up into the air, no hollywood effects were discernible – just a sense of absence.

But a song – the song - continued to play and I realised that it was her energy-self. It was still there. Oh my Gods. I sensed that it tried to follow my mums – hmmm – spirit but could not. It really tried to and it didn’t know that it couldn’t. What a truly awesome odd thing. I sensed rather than watched this doomed spectacle for some moments before a tug on my own energy shocked me back to my body and the cave in which I sat.

Illusion or Self-Delusion?

Kal Malik

[GWAS] : “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” (Douglas Adams)

I am now adept at putting my consciousness outside of myself. The great Bran taught me many of these skills, and others I have worked on through my own training, guided as always by those forces unseen which lend their collective hands to guide me along this druidic path. Consciousness relocation is a skill which I have become so accustomed to that I have almost forgotten that I once couldn’t do this on demand.
I got a wake-up call recently though. I was reading “Fire In The Head” by Tom Cowan and he reminded me that the ancient bards talk of another level of consciousness re-location: shape-shifting.

The many forms through which Taliesin shifts

I have been in many shapes;
I have been a narrow blade of a sword;
I have been a drop in the air;
I have been a shining star;
I have been an eagle;
I have been a boat on the sea;
I have been a string on a harp;
I have been enchanted for a year in the foam of water.
There is nothing which I have not been.    [Taliesin]

This boastful style belies an inherent druid skill – the art of placing one’s consciousness within something else in order to see and experience from the perspective of that life force.
I am reminded that the Borrowdale Yew trees were hinting at this when they talked to me about the notion of “Propagation“. This is the concept of placing my energy (for energy also read ‘attention’) in something so that I can revisit it later and experience from that perspective.

Having been reminded by Mr Cowan that this is also a major part of the bardic journey I am going to try to make time for such practises this year. Let’s see what tales will come of it!

If you have read some of Gwas’s post on this outing you will realise that his elements and mine differ. For those who seek correlation and scientific rational – beware! The sacred journey will not pander to such machinations. Sorry, it just won’t. The variables are immense and the reductionist attitude of science and rationality is infinitely lacking.

Fraternal Yews

We arrived as close as possible to the place known as the Fraternal Yews. Alas, it was throwing it down with rain and there were several small streams that needed to be navigated to get to the Yew trees. I was of course completely unprepared for this kind of weather and ascent (the trees were up a slope). But of course that did not stop me.

The climb was arduous, cold and wet but worth it in every way. We arrived at the Yews and split off to do our own work. I was drawn to one of the trees at once and made my way to it. As soon as I touched the wet bark of the tree I was transported.

It is not for nought that Yews are known for their grounding ability. This Yew had me sinking both energetically and physically to my knees. Calm and peace surrounded and engulfed me. For some reason, I knew that this was the place I could connect with my energy double. I let the song of the energy double lift into the air and in no time at all I felt its presence near and then within me.

The connection was silent and heavy. Like I had just put on a heavy coat. In a previous post I talk about how to our energy double, time travel is easy. I queried it now and it tried to pull me back through time. It failed. It was puzzled and so was I. Then a realisation came to me. The Yews were grounding me, preventing me from being pulled back in time. It would have to be at our next stop, I thought.

The dragon was still on my mind and I thought about what to leave it as a sign. A though from my double entered my mind, “you already have”. Puzzled but agreeing, I indicated to Gwas that I was done and we headed back to the car. I was well and truly soaked. At any other time, I would have attributed Water Element to this experience, however I had felt the power of the Yews, this was definitely Earth for me.

As I sat in the car, Gwas looked at me closely, “What’s that blood on your cheek?” What!?! I felt the side of my face and what I had thought was water was actually blood. I hadn’t felt the cut at all, but just on the side of my left eye was a small gash that must have bled against the Yew tree I had slid down next to.

A thought entered my consciousness, a blood sign for the dragon!

Kal Malik

Derwentwater Lake in Cumbria

Gwas and I have often considered going on tours with other groups. There are many local (ie in the UK) and abroad that have on occasion caught our eye. However what will put us off is the regiment. Our experience on literally every outing is that the day’s experience and visits will not conform to predefined routes. About the best we can manage is a starting point and even that has sometimes been changed.

Crystal Altar

The energy of the day, our energies, the purpose with which we are filled and any host of other factors makes the journey infinitely dynamic. So it is with our next stop. We were driving along the lake towards our next stop, when we were pulled towards the water of the lake. Gwas enquired as to whether I felt that the lake was a required stopping point and I concurred, it felt right. So we pulled over and began some work.

Was it going to be a water element place for me? Yes. I dowsed for the place to gather this water energy and found it not far away from the car park. Standing upon the place I was reminded of a time in Ireland. Then too I was on a quest to meet a Dragon. That time came vividly to mind. It had been the summer and we had visited several places before I had finally encountered the Dragon (an Emerald one as it happened). At each place along that pilgrimage I had left a marker for the Dragon to follow. Was it the case here I wondered.

I knew the answer before I even dowsed, but I did – just in case – and it was. The first place was where I had picked up the Rose Quartz at Castlerigg. The second would be here. You are going to ask me a question now. The question is, how did I know what to do? I’m sorry to say, I don’t know. It just comes to you.

Brow Chakra – Knowledge Without Rational Source

I gathered some quartz crystals from the shore and made this mini altar as a sign post for the Dragon of Ice. Work and elemental energizing done. We left the river and drove onwards to the next place on our pilgrimage.

Kal Malik