The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘cornwall’

Following on from what my fearless friend has begun to put out there into the Make-It-So-O-Sphere, I too have a list of things that I am anticipating doing this year. Inspired by Kal’s list I have dug deep into my bonce and lifted out some thoughts that were lurking within, and then combined them with some “I should have done that”‘s from last year. Of course, life is always more interesting than the rather rude and dull tale of it that we imagine will be its unfolding. It is always much more cleverly-crafted and exquisitely wrought than our feeble imaginations can hope to furnish. Notwithstanding my own feeble imagination, I wish to present some imaginings for the forthcoming year, but before I do that let’s just go over some of the background to this infamous date.

Planetary alignment with the galactic core in 2012

Why is 2012 being talked about?

Good question, if I do say so myself. Why is it different to any other year, except perhaps the turning of the millennium? Primarily the hype has been generated by a number of people who have not only jumped onto a moving bandwagon, but have actively gone out of their way to assist with its maintenance and enhancement, even going as far as tuning it up so that it runs faster and with more of a roar! Lots of New Age types have been “pimping the ride”, so to speak, of the 2012 bandwagon.

There are a number of phases to this 2012 ride:-

Phase 1 (20 years to go) – A few isolated voices were trying to find a reason why the end of the Mayan Calendar might be important. Some said that the Earth itself would align with other planets in our Solar System along an axis that aligned with the centre of the Galaxy itself, and that this would cause something to happen. 2/10 panic rating.

Phase 2 (10 years to go) – John Major Jenkins, Ian Xel Lungold, Carl Calleman and a few others try to explain their theory that time may be speeding up and consciousness may be developing to match it on a global scale. As the internet develops this seems like a worthy theory. 5/10 panic rating.

Phase 3 (5 years ago) – Every man and his dog have boarded the 2012 train but everyone has their own idea of where the train is headed. Splits, factions and mayhem ensue, but everyone is still thinking that something is going to happen. 9/10 panic rating.

Phase 4 (today) – The factions have split off into four main interest groups – Doubters, Touters, Slackers and Backtrackers. There are those who think that nothing will happen (The Doubters), those that think that something will happen (The Touters), those who regularly change their minds (The Backtrackers), those who are hedging their bets (The Slackers). 3/10 panic rating.

So what is my opinion? Where do I stand? As you may expect, I stand at the outside of these four interest groups in an interest group of one. I watch what they do, and I see where it takes them. I don’t intervene, interfere or offer any advice to them. They’re all mad. I have my own madness to work with, and if any of them want to follow my 2012 theories then they are free to do so. But I shan’t be telling anyone what they are. Just like a hedge druid.

Where my own path is leading me

In amongst all the 2012 theories (and I have read many of them) I come back to finding my own path through the year. Surely, that is all that any of us can do in such circumstances? In the midst of, and often in spite of, the potential for ensuing chaos and derangement here are the topics that I anticipate I may be involved with in the next round of the Sun.

a)  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. recovery
b) Teaching and Presentation of data (one course developed, several others in preparation)
c) Diagnosing and Healing people (using some of Elizabeth Brown’s methods of causative diagnosis)
d) Learning the way ancient site energies work (an ongoing task)

Here are some of the ancient sites that I want to visit:-

• The Pyramids of Egypt
• The Pyramids of Bosnia
• Rathcrogan in Ireland
• Kilmartin in Scotland
• St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall

I can see a theme developing there – I may be visiting a lot of mounds and pyramids. It must be something to do with the Sun energies, the male forces, that I have found can accumulate and intensity at the peak of such structures. Something in my druidic unconscious has already set about telling me that I need this energy next year. Let’s see if that is indeed what happens!

Gwas.

Prelim…Source…

Beyond the walls of the old house and buried in a tangled mound of short tufted shrubs and undergrowth, is the mouth of a cave – or fogou as it is known in Cornish. The entrance, lipped with pillars of granite, nestles between two mossy banks, sucking life into its womb…

…You want to cling to reality and block the voices out. But they are insistent, and you listen because although you hear them with your mind, they speak with a voice that is not your own. And locked in here for centuries, they want to be heard… Jo May – A journey into the underworld

Signs

Saturday morning had arrived and I was feeling a little apprehensive. A couple of weeks ago I had set out with the same destination in mind (but with signs saying not to) and had only got 8 miles into my journey before I was stopped.

My destination was of course the Boleigh Fogou in the deep south of Cornwall. So the question I was asking myself was, was it a good idea to go? The rods said it was, but they also said that I didn’t needto go. A fair answer, but I wanted more. With that need for a sign I toddled off for an innocent coffee in town.

By 8:30 I had had my coffee, read of paper, update of Facebook and was returning back to my lodgings sign-less. I stopped off to get some cash from a ATM and just as I was putting in my number a crow dropped on aledge above me and cawed to high heaven. I looked up and realised it was the sign I was looking for. There was no stopping me now.

A sign is only a sign if you believe it to be a sign

The weather hereabouts was a drizzly grey and hopeful as I ever am,as I drove off into the south I looked down at my light blue jeans and patently non-waterproof white trainers. Hmmm looked like it was going to be another wet feet and visibly muddy day. There again as I was about a hundred miles into the journey the sun came out of the clouds and shone brightly for the rest of my journey…Indeed…another sign for the sign seekers.

Boleigh Fogou

I was lucky, I had tapped in “Newlyn” – as the nearest town to the Fogou and had arrived there with no problems. But from there it was going to be a bit of a try your luckbut as shot in the dark I stuck Boleigh into my satnav and it responded with a destination in 3 miles! Amazing.

I reached “my destination” and was at a loss. According to the Internet the Fogou was at the back of a bed and breakfast rooming house called Rosemerryn. But alas no signs for such were forthcoming along the road that it was supposed to be off. I stopped the car in a lay by and decided to try my luck with my recently purchased Techo-Mage tool i.e. my iPhone. As I pulled it out I spotted a young man walking up the road towards me. So I opted for good old fashioned local knowledge instead and asked him.

“Ah, you be looking for the Foogu? I knows where that is”

Fantastic! With the sun shining like a early summers day (honestly) me and my erstwhile guide Dan were off into the woods. He told me that he usually snuck in from the back of the B&B thus avoiding any possibility of being shooed off the land.

As readers will know I am not averse to Guerrilla Dowsing but something was nagging at me as we made our way down the lane and then back up again through the woods. It didn’t feel right this time. So I stopped my guide and asked him instead how I could get to the house instead.

He warned me that because I hadn’t phoned ahead I would be turned away at the door. Still I decided to go with my instinct and said farewell to my guide. Making my way back up the lane and towards the main house I was met by the owner, Rob. I asked him if this was the place of the Fogou (Foogu), he asked if I had phoned ahead? Oh dear, I replied that I hadn’t but had come a 3 hour drive to see it. his impressed him and he led me around the back of the house to where the Fogou was located.

It suprised me as to how close to the house the Fogou was and that had I come in through the woods I would have been spotted by the owners almost imediately and turfed out.

Rob left me in the company of the Fogou.

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In the final post of our Cornwall visit I have reserved the best tale until last. Tintagel was supposed to be simply a passing visit to an historic site, but as usual mystical things began to happen once the dowsing rods had pointed the way.

Tintagel is renowned as a site associated with the legend of King Arthur, although signs dotted around the castle grounds do readily admit that there is little actual evidence for either the existence of Arthur himself, or his relationship with the castle. Yet, this has not stopped the small town of Tintagel from attaching the Arthur and Merlin names to almost every shop, pub, hotel and entertainment venue in sight. I made a reluctant Kal take my picture next to a life-sized plastic Merlin. Oh, the shame on both sides!

The rain that had been tumbling all day had slightly relented, but louring skies heralded more soon. Yet, our enthusiasm was not dampened. I, in particular, was quite excited about the prospect of testing Tintagel Castle for the presence of Arthur and Merlin – whether that be an historical remnant or simply the hint of association. We avoided the Land Rover offering an expensive ride down the steep hill to the castle, and we joyously let our legs find their own speed down the hill, noticing a sign to a church on the way down. We paid our dues and then the rain came down, just as we were about to make the precarious crossing of the wooden bridge between the mainland and the steep cliff-lined island that formed the formidable fortifications of the castle.

As the seas crashed below us and the rain lashed our already damp clothing we climbed the steep slippery steps to stand with the stunning sight of huge caves, high headland and strange islets as we stood looking out over the edge of Cornwall. We stood on a promontory looking at Merlin’s Cave when the thought struck me – was there anything I could do to find out whether this stuff about Merlin and Arthur was actually true? Was there anything I could do – I was supposed to be a dowser! Of course there was something I could do!

The Spirit of Merlin and 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 Arthur

I got my dowsing rods at the ready and began to consider what I was going to ask about, but as soon as the mental images of Arthurian characters began to formulate itself into a question there was a nearby flurry of feathers and flaps as a hawk swooped across our vision only feet away to land in the small outcrop of rock just above us. I hate to say it, because in the next few posts this is going to get repeated quite often and is likely to become a little boringly repetitive, but I have come to see the appearance of a hawk as a sign of Merlin, ever since an encounter at Dinas Emrys one evening when I was pursuing an encounter with the spirit of Merlin.

After getting over that ‘sign’ I began the dowsing proper. I began by framing the context of the questions. I would be asking about the concepts of “Merlin” and “Arthur” and until I asked specifically I was not distinguishing between the physically real and the mythological concept of either of those figures. Here are some of the questions I asked:-

• Had Merlin been born at this site? NO
• Had Merlin lived at Tintagel? NO
• Had Merlin visited this place? YES. Interesting.
• Had Arthur been born at this site? NO. Not much information being revealed so far!
• Had Arthur lived at Tintagel? YES. Oh!
• Had Arthur been buried on this site? NO.

Time to move on to the question of whether these characters were real or mythological.

• Was Arthur a real king of England? YES.
• Was Arthur a myth? YES. What?
• Was Arthur both a mythological character AND a real person? YES. Confusing!
• Was Merlin a real magician? NO.
• Was Merlin a myth? YES. But…earlier the dowsing had said that he had visited….
• Did Merlin visit Arthur at Tintagel in some magical way, rather than a physical way? YES.

OK, that was both a little clearer and a little muddier at the same time. I wanted to see now whether there was anything remaining at the site of either of those people (or ideas).

• Was there any of Merlin’s energy remaining at Tintagel? NO.
• Was there any of the Spirit of Arthur’s energy at this site? YES.
• Was there anything of the mortal remains of Arthur at this site? YES. Oh, now that was interesting!
• What was it of Arthur that remained? His bones? NO. His energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “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).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with.? YES.

So, a real person who had either been named Arthur, or who had adopted the title, had ruled here at Tintagel, and now there was the remains of his energy somewhere on this island. That was quote exciting, so I set about trying to find it with the dowsing rods, letting them lead me to where this ‘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).; might be. I didn’t know yet what I was going to ask when I got there, but the hint was on!

Arthur’s Viewpoint

In one of the last scenes from the excellent film “Excalibur” there is a poignant moment where Arthur is laid to rest in his final moments with a view out over the ocean, high up on a cliff-top. Now that I have visited Tintagel that scene makes much more sense to me – of course if Arthur had died anywhere close to Tintagel then that would be where he would want to spend his final moments. Who wouldn’t?

View of The Sisters islands from Tintagel

My dowsing rods led me to a place on the island where they indicated 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)., the energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “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).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with., or the remnants of his spirit, could be found. I am not going to say where that was. I wish to respect his peace. If you want to find this place then feel free to make the effort to locate it for yourself. Perhaps he will have moved by the time you get there. Perhaps he is in different places for different people. Whichever is the case, it was a special place. I felt that straight away and soon I stopped dowsing questions about who or what this was, and I sat looking out at the view. I asked if it would be appropriate for me to ask for information spiritually, and got a positive response, so I began to tune in. Soon I was deep into a conversation inside my head with whatever this spirit was.

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Sunday 22nd August, 2010 – The Hurlers, Minions, Cornwall.

Having driven through the village of Minions to get to Trethevy Quoit the night before we were fairly confident about finding the famous stone circles called “The Hurlers”. There was a big brown sign pointing to them and everything so how could we miss them? We missed them. The morning mist was so dense that visibility was down to twenty feet, and as we trudged along the damp granite path our attention was on avoiding the larger puddles. At one point I stopped, intuitively feeling something was nearby. As I looked up I could see a small marker stone making an unusually prominent shape in the white misty background. We decided to head in that direction across the moorland and soon other shapes were coming out of the mist confirming that we had made a wise choice. Luck was with us and we hadn’t gone too far past, and soon dark shapes were appearing in regular patterns like dull ghostly sentries. We remarked how ‘atmospheric’ it was, which translated meant, “Dammit – why couldn’t it be sunny – this is spooky!”

What the Hurlers can look like

The Coach and Four

Other people were knocking about too, somewhere. Occasionally we would hear the sound of feet on the path and calls to a dog, or a group of walkers crunching past. It seemed that everyone else was missing the stone circle too because we were not disturbed during our hour long visit by anyone else, despite hearing man other voices nearby. Talking of which, as Kal and I convened on our way back we discussed the sounds we had heard in the mist and realised that both of us had heard the same strange noise. It was the sound of a carriage being pulled by horses. Undoubtedly. I’ve heard that sound in so many films that I couldn’t mistake it. I heard the sound of at least two horses, more like four, and they were accompanied by the sound of wooden wheels crunching on the path. There was no engine noise accompanying it. Most odd. Maybe some people with horse and cart were going past at nine in the morning? Even odder, the sound didn’t fade into the distance as you would expect, but disappeared as it passed us. You heard it clearly for a moment, and then as it passed by it died off quickly, it didn’t fade away. Again, very odd. I shivered a little in the morning gloom, and put it down to the atmosphere, but then when I mentioned it to Kal he nodded – he’d heard the same, and he added his own impressions of the noise which confirmed mine. However, on to the circles….

The Hurlers – The Male Circle and the Cross

There are three circles marked on OS maps, but in the mist we only found two of them. The Secret Cornwall site tells us that we are even wrong about that:

“The remains of a smaller fourth circle have recently been found north-north-east of the obvious three circles and a further fifth circle has been suggested between it and the others” (source: Secret Cornwall)

The first circle we encountered was the larger of the two, then there was a small pathway which linked to a slightly smaller ring of stones a few feet further north. One of the first things we independently dowsed was that the larger circle had a female characteristic, whilst the smaller circle was male.

Can you spot the stones?

Kal spent his first hour in the female circle, or rather, around its periphery, whilst I tried to get to grips with the male circle. I had come to the circles with an idea: I wanted to know whether it was possible to connect to the Sirius star energy, and what would happen if I did. I found 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. and began to work with it, connecting to its core. I identified the location of Sirius, and then sat facing it. Almost immediately I got the impression that I should walk around the circle to stir up the energies. I dowsed for the start point, and then which direction – clockwise. No surprises there. I walked around twice, the second time the path began to weave as though the energies around the stones were becoming agitated. This was good – I had done a similar thing at Mitchell’s Fold stone circle once. At that Shropshire circle I had walked around five times, each time dowsing a more erratic path with higher peaks. This was similar, but only required two perambulations to get the energies flowing enough to work with.

Male circle 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. marked by feather and staff

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20th August, 2010 – Trevethy Quoit, St Cleer, Cornwall

It is not very often that Kal and I go on a wild goose chase. We are usually quite well prepared, and we have technology to back us up. More often than not we have hard copies of bits of Ordnance Survey maps accompanied by copious notes. For our journey into Devon, however, we had none of that and were utterly reliant upon a good internet connection, and the usually good advice of Aubrey Burl’s ‘Guide to Stone Circles’.

Let me please advise anyone planning a journey into Devon – neither of these sources is going to be good enough if the rains come down, the mist rolls in, and fog settles on the moors! We wasted a full day in persistent foggy drizzle and lashing rain traipsing back and forth trying to follow vague directions and a high level map that didn’t include most megalithic sites. Poor preparation, and we paid for it. By the end of the first day in Devon we had all but given up hope of finding a stone circle with relatively good access that was in good condition, despite having a list of at least four candidates! A dismal day.

All that was about to change, however, as we moved towards Cornwall. Bless lovely Cornwall! I picked a site that was at least marked as a tourist attraction on my high-level map, and we decided to attempt to make that our destination for a night-time visit. Yes, despite missing stone circles in the fog and mist in the day time, we were prepared to venture out into the fog and mist at night, expecting to find Trevethy Quoit! Were we mad? Luckily for us, fate lent us a hand and we were guided in using all the techno equipment we could muster!

Trevethy Quoit just as I sketched it yesterday

Scanning the site

Once we got some space to dowse when the local village dog-walkers had retired for the evening, we did so. I went about finding the energetic aura of the site, which was about thirty feet around the site, although I didn’t follow it all the way around to where the houses backed onto the site. It may have flattened there, I don’t know. I’m lax – slap me! (“Hi Lax, you’re a slacker” – *SLAP*).

Before things got interesting I dowsed to see if there was any form of energetic entity in the area. I have been practising putting up protection recently so I wanted to know if I needed to do that here too. Apparently I did need to, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Kal had found a male 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. and I found out that I wasn’t compatible with that and that it was wise for me to protect my energies in such circumstances. This seems to be generally true – I am moon-aligned (i.e. compatible with female energy forms) and so if I encounter a site which has a male energy signature I have found out that it is sensible for me to protect my energy field from degradation, depletion or attack.

Death energy path to quoit entrance

Another good reason or me to put up protection was that there was an energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “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).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with. (or 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).) that was still registering an energetic imprint on the site. This death energy form was buried at a spot facing down the hill from the quoit, but it had a series of five linked male power centres which curved in a parabolic sweep right up to the entrance of the quoit’s inner space. This death energy was still active and could be utilising whatever went on inside the quoit to persist and replenish its own energy. I wasn’t going to be party to that! I had recently been reminded about protection and this was a good opportunity for me to re-visit an old mental routine for establishing that protection. I could have used a crystal layout but I prefer to be able to do things mentally if possible, using crystals as a last resort only if the mental space is too crowded (from noise or other distractions). The dowsing rods led me outside of the site’s aura as a safe space within which to set this protection up, and I did so gratefully.

The Sirius Meditation

TQ in sunlight - possibly the only photograph in existence

I will be publishing a post soon with lots more detail about the information I have discovered about the star Sirius, but for now let’s just say I had some questions that I still needed answers to because it was a difficult subject to take on board without boggling the brain. With the Moon almost full I squeezed into the quoit’s cramped inner dark space in order to connect with the site and get some answers. Four sticks of incense were required to help me. In such a small space that was quite pungent!

TQ's rabbit hole

Fifteen minutes later I emerged with some interesting information that would challenge many of the assumptions that I had read about and which many magicians take for granted, especially natural magicians. Such a series of assertions was going to have to be well researched and considered, but I want to give you the highlights so that you can be considering your own questions to bring to the Sirius post. Hopefully I will have managed to weave together enough information by then to make it all coherent and intelligible. For now, here is what I learned for you to think about, challenge and test for yourselves:-

• It is Sirius, not The Moon, which governs the forces of fertility and protection
• Sirius emits a powerful radiance which facilitates the process of enlightenment for humans – the frequency of its rays resonate with our ethericSomething tangible to the heightened senses, but invisible and beyond the normal range of everyday human senses. We use the term to describe the subtle energies that surround the human body. We also use the term “etheric” to describe the energy forms of Nature’s sentient spirit energies that can be detected through dowsing, or through deep meditation or states of heightened awareness. energy points known as chakras.
• Sirius is a strong force radiating blue light which resonates with our throat chakras, facilitating communication. More so than Mercury is supposed to.
• Above all, Sirius’ light is a motivational force – it is the impulse that drives humans to learn. The more aware and open a person is to the forces of Sirius then the more they are motivated to learn and grow mentally and spiritually.

That was the information gleaned from the first site visit in Cornwall. I have three more to post including The Hurlers, The Cheesewring and Tintagel Castle. Hope you enjoy them soon.

Gwas.

When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;

Three from the circle, three from the track;

Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;

Five will return, and one go alone.

Susan Cooper, an english author, wrote a series of books in the 1970s that were for pre-teenage children (well, perhaps 8-14). The books were based upon old celtic tales, but they were brought into the modern world. The collection is published by Puffin Press, the younger version of the famous Penguin Press. I remember reading most of the series, the ones I could afford to buy and which I could find int he bookshops of backwater Cumbria, when I was a pre-teen, and I remember the books having an enormous inpact upon me. In fact I would say that they were the most impressionable books I read as a young boy, and they are probably the books that began to awaken in me inklings of druidry and magick as a concept.

I don’t know what prompted me to ask for this, but a few years ago when my wife asked me what I might want for a birthday present I instantly replied, “The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper.” The response was instantaneous and unequivocal, I even took myself by surprise. She kindly got me the whole series of Cooper’s in one volume (used copy available from Amazon for one pence!!), and I then placed it on my bookshelf behind a long list of druidry and dowsing material. Whenever she asked me about it I would respond, “Well, I’m not really into fiction at the moment…soon, maybe.”

I wondered what I would make of the books now that I was much older. Would they seem irrevocably juvenile? Would I destroy this fond memory? Could I even bear to read them now? And they were fiction…I prevaricated for some time before starting ont he first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone. This was one of the series that I hadn’t read before. As I began to read it I was struck by how dated the conversational style was – it seemed to be like an Enid Blyton book! I was expecting them to go for a picnic with some ginger ale at any moment with the Drew family children and their Uncle Merry (who was anything but).

I kept on reading, however, and soon I was beginning to see beyond the dated styling. The evocation of Cornwall was now something that I could relate to, having visited it several times. I could picture the setting of the book, and when it began to feature a stone circle as a focal point of the story and a grail too…now I was beginning to get very interested!

I finished the book and moved on to the next in the sequence – the main story – The Dark Is Rising. This was the book that had started it all off for me. Reading it this time around with its magical emblems and its incredible atmosphere of impending malevolence punctuated by moments of sheer magic and relief I was once again enthralled completely by the novel. So much so that I began to slow down whilst reading it, trying to relate the symbolism, the ritual and the magic to my own experience and knowledge. It is the story of a boy coming of age and taking on the powers to which he was always heir to – magickal powers that reflect the elemental forces of nature. Will, the hero, is brought into The Light, and meets the apochrephal powers of Merlin (Merriman Lyon) and The Lady.

By now I was hooked again. he third book, Greenwitch was one that I remember starting, but not finished. Set again in Cornwall it is a rich story about the coming of age of the female energies, interwoven with the ancient ritual of the green man/corn dolly/greenwitch/wicker man. There is the usual thrilling interplay between the forces of The Light and The Dark, personified as the  good and bad aspects of ordinary and extraordinary people, and glimpses of the power of a boy who has come into his druidic powers, and now begins to make use of them to shape destiny.

I remembered the fourth book very well. The Grey King is set in Wales. As a boy I had not frame of reference for this landscape, but now as a man I knew the scenery and places well. The book is set around the countryside close to the mountain of Cadair Idris – The Chair of Idris (although no-one is quite sure who Idris was – a King, a poet or a giant – possibly all three). The Grey King himself is a malevolent force that dominates the atmosphere of the surrounding landscape and it is the job of Will and his new friends who know nothing of his powers or purpose. This book is utterly and relentlessly thrilling for any age of reader. Deep themes are threaded through a pacy narrative that sings with the lilt of the welsh voices who populate the story. The image of Bran Davies, the Raven Boy, is particularly fascinating, and now I could relate it to the story of Bran The Blessed, and the resonances sang with their own power to me.

By the time I got to the final book, Silver On The Tree, I had a pang of regret that this would be the last book. This was another of the books that I had not read as a boy, and now I had the chance to take it in fully and with knowing. Of all the stories this one is the most magickal with half the story taking place in a lost world n another dimension overlaying the real world, and with movement back and forth in time being integral to the story. Historical references are now brought in: Arthur, the Romans, and many other ancient stories and histories intertwine, and yet Cooper manages to make the story consistent, believable, and beautifully described.

If you have children aged 8-14, and you are looking for something to occupy their minds for the summer holidays, then I could make no higher recommendation than for you to obtain this wonderful volume of stories. It may change their lives in a positive way forever, and the magic of Susan Cooper may never leave them!

Gwas.

BTW: There was a film made of The Dark Is Rising. It is truly dreadful A complete lemon. Don’t even be tempted. It’s a travesty!