The Hedge Druid

Archive for the ‘Edge Wizardry’ Category

Dale Hermitage in Hermit’s Wood.

Well, what a year. Or rather what a slow year. To be more accurate it has been a spurts and sputters kind of year as fas as sacred journeys go. We had a fabulous trip out to Delphi in Greece that seemed to be the promise of something special. But then the weather back home in the UK has been abysmal and has interrupted sojourns as well as giving of the distinct feeling of…now is not the time. Finally though, Beltane festival day arrived and Gwas and I had planned to spend the day visiting some new sacred sites.

In the previous (Beltane -1) post I mentioned how we had a strange synchronicity to begin our journey. After that episode we started on the longer trek (1.5 hours) to a place that Gwas had determined to be significant for his part of today’s quest, a Hermitage. We arrived in good time to the general location and stopped at the side of a field to get our bearings.

Examining maps and iPhones we agreed that we needed to travel a few miles further along the road before we arrived at a suitable place to begin our explorations. However a nice surprise was that when we got there we realised that we had been wrong and that our original stopping place had been the place we should have stopped. Which was perfect!

As we set off on the slight climb through a lovely wooded area the sun was shining like a mid summers day. I can tell you that this was a blessing of unbelievable proportions considering the weather we had had of late. So with the sun keeping us company we were of good heart and pleasant cheer as we made our way to the easily accessible hermits home.

Within about 15 minutes we arrived at the hermitage, which was a small cave in the side of a hill. Although to be honest, the front of it looked a bit like the front of a small house…judge for yourself.

As is our usual modus operandi Gwas and I separated off to prepare and commune. I grabbed the rods and asked whether I needed to prepare in anyway. The answer was yes and I was led off to the other side of the hill and up the slope to a place where I had a beautiful vantage over the village below and with the sun shining on my face (sun boy!).

I spent a few minutes basking, energizing and cleansing (again?) in the sun until I felt ready to utilise the energies of the hermitage. The rods agreed. I returned back to the hermitage and used the rods to determine how to approach this site. The rods pointed me to a place just outside the structure. What was this? Another preparation? It was certainly an odd pattern I walked. It began by bouncing off the window on the left, then the one on the right and then pointing inwards almost, but not quite near the entrance. As I mused on this odd pattern I drew it on the ground in front of the structure.

Moments later I felt I was ready to proceed and dowsed for the right way into the cave. The rods took me inside and faced me outward by one of the windows. When I looked out I saw that the diagram I had drawn was right before me, pointing right at me. No surprise there then. As I stood, looking out at the sun kissed vista I let my senses drift.

You know, I am occasionally accosted by certain individuals as to how quickly information comes when communing. “It’s not my fault” is my normal response. It just does. So, as in other cases, this was no exception. As I left myself open to the spirit of the place, a voice boomed into my consciousness.

“Why are you here?”

What? My immediate conclusion was that this was a question regarding my current geography i.e. Why have you come to this place? I was about to respond with my purpose of the day when I got a follow up…

“Why are you alive? Why do you exist?”

Oh…Ah…I see. Was this metaphysical question going to be the next question? I broke of my connection to ask the rods i.e. my intuition? And they confirmed that this was indeed the second of my nine questions. What am I supposed to do with such a broad and deep question? At the time of writing, I don’t know.

I was done. After this amount of time doing these sacred quests one gets to know the “you’re done” feeling. So it was time to do a gratefulness ceremony which involved several incense sticks and some good vibrations.

Well done, was the thought I left that hermitage with. It was a nice site which delivered more than expected. Beltane was proving to be an exceptional day.

Kal Malik 2 out of 9!

Destiny is a strange word, for me it means the goal of ones journey, the destination, if you will. We would never have imagined that our journey over the last few years would have brought us to and through so much. And if that were not enough, if we go back to the beginnings of our friendship, oh some twenty odd years ago the very seeds of our life now were planted. Really you ask? And with honest face I reply, really.

Dungeons & Dragons

Twenty and more years ago Gwas and I sat across a table from each other. Gwas wearing the green and brown robes of a druid and I the trappings of a Wizard. Of course these were only imagined robes for in reality (or indeed fantasy) we were looking down upon little figures on a board game now infamously known as Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition. Since that first encounter we played that game of and on for a fair few years and more often than not, of all the characters available, we would choose druid and wizard.

Here we are then, playing those roles for real. A coincidence? Chance fate? Psychological design? What does your dice roll tell you? I have learned over the years to say that, “reality is what you believe it to be” and as you have read here on countless occasion I do truly believe this none-sense.

When you wander in and out of the Wub enough times you cannot come to any other conclusion other than something odd is indeed happening. For me, that conclusion has come and gone many moons many ago.

Here we are then dear readers, once more around that spiral and delivering the years-end review. Although it is Christmas Eve as I write this, for us followers of a different calendar the wheel has already spun.

I speak of destiny because the first high-light that I wish to note was the discovery of an old and long forgotten prayer/wish that I had made when listening to my dear mum’s tales oh so many years ago. Let me remind you then of the path that I followed to learn that I had wished to become a Wali. Here is the link to that surprising and enlightening sojourn.

In these pages we have walked with legend. Nature spirits, sprites, goblins, gnomes and leprechaun’s have been our companions. We have discoursed with the land, with Albion and with its caretakers. Merlin and Arthur. Perhaps in greater stature we have knelt at the feet of Gods and Goddesses. I am awed and humbled in equal measure. It seems unbelievable that it was this very year that I completed a year long quest to become a knight. That conclusion was arrived at just as the cold of winter was departing this land. Indeed it was March 29th that that quest concluded, leaving in its wake more mystery.

Knights Quest

Albion, to me says homeland, I guess we all have what we feel is a homeland. Some feel that they have lost theirs and this year I had a truly magical encounter with such few who were seeking to heal the rift between the people and the land. With amazing prowess and deft they maneuvered me (with my agreement I have to say) into becoming a part of their healing. As part of their persuasion they provided profound knowledge and experience as related here.

This year has definitely been one of learning. Although not much of that has been reported here however I can say that behind the scenes consolidations, explorations and reading has been an almost daily occurrence. I have learned so much and yet…and yet so little do I know. Over the years we have explored and indeed communed with shades, that which we once thought were spirits of the dead. This year I was introduced in a deeply emotional and personal way to an energy from the other end of the spectrum. Whilst shades are a kind of death energy, conception energies are on the other scale. A kind of life energy. Here then is the marker for the little adventure that drove my understanding deeper with a visit to the gardens of Babylon no less.

I am tempted to use the word again, what the heck go for it. It is strange that this year was called the Year of the Dragon. In fact at the beginning of the year I had penned a little draft concerning that very fact. Then as the year progressed it seems that Dragon was going to be the theme (of sorts) for the year. Gwas and I visited the emerald isle once again and there, dragon indeed became the loci of my experiences. A set of experiences that led to the gift of the soul of a dragon, or perhaps not so? You can judge for yourself in these pages. Certainly the genesis of an adventure to be had.

Do you ever wonder what Gwas and I talk about? Amongst all this stuff I mean? Well we have our un-resolved puzzles that we occasionally bring up and ponder as to the how, why and what of it all. One such puzzle was born on a trip to Dinas Bran this year, where believe it or not a hand sized Citrine vanished. I suspect that my energy double was behind it, after all it has done that kind of thing before and at the same place.

Talking about crystals, this year has definitely had some amazing crystal energy authored results. One such pattern (I believe) led me on a rather frightening and death-defying journey.

Each year the adventures get more bolder and more amazing, without exception. I have no reason to doubt that that won’t be the case in 2013. Gosh!

Kal Malik

Writing in the Sand

Come on, talk about adventure right? This is day two of our stay at Iona and I have already encountered a thought form, a dragon and something strange, as well as an awesome star filled night. And that doesn’t include the remarkable druidry of Gwas. Could it get more exciting? Of course!

If you recall, all the way back to my first post, one of the things that I wanted to know was how much the layout of crystals that I had done one August full-moon night in my room had had on the subsequent events. All, some, none?

I’ll be honest, my rational brain still balks at the notion that simple (well complex in this instance) crystal layouts can have a profound effect on our life. Come on, seriously? Using dowsing to determine some answers in this regard is rather odd too, but what else is one supposed to do? Curiosity has to be assuaged I’m afraid.

Gwas and I walked to the other (western) side of the Island in the morning. I have to mention again that the weather was truly amazing for this time and place of the year, indeed when we returned home we learned that the rest of the country had been deluged. Walking amongst the beaches and hillock of the western coast we searched for energy, commune and quest fulfilment.

I found a lovely empty bit of beach that invited me to ask my questions. I began by formulating the image of the layout that I had done. I then informed my intuition that that image was to be taken as the energy effect of that layout. See the picture above? Start at the bottom left with the circle with a symbol inside it. That’s the crystal layout. The line joins it to the letter E for energy. Got it?

So, we’re off. Did the layout influence me getting a job “J”, Yes. Did influence my getting a heart condition “H”, Yes. There were another couple of private questions that I added, C and S. Both of those were influenced too. I was both amazed and shocked. I wasn’t expecting such a pervasive result. But there you have it, believe or not, your choice.

This rather unusual bit of dowsing has been the genesis of a couple of theories about energy, crystals and influence that I am working on this winter. Stay tuned for some interesting revelations.

Kal Malik

I was confused!

It began a couple of weeks ago when I suffered a minor heart challenge. I love that word, it kind of gives you a hint of what happened without giving you a hint of what happened. Let’s leave it at that for the moment and see how we go.

As you know from my recent posts I have been working on my centre point (see these heart centred posts). What with the Sufi experience, bringing my family together and the quest to balance my heart centre I was surprised, quite literally when my HC dropped into my lap. A mini prelude is necessary because it’s relevant, I think.

Prelude

So a couple of days ago I had been able to get all of my siblings and many of their issue together. It was a monumental feat. I have related that experience in this part of the Sufi experience. Well, I wasn’t done! In a truly insane expedition I attempted to get another gathering together literally five days after that one. The Islamic festival of Eid was on the horizon.

In Islam there are two Eid festivals. The one (Eid-al-Fitr) that was approaching was to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Would it be possible to get every one together again for this celebration? Everyone of the previous invitees claimed it was impossible.

• It was too soon
• Give it some time
• No, I’m busy (obvious lie)
• We met the other day

Were just a few of the excuses that I encountered. I battled through them, one by one and truly miraculously I managed to get all of them together for Eid. I completely surprised myself. The day went reasonably well, all things considered and given the history of disappointments and disgruntlements that any family dysfunctional family might have.

At 11pm I was almost done. I had ferried (yes, some of them wanted a taxi service), placated and emotionally cuddled the invitees through the process and only one remained. In hindsight I felt a twinge of uncertainty as I drove the 30 miles to my brothers home. I felt it needed it, he had had a bit of a tough time at one point and I wanted to smooth some ruffled feathers.

Touch the Heart

I arrived at his door about 10:30 in the evening and spent some twenty minutes with his emotional disgruntlements. Honestly! Talk about regressing to childish behaviour. Anyways it was done and I stepped out of his door, relieved.

Quite honestly it was only 5 minutes later as I was driving home that I felt a twinge in my chest. For a minute or two I put it down to the over eating I had done (come on it was Eid!) but then the pain travelled down my left arm and I knew it was something more.

Our habits, beliefs and psychological oddities are amazing aren’t they? To anyone else you would give the immediate advice “Get to the Hospital now!” but do you give yourself that same advice? I would bet not. To yourself the advice often takes the form…It’s nothing serious, I’ll be okay in a minute…Am I right?

Well, I am no exception having a pretty average kind of psychology (yeah right!) Rather to my own surprise I found myself driving towards the hospital.

Nudge of Intuition

I parked up, right opposite A & E. Got out and started to walk across to the entrance. I can’t recall whether I actually did feel some pain relief or not but I though I did or so my rational brain said to me and I turned away from the door of A & E and headed back to my car. Are you Insane? You are shouting, in hindsight I am too. Fortunately something else had my back.

I can count on one hand (perhaps two) when some agency has interrupted the flow of things and made me change direction. Somewhere within these pages a few of these have been described. Here is another…

As I approached my car, ready to ignore the twinge in my chest and arm, something took control of me. Truthfully, that is what happened. IT turned me about and led me back to the door of A & E. At the same time a thought was shoved into my mind.

“This is what everyone does! They don’t take that self-caring step until it’s too late.”

With those alienwords in my mind and my feet being involuntarily directed into the hospital. What else could I do but let what happens, happen?

I’ll leave this tale here for the moment. Please stay tuned though because there is more Edge Wizardry stuff to explore during this time.

Kal Malikthe journey continues

Penmaenmawr

Do you write about your exploits? I ask because Gwas and I often remark that our adventures out in the mystery are so astounding that words don’t do the experience and emotions justice. How does that work for you?

Invitation

In the mundane world of work and rain, Gwas and I had emailed each other with a proposal of meeting at our evening food and drink establishment with the notion that if the weather broke then we would venture to Gop Hill, a site of many good experiences.

It was about 3pm in the afternoon and I was looking out of my window at the clearing sky and felt a call to visit Penmaenmawr or the Druids Circle that evening. It was such a strong feeling that I had solidified into certainty even though the weather there (some 70 miles away and on the coast) might have been fouler.

I hadn’t informed Gwas of my change in tack and so when I relaxed in his new car and he said “Gop hill here we come” that I said let’s go to the Druids Circle. The immediate glint in his eyes and enthusiasm in his body was evident. As we drove towards our destination we saw a clear evening sky looming over our destination. I can’t recall the number of times I mentioned to Gwas that on this evening, we were invited.

Within an hour of meeting up we had arrived at the beginning of the 30 minute walk up to the circle. The weather was fair and the sun was heading towards the horizon. The climb was hardly noticeable as we marvelled at the mildness of the weather (this summer seems to be replete with rain and more rain). We walked past the meeting stone which I have always found to have a negative vibe. In this instance however it was welcoming. Gwas noted the feeling too and remarked that the Genius Loci of the Druids Circle had come down to accompany us along the remainder of the journey up.

Sun

As we approached the site some 100 metres away we looked over the bay towards the crimson sky and sighed with disappointment. The sun had passed below the hill between us and the sea and only a burning sky remained in its wake. If only we had got there a few minutes earlier we could have got a glimpse of it.

We made our way to the circle passing two other adventurers who remarked that the evening had been so clear that they had been able to capture views of the Lake District. Amazing! We passed friendly greetings and moved to the circle. I felt the urge to climb the slight rise to the west to watch the remaining crimson clouds. After a few seconds of standing there the most amazing thing happened.

Between the hill before me and the gap of the clouds the burning red sun appeared. I was truly awestruck. Gwas and I remained at that place for what seemed many minutes just drinking in this seeming miracle. What an amazing greeting by the sacred site. From somewhere inside I felt the urge to practice some Chi Kung so as the sky burned, I faced the west (with the circle behind me) and performed Chi Kung.

Note: during the exercise I felt the wings of the Genius Loci behind me, as if it was mirroring my movements.

I finished some minutes later and felt a shift in my energy. Looking out at where the sun had been a thought occurred to me. The Solar energy centre is aligned with fire and the sun. Had this exercise closed my Solar centre thus stopping my energy from leaking? I grabbed the dowsing rods and they confirmed my intuitive leap. My Solar had closed and I was no longer shining energy. What an unexpected gift. I walked about the circle saying “thank you, thank you…”

Centre Point

In my previous post I mentioned that I had missed the boat regarding a trip to Delphi and would have to wait for a return of the spiral. Well since I had had some excellent experiences with my energy double here at Penmaenmawr I asked whether anything could be salvaged, indeed, could I use my double to take me to Delphi? The answer seemed promising and so I dowsed a position and a direction (East ish).

Closing my eyes I asked my Energy Double to guide me to Delphi. I heard its now familiar song and followed it (as I had done on another occasion at this site) to Delphi. In ancient times the site of Delphi was famed for its Oracle and it was to this Being that my Double had brought me. I felt something odd though. I had not only travelled in space to Delphi but had also travelled back in time to. It felt to me as if the Oracle was no longer at Delphi now and to fulfill my request my Double had transgressed time too. Amazing.

Although I got a vague sense of femininity from the Being I could not discern anymore. I asked whether she could help me with regards to my quest for the Philosophers Stone? She responded that that was not what I was seeking. What? I was disappointed to say the least. I’m quite attached to the myth and legend of the Philosophers Stone (Come on even Harry Potter started with a hunt for the stone!) Alas the Oracle was unrelenting. She said that what I was actually looking for was the Centre Point. What? She told me that I should seek the centre point, the place of balance and once I had found that to come visit with her (geographically) and she would reveal how I could use the centre point to open the Dragons Soul book.

Note: Upon the walk up to the circle I had felt drawn to an oddly shaped rock. I had bent down and picked it up almost without thinking and placed it in my pocket.

The Oracle Being had concluded my audience and yet I wasn’t returning back to the hill upon which I was physically standing. I glanced about the cavern were my audience had took place for my Double. Nothing. I began to panic and instinctively put my hands in my pocket. Therein I felt the rock I had picked up and grabbed hold of it tightly. With a whoosh I was returned back to the Druids Circle.

Wow! That was rather a lucky break I thought. I had completely forgotten the instruction of following my Energy Double. Always have a return anchor point to hand.

Gwas had reached a break point in his work and we compared notes. I was disappointed about the loss (re-interpretation)of the Philosophers Stone quest. Dowsing confirmed that it was indeed the Centre Point that I should be seeking. Gwas speculated that perhaps it represented the Navel of the World or some other geographical central position. Dowsing negated this option quickly.

Since Penmaenmawr had been so fruitful with its gifting I wondered whether I could gain som more knowledge about this Centre Point. The answer was a surprising Yes and I found myself in the circle facing South. Closing my eyes I let my thoughts focus on the question to hand, What is the Centre Point?

I saw myself with an aura surrounding me. The vision zoomed in to the centre of the aura where I saw a burning point of light. Interesting, the centre point is inside of me.As soon as this revelation was revealed I returned to normal awareness.

North

It seems then that I was to seek some Centre Point within myself and Balance it. definitely plenty to muse on over the coming days. By this time an hour or so had passed and it had started to get cold. No wind mind you. Gwas and I took a few minutes to ear the rations we had brought with us and chat about our evenings experiences. I remarked that I had faced 3 of the four cardinal points and wondered why North had been missed out.

We finished up our food and cleared the rubbish away. It was time to go. Just as I wa about to walk away, I turned back to the site to thank it for such an inspiring visit when I felt to the urge to dowse a place to give thanks and gratitude. I found it and looked for a direction, of course, it was North.

We walked down the long path to the car remarking on the brilliance of the invitation to this sacred site and pondering on who had actually invited us.

Kal Malik

I envy Gwas, he seems to be able to get his quests completed in short order whereas I seem to be collecting them. Maybe he envies me for having such a fine collection? In any case, it was time to take stock. Here are the quests or beginnings points that I have on my map…

1. Phoenix and the Philosophers Stone (Seeking the philosophers stone)
2. Blue Book of the Emerald Dragons 9 separations (gained on a recent visit to the Emerald Isle)
3. Wand Making (Remember this one from about 3 years ago?)
4. Energy Double and Greece (needing to follow my energy double to Greece and Delphi)
5. Being a native of America(don’t know what I am supposed to do with this one)
6. My message (Getting my message out there)
   

   The Wizards Wood

Wow! That is a lot of quests right? It’s not as bad as it sounds. #6 is going well with some radio interviews and getting my message out there. The others though seem to be stagnating, or are they? Surely intuition should decide, right?

Armed with this list of quests I headed towards the only site that came to mind. Alderley Edge. The wizards wood, where I had been named Magician who creates his own world oh so many (well, okay 4) years ago. I arrived there late in the morning and immediately got my dowsing rods out. Was this the place to ask questions and get answers? Yes (hmmm surely I should have asked that before driving the hour to here?). I walked through the wood following my rods and finally arrived at the fake stone circle. What? Here? Yes. Weird! Time for some questions.

Missing the spiral

Was there some kind of order to how I should follow these quests? Yes. Now then, my feelings had been that I had been stuck because I had needed to go to Delphi in Greece to kick start them. Having said that I asked which quest was first on the list?

• The answer I got was1. Seeking out the Philosophers stone.

I was surprised, what about Greece, Delphi. Surely that was the first? The starting place, the place of genesis? I asked several questions around this topic and came to a sad conclusion. I had missed the boat! Delphi had been the first place to go, but the time for it had passed, I had delayed too long and now I had to await that spiral to come again before it would be worth my while to go. Could I discover how many weeks, months, years that would be? No.

Philosophers Stone

Returning to the Philosophers Stone I asked whether there was anything to learn as to how to go about this quest? After a while and many questions I came to the answer that I was already on this quest. Side note: Over the last couple of months I have been perusing everything on energy that I can find. From New Age (er…) to Sufism, to Native American beliefs, Eastern Shaminism (the proper books). Not to mention Religions (there is a lot of useful stuff here if you can get around the righteousness)

This deep research has been to bolster my understanding of personal energy and to inform my theory and practical energy framework. apparently this has also been following the path of the philosopher’s stone. Okay, I don’t mind killing two birds with one stone. But there is more.

My Message

Further dowsing revealed that the philosophers stone was related to my message too. So my message was/is a close second. It sounds quite reasonable now that I look at it like this. Of course I need to know before I can teach. Doh! Anyway it was nice to see that my thoughts of being stale wasn’t the case.

So could I garner any more about these quests? Yes. The third quest to consider was the Becoming a Native of America. This was a surprise as I don’t even know what to do for this quest. Surely I was just to be one? Apparently not! Great (sic) now I have something more to worry about.

I asked a lot more questions about this but wasn’t given any useful information. A whole lot of no, no, no! Fair enough. It seems that there is a temporal component about such dowsing. The more into the future that you go the more un-dowseable it is. Makes sense.

Foundations

Root Energy Centre

So where am I standing? Well, my focus should be on the alchemical secrets of the Philosophers Stone at least for the coming months. This I feel will be feeding into my message. Which will have something to do with being a Native American. How? I have no idea.

On the way back from the wizards wood I was feeling happy. I reflected on the feeling and the answer came from my own research.

The Root energy centre is one that is concerned with the question Where Am I? When it is energised and balanced the person has a deep understanding of where they are in life. It seems that I had found that place. As an aside the Root is also one that is associated with foundations and it is curious that over the last two months I have embarked on a personal quest to bring my estranged sister, brother and sister and their sub-families together. A monumental quest in its own right.

Kal Malik – grounded!

Castlestrange Stone

It was our last day in Ireland and so far our stay had been monumental. Gwas had battled with his ancestors to rest his ancestral energies and I had claimed a gift of an Emerald Dragons soul book. Yes, “Can life get any crazier?” is a question that is on my mind too.

There was one other place we stopped off where I was able to garner some more knowledge regarding thesoul book.  As usual the signage isn’t inspiring.

• “An ancient stone that was used for rituals”

Hmm, Okay. Gwas and I arrived late in the day and I asked thee rods whether I could garner any information whilst being in the presence of this carved boulder. The answer was a surprising yes, so I sat down and contemplated the issue to hand, namely a book.

After quite a few moments I was able to garner a strange (no stoney pun intended) piece of information…

• The book is 9 separations of wisdom

What did that mean? I got up and pondered this, to no avail. I felt that I was done at the place but a negative flick of the dowsing rods had me sat down again…What was a separation? was the question on my mind and the answer came.

• A separation is the sleep period of a Dragon.

All kinds of knowledge was flooding into me. It seems that Dragons live for millenia and during these times they have vast periods of sleep. The time between sleeps was like a lifetime for a Dragon. So it seems that Dragons live many lifetimes. The book that I have been given seems to be the experiences and knowledge of the Dragon for 9 of its life times.

Is this sounding like a fairy story to you? Me too. I wonder, is this how the ancient fairy stories began? Think about it.

Kal Malik feeling Strange

CastleStrange Stone