The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘dinas emrys’

My summary of the year could easily take up several posts, but I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to highlight the many important distinct elements that have taken place this year, and then provide links to the posts that illustrate these elements.

On the whole it has been an amazingly packed, dense, active year. If I were to summarise the whole year in one sentence I would say that this year I have ‘come of age’ in my druid work. I have accepted a level of responsibility, been given many new ‘powers’, skills and abilities, and I have seen a startling increase in my use of intuition. There have also been many surprises. I began the year expecting that I would be working with one type of energy which actually turned out to be something else. I have been to many familiar places, and some new ones too. Each time I have been astonished by the power of the experiences I have had.

It has been a truly rewarding and remarkable year for me, and for Kal too, I know, and yet again I couldn’t have done half of the work I do without his enthusiastic and sometimes madcap influence. So pleased to have such a great friend to work alongside.

Here are the main elements of my year, in roughly chronological order:-

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Year of the Dragon.

First there was the dragon vision at Dinas Emrys – a vision of a Dragon at the “Solstice Centre”. This idea led me on a quest to find the dragon energy or spirit form that might exist at the centre of the land, and to do that close to the Summer Solstice. The vision of the dragon at the centre of the land, followed by seeing the dragon sylph in the clouds at Moel Ty Uchaf.

I was then urged to visit Hanger Hill in Sherwood Forest for a second time in the year to find this centre, and there I had a strong vision of the dragon energy covering the whole island. Finally  at the end of the year I would see the sleeping dragon in Spain and wake the fire dragon when I linked the two mounds in Antequera with my friend Mike.

POSTS: The first dragon vision, The second dragon vision, Dinas Emrys red and white dragons, Spread of the Dragon, Hanger Hill, El Torcal, Fire Dragon of Antequera

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Renown

 ”I will be spending the year seeking out sources to increase my personal power“.

That was the prediction I made at the start of the year. How much did that come true? I have certainly felt that I have followed a path that had led to an increase in my personal spiritual power.

Renown has come to the fore in many ways – increased recognition (popularity of the blog), increased personal power (magickal energy), and through research into many historical and mythical figures that are closely linked to my own history.

POSTS: Imbolc, Careg-Y-Big stone and fame, Robin Hood and renown,

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Arthurian Archetypes

This year I expanded the number of Arthurian archetypes that I work with to four. 2010 was a Merlin year, 2011 an Arthur year, and this year has been a Gwalchmai year. I thought it was Merlin at Lud’s Church, but now I realise it was a knight figure and that was Gawain/Gwalchmai.

Time and again I would refer to The Green Man and associate this with Merlin. Looking back I can see that actually this was totally the wrong association. It should have been Gwalchmai all along!

POSTS: Arthurian Archetypes of the Cross, Remote Dreaming at Luds Church, Seeing Like The Hawk, The Hawk and The Dove

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Ancestors

Start of the year was the start of the quest at Vale Crucis. Being directed toward Roscommon, Ireland by the shade of St Duignan. Finding my ancestral home, and its warrior kings. The wonderful and strange encounters in that land. Finally feeling a true link to the land. The rewards of this journey were instructions about how to access ancestor energies that I had received as ‘a download’:

1. The first stage to unlocking the energies is to remember the quest that gained them, especially the moment when they were downloaded into me when I held the Eel Sword at the edge of Lough Key.
2. I should let my mind go free and let it link with the land. It also represents will. Some willpower is required to unlock these energies.
3. Use a feeling of joy to unlock the access to the ancestor energies once linked to the land and mindful of the downloaded energies.

POSTS: Ancestor Tarot Reading, The Burial Site, The Vision, Search for a Sword, The Abbey, The Throne, Forging a Sword, The Battle, The Coronation,

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Influence of the Stars

The link between my energy body and the stars that influence it. It started with Venus, but at the end of the year I was shown other specific stars that form a personal astrology – specific stars that influence some of my emotional traits.

The work came full circle on that subject. I now understand the very personal nature of astrology and its energetic effects.

POSTS: New dimension to stargazing

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Predictions for crop circles

I predicted that this year would see the last of the “real” circles. Was this true? Perhaps only next year will tell for sure.

Certainly it has been an incredibly poor year for circles to say the least. People put that down to the amount of rain. I don’t know what caused it – but oddly I felt a compulsion to predict it at the beginning of the year. The quality of the circles was astonishingly poor – I felt like most of them were clear and obvious man-made circles, which is different to other years.

POSTS: The Prediction, The Realisation

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Re-balancing via the Sun

At Imbolc I was told by the spirit of Brigid that I needed to re-balance. I would do this by allowing more sun energy into my energy field this year. I have certainly spent much more time using male/sun energy than in previous years where I was almost exclusively using female energy forms. An orb makes an appearance at The Bridestones as though to confirm this requirement from spirit.

POSTS: Imbolc 2012, Egypt 2012, Winter Solstice 2012

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Map dowsing

At the Spring Equinox Kal and I did a map dowsing experiment. We decided to choose a place to visit anywhere in the British Isles. When we compared notes we had map dowsed exactly the same square mile.

This is a skill that I have significantly improved this year. In fact, in many ways map dowsing started my whole year off with a bit of recuperation and some early site visits that would open a whole side to the country that I had neglected.

POSTS: Map dowsing my recovery, Spring Equinox 2012, Finding my Spiritual Centre, Heart of Paris

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Becoming a Druid

Feeling like I had been “upgraded” to the “oak” level – the druid level in Ireland. Understanding that this would mean turning my thoughts to teaching the information I had gained, rather than just obtaining it.

Also, a new sense of responsibility and a duty to give something back comes with this new level of ability. I have felt this as a deep connection with the land, and a desire to plant trees.

The final aspect of this evolution was to discover that my druid name was closer to “Vassal” or “Son of Merlin” than “Servant”. This moved me a stage closer to that energy frequency. I feel just a touch more integrated with that energy now.

POSTS: Anglesey Lecture, A Chance to Praise, Healing History, Coronation Rath, Son and Servant

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The Elemental Year

Can utilise the elements better as they move around the year.

• Earth from Feb to May;
• Fire from June to Aug;
• Water from Aug to Oct;
• Air from Nov to Feb.

Later in the year I began to say “Sky, Land, Sun and Sea” instead of Earth, Fire, Water and Air.

POSTS: Considering the Stations

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Powers of the Staff

Finding out that my staff has its own powers courtesy of the Elemental Masters of Tinkinswood. It became an indispensable and valuable tool this year. I have been guided to learn about the powers vested in it, and am now able to utilise those powers to define energy changes in an environment. This has been incredibly useful, but I have been led to realise that some of these powers have still to be mastered, and that invoking them is not enough. They also need skilful use.

This year more than ever people remarked on the staff and how beautiful it looks. I nearly lost it several times, but on each occasion I made a supreme effort to recover it. We have a strange relationship – one in which I mustn’t take it for granted. It has its own inherent powers now.

POSTS: Staff Powers 1, Staff Powers 2, Staff Powers 3

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Bran The Raven & Seeing like a hawk

Working with his presence and guidance all year. I have been to Dinas Bran so many times this year, and each time he has been there to assist me.

This was part of the Gwalchmai training. Ariel viewing, seeing hawk lines, silvery trails in the landscape. I would be taught by Bran the Raven about some techniques for remote viewing. He taught me how to use the raven’s bird’s-eye view to see far away, and how to project my attention to a far point.

I didn’t know why at the time but later I came to understand that remote viewing wasn’t just for acquiring knowledge of events distant in space but present in time. It could also be used for finding and healing past events.

POSTS: Seeing like the Hawk, Bran and The Metamorphosis of the Raven, Bran calling, Seeing through the eyes of Bran, Me and Bran visit Dovedale

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Opening the Third Eye

This long-term quest was presented to me to encourage me to spend more time trying to see psychically rather than dowsing for answers. I think it has worked because my visions are more frequent and much clearer.

I have also begun to feel the energies, rather than needing to dowse for them. Finally, I have begun to trust my intuitive responses and intuitive information much more than ever before.

POSTS: Pineal Gland symbolism and signs, Song for Merlin 2, Quest for the Third Eye

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Re-union

So many aspects of the year’s quests and events were related to the idea of Re-Union. At Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall I was shown that union could mean recovering past energies that were left like stray threads through our lives,

Later, in Ireland, I was re-united with my ancestor energies,and integrated energies from people connected to me in the past into the present to make the present a unified and more powerful whole.

The whole Iona visit was centred on the energy of union – the island resonated with it. I also found out that the colour of Union is fuchsia pink. Odd! The walls around my desk at work have recently been painted this colour by a strange coincidence. It’s the first time they’ve been painted in 10 years, and before that they were beige.

POSTS: The Colour of Union, Merging with Merlin, Re-Union of past energies, Tarot to support Union, Winter Solstice 2012

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Tarot readings

Although I have learned some useful techniques for providing readings for others, the majority of the work I have done this year, and the most astonishing, has been when I have done tarot readings for myself.

I seem to get most out of these readings if I do them immediately before or after a significant quest.

POSTS: Personal astrology, Ancestor tarot reading, Powers of the staff reading, Third Eye quest reading

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Freeing Merlin

I released Merlin energy from the Underworld in 2010. Now in 2012 I was releasing Merlin energy from The Otherworld. I still don’t know the true significance of this, other than it required me to engage with some bardic skills, and this has re-kindled a desire in me to re-awaken many of the old bardic skills I used to use, but have since forgotten in all the excitement of my questing.

I had to visit several sacred sites to recover fragments of poetry in Old Welsh, then translate them, put them in order, and learn to recite the poem! I used to play musical instruments, write poetry and be able to recite some of it. I think I need to do this once more, so I will use Winter to begin again because I rather enjoyed the challenge of learning the poetry.

POSTS: A Song for Merlin – Part 1, A Song for Merlin – Part 2

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Aliens, Angels and Giants

Towards the end of the year things veered away from normality and into the kind of territory that I usually enjoy reading about but would not contemplate getting involved in. I got involved. I found that an energy that I had simply identified as “alien” was in fact angelic in origin, and  on Iona this energy had been deliberately infused into a stone that had been placed by a giant who had come over from Ireland. Well, I’ll leave that one there, I think! This kind of thing was the very reason I stopped looking at crop circles. Things got too weird!

POSTS: The Watcher, Giants, A Giant’s Grave, Angel Hill, My Own Angel

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Campaigning

As might befit a move into the realms of the “Druid” level (my own certification, I hasten to add - I’m not on the OBOD course or anything like that) I have begun to involve myself in local ecological campaigns. I have been supportive of the bees, the ash trees and local tree planting initiatives. I have also been working on a subtle energy level to re-balance and re-energise several sacred sites. This has not been arbitrary work done in passing, but work that I was called to do.

Most of my charitable work I do not advertise here on the site because it’s personal, and I’m not trying to tell people what they should do. You are your own example, I believe.

POSTS: The Bee Campaign

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SUMMARY

The year began with a frisson of anticipation. Would this year bring the catastrophe predicted for a long time? Would it bring the energy shift that was a hot topic in energy-worker circles? Would it bring an alignment with a galactic centre and a rush of transformational celestial rays that would sweep mankind into the next generation of being? Well, even in January I had the feeling that the answer was “No”. All through the year I was re-iterating this to all and sundry. The only transformation possible is within YOU and initiated by yourself. I have found this year that our personal energies ARE linked to the celestial influences, yet there has been no general “cosmic download” this year. My cosmic download came in May when I visited Ireland.

For me the year has been one of working with The Past. I have been healing energy ripples from earlier in my life, re-uniting my current self with my ancestral selves, and learning about the power of re-unification generally from bathing in its frequency, to discovering its colour vibration, to washing myself in the uniting waters of three waterfalls. The year has all been about re-unification. The energy that has come from this process has been what I call “renown”. This is the energy that increases one’s personal power. A signifier that this was happening was my move into the druidical final grade – “druid”.

Thank you for reading our exploits on this year’s turn of the spiral. We are very grateful, and as we await another amazing year beginning in February 2013, we hope you continue your journey with us.

Gwas.

There are many ways that people have devised to find the centre of lands. From the beginnings of recorded history and probably much before then humans have established centres of land masses in order to establish a “pole” – a symbolic tree whose roots are planted in the core of the planet and whose branches stretch up to connect to the heavens. The World Tree, The May Pole, the Pole Star – these are the anchor points of civilisation.

When Britain was colonised by invaders they each re-worked the centre to fit their own surveying techniques. For example, one of the naming conventions used by the Viking race was the word “Ting” or “Thing”. On many of the islands to the north and west of the mainland we have place names at the centre prefixed by this word. These places, the moot places, are often mounds – artificial hills created for the purpose of providing a meeting place. It was always more than just a meeting point though. It was the very centre of government, and a meeting point for celebration and festival at special times of the year.

Confusing meridian lines across Britain

You may remember that in a recent vision I had been shown a dragon rising from the centre of the land. I knew that I needed to find where this place was. There are myths often associated with the central point, I later discovered, that recount tales of two dragons fighting. This was a myth that I knew related to Dinas Emrys, and which involved Merlin. Now I wanted to find the centre of all of the land mass on which I stand – the central point where my visionary dragon would emerge, somewhere in England, I guessed.

I set off with the idea it was a geographical place located in these lands, but my first question received a NO response when I asked – not with the current idea I had of the place. I would need to learn more about it to find it. The centre should not be thought of as a physical place. It’s tied to a physical place only in the sense that it can be placed in the third dimension. Here are some of the properties of the place I needed to find:-

• it is symbolic
• it is mobile, not static
• it’s location and nature changes over time
• it is created by the interaction of humans and the land
• it can be located to a specific place when coordinated with a specific time (i.e. one can find where it is now)
• the centre moves due to human interaction
• it moves at irregular intervals (not associated with the movement of stars, moon or sun)

I map-dowsed the country using the Megalithic Portal Map. The square that reacted to the dowsing rods was ‘SK’.

Megalithic Portal’s map of the SK square

I zoomed in. What kind of site was I looking for? I dowsed the list of types of site. The result was “artificial mound”. I filtered the list. Only one – Thynghowe Mound [link]. This mound was only rediscovered in 2004-5. From what I read it has been recorded as a place of feasting, celebration, meeting and racing. Sounds like a fun place to be! It was later renamed “Hanger Hill“. Oh some people will go to any lengths to choke off a place of pagan fun, won’t they? “Don’t go to the hanger hill – it’s a place of death!!!” For a thousand years or more it sounds like it was place of life.

I got to Steetmap – show me the OS map of this mound’s position. It’s a few hundred feet away from where I found the Spirit of Place in Sherwood Forest! A few hundred yards away from the mound – an ancient meeting place between three parishes and possibly two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms – is a tree called “Centre Tree“.

If this turns out to relate to the movement of the Spirit of Place that I did earlier in the year then I will know why it is movable! Something is telling me I have to go back to Sherwood Forest!

Gwas.

References:

• http://www.thynghowe.org.uk/Thyng.html
• John Michell – “The Sacred Center” and “Twelve-Tribe Nations“

The Dragon of Dinas Emrys

In the final part of our North Wales summer excursion I will tell you about a vision I had while meditating on Dinas Emrys in the heart of Snowdonia. Whilst wrapped in dragon’s breath of mists that wandered the hillsides I huddled into the rectangular remains of the hill’s tower. Seated on a compatible power centre I went into a druidic trance (a state of mind that still allows you to see Nature with open eyes, yet have a connectedness one would normally associate with deep meditation).

In the trance I asked if there was anything that I should do for the Solstice coming up. In my trance my thought began to wander to memories of my meeting with Merlin on this hill. I asked Merlin’s spirit to assist with my question, if he could. Moments later the outer world began to blur and the screen of my inner mind was darkening as though in preparation for a film screening. So it was - a vision appeared which I will describe to you:-

• I saw the centre of these islands, and me standing at that point. Then I sent out a shockwave of intention energy that resonated throughout the land. The point was at the heart of a network or grid of energy points that are still connected by subtle energy forces to each other.
• As a result of the wave of energy something arose from the centre of the land, through me. It was a dragon. It rose above the land and many of the people who saw it were afraid. Some others, however, were beyond fear and they were in awe of the huge dragon whose wings spread out above them.
• The sympathetic people sent their energies to the dragon and this helped it to grow in size so that it covered the whole island.
• At the point where it was the size of the whole land mass the dragon’s shape became the land and it re-integrated with the island. I felt that the land and the woken dragon had become one again – re-united as they should be.

I don’t know what the consequence fo this action is. I don’t know whether this vision was something beneficial or not. Was the process one of unification, or subjugation? Am I the only one who could do this action, or am I one of many who will do this? What IS the dragon - a projection of me, of the land, or both?

Dragon rising to shadow and merge with the land

The Navel of the Land

Many places can lay claim to being the centre of our island nation depending upon the criteria. I feel that I should choose one based on my own criteria but one which has a sacred site associated with it, such as a church, cross or mound. It should be some place associated with “dragon” or serpent energies, I feel. Somewhere like Dragon Hill at Uffington, perhaps? John Michell has written several books about the concept of a centre point in land masses, and even at a global level (e.g. The Sacred Center). Perhaps I will find a suitable place when researching in his books?

Philip Coppens, one of my favourite researchers, has this useful piece of information on his site:

“In the Mabinogion, it is said that the Celtic king Lludd was instructed to measure the length and breadth of England in order to determine its centre. At that spot, he would find two fighting dragons that were responsible for the evils afflicting the nation. He found the two creatures fighting at what is now Oxford.” (source: PhilipCoppens.com)

He goes on to suggest that Croft Hill, near High Cross in Leicestershire might be the agreed-upon meeting place of the old druid clans. That seems tempting! Some dowsing will reveal the answer, I’m sure.

I don’t know what this vision means yet, but I am going to try to find out. I need to know whether this is a good thing to be involved with, whether it is something I should do, or whether it is some form of prediction as to the coming events in 2012 – The Year of the Dragon. I will let you know when a dragon appears!

Gwas.

Oh blimey! We’re so far behind with our posts. Here’s one from the early part of June that I’ve just got around to. It’s the second part of the story of our Wales visit during the Venus Transit early in the month. I think I put “Mid June” at the start of the last post, but actually it was early June. Wishful thinking! I’m determined not to fall further than a month behind with these posts. We’ve got so much to tell you still! Onwards!

In this post I will tell you about some dowsed history of Dinas Emrys, and then another experiment we did with sound and chakra points. The scene starts with curtain up on a wide valley steeped in wisps of flowing mist like the breath 0f a Welsh green dragon filling the world with its presence.

Mist in the Nantgwynant Valley

Breath of the Dragon

As we turned the corner and passed over the crest of the A498 heading towards Beddgelert were were greeted by a sight that literally made us gasp in astonishment and wonder. The sweeping panorama of the lake and valley of Nantgwynant is stunning on any day of the year, but today there were wisps of cloud hanging on to the sides of the mountains that made the whole scene magical. Snowdon had never looked more mysterious, and broad smiles were pasted to our faces for the rest of the journey into the valley below.

Parking in one fo the handy lay-bys at the side of the road we got our wet-weather gear ready, despite the humidity. It was definitely going to rain. It had been raining all morning everywhere around us on the journey in. All surfaces were wet and slippery. I put my sturdy boots on. Kal went in trainers. He surely had to expect wet feet again?

We climbed over the iron gate, got to the path, and climbed up past the static caravans up the less steep side of the hill to the first plateau. Once reached I reminded Kal that this was the place where the mythological red and white dragons had their battle as Merlin and King Vortigern watched. Kal ignored this wonderful piece of information and reminded me that his vertigo had gone. I’m sure he misheard me!

Read the rest of this entry »

It seems sort of fitting that this post is the 400th post on this blog. We have come a long way since we started in late 2008. All of that seems so long ago now, because so much has happened since then. We have grown. So I present the 400th post – a summary of the year’s work for 2010.

Like Kal I intend to do this summary in a single post. Last year it spread across about seven posts. I have learned to be more disciplined in this last year, and I will keep it to one. So, having sifted through all the millions of posts this year here are the absolute best bits. I didn’t believe that 2009 could be bettered, but I was wrong – 2010 was a vintage year that will live long in my memory, and below you will find out some of the reasons why.

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT

Meeting and integrating with the spirit of Merlin

Things had been progressing towards this all year. Firstly I had met Arthur’s shade at Tintagel, and he tasked me with keeping Merlin’s legacy alive by connecting up and re-energising sacred sites. Then shades that I interacted with began to call me “Son of Merlin”, which I took to mean “follower” rather than literal progeny, or “spiritual inheritor” perhaps. Finally, at Dinas Emrys, it all came together and I descended into the Underworld to meet with Merlin’s shade, and as we emerged onto earth we merged in a kind of Rosicrucian marriage of male and female energies.

Of course, all of this can and perhaps should be seen symbolically, rather than literally. It works from any point of view – psychologically as the culmination of some form of inner desire, or as a desire to perpetuate a myth symbolically because it serves some psychological purpose. I’m sure it could be read many ways. For me, it was the fulfilment of my magical self. It was the integration of the intention with the delivery. It was the satisfaction of the edict “Make magick manifest”.

Meeting Brian Conquer and Feeling The Goddess in Glastonbury

Man, I almost forgot this. I was thinking about something completely unrelated and suddenly the whole experience came back to me and I had to add this bit into the post on 14th January 2011.

I remember being at the Chalice Well Gardens this year and meeting Brian Conquer, “Just a silly little Hedge Druid” as he described himself to some American tourists in search of free wisdom. I was intrigued by him - his eyes told me he knew many things and together we scolded those who leave Nature in a mess and praised those who make their own tools with love and care. That made me think of Oonagh.

Later, as I walked around the grounds he caught up with me and gave me a precious gift – a rugged clear quartz crystal. “Take that and go stand between the yew trees.” he instructed with a twinkle in his eye. “Call for the goddess.” I did what he said and minutes later she responded by visiting me – getting right inside me - expanding my aura to an incredible size and strength. So much so that a lady who was standing behind me went nuts, “Oh my God!” she kept screaming, “That’s AMAZING!“. I knew. I was feeling it. A stunning unforgettable moment for which I will repay Mr Conquer one day. 2011 is my year of service, after all.

WHAT I LEARNED

Here is a list of the twenty most valuable lessons that I learned from this year’s tasks, quests, encounters and experiences….

The Bull sigil

1. Sacred sites have an energetic imprint that can be dowsed. This imprint or sigil can reveal information about significant dates associated with the site. For example, the date when the site is most energetic, or the date when the site was created. Some reveal a sigil specific to the resident Genius Loci.

2. Most sacred sites have some form of astrological alignment – either they are oriented towards the Sun, Moon (as calendars), or they may be designed upon a sacred number that is associated with a particular planet, or they are imbued with (or resonate to) the frequency of energetic emanations from particular stars. Often particular entrances can be found that align to celestial bodies, or significant stones are aligned to these heavenly objects are particular times of the year. These then act as guides to the types and timings of subtle energies within that sacred space.

3. There is a fourth kind of subtle energy beyond the male, female and neutral forms – Primal Energy. This is energy without gender association, and which has yet to be shaped or transformed by any agency such as the sun, moon or human. We recognised it first in crop circles, but then realised that we had been dealing with it energetically for some time without knowing what it was. I do nto have a clear distinction in my mind between primal and neutral energy forms and this is something I will endeavour to clear up in next year’s work.

4. It is possible to imbue objects with energy such that they can retain that energy and it can be drawn out from the object at a later date by those who are aware of it. The energy imbued is in a primal energy form – neither male nor female until shaped after extraction. One one occasion I absorbed the remaining spirit energy from an ancient dying oak tree before it was lost completely.

5. It is important to have a purpose when visiting sacred spaces. Having a purpose means that the rewards from the visit are less random, and the information can be chained together over a period of time leading to pools of new insights, rather than just patches of new knowledge.

6. Spirits are real. Whether these be further sub-divided into spirit, shade or ghost I have come to learn that they have a real existence beyond my imagination. This has seen a complete reversal in my belief system on these subjects. Previously I imagined them to be something created by humans, or were simply an expression of Nature in her many forms. Now I know that they are sentient and purposeful in their own right, and only an expression of Nature insomuch as we are all an expression of Nature.

7. I have developed trust and lost a fear of the dark. By walking barefoot at sacred sites for much of the year, even at night, I have learned to overcome my fear of being hurt, and to place my trust in those spirits who are concerned with my welfare.

8. The earth’s energy grid is in need of healing. I have been led to this conclusion by many different experiences over the year. At the start of the year I was told to go and re-awaken some sites. Later I would re-energise and link sites up. After that I would create my own neutral energy bridge between sites after pledging to take this role on, in the spirit of Merlin. I suspect that we have simply demolished, destroyed, desecrated and saturated too many of our “earth acupuncture” points on the earth grid upon which our islands lay. I feel it is my task to make what efforts I can to re-energise these points, especially after the death of Hamish Miller this year.

9. Arbor Low is a hub for neutral energy lines. This finding sparked a deep investigation into the nature of neutral energy. We later found that this sacred site was particularly beneficial for learning. I spent a time tracing where these neutral radial lines went to and found some amazing correlations which all need further investigation.

10. Stimulating, cleansing and closing the Chakras are a means to controlling the flow of subtle energy between the human energy form and other energy repositories. I spent a long time this year working through these processes at various sites and found the whole process very mystical and beneficial to my understanding of how the human energy system can be controlled.

11. The sacred geometrical numbers five, six, seven, eleven and twelve kept cropping up this year. Particularly, ’5+7=12′ and ’5+6=11′ were important equations. The 12 equation represented the current order of things: five being man, seven being spirituality and twelve being civilisation. The 11 equation seemed to represent an alternative or older way of thinking: five being man again, six being magick, and eleven being a bridge between worlds. It was like I was being shown that there was an alternate route to a higher consciousness through other numbers than those which society currently enshrined.

12. My spirit guide can be communicated with via symbols of crosses, particularly ancient Celtic crosses. It took a visit to Ireland to discover this, but I have since found it useful in this country too. I haven’t found out why this is so yet.

13. Wounds from the past can be healed by acts of redemption in the present. I found this out when I was encouraged to clean up a local pond. I took a day off work to do it. No-one saw it, no-one helped me, but when I had finished I had healed a deep distant scar from yesteryear.

14. The Arthurian metaphor works best for me. The symbols of the dragon (spiritual energy), Merlin (celestial energy), Arthur (earth energy) and all those associated medieval concepts – these are the images that I work best to interpret and bring through into my magickal learning. There is no value in my spending time learning any other symbol system or lore.

15. The star Sirius has emerged as an important energetic influenceon many things – it affects fertility, offers protection from harmful radiation, is a facilitator of the enlightenment process, radiates a blue light that resonates with our throat chakra, and it provides a strong motivational energy.

16. Weather systems are very complex and shouldn’t be toyed with. It almost didn’t need saying, yet I learned a valuable lesson when I tried it.

17. Crystals and incense are valuable tools for creating the right atmosphere, and for taking the burden when performing magickal rituals. I am now well stocked with both and appreciate their value after extensive use this year.

18. Giving promotes the right state to receive. This year I have done a lot of energy healing on humans and sacred sites. I have also done more charitable work than ever. All of this has been done unbidden and I in return I feel that I have been offered more gifts than I can possibly take on board. I hope to continue with this form of work.

19. Using the proper respect when dealing with sentient entities has led to easier access to their knowledge and beneficence.

20. Coloured energy lines can be used to reveal a picture of the energy status of a site. For example, black lines indicate an unhealthy influence on the site, whereas white, gold and purple lines are very positive and healthy. This is an area that deserves a more detailed examination next year.

THE HARDEST LESSON

In amongst all of the good things that happened there were some hard lessons. If I were to resolve all of those lessons down to the one important factors that is going to change the way I view life then it would be this…

Warning signs should be heeded.

The leprechaun energies of Ireland taught me that. Now I pay special attention. Signs generally are more worthy of our attention, especially if we are following the ‘flow of the universe’ through the ‘wheel of the year’ (see glossary). The more in attunement with Nature, the more we should pay attention to her signs.

The consequences of ignoring signs deliberately can be dire and dramatic.

NEW PATHS STARTED

When the Wheel of the Year turns around to a new year it is very difficult to see where the rotation of the wheel will take you on that journey, or what wonder you will pass on the way. This year here are some of the new paths that I have ventured down, or threads that I have picked up from previous years’ work.

Spirits (including Siddha). Specifically I have become attuned to and aware of a spirit guide. Beyond that I have extended my awareness to include a spirit helper for healing, and have acknowledged a spirit guardian. Up until this year I would say that I was one of the last people who would have acknowledged these forces, yet they have graciously made their presence known when requested to do so, and I have received nothing but help and kindness from them.

Shades. I had no dealings at all with death energies of energy forms until Kal relinquished his dealings with them part way through this year. Then, from that moment on, I seemed to get requests to learn about and deal with shades. Shades, as we denote them, are the remnant energy forms of spirits that once inhabited human bodies. Having moved on they can leave a form behind unless this energy is grounded properly (as it was in earthen mounds in ancient times through ritual and right attitudes to death).

Ash staff. I have found and restored an ash staff this year. It is now one of the most treasured objects that I take with me to sacred sites. My interactions with the staff have been crucial this year, and it has become a powerful druidical tool for me to wield out in Nature.

OLD PATHS DISCARDED

Of course, no path is ever completely discarded – it is only passed by on this journey. Later in the journey the path may re-appear. However, these are the aspects of my spiritual journey that I have chosen not to pursue further unless I need to.

Crop circles. After finding that they were created by extra-terrestrial forces and then filtered through Siddha, we gave up trying to understand their relevance to us on our spiritual quest. They remain an interesting quirk that I predict will end by 2013.

Tarot. Although I have found a talent for using the cards I have found little use for them despite believing that I would. I am not discarding them completely, and I encourage anyone to use them if they would be of value, but for me they have little use compared to the inter-relationship with spirit forces. I think the cards are just a means to access this same information anyway, and I now prefer a direct spiritual connection rather than a symbolic one. Again, I re-iterate, they have their uses, but I don’t see much use for them myself. Watch next year be totally dominated by tarot now!!

THE UNEXPECTED

There always seems to be something unexpected arising on my journey. This year I have been surprised by getting involved in the following things….

1. Shades and spirits – thought they we a bit of nonsense, actually, but found I was very very wrong. Might all still be in my mind, but if that’s the case then my mind is very very wrong!
2. Charity work – I wasn’t one for doing “good deeds” until this year. Then gradually I have been finding myself saying ‘yes’ to more and more events, and going off doing things just for the sake of it and without recognition or reward. Most unlike me! But I like the new me.
3. Psychics – I met a psychic and listened to him rather than laughed at him. Well, I could hardly laugh at him now that I was talking to spirits myself! Anyway – turns out he made a great deal of sense, and has been very insightful. I am pleased that I was led along this path to meet him.

WHERE THIS LEADS ME

Looking back I think that all of this leads me to begin the next year by turning my attentions to the following areas:-

Colour dowsing – I need to know what the colours mean (for me) and what colours can be found in Nature and specifically at sacred sites.

Sacred geometry – I kind of left this one hanging, but I mean to dowse for the sacred structure of stone circles and see if this has an astrological correspondence.

Earth energy grid – I want to determine why certain sacred sites seem to be linked together energetically, and if those links are damaged I want to set about repairing them, to restore the sites to their full working capacity where possible.

Book – yes, folks, I have been ‘advised’ that I should write a book. Never one to question the muses I will be putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) almost as soon as this post goes live. I don’t even know what it’s about yet, but I’m hoping ‘unseen forces’ can help there. I hope to post status updates through next year.

SUMMARY

Of course next year I will continue to follow the seasons and the Wheel of the Year, but I suspect I will not be as keen to mark every full moon. Yet the full moon is definitely an indicator for me that the energies around that time can be put to good magickal use and I will continue to preference dates close to full moons as opposed to their strict calendrical dates.

This year has been the most remarkable year of my life so far. Thanks, as ever, to my faithful sidekick Kal for his courage, inspiration and motivation - he truly does make this all worth the effort. Thanks, too, to those who have helped me. That includes you. dear readers, who have have witnessed my remarkable year on these pages, and I hope that you too have been inspired to go out and make your life’s quest as meaningful and magickal as you can. I am looking forward to what next year will bring if only to see if it could possibly match the wonders of this year.

Happy New Year, folks.

Gwas.

Related posts:-

• My Eight-Fold Year – The First Four Folds
• My Eight-Fold Year – The Final Four Folds

This post is the second half of a post I did after the Summer Solstice. My purpose was to record the eight points in the year because at each of these artificial stages which were roughly aligned to the Celtic or Neo-Pagan calendar I would be seeking a task by communing with Nature. The task would be a guiding principle that I could use in order to develop spiritually along my chosen path of being a hedge druid. 

You can read about the first four “folds” of the year in my previous post, here. However, I will briefly recap the first four, before going on to describe the final four:- 

1. Yule to Imbolc – to be still, and to cleanse myself in preparation for the unfolding year. Accordingly I did nothing at all!
2. Imbolc to Spring Equinox – to awaken the energies of sacred sites; to contact spirits of place and prepare myself and sacred sites for the work ahead. I spent time communing with Spirits of Place and walking circles to awaken them.
3. Spring Equinox to Beltane – to connect to the earth’s energy grid; understand the nature of Neutral earth energy forms and to extract and utilise Neutral energy. I began to link to various sites, and connected myself to the earth grid. I investigated neutral energy and found something that I later called Primal Energy.
4. Beltane to Summer Solstice- to learn how to diffract, dissociate and extract the different frequencies that my energy field can generate. Then to learn how to bring those frequencies together again to form a pure white energy form. I learned how to extract a single energy colour from my whole field, and how to combine them all into a white light energy.

All of this work seemed like a preparation for something. Little did I know! Now I present the final four folds of the year, and their increasingly complex task assignments:- 

SUMMER SOLSTICE to LAMMAS 

Summer Solstice

 The Summer Solstice is the easiest point in the year for us to define. Being sun-based this day is fixed upon the rise of the sun on the longest day of the year. As has become our custom this year would see Kal and I in Glastonbury for the Solstice, working on our heart chakra and finding out what the next part of the year was about. 

PURPOSE:  

• To wake The Dragon and let it fly.

I firstly had to ensure that my heart chakra was well balanced and filled with the energies of the sun and the solstice. With the sun at its peak the perfect place to be for the Solstice always seems to be Glastonbury with its reputation for being the heart chakra of these islands, and Glastonbury Tor has a reputation within that reputation for being the heart of the Glastonbury. Well, yet again, we were not disappointed, either with the copious amounts of heart energy available in this town, or with the wonderful energies of this time of the year. 

My task to waking the dragon would take me eventually to Cadair Idris where I would walk along the back of the dragon to its head. There I did a walking meditation, collecting dragon’s teeth and using them to act as acupuncture points to release the spirit of the dragon. All this was done surrounded by the dragon’s breath – the mist. 

Since doing that act I have been able to feel energy much better than before. My dowsing response is also much stronger, and I often don’t need the rods to feel auras or to follow energy lines. I have also taken on a new appreciation for the power of the mountains. 

LAMMAS to AUTUMN EQUINOX 

Lammas - time of harvest

 As the summer ripens the crops so the year’s quest began to get more juicy. Rather than receiving some kind of prophetic vision instead I was given three little words, and from that phrase I had to extrapolate my own tasks. This was beginning to make me more independent. 

PURPOSE:  

• To make magic manifest
• To bring magic into daily use

I began to find meditation spaces in nature that I could retire to in order to do more work regularly. This worked while the weather stayed good and I got out often and did an almost daily meditation in nature. I began to work with my navel chakra and learned how to draw out invisible threads of energy that could be used to perform magic with. I incorporated several methods of connecting and drawing energy from nature to form energetic shapes around me for different purposes. 

At the end of this phase of the year I was much more familiar with, and happy to use, natural magick on a daily basis. It had become a part of my routine and was now woven into the fabric of what I was trying to do to progress. Incense and crystals were valuable tools in this work, and I was using them often. 

AUTUMN EQUINOX to SAMHAIN  

The rise and fall of autumn

  As the leaves turned brown and fell I found myself enveloped in a long-term quest to re-energise particular sacred sites. The first one was local to me, but the second was in the town of Llangollen in North Wales. I found myself going to the hill of Dinas Bran a few times at all hours of the day and night after I received a curious riddle concerning Merlin. 

PURPOSE:  

• To journey into the Underworld and wake the Spirit of Merlin from his sleep

The instruction was accompanied by a riddle that gave me directions to follow in order to fulfil the quest to meet the spirit of Merlin. This quest involved the preparation of a wand of rowan, the location of a special stone church surrounded by ancient yew trees, and a deep meditation into the Underworld. This journey required me to learn new skills such as how to protect my energy body and make myself invisible to shades. 

When the quest was completed I had new stronger keener abilities, and I had performed a sort of alchemical wedding by combining within myself the forces of male and female energy. 

 SAMHAIN to WINTER SOLSTICE 

A time of the year associated with the veil between worlds, with death and the Underworld, with spirits and ghosts. It came as little surprise then that my new quest would be revealed at the tree most symbolic of this threshold – the yew. 

So many of this year’s quests have involved the ancient yew tree at Llangernyw that I have lost count. It seems to be our natural starting point because of its incredible energies, and its association with the concept of shamanic journeying. It is truly a gateway between worlds. The Samhain quest began with the tree too. As with many of the quests it sounded simple, but was actually the most complex and dangerous yet.   

The frost returns

 PURPOSE:  

• To free spirits.

Such a simple statement, but when unpacked, so complex to deliver. For this task I have had to do a lot of background reading about the concept of spirit rescue or release. 

I have also had to confront a great deal of my own inner philosophical prejudices concerning the way that the world is constructed, and what it means to venture beyond the veil of death. This feels like a natural extension of my journey into the Underworld, which at the time I took to be a metaphorical journey until the seriousness was impressed upon me. It was a real journey, and failure to prepare could result in actual physical repercussions. 

This quest also has a serious side. Whilst I am tasked with learning new skills, and understand that performing spirit rescue is a question of choice, nevertheless there could and no doubt will be some hairy and scary moments along this path, for which I have to prepare properly. 

Summary 

The first half of the year was concerned with me locking myself into the rhythm of the seasons. It involved tasks that were mainly preparatory – at the start of the year I was idle, resting, recuperating my energy levels and winding myself up to race headlong at the year. Then I was gently re-introduced to the energies of the land as they returned, and was given the task to co-operate in the re-introduction of energy back into the sacred sites that I love. 

The turning point was the Summer Solstice. From then on the quests became very personal and very challenging. They began to involve me having to learn new skills. The quests sometimes included riddles for me to solve, clues to information that would help me to achieve the results. I worked hard to embrace each new quest, and tried my utmost to meet the requirements in the timescales laid out by the passing of the year. I was rewarded at each stage with new powers, new skills and new insights into the world of Natural Magick, subtle energies, and the world beyond the senses. 

I know that each of the quests that I undertook was but an introduction to the breadth and depth of the skills that a hedge druid could be required to master. I now look forward to repeating this process next year, and once I have a second year to compare this year to, I will look to see whether there are any obvious correspondences and patterns which will allow me to be even better prepared in the following years. 

The Wheel of the Year has rolled forward and I have moved with it. Now I feel the wind rushing through my hair and it is exhilarating! 

Gwas.

Related post: My Eight Fold Year – the first four folds

I was doing some research into the ancient hill fort of Dinas Emrys, and found this excellent and comprehensive re-telling of the story of the foundation and inhabiting of Dinas Emrys taken from Puffin children’s book “A Book of Dragons” edited by Roger Lancelyn Green (pages 68-73).

The hill has become special to me, being renowned as Merlin’s Castle, and it is a place where I recently connected to the spirit of Merlin again to re-invigorate my campaign to re-energise the failing parts of the energy grid of these ancient lands in which I roam.

Here is the story….

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

The Red Dragon of Wales

In the days before Caesar conquered Britain there lived a king called Lludd who built himself a city in the south-east of the island, set about it a wall with towers and gates, and named it after himself, Caer Lludd – which the Romans called Londinium and the Saxons London. And in today’s city Ludgate is still called after that ancient king.

Lludd ruled peacefully for many years. But not long before the first coming of the Romans, many strange evils fell upon the land: and among them was

‘a shriek that came on every May-eve, over every hearth in the Island of Britain. And this went through people’s hearts, and so scared them, that the men lost their hue and their strength, and the women their children, and the young men and the maidens lost their senses, and all the animals and trees and the earth and the waters were left barren.’

‘And thereupon King Lludd felt great sorrow and care, because he knew not how he might be freed from this plague. And he called to him all the nobles of his kingdom, and asked counsel of them what they should do against this affliction. And by the common counsel of the nobles, Lludd the son of Beli went to Llevelys his brother, king of France, for he was a man of great counsel and wisdom, to seek his advice.’

King Llevelys was indeed wise beyond all men living at that time. For after a little he was able to tell his brother both the cause of that terrible shriek, and how he might set free the Island of Britain from it.

King Lud and assorted progeny

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