Posts Tagged ‘snowdon’
The Story of Dinas Emrys
November 22nd, 2010 | 
Author: I was doing some research into the ancient hill fort of Dinas Emrys, and found this excellent and comprehensive re-telling of the story of the foundation and inhabiting of Dinas Emrys taken from Puffin children’s book “A Book of Dragons” edited by Roger Lancelyn Green (pages 68-73).
The hill has become special to me, being renowned as Merlin’s Castle, and it is a place where I recently connected to the spirit of Merlin again to re-invigorate my campaign to re-energise the failing parts of the energy grid of these ancient lands in which I roam.
Here is the story….
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The Red Dragon of Wales
In the days before Caesar conquered Britain there lived a king called Lludd who built himself a city in the south-east of the island, set about it a wall with towers and gates, and named it after himself, Caer Lludd – which the Romans called Londinium and the Saxons London. And in today’s city Ludgate is still called after that ancient king.
Lludd ruled peacefully for many years. But not long before the first coming of the Romans, many strange evils fell upon the land: and among them was
‘a shriek that came on every May-eve, over every hearth in the Island of Britain. And this went through people’s hearts, and so scared them, that the men lost their hue and their strength, and the women their children, and the young men and the maidens lost their senses, and all the animals and trees and the earth and the waters were left barren.’
‘And thereupon King Lludd felt great sorrow and care, because he knew not how he might be freed from this plague. And he called to him all the nobles of his kingdom, and asked counsel of them what they should do against this affliction. And by the common counsel of the nobles, Lludd the son of Beli went to Llevelys his brother, king of France, for he was a man of great counsel and wisdom, to seek his advice.’
King Llevelys was indeed wise beyond all men living at that time. For after a little he was able to tell his brother both the cause of that terrible shriek, and how he might set free the Island of Britain from it.
King Lud and assorted progeny
Posted in Modern Druidry | 
Tags: caer llud, caernarvon, caesar, dinas emrys, hadrian's wall, hengest, horsa, king llevelys, llud, ludgate, merlin, nant gwynant, red dragon, romans, sazons, snowdon, vortigern, wales, white dragon | 
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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 »
Dinas Emrys: The final awakening
When I last posted about my journey towards the Spring Awakening I told you about the Lady of Gop Hill, who as it turns out was not Boudicca, but rather was a female spirit or genius loci that watched over the hill. My task that night was to awaken one of the last sites before the Spring Equinox, as this was my task for the duration of the time between Imbolc and Spring. Only a few nights later I was called to visit Dinas Emrys, the last and most difficult of the sites to reach for a number of reasons – firstly, because it was furthest from my house, but also because it was a damned steep and dangerous climb to get up there. The last set of circumstances that I wanted to visit Dinas Emrys in were the ones that I found myself faced with on that Friday night – a cold and wet night with a howling gale blowing. Oh dear.
I tell you, my life was so much easier before I got into this druidry lark, and I could happily have stayed at home that evening, but there was a nagging imperative. It was saying to me that although I had gone through a ritual to awaken Dinas Emrys from afar, there was nothing like actually being in the place to make the awakening real. Was I prepared for the challenge? Oh yes. Let’s do it! So I set off in the pouring rain for a good hour and a half driving across the expanse of North Wales, all the way telling myself that this was sheer madness, and what the hell was I doing?
As I drove over the slopes of Snowdon towards Beddgelert the mist descended and made progress even more dangerous. The gale-force wind was lashing rain across the windscreen at horizontal angles. Unperturbed I picked my way down the single-file winding steep road that led to the River in the valley of Gwynant below. Madness. Total lunacy! As I breathed with relief at the sight of the long straight road that followed the valley floor I was now on the lookout for the parking place that is at the foot of the steep rocky hill that forms the perch for the hillfort of Dinas Emrys . To me, Dinas Emrys is a place that is inextricably associated with Merlin, and this had become firmly fixed in my mind when I had visited the place at the end of the last summer. On that visit the sight of eagles at auspicious moments had had quite an impact on me, and it was a place that made me feel very close to the spirit of whatever it is that Merlin represents to those of us who consider themselves to be following a spiritual path that includes many of the symbols, thoughts and feelings that we associate with the Merlin stories.
If Gop Hill had been a test the feminine aspects of my world: my sensitivity to the energies, my sense of respect, the intuitiveness – then Dinas Emrys was set to test the male attributes already: my courage for a start, my determination to succeed, and my physical ability to see the event through. I parked and got myself kitted out beneath the shelter of the boot of my car, donning waterproofs, walking boots and taking my ash staff with me. The one or two cars that passed me must have thought I was insane at the idea of walking in the middle of the night, and they were totally correct.
I decided to walk up the hill with minimal lighting, so as not to attract attention from any nearby farmers or passing law enforcement. This was one time when I could guarantee that I would have the place to myself and I wasn’t going to let anything intrude on that. I walked up the winding path along the bottom of the hill, enjoying the silence of the night. As I walked the wind and rain were already dying away quite quickly, much to my surprise. Perhaps it was just because I was in the lee of the hill, I thought. I found the path leading steeply upwards and began the lung-bursting climb. My staff proved invaluable in helping my to pick out good solid ground to walk on, and to find protruding rocks. One slip in this weather, in this lonely place, and I would be the kind of casualty that the rescue services write reports about: “This idiot decided it would be a clever thing to do to climb a steep hill along a treacherous path in the middle of the night!” went the imagined opening line of the apocryphal tale. This was when I needed to reach out to other forces for guidance – I was unlikely to be able to do this alone without something happening to me. I stopped and went into a light trance, deepening my connection with the trees and energy forces that I knew were all around me, with the sky, the planets, the night itself, the hill, the rocks….I tried to feel them all. Once I felt connected I asked for guidance to find the right path up the hill to reach my goal unharmed. The remaining breeze brought me the sound of an owl somewhere far away and the trees rustled their protective response. I began to climb again in the darkness, slowly, carefully, but with confidence now.
I got beyond the sheltered plateau that was almost half way up and began to move out onto the thin pointed ridge of rock whose worn surface denoted the steepest and most slippery part of my ascent. Here there were few trees to shelter me and the wind was still blustery enough to cause me to sway occasionally when caught off guard. Also, the path was mainly rock at this point with nothing to get hold of on either side to steady myself. I stopped at the bottom of a section where I could see a steep drop on either side. My boots had already slipped a number of times on the rocks lower down so I knew how dodgy it was when they were wet. Here I was, blown by the winds, teetering at the bottom of a climb along a ridge with treacherous drops on both sides, and very little else to rely on. I paused some more, my mind racing again with the irrationality of it all, “Could I make the fifteen feet stretch along the ridge without falling? What if I slipped? How could I stop myself from falling all the way down? If I was going to turn back this was the point. Why not turn back now, save yourself the bother? Why was I here anyway?”.
At that precise moment when my courage was ebbing away in the face of this uncertainty I heard the cry of an eagle not far above me and to my left. It completely stunned me. It was a single call in the night, but it had the effect of totally brushing away all the doubts that had risen. I knew this was a motivating sign – a call that meant something to me. It was Merlin’s symbol, and it was speaking directly to me telling me to continue. Confidence flooded back into me and I gathered myself and marched on, without a second thought. Next thing I knew I was striding atop the hill with the full force of the wind lashing at my coat. Wow, I felt amazing! Totally charged with emotion and elation at having made it to the top in the face of such a challenge, and straight away I thanked the eagle for giving me that moment to make that happen.
Moments later I was inside the remaining tower walls and beginning a ritual to awaken the sites energies. This involved only two incense sticks, one placed outside the walls on a ledge overlooking the valley below, and in line with the place where I suspect the eagle’s eyrie lies (although I haven’t been over to that mountain opposite to check this – it’s just a feeling I have). The other incense stick went inside the tower right in the centre of the blackened fire that someone had lit within there. I connected with the ash tree nearby and asked for it to contribute to the process of awakening the energies of the site, and this felt like a positive act with a positive response.
As I stood there with my ash staff feeling the connection with the elements that were so palpable upon that exposed perch I felt the wind quicken in response to the work I was doing. I lifted my staff in response to the wind and in the still darkness I let forth a vocal response that started as a low moan and rose to a howl as the wind picked up in direct proportion to the movement of the energies that I felt was going on around me. This only served to further excite me and the vocalisation became a shout into the strong winds that fought my breath for volume. It was extremely thrilling to be one with the winds and as I came to the end of my energy visualisation so the wind died off in proportion to the amount of input that I was making. My voice echoed this and began to trail off too. This was a phenomenon that I was now getting familiar with. This kind of thing has happened a number of times now when I have done such work, so much so that it is no longer startling, and is something that I welcome.
I was standing in my power centre just behind the fire where the lit incense stick was burning brightly, fanned orange by the wind’s recent activity. I disconnected and returned back to normal consciousness. I was eager to whether the genius loci of the place had awoken in response to the enlivening of the energies that I had done. I understood now why being there was so much more important than remotely working on the site. No amount of remote work could replace the sensations I had just experienced, or witness the synchronicities of the eagle’s cry, or the wind’s response to my work. I picked up my dowsing rods and began to do some confirmation.
- Had I awakened the energies of this site? – YES.
- Was there a genius loci present at the site? – YES.
- Was it male or female? MALE.
- Was there a sigil that signified the presence of the spirit of place? YES.
I asked to be shown me the shape of the sigil, and was directed a foot away to the blackened charcoal of the old camp fire. A shape began to emerge as I dowsed that fire – it was a long clockwise spiral – a male spiral – and this was the sigil for the energy form that was now present again at the site. Whatever the genius loci means, and however one can interact with it, there was a new energy formation here at the top of Dinas Emrys and it had appeared as a result of my work this night. With it being male I had one last question – was the genius loci connected with Merlin? I got a “sort of” response. Was it Merlin? NO. I was barking up the wrong tree with this line of questioning, trying to make this fit because I wanted it to be something that it wasn’t. I decided not to force fit the questions. It was enough that something old had reappeared that night, and I was happy to have re-awakened the energy for this ancient site, and to have fulfilled my final awakening for the Imbolc to Spring phase.
I was in high spirits as I walked back down the hill not caring now about whether I was spotted and so using all the light I had available. When I got back to the steep ridge I realised just how precarious the path was over the slippery rock and gulped. In a way it was a good job I couldn’t see it properly on the way up or I would surely have turned around at that point. As it was I went down it on all fours, picking my way very carefully. I drove home in silence, but felt immensely fulfilled. All the mist, the rain, the gales and the distance had been worth it. All the danger had been forgotten in the delighted glow of achieving something wonderful, even if I was the only person in the world who appreciated what had happened that night.
I now looked forward to the next phase of the year – Spring Equinox to Beltane. What would that phase be about for me? Undoubtedly something unusual and equally challenging, I felt.
Review of the Year 2009 – Part 8: Site Visit List
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]
====================================================================================
Gwas.
Posted in Modern Druidry | Tags: alderley edge, Alton Barnes, Arbow Low, avebury, Bala Lake, Barrowbridge Mump, bridestones, brittany, Bryngwyn Stones, callenais, callenish, carnac, castlerigg, Cerrig Pryffaid, chalk horse, Champs Dolent, Conwy Falls, crehen, cumbria, Delamere Forest, derbyshire, dinas emrys, druid's circle, Dun Carloway Broch, dyserth, eassie stone, Forest of Dean, fowlis wester, Frodsham Caves, Gamelands, glamis castle, glastonbury, golden grove, hawarden, hoarstones, Ile Grande, isle of lewis, Kalmott, knighton hill, Lake Vyrnwy, lampouy, lancashire, little meg, llangernyw, lligwy chamber, Locmarquier, Long Meg and Her Daughters, lundin farm, Mayburgh Henge, Merlin's Tomb, mitchell's fold, moel-ty-uchaf, Mont St.Michel, monzie, nine ladies, nine stones close, north wales, Oddendale, Outer Hebrides, oxfordshire, Penbedw Park, pendle hill, pistyll rhaeadr, rhosesmor, ring cairn, rollright stones, shropshire, silbury hill, snowdon, Soar Stone, somerset, St.Elmo's Summer House, St.Fergus' Well, St.Uzek, stanton drew, truiseil stone, uffington, wayland's smithy, west kennett, white horse, wiltshire, windmill hill, Winter Hill | No Comments »
Dinas Emrys: Of Kings and Druids
For some time now I have been trying to get closer to the spirit of Merlin. In the fabulously detailed and helpful book “Walkers Between the Worlds” there is a section dealing with such encounters. One of the recommendations is to immerse yourself in the history of that figure. Done that. Next, the Matthews’ recommendation is to visit some of the sites associated with that figure. Well, I’ve done that too. But one of the places that regularly comes up in the literature about Merlin is Dinas Emrys.
In his book “Merlin And Wales” Michael Dames says this of Dinas Emrys:-
“Three miles due south of Wales’s highest mountain, Snowdon, stands a steep-sided, flat-topped hillock. Rising a mere 76 metres *250 feet) above the river Glaslyn’s valley floor, it is known as Dinas Emrys. Din Emreis, as it was termed in a charter of AD 1199, plays an outstanding role in the welsh Dark Age and mediaeval tradition. Here Vortigern, king of Britain, tried to build a refuge. Here the boy Merlin almost lost his life while red and white dragons intertwines in a magic pool beneath his feet.“
A good summary of the story to be found here: http://www.celtnet.org.uk/legends/dinas_emrys.html and a study of Vortigern in history can be found here: http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artwho/dinas2.htm.
For me the place had an almost magnetic attraction. I have experienced such a “pull” before from other sites. It starts as a recurring thought, then becomes an insistent thought, then a growing physical feeling in your heart and stomach that you have to visit, and finally you can’t think of anything else but getting there! It really is a strange compulsion. It feels like waiting for Christmas as a child.
I set my hopes and expectations quite low for this visit. I was going to have to go after work, and I knew the travelling time would be at least two and a half hours from there. Even in Summer I would have little time to appreciate the site, and that’s if I found it straight away. I decided that this visit would be a simple recce: find out where it is, how to get up there, what’s there, how it feels, quick dowse, go home.
As I approached Snowdonia I realised I had come ill-prepared. No head torch. No OS map. No compass. All I had was a zoomed in MultiMap print off of the area around Beddgelert. Well, perhaps luck would take over and guide me there? Maybe.
I parked at the National Trust car park at Craflwyn Hall. It only took me half an hour of walking up the hill to realise that I was walking up the wrong one. I had parked too far away! I got my GPS out to check my hunch: the batteries ran out immediately. Oh this was too much! I saw below me the outline of a hill that I felt was familiar – that must be Dinas Emrys. I raced back down the hill, realising that I was now even shorter on time, and that the light would only be with me for another hour!
Parking in a lay-by next to the hill I found a gate and a path that headed off gently along the hillside. The path reminded me of the labyrinthine path around Glastonbury Tor. Was I going to be walking myself into a trance state? As I walked up I soon arrived at a caravan park. Oh dear. Should I be going through there? I didn’t know. I decided that the best policy was not to disturb anyone, so to avoid the caravans I went straight up the hill, following some incredibly steep animal paths through the ferns, and in between the boulders.
Drenched in sweat I reached the summit, and connected with the proper path that I should have taken from the caravan park. I make that sound easy but at one point I thought I might slip and die it was so steep! On top I walked around to find the castle remains – there seemed to be about three small peaks on top of the summit area. I headed towards the one with the tree.
This area turned out to be the main ‘castle’ remains – a rectangular set of walls enclosing a lower grassy area with some marsh reeds. Marsh reeds? To me that signified flies, midges and other biting insects. Hmmm. And here I was covered in sweat – an attractive meal, no doubt. Immediately I dowsed for the entrance to this enclosure: it was due east, and the exit was south next to a large ash tree.
The ash tree dominated the site. It was unlike any ash tree I had seen before – having a splayed out canopy, and a trunk whose bark was battered and old, yet still maintained an integrity against the moss, lichen and weathering. I was quite taken by it.
I tried to meditate for a short a while, but the midges were too much and I had to flee my seat within the enclosure and stand atop the summit’s edge, craving the light breeze which kept the midges away. I stood admiring the view…
Well, if I couldn’t sit still for any time, perhaps I could move and dowse? I dowsed for power centres – a male one showed up under a pile of three small rocks, and a female one was located where I had sat around a camp fire, on some strewn rocks. Well, how fortunate was that? I seemed to have instinctively chosen the right place to sit!
Continuing with the dowsing I found that ‘my’ power centre was connected to the ash tree by a female energy line. Not at all unusual, I thought. At that moment I was considering whether to continue dowsing, and how long I might have before the light went. Suddenly, the sound of a bird of prey screeching made me look up to see one swirling around in a hunting pattern on the opposite side of the valley. Each circle brought him closer to me. I had seen the same behaviour only the day before over the fields at the back of my house, which I’ve never seen before despite having lived there for 15 years. The screeches from the bird of prey felt to me like a warning sign: was he warning other birds of my presence, or warning me of something? I looked around, inspecting the hillside above and behind me for any potential danger. It was then that I saw a rolling cloud of mist was descending rapidly down the hillside towards me. Good warning! Suddenly I noticed that the light airy summer breeze had a cold tinge to it now. I began to pack hurriedly, thanking the bird for its warning.
As I descended the main path that I should have come up, I found an enchanting glade. It had rings of old oak trees regularly spaced. There were beautiful mosses growing at the feet of the trees, and the glade seemed protected from the elements above and the winds around the hill. Hmmm…must remember this spot for next time. I continued down the path, passing sentinel oak trees and stopping to briefly acknowledge their presence and purpose, apologising for shortcutting them on the way up! It still feels daft to do this, but the reciprocal energy you get from them gives you a sense that you were right to do that, yet you could feel their annoyance. I hoped for a better reception next time when I ascend in a more respectful manner rather than bypassing them.
At the bottom of Dinas Emrys I met a sheep roaming the roadside greenery. I told her to stay off the road. We seemed to connect somewhat! I felt she was trying to understand my warning. For one brief moment there was a very strong connection, and that was very strange. As I drove past minutes later I saw her carefully nestled in lush grass on a knoll away from the road.
All the way back home I had in front of me a harvest last quarter moon. I had to drive in silence as the radio wouldn’t pick up any pre-programmed station! In a way it left me free to think about what had happened with the bird of prey. When I got home I got the rods out and asked if the bird of prey was associated with an energy form – YES. Was it a nature spirit? NO. Was it Merlin? YES. Well, this quick recce of a visit had revealed something special after all!
Gwas.
In search of Merlin.
Posted in Modern Druidry | Tags: ambrosius, ash tree, beddgelert, bird of prey, castle, dinas emrys, druid, fighting dragons, king, llyn gwynant, mabinogion, merlin, myrddyn, nantgwynant, pool, red dragon, snowdon, snowdonia, vortigern, wales, white dragon | No Comments »
