The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘derbyshire’

In a way you judge someone by the quality of the places that they take you to. Recently I was taken to a place the day before Samhain this year. I had once so nearly visited but somehow circumstances had conspired to make me miss it by only a short distance. Now I had a tour guide with local knowledge. When Mike spoke of the place it was in reverential tones, and the hint was always that it was a magickal place. The kind of place where you may come away with the course of your life taking a slightly tangential turn. He had spoken of the place’s power for change in the way that people who have genuinely experienced life-changing moments do – hushed tones, distant eyes – as though recalling some kind or form of force that the Anglo-Saxon pillar was imbued with.

You are then left with a decision – do I believe the power of this place, or do I have to go test it our for myself? I have to test it, of course! Progress must take its course during the year’s treadmill. Places of power should be visited. The dilemma – who by? Yet the Land can have lessons for everyone, surely. Good or bad. Clever or stupid. If I tell of the place, then I advertise its wonder, and more people probably come. There are some wells near where I live that birthed and died through the advertisement of their miraculous energies, effects and efficacies. However, I will mention the place’s name. What people do with it will reap its own rewards.

Clulow Cross - A truly illuminating place

In a previous post about the nearby Bullstones I had supposed that this had been the magickal stone that Mike’s tales had been centred upon. I was wrong. The description of the surroundings had matched my previous finding exactly, so when Mike and friends had allowed us to follow them up into the Derbyshire moorland and hills I thought I knew exactly where we were going. As we parked and got out of our respective cars the other group appeared to be heading in the wrong direction, until I realised that it was me who had made the mistake. Clulow Cross was down in the field on the Congleton side of Hammerton Knowl, not standing on the other side of the Knowl’s ridge between Wincle and Wilboarclough. This was the pillar remainder of an actual stone cross, not just a place name to locate a hidden monolithic treasure. And hidden it is. Nestled in a clump of middle-aged beech trees, the cross itself is hard to spot until you are within striking distance with an acorn.

An Aside About Access

I have probably pussy-footed and tap-danced around this subject for many years on this blog. Let me state this right out now as an opinion, and then I will attempt to back it up.

I have a right to walk the land. My right. My land. I will walk it. I will be respectful, courteous, kind and gentle as I do so. But I will walk it. It is my, our, everyone’s land.

Anyone who believes they own land needs to consider this perspective – the land has been there before humans as a species were even invented. Once we were invented we were given intellect to allow the development of the concept of custodianship. We are all of us guardians of our own lands, the lands with which we identify in our hearts.

Yes, others may choose to abuse their rights, and those that choose to be discourteous and un-cooperative with the custodians will always exist, but they are a manageable minority who will cause ill-will in whatever environment they find themselves. They are a test of everybody’s patience, and are not exclusive preserve of the irate farmer, or the country estate employee, or the quarry worker, or the member of this and that Trust.

Those who consider themselves to be “land owners” will have to live with their own arrogance on a daily basis. You ought only to encounter it occasionally as you walk these lands. We have a right to roam. We always have. We always will.

So, now that you understand my position and haven’t yet stopped reading in outrage and humph-pah, well, you should read on to find out what magick awaits the pagan who claims the right to roam.

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This is a brief and largely unexciting account of a recent visit to Arbor Low. Unless you’re specifically interested in this site I’d skip it because it doesn’t reveal much of interest outside of those who would visit the site. I’m posting it for completeness’ sake, and for those who have an unhealthy interest in Arbor Low.

It was a damp and windy September day when I arrived at my friend Michael’s house. The usual crew of our psychic friends were there, plus a new addition whom Michael had been wanting to introduce me to for ages. I was introduced to Janet and immediately I liked her. She was robust, earthy, plain-speaking and no-nonsense. Being a Yorkshire lad I felt right at home with that. We chatted for a while and Janet offered to let me read a copy of “The Eye of Fire” by Graham Philips – the sequel to the astonishing book “The Green Stone“. I had read The Green Stone recently and had been fascinated by it. I was going to buy the book and its sequel second-hand but prices were starting at £20 each and rising quickly to ridiculous figures! Luckily, Janet had a copy and was willing to lend it to me. I devoured its contents the next weekend! Now I am busy working my way through Andrew Collins‘ account of the same events in his book ”The Seventh Sword“.

The Eye of Fire

We didn’t hold out much hope for a break in the rain as we wended our way past some of the places mentioned in the Green Stone book, particularly Biddulph Grange. The discussions about the books passed the time on the way to Arbor Low. I was liking Janet even more, her ready smile, her chuckle, and her immediate warmth.

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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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I am writing this post because I lost a bet. When I last went out with Kal to Derbyshire a few weeks ago the clouds were thick and black. All the way there we had persistent rain threatening to make our day out a rather damp one. We didn’t have much time and I only had tow things on the agenda – to take more accurate bearings at Arbor Low in preparation for my book research, and then to visit a cave near to Buxton to practise my chakra awakening using sound. As we approached Buxton it seemed like my second choice was looking like the best one – being in a cave seemed like the most sensible choice.

It was at that point that Kal made his bet – he bet me that he would be able to make the sun appear as he usually did, and that we would therefore NOT get wet at Arbor Low. Not get wet at Arbor Low? Today? With these dark clouds all around? And with Arbor Low’s reputation for wind, cold and rain? I took the bet. I said that if he managed to make good on his promise of sun I would write a post as penance, explaining how I should believe him, not doubt his faith, etc etc. Yeah, yeah. I took the bet.

As we got out of the car I was chuckling to myself – it was still raining and I advised Kal to take one of my spare waterproof coats. “No need” he explained, “I’ll be fine – the sun will come out soon and I won’t need it.” Unbelievable! The sky was dark slate grey with not a hint of the sun making an appearance for the whole day in any direction. We walked up to the large embanked circle and I began to take readings in the rain and freezing cold wind. It was not a nice experience and I may have hurried the measurements a little in order to get the exercise over with, and this may necessitate me going back again when the weather’s a little warmer. Hey – I’m human!

Johann Bode's depiction of the Phoenix constellation

I took some other measurements too – like finding out that the stone circle was built aligned to the star that Andis Kaulins had said it was – Altair in the Aquila constellation. I also got agreement from the dowsing rods that each stone was in itself a star map. This was very interesting, but it wasn’t making the experience any warmer of less wet. I dowsed for the current star 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. to see if it had changed. Using StarWalk on my iPhone I identified that the current star that Arbor Low is aligned to is … Ankaa, in the Phoenix constellation. Ankaa means Boat in Arabic. That was it – my hands were freezing – I had to stop now.

Kal was doing his own research with the stone circle, but when I called him over to mention this interesting information he reminded me that his book cover (see Active Enlightenment) is also a phoenix. Then, just as we were discussing that coincidence another one happened. Through the thick grey clouds the sun somehow managed to cut a hole and shine down upon us. It was like something out of a dream.. I couldn’t believe it was happening. Kal just smirked and said, “The sun, at a sun site, with a sun person…like a phoenix!”

The impossible sun

Just look at that picture! How…? Kal had won his bet. I knew that I would have to write this post, and that I would have to tell the whole Hedge Druid-reading public that yet again Kal’s faith in the miraculous powers of the sun are undeniable, and I should never doubt them. That is my penance done now.

Gwas.

Chelmorton, Derbyshire – 20.11.10

A pale and wan full moon hung over us as we strode eagerly up to Five Wells chambered cairn. The coming dark forced our pace as we knew that time was scarce, and the eagerness of a new site made us giddy as though short of oxygen up on those windswept Derbyshire hills at the back of Chelmorton village, just off the main A6 road near Priestcliffe (with its huge round barrow). It seemed appropriate to me, one who is so overly concerned with balancing the forces that Nature provides, that the sun and the moon should be both visible and purposeful at that moment, both radiating with equally weak but welcome rays.

As we approached I felt the edge of the site’s aura and stopped. As usual Kal confirmed my feeling that this was the edge of the aura using dowsing rods. He nodded in agreement, so I got my own rods out and dowsed for the ritual path – the most respectful and energetic way of entering into the site. This in itself has become something of a ritual now. It feels right to approach in this way, especially to new sites whose guardians have not yet become accustomed to us, or who haven’t yet accepted our presence. It’s a way of showing them that we “mean business” and know what we’re doing in these sacred spaces. We’re not casual tourists!

I walked a curving female zig-zag path on the right-hand side which led me to a hollow. Little did I realise at the time that this would mimic a similar male zig-zag path on the entrance side of the chamber, which I would dowse days later. We settled in the near-side hollow, at what is the back of the chamber, on the right-hand side of the line of paired stones. We had seen similar stone rows in Merrivale in Devon earlier this year. For some reason only the right-hand side of the chamber’s hill seemed “attractive” to us. I never walked on the other side at all, and I don’t think Kal did either, except perhaps to quickly move back to the right-hand side again.

I lit some opium-scented incense and placed three sticks around the pit where we had settled. This was our sanctuary, should we need one, and I mentally cleared the space. Kal spotted that the Moon was visible in the darkening light and went off to the chamber to meditate. I couldn’t settle, however and mooched around dowsing occasionally as thoughts come into my vacuous mind space….it had been a long and draining day, and despite this being a new and exciting place, I felt that there was little for me to do here today.

Perfectly aligned to the Moon

Kal wrapped himself up in his meagre clothing (doesn’t this man feel the cold?). He did some meditation work, aligning himself with the full moon and having a wonderful experience by all accounts (you usually have to wait a bit for his write-ups, but they usually arrive eventually).

Meanwhile I had found a ley lineThe term used by many British dowsers to describe an energy leyA straight line of neutral energy linking two or more sacred sites or other energetic centres. This is often confused with Alfred Watkins’ concept of the Ley Line. Strictly speaking a ley line does not necessarily mean a neutral energy line, only a sight alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. between notable places, whereas an energy ley is like a radial spoke in a wheel, with energy flowing outwards across the land in a straight line. It has sometimes been found that the energy ley can be diverted from its strict straight path by changes in the landscape or strong attractors that pull it away from its original course. Energy leys may have inter-twining streams of male and female energies weaving along them, as though the energy ley is an attractor, a pathway or a conduit for the male and female energies.. It is easily confused with ley and therefore its use is not recommended by dowsers. running through the centre of the chamber and on through the pairs of aligned stones at the ‘back’ of the site closest to the point at which you enter the area via a small gate. The ley lineThe term used by many British dowsers to describe an energy leyA straight line of neutral energy linking two or more sacred sites or other energetic centres. This is often confused with Alfred Watkins’ concept of the Ley Line. Strictly speaking a ley line does not necessarily mean a neutral energy line, only a sight alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. between notable places, whereas an energy ley is like a radial spoke in a wheel, with energy flowing outwards across the land in a straight line. It has sometimes been found that the energy ley can be diverted from its strict straight path by changes in the landscape or strong attractors that pull it away from its original course. Energy leys may have inter-twining streams of male and female energies weaving along them, as though the energy ley is an attractor, a pathway or a conduit for the male and female energies.. It is easily confused with ley and therefore its use is not recommended by dowsers. was being marked or guided by the entrance stones, and then the line of stones at the rear of the monument were further indicating its direction. As I looked up I saw that the Moon was perfectly aligned too tonight, and Kal returned soon after excited about the same alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. of astral and earth-based elements.

We left shortly after that because I had a pressing engagement, but I knew that I needed to come back and spend more time here. Luckily, a combination of my increasing myopia and the tiny cooking instructions for some fishcakes resulted in me having to take the first day off sick from work in living memory, and this seemed like a pre-ordained opportunity to recuperate in the bracing air of the Derbyshire hills. Oh, Dame Fortune, how you smiled as I retched brown bile, knowing this would lead to me returning to Five Wells!

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It’s not often that we encounter like-minded folk on our travels – even at stone circles. When we do it is always a pleasure and rarely a chore. On Saturday 20th November Kal and I headed out to Derbyshire again. Kal had come back for a weekend of fun and frolics, so I put a stop to all that by insisting that he accompany me to some special places for old times’ sake, and because it was a full moon. We chose Nine Stones Close, Doll Tor, Bakewell Church and finally Five Wells chambered cairn. This post will discuss the serendipitous outcome of the Nine Stones Close visit.

I apologise now for my lack of detail. I tend not to store facts and figures these days – I don’t see that they have much use – and so I won’t be able to tell you the names of those involved, nor the details of their social interactions, nor many other details that one might consider to be the normal amount of information gathered from a long discussion. Didn’t get any of that. What I did retain was the interesting stuff, and that’s what I’ll report in this post.

For this trip I had taken everything including the kitchen sink. I knew that I would need incense (and I had stacks of it) and for some reason I felt I needed to bring crystals. So I brought around three different collections which all have different purposes. I also dug out a set which Kal had mistakenly left with me and I was determined to give them back to him, which I did. This set was a chakra balancing set of stones with a varied assortment of useful crystals. When we met I explained the mistake and Kal accepted them crystals back again.

A Casual Query

As we walked up me were hailed by a man in a wide-brimmed Australian bush hat with a south midlands accent. He asked if we were local, to which we replied we weren’t, but nevertheless I asked him to ask his question – we might be able to help. He said that he thought there was a hermit’s cave roundabouts and would we know where it was? We did indeed know, having been up there recently having found the cave eventually. Despite visiting many times we had only found it after being a bit curious and wandering way out of our way – thankfully it was a kinder month than November and we were rewarded by finding the cave and some significant other places that were power centres for us to work in should we ever need them. So we directed the man and his two young lady companions (nice work if you can get it, eh?).

We headed on up to the stone circle…

Kal dowses his favourite circle

We did some preliminary dowsing and discover that today is a good day to do some work. As usual I spent a lot of my time in my particular 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 found that I could do some meditation to find out more about which direction I should take my research into spirits and death energies. Kal indicated that he would be working with his favourite tree but instead of it being him healing the tree, this time the tree would be involved in healing him! Most mysterious, and I hope he posts as to what that was about.

I lit some incense and began to prepare to do some meditation, but the group of three arrived interrupting this wok before it got started. We got talking – the girls attracted to the nimble toned physique of Kal (he wishes), whilst the middle-aged gentleman was lumbered with me. I soon identified from his terminology that he was a pagan of some variety and so I mentioned druidry and he responded positively. This was followed by a lengthy account of the Scottish sites we had both visited – he telling me about the wonders of the Orkney Isles, and me responding with my limited repertoire. He recommends that I visit during the Midwinter Solstice. A lovely idea, but it’s a long journey, even from the North of England. One day.

Meanwhile Kal was offering the girls some of his newly re-acquired crystals. Moments later one of the ladies (did I say girls? I was being a gentleman) came over asking her male friend to identify the crystal. He almost said “Lapis lazuli” and I helped him to recall its name, but Kal interjected – “It’s a blue sodalite.” The lady almost fell backwards exclaiming, “That was the crystal that Chinese healer told me I needed to heal my throat.”

For Kal this was a meaningful coincidence – getting the crystals this day, then the lady picking the perfect one out. It was certainly fortuitous.

Our unexpected guests

Kal did some energy healing work with the nearby tree (this time it healed him) and I finished my meditation at my usual stone in the circle. Then I picked up my staff, which I had propped up in one of the stone’s long grooves) and I went to stand in the “unusual” stone’s aura. Which is the unusual stone? Well, it’s the one that we initially picked up bad vibes from, and which seems to have a strong connection to Robin Hood’s Stride – the nearby sandstone ridge. This particular stone is also a funny shape, being wider at the top than at the base. Standing there I got a mental picture of bright aquamarine or topaz – a sort of phosphorescent bright green with just a hint of blue. I tried to meditate again, this time asking whether there was anything else I should be working on – the answer was “Merlin”.

As I stood by the unusual stone I was quivering with energy and asked Kal to dowse me. He found that the energy I was receiving was a new form of energy! We haven’t yet found out what that is or what it might be for. I went back to my 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 sealed the energy in like a battery storing it for later use.

Charging my staff

Now we headed off to nearby Doll Tor. Luckily now we are familiar with how to get to and park at these places. Kal was wittering on about how marvellous he felt and singing a single note of awe at regular intervals. I advise him he should stop before he got a staff rammed down his throat! What the hedge druid gives with one hand, he takes with the other. Balance, see?

Gwas.

Nine Ladies stone circle, Stanton Moor, Derbyshire – October 13th 2010

Firstly, apologies for the poor quality of the pictures used in this post. I forgot to bring my camera and had to rely on the camera on my phone to get some contextual images. At least they illustrate the point, even if they wouldn’t make a decent backdrop.

Let’s start the post with a giggle. Raise your hands all of you who expected that Kal would have learned his lesson about approaching the grumpy old oak tree that sits alongside the Nine Ladies stone circle! How many raised their hands? All of you? Well, you’d all be right. We arrived, stood for a moment comtemplating the beauty of the circle from fifty feet away, and then Kal bounded over to the oak tree almost demanding that it communicate positively with him. I laughed at the sheer inevitability of what was to come. A poke in the eye from a low-hanging branch for Kal, yet again!

I approached the tree sedately, feeling its aura close to its canopy of still-green leaves. I skirted the edge, rounding the tree once widdershins, occasionally letting its lower outer branches stroke my face. Then, at the correct entrance point I stopped to ask if I might enter. I felt a slight tug at what I am now calling, in Castenada’s terms, the Assemblage Point, and I knew I was alright to enter. We got on, this tree and I. I knew it demanded a careful respect, and I was amenable to that. After all – I was invading its space, not the other way around. Kal grumbled about its grumpiness and I chuckled, reminding him of what he needed to do in order to pass into the tree’s favour. He grumbled again. He hates deference. I don’t call it deference, I call it mutual respect, and that makes the whole thing work automatically, like automatically saying ‘sorry’ if you bump into someone, no matter who bumped into whom.

The Cleaning Job

As Kal paid his penance at the foot of the oak tree I headed to the circle of small stones that formed the dainty monument that is Nine Ladies. Something felt funny, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly. I decided I needed the help of my dowsing rods. I cleaned them down (a matter of stroking the rods from stem to tip and shaking your hand afterwards – a mere ritual, but it seems to keep the rods free of energetic interference). After cleaning I readied the rods in my usual shoot-from-the-hip stance, elbows in at my side and rods perfectly balanced and level, free to swivel as the energies may direct them.

I asked the rods a question, “Did this circle need re-balancing of the energies?” – in other words, was there too much of one particular type of energy? NO. OK, now for the follow up, “Did this circle need cleansing?” – i.e. was there an influx of unusual energy not native to the circle that could be causing disruption to its function? YES.

Distinguishing these two types of energy work is important, I feel. Re-balancing and cleansing are two very different activities requiring different approaches. For re-balancing I seek to either draw up and create more energy for anything that is required to create a balance between the energy types, or else I dampen down the effect of an over-lively energy form in order to bring it back to the levels of the other energies at the site. Cleansing requires me to eliminate some ‘alien’ energy form (usually human-sourced) and to leave the site with only its natural energies (unless the alien energy is actually benefiting the site).

Which brings me to my final question before I begin the work, “Is the additional energy beneficial to the site?”. NO. Right, then it did need to be dealt with. Could I use incense for this work? YES. How many sticks would be required to cleanse the energy? SIX. Six!” Seriously?? That was more than I had ever needed to use before for such work. Usually it’s two, three, maybe four. Six was something that took this work to new heights for me.

Incensed at having to clean this circle

I lit the incense sticks, placed them where the rods dictated I should, and then dowsed for how long they would take to clear the problem energy – six minutes. Ha, today was all sixes! Strange. Next I noticed another strange coincidence.

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