The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘energy forms’

RJ Stewart - scares the pimples off toads

Every now and again I come across and idea that I can really tune into. One such idea is espoused by author R.J.Stewart in his book “The Well of Light – From Faery Healing to Earth Healing“. Something tells me from Mr.Stewart’s demeanour that spending time with that man might be a scary experience, and he looks a bit mad. But then, look at some of the ideas that I now go along with – several years ago I would have said the same of myself!

The idea that got me excited was his concept of the Seven Aptitudes required to work with the Faery entities which could provide a gateway into developing skills such as healing. So, what is “faery healing” and what are these “seven aptitudes” he espouses? Well, let’s examine his concept of faery healing.

Stewart says that faery healing is a healing process that involves energy-working involving the co-operation of energetic beings who we have traditionally called “faery folk”. He spends some chapters explaining that there are different types of faery folk, and that they present themselves to us in different ways. He goes on to label the smaller kinds as one sort, and the hive or larger, more complex entities as something else – yet stressing that they are all size and quantity differentiations of the same thing – an intelligent spirit form that is all around us if only we bothered to pay attention to it.

Without getting any further into the healing aspects – which I will cover once I have read, absorbed, and worked through the book – I wanted to bring out the “aptitudes” that he mentions as being the seven aspects through which you might encounter the faery realm, and through which you can work with it.

He states that we all have these aptitudes within us, but that they are often latent unless accidentally triggered or brought out through working on them, or naturally develop as part of some spiritual work we may be involved in.

The seven aptitudes he lists as being:-

1. Working with Water
2. Working with Stones
3. Working with Allies and Co-Walkers
4. Working with Plants and Herbs
5. Working with Living Creatures
6. Working with Touch (palms of the hands or fingertips)
7. Working with Signatures (patterns in the landscape)

Let me do a little translation and explanation of these aptitudes based upon the work that Kal and I do, and you may begin to see that we work with almost every aspect of these aptitudes, although we clearly favour one or two more than others.

Working with water is the energising of water with 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.. Kal especially has done a lot of work with this and it is now a part of his daily routine to energise water. For me, water is in balance with the other elements that I work with, but I favour Air above the other forms. I have a particular affinity with Air and its spirits, and I leave Water work to those who feel this affinity. I can find water with my dowsing rods, but I don’t make that a regular feature of my work because I live in Britain where water is an abundant resource.

Working with stones is defined as working with standing stones, stone circles, stones that have an energy signature, or ones that we pick up and use. Into this category I would also add crystals. Well, this is almost 90% of what Kal and I work with at any given sacred site! We are forever picking stones up, using crystals, and working at sacred sites. This would be one of our foremost aptitudes, I would say, but the rods say otherwise! The dowsing rods indicated to me that this was an aptitude I had, but not a strong one! Well, I live and learn.

Working with Allies and Co-Walkers. For me this translates as working with faery entities and “ascended” human forms. I define it as all of the “Underworld” and “Otherworld” work that we do in communion with spirit forces, and I include death energy forms in this too. In recent years this has gained a certain degree of prominence in our work, as I’m sure you have discovered by reading this blog! When I dowsed whether this was a strong aptitude for me I got a very strong response. News to me!

Working with plants and herbs is not something we do particularly. We tend to limit this work to our interactions with teaching trees. I have a couple of books on herb lore and tree lore, which I intend to read up on at some point, but this is not our major focus. Stewart emphasises that this aptitude is not related to the substance of plants, but to their spirit forces. There are other people for whom working with plant spirits is very important. I am not one of those people at the moment, but I respect their work.

Working with living creatures is something that we have begun to recognise in our work with birds and totem animals. Reading the signs of bird behaviour is something that I attach to almost every task now, and my totem is the hawk, but this is not exclusive. Recently a badger guided me to return to a task at a particular and more appropriate time, for example. I would again say this is not our primary focus, but we do recognise its increasing significance in our work.

Healing from the palm chakras being developed

Working with touch is something that I wrote about recently in two ways. The first was when I discussed druid divination techniques that involved “deviceless dowsing” or feeling for energy through the medium of touch – through the hands. Also I have recently posted about my experiences about being guided on my current healing task by being shown that my palms chakras are the way that I should take in and give out healing energy forces. This is going to assume much greater significance over the next six months, I’m sure. Also, remember how I was shown an image of being able to work with plants through touch this Spring? I would classify this as an aptitude that I am getting increasingly involved with. Add to that Kal’s Reiki master level training and I think we have this one covered!

As far as the dowsing rods were concerned this was another area that responded positively and very strongly. Possibly the strongest response of all, indicating that for me this healing path is something I am going to have to let emerge, as it seems to be a talent I have been keeping hidden for too long.; Interestingly, this was what my psychic friend Mike had said to me many months ago but I had put it to one side at the time.

Working with signatures in the land is the final aptitude that Stewart discusses. Stewart defines a signature as being a pattern of behaviour in the landscape, in Nature, that delivers a message to the natural magician. For example, Kal and I often talk of seeing “signs” or “omens” in our surroundings – the appearance or sound of birds, clouds, wind, an animal crossing your path. The patterns in the landscape can take any form and they are always only available and meaningful to you personally – they mean nothing to anyone else. They are specific to place and time, and to your frame of mind.

I would like to add another aspect to this particular aptitude. Kal and I think of these energy signatures as being “sigils”, or 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. in geometric forms. A quick search on the site will reveal many posts in which we describe and utilise these energy signatures in our work. These were particularly important when we started with the dowsing aspects of our work, but now that we have moved on into other areas these sigils are less important for us. Nevertheless, I do not diminish their significance, only the use for us at this time.

R.J.Stewart, in a bid not to alienate his audience, states that we ought to have at least one of these aptitudes, and that will suffice. I think we can say that Kal and I have developed most of these aptitudes by following our spiritual paths without prejudice or undue preference. Obviously some have developed more than others, and some may never develop much further than us trying them out and seeing where they take us at that time, especially as we begin to concentrate on those aptitudes that we gain the most from, or which give the most to others.

Going with the flow of the universeTo join with the flow of the universe is to follow a natural progression in tune with Nature’s own direction of development. Religion has called this concept “following the divine will”, but then has proceeded to make it a law, rather than a useful option for personal and communal progress. has been a challenging but incredibly rewarding learning course for us. We welcome developing all seven aptitudes, and can’t wait to see how they lead us through this healing phase of our work. I think this is an interesting framework to keep an eye on whilst we develop, and see whether each area has something to offer our healing capabilities as they mature.

Gwas.

More information:

• R.J.Stewart’s DreamPower web site
• His book publishing site
• Stewart’s books on Amazon

Friday 28th May - Knowth, Country Meath, Ireland.

The series of large megalithic structures concentrated in the Boyne Valley was the target of our first full day in Ireland. We were stationed nearby at Duleek, so getting to the Newgrange complex was a breeze, and we were properly fuelled by a hearty breakfast including locally-reared produce and home-made soda bread and jams.

We followed signs for Newgrange, knowing that this was the popular site and that it probably would lead us to the rest too. Sure enough as we aprked in the jazzy new car park at the Visitor Centre and walked down to the main door, we knew we were in for the full tourist treatment. Even knowing that didn’t prepare us for the officialdom that was to follow:-

• visitors are directed to state which combination of the sites they want to visit: Newgrange only, Knowth only, or both. Clearly, most went for both or just Newgrange
• a sticker was placed upon you in a visible location indicating your bus time, and then you were directed to the cash point to pay 5 Euros per site (actually, 6 for Knowth becuase it’s a tad further)
• you paid and then were informed about how to reach your first bus, which was a 200 yard walk through the centre, out the doors, across the Boyne, along a winding path, and then up to the circular bus pick-up point.

To say these guys had this regulated was an understatement! Although initially appalled by this we were actually quite grateful that this system, which only permitted a group of around thirty people at a time in a site, actually allowed everyone to enjoy the site’s features without bumping into people all the time. It made sense, even if it was far from what we were used to. It reminded us of visiting Stonehenge.

Rock Art as Energy Symbols

One of my objectives for visiting these popular megalithic sites was to get a comparison of the famous rock art shapes with those that we had discovered through our dowsing adventures over the last few years. Did any of them match? Would we be able to make a sensible guess at the forms and shapes, the symbols and swirls that our neolithich ancestors had taken so much time and trouble to inscribe into rock?

As we waited for our bus I took pictures of the rock art displyed in photographs and pictographs in the free exhibition in the Visitor Centre. On arriving at Knowth half an hour later (after listening to a few minutes of the guide’s useful commentary then making our excuses) I went around with my camera taking snapshots of all of the rock art on the base supports of the large mound. I wanted to compare our energy findings with the shapes represented in the stone. Here are some examples of the interesting symbols. In a subsequent post more of these symbols are explained, but for now, here are the ones we could identify immediately:-

Spiral of seven rings between two standing stones acting as portals

If one looks at the image above as a two-dimensional depiction of a three-dimensional energy field then things become a little easier to understand. The spiral is, of course, what we would call a “power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre.” – a point on the earth where the energies of the earth emerge and merge with the radiant solar and lunar energies. The most ‘sacred’ of these types is the power centreA place where a person of a particular alignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment. (see ‘AlignmentAlignment relates to the concept that humans have their own energy fields that are oriented or formed in a specific way such that the person is either suited better to one energy source of another. Some people have their energy fields empowered by the direct subtle energy force of The Sun, whilst others are empowered by the indirect subtle energy of The Moon. Due to the historical associations and symbolisation of The Sun with masculinity and The Moon with femininity we designate these alignments as either being ‘male’ or ‘female’ alignments accordingly. We interchangeable refer to people as being ‘sun-aligned’ or ‘male-aligned’ and similarly with the female alignment.’) feels particularly comfortable and empowered. The place is an energetic centre where a particularly beneficial combination and formation of energies is formed into a pattern that is harmonic with the person for whom it can be called a power centre. that merges the three ‘alignments’ or types of energy – male, female and neutral.

The two arcs on either side of the spiral are the neutral entrance and exit arcs that we have begun to discover at numerous sacred places, usually stone circles. These arcs form ‘spaces’ in the energy field through which poeple and spirit energies can pass without ‘interfering with’ or being affected by the overall energy field, because to pass through the energy field around a site is to interact with it. These neutral entrances and exits seems to be a bypass to that trip-wire effect, possibly to allow for the ‘safe passage’ of spirit energy through the site, unhindered by the site’s design and potential.

Seven levels of radial energy

It is entirely possible to read too much into the decorative swirls and shapes that adorn the rocks surrounding Knowth’s major mound, and yet one gets the sense that they are not purely decorative. After all – someone has gone to a lot of time and trouble to do this work, and even today we rarely decorate in stone just for the sake of it. Stonework usually has some kind of symbolic significance at least, even if only to express a wider design concept in keeping with our culture. So, it is with some hesitance that I point out the desing of seven concentric circles in the stone above, and mention that this might have a link to the seven chakras. Then, in the stone below, we see five circles. Five pathways for the incoming energies into the human body, according to C.W.Leadbeater in his book “The Chakras”. Again, perhaps the information is for me only to interpret in this way, but 7 and 5 are cropping up again at a site that is associated with human consciousness transformation processes.

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