The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘earth energies’

When I last posted about my journey towards the Spring Awakening I told you about the Lady of Gop Hill, who as it turns out was not Boudicca, but rather was a female spirit or genius loci that watched over the hill. My task that night was to awaken one of the last sites before the Spring Equinox, as this was my task for the duration of the time between Imbolc and Spring. Only a few nights later I was called to visit Dinas Emrys, the last and most difficult of the sites to reach for a number of reasons – firstly, because it was furthest from my house, but also because it was a damned steep and dangerous climb to get up there. The last set of circumstances that I wanted to visit Dinas Emrys in were the ones that I found myself faced with on that Friday night – a cold and wet night with a howling gale blowing. Oh dear.

I tell you, my life was so much easier before I got into this druidry lark, and I could happily have stayed at home that evening, but there was a nagging imperative. It was saying to me that although I had gone through a ritual to awaken Dinas Emrys from afar, there was nothing like actually being in the place to make the awakening real. Was I prepared for the challenge? Oh yes. Let’s do it! So I set off in the pouring rain for a good hour and a half driving across the expanse of North Wales, all the way telling myself that this was sheer madness, and what the hell was I doing?

As I drove over the slopes of Snowdon towards Beddgelert the mist descended and made progress even more dangerous. The gale-force wind was lashing rain across the windscreen at horizontal angles. Unperturbed I picked my way down the single-file winding steep road that led to the River in the valley of Gwynant below. Madness. Total lunacy! As I breathed with relief at the sight of the long straight road that followed the valley floor I was now on the lookout for the parking place that is at the foot of the steep rocky hill that forms the perch for the hillfort of Dinas Emrys . To me, Dinas Emrys is a place that is inextricably associated with Merlin, and this had become firmly fixed in my mind when I had visited the place at the end of the last summer. On that visit the sight of eagles at auspicious moments had had quite an impact on me, and it was a place that made me feel very close to the spirit of whatever it is that Merlin represents to those of us who consider themselves to be following a spiritual path that includes many of the symbols, thoughts and feelings that we associate with the Merlin stories.

If Gop Hill had been a test the feminine aspects of my world: my sensitivity to the energies, my sense of respect, the intuitiveness – then Dinas Emrys was set to test the male attributes already: my courage for a start, my determination to succeed, and my physical ability to see the event through. I parked and got myself kitted out beneath the shelter of the boot of my car, donning waterproofs, walking boots and taking my ash staff with me. The one or two cars that passed me must have thought I was insane at the idea of walking in the middle of the night, and they were totally correct.

I decided to walk up the hill with minimal lighting, so as not to attract attention from any nearby farmers or passing law enforcement. This was one time when I could guarantee that I would have the place to myself and I wasn’t going to let anything intrude on that. I walked up the winding path along the bottom of the hill, enjoying the silence of the night. As I walked the wind and rain were already dying away quite quickly, much to my surprise. Perhaps it was just because I was in the lee of the hill, I thought. I found the path leading steeply upwards and began the lung-bursting climb. My staff proved invaluable in helping my to pick out good solid ground to walk on, and to find protruding rocks. One slip in this weather, in this lonely place, and I would be the kind of casualty that the rescue services write reports about: “This idiot decided it would be a clever thing to do to climb a steep hill along a treacherous path in the middle of the night!” went the imagined opening line of the apocryphal tale. This was when I needed to reach out to other forces for guidance – I was unlikely to be able to do this alone without something happening to me. I stopped and went into a light trance, deepening my connection with the trees and energy forces that I knew were all around me, with the sky, the planets, the night itself, the hill, the rocks….I tried to feel them all. Once I felt connected I asked for guidance to find the right path up the hill to reach my goal unharmed. The remaining breeze brought me the sound of an owl somewhere far away and the trees rustled their protective response. I began to climb again in the darkness, slowly, carefully, but with confidence now.

I got beyond the sheltered plateau that was almost half way up and began to move out onto the thin pointed ridge of rock whose worn surface denoted the steepest and most slippery part of my ascent. Here there were few trees to shelter me and the wind was still blustery enough to cause me to sway occasionally when caught off guard. Also, the path was mainly rock at this point with nothing to get hold of on either side to steady myself. I stopped at the bottom of a section where I could see a steep drop on either side. My boots had already slipped a number of times on the rocks lower down so I knew how dodgy it was when they were wet. Here I was, blown by the winds, teetering at the bottom of a climb along a ridge with treacherous drops on both sides, and very little else to rely on. I paused some more, my mind racing again with the irrationality of it all, “Could I make the fifteen feet stretch along the ridge without falling? What if I slipped? How could I stop myself from falling all the way down? If I was going to turn back this was the point. Why not turn back now, save yourself the bother? Why was I here anyway?”.

At that precise moment when my courage was ebbing away in the face of this uncertainty I heard the cry of an eagle not far above me and to my left. It completely stunned me. It was a single call in the night, but it had the effect of totally brushing away all the doubts that had risen. I knew this was a motivating sign – a call that meant something to me. It was Merlin’s symbol, and it was speaking directly to me telling me to continue. Confidence flooded back into me and I gathered myself and marched on, without a second thought. Next thing I knew I was striding atop the hill with the full force of the wind lashing at my coat. Wow, I felt amazing! Totally charged with emotion and elation at having made it to the top in the face of such a challenge, and straight away I thanked the eagle for giving me that moment to make that happen.

Moments later I was inside the remaining tower walls and beginning a ritual to awaken the sites energies. This involved only two incense sticks, one placed outside the walls on a ledge overlooking the valley below, and in line with the place where I suspect the eagle’s eyrie lies (although I haven’t been over to that mountain opposite to check this – it’s just a feeling I have). The other incense stick went inside the tower right in the centre of the blackened fire that someone had lit within there. I connected with the ash tree nearby and asked for it to contribute to the process of awakening the energies of the site, and this felt like a positive act with a positive response.

As I stood there with my ash staff feeling the connection with the elements that were so palpable upon that exposed perch I felt the wind quicken in response to the work I was doing. I lifted my staff in response to the wind and in the still darkness I let forth a vocal response that started as a low moan and rose to a howl as the wind picked up in direct proportion to the movement of the energies that I felt was going on around me. This only served to further excite me and the vocalisation became a shout into the strong winds that fought my breath for volume. It was extremely thrilling to be one with the winds and as I came to the end of my energy visualisation so the wind died off in proportion to the amount of input that I was making. My voice echoed this and began to trail off too. This was a phenomenon that I was now getting familiar with. This kind of thing has happened a number of times now when I have done such work, so much so that it is no longer startling, and is something that I welcome.

I was standing in my power centre just behind the fire where the lit incense stick was burning brightly, fanned orange by the wind’s recent activity. I disconnected and returned back to normal consciousness. I was eager to whether the genius loci of the place had awoken in response to the enlivening of the energies that I had done. I understood now why being there was so much more important than remotely working on the site. No amount of remote work could replace the sensations I had just experienced, or witness the synchronicities of the eagle’s cry, or the wind’s response to my work. I picked up my dowsing rods and began to do some confirmation.

1. Had I awakened the energies of this site? – YES.
2. Was there a genius loci present at the site? – YES.
3. Was it male or female? MALE.
4. Was there a sigil that signified the presence of the spirit of place? YES.

I asked to be shown me the shape of the sigil, and was directed a foot away to the blackened charcoal of the old camp fire. A shape began to emerge as I dowsed that fire – it was a long clockwise spiral – a male spiral – and this was the sigil for the energy form that was now present again at the site. Whatever the genius loci means, and however one can interact with it, there was a new energy formation here at the top of Dinas Emrys and it had appeared as a result of my work this night. With it being male I had one last question – was the genius loci connected with Merlin? I got a “sort of” response. Was it Merlin? NO. I was barking up the wrong tree with this line of questioning, trying to make this fit because I wanted it to be something that it wasn’t. I decided not to force fit the questions. It was enough that something old had reappeared that night, and I was happy to have re-awakened the energy for this ancient site, and to have fulfilled my final awakening for the Imbolc to Spring phase.

I was in high spirits as I walked back down the hill not caring now about whether I was spotted and so using all the light I had available. When I got back to the steep ridge I realised just how precarious the path was over the slippery rock and gulped. In a way it was a good job I couldn’t see it properly on the way up or I would surely have turned around at that point. As it was I went down it on all fours, picking my way very carefully. I drove home in silence, but felt immensely fulfilled. All the mist, the rain, the gales and the distance had been worth it. All the danger had been forgotten in the delighted glow of achieving something wonderful, even if I was the only person in the world who appreciated what had happened that night.

I now looked forward to the next phase of the year – Spring Equinox to Beltane. What would that phase be about for me? Undoubtedly something unusual and equally challenging, I felt.

At the Mid-Winter Solstice Kal and I ventured forth to Anglesey again. In the following set of three posts I will share with you all the encounters we had, the energies we mapped and worked with, and the discoveries on our tour of Anglesey on 21st December 2009.

1. Bryn Celli Ddu (South Anglesey) 

We started at our favourite Anglesey starting point – the neolithic mound of Bryn Cell Ddu. It has all the right ingredients – it’s away from traffic but easy to get to; it’s close to the Menai Bridge; it’s beautiful; it’s aligned to the Winter Solstice. Perhaps that last point was the most important!

We missed the sunrise moment, but arrived at about 11am, in time for the midday sun. The previous day’s weather had been appalling making us wonder whether we’d be out here at all, but today the sun was out and the sky was blue, despite being very cold. Not impossible weather to dowse in if kitted out with gloves, hats and sturdy boots (well, I was anyway).

Almost the first moment we began to dowse we noticed something rather unusual – our usual alignments (myself = female, Kal = male) had been inverted! When I asked to be taken to a compatible power centre I arrived at a male power centre atop a recumbent stone at the edge of the mound. Later, when I caught up with Kal this was the very first thing he said to me: he’d been drawn to female centres and lines. We had confirmed each other’s findings, even if we didn’t understand why this was so. 

Winter Solstice sun path

We set about dowsing. I had vague memories of when we had last mapped the site’s energies and was keen to see whether that had changed at all, given that this was the Winter Solstice. Oh my word, had it changed! The energy flows were significantly different from when I had dowsed here last. Either that, or we are finding more and more layers to the existing energy structures. However, when I had finished dowsing I asked if there were any more energy formations and the rods indicated that there were not, so I suspect the flows have modified, rather than us finding more and more new formations. This, of course, makes the idea of mapping the energies a moving target, as they would have to be mapped over the course of a year the get a full picture of how they change. 

Energy flows

The mound was enclosed in the loving ‘hands’ of female energy, which stayed clearly outside of the ‘moat’ feature that surrounds the mound. A ‘tunnel’ of female energy was diverted into the mound’s interior along the ‘Entrance’ path and flows into the gap in the rear of the chamber. As I had found previously the female energy then hugs the walls of the passageway, and flows up and over the mouth of the passage as it emerges at the Northern end. It seems as though this ‘entrance’ is the entrance for energy, whilst the passageway is the human entrance to the structure. 

Midwinter Solstice energy fields

Inside the chamber I found that the male energy was the same as the last time – it emerged from the petrified tree trunk (as proposed by Rupert Soskin, see this YouTube link for details, from the video ‘Standing With Stones‘), and from the recumbent stone outlying the mound, but within the moat area. 

Sun in the passage at Bryn Celli Ddu

The male energy was confined to the stones within inner circle of the mound area. The male recumbent transformer stone gathered the sun’s energy and fed it to the standing stone at the back of the mound in a circular link. The standing tree stone inside the mound chamber gathered energy from somewhere inside the mound (possibly male earth energy beneath the stone) and fed it out of the back of the chamber, around the mound, and pulled it back inside to the tree stone again. No other male energy formations could be found this day. 

The carved energy patterns

These energy formations were nothing like our previous experience of the mound in the summer months when energy had been evenly distributed between male and female. This shows us that our energy maps are going to change depending upon the time of year that we map them, making the maps even more dynamic than we anticipated! 

Thinking and stinking

To conclude we both did a little meditation and lighting of incense. This also involved us walking around the tree stone inside the chamber. It was an attempt to connect to the specific energies of the Winter Solstice and to try to gather them up, and indeed that was what happened. Both Kal and I felt as though we had managed to infuse ourselves with the Solstice energy and that it was being stored within us, ready for our next site visit, where we hoped to understand what might happen next. We were still at the stage of “letting things occur”, but adding in a little direction ourselves by stating our purpose for using the energies.

In the next post I tell of how we ventured further along the southern edge of Anglesey to the Bryngwyn Stones, and then up to the Soar Stone in the North West, and how the energies of those places interacted with the energy we had gathered from Bryn Celli Ddu. In the final post of this series we do some valuable energy work at Lligwy Chamber, and I map the energies again.

Section 5. Ancient Sites

From the beginning of my journey with the tools of dowsing I have sought to understand the way in which ancient sites may have been used, and how the energies of those places were shaped by the formation of the ancient monuments. During the year this directive has had to sit alongside the fascinating development of my work with Nature itself, however, some very interesting developments have occurred not in spite of that growth of spiritual practise, but because of it. Here are some of the main points that have been gleaned from dowsing and druidry this year concerning the nature and function of sacred sites.

This year has seen us visit some of the most awe-inspiring ancient sites from the stunning background scenery of the Cumbrian circle, to the fields of stone rows at Carnac, the giant megaliths of Brittany, and the quaint but powerful sites along the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Not forgetting, of course, all our favourite sites in North Wales, Shropshire and Derbyshire, with which we are becoming quite familiar.

5-1. Recurring features of stone circles: We have found some identifiable and consistent component parts of a stone circle’s layout:-

• a King Stone – sometimes called a ‘Heel’ stone as well. This is a standing stone of a height similar to the stones within the circle, but outlying the circle. The distance from the circle itself can be quite variable, from a few feet (Druid’s Circle) to a hundred yards (Mitchell’s Fold). We term the stone ‘King’ stone because tends to dowse as being ‘male’, and usually has a source of male energy. This male energy is obtained from two sources: The Sun’s radiant energy, and the placement of the stone upon underground flowing water at a geological fault.
• a Transformer Stone. I also call this a ‘Queen Stone’ because it draws down the radiant energies from The Moon and transforms them into female earth energies to add to the stone circle’s energy flows. The other source of female energy is energy from structure of the rock – either from the stone itself or the geology beneath the stone.
• a Grounding Stone. So-called because its function is to draw down energy from anything that interacts with it. If a person sits on such a stone they may begin to feel drained or tired. People sensitive to subtle energies can feel the energy being drawn into the stone and surrounding earth. It seems to have a cleansing effect leaving a person’s energy aura “cleaner” – i.e. free of the detritus of modern life, such as electro-magnetic radiation (this is just a working assumption at the moment – an intuition). When considering the concept of ‘cleansing’ before any ritual or energy work, we now consider this stone to be part of the preparation for that work.
• Male and female energies. We have spoken many times on the fact that male and female energies are present at sites, and on their relative strengths and qualities, even on their possible sources. What we discovered this year was their interaction with each other. The male and female energies, like the double-helix of a DNA molecule, interact by alternately attracting and repulsing each other, and this dynamism creates the ‘vibrancy’ of the energy at a site.
• Neutral energy flows in straight lines across a site, travelling through it, and providing a course for the helix of male and female energies to latch onto. 
• Celestial bodiesaffect the flow of energies within a site. We are not yet sure whether the design of the site determines which planet’s radiant energy is able to be captured, or whether the planet’s energy has determined which type of structure would be built.
• A double helix of male and female intertwined energies, usually flowing to and from the outliers (e.g. King Stone or Grounding Stone).

5-2. Home-grown circles: We could build our own stone circle this year at Castell Dyserth by placing rocks. This was re-inforced for us when we repaired an existing circle’s flows by adding in these extra home-made circles.

A home-made stone circle

5-3. The geology of sites: seems to affect the purpose, but not type, of the energy present at the site. For example, limestone sites are useful for healing and purification, whereas granite sites are useful for transformation, and for fixing information in place which may be recalled later. It is particularly female earth energy whose character and purpose seems to be determined by the geological properties of the area.

5-4. A site with a strong nemeton attracts visitors, or, a well-visited site reflects the energy of its visitors in a stronger dowsing signal.

Le Champ Dolent - a well-visited megalith

5-5. Some standing stones and their notches serve the purpose of showing astrological alignments of sun, moon, planets and stars. The notches have been made by human hands specifically to record such alignments, presumably to inform people of the time of the greatest energy flows when planets are at their zenith or in conjunction, or when the moon or sun are at a specific phase.

5-6. Aligned entrances: Sacred sites have entrances. Some sites have one for solar-aligned people and another for lunar-aligned people. Some sites have specific entrance stones that have an energetic barrier between them. The purpose of this is not exactly known yet.

Solar southern entrance

7. Ritual paths: Some sites have ritual entry paths. As we can’t be sure whether we are picking up the traces of previous ritual paths determined by the long-term use of humans, or if those paths are naturally-occurring doe to the formation of the sites themselves, we can’t be sure of their exact purpose.

5-8. Tall artificial moundslike Silbury Hill focus energy to the peak of the mound. Like the capstone of a pyramid Silbury Hill, for example, focuses all of its energy flows into a conical space at its peak. It seems designed specifically for this purpose, energetically speaking.

5-9. Chambered ‘tombs’: have small chambers that serve specific purposes, which can be decoded using the rods. These chambers can be used for vision quests and transformative experiences.

5-10. Petroglyphs: can be linked to specific places in the site. In other words, by dowsing it is possible to be taken from a cup-mark, hollow or line to its corresponding place within the site. In this way petroglyphs or cup-marked stones can be seen as “maps” of the energetic places within a site.

Gwas.

Section 4. Astrology and Astronomy

This is the fourth in the series of posts that review the findings of this year. In this particular post I am discussing the relationship between earth energies, human energy fields and the wider cosmos.

I have used the classification of ”astronomy” to describe the information I have discovered (of course, ‘re-discovered’, or ‘uncovered’ would be more appropriate terms) that relates the movement of the major planetary bodies of our solar system to the energy fluctuations in our remaining ancient sacred sites. Very little “astrology” comes into it, really, except that we describe the influence of such bodies upon ourselves.

4-1. Star energies : These types of energy include the influence of planets, which have more effect than we had realised. At the beginning of the year we discovered that “star” energies are also being drawn down into stone circles, just like sun and moon energy. Later we discovered that it was the energy of specific major planets that was being drawn into the circles, or cast upon them. In particular I found a couple of instances where the energy of Venus was being used, and this was at stone circles where the design of the circle itself was based upon the sacred number of that planet (see table below).

4-2. Sacred Numbers : There is a relationship between the planets within our solar system and numbers. This correspondence was obtained by dowsing for this relationship. The number relates to an association between the number and the planet, and that correspondence has a link to the geometry of sacred sites and their dedications. For example, a site dedicated to the goddess ‘Venus’ is found to have a structure that is based upon the number five.

Here is the list of correspondences:-

          1 = Moon
          2 = Mars
          3 = Mercury
          4 = Earth
          5 = Venus
          6 = Jupiter
          7 = Saturn
          8 – Uranus
          9 = Neptune
        28 = The Sun (7+6+5+4+3+2+1)

4-3 Planetary Influence: I learned this year that Venus has an influence over my energetic being. When it is present I am “stalked” by the white light of its presence (seen physically by some people), and am drawn to sites that are in some way connected to it, either geometrically or energetically. Kal is influenced by Mercury’s presence.

4-4. Site ‘alignments’: Some sites are solar-dominated, whilst others are lunar. I react well to lunar sites, whislt Kal feels better at solar sites. Balanced sites suit both of us. Sites that are aligned to the sun have dominant male energies, whilst those that are aligned to the moon have female energy in abundance. No sites that we have found so far are predominantly aligned to any specific star, constellation or planet. In 2010 we will check this more thoroughly, however, as it’s not a question that often gets asked.

4-5. Astrology: My astological natal chart is incredibly accurate in describing my tendencies and characteristics. It goes wrong when the topic is broadened to “how my type of people” think and feel, but when it refers specifically to me, and describes the influence of specific planets upon my birth, then it would seem to me that such tendencies have indeed been “stamped” into my very core, and are still being exhibited some 40 years later.

Gwas.

Section 2. Dowsing and Earth Energies

A lot of work was done by Kal in particular this year relating to the modification of energy centres within houses. Some people call this “house dowsing” or “healing sick houses”. It relates to a concept called “geopathic stress”, but we have found that this “stress” has more causes than simply a water course running under the house. There was a fantastic checklist produced by a British Society of Dowsers member in the December issue of the group’s quarterly magazine ‘Dowsing Today’, which lists these causes, and I will post more on that soon, because I think the information bears repeating and distributing.

I was lucky enough to spend a day at Carnac in France this summer. It was a most glorious day and highly productive, but I absolutely must go back to spend longer there. I feel there is more to be learned still from this massive and impressive site. Other interesting sites this year include: Druid’s Circle above Penmaenmawr; also Nine Stones Close and Nine Ladies stone circles in Derbyshire. I will publish a full list of sites as one of the summary posts in this series.

Here are some of things we learned about dowsing and earth energies this year:-

2-1. House dowsing:

• We can dowse houses accurately, either locally or remotely
• We can either send and receive energy to specific points in the house, providing the house has not been “sealed off” and permission is given
• We can modify the energy formations on site
• Crystals can be used to repair this energetic state, and to change unhelpful or misaligned energies into helpful and aligned ones
• Plants can be asked to contribute to this
• The beneficial effects take some time – depending on how far the energy has to convert from harmful to beneficial, this can take from hours to weeks to achieve. Also dependent upon the amount of new positive input into the formation(s).
• The Moon or Sun can also contribute to the energetic change, acting as a catalyst for the change, and also providing either male or female energetic input.

2-2. Flat recumbent stones attract female energy (moon), whilst pointed stones attract male energy (sun). We don’t yet know which elements of a site attract star or planetary energies, but we know they are present at sites, especially stone circles.

2-3. Kal found that certain geologically faulted locations with water running through them can pin energy to a place.

2-4. Ironwork and iconography (in the case of stones in Brittany I found that it was Christian crosses) can restrain the energy of a standing stone, reducing its aura (field of effect).

2-5. Earth energy spirals are created from sacred geometrical principles and number. Even manifestations created by us have the same properties. Of particular significance has been the discovery that stone circles are based upon sacred geometry in their design. For exmaple, Moel-Ty-Uchaf stone circle in North Wales is based upon a pentacle,or five-sided shape. I have found that this is linked to specific “deities”, but more importantly, that these deities are actually one of the planets. The pentacle therefore is associated with Venus, which itself describes a five-sided geometrical figure around the earth in its annual travel.

2-6. Power centres are the central point of two cones of energy- one going up into the air, the other going down into the ground. Also confirmed by Viktor Schauberger’s research.

2-7. Avenues or rows of standing stones have male and female energies intertwining, and travelling the length of the line of a stone rows of standing stones.

2-8. Tumuli can provide a terminus pointfor energy to sink back into the earth. As an example, I found this double mound pictured below was a terminus point for the energy running through the Kermario avenues of standing stones at Carnac in France.

2-9. Cup-marked stones often provide a rising point, a focal point or source of earth energies entering into sacred sites. Some standing stones that are cup-marked are a map of the energy power centres nearby.

2-10. “Hand spread” patterns of energy fields can be dowsed on the side of circles where energy is being dispersed out of the area. They indicate areas of high fertility energy.

2-11. Many neutral alignment leys travel the length and breadth of lands, and have accumulated sacred sites and churches along them. I suggest this is similar to the geometirc patterns that many dowsers and researchers have discovered overlaying the British Isles, and some say, the whole of Earth (cf. John Michell)

2-12. “Martin”, “Margaret” and “Anne” are other synonyms for the male and female energy lines surrounding national leylines, as well as the better-known “Michael” and “Mary” energies. This year I traced what I call The St.Martin Line running from South-West England through France and into Italy.

These findings should be viewed in the context of the complementary section coming soon on our findings at Ancient Sites. I hope next year to concentrate on water dowsing, or rather, dowsing the energetic properties of water, sap and blood. Next in the series – Part 3 – I will be summarising our findings relating to tree energies, elemental spirits and death energy.

Gwas.

In this post I’d like to talk about some of the theories of a man called Viktor Schauberger. I found that I wanted to write a great deal about this man as I sympathised with so many of his views about the way Nature works, and the appalling treatment of Nature by mankind. However, I intend to keep the post limited to those ideas of his that I have found correspond to my own findings through dowsing and druidry. Reading about Viktor’s work with water and centripetal forces will, I am sure, suggest many other interesting areas for me to pursue with the dowsing rods, but for now I wanted to highlight those elements of his theories that I have already found fit with my own thinking about subtle energies.

Viktor Schauberger was responsible for some quite remarkable theories, all of which he derived from his observations of Nature. He was born in Austria in 1885 and died in 1958. He was a “forest master” in the Alps as a young man, and developed a pioneering log flume to transport logs down the steep slopes using the motion and qualities of water that he had discovered. Beyond that, he was co-opted to work for the Nazi government during the war where he developed a flying saucer based on his ideas about centripetal forces, but his prototypes were destroyed on the orders of the German Army, and his papers confiscated by the Allies as the war came to an end.

He was passionate about the idea of replacing the trees that were, and still are, being removed from the environment. He knew that trees gave the necessary shade to keep the rivers and streams running that supply fresh “living” water to our species. He worked on projects to enliven water through the same processes as he observed in mountain streams, and in such phenomena as tornadoes and water spouts.

He developed new forms of propulsion through his ‘implosion engine’, and developed methods of producing electricity directly from water. In his later years he worked on agricultural projects trying to convert farmers from using iron implements to copper as he knew that iron had a debilitating effect upon the quality of the soil.

To the end Schauberger attempted to ensure that his work would be for the benefit of all, and not to be used for commercial dominance or for military purposes. It is debatable as to how far he was able to do this, as an American consortium cheated him of his patents leaving him a desolate and destitute man.

Yet he leaves a legacy of ideas that, although unable to be implemented in his own time, I hope will begin to see the light of day in our lifetime, or we will inevitably witness the decline of our own species -- his ideas were that important. Here’s what Alick Bartholemew, a writer trying to bring Schauberger’s views back into circulation, say of him:

“In the years to come he will be acknowledged as one of the principal guiding spirits of the 21st century and beyond, who brought about a fundamental shift of Copernican proportions in humankind’s appreciation of Nature and natural energies.” (Nexus magazine article)

 Mystical experience

I find a lot of what Schauberger talks about seems very aligned with modern Druidic philosophy. It therefore was not much of a surprise to find that, as with many great thinkers, he found his inspiration from direct contact with Nature’s intelligence. Here’s a quote from the book Hidden Nature (reference at foot of post) that describes a process that is now very familiar to me:-

“As a young man, searching for inspiration in his beloved forest, Viktor was sitting quietly by the bank of a pristine stream when he unexpectedly found that his consciousness entered the water. It connected with an intelligence in the water that spoke to him. It told him what movements it needed to make in order to stay healthy, and under what conditions. It was from this mystical experience that he built up his awareness of how healthy water is essential for the creation and maintenance of all life.”

The above quote shows that many people who go on to study Nature’s workings are initially inspired by a mystical experience, or that such an experience is a great motivator to continue delving deeper into the mysteries. It also demonstrates that when the human mind resonates in sympathy with Nature all sorts of connections can be made revealing knowledge and inspiration. I liken this episode to the many instances where I have achieved the same levels of connection, a prime example being West Kennet Long Barrow, where I was informed about the purpose of and path through each of the chambers within. That was not information that I could have deduced or reasoned for myself -- it took ‘divine inspiration’, if you will.

Male and female energies

Nature favours a constant movement between male and female polarities and continuously seeks higher states of complexification. So states Schauberger,but the theory is also similar to statements made by another more modern mystic Terence McKenna when he talks of Nature’s development, or the journey through time towards the Omega point at the end of time that he called The Eschaton. Nature’s energies spin clockwise and anti-clockwise, they expel centrifugally then pull back in centripetally. These movements, these breaths of life, are the heartbeat of the planet, the pulsations that permeate existence. Schauberger warned us that to head for the stagnant middle ground where nothing oscillates, the stable central point, is to head for a monochromatic existence which will deny growth. Instead we thrive most when dancing around that centre point in active spirals and vortices of creativity and destruction, balancing out their forces through the constant movement between their poles.

I see this reflected at ancient sacred sites where energies play in the sun and moonlight, where the spirals and vortices make the dowsing rods twirl in sweeping movements of sacred geometric patterns. In the ambiance of these living energy fields I feel very alive myself, interacting with the earthly and celestial energies, creating my own imaginary energy movements to contribute to the dance. Some sites I have visited no longer have any of this movement. Destroyed circles and ruined barrows often have mere remnants of these forces. Some may still have a neutral ley line going through them, but the female and male energies that once swirled around these ley lines are no longer there. Sometimes we see the hand of modern man in this destruction -- stones removed; iron cages and concrete houses erected; streams dammed or diverted; trees chopped down; power lines swooping overhead; transmitter masts atop ancient hills -- all these factors nullify and neglect the interplay of natural energies, and dowsing such sites can be a very dull and dispiriting affair.

The Spiral and the Vortex

Whilst reading about Schauberger’s concepts of energy I had another of those spine-tingling moments when I saw the double-vortex shape. That shape was exactly what Kal and I had dowsed at Arbor Low stone circle. We had talked about our lack of drawing talents and whether we could render the shape sufficiently well to include it in a post for all to see. Here was that shape, not only in its conical format, but also shown as a wonderful spherical shape too. It was at that moment that I knew we were speaking the same language -- the mathematics that had arisen out of Schauberger’s energy concepts and which was revealed in its sacred geometry was the same three-dimensional shape that we were dowsing at ancient sacred sites all over the country.

The point at which the cones meet is the “earth point” -- the point at which the energies touch the earth. This is where we were dowsing the spirals -- on top of the earth -- but we knew that we were dowsing a two-dimensional pattern that was something that existed in three dimensions as cones of energy rising above and going down into the earth. The favoured shape of energy is the spiral and the vortex -- the spiral being centrifugal and male, the vortex being centripetal and female. These are the most natural shapes in existence:

“Spirals are a basic form of motion in Nature, but Schauberger’s recognition of the vortex as the principle creative movement system in the Universe is at the core of his Eco-technology and the key to his valuable implosion research. From the tornado to plant growth, it is nature’s mechanism for transforming energy from one level to another.” (p.33 Hidden Nature)

The spiral is the shape that is aligned to the male energy and which moves outwards from the centre -- centrifugally. The vortex is the shape that is aligned to the female energy and it moves inwards towards the centre -- centripetally. Here is a comparison of the qualities of those forms of energy:

• Centrifugal energy:  male, sun-powered, disintegrating, decelerating, dissipating, destructive, divergent, loosening, friction-inducing, gravity -> diffused power is noise -> inward to outward
• Centripetal energy: female, moon-powered, consolidating, accelerating, integrating, contracting, convergent, formative, friction-reducing, levity -> concentrated power is silence -> outward to inward.

If these energetic forces are removed from water or the earth, then they become stagnant or infertile. They die. The process that Viktor was describing was the very life force of the planet itself. Notice how that life force is also dependent upon the direct and indirect energies of The Sun and Moon, but also how we, the human race, have a responsibility to maintain its vitality and flow as well. This man was defining scientifically the very essence of what I feel it is to be a druid in the modern world -- an energy worker, an ecologist, a student of Nature.

The effect of moonlight and sunlight

One of the things that Schauberger discovered very early on in his studies of the properties of water was the effect that sunlight and moonlight had upon it. The “strength” of water was altered by the effects of sunlight, making it “weaker” and less able to support weight. Conversely, moonlight, especially a full moon, strengthened water. These effects were at the heart of Schauberger’s successful construction of log flumes to transport timber from the higher slopes of the Alpine forests to the timber yards in the valleys below.

When water was cooler and moonlit he could transport heavier logs. Temperature was part of this equation certainly, but there is also something more esoteric at work in this finding. Moonlight was having a centripetal effect upon the water -- it became more consolidated, had a greater power of levitation. Sunlight made water ‘disintegrate’, i.e. lose its carbonic qualities, shedding oxygen and ‘weakening’. Callum Coats explains it rather prosaically like this:

“In the spawning season, when the rays of the full Moon strike water with a high content of negative-ions at the right angle, its levitational force intensifies to such an extent that even small stimuli are enough to cause a highly excited trout to float upwards in plunging waterfalls. The effect of gravity on the respective body is therefore a question of the inner constitution of the water, the blood or the sap.

Apart from the movement arising from their healthy composition, the carrying and tractive forces of these vital fluids are also influenced by the Sun and the Moon. For instance, were there no Moon, then the heavy Earth would be unable to float autonomously in the space infused with high concentrations of qualigen surrounding it.” (Callum Coats -- The Fertile Earth -- 2000)

The moon has always had an effect upon us, whether it be literal or metaphorical. It is been associated with the feminine forces of humanity and the Otherworld of myth since we first recorded such things. It is the symbol of creativity and darkness, and is forever associated with the element of water. It is the oscillating effect of the moon as it travels across our  planet between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer that provides the rhythmic pulse of our ocean tides.  The Sun is seen as the direct life-giver, without whose influence life would not exist at all. It is the prime motivator, feeding the movement of all energies. From it we derive the solar-hero myths of taming the dragon (energies) through its counter-balancing effects to the female forces.

Sonic fertilisation

One final point about Schauberger’s work that relates to subtle energies. In his later career he worked with farmers trying to solve some of the problems associated with agriculture. The problems he saw were those of how to maintain the fertility of the land in the most natural way possible, again by copying the processes inherent in Nature. He observed a rural farmer’s ritual of stirring a barrel of water first one way then the other, whilst sprinkling soil into the mix and singing. When the water was revolving clockwise, the old farmer would sing up the scale of notes. When the direction changed he would sing down a scale. The resulting soil, he found, had a much-increased fertility over the soil that had not been through this process. The old farmer then used this mixture to sprinkle over his farmland to promote the fertility of the fields.

In my own findings relating to sound and earth energies I have been able to find a that a sacred stone’s energetic aura is composed of various levels, each of which correspond to a colour -- one of the colours of the rainbow it turns out. As one dowses closer to the stone, so one goes through levels or fields of energy that resonate at a vibrational frequency that corresponds to a colour. For example the outer edge will be red, then orange, then yellow and so on until the inner aura field next to the standing stone is violet. When I played a musical scale at the boundary points of each of the colour fields I found that I could get a positive dowsing response to musical notes as I moved up the scale, so the red boundary would dowse for the lowest note, and the violet boundary for the highest note. The sequence passed through three octaves, but I need more examples before I publish this information.

Schauberger was also the inventor of the “Golden Plough”. Ploughshares were usually made of iron, but Schauberger knew the effect that iron had upon the earth energies in the soil and knew that they created an effect that neutralised the soil making it less fertile. He produced a ploughshare that was copper-coated, and also one made of phosphor brass. The shape was also a unique design being a vortex shape that turned the soil but didn’t damage the root systems in the soil. All these elements contributed to increases in the fertility of the land that made use of his unique designs. The idea that iron negates earth energy echoes the work I did investigating whether iron spikes can neutralise earth energy spirals - they can. Kal and I have also find that iron cages around trees prevent the tree’s aura from extending beyond the cage (see the post on the Holy Thorn Tree on Wearyall Hill). At the Rollright Stones, the King Stone is caged and its aura is limited, however earth energies still pass into the through this stone somehow. Clearly we need to do more work to understand this fully.

I hope I have whetted your appetite for doing some more research on this fascinating man and his theories. To assist you here are some videos and links to books about him.

Related videos:-

Nature Was My Teacher

httpv://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4770477589537728517&ei=JFQUS9qxM4e62wL6rpVX&q=nature+was+my+teacher

The Extraordinary Nature of Water

httpv://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8915966819502040048&ei=bVQUS9iTF5zE2wKRybWXCw&q=extraordinary+nature+of+water&view=3

Sacred Living Geometry

httpv://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5643559434275921302&ei=TVQUS8ecNJvE2wLl_OjIBA&q=sacrfed+living+geometry&view=3

Related books:-

“Hidden Nature: The Startling Insights of Viktor Schauberger” -- by Alick Bartholemew [buy]

“The Fertile Earth: Nature’s Energies in Agriculture, Soil Fertilisation and Forestry” -- bu Callum Coats [buy]

“The Water Wizard: The Extraordinary Properties of Natural Water” -- by Callum Coats [buy]

Gwas.

Following the the wet footsteps of the water wizard.

30th April, 2009: Nine Ladies and Nine Stones Close, Stanton Moor, Derbyshire.

This was a difficult post to write. Here, for the first time, I got an insight into how a stone circle may have once been used. My issue then was, how much of this speculative information do I pass on? Given that Kaland I had detected energy working at the circle that we didn’t agree with…should I then go on to reveal this information, and potentially provide such people withwhat I feel is one of the keys that unlocks the power of Nine Stones Close? Do I have that right? With that in mind you will notice that I don’t go into detail about some things. If you’re really interested you’ll have your own methods of filling in the detail.

Stanton Moor and The Corkstone

This visit took place on a damp and cloudy April afternoon on Stanton Moor. If you go through the village of Stanton-in-the-Peak, take a left turn up the hill, past a quarry works and car park, then park at the edge of the woods at the top of the hill, you’ll find an information sign at the beginning of the walk across Stanton Moor.

To get to Nine Ladies stone circle from this point it’s pretty hard not to pass The Corkstone- a standing stone that now sports worn hoof-prints of the people who have climbed up it, assisted by the numerous iron spikes that have been driven into the rock face. Being one of the first things we noticed when we stopped at the stone Kal and I dowsed for the effect of these spikes – they impacted the energy field (|or nemeton) making it smaller, was what we found.

We found that the Corkstone was connected to a nearby solitary tree that lived twenty or so feet away at the junction of paths. It had no connection with the Nine Ladies stone circle, however, which we thought was unusual. Had it been connected before? YES. Then why would it be disconnected now? As if in answer we heard a rumble that sounded like thunder followed by a crash and the sound of engines. The nearby quarry was still at work. I had read about quarries being a huge source of negative or harmful earth energies, so I dowsed as to whether this was the reason why the stone was de-coupled from its neighbouring site? YES. As some form of protection, we supposed?

Despite being isolated from Nine Ladies the input of the nearby tree’s energy The Corkstone had a flowing nemeton that circled the stone three times. This stone’s energy field registered as being composed of the tree’s female energies, plus its own male energy. Kal fell in love with the tree, so I urged that we walk on to Nine Ladies – he would be spending all day here otherwise, walking the tree’s spirals!

Nine Ladies and The Wishing Tree Re-visited

We crossed the moorland following only paths that had good strong energies. These energy flows started just outside the area of the Corkstonebut seemed to circumvent a direct connection with it. We happily snaked our way across the moor walking fluidly and easily. Occasionally we would be distracted by a faerie ring and would dowse its contents – invariably finding small female spirals.

We arrived at Nine Ladies stone circle and deposited our bags under the Wishing Tree oak. All seemed quiet and calm. Nothing stirred and scarcely another person or dog wandered by. We wandered around ourselves, more contemplative than usual and not filled with the urge to dowse. I confirmed a few things such as: was the entrance in the same place? YES. Was there a ‘white stream’ nemeton of male and female energies around it? YES. Did the Wishing Tree still link to the circle? YES. Was there still a link between two of the stones in the circle passing through one of the circle’s power centres? YES.

Kal and I chatted about how dull it felt. It was as though it was sleeping…We sat under the tree a while whilst Kal tried to befriend it. His recent interest in trees made me more hopeful, but I still warned him about how he might approach the tree. He said he wouldn’t have a problem this time, in his usual inscrutable and confident way. A few minutes later he stepped out from under the tree – and didn’t bang his head, or trip, and was smiling. Success? Oh, yes – he responded. Well, connecting with Nature was going better than the dowsing today.

We felt there was little else to learn here at the moment, and headed back to the car to go on to Nine Stones Close circle – always a favourite of ours for some reason that we couldn’t explain. Perhaps because something interesting and enlightening or puzzling always happens there?

Nine Stones Closer

Nine Stones Close has always held a fascination for us. We return here a lot. When I visit it I get the feeling it is a central hub for the energies of the area, radiating that energy out to other sites. I don’t know why I feel that.  Perhaps it is the number of power centres that exist here, which is so many more than other stone circles. It feels like a meeting place. A place where druids and other energy workers met to collaborate on a ritual or to perform some energy work together.

Nine Stones has nine power centres. Five of them are male-oriented and the remaining four are inclined to the female frequency. The male centres are situated between the remaining four stones – four stones, five gaps, five male power centres. The female ones form a rectangle within the ring of the male centres. Nine is unusual – we normally only come across a couple of such centres at most circles.

The interesting thing we discovered here was the existence of a Map Stone. Other sites, such as MonzieCircle in Scotland,have map stones – cup-marked stones whose markings correlate with the position of important earth energy features. David Cowan, particularly, has described how these cup-makred stones are pivotal to understanding the features and flows of energy in large-scale circuits of earth energy. However, there is one feature about these stones that I think even he may have missed: they are not only a map, or energy source in themselves, they can also be a means to activating the power centres of a site.

What do I mean by ‘activate’? Well, that’s the detail that I want to leave out. I think it’s sufficient to say that if you understand what I mean by the concept of a power centre, and you can imagine how the stone could be a map showing the location of such centres, then that is probably enough material to work with. I will just say that through certain simple actions it is possible to make specific power centres ‘turn on’ and be available for use in your energy work. I still have to identify the particular characteristics of each power centre, but I do know that one of them is solely for the use of the person who understands these concepts. I suspect that the other power centres, once unlocked, require people aligned to either male or female to stand on the centres. Just what is possible by doing this, I don’t yet know.

After finding out how to use the map to activate power centres I returned to dowsing to verify the existence of the curious geometric energy formationsthat could be dowsed atop each power cente. I had found them on my last visit and now wanted to verify the information again now that some time had passed, and I had forgotten which shapes were where. Sure enough, when I re-mapped them I found that most of them were displaying the same shapes: circle, oval, triangle, square, spiral and figure of eight. Each power centre had energy formations consisting of unique size, shape and orientation, although some shapes were repeated. I now have two maps of these formations, and they tally almost exactly, differing only in Kal and my interpretations of scale, and in the detail of the shapes.

What this means, I don’t yet know. What purpose it serves is also a mystery as yet. The more one finds out the more there is to know in this game! I feel these signature shapes are important to understanding the ways in which this circle can generate energy from human interaction, but I cannot say what that is at the moment, The ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions are always more difficult to answer than the simple ’yes or no’ queries!

Gwas

Following geometric maps.