The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘earth energy’

After spending a significant amount of time last year trying to determine the most energetic points of the year we think we have worked out what those are now. It was interesting to try to link those to the 8-fold year of the pagan calendar, for there was undoubtedly some remnant of knowledge retained in one or two of the festivals, but the majority of the dates of the 8-fold year are simply calendrical, and bear little relation to the quality of the planet’s subtle energies. The exceptions were Imbolc, Summer Solstice, Samhain and Winter Solstice. Most of the cross-quarter days were simply a marker point in the calendar, useful to human society but no indication of energetic quality.

How does this relate to the ancient sacred sites we have visited? Almost without exception the sites contained a positional system of measurement that indicated which energies they were engineered to take advantage of, utilise or enhance. Only recently have we begun to piece together the combination of factors that contributes to the bigger subtle energyA form of energy that has so far eluded scientific definition. It is neither electric, magenetic, nor electro-magnetic, so far as our current technical equipment can measure. It does, however, exhibit many of the characteristics of magnetism and electricity in terms of its effects and properties. It may be a form of either or both of those energies that we have not yet identified. picture, involving factors such as:-  

• the site’s alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. with The Moon
• the site’s alignment with The Sun
• the site’s alignment with specific planets
• the type of rock used in the construction
• the size of the stones, the site and the number of stones used
• the underlying geology and water systems of the site
• the living energy of nearby trees
• the time of day
• the time of year

As you can see there’s a lot to take account of, and producing a scientific analysis of a site’s subtle energy systems is an absurd venture – it’s much more about intuitive feel backed up by some dowsing to confirm suspicions or to disprove suggestions, all performed against a background of the unfolding inevitability of the year and the astral bodies that surround us.

Imbolc ushered in by Bride

So, this is how we are approaching the first major venture of this year: Imbolc – February 1st. It falls on a Monday this year, and happens to coincide with a full moon. How fortunate! The dowsing should be strong for the female energies, and we should begin to see the return of the male energies if the sun is out around midday. The day is dedicated to Bridget/Brige/Bride – the threefold goddess of magic, craft and fertility – a winning combination in my book! Therefore we intend to take account of this in the ritualistic elements of our energy work that day.

LAST YEAR:

We visited St Bridget’s Church in Dyserth village. This was the start of a small pilgrimage (although we weren’t calling it that back then) that took us all around the area, from the village, the waterfall, to Gop Hill, Dyserth castle, and then up to the Golden Grove (which we failed to find). Later in the year I revisited that site and found both St.Elmo’s Summer House and The Golden Grove and was overwhelmed by cows and totem animal signs.

View from Gop Hill at Imbolc

Link to posts: Imbolc – The Return of the Male Energies, Dyserth 1, Dyserth 2, Golden Grove & St.Elmo’s Summer House

THIS YEAR:

We will be heading out to Anglesey, to follow the Bridget trail of sites in the south-western quarter of the island. I will tell you more about how this came to be our itinerary, and what actually happened in a few weeks time.

ENERGIES:

This year Kal and I have planned out the times when we will be able to make the best use of the anticipated male and female energy high points of the year. When are they? Well, if you haven’t been following all our conclusions so far let us give you two golden rules that should allow you to work them out for yourself:

The male energies (radiant and earth) are at their strongest when The Sun is at its strongest – growing in strength over the year until reaching a peak at the Summer Solstice.

Then the radiant energy begins to fade. The strength of any specific day is dependent upon the amount of sun visible on that day, and is strongest around midday. Therefore, the ultimate peak would be midday of the Summer Solstice on a sunny day.

The female energies (reflected and earth) are at their strongest when The Moon is at its fullest and closest. Therefore, in the next year, this will actually be at the end of the year on the Winter Solstice.

If you want to find out which other days are important to those who revel in the female energy flow then I recommend you purchase the Findhorn book “In Tune With The Moon 2010“, which is a calendar that indicates not only the days of a full moon but also indicate whether the moon is at apogee or perigee, or somewhere in between (i.e. how near it is to Earth, and therefore how big it appears). You also have to take account of the fact that clouds may obscure the view, although this only diminishes the effect, it doesn’t nullify it.

Imbolc in a nutshell

RITUALS:

This year we have determined to go out on these special days with an intention. At Imbolc we will definitely make this the first of such ventures, and although I do not want to plan it too much, I think it is safe to say that there will be some incense burned, some candles lit, possibly some milk left as an offering if we are requested to do so along the way, and perhaps we will have a thought or two about the three aspects of the triple goddess as we work with the energies of the sites we visit on that day. Nothing is ever certain, but this year it is more deliberate than last year, as we have been encouraged to be so. One thing is for sure – we will both have a definite outcome that we will be working to achieve with the magical energies available to us on February 1st.

Gwas Myrddyn – Servant of Merlin.

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Link: Useful Pagan Calendar dates for 2010

Section 7. Summary of the Year

In order to organise our thoughts Kal and I came up with some questions the answers to which we hoped might summarise the way that year has gone for us – what were the bits we expected, what exceeded our expectations, and which things arose to meet us on this path that we didn’t anticipate? Here are my answers to this year’s questions.

What did I think I was going to learn?

1. Whether specific periods of the year are more energetic than others, and whether those periods align to the calendrical eight-fold year.
2. How stone circles work in terms of their energy
3. Whether specific geology affects the energetic responses from sites

By the summer of 2009 I had already established to my satisfaction that there was a difference in the strengths of energies at the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. I was sure that there was more powerful sun energy (i.e. stronger male energy) at the Summer Solstice. The Spring and Autumn Equinoxes were very similar in strength, and were a balance of male and female earth energies. At the Winter Solstice the male energies were very weak, as was the Sun. The female energies fluctuated only in relation to the strength of the Moon and the input from nearby trees, again weaker in Winter.

Determining any objective means of measurement was difficult, as our own energy levels seemed to be a factor in how well we could dowse or do energy work at a site, however a scale of measurement (strength from 1-10) seemed to work for the purposes of obtaining some data that could be compared between sites. The solstice and equinox dates depended upon the quality of the Sun to determine the amount of additional energy was at the site compared to our visits to them on other dates.

The Celtic Festival dates (Lammas, Beltane, Samhain and Imbolc) in between those times were much harder to figure out. These dates seems to depend upon the position of the Moon for their effects upon ancient sites., rather than the Sun’s effect. I will be posting much more on this soon, complete with a table of the relative energy levels at various sites dowsed this year.

Further theories have emerged concerning the operation of energies at stone circles and other sites too. See the Earth Energies and Ancient Sites Summary posts for details on those.

We have kept a weather-eye on the geology of sites whilst dowsing this year. It started for me in Carnac when I discovered that the stone rows were placed along a shelf of rock quite different from the surrounding geology of the rest of the nearby coastline. We have concurred with the popular dowsing theory that geological faulting is important to the situation of ancient sites, as is often the presence of water, but we do not wholly agree with the necessity of water (or a ‘blind spring’ formation) being present at all ancient neolithic sites. Some major sites such as Stonehenge and The Rollright Stones do have this water formation, however, and we think these popular sites may have led to the popularity of the idea amongst the dowsing fraternity that such a formation is necessary to a strong energy site. We do not find this to be true.

'CARNAC: Des Pierres Pour Les Vivants' by Pierre Mereaux

What’s been the surprise?

1. Crop circles being designed by some intelligence beyond the confines of this planet – expected them to be of human design and manufacture.
2. The energetic and healing potential of running water – Pistyll Rhaeadr and Viktor Schauberger convinced me of this at different ends of the year. At Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall my wife’s twisted ankle was healed in minutes. Later I read Schauberger’s theories on the properties of water and I understood how this could have come about.
3. A spiritual pilgrimage being worthwhile doing, and not some soulless religious historical trail as I had imagined it to be.

1. Astrology - There is a correlation, a link, between the relative positions of the stars and a human being. My natal chart is stunningly accurate in assessing my personality traits. Kal and I have also discovered that we are energetically linked to particular planets – Kal to Mercury and myself to Venus. We are more energetically ‘loaded’ or ‘charged’, and more energy work is possible, when our respective planets are visible. I have tracked this since the beginning of the year and have each dowsing response confirms this.
2. Elemental beings and cloud sylphs – I see some this year on four separate occasions and each time I was stunned by the effect – this was no mere simulacrum. Seeing faces in the clouds must be the third and conclusive qualifying factor in any signs of madness developing – that much I do appreciate, but nevertheless, they have been present at quite specific times of high energy.

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Sam Hill – it’s nearly Samhain!

The original Celtic New Year begins on the night of the Full Moon closest to October 31st and November 1st. This year that will be Monday 2nd November. It is the time when the Summer was overcome by the Winter – often played out as the Solar Hero being overcome by a Dark Knight (see Mummer Plays).

This time sees the beginning of the Dark Half of the Year – a festival honouring the dead, and importantly forming a link between the energies of those who have been before us, and those of us here now. Samhain is a gateway between the worlds of the Otherworld and the Middle Earth, and becomes passable by the denizens of either world – the “veil becomes thin” as some describe it. It is therefore an opportunity to commune or communicate with forces in a much stronger and clearer way that at other times.

There is lots of miscellaneous information about various customs relating to this time of year, old and new, to be found here.

Playing with Fire

Samhain is a Celtic fire festival, so inevitably one should look for a sacred site or grove that will enable you to have a fire without causing a disturbance, if you plan to celebrate it in style. Leave the fireworks for the sham that is “Guy Fawkes Night” though!

This being a fire festival means an opportunity to obtain the co-operation of a fire spirit if you do not already have such a relationship. This will promote change in your life and ways, so you need to know if this is what you want, or make adequate protection against inadvertant change being wrought through your life by a rampant fire spirit!

Samhain is a time of feasting on the profits of the year – whether that be literal feasting on food, or consuming the fruits of our labours and learnings over the profitable summer months. It is a time to gather in the rewards of your experiences, reflect upon them, and begin the process of working them into your life over the Winter months to come, ready for the next Spring.

Energetically we see the male earth energies, and those living energies produced by the trees, begin to retreat back into the earth, their influence waning. The celebration of the rising female energy influence is encapsulated in the celebration’s coincidence with the full moon.

You’re My Venus

Astrologically, Venus is appearing in the mornings. Jupiter and Mars are also in attendance over Samhain. Other major planets such as Mercury and Saturn have significantly disappeared from the northern hemisphere just before Samhain.

I’m looking forward to visiting a sacred site that is out of the way, and which is associated with Venus and the sacred number five. Last year none of that would have made any sense – this year I have learned that such specifics will mean that I am at a site that is energetically at its peak, and full of magical possibilities for me.

Enjoy your Samhain celebrations, whatever you do!

Gwas Myrddyn.

Hedge Druid.

Glastonbury Pilgrimage Notes – Summer Solstice (June 2009)

On June 20th and 21st Kal and I went down to Glastonbury to begin a spiritual pilgrimage. That wasn’t our intention initially, but very quickly that’s what it turned out to be! We had no set agenda, other than a starting point that I had identified after reading Mary Caine’s book about the Glastonbury Zodiac in which she had revealed that the Girt Dog of Langport may have been the first place that initiates to the ancient druidic colleges and mystery schools landed by boat on the Isle of Avalon, the only high ground in the flooded Somerset Levels. This first contact was at Burrow Mump at Burrowbridge. So that was where we started too. From that point onwards I was hoping for some guidance from elsewhere as to the path I should take.

Little did I know quite how successful that approach would be! What follows is an account of how we were lead through the Isle of Avalon, each site opening at least one of my chakras, to profound effect. Follow me now as I show you the trail and the experiences I had – truly a solstice to remember.

Stage 1: Burrow Mump – Throat Chakra

We started the morning looking for the nose that formed the Girt Dog of Langport. Having read Mary Caine’s book about the Glastonbury Zodiac I was interested that she considered it to be the entrance way for the initiate into the Isle of Avalon and the Mystery School transformation process. Not that I was going to subject myself to some sort of masonic ritual! I believe the tradition to be far older than that, and to have been a spiritual initiation of the kind that is symbolically referenced in ancient Welsh bardic texts. Certainly, now that I am recounting this story I feel as though it is the transformation that you seek for yourself that you find, and nothing to do with arcane and involved rituals. Just time, patience, endeavour and a willingness to try.

I was not convinced as to the existence of all 12 of the zodiac signs in the Glastonbury landscape (13 including the dog) despite Mary Caine’s well-argued case. I felt that some of the signs were older – especially the incongruous Girt Dog, which equates to the dog Dormarth – the companion of Gwyn ap Nudd. I am starting to formulate the idea that there may have been only five original shapes – the original fixed zodiac signs and the dog, but that’s an argument that I will spell out in another post. The Girt Dog fitted with the Gwyn ap Nudd tales, but was out of place with the zodiac signs, many of whose shapes I feel were a bit ‘forced to fit’. Nevertheless I felt there as something in the Dog, and that it would form a good starting point, as I hadn’t visited it before on previous visits. We bought an Explorer Map of the area and located it.

The Church of St.Michael

We followed dowsing rods to locate the most energetic paths for ourselves to the top. As usual, Kal’s solar path weaved a little but was almost direct, whereas my lunar-oriented path wandered around ascending at intervals and circling around each of the trees on the slope’s southern side. Then we arrived at the ruins of the St.Michael’s Church on the top of the Mump. If you’ve been reading our posts on this site for a while you’ll know the significance of St.Michael – the archangel of Christianity who pins the dragonDragons are spirit or energetic beings that reside in sacred sites and have a particular location in them and also move throughout the day (and or season). They also leave the sacred site on occasion, which again differentiates them from Genius Loci which don’t. energy, or Dark forces, under his sword of Light. However, another way of seeing it, as I saw it that day, was that the Archetype of Light was dominating the natural balance of energies. There ought to be a constant battle between Light and Dark, as is the flow of the forces in Nature. To dominate and subdue the dark forces throws the human world into a state of imbalance. This is how I felt standing in St.Michael’s Church on Burrow Mump – the earth and radiant energy forces were being subjugated by the design and designation of the church. The design channelled the energies, whilst the designation ensured that generations of believers would imbue the site with their dedicatory energies, maintaining the imbalance in the name of the Light (the Sun, the Male force).

Is not Christianity just such a religion? Does it not promote The Light and seek to eradicate The Dark, vilifying it as “evil” and un-holy? Has it not tried to associate all the worst aspects of humanity with the forces of darkness, of night and of magic? The result has been 2000 years of what Terence McKenna would call “the dominator culture“, promoting masculine ideals, favouring male energies, denigrating and subjugating the feminine. Only now is the tide slowly turning in the last hundred years as we slowly transfer alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. to the new Aquarian age from the Piscean. For the established Christian Church trying to maintain masculine sun energy exclusively in the face of this turning tide will bring about the dissolution of these established institutions – unless they can change.

Dowsing The Mump
The St.Michael church was of course aligned East-West. It could hardly fail to be so. Having read Ross Nichol’s article about the layout of churches in the selected collection of his works called “In The Grove of the Druids” I knew that this ancient Sun alignment was important, as was the structure of the church, which also conformed to the divine proportions and layout of almost all early Christian churches. It also happens to be on the St.Michael ley lineThe term used by many British dowsers to describe an energy leyA straight line of neutral energy linking two or more sacred sites or other energetic centres. This is often confused with Alfred Watkins’ concept of the Ley Line. Strictly speaking a ley line does not necessarily mean a neutral energy line, only a sight alignment between notable places, whereas an energy ley is like a radial spoke in a wheel, with energy flowing outwards across the land in a straight line. It has sometimes been found that the energy ley can be diverted from its strict straight path by changes in the landscape or strong attractors that pull it away from its original course. Energy leys may have inter-twining streams of male and female energies weaving along them, as though the energy ley is an attractor, a pathway or a conduit for the male and female energies.. It is easily confused with ley and therefore its use is not recommended by dowsers. that the late John Michell re-discovered, and which was popularised further by Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst.

We set about discovering the ley lines and earth energy formations of the site. We immediately identified a strong and powerful ley line consisting of neutral, male and female energy lines. It travelled all the way through the large empty windows set into each end of the ruined church. We quickly found our respective power centres – on opposite sides of the church’s North-South walls. Mine was to the south, and consisted of female and neutral energies, whilst Kal’s was directly opposite on the northern side and registered for male and female energies. I took the picture below whilst standing in my power centreA place where a person of a particular alignment (see ‘Alignment’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre., and Kal’s was just through the arch on the opposite side.

There was also a power centre slap bang in the centre of the church. This was very interesting indeed – we learned something new here. The three types of energies coming into the church along the East-West axis was hitting a female earth energy point in the centre of the church. As it did so it split into two rays that were channelled by the church’s walls outwards in North and South directions, effectively forming….a cross! To the south this extended through my power centre as a female and neutral line. On Kal’s side (north) the line was refracted as a male and female line. What we don’t know is how the power centres at those points affected the constitution of those lines, but perhaps we can leave that for someone else to determine until we get back there another day?

As Kal will no doubt relate he was wearing a bracelet of blue stones. An unusual thing for him to do, as I had never seen him wear it before. Turns out I needed it. I dowsed for which of my chakra points this Burrow Mump energy centre would affect and got a response for the colour blue – the throat chakra. I didn’t have any context for what that might mean, but Kal decided to offer me his blue bracelet. He felt it may help my meditation, so I took it.

I used the L-rods to find the point at which I should meditate (something we are getting accustomed to doing now). A point was detected about ten feet away from the central crossing point. If you consider that the church’s design is an elongated cross resembling a human being with outstretched arms (see Ross Nichols’ essay on church design and human proportion) then this point would have equated to …you know what’s coming, right? The throat of course. I only realised this once I came to write this post. My higher self is obviously a lot more intelligent than my normal self.

From that spot I could see a visible earth energy lineThe direction energy takes when moving. It may be straight or curved, in several dimensions and be composed of one or more different types of energies, i.e. negative, positive or neutral. Energy lines can be found at standing stones and ancient sites but are a general feature in all energy fields. flowing across the landscape to the south-east. It was like a line I had seen before when I ascended from Llandrillo stone circle late one night. A softly-glowing overlay on reality. Quite beautiful and mesmerising. I saw it snake across the Levels towards a hill in the distance. It curled around the hill and out of view but I felt that this hill was the next place to visit. At this point I knew not why – Burrow Mump was our starting point but there was, as yet, no sense of any journey or purpose to our weekend visit. Oh, how that was about to change!

When we checked the map to determine where the line went (based on my description) it was pointing at Wearyall Hill (instinctively I knew which hill it was even though I’m not familiar enough yet with Glastonbury’s local geography)! Kal had been meditating on his power centre and had seen a new power centre forming at a spot that my imaginary line crossed, at the south-east corner of Burrow Mump. Kal located it with his rods, and shortly afterwards I did the same. However, the moment we had both recognised what it was, it disappeared! We decided to head for Wearyall Hill and see what we could find. Again – no agenda – no preconceptions. Just following our lines and intuitions.

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I recently got the chance to scout around the countryside between Loch Tay, Crieff and Dundee. This is David Cowan’s neck of the woods – the Scottish earth energy researcher – so I was delighted at the prospect of visiting some of the megalithic sites in the area.

In this first part of a two-part report I visited some of the megalithic (and other sights) that may be of interest to earth energy students, or students of the arcane and esoteric – all of which are accessible in a day’s drive around the area near Dundee in Perthshire, Scotland.

Dundee Town

In dry dock at the Discovery Point (brown signs everywhere in Dundee pointing to it) is the RSS Discovery ship formed part of several polar expeditions by Captain R.F.Scott.

Interesting design inlaid into the floor outside Discovery Point, with the cardinal points guarded by four vicious-looking penguins. I thought the personification of the winds was quite traditional, along with the presence of the sun, moon and stars. Knowledge exchanged with the Phoenicians about navigation, perhaps? Certainly a knowledge of the movements of the stars and the moon must have been treasured information, as it enhanced the naval prowess of any country that could use it.

In the centre of Dundee, in the middle of the main shopping thoroughfare, you can find this fairly large dragonDragons are spirit or energetic beings that reside in sacred sites and have a particular location in them and also move throughout the day (and or season). They also leave the sacred site on occasion, which again differentiates them from Genius Loci which don’t. statue. It’s a magnet for kids who want to be ride it. It’s also close to the main banks, and so echoes the dragon statues that surround the financial centre in The City of London.

Walking from the central church in Dundee towards the Discovery Centre you may come across a newly-built wall. It looks very organic and yet intricately organised. It’s a delightful work of art, and more walls should look this good! Every so often a small decorative stone is featured, and the symbols carved hark back to quite ancient roots: the trefoil and spiral, for instance…

…or some Ogham script, the language created by the British druids, the tree alphabet…..

Cultural echoes of a past being re-discovered and reclaimed. It’s like we’re blowing the dust off our heritage, bringing it once again out into the light of day and exposing its symbolism and shape to a new audience who are more able to listen, even though the modern world has been constructed in such a way as to distract us, to obscure its significance, and often to simply annihilate it without trace. Like the Green Man the familiar foliage re-appears each year anew. That’s happening in Dundee. You wouldn’t have thought it was a prime candidate for an archaic revival!

Eassie sculpted stone

In the ancient church of Eassie village, just west of Glamis Castle on the A94, you can find the encased remains of a Pictish Sculptured Stone. It is one of many in the surrounding area (see ‘Fowlis Wester’ below). Pictish culture, so-called because their legacy of mainly pictorial, was around for the transition from a predominantly Celtic imagery and mythology to one that was a mixture of Celtic and Christian imagery.

This quote published on the Megalithic Portal site by C.Michael Hogan:-

“The appearance of a tree branch in conjunction with the cross on the Eassie Stone is taken to represent the sacred manner that certain trees were held in regard by the Caledonians. (Wise, 1884) The appearance of sacrificial cattle on the Eassie Stone is common to other Pictish Stones after the instruction from Pope Gregory to Abbot Melletus in 601 AD; that instruction permitted the Picts to sacrifice cattle at their ancient pagan temple sites, only if the sites were sprinkled with holy water and consecrated to the true God. (Bede, 731). A procession of ecclesiastics is also evident on the stone, a theme being common to other carved stones of this era. (Hogan, 2005) A portion of the Eassie Stone has been likened (Leslie, 1866) to a crouching warrior image (Kells, ) in the Book of Kells, potentially connecting this site to events at Iona, where the Book of Kells may have been produced.” {Eassie Stone entry on Megalithic Portal}

Not to mention the angels that stand sentinel perched on either shoulder of the stone like some kind of Angel and Devil figures as expressions of conscience.

Take a wee look at those symbols that are shown in the plaque above. A boar – a symbol used to denote King Arthur – is easily discernable. The other look more artistic. A crown, perhaps, with the two central swirls similar to the cobra symbols on Egyptian crowns? The symbol on the right looked to me like a geomantic map of the energy formations at a sacred site, but I’m sure it’s just a stylised squid or something.

A quick digression

In the churchyard itself there are lots of graves that still display their carved symbols of the hourglass, the skull and crossed bones, and the ceremonial vase used to contain a person’s ashes. Now, either there were a lot of pirates buried in Eassie (although it’s far inland), or these are masonic symbols. Some people do propose a link between the Templars and the Pirates, so when I say “charnal urn” you say “bottle of rum”, okay?

A strong link is often made by authors tracing the history of the masonic teachings between Scotland and France, a link of Knights Templar and Freemasons, Masons supposedly emerging out of the dispersal of the Templars. You may recollect we found such symbols on the graves at the church in Dyserth village too, in North Wales. One often finds Templar or Masonic symbols of bones, skulls, time markers, swords, unicorns, lions, dragons and shields emblazoned with simple crosses at ancient churchyards, usually where an ancient pagan church has been built over by a Christian replacement (always aligned East-West to follow the sun).

Some authors make a convincing case for these organisations being the receptacles of an ancient knowledge that has to be handed down through generations unchanged so as to preserve it. The organisations insist upon a belief in divinity, but not in any specific deity. Their history includes the building of round towers and churches on ancient aligned sites to the proportions of sacred number. In short – they retained and re-educated their members in some very old traditions that incorporated ancient deities that have been regarded as sun-gods and moon-goddesses. Quite pagan.

Some authors argue that these organisations were of an altogether different spiritual alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment., and that they are a boys club for the super-rich families and the well-connected to retain power over decision-making bodies. Sounds like a description of the ancient druid orders where rich kids would be sent to the druid colleges to be taught by a group of powerful men who were exempt from much of the law. These royal children were sent for an education in what is now called “The Classics”, but which back then would have been the Western Mystery Tradition.

Others say that the symbols simply mean something quite banal: an hourglass denotes a full life is vertical, a life cut short if horizontal; the cross-bones denote the mortality of man; the skull means…er..the mortality of man; the cross-swords that he was a warrior, veteran of a war; the urn denotes…er..human mortality encapsulated in a vessel of….er..hope of the resurrection into the eternal life. There you go – all easily explained. Unless you’ve read John J.Robinson’s “Born In Blood“, then things look a bit less arcane. (See also: Skull & Bones Society)

Some of the Eassie grave symbols:

There we can see an hourglass, crossed swords, a skull, a charnal urn (“bottle of rum!”) and crossed bones. This was repeated with only slight variations (some had fewer symbols) on many of the graves around the church. “3-2-1 – you’re back in the room“.

Fowlis Wester cross (not circle)

I say “not circle” because there is a circle somewhere up in the hills around Fowlis Wester, but I didn’t have time to find it. I satisfied myself with the sculpted stone that rests in the centre of the village.

This stone had very similar markings to the Eassie stone, and was in a very well preserved state, possibly because it’s a replica! The original in on display in the nearby church of St Bean’s, but the replica was interesting enough. The sculptor has used the bottom of the stone to represent the sea, and it is replete with human figures, animals (seals?) and a great decorated serpent. Very similar to how the Aboriginals of Australia depict the Rainbow Serpent.

Glamis Castle and Fergus Well

A fairy-tale castle is how most tourist literature describes it. Well, you have to think of some way of pulling in five coach loads of tourists in an afternoon. And that was just one firm’s coaches! Luckily they have a big tea room and toilet facilities at the back.

The grounds were superb, consisting of a “pinetum” (an arboretum of pine trees), a natural trail, a walled herb garden (currently being re-constructed) and a area where city kids can see what animals really look like.There’s also a free “museum” and video history of the castle, although some of the exhibits are a bit … tenuous. You get a mannequin sporting a royal dress from the 1930s next to a tableau showing a farmer on a tractor ploughing a field near some sheep. Still, when it comes to the royal history they’ve got some jazzy coloured carboard displays with gold lettering and pictures and everything. No expense spent, I mean ‘spared’.

There were some spectacular trees in the grounds, such as this very old sycamore tree:

Inside the tree were the ancient bowed branches forming a welcome shelter from the hot summer sun:

Some interesting things about Glamis Castle:-

1. It is mentioned by Shakespeare in the play Macbeth.
2. It was home to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
3. A castle existed on the site 1000 years ago

Glamis Church and St.Fergus’ Well

Coming out of the castle ground you arrive at  Glamis village, with its churchyard and well dedicated to St.Fergus. The well is situated down a path alongside the church and is well worth searching out. You almost walk right past it, so keep an eye out for the sign on the wall.

As you descend to the river there is an air of calm, broken only by the sight of a swarm of gnats buzzing furiously over a part of the rover where it breaks into white horses on the pebbles and rocks on a bend. Also on that bend you will find Fergus’ Well. Not much to look at, but when I dowsed it there was a strong neutral energy coming out of it and flowing towards the river. A female line also emerged from the well and rolled along the river bank, following the flow of the water.

I have never seen gnats, even Scottish midges, swarm so furiously before. Exactly at the point where the neutral energy from the well intersected the river, and where the river was bring churned up by the stones. Somehow, those things are all related. I will have to watch the activity of gnats a bit more closely in future.

Kirkwynd, St Fergus’s Church, Glamis village

At the local ancient church I found more of those gravestone with the esoteric symbols carved on them. Yo ho ho! The church is also the repository for the departed Earls of Strathmore. If only they had lived to see their bottled water concept go global! A sculpted Celtic cross was found at the site during some excavation. The site is described as an early Christian church (probably). What were they doing with a Celtic cross, then? Ahh…borrowing it for good luck. A gift from the local pagan community, no doubt. Kind fellows.

There’s them there sim-bulls again. In part two of this blog post about the area around Dundee I go looking at some stone circles that reveal some fascinating aspects: a cup-marked stone that provides a central link point for several earth energy leys, and a beautiful circle with a tree in the centre.

Gwas.

Following the high road.

May 1st, or May Day, is the ancient Celtic fire festival of Beltane. It traditionally marks the appearance of the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus, an event linked to the start of the farming calendar (which ends at Samhain, or All Hallow’s Eve). It is a fire festival in recognition of the rise of the fire element (i.e. the power of the sun) at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, and so solar deities and mythical royal figures are linked to this time in the year. They are said to flourish in their youthful phase, starting at Beltane when they begin to rise to prominence. I planned to mark this by lighting a small fire or a stick of incense at each site to ceremoniously mark this event. I hoped the spirit of the year would travel with me as I journeyed from one site to another, linking them through energy work and fire.

The beautiful Pleiades

We decided to keep our work local today. I wanted to visit a familiar haunt that meant something to me, as well as discovering a new one, so I planned three sites: Helsby Hill, Woodhouses Hill and the site of a structure that looked like a hill fort close to Frodsham. The two hills had hill forts marked on the Ordnance Survey map of the area. They are the sites of ancient hill forts. I say ancient, because the hill forts, I suspect, are a much later addition to sites that had some spiritual and energetic significance long before they were fortified or stocked with invading Roman soldiers. A tourist sign in Helsby village reminds us that the archaeology has dated the sites to having habitation since the Iron Age – approximately 800 B.C.E – 42 C.E.

I walked up Helsby Hill in the mid-morning sunshine hoping for a clear day to do some energy work. My intention was to try something that Hamish Miller had suggested: that manifested (i.e. visualised) patterns can be imprinted onto a place, then they will appear in a more complex form at a connected site. By connected I assumed he meant a sacred site that had some kind of energetic connection to a nearby site. I wasn’t going to rely on that though: I had some ideas in mind to make that connection myself by forming an energetic bridge from one site to another.

Atop Helsby Hill I dowsed to find the location of ‘The Spirit of Helsby Hill’. I didn’t know what that actually might mean, but it seemed a good thing to ask for, as it would involve the co-operation of Nature in my work. I found a circle of lush grass just back from the cliff edge. There I asked to dowse to formation that was the symbol of the hill’s spirit. I traced the following shape: a serpent-like curved zig-zag shape that ended in a sphere. It reminded me of a caduceus symbol without the wings, or at least one half of that shape. I meditated until I felt that I had a connection to this spirit, then added a circle around the symbol as my own identifying mark.

Then I projected that image to the next site, even though I had never visited Woodhouses Hill. I simply looked at the map and sent the image to that place. I formed an energetic link by visualising a bridge of energy arcing from one place to the other, and then imprinted the symbol at the other side, and hoped for the best. Woodhouses Hill was a couple of miles’ walk so off I trudged, with Kal in tow acting merely as an animated observer to this energy-play. Most unusual that he didn’t want to participate today, but that he was having too much fun prancing around pretending he was 30 years younger!

We climbed the very steep sides of Woodhouses, taking the most direct route up to the hill fort site at the top. All along the route crows had been flying around Kal, seemingly accompanying him on his journey. Often I pointed them out, sitting in tall trees that marked our route, or hovering on the wind just in front of us as we walked. Kal just laughed at this. He has come to accept their presence quite naturally, and is beginning to try to tune into any significance they might have as signs or omens. Certainly they have become his totem bird.

Kal’s not one for heights, but he danced up and down the hills that day as though he were unafraid and on springs! Since a recent episode with a tree (post coming soon about that) he had gained a little voice that informs him that he will be just fine when he finds himself on the high edges of paths. A year ago he would never have even come up Helsby Hill, never mind the run up the dizzying sloped of Woodhouses Hill! How we have progressed since starting this journey. We have both overcome things that would make our former selves squirm in fear! ‘Fortune favours the brave’, I believe the saying goes.

We stood now in a beautifully varied and pleasingly-spaced wood at the top of the path, looking around for signs that we were actually in a hill fort – only the slope of the ground would indicate that we were. I dowsed to find the location of where my Helsby Hill circled half-caduceus symbol might have ‘landed’. A minute dowsing through the trees and I found it in a circular clearing between some birch trees. Kal was busy touching trees and occasionally muttering things to them. ‘Edge Wizard’ indeed! He was turning distinctly ‘druidy’ so I ribbed him about it. Of course he protested!

I dowsed for the symbol as Kal watched, It was looser than the original, but it was the same shape, circled strongly by my additional energy. It’s at times like this that you begin to doubt your sanity. Had I just found that because I wanted to find it? Who knows? There it was, responding to the rods whilst I tried to maintain a clear trance-state to be as objective as possible about it. I checked it several times. It was as ‘there’ as anything I had ever dowsed. I was convinced. Kal was surprised and childishly delighted too. I spent a few minutes sending the same pattern on to the next site, just like last time. Again, the destination was not somewhere I had visited before, although I had passed it many times. I could visualise it generally, but not a specific ‘landing site’ for the energy. I wondered what would happen?

We headed off down the slope heading for the back of Frodsham Hill. As we descended the back of Woodhouses Hill we met a man surveying the earthworks that ran along the hill. ‘What are you surveying?‘ we asked after introducing ourselves. The earthworks apparently, to construct a 3D map of the site. Great! All good information that might reveal something interesting, and may add to our understanding of its age and the ways of the people who spent time here.

We arrived at the final site. It turns out it is a man-made long construction, with locked trapdoors in its roof. Was it one of the many World War II bunkers that peppered the hillsides around here? It certainly felt like one, but it was huge – a hundred metres in length and about fifteen metres wide, by about five metres tall. Who knows how deep it went into the hillside? This was no hill fort site! Nevertheless, I wanted to see whether I had sent the symbol onwards as I had done at the two previous sites.

Somebody else thinking of patterns around here?

I dowsed in the strong winds that buffeted the now rain-sodden grassy bunker roof and found a pattern some ten metres away from where we had sheltered behind one of the many turrets. It was a circle again. Inside the circle was the snaking three energy curves, and the sphere at the bottom, but the rods continued on a different path! They rods wove back and forth in ever-longer sweeps to form a snake pattern that was exactly the opposite of the original form. Now I had a whole caduceus symbol of opposing energy paths coming together at the circular base (or head) of the formation. Wow! Like Hamish Miller had experienced – the manifestation had complexified from one site to another. What did that mean?

I felt that the experiment had been a resounding success. Perhaps I even missed at trick when dowsing the formation at Woodhouses? I couldn’t be sure. However, the main objectives had been achieved. It is possible to send energy from place to place, both a symbol from the land itself, and my own energy formation too in the shape of the enclosing circle. Perhaps next I should see if I can draw a formation from another site that has a manifested energy pattern?

Gwas Myrddyn
Following a local path, for local people.