The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘abbey’

In this post I will be explaining how I was shown that the next stage in my quest to regain the energy of my ancestors is in Ireland, and that a new form of energy at the other end of the spectrum from death energy was discovered, which I will call “conception energyA subtle energy created during the heightened emotional states of human conception. It is believed in some cultures that at the moment of conception a spirit form comes to join with the newly-formed human and this point is marked by a subtle energy imprint left in the land at the site of conception.”.

After visiting Dinas Bran we made a quick stop off at Vale Crucis Abbey, Llangollen’s imposing ruins that block the very light of the day. With its original furbishing it must have been resplendent. In the weak rays of a Winter morning the sun was trying to refurbish the walls with light and in parts it succeeded at re-introducing warmth. Out of the sunlight the shadows were seasonably chilly.

For me Vale Crucis Abbey was the location where I had been set upon a quest to recover ancestor energiesA term I have used to describe the subtle energy imprints left at a particular place of power (a power centre, perhaps) by our ancestors - those family connections from whom we are descended and have a genetic link to. when I encountered 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 holy man called St Duignan. St Duignan, I discovered through dowsing and research, had come over to Vale Crucis from Ireland. The Duignans were intimately linked to my ancestors and the region I had always known my family to have originated from. I could find no record of “Saint” Duignan in Ireland, so I presume that his canonisation may have resulted from his services whilst in Wales. I have more detective work to do concerning this.

Ancestor energyA term I have used to describe the subtle energy imprints left at a particular place of power (a power centre, perhaps) by our ancestors - those family connections from whom we are descended and have a genetic link to. is a term I have used to describe the subtle energyA form of energy that has so far eluded scientific definition. It is neither electric, magenetic, nor electro-magnetic, so far as our current technical equipment can measure. It does, however, exhibit many of the characteristics of magnetism and electricity in terms of its effects and properties. It may be a form of either or both of those energies that we have not yet identified. imprints left at a particular place of power (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., perhaps) by our ancestors – those family connections from whom we are descended and have a genetic link to.

Vale Crucis Abbey - January 2012

As Kal flitted around finding a meditation spot to work in I began to ask whether there was anything I could do here that would progress my spiritual path. Surely, in a place with such particular links for me, I would find some information source or task that I could learn from. The rods came out and I began to objectively quiz them. They gave a rapid response. NO. No? NO. Nothing to do here! Obviously, the next question is “Why?”, but as we know, “Why”-type questions are notoriously difficult to get answers to through dowsing, which requires something of a binary technique (questions with distinct YES or NO answers give the most trustworthy responses).

I began to narrow the scope down by investigating the circumstances of what I had been asking about. I had wanted to interact with 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 St Duignan – the answer had been NO. I began to question along this line.

1. Was 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 St Duignan present here at this site? NO.
2. Did 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). still exist in the form I had encountered it? YES. Then it must simply be elsewhere.
3. Was 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). in this country? NO.
4. Was it in Ireland? YES. Aha! But why….? Always the ‘why’!
5. Had 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). returned to the place from which it originated? YES.
6. Does that mean that it had returned to the place that it was born when physically human? YES.

I knew where this would be. I had done my research and have a trip planned there for late Spring this year. Now that I had located 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)., the remaining spirit energy of someone possibly linked to my own ancestors, I was curious to know why it was important that 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). returned to its place of origin. This seemed like the most important thing I could possibly need to know. An overwhelming feeling of importance flooded through me. I was riveted to the spot. This was something vital for me to know about my quest this year – something that would guide me way. The hunt began with the dowsing rods and I kept my intuitive senses alert for any other feelings or information that might filter into my tiny blank brain.

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Knights Symbol on Grave stone

Since beginning my Knights Quest I have been asked to obtain 9 Blue Keys to present to Cailleach this coming Autumn (see the Knights Quests posts).  This last weekend (12 Feb 2011) Gwas and I decided to visit some sacred sites that I had chosen in and around Llangollen in Wales. My choice had sights had been pretty much random (I felt) and only constricted by the fact that we were going to the area of Llangollen.

The night before I had driven across the country from West Devon (about 4.5 hours) in an onslaught of rain and wind. My faith in us getting a good visit out was diminishing with every mile. But that is what faith is about isn’t it? Believing when all the evidence is pushing the other way.

Llangollen Abbey

Having said that, Saturday morning was bright and fresh, and again amazed both Gwas and I in its presenting us with a full sunny, dry and warm day. Our first port of call was going to be Llangollen Abbey. After our fantastic success and experiences at Bolton Abbey (and my years intent to explore abbeys more) I had picked this sacred and ancient monument. We were not disappointed this time as Gwas will relate to his experiences.

After wandering around and getting a sense of the Genius LociGenius Loci means 'spirit of the place' and refers to the geological/gaian spirit of place. It is transfixed to a place – being an embodiment of the collective intelligence of the place. I dowsed for the best place for me to stand (the grass was too wet for sitting) and commune with the spirit of this magnificent place. Eventually the rods took me to first in three broken pillars. Still standing some 5 foot in height, I clambered up and called across to Gwas to note that as soon as I had stood upon the pedestal the sun had come out from some clouds…coincidence!…

As I slowly twirled around on the pedestal trying to determine the ‘best’ direction to be facing I saw the half moon over the high windows of the abbey. Gwas informed me that this moon was called the Wolfs Moon. Curious as a couple of weeks ago I had purchased a t-shirt with a white wolf on it and was wearing it for the first time on this outing, another coincidence?

Apparently facing the moon and also being in the light of the sun was the best place for me at this particular abbey and without further messing I stilled my thoughts and let my intuition flow. A few minutes of silence and observation of the three other people in the huge main hall of the abbey, my attention was caught by Gwas as he had completed his work and was giving thanks to the place.

It was at that time that I got a messagethe site didn’t want anything from us. What it wanted was an 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.. It wanted us to play its tune. What a wonderful insight this was and I mused on it for quite a while before jumping off and relating the experience to Gwas.

A sacred site isn’t looking for gifts of gratitude, it is looking for an 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.. In essence this: A site, if you will is vibrating at a certain frequency of energy, what it wants (if I could use that word) is for visitors to align (vibrate) at the same frequency of the site. In more poetic terms…

The Genius LociGenius Loci means 'spirit of the place' and refers to the geological/gaian spirit of place. It is transfixed to a place – being an embodiment of the collective intelligence of the place. sings a song in harmony with its environment, the gift we can give it during our visit is to sing its song for a while.

Isn’t that brilliant? Consider the appreciation you give a performer by singing with them? As revelations go this was a wonderful one and one that perhaps we knew unconsciously but to have it voiced and come into consciousness was a enlighteningmoment. You will be herein more of my Singing with Genius LociGenius Loci means 'spirit of the place' and refers to the geological/gaian spirit of place. It is transfixed to a place – being an embodiment of the collective intelligence of the place.’s in the future!

Saint Mael and Saint Sulien’s Church

The second site I had randomly chosen was the church of two Saints, Mael and Sulien in Corwen. Gwas and I parked up the car and as we walked up the lane towards the hotel that the church was behind we saw a 15 foot high statue of a knight greeting us and pointing at the church (quite probably the hotel too). A knight? The implication and portent of this sign was not lost on either of us.

I love it when synchronicities abound, surely it is a sign that we’re on the right path, or rather a path with a heart. It certainly feels like such.

After a short stop for some food we made our way to the Church. Apparently it had two stones of note. I wandered around the churchyard in attempt to spot them and as I returned to my starting point Gwas pointed them out to me. One was stuck in the wall of the entrance to the church and the other (a ring stone) was at the base of a cross.

I dowsed as to whether these were the original positions of the stones and the answer was no. Asking to be taken to there original position I was taken to the back of the church to a spot just by a grave. As I approached I saw Gwas there and learned that he too had been looking for the original place. Independently we had both found the same place!

I asked if there was anything significant about this spot and was pointed at the nearest gravestone. It was so worn that nothing remained of the inscription except on the upper part of the stone there was the symbol of a Rose.

I pointed this out to Gwas who is more learned in such matters and he noted that it looked like a Rosicrucian symbol, a Rose. He also informed me that the Rosicrucian order was intimately involved with the Knights Templar. Really! I was impressed. I had to look it up later…

“Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology “built on esoteric truths of the ancient past”, which, “concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm. “Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rosy Cross.” Rosicrucian

 As I read this I find a curious synergy with another a book that I am putting together entitled Radical Enlightenment which might be described as “built on esoteric truths” and “… insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm…” however rather than concealing these, revealing them!

An amazing find I think in hindsight and I will be exploring this relationship further. But back to the duo saints church. So I was faced with this grave and its marking. With Gwas’s input, I asked:

• Whether this spot had anything to do with knights? Yes.
• Was there a knight buried here? Yes.
• Was he an important figure? No…Oh
• Was he knighted by Arthur (it was a hopeful question) alas No.
• Was he knighted by a prominent King/Queen? No.

It seems that the relevance of bringing me to this place was purely to get me the connection of Rosicrucian and Knights Templar. Before I move on to our next site I would just like to point out the following…

Sulien… interpreted as being derived from the Welsh sul, meaning “sun” + geni, meaning “born,” Sulien being the name of a Celtic solar deity.

Can I just remind you that I am so much a Sun aligned person, of course…a coincidence.

Stay tuned for my next post on this outing…’Tyfos and Being Directed’

Kal Malik – gathering clues on a knight’s quest

It was early Saturday (22 Jan 2011) morning when I arrived at Buckfast Abbey. The morning was turning out to be nice and warm for this time of the year although the sun was having difficulty getting out of the clouds. As I walked about the grounds of the abbey (it has several little gardens in the nooks) enjoying the rose, herb and lavender gardens. There were several large trees in the garden that I felt really welcomed by and one in particular that kept calling me back.

Eventually however I opened up the abbey door and entered. It was free to the public, which of course led me to donate in several ways (buying post cards, lighting a candle etc…) I walked throughout the main hall enjoying the quiet atmosphere and the vaulted ceiling.

At the front of the hall and behind the alter there was a set of stairs leading to a smaller chapel. Alas the door was locked and I was denied admittance. Wistfully I made a mental note to learn lock-picking, as through the window I could see that it had a beautiful stained windows.

I continued working my way around the hall again I was able to get some dowsing in and I asked for the best place for me to be. I was directed to a pew and about 1 quarter of the way down it. I sat down and awaited any inspiration.

Honestly, I had sat for about 2 minutes when the sun shone in through one of the small windows right on the spot where I was sat. I looked around and could not see it on any of the other pews (though it did come down in a couple of places along the corridor to the side of the pews). As Gwas would be annoyed at me for saying, Awwwww.

After a while of soaking in the Sun energy I arose and was caugt up in a gaggle of people who appeared out of nowhere and pushed me along with them. We ended up in the little chapel that had been locked before. Life, weird isn’t it?

I sat down with the crowd that had propelled me in and awaited what further mysteries would come my way, whilst enjoying the above mosaic window display.

Mass

Moments later the people (congregation?) surrounding me arose and I, being a conformist, followed. As I did a clergymen and attendant walked in and went to the front of the chapel and began to preach and pray in alternate.

This continued for about half-hour after which I arose with the others and went forward to claim a piece of the body of Christ. The vicar (if such he was) was quite surprised for some reason when my turn came up and neither he nor I knew what to make of it. He wanted to put the wafer in my mouth and I wanted him to hand it to me (odd though because he gave it other people in the queue in there hands).

We clumsily kind of went for a half and half solution in that he nearly got it into my mouth before I took it and palmed it whilst pretending that I had placed it on my tongue. With a rather cheeky smile I returned to my seat, wafer safely in my pocket.

Dowsing the wafer

I wondered around the abbey and its grounds for a while longer before deciding to hit the road and return home. Upon my return I dowsed the wafer thus.

• Was there any energetic significance to it? Yes
• Was it energised before the vicar’s prayer? No
• Was the prayer the cause of the energising? Yes
• Was it good for me to eat the wafer? Yes

And that concludes another brilliant day at another abbey thus maintaining my prediction for this year.

Kal Malik

Signs

It was a freezing winter Saturday and I was suffering from a terribly tickly cough that I decided that a trip out into the world of Edge Wizardry was out of the question.

As an alternative haunt I decided to opt for the warmth of Costa coffee cafe with extra helpings of toast. As I sat there listening to some classical music on the ol’ iPod (much better than the ever-present xmas tunes) the playlist gave an uncharacteristic lurch and landed in an audio book by the master of motivation, Tony Robbins. He was right in the middle of a tirade on not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today…

I stopped sipping my drink at this sudden interuption and after only a moment of pondering and breaking the “comfort” of the warm lazy seat I was up and out into the blast of a ultra cold wind.

My heart had been set on Glastonbury as a place to visit for a few days and so within minutes of leaving the cafe I had turned my car in the direction of that fabled Avalon and was off.

The journey time was around one and a half hours and as I drove down the main road towards the M5 (I was setting off from Barnstaple) the hills and fields were covered in a gorgeous snow.

Even as lunch time approached the sun came out of the clouds and shined down upon me. As readers will know, the sun has ever been an auspicious sign and this was no exception.

The Plan

As I left the M5 and made my way down the winding road towards Glastonbury I was planning where and what to do. My thoughts turned to our last visit this summer and I concluded with the following order of things…

• Chalice Wells – Tor – Abbey

I arrived in the town and drove around aiming for a parking signs, the first two were full and the third one luckily was half-empty. With relief I drove in and as I got out to get a ticket I realised that I had parked in the Abbey car park.

If there is any place in the country where dowsing rods are an accepted feature it has got to be Glastonbury. So without a thought I got my rods out and asked…

• Is the first place for me to go the Abbey? Yes!

Excellent, paying my dues I wandered into the ruins of the ancient abbey.

The Abbey

Cold wasn’t the word for it, freezing might be more accurate as me and a couple of other souls shivered our way around the abbey.

I had the rods take me to the most beneficial place for me to be and I ended up facing a couple of large ruins that for all the world resembled a portal.

Since Gwas wasnt with me on this sojourn I had brought along my own selection of crystals and incense. I asked the rods whether any of these were required for this visit? Three incense sticks was the response. As I laid them out I realised that they formed a triangle, with me in the center.

Before I began my commune I asked whether there would be anything relating to my Energetic Double going to happen? No. O well.

So I stood, the ground was wet, on the grass facing the portal and awaiting any thoughts/feelings/impulses.

After a few seconds it started to snow.

I could only last about ten minutes before I was in danger of solidifying and nothing intuitive was coming to mind so I finished up with a thank you and wandered off towards the exit.

As I got close a woman and her daughter (or sister) were coming in. The younger of the two ran across some of the more jaggedy rubble and was being told off by the elder to keep to the path and not do dangerous stuff. A curious message as we shall see later.

The Tor

As I left the abbey I wanted to go to the chalice wells. It was the place I had come most to visit. However a quick check of the rods pointed me in the direction of the Tor. So off I trotted as per there direction.

You can’t really miss the Tor it being a huge man-made mound however, I wanted a more intuitive route up it and so I let myself be guided by the rods.

As I should have known, they took me off in the opposite direction to the Tor, which wouldn’t have been bad on a sunny summers day but on this icy day, seriously?

Anyway after a hike of about a mile in an adjacent direction and a hop over a fence or two I recognised my approach to the Tor. It was the same as the one Gwas and I had used two years ago when we had created a pilgrimage around a visit to Glastonbury.

Now If you had asked me to find that route again, I would never have been able to do it. My navigational skills are legendary in there inaccuracy (as Gwas will testify) and yet…here I was making my way up a couple of fields that had been part of our pilgrimage path! Amazing!

The walk up the Tor was truly tremendous! In that it was a continuous blast of cold. It was frozen icy and slippery ground.

As I made my way up I realised that I was the only fool who was silly enough to be making this trek in this weather. So be it!

After a long cold slog I had made it to the top. The view from the top was crystal clear. and the wind was truly biting. I managed to dowse for a good spot to stand and surprisingly the rods took me to an edge of the building that was least wind facing of all. There I was directed to light two incense sticks (it was 3 at the Abbey).

Unbelievably I managed to light 2 nag champa sticks (im sure they have been made to test the patience of Druids) and stuck them in the walls of the building atop the Tor.

Huddled into the tight space against the chill of the wind I attempted to meditate. After a few minutes I heard the noise of people and found myself in the company of the two ladies from the Abbey.

Again, and this is when I noticed the conversation, the elder was telling the younger to be careful of the edge and not to go too far. The younger lady was again ignoring this advice.

I wondered about this synchronous message…did it mean anything? Was it a warning or a enticement?
With the weather as it was, I decided that it was a message of some kind, that I had received it successfully and that it was time to get the flock out of there (as the actress said to the bishop).

As I made my way down, I recalled how on my first visit to Glastonbury, only two years ago (feels like a lifetime) when Gwas and I had stopped in the late evening on passing this way. How afeared I had been. Being a sufferer of vertigo I had been quite apprehensive on that trip. And now I was leaping down the mound like a goat.

Chalice Wells

As I have already mentioned my navigational skills are exceptional in there absence and so at the bottom of the Tor I looked out for a sign to the Chalice Wells and found the garden right at the exit, so to speak, of the path leading down from the Tor.

I love the gardens, they have been the site of some magnificent meditations (well two, since that is the number of times we have been there).

I paid my dues at the entrance and wandered around the gardens, which were slightly subdued in the winter but still rather gorgeous.

After paying my respects to the couple of Hawthorns (children of the great tree of Arimathea fame). I followed the rods to a suitable place to meditate and was led to the back of the gardens, just by the Well from which the garden gets its name.

With no surprise at the answer I was directed to light one incense stick.

Although an interesting synchronicity had occurred I was pretty unimpressed with my visit to Glastonbury. After the previous visits had been so highlighted.

But I speak too soon…

Of the three places that I had visited the Chalice Garden was the most welcoming weather wise. Perhaps it was the seclusion of the walls and the little nooks and crannies that made it so, or maybe it was the lack of people, again I was the only one present in the whole garden.

Anyway I was happily snuggled into a corner of the garden awaiting inspiration. I had followed the dictates of the rods in exacting detail. Surely some reward would be forth coming…

After a few minutes of meditation I got an odd feeling. At first I put it down to the cold or the seclusion of the garden. But as I mentally ruled them out I could feel that the odd tone of the place was still there.

I wondered whether it was because of the energies of the place, so I got to my feet and did some quick dowsing… Was there anything unusual about the energies of this place? No. Was there any shrouds or other out of the ordinary presences? No. Was I just feeling the cold? No. Was there something to the mood that I was feeling? Yes.

Some quite neat dowsing led me to an interesting but not relevant piece of information. The energies Glastonbury are much more strongly aligned with the sun and summer energies than with winter ones. The best work at that site can be done in the Summer.

So there I was with an odd feeling to explore. I sat back down and pondered the state of things? Something was wrong? That was the culdesac that I kept being pointed at.

Again, I got up and did some more dowsing…Was this wrongness to do with the Garden? No, Was it bigger? Yes, Was it bigger than this area (I was thinking of the Tor)? Yes. Bigger than Glastonbury? Yes.

Wow! Sometimes when Gwas and I get really unreasonable answers from the rods we have to ask a few checking questions. Post our Ireland trip the foremost of these is often…Am I being affected by any Leprechaun energyAn intelligent and aware energy with a penchant for causing mishaps, stealing treasured items, and being territorial.? I got a No answer, phew! More mundane “testing” questions are “Do pigs fly?”, “Am I alive”. You get the picture.

Anyway they all were no, so it seems that I was on target. So was this “wrongness” county wide? No, Was it Albion (Blame Gwas for the terminology) wide? No.

I took a deep breath, Was this wrongness at a world level, was there something wrong with the world? Yes…

What are you supposed to say to that?

I double and triple checked and got the same answers. I sat back down on the bench and pondered this result. What could be wrong with the world? What could I do about it? Was I supposed to do anything about it?

You might be thinking that these are questions for the rods, right? The thing is, while you havent asked the answer you dont have to do anything about it. So I wasn’t about to explore this odd turn of events at this time.

A couple of days later I was on the phone to Gwas with this tale and he asked whether I had dowsed correctly, the answer was a startling yes.

Kal Malik – worried about the world

Sunday 30th May – Hill of Slane 

In the latter half of what had been a busy Sunday (and a full weekend, really) we were on the hunt for two final places to visit. The first needed to be somewhere suitable for working on the third eye chakra (or ‘brow’ chakra as it is also known) and then we would go back to Tara to work on the crown chakra. I say “we”, I mean “me” because Kal had his own quest to do, and that didn’t really involve working on the chakras. I’m sure he will explain in good time. For me, the third eye chakra symbolised the concept of mystical vision, whilst the crown I believed to be linked to higher intelligence. 

As we had found before with Four Knocks, sometimes our dowsing took us to the right area (town, village) but not the exact location. Same here. We were directed to be in Slane (even though we had visited it the previous day and vowed never to return because it had nothing we wanted to see, or so we thought). The dowsing rods, combined with the iMegalith app on the iPhone [get me - I'm a  techno-pagan!], took us back to Slane. It directed us to a small barrow (or ‘souterrain’) in a field. We parked, took one look at the “leprechaun hole” that we would need to squeeze through (thorns, hedge, barbed wire) and gave each other a knowing look. Oh no! Not that again! Lesson learned on this occasion. We retreated back to the car to see what else was around the area. 

I found a web site that mentioned Slane Abbey but we couldn’t find any directions. Oh well, let’s just drive up the lane we were on and turn around and maybe go somewhere else entirely. So, we drove a few yards up the hill and within ten seconds we saw Slane Abbey sitting on top of the hill as it opened out before us. How convenient! 

Approaching Slane Abbey

The information on the Mythical Ireland web page included information about how the monastery was once the kingdom of an Irish King called Slaine, a Fir Bolg (giant warrior). Other sites recount the written description of Slaine as an Irish King of the domain of Leinster:

“Slaine, whence the name? Not hard to say. Slaine, king of the Fir Bolg, and their judge, by him was its wood cleared from the Brugh. Afterwards, he died at Druim Fuar, which is called Dumha Slaine, and was buried there: and from him the hill is named Slaine. Hence it was said: Here died Slaine, lord of troops: over him the mighty mound is reared: so the name of Slaine was given to the hill, where he met his death in that chief abode.” (Source: Edward Gwynn – Metrical Dindshenchas, vol 3. Published, 1925)

Note “the Brugh”, as in the “Brú na Bóinne“, the name of the surrounding Boyne Valley area which incorporates the Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange sites among many others. From his perch atop the Hill of Slane the King had an unparalleled view of his kingdom for many miles around.

The Slane Abbey tower

 OK, history lesson over. Slaine was an ancient Warrior King who was reputedly one of the race of giant Fir Bolg who are supposed to have been an early invading race that conquered Ireland. That sets the scene quite nicely for what was to come. None of which I knew about before it happened, by the way. All I knew was that the place was supposed to be the home of some bloke called Slaine, former King of Ireland. I didn’t want to read the information board’s detail – this chakra work was supposed to be using the third-eye chakra! Surely intuition was the order of the day?

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