The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘nine ladies’

When I dowsed to find which sites I should visit for the Winter Solstice this year I was surprised that only two types were signified: a circle and a cave. Well, it didn’t take me long to work out which stone circle I should visit. Top of my list was Nine Ladies, and it remained the favourite because all the others failed the suitability test when dowsed. Next I had to find a suitable cave. This task was much harder. With my first site being in Derbyshire I reckoned that finding a cave in the area would be simple .Far from it! It took me several days to find and dowse the suitability of a natural cave that was not a tourist attraction closed for the Winter. The result was Thor’s Cave, which was just inside the Staffordshire border, but close to Leek and south Derbyshire. Perfect! I deliberately didn’t read up anything about it so that the experience would be fresh and exciting. I will blog about the cave visit soon, but first, here’s my account of my Winter Solstice visit to Nine Ladies stone circle.

Solstice morning arrived and I began to tedious journey across to mid-Cheshire to meet my friend Mike. At each step of the journey I was delayed – firstly by a huge lorry trundling along the back roads, then by a tractor pulling a huge payload of hay bales, and then, just as I had cleared that obstacle and was wondering whether I could possibly get behind anything that would be slower – out pulled a funeral cortege and I was down to 20mph for the next few miles of reverent driving. I had to laugh! When I arrived at Mike’s I fold him that I had arrived at exactly the right time – 15 minutes late, but just as I had completely chilled out due to the slow pace. Perfect timing!

Nine Ladies Dancing

As we approach the stone circle from below, following a track that is probably only visible in the Winter months, I stop to register the edge of the stone circle’s nemeton – I can feel an energy change and I turn to look at Mike, but Mike has a puzzled look on his face. Is he sensing something, I wonder? He says that he can see lots of “little people” all around us, gathering to usher us on towards the stone circle, and dancing around our feet. He wonders if I can see them. I can’t, but I can feel their presence, like being brushed past by lots of invisible mice. He searched his mind for the correct word, and returns with “Pixies”. I haven’t heard that word in years – how quaint!

We continue to the small gathering of sandstone rocks that are heavily carved. Now that the undergrowth is completely gone they are all exposed, and I can see one facing me with a very clear message…

Pot-Head Pixie immortalised at Nine Ladies Stone Circle

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Nine Ladies stone circle, Stanton Moor, Derbyshire – October 13th 2010

Firstly, apologies for the poor quality of the pictures used in this post. I forgot to bring my camera and had to rely on the camera on my phone to get some contextual images. At least they illustrate the point, even if they wouldn’t make a decent backdrop.

Let’s start the post with a giggle. Raise your hands all of you who expected that Kal would have learned his lesson about approaching the grumpy old oak tree that sits alongside the Nine Ladies stone circle! How many raised their hands? All of you? Well, you’d all be right. We arrived, stood for a moment comtemplating the beauty of the circle from fifty feet away, and then Kal bounded over to the oak tree almost demanding that it communicate positively with him. I laughed at the sheer inevitability of what was to come. A poke in the eye from a low-hanging branch for Kal, yet again!

I approached the tree sedately, feeling its aura close to its canopy of still-green leaves. I skirted the edge, rounding the tree once widdershins, occasionally letting its lower outer branches stroke my face. Then, at the correct entrance point I stopped to ask if I might enter. I felt a slight tug at what I am now calling, in Castenada’s terms, the Assemblage Point, and I knew I was alright to enter. We got on, this tree and I. I knew it demanded a careful respect, and I was amenable to that. After all – I was invading its space, not the other way around. Kal grumbled about its grumpiness and I chuckled, reminding him of what he needed to do in order to pass into the tree’s favour. He grumbled again. He hates deference. I don’t call it deference, I call it mutual respect, and that makes the whole thing work automatically, like automatically saying ‘sorry’ if you bump into someone, no matter who bumped into whom.

The Cleaning Job

As Kal paid his penance at the foot of the oak tree I headed to the circle of small stones that formed the dainty monument that is Nine Ladies. Something felt funny, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly. I decided I needed the help of my dowsing rods. I cleaned them down (a matter of stroking the rods from stem to tip and shaking your hand afterwards – a mere ritual, but it seems to keep the rods free of energetic interference). After cleaning I readied the rods in my usual shoot-from-the-hip stance, elbows in at my side and rods perfectly balanced and level, free to swivel as the energies may direct them.

I asked the rods a question, “Did this circle need re-balancing of the energies?” – in other words, was there too much of one particular type of energy? NO. OK, now for the follow up, “Did this circle need cleansing?” – i.e. was there an influx of unusual energy not native to the circle that could be causing disruption to its function? YES.

Distinguishing these two types of energy work is important, I feel. Re-balancing and cleansing are two very different activities requiring different approaches. For re-balancing I seek to either draw up and create more energy for anything that is required to create a balance between the energy types, or else I dampen down the effect of an over-lively energy form in order to bring it back to the levels of the other energies at the site. Cleansing requires me to eliminate some ‘alien’ energy form (usually human-sourced) and to leave the site with only its natural energies (unless the alien energy is actually benefiting the site).

Which brings me to my final question before I begin the work, “Is the additional energy beneficial to the site?”. NO. Right, then it did need to be dealt with. Could I use incense for this work? YES. How many sticks would be required to cleanse the energy? SIX. Six!” Seriously?? That was more than I had ever needed to use before for such work. Usually it’s two, three, maybe four. Six was something that took this work to new heights for me.

Incensed at having to clean this circle

I lit the incense sticks, placed them where the rods dictated I should, and then dowsed for how long they would take to clear the problem energy – six minutes. Ha, today was all sixes! Strange. Next I noticed another strange coincidence.

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Sunday 12th September, 2010 – Froggatt village, Derbyshire.

The afternoon was ours and the day was glorious. It was the kind of day at the end of the summer that you know if you don’t make the most of it you will sorely regret it because there won’t be many more like this for many a month now as Autumn and Winter take turns to ravish the landscape, denuding the shrubbery and instilling a greyness to the sky. This day’s sky was a painting in a light blue palette. It was with this backdrop that I cajoled Kal to come out on a dowsing mission. As it turned out, it would only be later that I realised the full and startling importance of this casual visit. It would be a moment that resonated with me in the most profouond way, evoking a deep memory from over thirty years ago, and confirming that my path was true to me.

iI had cloaked the intended destination in an air of secrecy, so it wasn’t until we had reached Stockport (damn that SatNav for insisting it was the fastest route) that Kal ventured to suggest we were going somewhere in Derbyshire. Indeed we were. I had found a stone circle with impeccable credentials – near a known path, not too far to walk to, fairly intact – and to us it was completely new and exciting. It was called Froggatt Edge stone circle just beyond the town of Bakewell.

Froggatt Edge stone circle

We parked at the Chequers Inn (top pun, top pub) which was on a small road going out of the village. Two hundred yards back down the hill a path crossed the road going both down and up the Edge. We headed upwards, through the delightfully deciduous canopy of old trees, up a well-trodden path mottled with mosses and tree roots. After passing a gate in a wall the path got rockier, and soon we could see people above us. As we emerged out of the woods we realised that we were at the base of the Edge’s cliff face. As far as the eye could see in either direction were clutches of climbers, spandexed and sporting fluorescent ropes, all either looking upwards, or fiddling with clasps and bags. I have never seen so many climbers in one place. We asked for directions from a friendly-looking bunch, then made our way right, following the path up to the top of the cliffs. The climb was easy, unlike the band of brave souls who were challenging themselves to get up the hard way.

When we emerged at the top it was time to catch our breath, and admire the views.

View along Froggatt Edge

The Stone Throne

If I were a king, then this is where I would have my throne, atop Froggatt Edge. The views are fantastic when the weather’s good. As we wandered along the edge, stopping to look at the unusual rock formations, wind-blasted and weather-worn, we came across a very unusual set of rocks. Kal immediately pounced upon them and seated himself comfortably on the top – it was a perfect seat, he claimed, so I too went up to try it. He wasn’t wrong. The views were even better from that vantage point, and the seat was genuinely comfortable. Both of us could have stayed there all day. Clearly a strong 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. with good energies.

Kal indicating that perfection can be achieved with the addition of a pint of beer

The sun was going ‘under the yardarm’ as the sailing fratenity say, and so I pushed us onwards to our destination – the stone circle. Within moments of walking past the Throne we saw the circle itself, its one prominent stone enticing us into its bracken lair. Now the fun could begin.

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Section 8 – SITE VISIT LIST for 2009

The penultimate post is a reminder of the sites we have visited this past year. The sites are ordered from North to South.

• Callenais I, II and III, Dun Carloway Broch, The Truiseil Stone and other sites on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland [Callenais I, Callenais II, Callenais III, Truiseil Stone]
• The Eassie Stone, Glamis Castle, St.Fergus’ Well, The Fowlis Wester cross, Lundin Farm circle, and Monzie circle in Scotland [Eassie Stone, Glamis Castle, Fergus' Well, Fowlis Wester cross; Monzie Circle; Lundin Farm]
• Castlerigg circle, Long Meg and Her Daughters circle, Little Meg circles, Mayburgh Henge, Oddendale, Kalmott ring cairn, Gamelands circle in Cumbria [Mayburgh, Kalmott, Oddendale & Gamelands; Long Meg; Little Meg; Castlerigg]
• Pendle Hill in Lancashire [Pendle Hill]
• Arbow Low, Nine Ladies stone circle, and Nine Stones Close circle in Derbyshire [Arbor Low 1, Arbor Low 2, Nine Ladies, Nine Stones Close]
• Alderley Edge, Delamere Forest, Frodsham Caves and The Bridestones in Cheshire [Alderley Edge, Delamere 1, Delamere 2, Bridestones]
• Bryn Celli Ddu, The Soar Stone, the Bryngwyn Stones and Lligwy Chamber on Anglesey [Bryn Celli Ddu 1; Bryn Celli Ddu 2]
• Cerrig Pryffaid, Dyserth, Moel-Ty-Uchaf, Penbedw Park, Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall, Dinas Emrys, Snowdon, and Penmaenmawr Druid’s Circle, Rhosesmor, Hawarden and Conwy Falls in North Wales [Dyserth, Moel-Ty-Uchaf, Pistyll Rhaeadr, Dinas Emrys, Druid's Circle, Rhosesmor]
• Golden Grove and St.Elmo’s Summer House in Mid-Wales [St.Elmo's & Golden Grove]
• Llangernyw village, Lake Vyrnwy and Bala Lake in Wales [Llangernyw 1, Llangernyw 2, Llangernyw 3]
• Mitchell’s Fold and The Hoarstones circle in Shropshire [Mitchell's Fold & Hoarstones]
• The Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
• Waylands Smithy, Uffington Chalk Horse, and The Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire [Wayland's Smithy, Uffington, Rollrights 1, Rollrights 2]
• Alton Barnes White Horse, Winter Hill, Windmill Hill, Silbury Hill, West Kennett, and Avebury in Wiltshire [Alton Barnes, Silbury Hill, West Kennett 1, West Kennett 2, Avebury]
• Crop Circles at Knighton Hill, Alton Barnes, Silbury Hill and others in Wiltshire [Knighton Hill, other crop circles]
• Stanton Drew stone circle, Barrowbridge Mump and Glastonbury in Somerset [Stanton Drew, Glastonbury]
• Carnac, Locmarquier, Créhen, Lampouy, Ile Grande, Merlin’s Tomb, Mont St.Michel, Champs Dolent and St.Uzek stones in Brittany, France [Merlin's Tomb, Lampouy, Créhen, Carnac 1, Carnac 2, Carnac 3, Champ Dolent, Mont St.Michel, Ile Grande]

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Gwas.

The complexities of life often catch me by surprise. The mix is so varied, meaningful and relevant that it is difficult to describe where a particular chapter (of your life) begins. For me it seems quite common that the web of life interweaves multiple phenomena, experience and whatever was left over from last night’s cooking into the mix to create a new day that seems unique and individual and yet if one takes but a single thread and follows it (down the rabbit hole) it leads to truly unexpected and to what I original thought of as unrelated phenomena.

Humbling is a word that begs for deeper meaning when I traverse such tunnels of thought and speculation. I am not going to enter the debate of intelligent design, god, gods or indeed evolution. I am certain of one thing, if you think you know anything (and I mean anything) think again!

Today, being the third day in the trinity (for me) of Samhain, the festival of fire (see Gwas’s post here) traditionally marks the end of harvesting and the beginning of a period quietude and reflection. Alas, as is my wont I am going to have to differ somewhat with the traditional view of this dividing day. This leap of (semi) rationality can be forgiven I hope since we (most of us) do not reside in the world of harvesting (fantastic though it may have seemed a hundred years ago) technology has given us the ability to have any harvested product at any time of the year.

A new interpretation of Samhain may be that it is a period of flux (I love that word). A time that can be utilised by any who have the means, belief, understanding and (the essential ingredient) desire or intent.

For me (please note that ‘for me’ bit) Samhain festival was divided into three components. You may ask, why three? I can only answer that it was a mix of intuition and divine (by this I mean divination using the rods) answers. So it was an event(s) that encompassed three days Saturday 31st, Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd. Furthermore – an indication of each days activities was that it would follow the pattern of:

1. Preparation
2. Transformation
3. Confirmation

The promise (or result) was that should I not mess it up (the divine indication was that it was highly likely that I would – cheers!) Anyway the promise was of invisible blocks to be released and pathways cleared of obstructions.

A strange promise to honest, because at this present time in my life I am feeling that anything and everything is possible. Indeed and therein lies (or rather lay) the rub!

Spirit

Gwas and I had planned to be out together on Sunday and so I was left in the preparation phase to my own devices. Now, very recently my dear mum passed away, and whether it is real or a method of comforting myself (what does it matter which?) I have been in commune with her of and on as the days have waned into weeks and months. Strange it seems to me that such energetic commune seems more effective and solid(?) when at her graveside.

As an aside, you must realise that my belief in life after death wanders from believing to not believing constantly – this paradox doesn’t really bother me – in fact it’s refreshing.

Prior to my visiting my mum’s graveside I had no notions of the above trinity or anything else on the matter of Samhain.  However whilst in meditation at the graveside (I’m not really a prayer-for-the-dead kind of person, and frankly on the days that I believe in life-after-death I don’t really think the departed need it). I digress. So there I was meditating with some incense burning away. When I got the message that the following two days could be utilised to great effect should I not dawdle and make a mess of it.

Okay, you may be asking where this message came from – I will be honest, it was my mum. Now, you may think it was just my imagination – and if it helps you any, I will think that too. Again, who cares what and where it came from? Surely its reality is only defined by whether you do anything about it? And since I did, the message was real, even if the originator is unknown or suspect.

The day this occurred was Saturday, A nice, warm and pleasant early afternoon. After receiving it I consulted the oracle of the divine i.e. the rods for further information and was given to understand that a visit to the sea would be of great advantage as the Preparation phase of the Trinity.

Water and Wind

A random point along the coast of Wales had me sat in between some boulders watching and listening to the music of the waves rolling in. A few months ago I had an very humbling experience with, what I am going to call Poseidon, but you may as well call it the sea, ocean or water, I guess.

Poseidon conjures up a nice vision for me and perhaps we create our reality based on our beliefs and thus my containing whatever I was connected with into that image, that is what it became.

On this particular occasion I was very humbled by Poseidon, it is something that is not to be messed with – I guess one might say the traditional view of the sea as being a tempestuous spirit was coming to truth for me. Or…tempestuous is wrong, it was…”beyond approachable”. My attempts at being recognised where in vain.

After a while, the wind slowly rose and I pondered whether there was any significance to the winds change?

How does intuitive knowledge come to you? One particular means for me is just a gentle pondering, answers come when beckoned. To trust or act on these answers is the prerogative of the listener I fancy.

My answer was that it was the element of Air combining with that of Water. I sent out a thought to the Sea “Will you come with me tomorrow and help?” I got back an echo of the question. I had to laugh – I was so far down the scale of things that I wasn’t even something that would (or indeed could) be acknowledged. Still I felt from the combined wind/water a sense of…yes.

Divine (this word is going to get popular) knowledge said that preparations were complete for part one of Trinity. It also added an addendum – that my Solar plexus and Crown chakra energies would be worked on in the coming day.

Wind and Water Companions

Sundays arrival was marked with rain and wind. As I went for milk in the morning I remarked to myself that a sliver of Poseidon was in that air. I arrived at Gwas’s in the early afternoon with a gentle breeze and a few raindrops in tow.

A long drive filled with discussions about Gwas’s adventures in gathering spirit forms had us arrive at Nine Stones Close. As we walked through the fields Gwas’s intuition decided on a different path than normal and we found ourselves climbing up a rocky hill. As id often the case we split up and followed our own energetic paths through this new territory.

I am often surprised at our ability to go-off and do different activities at these sites and then return with individua tales to tell.

My path led to a place where the boulders had fallen in such a way as to create a cave like structure. I sat in it for a while feeling its shape before pointing it out to Gwas. Once we moved away from the cave we walked further around the hill only to have to come back on ourselves a little so as to find a path to the Stone circle.

Often we have foundthat recapitulating upon experiences results in little connections that were at the time missed. For example – upon reflection – it seems to me that the deviation in our path was to find that cave and for me to sit in it, Gwas didn’t. Which becomes meaningful in a moment.

As we approached Nine Stones Close the wind was a surprising gust and my spirits rose. I am really connected to that site because of a beautiful Oak tree that is there. Fortune had a particular smile for us today as the neighbouring field was devoid of its usual cows. Cows are the bane of dowsers! This absence allowed me to climb into the next field and become more acquainted with the Oak tree.

Divine knowledge guided me to the best place to stand and I stood with my back to the tree, my hands were positioned with palms facing the tree and behind me. As I stood there for many moments the wind whipped up into a strong breeze continually changing direction. Even though it was quite cold, I found my hands warming up behind me. It was as if the tree was warm.

Fire

After a while I felt myself filling up with warmth from the tree. But it was more than just inside of me, it seemed that it was my aura filling with orange flame. CommuningAn interaction with an invisible and natural sentient force that is independently identifiable, even if it cannot be named or classified. The interaction takes place at the level of a subtle amalgamation of the mind of the perceiver such that a dialogue or transference of feelings may occur between the two sentient parties. The interaction that is ‘communing’ is purposefully initiated by the perceiver for the express purpose of learning or simply to transfer feelings in a sympathetic manner. with the tree gave me to understand that the winds frenzy was necessary to ensure that my aura would contain the flame otherwise it would be released. It was also at this time that two other realisations dawned on me.

First, was that the Solar plexus chakra is associated with Fire and second, that my understanding of the use of cave structures is to shape the aura. Thus only a few minutes ago I was shaping my aura and now it was being filled with flame. Of course these are all coincidences right?

Upon completion of this filling, I was given a small seedling from the tree, which I transferred to my pocket and minutes later we were done and moving off upon our normal path back to the car (completing ‘the’ circle). Upon the return walk to the car I found a white feather which I also pocketed. White feathers are rare – I’m usually a Crow feather man.

Addition: Just to note that Gwas’s and I checked the trees aura and found it to be a healthy size. And again – why do I do this? I decided to follow the shape of the aura around the tree and found that it had some strange shape and twist to it. Further divination revealed that several head sized rocks had fallen of the wall and were interfering with the aura of the tree. Gwas and I quickly divined that this was not a good state for the tree and returned the rocks to the wall.

A ten minute drive later we arrived at the Nine Ladies circle just as dusk was approaching. Clouds were ominously covering the full moon. Again as we approached the circle we divided off into our own little projects. I went and greeted the Oak whilst Gwas meditated on the circle.

With the wind howling away and Gwas’s news that he had to wait until complete darkness before his work could begin. We spent a leisurely hour or so watching the moon rise.

Earth

When the time came Gwas and I entered the circle and began to do our individual work. I was only moments in when it became clear that the power-center in the circle was Gwas’s area. I was told to embrace the wind. Who am I to argue? So I was up and off, following the wind to its source. I was led to the King-stone and sat down upon it. I’ve never actually sat on it before and found that it has a comfortable little niche in it.

A few minutes of quite reflection and the wind quieted down followed a few seconds later by the clouds clearing and the full-moon’s spotlight felt like it was falling directly on me and the King-stone. As I sat there wondering what would happen next I felt the Orange flame seep out of me into the King-stone and follow the energy tracks down to the stone circle, flow around it once and dissipate into the ground. I felt deflated and was wondering whether the activities of the night were completed when I felt that a blue flame was filling me up, but not from the ground up at before but from the top down. It was coming from the Moon! Blue moon energy?

The blue flame filled me up and again it filled my aura to the brim (my aura was about 2 feet outside of the physical me – or so it seemed).

The right way

I knew then that it was complete and stood up from the stone. As I looked down to the circle I knew I had to come down and walk once around the circle (widdershins as Gwas had divined earlier). So I walked back to the circle and completely forgot to walk around it!! Instead I headed for the Oak tree and a second later – Wham! a branch had hit me straight in the right eye!

Funny isn’t it, as Gwas noted later “I didn’t hear you cry out” – it’s because I didn’t. As soon as my senses returned I stepped back andheaded around the circle! Point – literally taken! The funny thing is that I didn’t have the usual “kicking the tree” reaction that one might expect – instead I thought “Hey how lucky is that – I could have had my eye out!”

Thanking the Genius LociGenius Loci means 'spirit of the place' and refers to the geological/gaian spirit of place. It is transfixed to a place – being an embodiment of the collective intelligence of the place. of the place we both felt that the nights adventures were complete and I wondered whether Monday’s divination would reveal success/failure.

Sunny kinda guy!

It is unquestionable that I am a “sun” aligned guy! Although I love the moon and its creative juices. I just love the sun energies. Which I have to say doesn’t have anything to do with lying on a beach any place – definitely not!

As an aside I have to say that I am a star person too – which kind-of makes sense to me because they after all are suns too!

Upon returning home on Sunday night I was shattered! I came in and went straight to sleep, which is definitely unlike me, I am a midnight at least person.

Monday, I awoke and wow! The sun was shining and the sky was blue and the wind was gone. There was only one element around this day. Sun.

I got up and changed and hit the outside – I just walked and walked taking in all that sun energy. I sat in my garden in the lunch time sun meditating upon the Trinity. What puzzled me was why I was filled with Blue – the colour for the Crown which is what I would have expected – if I had expected anything is Violet.

But divination revealed that I had it right. I was filled with blue flame. Now my intuition took me in this direction:

• Blue -> Throat Chakra -> Understanding and Communication

Then in my meditation I got the urge to go and write something on my computer and before I knew it the words were flowing like – well – like they used to before I lost my muse when my mum passed away. I wondered…was that the block that had been removed? The divine answer…one of the smaller ones. Just wait til you re-alise (re-align) one of the bigger ones that is gone! I’m still figuring out what that one is!

And so it is that that the following was also released into the world today!

Kal

This post follows on from the first part of the Rollright Stones complex, which can be found here. In the previous post I had been dowsing arounnd the King Stone. I had identified a female line that followed the course of the path that leads up to the stone, and now I was following it back to see whether it connected to the King’s Men stone circle, as it appeared to if I followed the line of sight.

I wandered across the road following the zig-zag motion of the female energy lineThe direction energy takes when moving. It may be straight or curved, in several dimensions and be composed of one or more different types of energies, i.e. negative, positive or neutral. Energy lines can be found at standing stones and ancient sites but are a general feature in all energy fields., which got decreasingly erratic as is moved towards the King’s Men circle. The rods showed me that the line went into the northern end of the circle, so, as I couldn’t follow it directly through the fence and hawthorn trees, I opted to pick it up again from the other side. So I made my way into the signposted stone circle area, where I was accosted my a modern day highwayman! Stand and deliver! He wanted a whole engligh pound sterling from me, which I duly obliged him.

As it turned out, a pound was a cheap price to pay for some priceless dowsing tips from the old man. We started off on the wrong foot as he challenged my tools of the trade for being un-sheathed. His, by comparison, were contained in copper handles, but looked too thin and wiry to be of any use in a stiff breeze. I retorted that there were no rules regulating this dowsing lark, and that my opinion was different to his – I liked to feel the response of the rods as they turned so that I could gauge the strength of the reaction, and feel for whether it was a true response or caused by an external factor like the wind. This didn’t go down well – a relative youngster debating with a seasoned pro – and he went on to present his credentials: 50 years dowsing and a former member of the BSD (“too many silly people with their own pet theories“). Oh dear, I didn’t let on that I might be one of those very people whom he detested – an independent thinker with my own ideas. I did the polite thing and appeared impressed, but in my experience longevity is not a good indicator of ability.

We discussed the nature of the site, and he swung into action with his own theories on “positive” and “negative”, or helpful and harmful energies. He was a healer who had spent a lot of time at this circle, which he claimed had healing properties because it was composed of limestone, which was porous, and therefore capable of absorbing harmful energies and purifying them. This he opposed to granite sites, which he categorised as generally harmful and the cause of illness. “Ah, geopathic stress” – I responded. I mentioned that I wasn’t much into healing, but that I was interested in understanding the workings of the site’s energies. “Well, you’ll find lots of energies here.” he stated emphatically. He wasn’t wrong.

Later, as I dowsed, I was treated to both a display of his “twirling rods” as they helicoptered and whirred around in the centre of the circle, and then to a display of his healing capabilities as he wobbled a lady’s head around until she told him she felt better. I’m not going to say anything about either display, as I’m a mere youngster who understands nothing, and have much to learn yet.

The Nemeton’s Edge

I started my own investigations by looking for an aura, or nemeton for the circle. I got a boundary response from the rods about 25 feet outside the stones on the south side (the site is approached from the south-east end). I followed this male edge line clockwise around the site and found that it narrowed up to the stones themselves at the western side before increasing again to about 10 feet wide coming back around the northern edge. By the time the nemeton was back at the south side it was back out to 25 feet wide.

Cross Leys and Entrances

Two neutral 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. leys traversed the site – one running North-South and the other travelling East to West. At the point where the east-west ley lineThe term used by many British dowsers to describe an energy leyA straight line of neutral energy linking two or more sacred sites or other energetic centres. This is often confused with Alfred Watkins’ concept of the Ley Line. Strictly speaking a ley line does not necessarily mean a neutral energy line, only a sight 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. between notable places, whereas an energy ley is like a radial spoke in a wheel, with energy flowing outwards across the land in a straight line. It has sometimes been found that the energy ley can be diverted from its strict straight path by changes in the landscape or strong attractors that pull it away from its original course. Energy leys may have inter-twining streams of male and female energies weaving along them, as though the energy ley is an attractor, a pathway or a conduit for the male and female energies.. It is easily confused with ley and therefore its use is not recommended by dowsers. hit the western edge of the circle, at the nemeton’s thinnest point, I found an entrance to the circle. I later discovered that there were two entrances to the circle – one for lunar-aligned people, and another for solar-aligned people. The western entrance was for those people aligned to the moon’s energies, whilst the more “famous” southern entrance was that discovered by archaeologists and other dowsers, many of whom must have been solar-aligned people, I reckon.

As a reminder, you’ll know if you’re solar or lunar aligned from standing in 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 is either male or female. If you stand on one that is not aligned to your energy field (and it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female as to whether you’re solar or lunar aligned) then you’ll feel a certain discomfort after a while, such as a tense head, even a headache, feelings of queasiness or a tight stomach, or more generally just an inclination to move away from that place. Luckily, most of us intuitively go to stand on places to which we are aligned. Sensible us!

Central healing spirals

After having seen the old gentleman doing his twirly rods show for tourists I decided to take a look at the centre point. I firstly dowsed for a male energy and found a spiral starting some six feet out from the brown bare patch of earth that marked the middle. A tight spiral (unusual) of male energy spiralled densely-packed lines into the centre, but the outer edges didn’t go anywhere – this spiral was self-contained. Again, quite an unusual finding.

Next I dowsed for any female energy, and found a much looser spiral going anti-clockwise and overlaid on top of the male energy spiral. This female spiral was not quite so tightly-wound (again, quite unusual), but its terminus point was outside of the circle, as the energy of the third spiral snaked off through the western entrance and into the trees and the setting sun.

In my experience a combined male and female energy, in addition to the crossing of the two ley lines, would form a powerful positive energy formation, and this seemed to be what the old man was demonstrating with his healing and twirling displays. As he looked on I credited him with choosing the perfect spot to perform with energy work, to which he winked knowingly.

As I dowsed for the suitability of the site to various purposes the only strong response was to “healing”. Again, it looked like the old man was right to say that the limestone circle was suited to healing and purification. Equally, despite his idea that granite-based rocks generate “bad” energy, I was certain from my own findings that granite stone circles are suited to transformation of consciousness. But he didn’t look like he cared for that kind of thing, so I kept it to myself.

Western entrance to the right of the stones

Male and female stone balance

I decided next to dowse each individual stone to find out how many were male and how many were female. The general outcome was that there were two banks of female stones consisting of at least two sets of 5-8 stones at the western and eastern points. The northern and southern edges were much more complicated, alternating frequently between small groups of male then female stones, sometimes even single stones going M-F-M-F. There were, however, three banks of male stones consisting of at least 5 stones in the south-western edge, the north-western edge and the eastern edge. All in all the number of male or female stones seemed well balanced, and this was certainly how the site felt.

‘Hairy’ stones

Each stone has an energy spiral coming out of its exterior face, and a short spiral going around the base of the stone. Female spirals are anti-clockwise (although they start off circling clockwise around the stone before turning back on themselves outside the circle to form an anti-clockwise spiral). Male stones do the opposite, but with slightly less tight spirals (fewer turns). We have found this at many other sites like Gors Fawr and Nine Ladies to name but two where we have looked for it.

The Southern View

The King Stone connection

I found the female line from the King Stone over the road coming in at the north-eastern edge of the circle. This line terminated at a female spiral at the northern end of the circle. However, there were four other female centres connected to this line, and they appeared all around the western edge of the circle, going from the north to the south, and including my own 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.. In all, five female 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. spirals connected to each other on the western side of the circle.

This was somewhat mirrored by the two male power centres I found that were connected to some circle stones on the eastern side of the circle. Starting at the eastern edge a male energy lineThe direction energy takes when moving. It may be straight or curved, in several dimensions and be composed of one or more different types of energies, i.e. negative, positive or neutral. Energy lines can be found at standing stones and ancient sites but are a general feature in all energy fields. moved in and out of the stones, sometimes circling them, to eventually terminate at a spiral in the south-eastern edge inside the circle.

Both sets of male and female connected centres had energy flows that were bi-directional – they flowed back and forth between the first and last power centres, and presumably back to the King Stone in the case of the female lines. The male centres were again, like the central spiral, a self-contained energy system.

Staff marking my power centre

Finally I asked a series of questions that I have asked at other sites recently. They were:-

1. Is the site still capable of performing its original function? - NO.
2. Is the site still energetically active? - YES.
3. Can the site be activated, or when is it best to activate it? – Activated by human activity at Samhain (Oct/Nov).
4. Is the purpose of the site education, revelation, healing, transformation, communication, purification or some other purpose? –  HEALING, PURIFICATION.
5. Does the site need restoring, healing or balancing? – NO.
6. Is a genius lociGenius Loci means 'spirit of the place' and refers to the geological/gaian spirit of place. It is transfixed to a place – being an embodiment of the collective intelligence of the place. present at the site? – YES, a female energy.
7. Does the site respond to human interaction, the position of the sun, moon, or stars? – HUMANS, SUNSET, FULL MOON.
8. Can the site be used as an observatory, a calendar, for initiation or as a burial place? – CALENDAR, INITIATION
9. Is there underground water at this site? – YES, at the western entrance flowing SE out of the circle. (i.e. from the point of the narrowest part of the nemeton to the point where it was at its widest).

Armed with that information I headed off South East towards the site of the Whispering Knights, a ruined dolmen that stands at the south-easterly edge of the adjacent field to the King’s Men circle. When I arrived I was of course disappointed to find that these stones were also caged. Presumably to stop them wandering around the countryside mauling unsuspecting meek children?

I found that the aura of the stones was again contained within the iron cage, but there was a combined male and female line coming out of the north-westerly edge, and the rods were pointing directly at the King’s Men circle. I dowsed as to whether the two sites were connected by this line and got a positive response.

In addition to this there was a line coming out a little further north. It was a male energy lineThe direction energy takes when moving. It may be straight or curved, in several dimensions and be composed of one or more different types of energies, i.e. negative, positive or neutral. Energy lines can be found at standing stones and ancient sites but are a general feature in all energy fields. that connected to the raised mound I had seen next to the King Stone some hours ago. So, more dowsing will have to be done to prove that this line connects directly to that mound, but that is how is appears at the moment. I will have to do some more work on that mound next time I come down to the Rollrights.

Gwas.

Visiting an old stalwart.

It was late in the day when I pulled up at the small lay-by within plain sight of the huge mound that is Silbury Hill. To my left was my intended destination – to revisit West Kennet Long Barrow. I didn’t expect to have this opportunity again, and I didn’t know if I was ready to go further than I had before, but here I was, so I wasn’t about to waste this opportunity. Besides – as England were playing Croatia in a World Cup qualifying game there was every likelihood that the traffic and the site itself may be less busy than usual, and I would prefer to be alone to do what I wanted to do, which was to complete the experience of meditating in each of the five chambers within the long barrow structure and then see what happened.

As expected there were several other people visiting the barrow. It still amazes me that so many people want to visit these sites, even so late in the evening, because I arrived at around half past seven, as the sun was dropping low om the western sky, filling the area with a pleasing orange hue, contrasted clearly by the bright blue cloudless sky above it. The perfect time for the purpose I was beginning to form in my mind: I was going to see if I could finish the job I half started on my last visit – to go through the barrow’s chambers, meditating in each for the requisite time, to see what the result might be.

Before that there was some dowsing to do. I walked up the long shallow hill to arrive at the front of the barrow, out of sight of the remaining group of fellow ‘crusties’ who were perched on top in the barrow’s saddle, and began some preliminary questioning using the trusted copper rods:-

• Was it a good time to do meditation here? YES.
• Was I in the right physical, mental and spiritual frame of mind to do this work? YES.
• Was I correct in my previous interpretation of the purpose and timings of the chambers within the barrow? YES.

Going well, so far! Very encouraging.

• Would my work be enhanced by the use of crystals? YES – the stones I got from Callenish that I had been using recently were the best ones to use.

I asked whether the procedure was the same as I had worked out previously, involving a specific route up to 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. on top of the barrow first? YES, and I should wait there until I felt a ‘calling’ to go into the chamber. Then the procedure would be:-

1. Cleansing myself of ‘external’ energies
2. Stating my intention
3. Getting permission from the guardian of the site
4. Re-energising myself
5. Undergoing a transformation process

Was I ready for this? Not really! I had no idea what I wanted to achieve yet, so I followed the rods up the right-hand side of the barrow to find my 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. on top, where I laid out my five Callenish pink granite stones around me in an unusual pattern, roughly circular. The route and location of the centre were exactly them same as on my last visit – every single step was the same. That gave me a level of confidence that my previous findings were accurate. Curiously, I would find when I got back that a kind gentleman from the British Society of Dowsers had posted in the forum saying that he had dowsed my initial findings and confirmed them as accurate in every respect, which was pleasing. Little did he know that I was about to confirm them in a very practical way myself!

I’m not going to reveal what my intention was that I finally formed. Everyone has their own path, and it’s not important to others what one wishes for. In the past I have had great difficulty thinking of anything to want to achieve. Perhaps this is a malaise of the modern world, but for me it was a tricky thing to find a balance between personal gain and the benefit of others – I wanted to achieve something in the world and not simply personal empowerment. Here was a potentially powerful tool that our ancestors had constructed and it must be respected, I felt. Whatever I asked for it would have to be something that would bring wider benefits. I thought of something, and formulated a clear sentence in my mind. Armed with that I felt ready. Well, not quite. I was nervous, and as the last visitors moved away I felt the need to relieve myself in the scrubland alongside the barrow. Hey, it’s a “call of Nature”, right? Maybe that was the signal to begin because then, alone on top of the barrow, I felt ready to go into the barrow and meditate….

About twenty minutes later I emerged. It hadn’t been the vision quest I had been expecting, but something had happened in there. I didn’t feel any different, but I knew something subtle had occurred. I asked the rods to confirm whether I had been successful – YES. Would I notice the difference immediately? NO – it would take several weeks for the change to take effect. OK. I was happy with that, and will look out for that. I may even report back when the change happens, because it will be the culmination of several years worth of effort if it works. I think I should document that if and when such an event occurs, don’t you?

I returned to my 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. to have a think. I sat quietly waiting to see what would happen if I could become as still in my mind as the air was outside now. A picture began to form after a few minutes peace. I saw Nine Ladies stone circle in my mind. A bearded man in a long white robe approached the circle from the moor side and stopped to touch the King Stone quite deliberately. In my mind I heard the term “Heel stone”, though, which is not a term I use, but I understood what was meant by it. Then the man went through all of the stages that I had just been through, but with slight variances. Those stages were

1. Touching the Heel Stone to activate the energy
2. Grounding or cleansing himself on the draining stone in the circle;
3. Walking around the circle clockwise three times stating his purpose
4. Standing in the centre of the circle, giving praise to the sun, moon, stars and the earth, facing north, south, east and west in turn
5. Sitting on 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. in the circle to charge himself up and then receiving a revelation or inspiration

After this he stood and faced me and I knew that he was now in command of the energies of the stone circle. Now I knew what all this process was about – it was a generic process with slight variances to take account of the type of power place that the work was being performed at. I understood. And I knew that soon I would get a chance to try this out too.

Before I could, something was nagging at me – what was I giving in return for this knowledge? The nag got louder. I got the rods out again to help me, and after a short while I hit upon a positive response: I needed to give something of great value in return for my “gift” that I had meditated for. Well, that was something that I knew earlier cultures did – there are several lakes in North Wales and elsewhere that have been the site for votive gifts. Now I was beginning to understand why. Upon realising this I was restless to go, so I picked up my Callenish stones and packed to leave. All the while the sight of Silbury Hill was drawing me. The light was almost gone now, but there was a hint of lighter sky in the west which silhouetted the hill in a wonderfully dramatic way. Time for more dowsing, I reckoned, but that’s another story.

Gwas.

Putting theory into practice.