The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘quest’

In this post I am going to set the stage for my experiences of (with?) my energetic double. You can get a list of them by clicking the energetic double tag. In this post I am going to speak about my introduction to this quest.

As with many of my recent adventures it started with a visit to ye olde ancient yew. This wonderful tree has set Gwas and I on several adventures. It was the Autumn equinox of 2010 that had both of us visiting Llangernyw and our old old friend Yew.

Ostensibly, I had no true agenda for this visit, which is a no-no for this years activities as we were on the drive of co-creating our adventures by having a purpose for each visit to a sacred site. Being bereft of a purpose leaves you open to some strange and possibly deadly options.

Most of our trips to the Yew have been in the hours of darkness and this trip was an exception in that we arrived at the churchyard in the daylight. Even as we arrived the remarkable was discernible.

We had been driving through the rain for about an hour and were expecting a wet and windy visit to Llangernyw. However quite literally as we pulled up to the side of the church the clouds broke apart and the sun shone down upon us. Seriously, the way in which the sun co-ordinates our “work” is quite remarkable (note we will be adding the “Milky way” to the signs that auspiciously signal our work see item 7 here)

Usually I head straight for the Yew tree when arriving at this wonderful site. Howevere on this occasion I decided to get a feel for the place first and wandered past the tree and down to the main church yard and stream on the side. You might call it connecting with 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.

As I was walking the “pilgrim path” I felt the tug of the (a) resident energy shroud, which I shrugged of easily (I wonder now though as to why the Yew hadn’t been able to ground that energy – something to investigate).

After becoming attuned with the place I asked if there was any work for me to do here? Yes. I was taken by my rods to a place just behind the Yew tree as you see it in the picture above.

I was to place five crystals in a pentagram shape on the ground and to sit in the center. Not a pleasant idea since the ground was wet. So I dowsed as to whether I could stand? Yes. But…at a different place? Curiously enough if I was going to stand then I would have to do so by the left hand part of the tree with my head leaning against it. Why? Good question. (note: There is an in accuracy in the recording on the pod-cast, contrary to what I “say” I did actually stand out side the pentagram).

So there I was, standing and leaning against the trunk of this ancient teacher, with a pentagram some 4 foot behind me. Again we break traditional magic notions. After a while I saw (had a vision of) an energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “ShadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life).” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with. approaching me and before I could think to move it engulfed me completely. Readers will know that I have had my fare share (hmmm) of run ins with energetic shades. Even as I felt the urge to step out of this vision I felt a “nudge” from the Yew and kept my state.

As the shroud enveloped me, instead of it going dark (as I thought it would) it went light instead and I felt a tingle (of the hair-raising kind) go through my body. Knowledge drifted in from the Yew telling me that what I was seeing wasn’t an energetic shade but my energy double. I was informed that we all have an energy double that is apart from us and yet us (no explanation of this yet i’m afraid) and that we can connect and merge with this double should we gain the necessary disciplines.

The Yew “told” me that this should be my next undertaking. Wow! Seriously?

I came out of my vision state in shock and awe. I had much to learn about this new addition to my journey.

Kal Malik

In search of an energetic double

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

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

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

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

The Spirit of Merlin and the ShadeA shade is the energy body of a human being that has become transfixed at a geographical location. The shade retains many of the qualities of the human that it was attached to (memories, character traits, a level of sentience, movement between places known in life). of Arthur

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Was there any of Merlin’s energy remaining at Tintagel? NO.
• Was there any of the Spirit of Arthur’s energy at this site? YES.
• Was there anything of the mortal remains of Arthur at this site? YES. Oh, now that was interesting!
• What was it of Arthur that remained? His bones? NO. His energetic shroudAs coined by Kal after reading the definitions of C.W.Leadbeater – the early 20th Century mystic. Leadbeater considered that man, when he died, could become stuck in a “Shade” – an energetic shell that would retain many of the characteristics of the human in his physical life. It is frequently taken to be what is termed a ‘ghost’ but although it has a certain amount of sentience, it would seem to be limited in terms of its ability to move from the space within which it has anchored itself. It must be stated – it is NOT the person who has died – it is a remainder copy that contains the memories and characteristics of the original energetic fields of the human, but now has no physical organism to work with.? YES.

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

Arthur’s Viewpoint

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

View of The Sisters islands from Tintagel

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

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