The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘crystals’

In the final part of my Autumn Equinox posts from the island of Anglesey I talk about my visit to the wonderful and mysterious mound of Bryn Celli Ddu with my psychic friend Mike. As you might expect given the company I was in this was a different experience than my usual dowsing visits, and I was also able to find out what the next final part of my healing quest would entail for the next few weeks.

Bryn Celli Ddu

We walked the gravelly path to the ancient mound buoyed by expectation. Our visit to Barclodiad Y Gawres had been disappointing, but now the sun was trying to break through the cloud cover, and the wind was easing back from its incessant howl. Of course, as always happens, we passed some visitors heading away from the site as we approached. This is such a busy place!

As we walked down the path I again “noticed” the moss-covered stone at the corner of the final approach path. As we walked round the corner I saw my old friend the ash tree – one of the tree guardians of the site. I paid my respects and passed the time of day without expecting a response. Mike, however, got rejected when he tried a similar approach. I giggled a little at this – this is exactly how Kal started out when he first approached trees – with an expectation of instant friendship. I knew that the road was much longer and tougher to travel than many people expect when it comes to talking to trees.

We began our approach and I mentioned how “spooky” the hawthorn-lined path could be at night. Even in the day it is a little intimidating. Mike said that he felt we were being watched. I stopped and tried to sense the presence too. Oh yes! Now that I turned my 360-degree attention to the entity I could sense there was something watching our progress, and it wasn’ t the tree. Hmm…I made a mental note.

The entrance to Bryn Celli Ddu chamber

Now we rounded the final corner and opened to gate to the site. it was Mike’s first visit and he drew an appropriately large intake of air in a huge gasp of appreciation.

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Kal and I have decided that we will tailor our visits to sacred sites to take advantage of the effects of the Earth’s Magnetic Field (EMF) and the site’s specific construction. For example, we may predominantly look to visit stone circles at times when the moon is full, or barrows when the moon is new. For this reason we chose to go to two of our favourite circles in Derbyshire at a time just past the full moon in July.

The Impossible Sun

All the way from Cheshire to Derbyshire was gloomy and damp. Rain was either pending or descending, and as we came over the Buxton road (A537) we hit the mist and the sheets of driving rain that I had anticipated all morning. We were bound to get wet on our travels this day, I thought. There was not one bright area in the whole sky, only dull slate-grey sheets of rain, drizzle, mist or combinations of the three. Of course, this weather report did not dampen Kal’s spirits. As I ribbed him about “inappropriate clothing” and a southern temperament he seemed to be developing, he reminded me that his confidence in his ability to call upon the Sun was born of his special relationship with the powers of Nature that he had developed since he had found his solar calling. I scoffed, despite having been shown to be wrong on previous occasions. This time there was simply NO WAY there could possibly be anything but rain for our stone circle visit. The rain continued to fall as we neared Bakewell, and continued still as we made our way up to Nine Stones Close. This time, there would not be any need for an apology – the roles would be reversed!

As we stepped out of the car the rain halted. Ah yes, I thought, but only to continue any moment! I got my wet weather gear on – waterproof trousers, coat, hat in my bag, boots. Even the sheep that we passed as we climbed besides Robin Hood’s Stride rocks seemed surprised to see anyone out on a day like this. We trudged through wet grass in the fields and made our way to the stones. As we approached I conceded to Kal that there was a tiny spot of lighter grey above us, but still maintained that this was nothing like a ray of sunshine. Could he deliver, I taunted? Seconds later the sun broke through an invisible gap in the clouds and shone right in my face…

Kal calls the Sun to Nine Stones Close

Kal nearly jumped twenty feet into the air shouting, “See! Unbeliever! Told you I could make the sun shine! You should listen to a Sun Boy!” I was shame-faced again. How had he done this? All around was leaden grey cloud, and right above us the tiniest sliver of an opening through which the sun shone on us. It was like some kind of West End spotlight that was highlighting Kal’s bizarre hop-skippety dancing as he jigged about in glee at his “win”. I promised yet again to post my shame in full view for all to see. Never ever again will I doubt his sun-calling talents. I think I said that last time, but this time I mean it. He’s never ever been beaten in four years! Even my impoverished brain can judge that this is statistically improbable.

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High Harrington – a return to dowsing roots

On our way over from Castlerigg to Ennerdale I noticed that we would be going within a short distance of the village that I used to live in when I lived in Cumbria. It was too good an opportunity to miss, especially as I suddenly thought of something that might make the visit a bit more interesting – High Harrington was the first place that I ever dowsed, when I was about 11 or 12 years old. How about going back to discover what it was that I found int he field opposite my old house?

Despite the fact that the satellite navigation on my phone was really playing up that morning I still remembered enough about the area to be able to navigate us to the right place (after one false alarm due to new construction). I pointed out old haunts on the way through the village from the east side and eventually we parked opposite my old house, next to the field I had first dowsed in (not the house pictured, but similar if much smaller).

Yes folks, it really is as exciting as it looks!

The first thing I noticed about the house was that the neighbours had cut down their beautiful cherry tree – the one bit of joyful colour in this otherwise drab street. Shame, because it would have been in bloom at that time of year. Now there was just an bland gap. Fools! We made our way to the field and hopped over the gate for a swift bit of dowsing – surely no-one would mind two fellas swinging rods around in a grassy field?

I asked the rods to find the exact spot where I had got a dowsing reaction 30 years ago, although back then I knew not why, of course. I was within ten feet of the spot and it only took me seconds to locate it. Now I had the knowledge to find out what the reasons for the reaction were. So, I asked the rods for more information about the spot. It turned out to be a very weak female spiral caused by some underground water at that spot. Wow – after all these years the round trip was completed, and the mystery solved!

Just as we were climbing back over the fence a farmer appeared asking what we were up to. Funny how he appeared just at that moment – almost like one of the locals tipped him off, or something? Still a bunch of close-knit nosy parkers then? Nothing changes up that part of the country. I explained my situation, my history and what I was doing. Farmers are often sympathetic to this. Indeed he was quite reasonable, not flinching one bit at the dowsing, and in fact confirming that there were several water springs in the field that he had come across when working the land over the years. Excellent – conformation of my findings too. What a bonus! I thanked the nosy parkers for their hidden intervention, and turned my suspicious thoughts into unqualified thanks.

Ennerdale Water – an exchange of spirits

The next destination we headed for was another one of my re-visitations. We drove to Ennerdale Water, one of the smaller lakes and the one closest to High Harrington (okay – maybe Loweswater is slightly closer – don’t be pedantic – it’s poetic license). I remember cycling to Ennerdale on several occasions on warm weekends and when I arrived I would usually walk around the lake, up into the hills, and sit by a stream or just look out over the lake for a while, then ride all the way home. No wonder I had legs like tree trunks as a youth!

In my mind I had a vivid memory of standing on the shore of Ennerdale, almost saying goodbye to it before I moved away. Now I was back. We parked at the car park and walked the short walk down to the edge fo the lake. There was no obvious way to get TO the lake itself so we walked around for a while, and then I insisted that we find a way down to the lake shore, so we plunged through the long grass whereupon I found an almost invisible animal track and we followed that. At the end of the track it opened out onto a pebble-strewn cove of some fifteen feet across and only a few feet in depth. I stopped shocked. This was the exact place I remember last standing in my memory of the place! I had found the exact point thirty years later. The power of the subconscious mind, eh?

It wasn’t warm, though. Kal and I skimmed some stones for a few minutes, admiring the ones that bounced several times and boo-ing the ones that plopped unceremoniously into the dark blue repository. It was a moment of youthful playfulness. Then I felt a tug, a need to connect to the lake. I have always had good experiences connecting with the spirits of lakes, but despite that I put up some protection. One never knows what’s out there, so it’s best to be safe.

The Blue Stone to White Stone exchange

With my protection in place I extended my aura out into the lake asking for any water spirit that wished to connect to do so. I also took out my set of elemental crystals (the only ones I had brought with me to the lake) and tried to remember exactly which one was for the water spirit. After a minute of deliberation I chose a blue agate that I had recently introduced into the set for some reason. I called upon the water spirit that I have become familiar with to move herself into this crystal so that I could work with her.  I felt a distinct..unwillingness for her to do that! I picked out the other crystal that she might reside in (or through which I could contact her) and asked if she was in that one – YES. But it was an indistinct clear quartz crystal and it was easily confused with the other one in the collection. I needed to change this, so I asked the lake spirits if I would be allowed to remove a stone from the lake within which to re-house my familiar water spirit. The roar of approval was almost deafening to my internal ears, as it were. The overwhelming feeling of “rightness” was the permission I needed.

I picked up my staff and looked into the lake – which one to choose? There was a small white stone about six feet into the shallows that caught my eye. I asked, would that stone be suitable? Again the lake’s spirits responded encouragingly with a tingly pleasant feeling in my stomach, like excitement.

By the way – some signs for disapproval include birds making noises around me, anything that is very distracting just after the question is asked, or a feeling of queasiness in my stomach. The birds I take as a warning, the distraction is telling me that I should be looking elsewhere for an answer, and the queasiness tells me that the thing I am about to do is not good for me.

I fished out the stone, not wanting to touch the lake until the last moment when I picked the white Dolomite stone out. Kal kept saying, “Come on! Just pick it up!” but I had to do it carefully, with the minimum of disturbance and not too greedily. It had to come because it wanted to, not because I wanted it to. It arrived easily and willingly.

On the shore I held the stone for a short while and then was pleased to find it was warm and perfectly dry, despite the cold weather and my cold hands. Odd, but a good sign – it meant we were compatible. I asked my water spirit ally whether she would transfer her connections into the new stone and there was a whoosh of swirling energy around my head as the transfer took place. This was obviously a better place to live!

I took the blue agate stone that I could find no use for and filled it with my own energy – experiences of this day, my feelings for this region, my memories of the place, my stories from a life lived here – and then I hurled the stone into the lake where it disappeared instantly, never to be seen again. It belonged to the lake itself now. We had exchanged energies. The lake spirits had given me one of their precious stones, and in return I had done the same. I like that – I like to be in balance, neither in debt nor owed anything.

That was all we had to do – to evoke memories and exchange spirits. Quite a beautiful experience amid the dramatic cloud, water and hills around.

Gwas – finding a new home for an old friend

The intrepid duo of Kal and myself were out and about again in the middle of February. Call it my birthday excursion, if you will, for this Aquarian and Antiquarian had just arrived at another arbitrary date in his personal calendar. More importantly, Kal and I were out in the bright sunshine of the Welsh hills near to Llangollen – a wise choice for a destination due to its proximity and beauty. We had several sites in mind but our starting point would turn out to be the most exciting and interesting of them all – Vale Crucis abbey’s ruined frame just west of Llangollen’s cute little town, and deposited next to the River Dee which dominates the area and splits the town in two.

Finding the abbey was easy. We came in on the A542 and stayed on that road as we passed through Llangollen. As the road rose out of the town a brown tourist sign suddenly directed us right and down to a car park right next to the abbey itself on the periphery of a camping site.

Approach to Vale Crucis abbey

The front of the abbey is an imposing arch of wonderful symmetry crowned by a petalled circle. Some fine and no doubt sacred proportions seem to have been used in the construction of this abbey, although we didn’t go around measuring such things – we had far more interesting work to be doing. We set foot inside the main hall section and from there we barely moved for the whole visit because we found so much to work with!

Info board at Vale Crucis

A visitor sign at the entrance held our attention for a moment as we discovered that the abbey had been built by the Cistercian Order in 1201 C.E. What a wonderful job they had done, too. The masonry involved in this site is gorgeous. However, it wasn’t the architecture we had come to admire so we stepped into the main hall and once we had finished being astonished at the architecture we settled down to some dowsing.

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I have just added a new “How To” article from Kal that talks about how to create 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. in your own home. We frequently mention the concept of 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. (see our Glossary page for a definition) but now Kal takes you through the steps he has used recently himself to create such an energy point, and gives advice on the mindset and techniques for achieving this.

We’re still working on the “How to Dowse” article. It’s proving trickier than we imagined to get it general enough to be useful to everyone, but with enough content to be worthwhile. It’s a tricky balance. Bear with us!

Gwas.

The Old Moon – the name for the first full moon of the year – occurred on the 19th January. As a moon-aligned person (Do you know if you are moon or sul aligned? Why not go check using dowsing rods?) I always take the opportunity to bathe myself in the energies that the Moon reflects down to Earth. I tried to find some information about what the Old Moon energies might be like, but there’s simply none available online. Maybe some old books record it, but it’s not available on the web, so I had no reference point to know to what purpose the energy has historically been put. I would be making it up again.

I engineered a little bit of time for myself on the way home from work and had a feeling that I should head to a hilltop that I had visited before. I wasn’t really kitted out for such a visit (I knew there were probably cows in the field below the hill). Nevertheless I took Kal’s approach to this – Nature would see me right and I would be fine. Ahem.

I drove towards the hills near Frodsham but as I turned into one of the back lanes I came across an unusual sight. I saw the full moon rippling gently on the surface of a pond. This pond I knew was a regular haunt for local fishermen. Tonight it was a perfect mirror for the glory of the Old Moon in its full glory. Not a cloud spoiled the view. I had to pull over.

Full moon's reflected stare

I parked and walked quietly around the edge of the pond towards a clear bit. In the moonlight everything was clear and I could see the best position to be – at a small outcrop that hung over the ponds slightly and which was in direct 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. with the moon’s current position. I settled there, in a fashion, but there was much more car traffic than I imagined there would be out here “in the middle of nowhere”. It seemed to have become a thoroughfare just at the moment I wanted peace and quiet! Where had all these cars come from? I tried my best to ignore them, and to ignore the occasional shouts and barks emerging from one of the only two homes nearby.

Looping the Moon

The way that the moon and its reflection were positioned in front of me seemed to form a figure of eight in my mind. As I connected ot the energy of the land and sky, my energy seemed to be drawn towards the moon. I let it go, watching as it looped around the moon and then back down to the moon’s reflection in the pond. The invisible energy loop now began to circulate all on its own – looping around the moon and then down in the opposite direction to its reflection. With each loop I felt stronger, more empowered, and I wasn’t in a hurry to move.

Fate, however, determined that I should. A big rumble of a 4×4 grew to a roar alongside me as one of the inhabitants of the only other house nearby chose that exact moment to nip out for a pint of milk from the local shop several miles away, or something like that. My connection broke and I awoke to the smell of the two incense sticks I had lit to accompany the special moment. I decided it was time to go home.

Old moon – new crystal energy

At home I felt there was still some use to which I could put the full moon energies. I laid out all of my current sets of crystals (I will post shortly on how those are composed this year) on a table underneath the full moon that shone through a skylight. I drew down the moon’s energy and asked that the crystals be cleansed and re-energised by this reflected moon energy.

Using the full moon at its peak

I then dowsed about whether such a process was under way. It was. I dowsed about how long the crystals should be left and I got the answer that the crystals should be taken out of the moon’s light at midnight. I wondered why, so I logged onto the Internet to find out when the moon would be at its peak – midnight! Back to the dowsing – do the crystals have to be removed after that time because of the moon’s waning energies? YES. So, it seems that the crystals, whilst being charged up by the moon would also be then drained by it as it waned. They level of energy in the crystals was a reflection of the energy that the moon had at any particular time, unless they were removed from its influence by being hidden from its light.

At the same time as charging the crystals I took my ash staff and put it outside in the direct moonlight. At its tip I placed a single prism clear quartz crystals to focus the moon’s energy into the staff. Again, I did a simple intention to draw the moon’s energy down and through the crystal into the staff. Again, I removed this arrangement after midnight.

This had been a most enlightening evening in many ways. I felt energised and empowered, and my ritual tools had likewise been cleansed and re-empowered by this clear full moon. What a good start to the year’s moon-watching!

Gwas.

Two Crystals at Nine Stones Close

Apparently I had loaned/given Gwas some crystals a while ago and as we met up for todays journey he handed me a pouch which contained five crystals. I had forgotten them entirely but as they say…

Never refuse a gift

So I accepted them and we were off. I had a hankering for 9 stones close (one of my sites of the year) and since it had been a while since both Gwas and I had visited it, that was first on the agenda.

Although it was a fresh, late Autumn day we found the weather to be auspiciously dry and calm. I have to say I love this site, ever since I was engaged in healing the aura of the Oak tree there I have felt a strong affinity with it. This visit was no exception.

As we walked up the short incline to what is called Robin Hoods Stride I turned to Gwas and said, I think I will leave two of those crystals here at Nine Stones.

As Gwas moved about the sacred site getting his own unique connection with it. I clambered over the wall to commune with the grand Oak.

In our divided way we both made our own greetings to the site and its energies sentient and non alike. It was whilst in the midst of this that four people joined us. Two ladies and a gent. They wandered around the site and I could tell they were energy aware.

A few minutes later Gwas was speaking to the gent and the the other two presented me with a conversation about energies. As we talked the conversation moved to crystals and without thinking I drew out the pouch and offered a crystal to each of them. One the ladies had no clue about which crystal was which but “felt” that one of them was calling to her and she chose it.

The crystal she had chosen was a dark blue Sodalite one and after failing at some guessing games I decided to let them out of there suspense and told her that it was a Sodalite. She became really surprised at this because…

She had just (the day before) returned from Singapore and a healer there had told her that she needed to get hold of some Sodalite to help her heal a throat condition.

I was as amazed as they were at this synchronistic event. I think I will always be. I am fortunate these days to have them occurring frequently. Soon after this event the gang of four wandered of to other pastures after having told Gwas about a Five Chambers, a site that we had not heard of but vowed to visit.

As we walked back towards the car (perhaps at the same point as when we were coming) I turned to Gwas and remarked…

Hey, I told you I would be leaving two crystals at Nine Stones Close

Kal Malik – reading the signs aright.