The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘bridestones’

Well, I see that Kal got his summary out first. Still, “if you can’t beat them…”

Generally, what type of year it has been? Dis-jointed, slower than last year’s breakneck speed, measured, with lots of deep synchronicities. When I come to review the year I realise that I still made lots of progress on the various tasks that I was lead to perform in order to progress along my path of Druidry.

Below are the main topics that I have picked out from this year’s blog posts. I have tried to keep the explanations to a minimum, so have included links back to the original postings if you want the detail for each of the topics. What I thought was a quiet year has actually turned out to be incredibly packed and busy. The topics are in no order whatsoever, which kind of fits with the way that the year’s learning has come about – seemingly haphazard, but all threading into and through itself like some kind of cat’s cradle whose overall pattern will only be known when the final moves have played out.

26 topics I have been involved in this year:-

a) Healing – Most of the year has been spent developing healing skills, whether that was using remote energies, balancing the chakras, healing with the hands, or with crystals. I have realised that I am more attuned to healing places than people currently, but that is changing. The healing energies can be attuned to different colours for particular effects. To work with these energies I need to understand which “colour” is missing from a site and then call upon the energies of the local living entities to gather together to create this missing colour and thus heal the site. [related posts: My Five Healing Rays, Healing Rays Explained]

Also, in conjunction with my friend Mike, we created a new healing centre at The Bridestones in Cheshire. [related posts: A New Healing Centre]

Chakra colours, energy frequencies and healing may be linked

b) Re-discovering the bard - Discovered great new music (and that I like the new forms of folk music) at The Green Man Festival, and saw Roy Harper in concert in London. This year music has really connected with my heart and stirred great emotions. I have written more poetry this year than in other years too. [related posts: Green Man Festival, Roy Harper]

c) Astrological links to Venus, Orion’s Belt and Sirius affirmed at almost every site. Also Scorpius, astrological links to Arthur and the Great Bear constellation. The constellations of Serpens, Corvus and Perseus have been especially meaningful to me this year, guiding me along a very meaningful path from one end of an energy leyA straight line of neutral energy linking two or more sacred sites or other energetic centres. This is often confused with Alfred Watkins’ concept of the Ley Line. Strictly speaking a ley line does not necessarily mean a neutral energy line, only a sight 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. between notable places, whereas an energy ley is like a radial spoke in a wheel, with energy flowing outwards across the land in a straight line. It has sometimes been found that the energy ley can be diverted from its strict straight path by changes in the landscape or strong attractors that pull it away from its original course. Energy leys may have inter-twining streams of male and female energies weaving along them, as though the energy ley is an attractor, a pathway or a conduit for the male and female energies. to another. [related posts: Serpent at Castlerigg, Arthurian Archetypes of Corvus, The Berth and Death of Scorpius, The Three Stars of Fertility, Absorbing Orion at Lud's Church]

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In this post I am going to tell you about the single most powerful and fascinating true story of some work I did with a healer friend as we worked on resolving a long-standing energy problem at a sacred site in Cheshire. Every word is true and as it happened. I think you will find it a good example of earth energy healing, a telepathic incident, and also a curious tale of an encounter with a dark energy form.

I have talked many times with my friend Michael about energy healing. Sometimes he talks about me getting involved in healing, with the presumption that this means people. Sometimes I talk to him about healing, with the presumption that I mean earth energy healing. Sometimes we are on the same wavelength. One evening I went to see Michael in Congleton and I felt like it was the culmination of a series of events that were bringing our wavelengths together.

Michael barely had time to say hello before I was asking whether he could accompany me on a special journey to a local site. He didn’t need much persuading, and in a few moments we were heading off to The Bridestones – a site that Michael lives close to but which he had never visited close up (he has passed by on many occasions). He said he never felt that there was anything there for him to go for. I understood that feeling, for it is exactly the same feeling that Kal has about the site – a distaste for it.

As we drove the few miles out of town I explained how I had come to choose this site. I had been doing a tarot reading about where I should take my healing work and it had suggested I would work with someone who was already skilled in healing. Well, I only knew one person who fitted that bill! Then the cards suggested earth energy healing, and I began to wonder where Michael would fit into this particular picture, as he was a healer of people. He responded that actually he had been receiving information telling him that he would be doing more earth energy healing soon. Looks like I turned up at the right point then?

Finally, I explained how I had found the site by dowsing questions. After going through a list of “North/South of Britain”, “East/West”, type of questioning I began to narrow it down to specific counties, and then I could begin to narrow the search down by asking whether it’s a site I have visited before. When the answer came back that it was a known site I only had to go through a list of the sites in that county, and soon I had my answer -  The Bridestones. I knew instantly that the choice of Michael by the tarot cards was perfect – he had local knowledge, and healing abilities. It was a perfect match and it felt right.

So, we visited The Bridestones on a sunny evening in late July, just as the sun was moving towards the horizon and the shadows growing long. Here is the tale of our epic work at this site.

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This is the second post describing our Beltane excursion to Derbyshire’s finest megalithic sights. In the first post I introduced my reasons for being on this purposeful quest on this particular day, and now we were heading back to some more of our favourite sites but this time with a more relaxed approach, seeking only to learn whatever it would be our pleasure to acquire on this occasion. Little did I know that I was in for a bit of a revelation, and some fine titbits of dowsed information along the way. In this post we head back West from the heart of Derbyshire, picking out sites along the route.

5. Nine Ladies

We entered Nine Ladies from the longer and more fulfilling route from Stanton Moor. On the way we amused ourselves following energy lines without dowsing rods, spotting energetically-alive places and watching out for the signs of birds. All good tricks for a would-be druid to learn – we don’t always have dowsing rods handy to guide us, and developing a sense for energy is a useful skill that is bringing greater rewards the more we train ourselves to recognise its feeling and forms.

Nine Ladies from the King Stone

One thing struck me as we approached the gentle rise that marked the slightly higher ground of the stone circle’s siting – and that was that there were far fewer trees around this year, since our last visit last in 2009. The area felt…stripped back, opened out, as though it had had a severe hair cut, and perhaps against its will. A shudder went through me and I blocked the through out for fear of being overwhelmed. I had a tendency to get upset at things like this these days.

Here are some things we found out at Nine Ladies:-

• The oak “Wishing Tree” still feeds 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., as previously identified.
• Water flows under the site, and there is indeed a blind spring – much to our amusement (because we so rarely find this feature that is supposedly common to ALL sites according to some dowsers who don’t seem to get out much).
• A pan type of spirit is present at Nine Ladies. Pan is a TYPE of spirit, not a particular singular spirit.
• The transformer stone was active during the sunlight/moonlight duality and it transforms male and female radiant energy and mixes it with neutral earth energy, splitting it out into male and female earth energy that circulates the site.
• There were four female energy rings surrounding the circle, of increasing amplitude – and one male ring that stayed close to the stones.
• A stone that I had identified as female during evening visits was identified by Kal as male this afternoon! It would seems that during the day some of the stones have different energy polarities. I verified this by dowsing the flat stone that I had always identified as being female and it too was male.

That last point is a bit of a bugger then. It means that all the diagrams I have posted on the Sacred Sites section need to come with a time stamp! I will have to introduce the caveat that the polarities are described as they were recorded and that they male be reversed depending upon the time of day/year/wind direction!!

Some people perambulating sunwise

We met a very nice couple from Shropshire (pictured perambulating in blue and black) with whom we had a discussion about the stone circles we had all visited. They were very forthcoming and knowledgeable about the site on Dartmoor and later even gave us a pencilled list as an aide-memoire of the long list of names they had discussed, for which I was very thankful. Kal and I are heading down there in August, and intend to visit these recommendations then.

6. The Bullstones

The sun was moving in on the horizon like a teenage boy edging towards the girl in glasses in the last few minutes of a school disco, and like the dance floor the sky had cleared completely. All around the blue-ness blazed at us as we headed back West towards the setting sun. There was another site I had in mind – The Bullstones.

I had recently met Michael Clowes – a highly sympathetic and complimentary dowser also local to the Cheshire area. He had held a one-day course at Gawsworth Hall which I had taken my wife M along to in order for her to, as she put it, “see what this stuff is that you’re into“. The day was very interesting and intimate, and the tuition unhurried and nurturing for all levels of skill. If you are free around the end of September I would highly recommend coming along – from beginner to expert, Michael has something to teach. And the jam-filled scones are not to be missed.

Michael was a revelation – here at last was someone who totally got where I was with my dowsing, and his relaxed but effusive style made me re-invigorated and re-assured as to my developing skills. Almost as an aside Michael had told the tale of his “coming into his powers” when he touched The Bullstone, and he described its location sufficiently well that I was able to find it later on a map. Guess what? We were going to see what happened when we touched it too!

A bullish stone

The circle was a disappointment. We edged nervously towards it, dowsing as to the appropriate approach point. Neither of us got any kind of “shock” of energy from the central stone. I felt a bubbling of energy up through the stone, but there was nothing else of interest surrounding it. We looked at each other, suspicion growing in our eyes – was this an actual stone circle? We were cautious. If it was it was practically the closest to us, and one we could visit regularly….but….something wasn’t right.

I went off to check the outlier I had seen in the adjacent field. After some barbed-wire hopping I found it’s smooth edge pointing back to the stone circle, but the direction of its 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. puzzled me – it wasn’t pointing at the circle exactly, but slight to one side of it….usually the circle-builder were SO precise about these things….suspicion was bubbling up again.

Bullstone outlier points to stone circle

Like the Hollywood denouoment of an episode of Scooby-Doo, by the time I had hopped back over the fence Kal had solved the mystery. He found that the circle had been reconstructed, and moved about twenty feet away from the original siting, which was on top of the hill, rather than the side where it is now. In the picture below you can just about see my copper L-rods marking the exact size and location of the original stone circle’s centre.

The original siting on the top of the hill had many alignments with surrounding hilltops, and we dowsed where the original five stones were, and the hills that they aligned to. I spun around on the spot, looking down at the ground, pinpointing the location of the five invisible spots where the original stones had been. Every time I said, “There!” Kal said – “…And that spot aligns to that distant hill!”. Each time I looked up and saw that he was right. Perhaps this site had once been another “hub” for ley lines like Arbor Low?

The real Bullstones location

And with that revelation the circle ceased to be of any use to us, and there was nothing to learn from or experience with it. It had been reconstructed. Even though the stone had been placed on another point from which earth energies were emanating, nevertheless there was no energetic value in the formations as they remained. We headed back to the car somewhat quietened by the experience. Another destroyed site, and why? What purpose did it serve to destroy it, or to move it?

7. The Bridestones

As we swung from side to side propelled by the centrifugal forces of the tight Derbyshire bends heading back towards Cheshire I felt like there was still more to be wrung out of the day. The sun was warm enough to be outdoors in comfort, I had no time pressures, and the day did not feel finished. I fished around for sites nearby, and we made a faint attempt to find a nearby standing stone, but missed the turn-off by a mile. Then it struck me with some force – I had forgotten that I had planned to visit The Bridestones near Congleton. And to top it all, where were we close to now? We were ten miles from Congleton. Decision made. And I knew how to get there (roughly). Best of all, Kal had never been before.

Sunset at The Bridestones near Congleton

I had forgotten about the protocol of respect required when entering new sites. Or rather, I paid my respects to 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., the spirit that watched over The Bridestones, but Kal flounced in and began stomping around like any old disrespectful visitor. I could see what was going to happen, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. Sometimes it’s more amusing not to.

For several minutes after clambering over the stones like a climbing frame Kal sported a puzzled look as he dowsed around. “I’m getting confusing results!” he complained. I gave him a disapproving look, “Well, you know why, don’t you?” He didn’t want to acknowledge that, and so ignored my unspoken advice and shrugged. Seems like he was not going to let it bother him, and he was certainly not going to apologise to the GL or defer to it. That’s his way, but this is one of the consequences – the spirit of the place was sending his rods haywire – he would get no sensible results from this site! He insisted the issue was due to him playing around with his aura – trying to make the crowd of young bulls move away. Could be, but I had other ideas. he was just being stubborn.

My dowsing results were good and consistent. Here’s what we found out during dowsing:-

• 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. spirit was localised to this site – it had never been anywhere else
• I found two centres – a combined male & female centre at the back of the burial chamber, and a neutral centre near to the entrance.

Youthful admirers

I asked the rods if this was a suitable site to obtain some information about the chakra colours and energies that I had been directed to research for the next few months. The result was that this site would be a good place to do that. I lit three incense sticks and placed them at strategic points around the site, and then prepared myself to go deep into a meditation. Here’s what I did:-

1. I was shown how to extract my own chakra energy when sitting on a combined male/female centre
2. I chose a root chakra/red colour energy, which was easy to extract on its own due to being sat within a male/female white energy stream
3. I pulled the energy out of my navel and shaped it into a ball
4. To prevent it disseminating I had to collect neutral energy out of my lower energy centre (dan tien) in order to coat it in neutral energy and keep it in a ball shape.
5. I had to expend some collected sun energy from my upper energy centre to harden the coating and ensure the neutral energy didn’t dissipate

A superb meditation centre

My second lesson was how to do the opposite, and for this lesson I went to sit on the neutral energy centre. Here’s what I did:-

• I used the moon to draw up neutral energy from the ground where I was sat
• Using my own male and female energy forms I created two streams of energy that flowed to the point where my body met the ground
• At this point the male and female energy acted as a filter so that I could draw the neutral energy up as only red light, or root chakra energy
• I refilled my root chakra with this red energy, then disconnected

This was a very difficult meditation, and one which I will have to practise in order to master it. Now I had learned how to extract only the specific energy frequency I needed, and how to replenish any energy that was used from the source “neutral white” light energy. I only had to learn to what purpose the seven different frequencies of light energy could be used, and I would have fulfilled the tasks I had been set for this time frame before my visit to Glastonbury at Summer Solstice.

Gwas.

Section 8 – SITE VISIT LIST for 2009

The penultimate post is a reminder of the sites we have visited this past year. The sites are ordered from North to South.

• Callenais I, II and III, Dun Carloway Broch, The Truiseil Stone and other sites on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland [Callenais I, Callenais II, Callenais III, Truiseil Stone]
• The Eassie Stone, Glamis Castle, St.Fergus’ Well, The Fowlis Wester cross, Lundin Farm circle, and Monzie circle in Scotland [Eassie Stone, Glamis Castle, Fergus' Well, Fowlis Wester cross; Monzie Circle; Lundin Farm]
• Castlerigg circle, Long Meg and Her Daughters circle, Little Meg circles, Mayburgh Henge, Oddendale, Kalmott ring cairn, Gamelands circle in Cumbria [Mayburgh, Kalmott, Oddendale & Gamelands; Long Meg; Little Meg; Castlerigg]
• Pendle Hill in Lancashire [Pendle Hill]
• Arbow Low, Nine Ladies stone circle, and Nine Stones Close circle in Derbyshire [Arbor Low 1, Arbor Low 2, Nine Ladies, Nine Stones Close]
• Alderley Edge, Delamere Forest, Frodsham Caves and The Bridestones in Cheshire [Alderley Edge, Delamere 1, Delamere 2, Bridestones]
• Bryn Celli Ddu, The Soar Stone, the Bryngwyn Stones and Lligwy Chamber on Anglesey [Bryn Celli Ddu 1; Bryn Celli Ddu 2]
• Cerrig Pryffaid, Dyserth, Moel-Ty-Uchaf, Penbedw Park, Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall, Dinas Emrys, Snowdon, and Penmaenmawr Druid’s Circle, Rhosesmor, Hawarden and Conwy Falls in North Wales [Dyserth, Moel-Ty-Uchaf, Pistyll Rhaeadr, Dinas Emrys, Druid's Circle, Rhosesmor]
• Golden Grove and St.Elmo’s Summer House in Mid-Wales [St.Elmo's & Golden Grove]
• Llangernyw village, Lake Vyrnwy and Bala Lake in Wales [Llangernyw 1, Llangernyw 2, Llangernyw 3]
• Mitchell’s Fold and The Hoarstones circle in Shropshire [Mitchell's Fold & Hoarstones]
• The Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
• Waylands Smithy, Uffington Chalk Horse, and The Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire [Wayland's Smithy, Uffington, Rollrights 1, Rollrights 2]
• Alton Barnes White Horse, Winter Hill, Windmill Hill, Silbury Hill, West Kennett, and Avebury in Wiltshire [Alton Barnes, Silbury Hill, West Kennett 1, West Kennett 2, Avebury]
• Crop Circles at Knighton Hill, Alton Barnes, Silbury Hill and others in Wiltshire [Knighton Hill, other crop circles]
• Stanton Drew stone circle, Barrowbridge Mump and Glastonbury in Somerset [Stanton Drew, Glastonbury]
• Carnac, Locmarquier, Créhen, Lampouy, Ile Grande, Merlin’s Tomb, Mont St.Michel, Champs Dolent and St.Uzek stones in Brittany, France [Merlin's Tomb, Lampouy, Créhen, Carnac 1, Carnac 2, Carnac 3, Champ Dolent, Mont St.Michel, Ile Grande]

====================================================================================

Gwas.

As I mentioned in my post about an update to the Sacred Sites page recently here is a more detailed account of my recent visit to the rather small but beautifully formed site that is The Bridestones. By some accounts what remains is but a small part of an originally much larger collection of stones and chambers. Here is a quote from the Unknown Phenomena Investigation Association’s web site:

“The site is very different to its original structure; many tons of stone were taken from the cairn by the builders of the nearby turnpike road in 1764. Other stones were used to build the adjacent house and farm, and more were recycled into an ornamental garden in Tunstall Park.
However, before this large scale ransacking occurred, it appears that the Bridestones was an incredible monument, perhaps unique in England. Evidence from a variety of sources indicates that it was a chambered tomb of massive proportions with a paved crescent forecourt and a port-holed stone dividing the main chamber. The complex was supposedly 110 metres in length with the horned cairn being 11 metres wide. A report from the 18th Century notes that in addition to the main chamber which still stands today, a further two subsidiary ones were located at a distance of 55 yards. No traces of these have ever been found, but there is much debate as to whether they are located east of the surviving chamber, or west. The latter seems more likely as they were probably covered by the same cairn as the main chamber.” (source: UPIA web site)

My task on this visit was not to investigate the former scale of the site, but to map the remaining energies in detail. I set about the task with some vigour as there was a cool wind and the sky was thickly clouded – not a day to be hanging around sun-bathing!

Luckily for my work the site was empty and there was little passing traffic from Dial Lane – the road passing the site across the adjacent field. The field contained a small group of young bullocks, though, and brought to mind several dowsing visits where cows had curtailed such dowsing endeavours. This spurred me into action all the quicker!

Yet I couldn’t start dowsing just yet. I had to have a good look around and get “into attunement” with the site, which is simply a question of being there, without thought, tuning into one’s senses and taking in everything at once without analysis. Moments later I felt myself blend into the site much better, and then I was ready to start dowsing its energies.

I started at the entrance and worked inwards to the chamber. Once I found a connection to the chamber I stayed in there for a while finding its power centres, denoted by terminating spirals. The 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. of the power centres seemed beautifully balanced – a male here, then a female, then a male and female centre combined. It felt lovely to be dowsing here – some sites feel ‘difficult’ or complex, but this site was beautiful in its simplicity and balance.

Inside the chamber

I stepped into the chamber by the right-hand edge’s gap and felt a compulsion to light a stick of incense in there. These days I go with such feelings, so I lit one and it scented the air nicely as I dowsed the rest of the chamber. Were the remains of the dividing wall between the two parts of the chamber the place where there was a hole that could fit a man, allowing access between the two when there had been a roof? It was hard to tell. The dowsing rods indicated that possibility, but were not conclusive about it.

Re-emerging from the chamber an intriguing lone pointed (male) stone caught my attention and I found that it had a connection to an energy that formed a ritual path into the nearby chamber. I was finding this feature almost every time I dowse a site now, and am beginning to think that Stone Dowser may have been on to something with his ‘ritual paths’. It does indeed seem like there was a specific way to enter some sites, irrespective of simply finding entrances.

The bullocks begin to take an interest and come over to see what’s happening. We have a short one-way conversation where I quiz them about why they might be interested in my dowsing. When questioned they move away as though they had never been interested after all.

I followed the spirals I had found to their termination points. Where did they go? Were they self-contained or did they link to other sites, I wondered? The female-to-female spirals I knew were self-contained, as was the male energy around the outlying male stone. It was the male/female 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. that needed to be explained. I followed the female energy to a large spiral a few feet outside the entrance to the chamber. The male energy flowed through a gap at the back of the chamber to sinew its way out of the back of the site but I couldn’t follow it far through the thick rhododendrons, brambles and assorted other obstacles that sealed off the rear of the site.

Some sort of rambler’s club began to make their presence known by gabbling loudly as they walked up the lane to the site. I decided this would be a good time to retire to consider what I wanted to do next, and leave the site to them for a few minutes. In my experience visitors to ancient sites are usually frequent, but fleeting. And so it proved. Minutes later your anti-social Hedge Druid had devised a set of questions to ask at the site and was back on the job without distractions – even the curious bulls had retreated faced with the retirement party.

I made a more respectful entrance, introducing myself to the guardian of the site, stating my name and purpose, and asking for permission to enter. A curious ritual, but one which I have learned from reading about and trying to understand the mind of The Druids. It was at this stage that things began to take a mystical turn!

I’ve posted recently on the strange phenomenon of the sun making an appearance when Kal and I meditate at sacred sites. Standing 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. in front of the tall stones outside the chamber I felt a gradual warmth penetrate my eyelids. I opened my eyes to see the whole site, and only the site, bathed in the spotlight of sunbeams the were radiating through a gap in the thick cloud cover that had been the constant feature of the day’s weather. This was highly improbable, but certainly very welcome!

Power centre lit up by sun

I smiled. I felt integrated with the site’s energies, and in response the sun was smiling down on me. Of course, it’s pure coincidence, but when it happens like this you feel something special is happening. I felt this was a good time to get the rest of my questions answered.

Here are the questions I asked the dowsing rods to help me answer about this site:-

1. Is this site still capable of performing its original function? YES.
2. Is the site still energetically active? NOT RIGHT NOW. (3:50pm on 3rd October 2009)
3. Can the site be activated? YES. AT SAMHAIN.
4. Can the site be used for education, revelation, healing, transformation, communication or something else? EDUCATION by nature spirits, REVELATION, HEALING, and TRANSFORMATION.
5. Does the site need restoring, healing or balancing? NO to all.
6. Is there a 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. present at this site? YES. FEMALE.
7. Does this site respond to human interaction, the position of the sun, moon or stars? YES to all. Specifically the FULL moon, and the sun at NOON. Stars, less so.
8. Is the site an observatory, a calendar, an initiation chamber or a burial place? OBSERVATORY, CALENDAR, INITIATION CHAMBER.
9. Is there underground water at this site? YES.

With that information in mind I went back to do some quick dowsing for where water might be present at the site to see if it had any obvious significance in terms of where it might flow. As you can see from my sketch below there were two main flows of underground water crossing the site, and indeed they did tally with significant places for energy – namely the female spiral links just behind the entrance to the chamber, and the other, wider stream being marked by an outlying stone.

As I drove away from the site back towards Congleton I saw the group of bullocks react. They saw me driving away and began to gallop as a tight group stalking the car from across the field. I watched in a kind of amused shock. What were they doing? Then they turned like a flock of starlings straight towards me as they approached the end wall of the field. Now they were galloping towards me with a speed I could never have supposed a bovine to be capable of! I waved to them and wished them a cheery good day as my car dipped down the hill and beyond the confines of the field. Very strange behaviour!

From the information gleaned from this site I can see that there might be more to be learned, but that the next interaction would need to be a much more spiritual affair, guided by the information that I have obtained from dowsing. I think this clearly demonstrates the way in which dowsing can be used as a powerful investigative tool that can lead one quickly to understand qualities of a site, and the times when these qualities can best be utilised for the purposes that the site was designed for. We shall see!

Gwas.

A quick visit to The Bridestones of Congleton yesterday furnished me with enough information to provide an energetic map of the place for you. Check it out in the Sacred Sites section for more details. I’ll do a post of the visit, and add some pictures to the Gallery soon to fill in some extra information too.