The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘druid’s circle’

In early June Kal and I visited The Druid’s Circle at Penmaenmawr near Conwy. We arrived there in time for sunset, and the western skies filled out with ever-deepening shades of red until the whole sky turned inky-blue as the sun retreated beneath the sea. Before the light around us completely faded I had some work to do. I was here to try to find out more about my spirit guide who was relatively new to me. My previous guide Theodora had been unfathomable, but honestly I had stopped trying to know more at the first hurdle, not wanting to upset her. Now I had Ash, and he seemed more amenable, so I felt it was incumbent upon me to make the effort to forge a strong relationship that could be mutually beneficial.

With that in mind I made my way towards the stone circle’s long teeth and stood poised at the edges while I worked out what I needed to do next. I needed somewhere to “be”, so I used the dowsing rods to find me a suitable location to make the connection. Surprisingly they led me not to my usual stone, but to one of the larger stones next to it. I hadn’t worked at this stone specifically before. I had worked at those on either side of it, but not this one. I stood in the lee of the stone, against the flat of its back. The stone was almost my height at its peak, and I’m tall.

The big stone in the foreground was my workplace

It was time to get to know this guide of mine. I was eager to know whether the tarot reading I had done fitted with how he revealed himself through this spiritual connection, rather than through divination. What was he here for? What could we learn from each other? Time to find out.

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GI Gurdjieff

Preamble:

We have many words for the average, the mundane, the material, the non-sacred, the everyday kind of life. A term that I prefer these days is ‘the asleep’ which is stolen from one of my early mentors GI Gurdjieff. That description seems appropriate to this post because it presents us with a jumping off point. Those who are ‘asleep’ sleep-walk through life and miss the signs that are subtly present and if those signs are presented more in-your-face then they are relegated to the suburbs of ignominy known as coincidence.

Which banner you put the following under I leave to your careful consideration. I, put it in the ‘meaningful life’ category, let’s see what you think?

Dinas Bran and the missing crystal
It was early May 2012 when we visited the sacred site of Dinas Bran. Readers will know that we have had many exciting times there and this was no exception. Here are the details of that visit, the prominent parts being: a Energetic Double experience, a intuitive pointer to visit Greece and most astounding, the vanishing of a large Citrine Cluster. Looking at it from this perspective I am convinced that the crystal vanishing was a pointer to say that ‘this’ is important. Let’s move on.

Druids Circle and a fabulous sunset
Time passed and late August we were visiting another amazingly experiential sacred site called Druids Circle. It was one of those times when we decided on the spur of the moment (or did our intuition nudge us) to go. We arrived just in time for an amazing sunset that seemed to go on for many more moments than it should. If you missed that post here is a link to that experience.

It was at that site that my Energy Double took me on an astounding adventure to Delphi and back through time too to visit with the Oracle herself.  She had given me this advice…

“She told me that I should seek the centre point, the place of balance and once I had found that to come visit with her (geographically) and she would reveal how I could use the centre point to open the Dragons Soul book.”

Coincidence.
Since that time and this I have done some minimal research on Delphi and its myths. Ostensibly from:

• the BBC In Our Time (Delphi) and Delphi History Programme and wiki (on Delphi).

Let’s look at some interesting points:

• Delphi is (according to Greek myth) the centre of the world.
• It is a place of Sun worship (to the God Apollo).
• It is a place that people go to with Questions.
• It is a place renowned for the seeking of “Know thyself”.

From the above to previous posts you can see that all those were (and are) relevant to me. Out of all the places in the world I was directed to Delphi. Of course it is a coincidence.

Kal Malik awaiting the dawn of 2013

Finally I have got around to writing up my Samhain experiences. It’s only the back end of November, and this occurred at the beginning of October! One aspect of this year’s work has been the incredible amount of material we have had to deal with. Only a fraction of it appears on this blog. This year we will end up with 200 draft posts that didn’t get finished. But now – back to the tale at hand.

Yew Know What To Do

We start, as usual, at the Llangernyw Yew tree. 4000 years of dendrochronology pulsing through its dark boughs. On the way to the village of Llangernyw (yew) I was heading towards a rainbow which coincidentally seemed to land on the village as I approached. Coincidence, of course, because this light phenomenon is linked to one’s position relative to the light refraction.

The churchyard was quiet. This gave me the space to follow my intuition. I walked down to the graveyard and sat on the wooden bench where I had once met a shade. There was nothing there now, but I felt I needed to be here first before moving back up to the tree. Perhaps I needed to be grounded before approaching the tree, or energetically harmonised? Soon I was back at the top of the churchyard standing on the edges of the yew tree’s canopy. I asked for entry…waited…and it was granted.

Llangernyw Church with its magnificent yew tree

For some reason I had brought some new crystals with me. I felt I should place them along one of the yew’s branches. In the early morning sunlight they glowed with their respective colours and I left them to do whatever it was they were doing. Sometimes such acts have no intention on my part. This is where trust comes into the equation. I felt around for the best place to sit and found that it was not in my usual place. As I settled in I noticed that I was sitting in the place where I got a particularly sparkly view of the sunlight through the branches. That was lucky, eh? I began to drift off…therefore before I went completely I asked the yew tree to help me discover my quest for the next part of the year… and then my mind went blank as the sunlight danced in my eyes and the spark of wonder that drives my spiritual path began to surface.

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In this third and final post on the Beltane trip I will reveal how I discovered the true meaning of the phrase “See with the hawk’s vision” – a phrase that had been given to me during my meditation beneath The Llangernyw Yew tree.

After Llangernyw we drove the twenty or so miles towards the north coast of Wales and soon were speeding along the main arterial road that feeds the northern holiday towns with their tourist lifeblood durkng the summer months. We passed Llandudno, then the junction for Conwy, through the short tunnels and out into the shadow of the hills above Penmaenmawr. This seemingly innocuous and insistinctive village is actually a gateway to one of the tightest agglomerations of cairns, circles and cromlechs anywhere in Wales.

Our destination on this May Day was The Druid’s Circle – a stone circle known to have a particular alignment or association with the energies of the Beltane time of year. We drove up the ridiculously steep hill, threading our way from the centre of the village in alternate left and right turns that were now well practised and instinctive despite the infrequent and late signage. If you plan to visit the stone circle for yourself then we recommend a good map, and a willingness to explore the housing estates above the village!

A beautiful view from Penmaenmawr Druid's Circle

On the top of the hills above Penmaenmawr the view was clear and beautiful. We had endured the harsh winds all the way up and now stood bullied by the winds as we drank in the views across to The Great Orme at Llandudno. F0r the first time we took an interest in some rocks that seemed to form an alignment with the small cairn circle that we previously named “The Little Druid”. There may not be any significance in this alignment of stones across the hillside, but nevertheless we noted it for future visits.

Busy Beltane at the Circle

Kal was soon to disappear as we reached the main circle. He had taken an interest in the outlying people and stones, probably because the main circle was populated with several groups of people all engaged in their own Beltane work. I had work to do too. I wanted to connect with the Genius Loci of the place, as I had done previously, and to see whether I could get information about the Hawk of May quest.

I went into the centre of the circle (which I usually avoid, but on this day it seemed charged with potential, whereas it is usually quite confusing and difficult to work with). I stood there and cleansed myself of my worldy energies. Soon I was off towards one of the stones in the southern edge. Kal had been sat at one of those stones too, but now he wandered off in search of something interesting to do. I was trying not to use my rods, but instead to feel for where I should be. I felt one stone in particular was the right one to be at, so I sat there being blasted in one ear by the strong wind.

The stunning setting of the Druid's Circle

This southern stone, not one of the ‘feature’ stones of the circle by any means, I felt had a connection with the Genius Loci. I went into a trance and my mind wandered up and down, to the sky and into the earth, then back to the circle. When I connected it to the Genius Loci’s spirit then things began to occur. It was difficult at first to hear anything because I was trying to listen over the top of the howling wind. As soon as I made the wind the backing music to the trance then the low distant voice of the spirit of this circle emerged to speak. I made my now customary offering of emotion and information, offering love, gratitude and a download of my recent druidic events in return for the information I might receive. Once I had donated this gift then the gift was reciprocated, and soon I learned some things about my quest.

I was taken into the air, flying like a hawk above the scenery. I knew I was in a hawk’s form because I could switch my perception between two modes – an aerial view where I could see for miles around in all directions, or I could focus on one spot and zoom right into that place in minute detail. I practised this way of seeing for a few minutes until I grew comfortable with how it worked. I wasn’t exactly sure whether I was seeing a real place, or a concept of a place because it was hard to recognise the landscape with these two new ways of seeing. Either way, I went with it, and began to ask my question to the spirit of place.

1. Is this way of seeing the end point of my quest? – NO, this is a gift for you to learn from.
2. Should I been seeking a real or a metaphorical hawk? – BOTH. You should find the hawk that is really in the landscape.
3. In the landscape? Is this a terrestrial landscape figure I should find? – YES.
4. Where can I find the hawk? – CLOSE TO HOME.
5. How will I be able to begin to identify the hawk? It seems like an impossible task! – FIND A HOLY WELL. This will be your starting point.

The connection faded. Either I was weakening energetically, or the information was dwindling. The connection faded and I returned to normal waking consciousness and found myself back in the circle with all the other people and the howling wind. I had almost forgotten about them for however long I had been away! Now the wind made itself known again and I wrapped myself up against its cool penetrating fingers as they pulled my hair around into stupid shapes.

This new dimension to the quest made it more exciting. It was just like something out of “The Secret Land” that I had finished reading some weeks before, where terrestrial landscape figures were found by scouring old maps. Now I had my own local quest to find a hawk in the lands close to my home. I couldn’t wait to start searching, but first I had to search for Kal, and to thank the spirit of this marvellous circle for again providing me with the state of mind where I could explore this quest in more detail. Despite, or perhaps because of the sense-blocking weather conditions, yet again I had come away from the Druid’s Circle one step closer to achieving my goal.

Gwas – Hunting the Hawk of May

Signs

It was fast approaching the weekend and I was wondering what to do. My heart was set on a visit to Avebury and Stonehenge but the distance of 3 hours drive was putting me off. Then as Saturday loomed I placed other commitments on my time and so I left it for Sunday. Then of course the weather on Saturday for a mid-December day turned out to be in sparkling form. Just my luck!

Sunday I awoke and as I lay in bed I pondered the options. I still wasn’t finished with some committed work that I had started on Saturday, Stonehenge was still inviting me and…my thoughts rested on an idea. The Hurlers and Piper stone circles weren’t as far as Henge and they might give my wandering heart respite from its ache.

I lazied in bed some more and then decided. I would up and dowse, if any offerings were vital then I would go, otherwise it would be the local Costa for breakfast.

I asked whether Stonehenge or Avebury would be a beneficial site for me to visit today? Not really. What about the Hurlers? O yes! Do I have to go (asked the lazy part of me) and I got a No. But it would be beneficial if I did go? Yes.

Even as I got changed and headed down the stairs my mind was split in two, Coffee or Hurlers? As I opened the front door, I decided, Costa it would be!

I stepped out of the door and onto the pavement, just as I did 2 crows flew right into the middle of the road infront of me. I stopped, they were an obvious sign! I turned back towards the house to get my car keys and as I grabbed the door, I stopped…Costa was calling. So, I ignored the “sign” and made my way into to town for coffee and breakfast.

An hour later I was walking back home and I the crows came to my mind, along with the dowsing results and the desire for the chase (see last weeks post) So I got my keys and was off on the two hour journey to Minions (the nearest town to the Hurlers).

Grade one easy

Two or so hours later I parked up and was off onto the moor land. The last time Gwas and I were here there had been a mist in the air and visibility was poor. Today the sun was bright, the air was a clear crisp frost and you could see to the horizon. Perfect.

As far as it goes the Hurlers are perhaps one of the easiest sites to reach, literally two hundred metres from a large carpark. Given this, I was amongst the stones before I knew it. I circled them a few times to get a good sense of the Genius Loci before thinking of doing any dowsing.

As you can see from the pics, it is a beautiful double circle with plenty of energies to go around and play with, which is what I did for a fair while before getting down to some serious business.

I began by asking whether this was a good place for me to ask questions about my quest, Yes

My quest here was to see how I could fix my in-ability to practice self healing (see link above) I had already found that this was affecting my world considerably and I wanted to learn more about it and importantly how to fix it.

So I dowsed for an appropriate place and found it, oddly just out side the circles. A kind of wet little patch that had a soft depression, hmmm who am I to argue with the rods? Actually I did and asked several times to be taken to the most appropriate place and each time the same answer was forthcoming! You would think it would be inside or between the two circles wouldn’t you? But no, this was a boring little place about 5 foot outside of the cicles.

I asked whether any “tools” would be required and the rods said no to incense and crystals, cool. It was just me and the rocks.

I asked whether I could learn more about why I couldnt energetically self-heal, the answer was a surprising yes. I felt that this was a really good place to figure things out, the answers were coming easy and with no fuss.

Was I infected with something? No. This was a good answer to get, as I had tried Energy bombs and the like as well as crystal aided protections but none of these had produced any results.

Had someone done something to me? A scary question to ask, but needs must and the answer came back…kind-of. I was puzzled, but hit on what I thought was the answer…Ah, had someone un-intentionally done something to me? No. O that was a let down.

I mused and pondered the “kind-of” result whilst a huge family of people and dogs walked through the circle. Then it popped into my head, Did I do this to myself? Yes.

A very interesting answer if not more puzzling. I had done this to myself, Intentionally, I asked – this got, what Gwas and I call a “Half-Yes” answer, i.e. one rod swings in a “YES” mode and the other remains motionless. This is the response that I got, a half-yes.

As I explored this answer further I learned that I had done something (what I don’t know) and that the consequences had been to leave me in this state.

Could I fix the problem? Yes, Today? No. Was it dangerous for me to be in this state? Yes. Very? Yes. Crap! Then why couldn’t I fix it? Was it not the right time or place? Both…and something else…I wasn’t ready. Great!

Further intuition came in the form of telling me that the cure (to use a word) was more dangerous that the problem. Wow now that was a surprise result.

When would I be able to heal or cure this issue? I used the days/weeks/months year scale and ended up with a “before the end of the year” answer. That’s a relief.

Let me just describe the scene for a moment…the sun was shining brightly, the air was crisp and fresh, no wind and it was warm enough not to need a coat. All on the moors in mid December. I am sure some, if not all of this was combining to create a fantastic dowsing experience.

I still had so many questions, why, how, for what purpose (if any). And also when had it first manifested? I couldn’t recall exactly I knew it was recent though…weeks maybe a 2 or 3 months at most. Was it anything to do with my move to Devon? I asked, and got a half-yes.

I think it was then that it hit me – square between the eyes…has this anything to do with my Energetic Double? Yes, wow the rods spun on themselves!

Interesting and interesting…

I pondered this idea for a while and as I did the penny slowly and surely dropped from cog to cog, like one of those old penny games in arcades).

Of course I couldn’t be specific about the dates but it sure felt like the timing was good, in that I had noticed the healing issue sometime before I was tasked with finding my Energetic Double.

Then there was the issue with Dreaming too, if I recall my arcane law correctly, I think that the Energy Body has something to do with Dreaming too? It fitted into place.

But was this leading to the conclusion that my Energy Body and I were at one time one? I asked the rods and the answer came back, Yes. I wondered if I had asked this question before, now it seemed like an obvious question to ask? But I couldn’t recall having asked it.

What about this matter of me merging with my Energy Body being a dangerous thing? I asked the rods and they still confirmed that it was highly dangeous. But why?

I had been merged with it before I even knew it existed, so why was this merger any different? Til now I had been on a intuitive roll but now I couldn’t find an appropriate question to ask.

I asked whether the resolution to my issue a merging of me and my Energy Body? Yes. But now was neither the time or the place, I was told. But still before the year was out.

Would it be dangerous? Yes, but less than me not being without my self-healing power. Hmmm…

Again, my mind was filled with why? Why had it been mortally dangerous 6 weeks ago and less so now?

Had my circumstances changed since then? Yes. Really? How?

I pondered that last question, my circumstances had changed of course, in many ways in the last 6 weeks. but these were as Gwas calls them changes in the mundane world, were these the circumstances that I was being told about? Yes.

It was right at that moment that three Crows flew out of nowhere and landed on the stones before me, they cawed three times and then flew off. Seriously!

I watched there flight in a kind of daze and recalled the crows from earlier in the morning. Coincidence? After all North Devon is literally crow city, as I have mentioned before.

“Of course it is, that’s why you were sent here”

Where did that thought come from? The place where I am staying has so many crows flying around that I had given up on the second day of being here in trying to gain a “sign” from them, they were everywhere. Now it seems I was being told that “that” was the sign. I queried my supposition and it was affirmed.

The whole town being filled with crows was a Uber Sign and I had missed it, because it was too big. Wow!

And if you recall from previous posts, I was shown that I would land in the South West coast of the UK when I had been looking for my Energy Double atop Gop Hill some months ago.

You see, how this one single penny was dropping and knocking lots of things into place?

I wondered as to why I had split from my Energy Double? Was there a reason? A cause? Was it a good thing or bad thing? Indifferent even? Questions poured out of me and the rods rapidly supplied an outline…

Personal energetic development had caused my double to split from me, to “come out” as I think its called. But it hadn’t been controlled, foreseen or catered for and so it had (and is) causing me energetic damage.

The Ancient Yew (from whence I gained the quest of finding my Energy Double) hadn’t gone into this detail and had just said, “find your energy double”

I had leapt at the quest without a thought as to why and wherefore. Apparently wiser heads were steering a path.

Now it seemed that the shoe was on the other foot. It was my turn to stalk my energy double.

As readers will know, in previous excursions I had picked up the knowledge on how to call it (at Druids Circle one windy night).

I had also learned how to protect myself from its full gaze (at Arbor Low).

Without me knowing it I had been given the tools and knowledge to continue my quest.

Now what remained was to find out when, where and how.

Kal Malik – Hunter

The howling wind

The sun was pretty much hitting the edge of the hills as Gwas and I began our walk towards the Druids Circle. As a note for future reference, we had driven a bit further along the path than we normally we do, but the odd scrapes of the chasse along the bumps on the path led us to understand that such a drive should be avoided in the future.

The wind that accompanied our walk was hauntingly howling, like wolves in the wind. The perfect atmosphere for druidic (Edge Wizardry) night work.

Gwas and I arrived at the circle just as the light faded and darkness blanketed the area. Clouds and (as I mentioned) a howling wind were our company. As is quite often the case we separated out and began work on our individualistic quests.

As seems to be a frequent, though un-intentional habit of mine – I had no direct purpose when coming to the Druids Circle other than to work more towards merging with my Energetic Double. What or how were questions to be answered in due course.

Black Fog

I dowsed to find the most appropriate place for me to be whilst trying to determine what to do and the rods took me to northern side of the circle and deposited me right where we had found a “Sun” power center the last time we were visiting this sacred site and incidentally where we had placed our bottles of water to be energised on that occasion.

I determined which direction to face and the result was westward, towards the ocean and incidentally the sunken sun. As I looked out at a mound (which blocked the view of the sea) I could feel the force of the wind on my back and hear it howling amongst the slopes. Then as my mind quietened down a bit I felt the wind ease off some.

Then with the breeze from behind me I felt a dark fog like “stuff” fill my aura. It didn’t fill me, it filled an area surrounding me, which I later dowsed to ask whether it had been my aura and it was. I was quite scared by this but didn’t break my “connection” – sometimes you have got to trust in your own strength, right?

Being Blown across the Sea

The black fog filled me up and then I was (or rather my consciousness was) blown out across the ocean. I say blown because I felt that it was the wind that had blown me across the ocean. I cant recall seeing any of the sea as I flitted across it but since I “felt” that I had been blown in a westerly direction I must have crossed the ocean.

Pyramid in South America

At some point I began to see and saw that I was flitting across a landscape that was fields, hills and mountains. In no time at all I was “floating” above a Pyramid. Not much different from the following picture…

I was probably about 30 foot above and slightly to one side of the peak of the pyramid and looking down I saw a figure sitting on the steps some two-thirds of the way up the pyramid. I couldn’t distinguish any features of the person because there was a bright glow or light shining out from it. I knew straight away that this was my Energetic Double.

Following the music that uniquely identified me – the music was me

As I looked down at it (him?) I saw that it was playing a flute. I hadn’t noticed until right at that moment that all the while from the moment the black fog engulfed me to this there had been this absolute sole wrenching music playing. Now, as I looked down, I saw that it was coming from the flute that my Energetic Double was playing.

My attention was now completely caught by this music so much so that I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew – instinctively that this music was what had brought me across the ocean to this place. My first thoughts were that this music was a signature that identified me. But as I listened another realisation dawned on me. It wasn’t representing me. It was me!

If we could turn our D.N.A. into music then that was/is how I would describe it. Honestly though even that description pales in comparison to how it was.

My Double continued to play until these realisations had all hit home and my emotional being was being tested to the limit. Then it stopped and looked up at me. It hadn’t up until now.

Rock being taken

Although it didn’t talk – I understood what it was communicating. Firstly I knew that it had taken the “gift” rock that I had placed at Dinas Bran a few days earlier. Even as it communicated this I felt a “feeling” and looked to the side of where it sat and saw a little rock there. The same rock!

An obscure thought flitted through my mind…Am I just imagining this? My double looked up at the bright shining Sun and the thought entered my head, “Here the sun is shining”.

being “blown” back

With those rather cryptic words my Double blew me back across the ocean (I say blew, that was how I perceived it to be) an instant later I was back at the Druids Circle and the wind started to pick up again. I dowsed for a few minutes to make sure of my experience – and rods confirmed it as I have written it.

As I was dowsing the cryptic words that I had been left with rolled around my brain and a realisation dawned…of course across the Western ocean, in South America it would be the middle of the day! Oh my word!

Sign of the “milky-way”

Our work was done for the night and Gwas and I headed back towards the car. Our stay at the Circle was around an hour and yet our experiences were unlimited. As we got half-way back to the car the sky above (which had been cloud-covered) slowly cleared up and the whole milky way was revealed.

Throughout this blog you will see references to the sun coming out after or during significant moments in our “work”. Well now I am going to add the “stars” coming out to that signage.

Kal Malik ~ Traveller Extraordinaire

“It was a dark and stormy night”…actually, it was. For a reason that remains a mystery to this day Kal and I had decided to go out that evening on a mission without a purpose. That purpose took us out on a sunny and calm evening heading deep across the North Wales coastline heading for The Druid’s Circle near Penmaenmawr.

Rather than walk up the full length of the path I was determined to make the fullest use of the car’s four-wheel drive system. Big mistake. If you visit Druid’s Circle from the Penmaenmawr side, I strongly urge you to park at the two sandstone columns and go no further unless you own a Jeep or a Land Rover – the ruts and holes will kill your suspension!

Somehow we gingerly forced the car to climb the steep rutted path until we reached a flat bit and I let out the breath I had been holding for five minutes. As we stepped out of the car, relieved, we stepped into a Force Eight gale! The wind was picking up quickly, and we hurried to get properly attired (well, I did anyway).

Light fades over the Druid's Circle at Penmaenmawr

It was still light although dusk wasn’t far away. We stomped off along the now familiar right-hand path round to the top of the hill above Penmaenmawr. Twenty minutes of fighting with the wind and we were in sight of the stone circle as the light faded quickly. When we arrived we laughed – how were we supposed to dowse in this wind??!! Madness. Yet, when we tried, attempting to locate the best place to sit and meditate, the rods turned – against and into a gale!! Dowsing works, folks. It just does.

The dowsing rods led each of us to one of the stones in the south-western end of the circle and we hunkered down behind them. As I sat I noticed that the wind noise abated substantially. It felt like I was in the one place where I might be able to meditate in this howling gale!

Druid Diary excerpt for Druid’s Circle: DD-PMM-041010-1

[podcast]http://www.hedgedruid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/DD-PMM-041010-1.mp3[/podcast]

I was right – this was an unusual evening in many ways, and it was about to become even more strange as I met with an entity that I had never encountered before.

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