Posts Tagged ‘pontfadog’
Careg-Y-Big – Pointing at the Stars
February 3rd, 2012 | 
Author: Not another reality TV show, by pointing at the stars I am referring to “standing” stones that are deliberately angled to point to particular stars at certain times of the year. One such stone is the ’Careg Y Big’ stone [megalithic] that is high on the tree-lined southern hills above Llangollen. Getting up there is a test of your car’s engine, that’s for sure! As we parked in a small lay-by close to the top of the hill we could smell the heat from the engine and the brakes as the steep road and sharp corners had taken their toll. The view, however, was worth all the (car’s) effort!
We had taken the small road from the centre of Llangollen out past the Plas Newydd Museum, and heading towards the village of Pontfadog. As the crest of the hill appeared and the road became a T-junction the stone could be seen in the field to the right-hand side of the hill road, nestled and almost hidden by a line of hardy and gnarled trees about two miles out of Llangollen itself.
Quickly! Careg Y Big is falling over!
Once you hop into the field (by gate or by low dry stone wall) it is a short skip to the stone itself. As you arrive you notice that the line of trees forms a sort of avenue along which some ancient trackway may once have been dug into the landscape. It’s almost a small cursus feature, and if it had been a corpse road or similar then it would have been quite wide, I feel. Enough for a thronging procession to carry several biers side by side!
The stone itself struck me immediately, not only for its unusual angle, but for its composition. I had seen this type of agglomerate before – like round pebbles in cement – at Harold’s Stones in Monmouthshire. How interesting that Harold’s Stones were of a similar composition and similar slant too! Coincidence or design carried across several counties distance?
I next turned my attention to trying to find out which astrological body this stone might have been erected to point to – Sun, Moon? Neither – the dowsing revealed that it was a particular star/constellation of stars. By dowsing the date on which the star that this stone is aligned to would be in alignment with the stone this year we got the date April 9th at 10:00am. I set the Starwalk app to this time and date and then placed it on the stone to show me which stars would be in view along the stone’s axis and angle. The result was: Neptune was passing through the Aquarius constellation.
Careg Y Big stone's astral alignment on April 9th 2012
Astral alignments explained
Now that I had determined the specific astrological connection - Neptune passing through the Aquarius constellation – what is the relevance of such a conjunction to this stone? Why was it set to align to this conjunction? I could find only some general information relating to the thirteen year cycle of Neptune, which is apparently moving into Pisces currently. However, the information may be relevant so let’s look at it. I show my ignorance of astrology here by deferring to other commentators! According to one astrologer:
“Neptune represents the broader economic currents. Therefore Neptune in Aquarius represents times of economic reform or revolution. Since the “spirit of the times”, the “zeitgeist”, is represented by Neptune as well, the economic changes spring out of a new spirit, a new vibration. There was a scientific and artistic revolution during the last Neptune in Aquarius period — and there was a corresponding economic revolution ….
Based on past periods, Neptune in Aquarius will be a time of religious freedom and reform. Likely, the old faiths, whether faith in science or religious faith, will undergo dramatic change … The underlying spirit of Neptune in Aquarius is a need to break out of the ordinary, to breakthrough to new spiritual states, to change life, to go for something larger than yourself.”
(source: GuidingStar.com)
The economic bit seems rather accurate at the moment! There is also an alignment to the Pegasus constellation. What might this mean?
”Pegasus is the hippocampus of your brain. The place of memory.” (source: HiddenMeanings.com)
“Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance…..Personification of the water, solar myth, or shaman mount, Carl Jung and his followers have seen in Pegasus a profound symbolic esoteric in relation to the spiritual energy that allows to access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus.” (source: Wikipedia)
“Pegasus is the white horse that caused the fountain of the Muses to activate on Mount Helicon. Consider meditation and the spiral energy called Kundalini or the coiled serpent which rises up from the base of the spine to the Pineal Gland of the brain. ” (source: CrystalLinks.com)
Also rather interesting! Like a reminder or a signpost the standing stone may be there as a reminder that stones are linked to the stars. Maybe the stone itself contains memories that a sympathetic intuitive mind could access? maybe it was planted and aligned as a means of connecting the Earth with the stars? Maybe it is an access point through meditation to connect to the constellation’s energies and move the mind into a higher dimension? Maybe it enervates the chakras when meditated upon in April 2012? Will I get the chance to re-visit the stone at that time? “All this coming up soon in the continuing adventures of…The Hedge Druid“.
I also find the interpretation of Pegasus being associated with fame as notable considering that my over-arching quest for the year is to claim the power of “renown”. I will discuss this term and this quest in more depth in subsequent specific posts.
Standing stone disguised as tree trunk - Careg Y Big, Llangollen
Finding this alignment and its significance to a specific conjunction of stone and star begs the question about why some standing stones point at particular stars? This is an area that I hope to investigate further when the weather warms up a bit. Standing in the raw Winter winds that whipped across the hilltop field that day I was less than inclined to dowse for an hour to try to make inroads into such a complex question. That will have to wait for another day.
Gwas.
Songs and signs at the Pontfadog Oaks
After a fun-packed but bone-chilling day on the borders of Shropshire and Powys I was reminded of the town of Chirk as we passed close to it on our return journey. Chirk itself is a lovely town worth a visit but I was more interested in the two ancient oaks that I knew were situated in the village of Pontfadog nearby. It had been several months since my last visit and I had forgotten the name of the village, so we had to stop off in Chirk whilst I found a map and reminded myself of the village name and the way to get there. Once found we were only in the car five minutes before parking to one side of the B-road and crossing the road to join the short track to the ancient oak known as The Oak at the Gate of the Dead.
A gentleman who I will refer to as “The Tree Hunter” told me last year that I should try to stick to one name for this tree. Here’s his advice:
“I have done a lot of work over the last five years to get this ancient tree and many others to be recognised for what they are. Fantastic, historical towers of biodiversity, which as you know have their own aura and personality. This name [The Oak at the Gate of the Dead] has stood us in good stead for playing the media game if you like. I would be very grateful if you could refer to it by this name as there is now some confusion occurring with people calling it the ‘Crogen oak’….I will try to correct all occurrences that I come across for clarity’s sake.”
It was nice to come here to see this ancient oak grove, even in Winter, and that was mostly because Kal hadn’t been here before – I love introducing him to some of the things I find on my own. They are spectacular trees, and they do seem to attract a lot of attention. Last time I was here in late Winter 2010 there were several people milling around the old oaks and marvelling at their grandeur.
The site was all pizazzed up (if that’s a real term) – it had new flash clean colourful informative informational information signs all over the place telling visitors all about how this was a cherished site because it was where the lovely Welsh people saw off the hated English oppressors who wanted to wipe them out. Well, that was the horrid and pointless agenda that Henry the Second to do just that, so that’s good enough reason to celebrate his object failure at this sacred site. There you kind of feel that this would be a good place to gather together your energy for such a fight – the oaks are very protective and giving.
Historic info about battles
I remembered my previous visit to the site early in 2010. I had heard of the impending death of one of the greatest of the oaks – the so-called Oak At The Gate of the Dead (or OATGOD for short) and I wanted to see whether there really was anything special about this tree. As it happened the dowsing rods revealed that there was. Not that I needed the rods to tell me that – I could feel it as I approached the tree – there was a terminal sadness in the midst of a radiant glory. A strange and poignant combination. I remember putting my staff into the centre of the oak’s split core and infusing it with the final remaining energies of the tree.
Today we dowsed for whether there was any remaining energy in the tree. None. It was truly dead in an energetic sense now – there was no “chi” energy and the tree’s dryad had departed. There may still be traces of biological life, but it’s like a human being on a life-support machine – the biological functions are still registering but the brain may be dead. It would be the slow lingering death that trees have as they rot away depositing their physical essence back into the earth thanks to the assistance of time and thousands of insects and fungi.
A sadly un-energetic ancient oak
When I dowsed I found that the dryad from the OATGOD had moved into a neighbouring tree, one that was very much alive and giving off every sign of such – green ivy wrapped itself lovingly around its trunk as though to provide it warmth through the frosts of Winter, and birds dipped in and out of its upper branches as though attending to its every needs.
Playing with a robin
Almost as if underlining this fact a robin chirped loudly as Kal and I stood beneath the new host oak. We looked up to find it was only a few feet away from us, watching us and chirruping at us belligerently – it WOULD have our attention! It was trying to tell us something…we both stopped to listen intently. It was as if…we could…understand its tone. It wanted us to listen. So we did. For a few minutes it spoke to us, telling us about the new tree, “The new tree was the special tree now, the old tree was dead, the whole grove loved the new tree. The spirit lived on.
I got out my phone which has an application on it that plays birdsong. I found the call for a robin and began to play it to the real robin to see how it reacted. At first it seemed wary, but after a couple of goes it began to mimic the calls. Kal and I looked at each other in delighted amusement – in a primitive sort of way we were making some form of communication with this little bird, and we loved the way its call was now less angry sounding and more playful – it was playing with us, repeating the phrases that I made with my phone. We watched the robin flit from branch to branch near us as it observed what we were doing and homed in on the source of this communication in its own tongue. A warm connection between us all made it seem as though we could talk to the robin ourselves and be understood. We stopped teasing it with the phone and thanked it for playing with us. At that point it fluttered its wings and flew off to a nearby tree.
A most living oak with a robin in strong voice
I felt like the spirit of Pan had welcomed us into this ancient oak grove once more. I think that had to be one of the most delightful encounters I have had in a long while. A good start to the year’s outings.
Gwas.
Singing the birdie song
Posted in Ancient site visit reports, Dowsing, Modern Druidry | 
Tags: ancient oak grove, birdsong, chirk, cleinog, dryad, king henry ii, oatgod, pan, pontfadog, robin, wales | 
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Cadair Idris: The Dragon’s Teeth
Sunday 25th July – Cadair Idris, Gwynedd, Wales.
To walk up Cadair Idris was the culmination of the set of tasks that I had been guided to follow in order to fulfil this particular stage of the year, from Summer Solstice to Lammas. The vision I had received was that I needed to “wake the dragon“. Cryptic indeed, but after a series of further exploratory encounters I had worked out that this would be done on Cadair Idris, and that I could call upon the spirit of Mab – the faerie queen – should I need assistance to do this. Well, all of these things would be fulfilled but not in the way I expected them to occur, as I will now relate.
The walk was surely one of the most beautiful walks I have ever done, from start to finish. The Breath of the Dragon – a light swirling mist – occasionally veiled the mountain, rolling along its slopes and through its valleys as though the dragon was waking to the ringing of my footsteps on its stone-scaled back.
Idyllic start to the walk up Cadair Idris
For anyone who may have been as confused as I was about the name of this mountain – “Cadair” is the Welsh spelling, whilst “Cader” is the anglicised version. I will stick with “Cadair” as I am trying to learn Welsh, albeit very slowly.
The Welcome Sign with its suggested trails
Cadair Idris is a strange mountain: there is a well-defined path to the top of the mountain, yet relatively poorly defined paths to descend again. I wish I had taken more notice of this when I started out, but I assumed that such a well-visited mountain would have well-defined paths. That was to be my undoing later in the day! However, in the morning M and I ascended in a state of bliss marvelling at the abundance of beautiful trees, ferns and mosses that made each turn a photo opportunity.
An old hoary tree wrapped in a coat of moss
If it wasn’t a beautiful old tree turning our heads it was a waterfall….
A hundred beautiful photos await you at Cadair Idris
Posted in Ancient site visit reports, Energy work, Modern Druidry | Tags: cadair idris, cader idris, chi kung, dragon, dragon pose, dragon's teeth, dragon’s breath, faerie queen, foundation, kundalini, love hope strength, mountain, pontfadog, posture, qigong, queen mab, snowdon, snowdon rocks, tai chi, wearyall hill, wyrall hill, yoga | No Comments »
Dragon pose and dragon breath
I have been thinking a great deal about the riddle that defines this eighth-part of the year – the time from Summer Solstice to Lammas. The riddle given to me was “Wake the dragon and teach it to fly.” I have therefore been considering what “waking the dragon” might be to start with.
That time is nearly up, and as I promised myself I have managed to schedule a walk up Cadair Idris – Wales’ second highest mountain after Snowdon. I’m also walking up Snowdon soon, too, in aid of the Love Hope Strength cancer charity. I’ll spare you the JustGiving page, because I’m not asking for your money – I’m just spilling my thoughts into the electronic void that is this blog. I just mention it because it’s Snowdon – a favourite mountain of mine.
Inj this post I want to discuss two concepts that have emerged recently – the dragon breath and the dragon pose. Also, I want to look at the various aspects of the idea of “waking the dragon”. As soon as I started looking into “waking the dragon” here are some news, events, concepts and ideas that emerged:-
1. “Waking the dragon“: Proposed giant sculpture.
A new sculpture to mark the pride of Wales could be built by October 2011 at Chirk in North Wales.
Proposed new giant in Wales
Chirk is the town that is in between two other sites that I like to visit – the old oak trees around Pontfadog village, and Dinas Bran, the sublime mound that overlooks the town of Llangollen. Turns out that in between these two oft-visited druidical sites they plan on plonking a huge 200ft statue to rival the Angel of the North and the gigantic White Horse planned for the South of England. It wasn’t surprised that it was a dragon, so much as surprised that it was entitled “Waking the Dragon”. Seemed quite auspicious.
Link: The Daily Mail (yikes!)
2. Raising Kundalini : The Serpent Fire
Something mentioned in hushed tones by C.W.Leadbeater in his various books, especially The Chakras. In that book Leadbeater cautions against this dangerous action being undertaken without the supervision of a guru - the action of raising the serpent fire energy from its sleeping position coiled at the base of the spine like a serpent, and rising through each of the chakras in turn.
I must admit I don’t see the necessity of going through this process. Kal and I have discussed what it means to be “enlightened” and have decided that if it means walking around in a bliss state then it’s not for us. If it means having a perception of the whole universe in a moment, then we’ll pass on that too. The small steps we have taken to balance and enhance our own chakra points as a means to creating a faster and more efficient interface with the various sentient forces at work in the world we inhabit, then that’s enough for us.
3. Dragon Mounds – Wearyall Hill and Cadair Idris
Wearyall Hill in Glastonbury was the focal point of my vision during the Summer Solstice, a vision of a dragon waking from sleep. After it had awoken I needed to direct the dragon to unfold its wings and fly again after a long slumber. This was the trigger for me to begin to try to understand how this image translated into my life for the next few weeks. Only the next day after the vision I was already somehow certain that Cadair Idris mountain was important and more local to my task.
Cadair Idris mountain translates as something like “The Chair of Idris”. No-one seems to know who Idris was – a Saxon poet, a giant (or both), or something else. Perhaps I get the idea of Cadair Idris from the works of Susan Cooper or from Ivor The Engine, but I associate Idris with a dragon.
Other associations with dragons related to Cadair Idris can be found in Celtic lore:
Dragons and winged serpents were also reported around Lleyn and Penmaenmawr in Gwynedd, the ravines of the Berwyn Mountains, Cadair Idris, the wilds of Cardigan (Dyfed), Radnor Forest (Powys), the Brecon Beacons, the marches of Carmarthen and Worm’s Head, Gower. (source: Celtic Encyclopeadie)
4. Associations with King Arthur
There may be some link between The Pendragon – Arthur – and Cadaer Idris. In an essay published online August Hunt explains:
Triad 52 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein concerns itself with the “Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain”. After listing the three prisoners, the Triad continues as follows:
“And one [prisoner], who was more exalted than the three of them, was three nights in prison in Caer Oeth and Anoeth, and three nights imprisoned by Gwen Pendragon, and three night in an enchanted prison under the stone of Echymeint [Llech Echemeint]. This exalted prisoner was Arthur.”
…The word anoeth is used in the STANZAS OF THE GRAVES, where it is said of Arthur that his final resting place in this world is a “wonder” (“anoeth bid bet y Arthur”). As an adjective, anoeth means “difficult” or “wonderful”. The Caer Oeth and Anoeth placename is also mentioned in the Mabinogion tale CULHWCH AND OLWEN, where it is one of the castles Arthur boasts of gaining entrance to. Once again, in the STANZAS OF THE GRAVES, we are told that the burial ground of the host of Caer Oeth and Anoeth can be found in Gwanas, a mountain tract located near Cadair Idris in Ceredigion.
A fuller explanation of some of the more obscure references to archaic Welsh literature and its meaning in this context is given here: http://www.maryjones.us/jce/oethanoeth.html
5. The Dragon’s Back
Looking at an ariel view of the mountain of Cadair Idris I am reminded of the very shape that I saw in the vision of Wearyall Hill. See if you can see what I mean:
The sleeping beast
6. The Dragon Breath and Dragon Pose
One evening I ventured to my new favourite haunt – my nemeton – to further my quest. Once I was firmly ensconced the rain began to come down in buckets. I slowly let myself attune to the atmosphere…the thud of the water, the smell of the leaf-laden earth, and then CRACK – THUMP!! A huge branch from a tree only a few feet away dropped to the floor and landed with a loud bump which startled me, making my blood pump in alarm! I laughed…and then relaxed into the atmosphere again. Clearly, I needed to be both entranced and alert at the same time. A little reminder perhaps?
I began an impromptu ritual of being cleansed in the rain, adopting a strange pose in response to the feel of the water. I began to think about my task at hand: waking the dragon. My body began to react to the stream of cold water and my breath began to be forced out. Two thoughts came to mind – this was the physical answer to my question “How do I wake the dragon?”, and that the breathing was “the dragon’s breath“. With this realisation I knew what I needed to do on Cadair Idris. As well as remembering that I could call upon Mab to assist.
The incident with the falling branch reminded me of this quote from the film ‘Excalibur’ (another Arthur/Merlin/Dragon link):
Merlin: What are you afraid of?
Arthur: I don’t know!
Merlin: Shall I tell you what’s out there?
Arthur: Yes, please!
Merlin: The Dragon! A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and all complete in a single glance it would burn you to cinders!
Arthur: Where is this Dragon?
Merlin: It is everywhere! It is everything! Its scales glisten in the bark of trees, its roar is heard in the wind and its forked tongue strikes like… like…
[a bolt of lightning strikes nearly at their feet]
Merlin: Oh, like lightning! Yes, that’s it!
I reminded myself that, although I was in my nemeton, it was not my space – I was just a privileged visitor to Nature’s space.
How to adopt the Dragon Pose
Legs shoulder width apart and relaxed. Knees slightly bent, as if for skiing. Hands out in front, with palms upwards at stomach height, and cupped as though waiting to collect something in them. Very similar to the position adopted now by Rugby players when they take a kick, but not as exaggerated as that, more relaxed.
I recreated the Dragon Pose today. As soon as I was in the correct position my face flushed and I got a tingle along my spine! I began to feel light-headed, the way I do before some kind of revelation happens. I felt the sweet familiar tingle all over that accompanies me getting totally in tune with Nature. It was very startling how a simple posture could recreate all this! I knew then that this posture was important to me.
What a poser!
I now need to understand more about the dragon’s breath – is it qigong? (e.g. this site) Or something else? I remember a line from the film ‘Excalibur’ in which Merlin mentions the Dragon’s Breath as being a writhing mist or vapour called forth by the Charm of Making. Perhaps I should revisit that charm and consider learning it. Might it be useful to call that upon Cadair Idris whilst adopting my Dragon Pose? Some things will only be revealed during the next week. I’ll report back after my walk up the mountain.
Gwas.
Posted in Energy work, Modern Druidry | Tags: cadair idris, chi kung, dragon, dragon pose, dragon's breath, foundation, kundalini, love hope strength, pontfadog, posture, qigong, snowdon, snowdon rocks, tai chi, wearyall hill, wyrall hill, yoga | No Comments »
The Pontfadog and Crogen Oaks
I had heard via the BBC news web site that there was an ancient oak tree that had been split by the sharp cold spell we have had recently in the UK. being a “tree friendly” sort of bloke I was a bit distressed by this, and so decided that I should go and visit it – if only to stroke it and say “Bad luck, old chap!“. From the article it would seem as though some local tree preservation types had made predictions of its impending demise, and this made the visit seem more necessary than mere curiosity.
Before the weekend of the 13th/14th Feb I did some dowsing to see what was awaiting me.
- Was the split oak irreparably damaged? – YES.
- Would it die from this damage – YES.
- Was it going to die in the next few days? – NO.
- Would it take a few weeks to die – LONGER.
- Was the energy associated with the tree still present? – YES.
- Would that energy die off with the tree? – SOONER.
- Am I able to capture some or all of that energy? – YES, using the Ash Staff.
- Would the spirit of the tree be around for long? – ONLY DAYS.
Of course I am re-interpeting the results for you. Each of the questions had to be posed such that only a YES 0r NO response could result from it, but the outcome I have re-expressed to demonstrate my line of thinking. Only days left before the energy associated with the tree began to dissipate or leave, eh? Better get there soon!
Off I jolly-well trotted in my ’new’ old car (the trusty old Peugeot is now in the hands of a trusted friend). I was heading for Pontfadog, a village on the outskirts of Chirk town. Chirk is a lovely historic town that I’ve visited before on my motorcycle. It’s the kind of place that keeps history alive, and the place seems to have a special quality about it. It has a lovely castle with large grounds on its edge, and despite having a factory nearby it feels quaint and timeless.
As I drove to Pontfadog I kept getting diverted off the main road. Ooops, I missed the turn-off (despite having SatNav guiding me!). Oh dear, this road is being diverted because of roadworks! Oh, a police car is blocking that road! Another closed road diversion a few miles later. And so it went on and on until I ended up on a tiny back road into Pontfadog village, a road which had those sinuous qualities that one associates with ancient roads that used to be trackways, possibly following male earth energy paths. At various points along this diversion I would encounter a bird of prey sat on a gate-post, or low in a tree, watching me as I passed. This is now becoming a common sign that I am on a special journey, and so I acknowledged each occurrence. It doesn’t do to get your rational brain involved in trying to work this out – just ride with it and take it for what you apprehend it to be!
TIC and Swan Inn - Pontfadog
The Pontfadog Oak
The village of Pontfadog has a relatively new car park next to the bridge over the river than runs alongside the main road. You can’t miss it if you go there. A short walk away is the hub of village activity (well, on a Sunday in Rugby season anyway) – the Swan Inn. What an absolute delight that place is! The landlord was incredibly helpful, and knew his ales from his elbow too. Refreshment had to be quaffed before continuing. Good job I did too because the route up from the back of the inn to the Pontfadog Oak is steep! Ten minutes later I was walking along a path leading to a farm on the Pontfadog hillside that was reputed to contain the oak. Indeed it did, and the farmhouse owners were only too pleased to direct anyone to it.
The most ancient oak in Wales
According to the accompanying plaque at the base of this ancient oak tree:-
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has designated The Pontfadog Oak one of the Great British Trees.”
That’s nice of her. So did one of her predecessors, apparently:
“In Pontfadog lives the oldest oak tree in Britain which was spared when King Henry II had his men cut down the Ceiriog Woods in 1165. Fortunately the woods recovered, as they have done since being permanently covered in dust from the quarrying of the 19th century.” (source: www.ceiriog.co.uk)
I noticed that although the tree was hollow inside, it wasn’t split, so I went back to the people in the farmhouse garden to ask about it. Was this the tree that had split and had been reported about? Oh, no, came the response – that was another ancient tree in the valley. Surely I passed it along the road coming into the village? Well, I might have done, but I suspect my little “detour” had made me miss it. How peculiar! Was I “meant” to visit this tree first? Why?
I had the urge to leave my ash staff alongside the tree. I pretended I was doing this as a measure for my photographs, but actually I wanted to allow the staff to absorb any energies from this mighty tree. I walked its girth, photographed it, and generally stood admiring it until some parents arrived with a troupe of children. Looking like the Von Trappe’s I decided that I should head off to the ‘correct’ tree that I had come to see in the first place!
The Pontfadog Oak - my staff shows size
The Crogen Oak
I had no trouble locating the split tree I had intended to visit. It was just behind a wall on the ‘main’ road into the village, about 200 yards before the Trout Fishery and Shop place. Indeed it stood in marshy boggy ground next to a brackish stream and I began to see how the water could have been responsible for making the tree split.
Th split Crogen Oak
The Crogen Oak – “The Oak at the Gate of the Dead” (or more likely ‘The Oak at The Pass of the Graves’) is so-called because of its association with the Battle of Crogen. One of the trees that witnessed that battle and was spared from being felled was this oak tree, which became the guardian of the dead slain in its presence (is my re-telling of the myth). It has certainly witnessed many things, being estimated to be around 1500 years old.
The tree was certainly attracting a great deal of interest. Whilst I was there two couples with dogs, the parents with the troupe of kids, and various other families with awe-inspired wild-eyes kids were crawling all over the oak, quite literally. I tried to connect to the tree but it was far to noisy and the tree was too old for me to do so successfully in those circumstances. Instead I contented myself with the feeling that I could place the ash staff in its heart. The dowsing rods confirmed this for me. If I left it there then something magickal would happen (if I intended it). Which I did!
Empowering the ash staff
I thought I should probably put some crystals around the tree to focus the energy. Or light some incense too, perhaps? I asked the rods about the crystals. NO. Oh! What about incense? Hmmm. A quite inconclusive answer. I decided to try anyway and got some prepared for lighting, but then couldn’t find my new windproof lighter that I had just recently filled with gas. What? How?…never mind. Abandon ship! I asked the dowsing rods if I needed them anyway – NO. Why hadn’t I just asked that to start with?
I circled the tree three times clockwise to charge up the staff, for some reason tuoching the tree all the way around as I passed under its split bough and low-hanging branches. As I walked around, thinking about the staff taking on the energies of the tree, I noticed some lovely white snowdrops pushing their way through the tangle of dry grass stalks that matted the surrounding land. How delightful – signs of Spring appearing – I felt much better already.
A hint that Spring is not far away
Finally, I reclaimed my staff and walked up the nearby hillside to see what was round about. I passed more old oak trees and realised that this area was rife with ancient shrubbery and arboriality. I asked the rods one final question – had the ash staff absorbed anything from the tree? YES. Good.
I drove home and later got the rods out again to find out more about what the staff had taken on board. After a good number of questions had been batted away I came across the answer: the staff now had a name! It had been given a name by the energy of that old dying oak tree! How wonderful. I set about finding the name, and soon had it. Things are already getting more interesting this year.
Gwas.
Posted in Modern Druidry | Tags: ancient oak, ash staff, bbc news, ceiriog woods, chirk, crogen, Hedge Druid, henry ii, king henry, llangollen, oak at the gate of the dead, oak tree, owain glyndwr, pontfadog, split oak, swan inn | 10 Comments »
Trees page updated: The Crogen and Pontfadog Oaks
I have added two of the oldest oaks in Wales to the Trees page. Both of them are in poor condition and we may lose either or both of them soon, so I would urge you to go and visit them if you can. They are both near the wonderful historic town of Chirk, which is well worth a visit on its own. I was made aware of the plight of the tree by this article: BBC news item.
How much longer will they be here?
The village of Pontfadog is delightful, and I highly recommend the Swan Inn for a nice drink. All that, and wonderful old trees too!
Gwas.
