The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘hawk’

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 ShadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life). 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 shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “ShadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with.? 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 ‘shadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life).; 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 shadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life)., the energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “ShadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with., 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.

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Anglesey, 1st February 2010   

In the concluding part of our journey around Anglesey’s south-western corner for Imbolc we visited some of the sites that we had passed many times in our travels, but had never actually visited. We re-visited one site though – one of the Ty Mawr stones – in order to rectify a problem. The conclusion to the journey was at a cromlech (or dolmen) called Bodowyr, which was beautifully located, but sadly hemmed in by iron fencing again.   

Castell Bryn-gwyn (White or Blessed Hill)   

Castell Bryngwyn turns out not to be a castle at all, but a sacred space (or “religious sanctuary” as the information sign calls it) that was apparently later fortified by the Romans. It is named Blessed Hill or White Hill, but given that is was a sacred space I would plump for the interpretation ‘blessed’. Especially given our findings as to the way it has been used before it became fortified by that war-like race The Romans.   

Sacred castle without ramparts

The earthwork that remains is a two-thirds circle that has three visible entry points. In order from the entry gate they dowsed as being the Moon Entrance (the widest and clearest), the Sun Entrance ( a hollow depression) and a Star Entrance. The Star entrance was the most intriguing. I spent a bit of time working this one out and come to the conclusion that the entrance was aligned with the planet Venus when it appeared in the western sky. The most energetic time, therefore, is when Venus is in the western skies and the Moon is full. Some star energy and a sun 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., possibly a solstice or equinox sunrise or sunset, are also part of the energy imprint of this place. However, its primary purpose seems oriented towards the lunar occasions – the full moons.   

A wide open space

We went looking for the most energetic place within this earth-worked arena. I say this ironically, because Kal was lounging on the ridge at the time throwing suggestions out whenever the mood took him. I dowsed to the most energetic place – it was a double-humped spot, like two grassy faerie rings together. I had seen something similar but much larger and more rounded at Carnac in Brittany. Kal shouted over: “Is it an altar?“. I used to dowsing rods to check this theory: yes, it was. A strong reaction to that idea. The altar was towards the rear of the site, slightly off-centre.   

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Anglesey – 1st February 2010   

Kal and I journeyed to Anglesey for Imbolc. I had dowsed a map of the entire country with the instruction to find a suitable place to celebrate this Celtic festival – the mid-point between Winter and Spring. The result was Anglesey. Anglesey? We had been there several times previously, and only a few months ago, but still, of all the places in the country the rods could have crossed over it was this small but sacred island – the last refuge of the Druid cults of mainland Britain.   

We had both set intentions as to what we wanted out of the journey – such was the nature of this year’s work: we would be visiting sites with a set idea of what we were hoping to achieve. This is what we had been told at the end of last year as we moved into the quiet time of Winter – Nature can only help us progress now if we state what our purpose is. Ask to be guided and we would only receive more questions. Ask to be led and we would be led back onto ourselves. It was up to us to make our own progress by stating our goal, then Nature would help us to achieve this.  

My intention for the year is to learn about the three elements of the “yew stage” of druidry that I believe are inherent to developing to the next stage. Those elements are: re-awakening (or rebirth) – death (or death energy) – transformation (or transcendence). My intention for this Imbolc day was to learn what I could about any of these processes, whichever was most appropriate. As it turned out the process that was associated with the day was re-awakening, specifically the re-awakening of the earth energies from their Winter slumber.  

 I planned a route that would take us to all of the sites that we hadn’t visited before that lay scattered around the shores of the River Braint – a river whose named was derived from the name Brigid. Brigid, as you will undoubtedly know, is the form of the Triple Goddess (the archetype of the feminine in Nature) that is associated with the festival of Imbolc.   

“On February 1 or February 2, Brigid is celebrated at the Gaelic festival of Imbolc, when she brings the first stirrings of spring to the land. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans mark the day as the Feast of Saint Brigid; the festival is also known as Candlemas and Purification of the Virgin.” (source: WikiPedia)   

As this was the only place on the island that I could find such an association it seemed the natural place to begin our day’s journey in praise of her properties. Only when I came to look at a map of the river did I realise that neolithic man had also decided that this area was special, and had built several sacred sites along its shores. These were all sites that somehow, despite our many previous visits over the years, we had managed to either bypass or skirt around. Now seemed like the appropriate time to actually visit them at last.   

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One of the skills that ancient historians attributed to the Vates of the Druid class was the ability to divine the future from a number of unusual sources. One of the sources that doesn’t involve disembowelment and which would therefore be considered to be relatively acceptable to the modern druid is bird augury – acquiring knowledge from the observation of the flight patterns of birds. Some modern druids take this system a little further, reading signs of the future 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. from the historical symbolism inherent in the type of bird. A good example of this is a recent OBOD seminar which can be read here.

I have noticed that I am beginning to recognise the interventions of birds, especially when I look to them for direction or advice on how to progress on my path. Whilst reading Jaq D Hawkins‘ book “Spirits of the Air” I came to realise that I could categorise the types of interventions and characterise each, in terms of what it signified or portended for me. Of course, one remembers the times when the event subsequently took place, or the right outcome happened – but then, that’s the trick of birdwatching!

So far I have identified relatively few birds that seem particularly significant to me. The wood pigeon‘s call reminds me of a time when I came across a tramp sleeping in some woods in the grounds of a large stately home. I don’t think I’ll ever forget his look of sad discomfort and the feelings of helplessness and pity on my part. The tramp’s discomfort was a mirror opposite of my own feelings of comfort and security in those woods, or in fact, these days, any woods. For me, then, the wood pigeon’s call signifies COMFORT. It makes me smile when I hear it’s trill. It’s also strangely hypnotic for me. Often I am lulled by the continuous warble, and when I imitate the sound in forests it’s like the forest enjoys the fun of my attempts, and the mood lightens even in the densest depths.

We are almost saturated with media renditions of the common crow. They are prevalent in most sinister contexts, from sound effects to super heroes. For me the crow has come to symbolise KINSHIP. Generally, if a crow makes its presence known when I am scrying for guidance then I know that the thoughts of others are with me, and that I can tap into their wisdom and advice concerning directions in life. They help me make decisions, although the final say is always mine to have. The crow is also significant to Kal. Usually when I see a lone crow land near to me and look at me I know that this is a sign related to Kal.

Song birds as a whole seem to symbolise my family. That’s probably because I haven’t yet trained myself to differentiate their intricate identities. Nevertheless, when I hear their song my thoughts are tuned into my family. The appearance of this type of bird will alert me to imminent family contact.

Finally, there are birds of prey. Seeing one of these is always a special event, but their frequent appearance at moments when I am strongly connected to nature is uncanny. It is far too frequent for me now to think of it as anything less than a handshake, a sure sign, and thus birds of prey signify TRUST. I always feel immensely privileged and trusted when I am granted a meeting with these graceful creatures. Their majesty exudes from them, and they make ideal avatars for nature’s subtle assent. I also feel like I am within their protective circle when they cross my path, and I know they show me that I am on the right path with my actions.

Here’s is a summary of the characteristics I have been able to associate with some birds:-

1. Wood pigeon or Dove – comfort, companionship, direction of flight as indicator of event or place
2. Crow – friendship, group flight direction indicates path of a decision
3. Birds of Prey - magic, druidry, spirit of Merlin, right path, protection, apprenticeship

Gwas.

Watchin da boidies.