The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘glastonbury’

In an attempt to appear well-read and topical I have gathereed together a series of news articles that have garnered my interest this month. They are on a wide range of topics, some environmental, some energy-related and some beyond those. Here are some stories that roused my interest this month:-

1. Wi-Fi is killing trees

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1332310/Is-Wi-Fi-killing-trees-Dutch-study-shows-leaves-dying-exposure-Wi-Fi-radiation.html

Comment: Nothing riles me more than stories about the abuse of trees. This was bound to “push my buttons”. I think that our headlong leap into new technologies has always happened without proper consideration of the consequences – that in itself is one of the consequences of our Aquarian quest for The New. However, once we have identified a potential issue like this, surely we should be considering the wider effects on us too? Some dowsers have been raising this issue for a while in the health forums, but of course no-one takes dowsers seriously.

Here are some useful links on this topic:-

1. Glastonbury’s reaction to being bombarded by wifi signals: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3966373/Alternative-health-capital-turns-its-negative-energy-on-pioneering-wi-fi-system.html
2. The GeoPathFinder site’s explanation of the elements involved in this discussion: http://www.geopathfinder.com/9801

2. We CAN predict the future, study shows

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1330596/Humans-psychic-powers-New-study-proves-future.html

Comment: Some of us have known this for a long time. Those of us who have had experiences of time distortion already know that time is a mutable and flexible concept. This study is once again demonstrating that we have the everyday ability to warp time in order to sneak a peek at the near future. Those who communicate with entities who are outside of our normal scale of time will also know that time is an elastic concept which only becomes solified under common concensus. Here, at last, is some definitive scientific proof that will get swept far far underneath the carpet, and then trampled down for good measure. You heard it here, folks.

3. Giant Energy Structure at the centre of our Galaxy

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/new-structure.html

Comment: Is this a recognition of the emerging energy that will shape our consciousness in the next few years? Is it the light that will signify a transition into a new Age of Aquarius as it reaches us? Keep your antennae twitching, sensitive folk, this could be interesting!

4. Ball-bearing theory of Stonehenge creation

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1330917/Stonehenge-builders-used-ball-bearings-giant-slabs-stone.html

Comment: Balls being the operative word here. The article is pure speculation, but it’s a step up from the rolling logs theory. However, it only take a few seconds thought to imagine that it would have been one hell of a job for them to contain the spherical objects they used to prevent them from rolling awa out of the sides as the rocks were moved up and down slopes.

5. Druids alive and kicking and promoting Tory values on Anglesey

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2010/11/20/anglesey-blogger-the-druid-reveals-himself-55578-27683549/

Comment: If he was truly a druid he’s be independent, not allied to any party. Cheeky beggar! Using the Druids’ good name for his own personal benefit. Grrr!

Gwas.

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

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

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

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

SUMMER SOLSTICE to LAMMAS 

Summer Solstice

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

PURPOSE:  

• To wake The Dragon and let it fly.

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

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

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

LAMMAS to AUTUMN EQUINOX 

Lammas - time of harvest

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

PURPOSE:  

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

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

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

AUTUMN EQUINOX to SAMHAIN  

The rise and fall of autumn

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

PURPOSE:  

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

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

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

 SAMHAIN to WINTER SOLSTICE 

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

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

The frost returns

 PURPOSE:  

• To free spirits.

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

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

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

Summary 

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

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

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

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

Gwas.

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

In the final post of our Cornwall visit I have reserved the best tale until last. Tintagel was supposed to be simply a passing visit to an historic site, but as usual mystical things began to happen once the dowsing rods had pointed the way.

Tintagel is renowned as a site associated with the legend of King Arthur, although signs dotted around the castle grounds do readily admit that there is little actual evidence for either the existence of Arthur himself, or his relationship with the castle. Yet, this has not stopped the small town of Tintagel from attaching the Arthur and Merlin names to almost every shop, pub, hotel and entertainment venue in sight. I made a reluctant Kal take my picture next to a life-sized plastic Merlin. Oh, the shame on both sides!

The rain that had been tumbling all day had slightly relented, but louring skies heralded more soon. Yet, our enthusiasm was not dampened. I, in particular, was quite excited about the prospect of testing Tintagel Castle for the presence of Arthur and Merlin – whether that be an historical remnant or simply the hint of association. We avoided the Land Rover offering an expensive ride down the steep hill to the castle, and we joyously let our legs find their own speed down the hill, noticing a sign to a church on the way down. We paid our dues and then the rain came down, just as we were about to make the precarious crossing of the wooden bridge between the mainland and the steep cliff-lined island that formed the formidable fortifications of the castle.

As the seas crashed below us and the rain lashed our already damp clothing we climbed the steep slippery steps to stand with the stunning sight of huge caves, high headland and strange islets as we stood looking out over the edge of Cornwall. We stood on a promontory looking at Merlin’s Cave when the thought struck me – was there anything I could do to find out whether this stuff about Merlin and Arthur was actually true? Was there anything I could do – I was supposed to be a dowser! Of course there was something I could do!

The Spirit of Merlin and the Shade of Arthur

I got my dowsing rods at the ready and began to consider what I was going to ask about, but as soon as the mental images of Arthurian characters began to formulate itself into a question there was a nearby flurry of feathers and flaps as a hawk swooped across our vision only feet away to land in the small outcrop of rock just above us. I hate to say it, because in the next few posts this is going to get repeated quite often and is likely to become a little boringly repetitive, but I have come to see the appearance of a hawk as a sign of Merlin, ever since an encounter at Dinas Emrys one evening when I was pursuing an encounter with the spirit of Merlin.

After getting over that ‘sign’ I began the dowsing proper. I began by framing the context of the questions. I would be asking about the concepts of “Merlin” and “Arthur” and until I asked specifically I was not distinguishing between the physically real and the mythological concept of either of those figures. Here are some of the questions I asked:-

• Had Merlin been born at this site? NO
• Had Merlin lived at Tintagel? NO
• Had Merlin visited this place? YES. Interesting.
• Had Arthur been born at this site? NO. Not much information being revealed so far!
• Had Arthur lived at Tintagel? YES. Oh!
• Had Arthur been buried on this site? NO.

Time to move on to the question of whether these characters were real or mythological.

• Was Arthur a real king of England? YES.
• Was Arthur a myth? YES. What?
• Was Arthur both a mythological character AND a real person? YES. Confusing!
• Was Merlin a real magician? NO.
• Was Merlin a myth? YES. But…earlier the dowsing had said that he had visited….
• Did Merlin visit Arthur at Tintagel in some magical way, rather than a physical way? YES.

OK, that was both a little clearer and a little muddier at the same time. I wanted to see now whether there was anything remaining at the site of either of those people (or ideas).

• Was there any of Merlin’s energy remaining at Tintagel? NO.
• Was there any of the Spirit of Arthur’s energy at this site? YES.
• Was there anything of the mortal remains of Arthur at this site? YES. Oh, now that was interesting!
• What was it of Arthur that remained? His bones? NO. His energetic shroud? YES.

So, a real person who had either been named Arthur, or who had adopted the title, had ruled here at Tintagel, and now there was the remains of his energy somewhere on this island. That was quote exciting, so I set about trying to find it with the dowsing rods, letting them lead me to where this ‘shade; might be. I didn’t know yet what I was going to ask when I got there, but the hint was on!

Arthur’s Viewpoint

In one of the last scenes from the excellent film “Excalibur” there is a poignant moment where Arthur is laid to rest in his final moments with a view out over the ocean, high up on a cliff-top. Now that I have visited Tintagel that scene makes much more sense to me – of course if Arthur had died anywhere close to Tintagel then that would be where he would want to spend his final moments. Who wouldn’t?

View of The Sisters islands from Tintagel

My dowsing rods led me to a place on the island where they indicated that the shade, the energetic shroud, or the remnants of his spirit, could be found. I am not going to say where that was. I wish to respect his peace. If you want to find this place then feel free to make the effort to locate it for yourself. Perhaps he will have moved by the time you get there. Perhaps he is in different places for different people. Whichever is the case, it was a special place. I felt that straight away and soon I stopped dowsing questions about who or what this was, and I sat looking out at the view. I asked if it would be appropriate for me to ask for information spiritually, and got a positive response, so I began to tune in. Soon I was deep into a conversation inside my head with whatever this spirit was.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday 20th June, 2010 – Glastonbury, Somerset.

This is the fourth in the series of Summer Solstice posts, and by far the most ….important, astonishing, profound? In previous posts I have detailed my quest to finish off my tasks for the previous eighthpart of the year, and then to discover the purpose of the next eighth-part. Bothof these were very successful, and involved working with the heart chakra to bring about a harmonisation and integration within me. Then I had been posed a riddle to solve that would be the key to the next phase of the year from the Solstice to Lammas. With that safely determined, I could relax (could I relax any more?) and just “be”. I would say I was in a state of “openness” at this point, and ready to chill out in the lovely Chalice Well gardens, given that it was a fantastic sunny day. So, off we went down the Tor in a state of contentedness.

If there’s one place in the whole of Glastonbury that I appreciate more than any other it’s the tranquil space and beauty of the Chalice Well gardens. Its serenity is such an oasis from the hubbub of the Tor and the High Street, sandwiched as it is between the two. As we approached the ticket boothour thoughts were already turning to the “mindlessness” that such a place engenders and were were both quiet in preparation. The bearded man in the booth looked us up and down and then commented on the beauty of my ash staff. Thus began a special moment in my spiritual journey – I met Brian Conquer, ArchDruid of Glastonbury, for the first time.

The beauty and tranquility of the Chalice Well gardens

How To Inlay A Staff

The conversation with Brian began with him asking about how I came across the staff. I told him the story that it had asked me to rescue it, how I had heard its call, revived it and how now I wanted to decorate it. Now we were inseparable companions, the staff and I. Straight away I felt as though he understood what I meant, which rather surprised me, but hey – we were in Glastonbury and people must hear comments like that all the time. Brian began to explain how I might decorate the staff usinga particular technique involving twisted copper wire, superglue, a soldering iron with a square head, and some sandpaper. It sounded like it was just the piece of information that I had been waiting for because I had been holding off from carving the staff for a while now feeling that this was not the right thing to be doing, and having dowsed that the marks I was making needed to be more distinct. Here was Brian telling me exactly how that could be achieved!

Brian’s technique for inlaying the staff in copper was firstly to burn a shape into the wood using the soldering iron. Then, twist the copper wire, glue it in place, and use the sandpaper to cause heat via friction which blends the copper and glue until the finish is smooth. Well, it sounded simple enough, and I said I would go and practise that. He commented that he would be holding a workshop on how to do exactly that in late August here in the Chalice Well gardens. I made a special note to leave a space in my calendar. This was just the guidance that I needed to complete my “side quest” of transferring the shapes I am dowsing, the sigils of the genius loci of various sacred sites, and putting them onto my staff. Here was a man who was experienced in just that technique.

There was even more information on offer too, though. Brian informed us about the red spring (female water) that emerged from under the Tor and had been enshrined here in the gardens. Over the road in the white spring, the male quality of the water was surfaced, channeled and enshrined.  So, on either side of the road that separated the White Springs from the Chalice Well, the two qualities of water were available.

Another nugget of information was that there was an old yew tree with special qualities in the churchyard of St.Andrew’s church at Compton Dundon nearby. Brian reckoned that the yew tree was around 1500 years old, but also that it was the home of a friendly female dryad – a tree spirit. Having met only male dryads so far I made a mental note to go visit this should I get the chance. Some other arrivals at the gardens overheard this conversation and took an avid interest as well. Mr Conquer was holding court to a rapt audience!

Nooks and crannies in Chalice Well gardens

Meeting The Goddess

Kaland I thanked the old man for his effusive and passionate display of knowledge. He had given us so many ideas to play with in such a short time that we felt we needed to spend some time in the gardens now to assimilate it all! Kal went off doing his thing (he loves the gardens) and I went off following a dowsing rod to find the best place for me to be. I started by asking if there was anywhere I could re-energise my healing ash staff – this was, after all, the quintessential healing place. I was lead to a sun-drenched circle of sawn tree trunks through a narrow archway that overlooked the main running spring water. ‘Idyllic’ is barely an adequate word! Perfect for re-charging – in terms of sunlight, the geometry of the space, and the quietness. I felt perfectly fine leaving the staff there whilst I went off elsewhere to find my own perfect spot.

After spending time on a fruitful trail moving from beneath various types of tree – beech, then willow, then rowan, and finally yew – I wandered down to where Kal was playing into the channeled spring, observing its flow. It looked like he was doing something akin to Schauberger’s principles of flowing water, but he didn’t elaborate. Seeing he wasn’t finished I didn’t interrupt, but began to wander aimlessly. That was when Brian nipped out of the ticket hut to shout some advice across to me: “Why don’t you try standing between the yew trees facing down the hill, groudn your staff and calling on the Goddess?“, he suggested. I had already been between the yew trees on my last visit, and again on this one, but his additional instructions made me think he knew something I didn’t, and beside – how the whole garden was watching to see what I would do! Nothing like a bit of pressure!

I stood in the centre of the two yews and asked them if they minded me doing this little experiment. I got a pleasing feeling, and so I thanked them and carried on. There was a lady behind me who seemed to be taking a very keen interest in this procedure, but I did my best to screen everyone out and followed the instructions. I faced down the slope, unfixed my attention and then struck the earth with my staff. At that precise moment I sent my attention up and down into the earth and sky. Once I was connected above and below I looked into the middle distance and called mentally upon the Goddess to visit me in this place. Would anything happen? Or would I just look foolish?

Two yews and a thorn tree in Chalice Well gardens

A gentle but powerful force arrived surrounding me in a maelstrom of whirling energies- a veritable vortex of coiling charge built up around me. I could feel my aura expanding and pulsing in and out in slow and very strong heartbeats. The American lady behind me, whom I had completely forgotten about, so awed was I by this ‘visitation’, was saying things like “Whoa – I’m being pushed backwards – now I’m moving forwards again!”. I continued feeling like I was in the centre of a storm and couldn’t imagine what it must look like from the outside – did people see this swirling vortex of subtle energy like I was feeling it?

I had a question I wanted to ask my visitor. I guessed she might be able to help me with this one. I asked if I might ask the question, to which the winds increased in strength momentarily. I imagined my question to her: “What was the nature of the dragon that I had to awaken? Was it a hill, an energy, a skill, a tale, or what?” The answer came back immediately, “It is the serpent fire within you. Can’t you feel it?” she whispered witha strong hint of humour. Of course I could! It was swirling all around and through me now! I was happy with that clear guidance, and thanked her for helping me. I released my mental grip, re-focusing my attention back into the present world and the winds around me began to ease off. As they did so I thanked the visitor for the experience – the single most powerful and exhilarating experience of that nature that I have ever had.  The American lady behind me looked equally shell-shocked and could only say “Thank you! Thank you for that – that was amazing!” over and over again as she walked away, wide-eyed. I smiled and looked over at Brian in his wooden ticket office. He winked at me and smiled too. He seemed to know what that had been like for me.

I returned to Kal again and he still seemed to be busy meditating. I suddenly noticed that there were lots of herbs planted along one side of the garden’s walls and I wandered over to stroll amongst them – touching and smelling each in turn. I had never paid any interest at all to herbs before, but suddenly they it seemed to me that they were very important, and that I should learn their properties. I have no idea why this suddenly seemed so important, but since then I have been buying herb seeds, studying their lore, and have designated a space in my garden ready for planting them! Most odd. Or maybe just a natural progression on this druidic path?

As I wandered around Brian appeared again with a conspiratorial wink, and handed me a small wrapped hand-sized package. “A present from the Goddess.” he winked and smiled before chuckling to himself as he walked away. I thanked him as he retreated, and I unfolded the paper – it was a large prism of clear quartz. A present from an Archdruid? A treasured possession already! I was very humbled.

Gwas.

 June 19th, 2010 – Glastonbury, Somerset.

As we did last year, Kal and I travelled down to Glastonbury to enjoy the strong sun energies that seem particularly strong around that town at this time of year. Events had conspired to come to a point for me in particular. I have been finding out what each of the stages of the seasonal year mean for me (see this post for some background on that). The result of this progress meant that I had two tasks that I wanted to achieve: firstly, to conclude the ‘current’ eighth-part of the year, and secondly to determine what the next part would be about.

The first task was to conclude the current quest. The trail of information I had been following through meditations and dowsing at various sacred sites was as follows:-

• Beltane to Solstice was a period to learn about the chakras
• The chakras consisted of seven points within the human body, fed through five pathways from the aura through to the body
• There was a way of integrating the seven chakras with the five channels to form a fully-functioning twelve-fold energy form

By working through the chakras, energising them, cleansing them, balancing them, and getting to know how they worked, it should be possible for me to integrate that knowledge into a unity, a “twelve” that was both a sum and a symbolic reference to the totality of influences over the human etheric energy body. Of course, twelve also has astrological significance, but I will come back to all this in a later post when I want to tie that into some other information related to sacred number. For now, let’s just say that the first task was to discover how to integrate the seven and five into a twelve, whatever that meant physically or spiritually.

Walking the Tor Labyrinth

We would make three trips up The Tor during our stay in Glastonbury. On the first of the journeys I felt the urge to go up barefoot. This has been something that has been happening to me more and more lately. It’s a very hippy thing to do, I realise that! I really felt, however, that I should go up barefoot. Kal of course mocked me relentlessly and pointed out that the “connection with the land” thing would be totally ruined by the concrete steps set into the sides of the hill providing an easy walkway for tourists. What he hadn’t reckoned with was the way that the “urge” would circumvent this. As I began to walk up from the ‘back’ edge – the steepest side coming from Stone Down lane – I got to a decision point. I was letting one dowsing rod guide me with one instruction: “Show me a path with a heart“. This is a reference to a phrase used in the Carlos Castenada novels that both Kal and I have read avidly as a guide to shamanism. There may be some dispute over their anthropological accuracy, but there can be little debate over their usefulness or the impact they have had upon our work now. This directive to find a path with a heart was at the core of this shamanistic philosophy, and right now I couldn’t conceive of anything being more appropriate to my intentions.

The main path went up steeply, but as I tuned into the energy path I should walk I was feeling an urge to go along the right-hand side, along one of the Tor’s labyrinth paths that headed slightly down the hill along its flank. As Kal climbed upwards straight for the top the rod indicated that I should take an alternate route. I veered off along the side path, now beginning to sense an element of danger as I realised the path was laden with thistles and nettles. I put a plea out to be guided safely through the foliage and trusted to hope that I wouldn’t dearly regret my decision to walk ‘connected’.

In the picture above you can see the outline of the path I took. You can just make out two more ridge paths above, too. The interesting thing was that the “way” I had to walk was downwards, not upwards as one might expect. Having spent time walking labyrinths and mazes recently, especially energetic ones, I was familiar with the idea that to make progress one often has to go the long way around and away from the path the your rational mind insists is the most efficient. So, I carried on until my path curved suddenly upwards to meet the main path along the spine of The Tor – the main path from the Chalice Well end.

I hope for some relief by being able to climb the main path, but very soon I was taken around the quiet side of the Tor along its other flank. This time I was rising swiftly, following what seemed to be an animal trail. To my eyes the way was clear. To Kal, who was sitting high above me just down from the top I must have looked ridiculous and random. I climbed steeply at the end to quickly reach the top. Where would the path end, I wondered, now that I was on the top? I crossed the top pat of the path I had started on, curving slowly in a Fibonnaci-style curve until I ended at the eastern wall of the church building. It was exactly the same spot where I had ended my climb last year! For a moment I was stunned. Then I also realised that I had walked up the entire hill and not been stung or prickled once by the thistles or nettles. But how….?

Mouth agape I leaned back against the supporting wall – well, either I had done something right, or something was looking out for me!

Working with the heart chakra – The Sun and Sunset

Looking back now I realise that this walk was the first part of my work with my heart chakra. Standing on that spot at the top looking out across the Somerset Levels, feeling the powerful ley line running through me – these were the preparatory steps for what was to come. This was the stage of cleansing, and a test of “heart” – was I prepared to endure the hardship of the walk up the Tor in bare feet? Could I overcome the fear of being stabbed and stung? I did. I was ready. We walked down again (this time with shoes on) in search of some food. We would return later as the sun was setting for no reason we could discern.

Hours later, now with a fantastic meal in our bellies from the wonderful Hundred Monkeys cafe on the High Street. Intending to walk around the Tor and back to our accommodation for the night, instead we happened to follow a footpath that took us over fields and towards the Tor. Unintentionally we arrived at its slopes again and decided that, seeing as the sun was about to set and the moon was out too, wouldn’t it be delightful to watch it set on the horizon? Yeah, us and fifty other people!!

We climbed the Tor again, this time with shod feet and by the fastest route. Something magical was about to happen and we wanted to be part of it. Quickly – let’s get up there! We suddenly realised, without saying anything, that we were in the right place at the right time again. At the top we settled for the sunset. Gaggles of Spanish students gabbled relentlessly throughout, which somewhat took the sheen off the moment. However, someone had thoughtfully brought a drum and was beating out a hypnotic rhythm for us to meditate to. As the sun slipped away with its warmth Kal was on one side meditating with the Sun, whilst I was on the other, holding both the Sun and Moon in view and thinking about the integration of my heart chakra energies. All very esoteric and hippy-ish, for sure!

The crack between worlds

For me, the moment was about integration. Holding the two celestial objects in view required focus, but an un-focused focus, if you know what I mean. If I concentrated on either I would lose sight of both. If I didn’t hold them in view with an intention of mind then I would not be actually doing anything. It was a balance. The act itself was the meditation. I found the balance point between meditation and concentration, between sun and moon, light and dark, and at that moment something happened within me – the drum became my heartbeat, and my heart integrated sound, sight and site. All became one.

We descended to tell our respective tales to each other. This didn’t feel like then end of this work, but in one day two powerful episodes involving The Tor had shown me that I was in the right place, that it was the right time to be here, and that I was in the right frame of mind for this integration work with the heart chakra. Still, there was one more thing to do, I knew. Would it involve this incredible powerful place again tomorrow? Indeed it would.

Gwas.

Saturday, June 19th, 2010 – Wiltshire.

I am breaking into the sequence of Ireland posts to bring you the first of a three-part installment of Glastonbury Solstice posts. I do this because I feel they are very important. Whereas the Irish posts tell the tale of how I prepared myself through working the various chakra points, and the tales are interesting in themselves, the high point of the year for me is usually the Glastonbury Solstice. Last year it was amazing, This year I think it was more interesting and more useful. I will explain as I go along.

In this post I just want to go over some of the things we did before we got to Glastonbury for the Summer Solstice. In particular I want to recount an incident with an energetic being, and to explain how the power of a crop circle was employed to get rid of it. I hope you find this interesting. It’s all as it happened, so take that how you will. Related to this post is the one about Baltinglass in Ireland.

A Walk In the Wood

On this Saturday we were to be guided by intuition. We had a few seemingly random items on our wish list, but everything was up for change. For example, it just so happened that through a combination of a thwarted visit to a crop circle that we couldn’t find and some bad traffic, we ended up going past Stonehenge. As we turned off towards Marlborough what should appear on a brown heritage sign, but Woodhenge!

My power centre at Woodhenge (note circle in grass)

Of course, we stopped and paid a visit, dowsing entrances, exits, power centres and generally amusing ourselves with its stumpy oddness. You may note in the picture above that a dog has kindly ‘marked’ the edge of the power centre. Actually, we find this a lot! Animals like to exctrete on power centres! It’s an oddity of these energetic cones and spirals that they affect animals in this way. We came away from the site ourselves feeling quite cleansed and we discussed this feeling: seems like we both felt we had been grounded at Woodhenge. However, we were on the lookout for a public toilet from that point onwards! Strange.

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

Our next site was a crop circle. Having failed to find one earlier it inly made us more determined to visit one come what may. Which was fortunate because we had a lot of trouble locating the next one, despite the fact that CropCircleConnector had given us a very good map of the location. Well, in our defense it wasn’t visible from the roads around, so we ended up trekking up a nearby hill and then spotting it back down in the dale. Kal had another incidence of losing a dowsing rod as he raced past me down the hill. Luckily he realised this time as we re-traced our steps and he found it.

I joked that this reminded me of “The Leprechaun Incident” in Ireland recently, and Kal suddenly grew suspicious. He dowsed me immediately – did I have any vestige of a leprechaun’s influence around my energy body? YES. What!! Could my dowsing be relied upon? NO! Immediately I became an outcast! Kal kept away from me, outside the edges of my aura and I realised I would have to take steps to deal with this troublesome malign energy, much as I had done once before when such a thing had infested my home. As a protective measure I sealed myself off energetically, and threw a wrapper of energy around this thing, which I could feel was behind me on the right-hand side, some five or six feet away. I had him on a leash now, and muffled too. As soon as I did this I felt a dull ache in my right-hand side, level with my kidneys, as though the ‘leash’ of energy were being pulled. Interesting – so he didn’t like that and was struggling to free himself, eh? I knew I had to act quickly now.

We finally found the right place to park to access the crop circle, were prompted by the farmer to contribute to his kitty appropriately, and then began to enter the field following the tramlines through the corn. We felt the aura of the crop circle some sixty feet away from its outer edge. Kal dowsed it (no point me doing so!) and confirmed its position. I only had one thing on my mind – to rid myself of this unhelpful energy that was attached to me and which was skewing my results. I rued my lack of caution in Ireland, and wished I had learned the lesson of protecting myself from such things.

As I entered the crop circle I tightened the mental noose that I had around this damned ‘thing’ and muffled its ability to draw power from the circle’s formation. I immediately found a power centre near the middle of the circle that would act as a ‘safe space’ to work in. I just hoped the rods were working enough for me to rely on that finding! I was working on instinct and intuition alone, now.

Within that safe space I intuited that the leprechaun’s name was Fegan, and that he had attached himself to me at Tara. I had been through a process before where I had rid my house of a similar entity – an energetic “blob” that seemed to have sentience and drained people of energy if they sat in the wrong place. Then, I was a beginner at energy work. Now I was much more experienced, and I was confident that I could dispense with this troublesome sprite. So confident that it verged on over-confidence. I wanted to extract whatever ‘goodies’ this sprite might have! Bad move.

In order to rid myself of this leprechaun I needed to let it go completely, and send it back to where it came from. There was no way to take anything from it. Not with my level of knowledge, anyway. I did, however, succeed in drawing in the power of the crop circle to fling the sprite back westward, over the Irish Sea, and then to drop what we call an “energy bomb” – a powerful dispersal of energy that has the effect of clearing and neutralising anything around. It worked. Boy, did it work! I physically felt the force of the clearance and stood amazed. I asked Kal to confirm the ‘riddance’, and we were both relieved to find that the coast was clear. Was my dowsing back to normal? YES. All was well again. Lesson learned? Maybe…

Chirton Bottom Crop Circle

Now that I was free to investigate the circle it was time to get back to the dowsing.

Chirton crop circle

Here are some things we found out at this circle:-

• The crop was lying in one direction but the energy moved in the opposite direction, e.g. if the crop lay clockwise, the energy flowed anti-clockwise
• The circle was filled with an energy that was neither male, female or neutral- it was a ‘fourth kind’, as Kal put it.
• The energy was only present during the day – at night it dissipated, faded or switched off
• The Sun’s radiant energy was an inherent part of the circle’s “fourth” energy kind
• The effect of the pattern was not felt within the circle, but only when the circle was viewed in its entirety
• The circle was not made by human hands – i.e. it was not flattened by a team of people
• Again we found the dowsing rods responding to the idea that the source of the circle’s design was not human, yet was terrestrially-based, but not earth spirits or elemental forms of sentient earth energy.

We met a couple who were “croppies” who were meditating within the circle. As we chatted the lady revealed that she felt as though the energy “pulsed”, that it was not always here, or waxed and waned. When we tested her idea we found that indeed the energy was only present as long as the sun was around (i.e. during daylight hours). Then we dowsed a link between the Sun’s radiant energies and the energy at the circle. This fourth kind of energy we named “primal” energy, because we determined that it was unformed – i.e. it had not been transmuted by the sun into male energy, nor by the moon or stars into female energy, nor by the earth into neutral energy. I remembered that I had learned about this type of energy at Gop Hill in April this year. I understood now the possibilities of using this primal energy to shape into a form that I could use, and so I set about doing that.

I sat down in my power centre circle and began to accumulate the primal energy, drawing it from the formation and storing it in my upper and lower dantien channels, as though I were storing chienergy through qigong meditation. Once I had accumulated enough I began to form it like a potter forming clay, spinning it around me but mentally and physically moulding its shape into a cocoon around me. I left two areas open though – a hole at the front of my heart and one at the back. These holes formed a chamber passing through my heart which would allow the energies of Glastonbury’s various sites to funnel heart chakra energy into my energy body. That was how I mentally shaped the primal energy into a coherent form. Finally I called upon the sun’s light to seal the shapeto preserve it’s form, using the energy from my upper dantien (my third eye) to act as the channel through which the sunlight could travel. I stood up and dowsed – it was done. I could now dowse the shape around me! I wondered if it would work at channeling the heart energy at Glastonbury. I would soon find out, I suppose.

We paid our dues at the conveniently-placed tin box, said our goodbyes to the other people there, and left for Glastonbury and whatever adventures that would bring for the Solstice.

Gwas.

Dowsing Results for 2009

At the start of the year I faithfully followed the proposed dates that aligned with the current Gregorian calendar. As the year progressed beyond Summer Solstice I came to feel that the dates that were marked as celebration dates bore little relation to the times when earth energies were specifically active. The Gregorian dates for the Pagan Festivals in particular felt wrong, and were egergetically unremarkable. I started to align my visits with other criteria. My reasoning was that, for Equinox and Solstice days - celebrations of the sun – then the exact day as stated originally was accurate. For the pagan festival dates I took the nearest full moon date to be the correct day to try to do some dowsing. Often, this didn’t quite work out because I had already booked the Gregorian dates off work and so was often only free to dowse at sacred sites on those dates.

Here were the dates that I had written down as being the days to test for subtle energetic potential:-  

• Imbolc – 1 Feb (First Quarter moon)
• Spring Equinox – Thu Mar 20 5:48 GMT
• Beltane – 1 May (almost First Quarter moon)
• Summer Solstice – Sun Jun 21 0:59 BST
• Lammas – 1 Aug (six days from Full Moon)
• Autumn Equinox – Mon Sep 22 16:44 BST
• Samhain – 1 Nov (Full Moon)
• Winter Solstice – Sun Dec 21 12:04 GMT

You will notice that I have used the original Gregorian dates rather than those that I shifted eleven days prior to these trying to account for the calendar shift in the Middle Ages. Here were my original propositions and thoughts as a reminder of what I was trying to do:

We’re going to have to dowse on those days as we go through the year and see what happens. When does it feel right, and when are the energies particularly active? … I would hope that the male energies would be more active on the days of solar worship such as Summer Solstice, or the Equinoxes. If we get sun in Britain on those dates then we have a chance to test this theory out by visiting some of the sites we went to over this Winter period, when the energies seemed distinctly quiet and weak, with no evidence of male energy activity at all. On active solar days we would expect to find the qualities associated with maleness – protection, transformation through initiation, and the manipulation of energy.

The festival dates when the moon is very present coincide with the lunar festivals of the cross-quarter days (Beltane and Samhain) this year. That’s lucky for us and we can report on the status of the female earth energies at sites on those dates. We expect that the traditionally female aspects will be in evidence on those dates, that is fertility powers, sanctuary and healing.

We hope to be able to answer whether the times of year of the festivals correlate to a particular quality of the powers of the moon or sun at that time. The White Virgin (the first stage of the goddess) is linked to Spring. Are fertility powers stronger at Beltane and Spring Equinox? May Day was always seen as a fertility festival. Imbolc is associated with Brigid and healing. Are the healing energy frequencies strongest at this time?

Not all dates were able to be tested due to circumstances or time restrictions, but where they could then I have recorded the results. My conclusions will be compared with my expectations as recorded at the beginning of the year.

I am very unhappy with the quality of the results for this experiment. There were notable times when we didn’t take any measurement of the relative strengths of the energies and this has made the results quite inconclusive. Therefore, I will endeavour to be more rigorous this year and to try to capture the information more reliably and objectively. Therefore, please consider these results as an “indication” of what might be the case.

I also believe that there are some factors that have come to light this year that affect the results, i.e. the position of various planets at that point in the year, the position of the sun and moon, how clear the skies were, and to take into account the strengths of male and female energies separately, as well as differentiating between earth and radiant energy strengths.

Therefore, all in all, I feel the results from 2009 are of purely subjective value. However, I am including what data I did gather so that I can compare this year’s information with it to see if anything at all does begin to form a pattern.

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IMBOLC – February 1st

Actual visit date(s): February 1st & 2nd

Moon Phase: Almost First Quarter

Location: Dyserth village

Sites visited: St.Bridget’s Church, Castle Dyserth (quarry where we made a stone circle), Graig Fawr hill, Dyserth Waterfall, Gop Hill

Dowsing results: A significant change in the strength of the male energies from 1st to 2nd February. As there was significant cloud cover I could not attribute this increase to the appearance of the sun.

Activities: Only dowsing. Nothing relating to energy specifically.

Post Link: Dyeserth 3

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SPRING EQUINOX - March 20th

Actual visit date: March 20th

Location: Bryn Celli Ddu, Anglesey

Sites visited: Bryn Celli Ddu, Penmaenmawr stone circle

Dowsing results: The energy “felt” balanced. We were not inclined to dowse much at all. What dowsing was done turned up a perfect balance between male and female energy strengths. Was this purely suggestive, or was it real?

Activities: Attuning ourselves on top of an ancient mound, healing a stone circle with positive balancing energies.

Post Link: A Balance of Light & Dark

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BELTANE – May 1st

Actual visit date: May 1st

Moon Phase: Almost First Quarter

Location: Helsby, Cheshire.

Sites visited: Helsby Hill, Woodhouses Hill and a modern man-made mound.

Dowsing results: Again, we failed to measure the relative strengths of the energies. Energy was successfully sent from one site to the next, however.

Activities: Lighting incense and manifesting energies from hilltop to hilltop.

Post Link: Firing Manifestations

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SUMMER SOLTICE – June 21st

Actual visit date: Jone 20th and 21st

Location: Glastonbury, Somerset,

Sites visited: Barrowbridge Mump, Wearyall Hill, White Spring, Glastonbury Tor, Gog and Magog trees

Dowsing results: Very strong male energies, overwhelming the female energy (which wasn’t weak either). Strongest male energy of the year.

Activities: Meditating at various sites, being intuitively led to them, and instinctively having our chakras opened at those places to receive an influx of positive inspirational energies.

Post Link: The Opening of the Chakras

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LAMMAS - August 1st

Rejuvenated forest clearing

Actual visit date: August 1st

Moon Phase: 5 days from Full Moon

Location: The Sandstone Trail, Cheshire.

Sites visited: Beeston Castle, Peckforton Castle, Utkinton, Delamere Forest, Frodsham.

Dowsing results: Finding healing white energy spirals (composed of female tree and earth energy).

Activities: Drawing energy from the land (energising), healing,

Post Link: Llamas and Lammas

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AUTUMN EQUINOX – August 22nd

Actual visit date: August 19th and 20th

Location: Wiltshire and Oxfordshire

Sites visited: Alton Barnes White Horse, Wayland’s Smithy, Uffington White Horse

Dowsing results: Unusually strong male and female energies that were well balanced. The sun was glorious for these two days, and I felt completely relaxed, to the point where I was “spaced out” by being at sites – this “good feeling” was due to the “white” energy of the balanced and combined male and female energies, I believe.

Activities: Using sigils, following intuition, a pilgrimage of ancient sites, balancing chakra energies, transformation process.

Post Link: Trail of the White Dragon

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SAMHAIN – November 1st

Actual visit date: November 2nd

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Location: Wiltshire.

Sites visited: Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow.

Dowsing results: Stronger response than first visit I made some months earlier. The energy was male energy atop this mound. It was so strong it made me dizzy! I felt highly charged with subtle energy, and I could draw upon both male and female forms. Dowsing response was incredibly strong under the full moon.

Activities: Meditating, shamanic flying, empowerment of energy fields.

Post Link: None.

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WINTER SOLSTICE – December 21st

Actual visit date: 21st December

Location: Anglesey

Sites visited: Bryn Celli Ddu, Bryngwyn Stones, The Soar Stone, Lligwy Chamber

Dowsing results: Stronger female energies surrounding Bryn Celli Ddu; minimal male energy coming only from the stones. Male energy at Soar Stone restricted to close to the stone. Weak in nature. Male energy at Lligwy was confined to power centres, whilst female energy was again enclosing the central stones, as though protecting them? Our normal alignments (m/f) were reversed for this day – Kal went for female energy whilst I sought out male energy.

Activities: transformation, shamanic flying, empowerment, balancing of chakras.

Post Link: Anglesey Winter Solstice

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CONCLUSIONS

There are hints within this set of information that various factors such as the time of year, and the position of the sun and moon, all affect the strengths of the subtle energies at sacred sites and elsewhere. However, the poor quality and consistency of the information I gathered does not allow me to make any clear statement to that effect. Therefore, this year I will try to take more accurate, consistent and objective records of this data, including the new factors that I believe may be relevant including the influence of planets, and whether the sun or moon are visible when the dowsing takes place.

Watch for this post next year to see if I can get anything that might be approaching a conclusion!

Gwas