The Hedge Druid

Runcorn Hill, Cheshire. September 14th 2008

To set the scene – it was a lovely crisp yet warm September weekend morning when we drove out to some sites that were fairly local. The weather was getting better all the time, and Kal and I headed for Runcorn Hill. After having to turn back to get a better map (!) we drove purposefully to the Visitor Centre on Runcorn Hill (which was closed of course) where we surveyed the manicured sports courts and lawns.

Wavy-line wooden sculpture

After admiring the wooden sculpture and distinctly pagan imagery decorating the small park, we headed out towards the hilltop. Neither of us having visited the place before it wasn’t long before we resorted to being led by the dowsing rods in search of the top of the hill. Within minutes we had found it exactly. And right in front of us was a tall buzzing electricity pylon!

We both prickled and shuddered with the foul energy this line of pylons were emitting, close as it was to the end of the small humped rise which forms Runcorn Hill’s highest point. Nearby were a couple of young birch trees, one behind us dividing the path to the hilltop, and the other to the right-hand side. We dowsed for ten minutes of so trying to locate energies and found a bewildering confusion of all sorts of lines, but nothing which made sense to us – nothing like we had seen elsewhere. These lines on the hillock seemed to be short, incomplete and weak.

The only clear good line emanated from a power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre. on the hillock, down its left edge, round the end nearest the pylons, and came back through the birch tree at the rear of the site. Then it reconnected with the power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre. again. This line also had swirls of male energy which branched off this circuit occasionally.

Fouling the fields

We decided that we should test for the qualities of the site as a whole, but our questions were met with responses which made us concerned for the welfare of the energies at the site:

• Firstly we asked whether there was an unhealthy link with the pylons – there was.
• Then we asked whether the link was having an effect further afield – the unhealthy energy was travelling into every home in the area we learned after more specific questioning
• We asked whether we could uncouple the site from the bad effects of the energies – no!
• Kal dowsed to see whether he could help in any way – yes, he could help.
• I dowsed to see whether I could prevent the bad energy coming into the site – not myself, but I could assist Kal’s work.

Those questions formed the basis of our next experiment: could we actually modify the dowsable framework of energies surrounding this site, and would that effect improve the stability of the energies?

We prepared ourselves without words for the task ahead – not any of which did we foresee or work out. For my part I went over to the birch tree and looked underneath its sparse canopy of branches. There I saw three stones, all hand-sized, and one caught my eye in particular so I picked it up. It was a small stone, the size of a palm, of the purest red sandstone rock that is typical of the geology of that area. For some reason, looking back now, I picked the “purest” stone. The others were mottled with lichen, other coloured stone, or some other impurity. I don’t know if that helped what was to follow, but now I think that perhaps that was helpful.

Kal sat down to tune into his Reiki powers, facing the birch tree at the end of the ridge. I did the same. The rods informed us which way we needed to face to get the best effects, of what – we didn’t actually know yet! The only parameters we had agreed upon was to form a kind of shield of energy around the site with the aim of blocking the harmful pylon energies, or at least reducing its impact. The idea of the energies dissipating in a relatively short time frame like 50-100 years made us agitated, and evoked our sense of welfare.

The top of the hill

Now, we have often questioned whether we should try to affect energy fields at sites. We don’t want to blunder into making the situation worse, but at the same time I strongly adhere to the notion that work entered into with the right intentions, and a good attitude, will lead to positive and successful results with little harm to ourselves. Our tools are not naivety, or wishful thinking, but strongly held hope. Turns out this was true on this occasion. Each occasion is a new question, though, and we will always ask before trying anything. That said, here’s what I did.

I sat down and tried to feel the edges of the birch tree’s nemeton – it’s outer edge of aura, or spirit, if you like – by closing off external noise and reaching out until I felt the tree.  I was trying to tune into the tree’s influence, basically. All the time I was sitting, holding my small rock by my root chakra point in cupped and linked hands.  I know of no significance to this, only that this position had felt comfortable for meditation on previous occasions, and holding the rock in that way allowed my intent to ‘fall into’ or ‘flow down to’ the stone. But at that moment nothing like that was happening!

As I sat I could hear a local football match in the distance, I could hear the birds twittering, and the traffic far below…..I actively switched them off. But no immediate connection – something was still distracting me, and I couldn’t work out what it was. At that moment a fly landed on my left temple. Hey! C’mon! That’s not helping, I protested to no-one in particular in my mind. The fly buzzed off and left me. Thank you! I settled back down to work again, trying to clear my thoughts. That fly landed again in exactly the same place – harder if that’s possible! Oi! Mother Nature! What the…..then I burst out laughing. She was sending me a sign, and I completely understood what it was, without the need to vocalise or put the thought into words. She was telling me that there was something I should do before I settle into this work. I took the hint.

I put the small stone on the power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre., then got up and felt my way slowly towards the birch tree with the palm of my hands towards the tree, feeling for its nemeton – it’s outer edge. I needed to introduce myself to it, I half-admonished myself, how rude I was being just expecting things to flow without an introduction at the very least! About ten feet from the tree I felt it’s energetic edge – it’s spherical auric extent. It felt like gently pushing a soft pillow, like feeling a slightly warm breath of air pushing back at you, if you cared to notice. I did care, and I was noticing. I introduced myself politely, and asked the tree if it would kindly show me where to connect my energy to on this nemeton’s edge. Slightly further round its front edge I felt a flow, like the gentle breath of a dragonDragons are spirit or energetic beings that reside in sacred sites and have a particular location in them and also move throughout the day (and or season). They also leave the sacred site on occasion, which again differentiates them from Genius Loci which don’t., flowing outwards over the ridge. I felt it with my hands, now that I had a sense of what it felt like, and followed it back to where I had been sitting. So, it was flowing into this spot, it’s just that I hadn’t been tuned into it properly. Now I was, so I sat back down, and picked the small red rock up again.

Birch at the back

Immediately I could feel not only the flow of energy coming into me from the birch tree, but something else coming into my back – it was Kal! I really had opened myself up to the flow now! I allowed the energy to flow round for a short while, then I started to will it to enter into the red rock in my hands. When I felt it was full, and even overflowing – white threads of energy lines spilling out all around me, I wondered what to do to hold it all together. I needed something to stabilise this flow. I started a ‘root and branch’ druid meditation which consisted of imagining the energy sinking into the ground as seeking roots. Once this was established, I thought of silver energy branches flowing upwards above and around me like an umbrella. Together, the roots and branches slowly enclosed me in a sphere of shining silvery threads.

I revelled in this for a moment, then started to focus on the energy in the stone. I imagined a manifestation pattern the likes of which I had seen before – four petals extending in the four cardinal directions, growing with each out-breath until they touched an egg-shaped energy shape that I could see around the whole site. On the in-breath I drew more energy from the tree and the surrounding landscape into this process until I had ‘breathed’ or ‘puffed up’ the petals so that they were touching (supporting?) the energy structure that I felt was Kal’s barrier shell. When I was happy that it had stabilised and was solid, I opened my eyes to return back to consciousness and awakening.

I left the stone in the power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre. I had been sitting in, and saw Kal rise up too. I felt the urge to slough off a snake’s skin, almost as if taking off or letting fall a pair of workman’s overalls!! It felt like I had taken off a used skin, but I felt it was necessary, and I knew that the work was done with that gesture – the energies were disconnected. There was no conscious thought in this act either – I just felt I had to do it, so I mentally played it out with belief.

As we finished our ‘cleansing’ routines we barely said a word, but exchanged smiles, glances and nods confirming that we thought we had done something. Now the test! We got the rods out and set off on the hunt for new energy lines, shapes and patterns. I found two things: firstly the manifestation of the petals was gone, but instead there was a circle connecting my energy centre to the one Kal had been sitting in! Secondly, as I dowsed down the hillock I found a new boundary. I dowsed for the width of this energy area – it was at least EIGHT FEET WIDE! Blimey! Much bigger than we could have imagined (or was it!).

I watched Kal dowsing the outer edge of the barrier we had created. It really was there. It really was something new. We had really been involved in creating it! But was it going to have any effect? Kal dowsed for the answer – he found that we had extended the life of the energies by up to a year more. Hardly massive on the scale of 50-100 years, but … well, we were both pleased and amazed. It had worked! And we had had no idea what we were doing, other than a good intention to help preserve the site’s energies.

We packed our stuff away, said our humble thanks for the experience, then practically skipped away back down the hill with delight. I was buzzing with ‘aliveness’ for hours afterwards. Whatever we had done, we had done something special, and we were rewarded for our efforts with the thrill of Nature’s touch.

Gwas

Follow your true path.