The Hedge Druid

Sunday 29th May – Dowth, Boyne Valley, County Meath.

Dowth (“The Place of Darkness”) is the lesser-visited site of the three famous megalithic structures in the Boyne Valley complex. It is less visited because there is no convenient bus taking tourists to the site, and instead intrepid visitors have to walk the mile or so from the bus terminus, or a mile and a half from the Knowth site, in order to reach it. Luckily for us this late May day was about as beautiful and sunny as May days get, and so we walked along the blooming hawthorn-lined lanes in utter delight. Some days it pays to be a (would-be) druid.

When we arrived at Dowth we had the place to ourselves with the exception of a solitary photographer who busied himself with setting up some arty shots. We read the information board (always amusing, sometimes useful) and then looked at each other. We felt there was something we should do before going in – but what was it? We decided to wait. We didn’t know what for – perhaps just to let our blood cool from the walk, or to become totally attuned to the ambiance of the site before we entered. We weren’t sure. But we waited for ten minutes, then entered.

Information created by archaeologists

The site exuded a sense of spirituality from the outset. As soon as I entered I got my dowsing rods out and asked them to lead me to the place that I was best attuned to, my 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., taking me by a “ritual path”, as I called it. My intention, the thought I had in mind, was of the path around Glastonbury Tor – the labyrinthine path that I would soon take again at the Summer Solstice. Eventually, after much to-ing and fro-ing around the edges of the mound I was led into the centre to a spot where someone had had a fire, somewhere near the centre of the hollow that formed a giant hole in the middle of the mound. Kal calls this form of perambulation in trance a “walking meditation” and says that groups he works with do them quite frequently.I wouldn’t know anything about that – I did it because it felt right to do. At the burnt spot the energy spiralled indicating 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.. It was here that I meditated on my throat chakra. I wanted to clear myself and energise at the same time, with special attention to my throat chakra.

Fire pit power centre at Dowth

Then, like at the entrance to this unusual site, I got the oddest feeling. I felt that I couldn’t progress until I had recited a poem that recounted all my efforts to this point – a kind of announcement as to why I was here. Was I not in a land of poets? Was this not the land where the Blarney Stone is kissed for its gift of eloquence? And so I began to recite some dodgy rhymes, somewhat self-consciously even though there was no-one else around except Kal and he was over the other side of the hill. I told the spirit of the hill all about the other places I had visited to work on various chakras, and what the result of each encounter had been. As soon as I completed my poem I felt a wave of relief (release) and I picked up my dowsing roads again to see where I should go to next in order to work on my throat chakra. I felt like I had opened a doorway into an opportunity, and now was the time to step across this Mercurial threshold.

Kal's vision quest on Dowth

I began to follow a single dowsing road as it led me around the curve of the hollow and back to a new 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. – a rocky scar in the hillside similar to one that I knew from my many visits to Gop Hill in North Wales. I went there and lay down to ‘doze’, to get myself into an attuned and trance-like state of mind, a receptive mind state, if you will. As I entered a light trance state and became comfortable with the hill I heard and fleetingly saw a familiar figure – it was The Lady. The same lady that I had encountered at Gop Hill (this was something I felt, rather than positively identified). In my half-sleep I was able to ask questions of the Lady of the Hill. My questions were answered by the reaction of the sunlight – if it went behind a cloud then the answer was negative in nature, and vice versa. The strength of the heat or cold indicated the strength of the answer.

Some of the information simply formed in my mind, or bubbled up from somewhere, and then I tested its validity using the clouds. This sounds stupidly un-scientific, I know, yet it was utterly consistent. I could ask test questions which had simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers and the clouds would react accordingly and immediately, uncannily so. Those test questions provided the assurance that this was some form of divination allowing me to interact with this powerful yet elusive Lady figure. This was not the first time I had encountered this kind of divination opportunity, and I recognised it for what it was, and wasn’t about to squander it.

A stony bed upon which to dream

So, what questions did I ask? What information did I learn? They were not pre-meditated questions. The questions arose at the very moment that I wanted to make enquiries – like they had been suggested to me. They almost took me by surprise! I found myself asking two questions:

1. What was my next career move? The answer came to me that I was going to teach people about the megalithic sites and how to dowse them.
2. Would I become a fully-fledged Druid? The answer was that I would never qualify as a Druid, but that if I followed the path and activities of the druid calling then I would become a master of the mysteries that druidry involved.

I spent a while thinking about those things. Neither of those topics were things I spent much time thinking about. I am perfectly happy with the situation as it is now, I said to myself. However, clearly something had bubbled its way to the surface here, prompted by the vision of The Lady. Was my subconscious trying to tell me something? Since finding druidry I had always thought that the teaching stage would entail me having to reach the level of ‘Druid’, having passed through ‘ Bard’ and ‘Ovate’ beforehand. (Actually, these days I see more relevance in the stages of ‘Birch’, ‘Yew’ and ‘Oak’ rather than these role titles recognised by organised druidical orders). I didn’t imagine I could be close to the last stage yet, given that it was reputed to have taken twenty gruelling years of study to reach such a position. I believe I am only in the Yew phase and that I have much to learn before progressing beyond that. Perhaps it was more of a signpost as to a far-distant future scenario….yes, that was more likely. Sometime in the future I could teach people about dowsing and the spiritual dimension of it. Well, that’s something to look forward to, when I get all of these damned tricky remaining questions about it out of the way!

As a Hedge Druid, perhaps I could award myself the honorary title of Druid when the time was right? And give myself a new druid name? The idea amused me and I walked down the hill smiling at the notion of me attending my own ceremony to award myself a badge saying “Honorary Hedge Druid”. The answers to both those questions seemed to round things off for me, to tie up some deep “loose ends” that I didn’t realise I had dangling in my head. It was quite therapeutic.

A peek inside the Hill of Dowth

I saw that Kal was STILL sitting where he had been for the last half hour at least, not having moved from his lofty perch atop the hill and in the shadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life). of a lovely oak tree that grew on the slope of the hill. I decided not to disturb him because I could see crows whirling back and forth and I knew something was going on that he wouldn’t thank me for interrupting. I contented myself with a jaunt around the base of the hill to see what I could find. As I walked around I came across some beautiful kerbstones – long oblong carved stones – that fitted together in some remaining sections to form a rim around the hill. You can see what they might have looked like in the diagram above. Now only a scattered few remained. Nevertheless, the remaining stones were mainly inscribed with whorling patterns and shapes, hidden away beneath long grass or worn to a hint by the passing years.

Dowth's majestic inscribed kerbstones

The picture above shows Kerbstone 51, a ball-achingly prosaic moniker for a piece of delightful and informative rock art. This stone in particular seems to have a reputation for its carvings, but there were a few others too that had marks. Kerbstone 51….I can’t go on calling it that! Let’s call it “The Seven Star Stone” instead – alliterative and palatable. The Seven Star Stone has been described as a possible star map of the Pleiades, that lovable formation that is so linked with the emerging agrarian mind because it is an indicator of the bounds of the Equinox periods int he year, and thus informative of when to sow and to reap crops. Here’s what one site says about this stone’s markings:-

‘Given that there are seven “suns” on kerb 51, and that the mythology about Dowth speaks of a bull and seven cows, it seems likely that the site has some connection with the constellation of Taurus, the Bull, which contains the open cluster the Pleiades, otherwise known as “The Seven Sisters”. This constellation was very important around the year 3000BC, when the Boyne Valley mounds were being constructed, as it contained the Sun on the Spring Equinox, that very important moment of the year when the Sun’s path along the ecliptic crossed the celestial equator heading northwards. It is the Sun’s position among the zodiac stars at this time which determines the current ‘age’ – i.e. the “Age of Taurus”.’ (source: Mythical Ireland)

Yeah, maybe, but I count at least eight circled ‘stars’ marked on a diagram of this famous inscribed stone:

The Seven Star Stone of Dowth

I met with Kal and he told me his tale of a meeting with a healer who was the Oracle of the Hill. He said that people came here to be psychologically healed, and that the oracle answered questions that people didn’t even know they wanted to ask. The similarities between the tale he recounted and my own meeting with The Lady were enough to make me think that something interesting, meaningful and important had occurred at this place, and it was living up to the deep sense of spirituality that we had endowed it with before we had even stepped foot within its bounds.

Before I left I wanted to check  few questions that had arisen from this experience. I dowsed some more information about the relationship between the mound and the areas of the human energy body that it affects. Dowth affects the upper level chakras (the throat, third eye and crown). Knowth affects with solar plexus, heart and throat, but could affect all chakras to a lesser extent. Newgrange was for the lower chakras of root and sacral. Between them, these three sacred sites have it all covered!

Gwas.