The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘caileach’

I was lost. I had been in New York city for the past 3 weeks and was looking for a connection. There are many times in life when one can reach out to guides or teachers for help and direction. These guides don’t have to be the mundane kind (i.e. people), they can be of an esoteric nature.

As I said, I was lost and in need of some simple direction, at the very least a nice commune with that gorgeous goddess Caileach would have been pleasant. Brilliant though the brick city is, one can’t help but wonder where is the natural touch?

I meandered around Central Park in the hopes of finding a suitable connective media. A bit like wandering the city trying to find a free WiFi connection. Alas nothing was in the offing. I was confounded! As readers may know I have gained a certain sympathy with trees and yet here I was being blanked.

I got my dowsing rods out and after a while came to the conclusion that I wasn’t being blanked at all. In fact what was the case was that there was no significant energy amongst the trees in this park. My intuition (which was confirmed with dowsing) suggested that the constant inter-play with human energies had left this park feeling and being empty. Wow!

Nevertheless I tried to commune with Caileach, my erstwhile mentor(ess?) and failed miserably. But surely we are talking about a Goddess here, not your average entity. So I tried again a few times and nothing. What was going on?Was she being blocked? Was my calling not loud enough? What???

Musing and pondering (with the addition of dowsing) led me to an interesting conclusion. Caileach is a Goddess of Britain and Ireland. Her power here is amazing, in other lands her reach is as good as those (and amount matters) followers she has there. Which I am guessing in the States isn’t too many.

We have so many theories about deities. Here is one: surely Caileach is an aspect of the Goddess and in other lands she is known by another name and so should still be able to be invoked? No. Really? Yes, really. No.

Invoked is the wrong word to use, communed with, or asked for help of, might be better.

Ask the dowsing rods yourself. Apparently Caileach is a local goddess (entity). This goes against a lot of book learned law I know but I am only going by what I have dowsed. Thus in the land of the America’s I was unable to connect with her.

Gwas and I speculated as to how we could bridge this gap and we came up with a theory. If we could find a connective object which we could associate with (or create an association with) Caileach perhaps this could be used to commune with her from a distant place. Gwas has created numerous such bridges and connections so I was eager to try.

Yesterday, I travelled to a Sacred Site that I really feel a deep connection with, Alderley Edge. At the Magicians wood I asked some questions to confirm my (our) hypothesis and the answers came back as true. I could indeed create an associative object that would allow me to commune with Caileach wherever I was. As I was dowsing these findings a thought came to mind from the works of that famed shaman, Carlos Castaneda. The memory was of him going to a watering hole to find a spirit catcher. My intuition and dowsing told me that this was exactly what I needed. A spirit catcher is a bridge between you and an entity.

Yes, you guessed it, I am out looking for a spirit catcher, the spirit I am interesting in catching (metaphorically speaking) is Caileach.

Kal Malik – in search of a spirit catcher

There is no rest for a questor and so last weekend I was off on a 2.5 hour drive to Silbury Hill just for the sake of the quest. What rational beings we are. As you may recall, when I got this task I was asked to fly a pennant from the ancient hill. Since I have been a bit lacking on that, I asked the dowsing rods if it would be okay for me to just climb it on Sunday. The answer was a disappointing no.

That was Friday night. Saturday morning was fresh and sunny, better than a summers day considering it was early October. Even though I had a lot of indoor work to do my mind and body were aching to be out in the sun, so I figured a trip to Tintagel, Merry Maidens, The Hurlers or any number of other places would suit me fine. The rods however were not playing ball and to each place the answer came no. I was puzzled, perhaps today was a day to just jolly out with no esoteric purpose. On an intuitive hunch I checked to see whether Silbury was appropriate and the rods swung in. What? Again another nudge had me asking and confirming that Saturday was Okay to go but Sunday wasn’t. Weird!

Was I ok to go without a pennant? Yes. Would I still be able to complete the quested key? Yes. Can’t have a better answer than that, so off I went. About half-way there I recalled that Silbury was a prohibited place and pondered whether I should be attempting this in the eves of night. My thinking was on the lines that I could take a little side trip to Glastonbury and then head of towards Silbury in the evening. I stopped the car at a motorway service station to query this point (yes, I really did). And the answer was No! I must go now. Okay, I continued on.

Warning

I arrived at the little car park at Silbury at exactly noon and was fortunate enough to have no other spectators. Clambering over the initial barbed fence I was just about to leap the next when I was stopped by a Crow landing noisily on the fence behind me. I stopped and stared at it for several moments trying to divine its purpose. Nothing (I’m still not brilliant with Crows). I turned back to the fence and was about to put my hand out when the Crow screeched alarmingly. It stopped me in my tracks and I considered that I wasn’t meant to be going this way. Taking out my rods to see what they had to say I dropped my bag to the floor by the fence and then saw that the fence was electrified. Phew! That was lucky, I’ve been slugged with an electrifying fence in Ireland last year (was it only last year?) and was lucky enough to be warned off by a Crow. Awesome!

Taking a running jump had me over the fence and away to the hill. Silbury hill, as I mentioned, is a protected monument and all climbing is prohibited. This prohibition is enhanced by the head high fence that surrounds it. I perambulated the fence looking for a weak point and as I approached the road side of the hill I saw two police cars, sans constables parked adjacent to the hill.

O crap! I slowly made my way to the back of the hill and pondered. Should I wait? I asked the rods and they almost imperatively told me that now was the right (and indeed only) time. I was going to get arrested. What would be the fine? The notice on the fence didn’t specify. As I reached the back part of the fence a Crow landed on one of the poles. I walked up to the post and saw that the fence was slightly dented there and also there seemed to be a kind of stepping path up the hill. I didn’t have to use the rods to know that this was the way up. I clambered over the fence and only remembered the police when I was half way up.

In for a penny in for a pound, right? Up and up I clambered until I got to the summit and crouched towards the center. It was a hot and sunny day as I sat upon that magical hill, trying to meditate, whilst my mind was conscious of the two police cars at the bottom of the hill.

Trying to dowse whilst crouching would have made a funny spectacle. Nevertheless I managed to find the right place to sit and how many incense sticks to light, four. I sat in quietude and after some time felt a commune.

Perhaps we should do a post on what the feeling of connection is and how we connect. But I feel that it is so individualistic that it would be almost pointless in doing so. Do you disagree? Let me know and we might rethink our position.

I got an immediate sense of a presence and the now very recognisable voice of Caileach spoke to me. “At this time, this hill is yours. Stand and claim it.” like seriously! Not likely love, was my rather flippant response. “Are you going to crawl around on you knees then? O Knight.” Sarcasm, they say, is the lowest form of wit. But I wasn’t going to accuse a potential Goddess of that. She repeated her command. “This is your hill! Stand and claim it, Walk to the edges and around all the perimeter. Claim it and the blue key” Funny, because as she said Blue key, the policemen down below came to my mind. Blue key, men in blue?

For out of towners, men in blue is a slang term for police officers. It’s the blue uniform.

Again, in for a penny…So I stood up and asked the rods to carve out a path for me that would claim this blue key. They did, and took me along the perimeter where the police could clearly see me again and again. I avoided looking down at the police cars, since energy follows focus. Finally my luck ran out and one of the officers spoke to his companion and pointed up at me. With my reckless sense of abandon, I waived in a jolly way and was surprised to see a wave back. Phew! Really, it was time to make a break. A quick yes from the rods indicated that this blue key was under my belt and a slipped and slid down the hill.

I didn’t have much more to go on than the answer that I had got at the top of the hill. As always, Gwas and I look for confirmation signs after we have been asked or do some work. This occasion was no exception, and although the sun shining on us is often agood indicator, in this instance it had been roasting all day so it didn’t count.

No signs were about as I travelled the 3 hour drive to my rooms. As I got in I sat and watched some TV with my landlord and lady and noted that Merlin (the tv series) was on. As I watched I realised that the protagonist on this occasion was Caileach! I couldn’t believe it! The wench had followed me home.

Kal Malik ~ pandering to the whims of Caileach.

Fisher King

This is a reflective post which I’d like to start by noting that the fisher king I am referring to is that of the Film and not of legend. Although it encroaches on the legend too as we shall see. Here is what wiki says about the film…

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), who is a cynical, arrogant shock jock talk radio host, becomes suicidally despondent after his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompt a depressed caller to commit multiple murders at a popular Manhattan bar. Three years later, while heavily intoxicated and depressed, he attempts suicide. Before he can do so, he is mistaken for a homeless person and is attacked and nearly set on fire by ruffians. He is rescued by Parry (Robin Williams), a deluded homeless man who is on a mission to find the Holy Grail, and tries to convince Jack to help him. Jack is initially reluctant, but comes to feel responsible for Parry when he learns that the man’s condition is a result of witnessing his wife’s horrific murder at the hands of Jack’s psychotic caller. Parry is also continually haunted by a hallucinatory Red Knight, who terrifies him whenever he shows any confidence.

My point of connection with this film is the line “… a deluded homeless man who is on a mission to find the Holy Grail…” and here is where it gets tricky. Question…”Am I deluded man who is on a knights quest?” An answer might be that, if so at least I know that I am delusional, right?

Rather than looking for evidence to support my delusional state, let me go about looking for evidence to the contrary. The story so far…

• Imbolc of 2011 and I am given a quest to seek 9 blue keys that will lead me along the quest to becoming a knight.
• The first blue key is to be found in New York. A place I have never been too and although I would like to go had no intention at that time to visit.
• The second blue key was to gain “strength of arm” and my lack of pursuing this was rewarded by two lessons.
• The third was to create a knights crest
• The fourth, to find a place to fly this flag from.
• The fifth key is to create a Knights Code and live by it.
• Then I find that the book I am writing is representative of the “holy grail”.

All these episodes and a few in between are related in the posts on this blog. Throughout this quest an ever present force has been Cailleach, a goddess entity/force from the old religion.

Okay…one has to ask, is this all a delusion or is there something in it? First of all, let me say that every, and I mean every avenue that I have pursued on this quest has led to dividends. One might have expected that one or two might have been dead ends but no. Every one. Example please you say, ok.

I was Tintagel Castle one weekend and doing a meditation at the top of the cliff. I was visited by Cailleach and given a gift. She said I would find it at the bottom of the waterfall.So I clambered down the steps to the base of the waterfall and in the midst of many children and adults, sparkling in the afternoon sun was a double hand sized lump of glittering quartz in the wake of the waterfall.

It so caught my eye and I knew it had to be the “gift” but what really got me was, why hadn’t anybody taken it already? I carried that crystal around with me all that day and on the couple of occasions when I stepped away from it people wanted to pick it up and walk off with it.

That is just a sample of the kind of thing I am talking about. On a note about the New York visit. Not being a one to stand aside from such quests I took it upon myself to visit that city and wow! Talk about a synchronistic event filled 2 weeks. Not only that but as you may know, the film, The Fisher King was filmed in Manhattan and the “castle” wherein the Holy Grail was housed was across the other side of Central Park from my location. Did I go and explore it? Of course.

So much has happened to me with regards to this quest that I am going to lay the ghost of the Fisher King to rest here. Frankly I don’t care anymore whether it is reality or fantasy. As Gwas and I learned, what seems now so many moons ago. There is only one truth, a personal one. And this quest is one of the truest things in my life at the moment.

Kal Malik Knight Errant

Tintagel

It was a fabulous sunny Sunday and there was no way I was going to be staying in my rooms in Devon-shire with the Solar deity virtually shouting my name.

So without a thought I decided to wander off to the legendary home of King Arthur, namely Tintagel. I had been there twice before, once with Gwas last summer (when it rained) and the last winter when it was sunny but windy.

Today had the promise of a summers day in Spring! I arrived at the great castle around lunch time and was pleased to say that the weather couldn’t have been better than today. I walked about the grounds of the castle looking for some inspiration. As I looked over parapets and walls I realised that although not completely gone, my sense of vertigo had improved a lot over the last year.

Finally I sensed a place that would be good to do a commune and taking my rods out I quickly confirmed this. Excellent.

Last summer Gwas and I visited this castle and Gwas was able to have a wonderful commune with Merlin. I was eagerly expecting a similar experience.

I lay on the grass in one of the outer ‘rooms’ of the castle and asked to be put in the presence of the magician. A fair while passed with no response or acknowledgement. Perhaps I wasn’t going to be as privileged as Gwas? Never mind I thought, the sun was nice and warm and so I relaxed into the grass a bit more and let the warmth fill me.

I really am a Sun person, I pondered. You couldn’t doubt it. Another voice in my mind agreed with me. “Yes student, you are a Sun person” There was a bit of a cynical tone to the voice I thought and the word “student” definitely had some undertone to be sure. Of course I recognised the voice instantly,Cailleach!

My eyes were closed but there she was, in all her gorgeous glory. As I admired her figure a question popped into my head. Why was it that people portrayed her as a hag or an old crone when to me she was a beautiful presence?

“Are you really going to ask me that?” She looked at me, smiling a smile the kind of which I have only seen on her face.

Quite poetic that line

No, I guess not. I responded and then pondered her presence. I was expecting a grizzled old man, staff and all, Merlin, but I get, Cailleach, and there was that “student” thing again.

“You worry too much,” she said, again in a charming voice.

Shouldn’t I be worried? I asked.

“No, all goes well for you, you are on the path, well and truly.”

I was glad to hear that, I had been worried about how my quest was going.

“Do not worry about it, it is going to happen,” I noticed something odd about the way she spoke then. She wasn’t using contractions. She spoke full, complete words.

Anyway, she continued, “I have a gift for you” O I thought, sounds good. She smiled, knowing my thoughts again.

As a side note I realise now of course that “of course” she would as she was in my head, doh!

Waterfall at Tintagel

Anyway (again) “Go to the waterfall below and you will find it.” Before I could ask whether this was a ‘blue key’ or what it was, or what I was to do with it. She was gone. I got up immediately, which startled a couple who had taken a seat some feet away from me. And was off scampering down the steps towards the sea.

As you can see from the pictures the waterfall was a small but beautifully placed one. I stood just to the side of the bottom of it and looked around. My attention was immediately caught by a glistening double-fist sized lump of quartz crystal. It sparkled as the water ran over it. What quite surprised me was the number of people (and children) that were around the waterfall and yet none had stooped to pick this piece up.

I immediately did so and carried it off to sit in the sun and dry it off. What a fabulous gift. I didn’t have to dowse to make sure this is what I was looking for. So another clue towards gaining knighthood had een found. I wonder of what use it will be.

I still had a lot of exploring to do at Tintagel and now thanks to that dame Cailleach I had to lug a huge lump of crystal with me!

Kal Malik – a step closer

I think it must be the fact that i’m cutting down on my caffeine intake that this afternoon around 3pm I found myself nodding off at work. You know what I mean, right? Where you just can’t keep your eyes open. Fortunately my desk is right at the back of the room and facing away from everyone else so my momentary nap didn’t go noticed.

I say it was momentary, because from the clock on my computer I guessed that it wasn’t more than a few minutes at the most. However during those minutes instead of black slumber I had a, what to call it? Day dream, dream, vision? I’ll leave that up to you.

It was a dark place, that I didn’t recognise although I could see some of the outlines of it. A small cave perhaps but or a darkened room. It was cold but I couldn’t feel it (yes, I know that sounds odd but there it is.)

I knew that there was someone else in this place but initially I couldn’t see who or what it was. Then, either as my eyes got used to the darkness or as a light grew brighter I could see her.

Cailleach, once met never forgotten. I have only encountered her once before at Four Knocks in Ireland where she offered me a chance to become her pupil. Tempting though that offer was. I refused at the time and if I recall correctly she had said that we wouldn’t meet again and yet here she was. In a dream, at work.

“Hello again, student”, she said and smiled.

You know, I read up a bit about Cailleach after my previous encounter and I have to disagree with the press about her. She is an attractive lass I have to say, whose voice just wants to make you obey.

“Hello,” I returned, a bit warily.

She looked me up and down and walked around me. I turned to keep her in front of me. You have to remember this was just like a dream, I wasn’t conscious of being in work or anywhere like that. Which is odd for me, because normally in my dreams I am quite good at knowing that it’s a dream.

As she completed a round-about me she nodded her head, “You’ve done well” she said, “not as good as you could have though.”

“Thanks,” I replied, “I think” I added, I’ve never been good with authority figures. They irk me. “I thought we weren’t going to be meeting again?” I asked.

She shrugged and said something that really startled me, “I thought you said you weren’t going to be my student?” I looked at her and could feel my eyes tighten suspiciously.

“I’m not” I said insistently.

“I’m not going to argue with you, I just popped in to show you something”

Okay, I’m not one for the thee’s and thou’s but honestly I report that word usage exactly because I noted it at the time, she did use the word “popped” what can I say, not exactly Celtic is it?

“Interested?” She added as I was pondering her word usage.

I wasn’t going to turn Cailleach down (again) was I? So I said, yes.

She pointed off behind me and I swear her finger, for just a split second looked clawed, but on second glance was just an ordinary finger. I directed my gaze at where she was pointing…and saw a vision.

A vision within a vision, is that a first?

It was me in some place that I didn’t recognise. It was a huge hall, brightly lit and I was on bended knee with my head lowered. before me was a cloaked person, I couldn’t tell what or who it was, not even if it was male or female. The cloak was red and green and had some kind of emblem on it, like a leaf (alas google reveals nothing).

The figure, took out a wand, not a sword, but a wand and knighted me. Yep the whole left, right, left thing on the shoulders. Then I stood up and was presented with the wand that was used to knight me.

At this point I was shocked out of my dream and the vision within a vision by Cailleach’s voice right in my ear (she must have sneaked up on me). “Go quest!” she had said.

I was back in the realworld staring at my computer…remember Neo at the beginning of the Matrix film? Exactly like that.

I pondered the vision for a long while and coudn’t wait to get home and do some quick dowsing.

• Was it a dream or a vision? A vision
• Was it really Cailleach? Yes
• Even though she had said we wouldn’t meet again? Yes
• Was she offering me a quest? Yes
• To become a knight of some kind? Yes
• Did I have to follow this quest? half/half answer.

These half/half answers are really annoying sometimes. As you may know from previous posts it is when one rod turns and the other doesn’t, we have kind of deduced that it means “you’re half right, but there’s more.” Just to bamboozle me more, I asked…

• Have I unwittingly been the student of Cailleach? half/half

I’m sorry for such crappy answers and such basic questions. As Gwas and I have both found, it is difficult to get into the intuitive swing of dowsing in one’s mundane apartment/home. We’re just in the habit of doing it at sacred sites.

So, am I going to take up this challenging quest? You betchya!

Now then…”Which way to Mordor, Gandalf?”

Kal Malik

Since I have some time on my hands thought I would catchup with some really old (half a year) posts. This one is from memory i’m afraid and although vivid, might contain the odd in-accuracy.

Who can tell though, right? Since it concerns my adventures and recollections.

Gwas and I were in the midst of our trip to Ireland (May 2010) and we had just got the keys to access Four Knocks mound.

It was abit of a drizzly morning as we pulled on the road side next to the gate that was a short path away from the mound called FourKnocks.

Whilst Gwas was inside making some preparations for a meditation, I dowsed to find that my work would be done outside. So I dowsed to a location that would be suited and stood (the grass was wet) awaiting some inspiration (or at a push intuition).

There were a couple of horses in the field next to the mound and they came over to the fence to keep me company in my vigil. Nothing happened for a while and then my attention was caught by the cry of some nearby crows.

Have you ever noticed that crows seem to call in bunches of three squawks?

This crow was cawing in groups of four and had me listening to it intently as my mind wandered and was transported to another place. As, almost premonitioned the evening before I was standing with a figure who I knew to be Caileach. You just know her without knowing her, if that makes sense?

Although the exact wording of the conversation escapes me, I know that she asked me whether I would like to be her student. She promised that I would learn many things and though she was a hard teacher, there was none better.

I asked her whether I had time to think about this exotic proposal and she said I had all the time I had at four knocks to make my decision.

What a request! To be a student of Caileach offered so much and yet I had reservations. To be quite honest I was afraid, of commitment, of the dangers, of losing myself to something else.

Also I already had a wonderful teacher in the Ancient Yew.

With these reservations and fears. I rejoined (stop asking me how) Caileach’s world and politely declined. She wasn’t wrathful, phew. But she did say we wouldn’t be meeting again.

At the conclusion of this little two day encounter (see this post) I felt both good and sad. Good that I was able to refuse such a request and sad that perhaps I had lost something special and unique.

Kal Malik – not a student of Caileach

We are still on our first day in Ireland, having just landed at the hotel and taken a breather from our long journey through the “non toll” roads of Dublin, we decided to hit out for Tara.

As Gwas will no doubt relate some of the historical aspects of this site I will deal with an interesting experience that occurred there for me.

We arrived, the long way around (this seems to have been a popular theme in Ireland) and the sun was just setting across the western countryside.

I wandered around the many gentle mounds of the site and eventually ended up in the church yard that is situated there.

The church is dedicated to St Patrick and to be honest, that late in the evening with the many crows nests above, it could have easily doubled as any Hammer House of Horror setting.

With the crows squawking there sleeping call I sat where the dowsing rods had led me i.e. in the church yard there looks to be the remains of a wall. You can see it in the picture below. So there I was, having been “called” to this haunting place by the rods promise of an “interesting” place.

After many moments of contemplation, with no result and it getting a bit cold, the day had been gorgeously sunny but the night was much cooler. I was thinking that it was about time to leave.

When a couple of crows landed right infront of me. They gave me a true fright and I half got up to run, but in the past I have had strange portents with crows so I decided to watch these with intent. They both jumped about and seemed to be fighting over some food on the floor, but I couldn’t see any. Then after a few minutes they let off an almighty screeching…it sounded to me like they were screaming “kay-leech, kay-leech” after a couple moments of this one flew off, then the other. I was dumb struck by the behaviour of these creatures and the mesasage they were trying to communicate.

About fifteen minutes later I met up with Gwas and we exchanged experiences. I asked him whether he had heard of anything called kay-leech. His response was no, so I let it skip from my thoughts. Then some time later to fill a curious void I decided to google it (at great expense!) and as I put in the words, google suggested …”caileach”

What! Seriously! I delved further…

“The cailleach is a sort of mystery; a Goddess who survived eons after her worship died out. she is vastly ancient, so ancient that we virtually nothing of her original myth and ritual. she can be found in Ireland and Scotland and England, traced through folklore, through the names of ancient monuments and natural wonders, and through enigmatic verses and stories.
It is not possible to obtain an idea how long she was worshiped, or by whom. The Celts came to the lands of the Cailleach some 2000 years ago. bringing their own pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. The new arrivals recognized the Cailleach as already ancient, for as a famous Irish poems says, ‘There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Cailleach.’ It is impossible to know what this Goddess meant to her original worshipers.
Cailleach must have been very important, for she did not disappear as countless other divinities have, If nothing is truly known about her, paradoxically she is still alive, still a power in the lands once dedicated to her. from these vestiges, we can reconstruct  something of the powerful original figure of ancient times.
She had many names Cailleach Bheur or Carlin in Scotland; Cally Berry in northern Ireland; Cailleach ny Groamch on the Isle of Man; Black Annis in Britain; the Hag of Beare or Digne in Ireland. She was of fearsome appearance, with only one eye an eye of preternatural keeness, in the middle of a blue black face.  She was noted to have red teeth and hair white as a frosted snow covered mountain top. Over it she wore a kerchief and over her dull grey clothing a faded plad shawl.” Source: Order of White Moon

What did this mean? I was at a loss to explain it that night, but the next day had more revelations and a deal to be had. But if you want a hint…it is right there in the text above…”There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree…”

Just before I finish this post I want to mention the locations that this path took:

• It started at Tara and St Patrick
• More was revealed at Knowth
• Concluded at Four Knocks

Google is a fantastic tool and I searched for a connection with these terms and found one that connected Tara, St Patrick, Caileach and Four Knocks… An Imbolc Celebration , stay tuned for more!

Bless,

Kal