The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘spirit’

A few weeks ago I was back at Woodhenge as part of my travels from Arbor Low to Christchurch. I was busy tracing the line through a barrow which I later found out was called “Ratfyn Barrow” locally, and which was positioned on a hill just south of Durrington and west of Bulford. Woodhenge’s location was a pleasant place to stop off and look around with the dowsing rods again, and also to look at why I had never gone to look at Durrington Walls which is right next to Woodhenge! 

From pillar to post - Woodhenge timber circle in concrete form

I stopped off at Woodhenge in order to have some lunch, like most of the other people who were there it seems, but unlike them I actually went into circles of concrete posts (they mark the original positions of the timber structure).  There were several cars parked at the car park next to the site when I arrived but no-one seemed to be visiting the place. Later, when one couple of girls appeared at the site they lasted, oh…twenty seconds? Long enough to walk from one end to the other, read a sign, and then leave. OK, maybe a minute, but no more! As Kal and I have said many times, what are you expecting to find unless you are prepared to spend time tuning into the place? I expect many people imagine some information board is going to reveal all the site’s secrets instantly, and perhaps they are disappointed by most sacred ancient sites when they don’t actually reveal much to the casual visitor? I often feel like shouting out, “Buy some dowsing rods!!” but it’s a pointless rant.

I had the place to myself to dowse and I began by asking a question that Kal had sent me by text message (ah, techno-pagan that I am!).

1. Were there any of the shades there that he had brought with him from Barnstaple recently? There were – only three though, and I knew that he had brought many more than that, so where were the others?
2. Were these shades nearby? No.
3. Had they departed of their own accord? Yes.
4. Had they followed a 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.? No. I stopped for a moment to think about other possible  methods of egress….
5. Had they attached themselves to visitors, perhaps? YES. All of them? No, some had dissipated due to the energies of the site, and the work Kal had done by burying one of this crystals. This had seen 25% of them shades being grounded and released, but the rest had attached themselves to visitors!
6. Were they doing any harm to these people? No.
7. Were they having a beneficial effect upon their hosts? YES.

Shades and shadows at Woodhenge

I asked if I could release the three remaining shades and got a positive response. With the help of the dowsing rods I visited the site of each of the shades in turn and then, once I had felt its presence, I called upon some spirit guides that I use for this purpose and they helped me to remove the shades safely and for their benefit. None were too reluctant to go, it seemed, which was comforting (I don’t know why, but I guess it makes me feel like it was the right thing to do if they wanted to go anyway).

On the way out I dowsed a ritual path that would retain all of the energies that I had collected, or rather, would prevent me from losing energy. Blooper alert - watch me heading in a sun-aligned direction at first and then correcting it for moon-aligned folk (such as myself). If I wasn’t filming it I would have giggled. Here is the result:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHWxwZMoC7o

Gwas.

I really ought to give some form of recognition to Saint Beuno. Whenever we encounter this saint’s sacred places on our journeys around the northern wildernesses of Wales we always end up learning something of interest. On this occasion Kal and I stopped off in the small village of Gwyddelwern – not a village noted for anything much except the fenced off remnants of a well that couldn’t find. That wasn’t such a disappointment given that we would then go on to drive to St Sara’s Well, and Kal has already posted that experience.

St.Beuno’s church in Gwyddelwern is tucked away behind a now empty inn of some outstanding beauty that stands in the centre of the village along the main road. We walked into the churchyard without a script or agenda for what we would be doing here. We had already visited several sites that day and there were more to come, but this was an off-the-cuff excursion and sometimes they turn out to be some of the most interesting. For me, this would turn out to be the case.

St Beuno's Church, Gwyddelwern

Go Gently Into That Dark Night

One of the first features of St.Beuno’s church in Gwyddelwern is the beautiful elevated yew tree that sits close to the entrance to the churchyard. It is one of the first things one notices on approach. Of course, it was the first thing I made a bee-line for, noticing it, admiring it, and making my presence known to it by introducing myself. As I didn’t feel I had any work to do that involved it, I passed it by, but Kal stopped to do some dowsing around it.

If you have read any of the many posts we wrote last year when I was going through the Yew Stage of Druidic learning then you will know that the yew tree has symbolic significance for this path – it is the symbol of life, death, re-birth and transformation. As such it is a powerful force and ally in such work, but I was not here for those properties today. There is another aspect to the yew tree that is very much overlooked and little understood these days – its ability to pacify and ground the energies of the wandering 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)..

A calming yew tree at Gwyddelwern

What this means in practise is that churchyards that have yew trees (and the greater the number or the older and bigger the tree then the stronger the effect) will have largely peaceful spaces – there will be very few energetic remnants of human beings left to wander the grounds, potentially attaching themselves to living humans of doing whatever it is that amuses them to do with us! There will usually be one or two shades, but rarely will there be lots of them. Maybe there is some form of energetic exchange going on between the yew tree and the energies surrounding graves, I don’t actually know. What I know is that we rarely find much shade activity when yew trees are present, and that if you dowse for the connection between a yew tree and anything else in the area you will usually be taken to each and every grave site on the plot. They have a relationship, and the relationship is based upon some form of pacifying quality that the yew tree offers. The same is true of Gwyddelwern churchyard too.

“Celebrations of the Winter Solstice focus strongly on the yew as it is supposed to be closely linked to the deities of death and rebirth. This mystical link means that it was used (collections of the bark at least) during funerals or laid on top of graves as a reminder of death merely being another part of the human journey to what happens after life.” (source: ParanormalHaze.com)

“As a reminder...”, they say. Well, maybe that is how the knowledge has been interpreted in recent times, but I think it has a more practical purpose – the energies of the yew tree can ground human death energies.

This is where our research differs from other information you may find on the Internet. Kal and I are working with these trees to uncover their secrets, discover their properties, and understand what they can do. This is practical druidry – not a theoretical regurgitation of some information passed down through a hundred creative re-tellings. This is direct first-hand experience. In that sense, we know our information is more useful to us than reading about the properties of a tree and then going to enact someone else’s rituals beneath it in the hope that such magic will work. Our form of Natural MagickThis is a system of belief that is often defined as being the appropriation and re-use of naturally occurring forces for the purposes of healing, transformation, communication, or a host of other subtle effects. The natural elements of the magick can also be seen by the under-pinning concept that the use of these forces should be co-operative rather than coercive. is based upon direct experience with these entities, and visionary and intuited knowledge in the presence of these great teachers – the trees themselves. The forces of Nature themselves craft the rituals we perform.

Vampire Shades

There was at last one shade that managed to escape the attentions of the grounding energies of the yew tree. How it was able to do that, I don’t know, but we have come across this at other churchyards too. As Kal was checking the properties of the yew tree, I was searching around for any remaining shades. I found one – a lady who had been interred in 1872, but whose shade – her remnant energy body – was still present in the churchyard. Who knows what level of intelligence remains in these energy bodies? The accounts of psychics and other sensitives tell us that they are largely automatic – existing in a world outside of an awareness of time, re-living the strong emotions that perpetuate their energy forms, and drawing upon available energy resources such as passing humans whenever they can.

This is not an area that I spend much time researching. I have read several books on hauntings, poltergeists, ghosts and the books of mediums, but it is not an area that I feel particularly drawn to study. Druid courses often included elements of “getting in touch with the ancestors”, and whilst I think this is an interesting form of divination or access to knowledge beyond our normal sense, I personally believe it is a world that I do not have much ability to comprehend, so I tend to stay away from it. However, saying that, I do not shy away from the necessary skills that I must achieve if I am to progress, and I recognise that druidry entails some aspects of working with death energies. With that in mind I investigated this interesting shade that had managed so remains here for over 100 years – just how had she done that? The answer was a little startling!

St Beuno's Church

As we have mentioned many times before, asking “How” or “Why” questions to dowsing rods is like asking a baby to solve a Times Crossword - cryptic questions lead to unsolvable puzzles. Instead I used Kal’s patented method of asking to be taken to a place that would give me a clue as to how this shade was managing to stay active. The rods swung away from where I was, by the side of this lady’s grave, and moved me towards the newer patch of burial sites until the rods crossed atop a grave that was only a few years old – possibly the newest grave in the churchyard. The markings on the grave indicated that the person had died relatively young – in their forties. So, here was the clue – a potentially vibrant human energy had been interred and the shade had seemingly drained or leeched that energy from this person’s body. As I began to dowse more to check this feeling all the answers seemed to confirm this – the remnant shade drew energy from each new corpse that was laid in the church, if the circumstances were suitable.

I know what you’re asking – what are the circumstances? I don’t know. There are many questions raised by this finding, and few answers. In my experience a person who seems in some way aware of death and can make preparations has more opportunity to ground themselves by neutralising their energy – balancing it out – righting wrongs, settling debts, that kind of thing – they are the ones who will neutralise their energy body and free their spirits to return to the source. The dying person’s objective is to ground their energy as they approach death. If the death is sudden or unexpected then this release process may not happen and the shade may get stuck outside of the planes of existence that it is intended to travel to. This is one idea – there are many theories but only death itself will confirm or deny them for us. Do report back when you go, won’t you? I have so many questions!

One more detail that I did manage to elicit from the rods was that death energy that isn’t grounded is liable to become fodder for vampiric shades who can leech the energy. The shades are able to sustain their lifespan in this way for about 8-12 years per draining. Why some become shades I don’t know. One theory is that it is to do with an attachment to life, or to some person on earth that the shade simply cannot bring themselves to leave. I’m not sure that the answer is so simple, because the shade seems unable to be with the person that they may have been so attached to, so why bother sticking around? Another of many mysteries about death energies and their forms. Perhaps time will straighten this out a little?

Gwas.

In this post I will attempt to define my current understanding of the ghost, 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). and the spirit. Before I begin to do that let me say that although both Kal and I have read considerable amounts on these subjects, and though we are energetically-aware, the world of ghosts, shades and spirits has been a topic that we have stayed well away from. We both have had good reason for this, and yet, I have recently been led back into a set of tasks that will place me directly on such a path where meetings with such energies cannot be avoided. Such is the path of the druid who learns his skills without shirking his responsibilities. My aim is complete knowledge of my path, and thankfully I have been expertly guided to and through these processes by my mental and physical teachers. Without their guidance, without the dowsing, I would not be attempting this at all.

DEFINITION OF A GHOST

In my experience ghosts are known by several names and pahrases, each of which is entirely synonymous and interchangeable. These are:-

1. Ghost
2. Apparition

For a plain definition of this phenomenon I turn to Linda Williamson, a plain-speaking medium, author of several books on the subject, who defines a ghost like this:

“If a person has experienced intense emotion such as pain, suffering or fear in a particular place, some fragment of their energy may linger there. It can remain for many years, even for centuries, imprinted into the very bricks and stones of a building. This fragment of energy has no consciousness and cannot interact with the living. It is just the empty shell of the person, like a suit of clothing the wearer has long since discarded. The peron’s spirit, their real essence, has passed on into the spirit world.The fragment that is left behind is a ghost.” (Source: “Ghosts and Earth-Bound Spirits” by Linda Williamson)

This is a simple explanation, and has several things that need developing further, but it is a neat starting point because it introduces some concepts about these energies – they remain for a time, they are remnant energies, they have no intelligence, and they are often linked to a particular place. We will develop and explain each of these concepts momentarily.

Some questions arise out of this definition. Why are emotions imprinted? Why do some emotional imprints fade only slowly whereas others fade very quickly? How interactive are these ghosts, and how can they communicate? Why are their energies linked to a specific place? Good questions. Here is my current theory, developed largely in conjunction with Kal.

EMOTIONAL IMPRINTING
When strong emotion of any sort is given off by a living being it has the ability to merge into and be absorbed by surrounding materials. The stronger the emotion, the wider and deeper is the energetic “bow wave” or “explosion” of that emotional impulse. Usually, the earth, the air, fire and water will all diffuse and dilute these emotions transmitting them away from the source like the resonance of a shout heard on a hilltop. The more genuine emotion is involved in the outburst of energy then the stronger that energy is. If that emotional state is prolonged or strong then there is more energy flowing into the surroundings. In open land this will easilyand quickly dissipate, but in enclosed spaces the energy gets reflected and absorbed by the surrounding material, like a wall would absorb dampness. Water is a very apt metaphor for this effect. If a bucket of water is thrown at a brick wall every day (symbolising a large outburst of energy regularly) then soon the wall will become damp inside as it absorbs the moisture. If a tap drips onto a wall slowly over a long period of time it may have similar effects, eventually causing the wall to crumble with the amount of moisture it has absorbed. In this way emotion seeps into static absorbant material.

THE LONGEVITY OF ENERGY
Emotional imprints will fade and dissipate if they are not fed by an energy source. If a man pours his misery into a particular room for a day then leaves that room never to return, how long will the energetic imprint last? Not long – hours only, maybe days. The factor that makes emotional inprints remain for longer is that the emotional is imprinted upon a source of earth energy. This is one of the many reasons why ancient burial structures are sited near to other megalithic structures such as stone circles. Whereas stone circles were areas for activity of the living, dolmens and mounds were the areas afforded to the energies of the dead. These structures were situated on top of earth energy centres where the earth’s own energy rises up at a poit of weakness in the underlying geological strata. Whether it be a chalk aquifier, two seams of permeable and impremeable rock meeting, fractured seams, or igneous rock with a high crystal content, all of these areas of natural geology gave rise to the deliberate siting of ceremonial and burial sites.

Ancient centres or sites of megaliths are just oen example. All over the world there are places created by either geology or by natural energies from rocks, trees or water that have become places of natural earth energy and power. Another commonly-used example is the siting of large houses, stately homes or halls upon ley lines. Where two ley lines cross there is a natural vortex produced that acts in exactly the same way as a natural earth energy centre in that it is a “sticky spot” where emotional energy can become fixed and empowered, ensuring a longevity that it would not otherwise have if allowed to dissipate naturally.

INTERACTIVITY OF GHOSTS
Some mediums consider that ghosts are like two-dimensional imprints and they cannot or should not be interacted with. I have found in my own personal experience that they are primarily dumb. Watching a ghost is like watching a video of a partcular set of sequences from a person’s life. Some ghosts do not move much at all, whereas others follow a pattern acted out in life. ghosts should therefore not be feared because they can do nothing to harm you having no malice or intent in themselves, only the emotion that they were imprinted with.
For sentitive people, people who are aware of these ghosts, then those people can unwittingly perpetuate a ghost. Standing in the same place as a ghost will lead the sensitive person to mimic or attune to the emotion that is imprinted. If the sensitivie person then gives out the same frequency of energy they can unwittingly feed the energy form, and thus perpetuate it. If you walk into a dark corner and feel fear because fear is imprinted there then the fear will take longer to dissipate because you have just fed more of the same energy into it.

SHADES or EARTH-BOUND SPIRITS

DEFINITION OF A SHADE

A shade (also called an earth-bound spirit) is a human energy form that is much more interactive than a ghost. A shade has a sentient intelligence and a range of emotions, even if the expression of those can often seem more or less refined than our own. Kal calls these forms “Energetic shrouds”, a term derived in part from the work of the mystic and priest C.W.Leadbeater.

Shades can range all the way from mischievous and disruptive spirits (sometimes labelled poltergeists) through to lost souls and other forms of confused or disorientated and trapped forms, and on up to figures of renown and importance whose veneration remains in our psyche. Some people, who refuse to believe that sentient forms can remain in existence, believe that such entities are merely thought-forms conjured upon conception. That’s a real “If a tree falls in a forest...” conundrum. Do things only exist if we give them attention?

Shades gain energy from the sun and moon, and from living human energy fields (particularly the aura). Often they will try to keep a living human talking if he has made contact with them in order to drain his energy unwittingly in order to prolong their own existence. In this sense they could be called ‘psychic vampires’.

SUSTENANCE OF SHADES

In order to remain present on the Earth shades seem to need recognition, in whatever form. This could be the adoration of a following who remember them, the esteem they have been accorded in history, or as a fond memory that is frequently remembered perhaps via a celebration or a particular date to trigger a regular remembrance. I call this requirement “renown” – shades require the energy of renown to remain. Shades are maintained, therefore, from the energy of love and gratitude in all its forms.

Another attractor is a place on the earth which has some natural or unnatural subtle energyA form of energy that has so far eluded scientific definition. It is neither electric, magenetic, nor electro-magnetic, so far as our current technical equipment can measure. It does, however, exhibit many of the characteristics of magnetism and electricity in terms of its effects and properties. It may be a form of either or both of those energies that we have not yet identified.. At sacred sites, whatever their form but particularly burial mounds, natural subtle energy is often being captures and enhanced by the positioning of sacred stone sites over geological fault lines and other areas of surface weakness. Sites that have a predominantly crystalline geology are particularly effective at generating and corralling this earth energy.

If a human has imprinted emotive energy at a place (due to a moment of high emotion) then that energy can become imprinted into the fabric of the place, absorbed into the rock or the soil of a place. How long this energy lasts is a matter of whether the place has any of the geological characteristics mentioned above, but the mere fact of an emotive imprint is often enough to attract shades, who seem to be able to make use of that energy to sustain themselves – like re-charging a battery through osmosis.

PSYCHIC VAMPIRES

Shades have one final ‘food source’ – us. We give off emotive energy quite often and the more emotionally unstable or extreme a person is the more likely they will attract the attentions of a shade. People who have psychic talents, I have noticed, are particularly prone to being preyed upon by shades, and I suspect this is because they are often unaware of the state of their aura. Controlled use of psychic energies is unpredictable to the shade, but if a psychic person has an aura that is leaking energy then this can become an habitual food source for shades, who will attach themselves to the damaged part of the aura and live off that energy, often draining the host psychically, mentally and physically.

Of course, if the host is completely drained then they fall ill and don’t generate much energy, so the relationship is usually kept at a symbiotic level where both host and shade are maintaining a constant cycle of rising and falling energy levels (the more extreme the better). I have seen a friend go through this unwittingly, and even when it was pointed out to him, he still continues to act as a host, unwilling to expunge himself of this parasitical entity because it keeps him just below the level where he has enough energy to do something about it. Of course, I have offered to help, and now intend to raise my friend’s energy levels sufficiently that he can rid himself of this pest.

SPIRITS

As mentioned in my prelude post, ‘Body, Aura and Animus’, Spirit is animated by the Animus. Spirit is the literal form of that animus energy, albeit a very diffused form.

In the true sense of the word ‘spirit’ this refers to the essence of the human being that is extant before and after his or her existence in physical form. Some forms of non-human and human spirit can make their presence known to living people, and these come to us in many forms:-

• avatars (messengers),
• spirit guides,
• ascended masters (enlightened humans)
• god forms

Some may appear as archetypes from myth of legend that have become embodiments of a collective human expression of qualities that living humans seek to attain, such as Merlin or King Arthur.

Some spirits, I have learned, regain an interest in humans if they are given a task to complete that involves us. Without the bindings of duty, or the incentive to progress, the temptations of the whole wide inhabited universe must have its appeals. This is mainly speculation, however, because apart from spirit guides I have no information about the motivations and further existences of spirit – it is a world too far removed from experience to describe with any certainty.

Gwas.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday 29th May – Knockbrack Hillfort, Country Meath. [map]

The second site of the day, after our experience at Four Knocks, was of a wholly different character. It seemed to be the theme of the weekend that for every achievement or gift I received there was a price to pay and I was invited to offer my services, energetically, to give something in return. Well, it was a fair deal, and I was only too pleased to gain the experience. Here was my first obvious opportunity to make some amends.

The site that we picked out was known as Knockbrack, but we had no idea whether we could reach it, or if it was worth visiting, or what we would find there. We trundled through small villages, along back roads, until arriving at the bottom of a hill and parked up. There was a track up the hill, which was a good sign. We’ll come back to the concept of “good” vs. “bad” signs later in these Irish stories. For now, the only other scene-setter I need to add is a light drizzle – a kind of Irish mist that was descending over the hill by the minute. Of course, nothing would deflect us from a sense of purpose.

Walking up to the hill at Knockbrack two things caught our eye : the scatterings of quartz-striped stones that lined our route and the gigantic radio antenna and dishes that hove into view as we ascended. As we reached the top of the hill we saw the ancient site that we had intended to visit: it was a rough circle around thirty feet in diameter and only a few hundred yards from the mass of telecomms gear.

Raditation from modern telecomms equipment on Knockbrack Hill

The ancient site we were visiting was the remains of a hilllfort. I always have issues withthe term “hill fort”, much as I have issues with the term “burial chamber” or “passage grave”. Finding buried bones at a site is not an indicator that the site’s original purpose was for burial, much as finding a crumb in a hotel room doesn’t mean that the room has been used as a restaurant! So, “Hill fort” is simply a label that we can use to indicate that at some time the vantage point was defended. Well, fair enough, but usually when we dowse these things the rods swing to a wide “No” position when we ask if that was the original purpose of the site. Usually, defensive elements have been constructed around sites either to protect the site itself, or constructed much later (we’re talking Bronze Age onwards) when the nation became very warlike. Only then was it really used as a “fort”.  Another thing to bear in mind is that there are plenty of folktales, legends and written documented material stating that hills were held as sacred places in tribal cultures throughout the known world. Hiill tops are therefore is dual significance – firstly as vantage points, but probably more importantly as sacred places. I am no archaeologistand so not in a position to argue with archaeological evidence, but I am a  dowser who has come to trust his dowsing. I trust my own first-hand experience. And that is what this blog is all about – first hand direct experience, not stated second-hand opinion.

Back to the action. The site was made up of a number of small mounds that looked like…well, burial mounds really. Shrouded in drizzle and mist the site took on an air of oddness that makes your spine tingle a little bit. We dowsed for whether there was any work that we needed to do here. Kal found that it was all down to me, and I return dowsed that he had to help me. So we worked together. I found 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 ‘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. and stood there for a short while, tuning into the site. Kal tried to dowse the purpose but within moments I had had a vision of what was required (strange how this was happening to me a lot in Ireland – I swear I don’t usually have visions at all – mostly I have feelings about places, but this was a synaesthesic shift in my perceptions). I saw the spirits of soldiers killed at this site and with that vision I got a feeling of deep unease. Not unhappiness, because I think the remaining “energetic shrouds” of these former people were happy in their form, it was just that they had been disturbed. It didn’t take much of an intuitive leap to guess why – the telecomms equipment. I would have to construct some kind of a barrier to reduce the effect of the electro-static noise pollution radiating from the neighbouring mast. [Note: 'energetic shroud' - a term used by C.W.Leadbeater to describe the remainder of energy left by a human after their death]

On the way up the hill I had picked up a beautiful dark green stone with three bands of pure white quartz striating it. This was to be my signature and I knew I would have to leave it at the site. It throbbed in my hand and felt warm despite the cool mist and altitude. I knew instinctively what I needed – some more stones like this one! I sent Kal on a mission to retrieve three more similar specimens. When he returned I was energised from the power centre and ready to do the work.  I placed the three rocks at points close to the fence of the telecomms site and the three-band rock was placed on my power centre in the site.

Lumps and bumps caused by bones at Knockbrack Hillfort

Following only intuitive directives I walked around my power centre in a sun-wise direction many, many times winding in the power of the sun, and calling it to help me generate power as I walked towards my three-band rock in the centre. Then I did the same in the opposite direction, walking from the outside in but in a counter-clockwise direction, calling on the moon’s energies to help me too. I imagined connecting all the four rocks with two streams flowing counter to each other, but both forming an impenetrable barrier against he electrical radiation. Looking from above the placement of the rocks formed a kind of crescent shape. A banana barrier!! Ha ha.

Staff safely positioned at the back of Knockbrack - away from radiation effects

After I had declared the work was finished Kal dowsed for what effect I might have had. Initially we had determined that the strength of the radiation affecting the site was EIGHT on a scale of one to ten, ten being the strongest possible effect. By the time I had hardened the protective shell around the barrier, Kal had dowsed that I had put a barrier up for three and a half years and that the disturbance was down to a level of ONE. Job done, I felt. Even if only for a relatively short period of time.

On the way down Kal pointed out a strange-looking rock – it was a crescent shape! I turned it around to mimic the shape I had just created energetically! This was too much of a coincidence not to go unnoticed, and I took a picture of it to remind me of the work I had done.

A crescent-shaped rock makes itself obvious to us

Almost as soon as I had finished snapping that rock I found another smaller rock on the floor that had a crescent shaped discolouration and I picked it up as a souvenir of the work I had done. “Give, and ye shall receive.” rang through my mind all the way back down to the car. We went off in search of food, and soon we were preparing for a interesting afternoon when the tables would turn on us. More about that soon.

Gwas.

Revolution

A new phase of the spiral began Friday 20th Feb 2009. To be even more accurate, I have been able to pin down the time to 6pm on this particular Friday. Why can I pin it down to this time? Well, it was on this day that I returned home from work and for the first time brought my dowsing rods into my home.

Until this time both Gwas and I had thought to dowse inside our houses but for some reason where reluctant to do so. It was as if some force just flipped our minds in another direction when we thought about doing home dowsing. In Jedi terms… “this is not the place you should dowse”

These are not the droids you are looking for

As to why I was able to bring the rods in and dowse my home on this day? I have no idea. There was no particular circumstances that I can describe other than the will to do was stronger than the resistance to forget.

That eventful Friday evening I dowsed my house completely and thoroughly. So much so that for the first time since I had moved into it, I felt that I knew it well. In my mind and indeed on paper I was intimately familiar with its energetic flows, ebbs and powers.

I was able to discern what and how things were imbalanced and, indeed how to correct them. For this post it doesn’t matter what and how it was done. It suffices to say that the spiral began then.

When I named this chapter Revolution my thoughts where of the energy revolution that had been re-birthed at that time.

Evolution

Since that fateful Spring day my work in the domain of energies has taken quantum leaps. I would be remiss if I said it had only taken a quantum leap for I believe and sense that it has shifted (or evolved) several times over the Spring ~ Summer ~ Autumn of this year.

It seems to me that the more one works with energy the more sensitive one gets. That makes sense really since such a phenomenon is applicable to any field. However my point here is that dowsing energies and following the questioning path that is laid out by intuition on an almost daily basis starts to bleed (and has bled) into all facets of life. Now for example, energies are more detectable and traceable without the use of dowsing rods (still, though it is useful to confirm with the rods) also intuitive hints are more discernible to.

To some extent, last year was a time of measurement and exploration of the energies. This year is (has been) about deriving meaning, purpose and usage of those energies. For instance manipulating the energies that flow through home environments is a skill that I have explored on several occasions this year. To create an environment suitable to the purposes of use has been the objective of these exercises.

Healing trees and other external areas is another path that I have travelled this year. The mentioning of this is relevant to the topic of evolution because last year you wouldn’t have seen me being so interested in trees.

Crow Totem

An interesting development and completely un-anticipated at the beginning of the year was a commune evolution. It began with the auspicious signs of Crows. Which according to shamanism is the totem that guides one along magical paths. In hind sight this seems to have been an apt totem for me.

Although I still feel drawn to Crows, I quickly became enamoured by the Tree totem (was this an evolutionary step?) And so since late Spring I have been very much involved in 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 Tree.

Knowledge, wisdom, sustenance, beauty, fruitfulness, solidity, unity, faith, interconnectedness, understanding, protection, good health, wonder, happiness, endurance, creativity, nurturing instincts, and the power of giving.

According to this site, the above are a selection of characteristics associated with the Tree totem. The bold ones are ones that I have personally experienced this year from my Tree communes.

Tree Totem

It was a visitation to a 4000 year old Yew tree that led me to my next and current phase in evolution. That of spirit commune. As yet I have not embraced this idea fully however it keeps drawing my attention. What form it will take and how it will manifest itself is going to be interesting, since both Crow and Tree have garnered behavioural changes, particularly Tree.

spirit

This evolution has manifested emotional, mental and energetic changes. These have been personal to the extreme, for instance the mental understandings that I have drawn from this year are personal truths that are only applicable to me and only at this time.

I have a feeling that next year will see the inclusion of the physical domain. Where lies the spiritual domain? I’m going to leave that one un-answered (for the moment).

Revelation

The keenest revelation that I will report here is that of coming to the understanding that, far from going into the wilds (of knowledge) and seeking a path. That lesson was there simply because I wanted it to be there.

Going forth looking for a path to follow in and of itself created that path. Does that sound esoteric and weird? Be that as it may. Intuitive Dowsing (this is a new term which I will define later) has led me to conclude that we are co-creators of the world that surrounds us.

This understanding (or revelation) has culminated in the need now to discern a path that I wish to create and follow. Once I have knowledge of this then dowsing and energy work will take on a new facility…that of showing me how I can co-create the path that I wish to follow.

See how subtly the balance has shifted? Whereas before I was looking for a path from without i.e. shouting to the heavens to “show me a way”. The heavens has shouted back the very same question “show me a way”. So now I am going to show “it” a way.

2009 passed silently away under the auspicious eye of a blue full moon, for those who saw the sign was there. The next turn on the spiral has begun. New pastures await…

“Like a scholar on his first day at class. I open a new page for the day to write upon”

The Silent Flute film.

Waking to a cold and frosty morning. I reckoned that the sun was going to be out before long and so opted for a trip to Delamere forest for a walk and general closeness to nature. Wayne Dyer recommends this kind of stuff as ‘wilderness therapy’ although exactly what I was being therapised for in this instance was unspecified. Perhaps it is like going to the gym and more of a ‘maintenance therapy’? Hmmm!

Delamere Forest

So it was that some time in the morning I found myself walking amongst the last of the Autumn leaves and enjoying the sense of treeness that has been my companion throughout this year.

As ever, the clanking of the dowsing rods stuffed in my utility belt – or in this instance the whole in the back pocket of my jeans – suggested that I should do some dowsing.

Gwas and I have done some dowsing in this forest before, concerning tree auras etc. So I didn’t really fancy that kind of investigation.

Tree aura work is interesting exercise however at the moment we have no understanding as to how it relates to anything – for example is a small aura mean the tree is ill or well? What do the aura colours mean? Only once have we encountered an aura that gave us more information and that was when a tree had no aura. So until we know what we can correlate aura information with – it remains interesting knowledge only.

Well, with the winter solstice approaching I thought that it might be good to see if I can garner any information about what to do, where to go, any preparation work etc. On these lines I began walking around following the rods to find a suitable location to ask these questions. After a suitable amount of random wandering the rods swirled and indicated a nice comfortable spot.

I would add a picture of the spot – but since these spots tend to be highly personal what would be the point?

So there I was sitting on the frost harden floor – fortunately way outside of the walkers paths and trying to commune with nature…and failing miserably?

What was going on? Usually I am really good with trees (see all my tree posts) but here I was getting a non sequitur response.

Another shot of Delamere

Okay… I double checked that I was in a good spot? Yes I was. I checked that it was a good time of the year to meditate and/or ask for answers – it was. I asked whether all conditions were suitable to commune with nature. Yes – go for it came the dowsing response.

Indeed, I am going for it but not getting anywhere I thought! Trickster? Is you about? If the dowsing rods could laugh, they would have. So I had a bite to eat (note to self – get a thermos for hot drinks!) and refreshed had another bash at 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..

Nil Point! Ok, whatever! I got up and said to no one in particular, “fine, be like that” and stomped off! I had got about ten feet when I tripped and fell on my face! Lovely!

As I was pushing myself up, a thought occurred to me…was this the place to meditate, was this a sign? Hmmm…So I sat where I tripped and tried again to commune and lo and behold…Nothing!

Now I was puzzled…why? Why was I getting nothing when the dowsing, the spot, the trees where all in place. O and no it wasn’t because of the season (see the above bit of dowsing).

Shot of the forest

More dowsing was required…was i missing some ingredient to todays work? Yes. Ahh now we are getting somewhere…Did I need to ask permission or give some offering? No…You’re a welcome guest…Aw…Aren’t trees nice? Did I need to focus on something? Kind of.

For those who are new to dowsing – or indeed old to it – a “kind-of” response is indicated by a very lame “yes” response.  Perhaps next year we will do some youtube videos of dowsing responses. Then again we’re not here to teach but rather to describe.

So, some kind of focus was needed. What kind though? A question? Yes came the rods response “I needed a question”. This is strange because in previous communes I happily sat with a “I wonder what I’ll get attitude” and now it seemed that things had changed. Or had they? So I asked whether this was a one-off thing where I needed a question? No, well sort of No.

Ok to cut a long session of dowsing short here is how the results mounted up. Before I was semi-directionless and so that was a reflection of the commune. It provided ways in which to find direction rather than direction itself. Now that I had direction it provided knowledge and wisdom based on the questions that I asked.

Interesting isn’t it. As Gwas indicates its a two way street. Here is another set of interesting responses that I got – don’t know what put me on this track of questioning but…

Nature is nature…sounds weird at first but here is a thing…if you have bad energies in an environment and someone with no intent in mind puts a plant into that environment the negative energies will flourish and/or the plant will die. Life grows and intends other things to grow too. A tsunami swept away hundreds of people a few years ago on the coast of Sri Lanka and India. Earthquakes happen and kill humans, animals and plants. Nature is what it is. Sometimes if all the conditions (or enough of them) are favourable then the interaction proves fruitful.

Pardon that little interlude, once you get into this questioning and dowsing spiral you can end up in really strange places (and thought proving as above).

Getting back to the forest. Now I was casting about for a question and came up with the one I had gone there in the first place with Doh!

Doh

In a end of year post that I will be putting up I named the upcoming Winter Solstice as the twilight of the year and so I sat there in the spot asking whether there was any preparation required for the coming twilight of the year? It was quite a while before images and sensations crept into my thoughts. The first was…

It isn’t the twilight of the year. More accurately this time is the sunrise of the year when those that have slept begin to yawn and stir. For you who have tried to buck this trend by keeping active, the preparation will be to still yourself up to this time and so you will see some benefit.

Otherwise it will be like you going into a warm place and not taking your coat off, and so you will not feel the benefit of the coat when you return to the cold. So if you choose to stop for this short period of time you will see the rewards of starting again after the solstice. But if you don’t the rewards will still come but you they just won’t be so obvious (or seen). Just like the coat will keep you warm when you return to the cold but you don’t notice that it does.

Wow! what a piece of wisdom! Sunrise of the year! How is it that it makes sense after you see it? “So will there be anything in particular that I need to do on the Solstice itself” is the question I put out there…

The solstice is inevitable (I knew that!) it is a doorway that you can use to connect with spirit should you choose (ok…not spirit again). You’re best times is in the summer sun. You should work towards that time being the peak of your activities then they will be most fruitful. The Solstice marks the turning point. For all, it is the time of the New. It all begins then. Or rather the spiral starts its new orbit then. The energy that is released on that day is that…of beginnings…of starts…of rebirths. Use it to that effect.

Ok useful, but not as directed as ‘go here and do that’ which I was rather hoping for. The doorway to spirit stuff…I wasn’t to sure about. Note to the universe or its local representative…please refrain from all this spirit malarkey.

Next bit of meandering thought I had in mind was, what would the after effects of the Solstice be?

None, I got this in mind…before the solstice – work and eat – after the solstice – work and eat

OK, I guess GIGO applies to this kind of query too…Garbage In Garbage Out although I felt that the ‘work’ part wasn’t referring to work work.

Was all this of value? Value is a strange concept in this world and can only be defined from a personal perspective. I found the above knowledge to be profound in some instances, valuable in others. But that is me.

I did do a lot of other little bits of dowsing after to clarify a few things and search for the meanings behind others. But that information was personal to me and it’s not that I don’t want to share it here – there would be no point…

It’s like me saying I like vanilla flavoured ice-cream. Why would you want to know that?

O and I will leave you with this juicy note…Often Gwas and I have wondered why we don’t dowse more often at home…surely distance doesn’t matter? Surely I should be able to connect with the spirit of tree from anywhere? Why do we need to go out to sacred places for such communes…Here is an answer…

When communing with places or ‘things at places’ we still have to go there. We can connect to these places/trees/whatever from another location. But that connection still means that we go there in a non physical way.

If we go there in a non-physical way we lose that part of the commune. My dowsing around this area tells me that we are and we are not a trinity. The trinity is Mind, Body and Energy. The bit that makes us not a trinity is our Spirit. I’m not going to go into what I think each of these are here – because its only my view. But in terms of visiting a place here is what dowsing tells me happens…

When we visit a place our mind, body and energy are interacting with the place/tree/whatever. However when we distance connect it is only our energy that connects with the place – our mind gets a secondary input and our body a tertiary one. So when we go out there and visit sacred places we get a holistic experience. When we distant connect we get a translated experience.

Does that sound kooky? Again, my caring gene seems to be faulty on that score. However I dowsed the truth and for me that is what it came up with.

Speculate via the comments section below!

Kal