The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘hedgedruid’

Section 7. Summary of the Year

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

What did I think I was going to learn?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s been the surprise?

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

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

Read the rest of this entry »

The Slap

A while ago Kal and I discussed a concept that we termed “The Slap“.  It came to our notice when we were learning how to dowse, and more crucially, what we could dowse for reliably. Whenever we overstepped our capabilities we would encounter a response or an event would happen that would put us right back in our place again, and send our thoughts reeling from the encounter. As I progressed through druidic practise I would often try to meet limitations and barriers to progress with a positive air. That was sensible. Where this fell down. however, was if I forgot my place in the grand scheme of things and got a bit ahead of myself - a bit cocky. Here’s the story of how I got “slapped” when out walking in some woods at dusk whilst staying in Germany’s Rhine valley.

This post is a follow on from the post Merlin’s Sign – Or How To Startle A Badger. To get a flavour of the situation you may want to read about how such interactions SHOULD be done.

It Never Rhines But It Pours

In my previous post “Merlin’s Sign” I had ventured a short way into the midst of a forest in the Rhine Valley. My evening excursions had been getting further and further away from my base, but the next night after my “success” I was keen to take it further and so made my way out as quickly as possible so that I could have more time to go deeper into the woods. What could I learn from the previous night’s lesson? I had thought about it long and hard and these things seemed to be the message of the sign that I had been shown: be still, silent and assured in the face of fear and you will see wonders emerge before your eyes. I might add to that that preparation for the experience was also necessary.

Could I learn from this tonight? Could I, with some extra time, go deeper into the forest and face deeper fears? This night I would try to test myself – how far into the forest would I dare to go, and what would the effect of the fading light be upon my willpower? I imagined that as I had already conquered The Fear it would be a cinch.

I walked deep into the woods, far beyond the ‘safe place’ I had sat the previous night. This far into the forest the air was cloying, the light fading, the branches thicker,closer and more forebidding. I caught glimpses of the sky through the tangle of leaves and branches and occasionally I could see that it was still light outside the forest – just.

I emerged at a junction of three ways where I paused waiting for inspiration. Instead I got a wave of indecision and anxiety. Something was going to happen, I could feel it. I ignored the feeling and took the path that seemed to go deeper in and, as Robert Frost had identified, was the less travelled path. Now the path dipped down into the depths of the woods. The path itself was lined with overhanging vegetation – ferns and grasses – making the way unclear. I stopped. I waited. I listened intently.

 Was It Bigfoot?

Then I heard the footsteps of someone walking at the same pace I had been walking at. I heard a firm footfall from down in the vale of undergrowth, approaching from down the bottom of the hill, just beyond my sight. I knew I didn’t want to meet anyone. I was here for a magical experience after all, not to have a conversation. Who could be walking through the woods at that time of night? Only someone I probably wouldn’t want to meet! What if they addressed me in German and asked me questions, and got angered by my inability to understand them? What if, what if…? Thoughts came flooding and racing and I panicked. I turned around and walked back the way I had come quickly.

After five minutes of walking and turning to see if anyone was following me, I realised something: whoever, whatever I was about to meet – I should have had the courage to meet it! No-one had emerged from the path. I could see that, as the trees were lightly spread in this part of the forest, there wasn’t anyone nearby at all. The footsteps never materialised into any known form – neither animal nor human.

I caught my breath and assessed what had happened. Clearly I had failed this little test. I walked back in disbelief. Here, this very night when I had been anticipating an experience, one had been offered, and I had fled from it. Dejection! And so, much as I tell you about the successes on this journey, so I also feel it is right to relate the failures. I think it shows how difficult the task is. You expect one thing but get another. You have to be well prepared, and I had been arrogantly confident without taking care. I got my come-uppance!

Gwas.

Chased by shadows.