Posts Tagged ‘symbol’
2011 – Summary of the Year by Gwas
Well, I see that Kal got his summary out first. Still, “if you can’t beat them…”
Generally, what type of year it has been? Dis-jointed, slower than last year’s breakneck speed, measured, with lots of deep synchronicities. When I come to review the year I realise that I still made lots of progress on the various tasks that I was lead to perform in order to progress along my path of Druidry.
Below are the main topics that I have picked out from this year’s blog posts. I have tried to keep the explanations to a minimum, so have included links back to the original postings if you want the detail for each of the topics. What I thought was a quiet year has actually turned out to be incredibly packed and busy. The topics are in no order whatsoever, which kind of fits with the way that the year’s learning has come about – seemingly haphazard, but all threading into and through itself like some kind of cat’s cradle whose overall pattern will only be known when the final moves have played out.
26 topics I have been involved in this year:-
a) Healing – Most of the year has been spent developing healing skills, whether that was using remote energies, balancing the chakras, healing with the hands, or with crystals. I have realised that I am more attuned to healing places than people currently, but that is changing. The healing energies can be attuned to different colours for particular effects. To work with these energies I need to understand which “colour” is missing from a site and then call upon the energies of the local living entities to gather together to create this missing colour and thus heal the site. [related posts: My Five Healing Rays, Healing Rays Explained]
Also, in conjunction with my friend Mike, we created a new healing centre at The Bridestones in Cheshire. [related posts: A New Healing Centre]
b) Re-discovering the bard - Discovered great new music (and that I like the new forms of folk music) at The Green Man Festival, and saw Roy Harper in concert in London. This year music has really connected with my heart and stirred great emotions. I have written more poetry this year than in other years too. [related posts: Green Man Festival, Roy Harper]
c) Astrological links to Venus, Orion’s Belt and Sirius affirmed at almost every site. Also Scorpius, astrological links to Arthur and the Great Bear constellation. The constellations of Serpens, Corvus and Perseus have been especially meaningful to me this year, guiding me along a very meaningful path from one end of an energy ley to another. [related posts: Serpent at Castlerigg, Arthurian Archetypes of Corvus, The Berth and Death of Scorpius, The Three Stars of Fertility, Absorbing Orion at Lud's Church]
La Tene: a visual manifestation of energy in art?
I have had only a passing interest in the La Tene culture, having seen it mentioned infrequently in historical texts related to the druid culture and early Celtic tribes. However, when I did a Google Image search and found some pictures showing the shapes of the La Tene art I was also struck by the similarity. I have no doubt that Celtic and pre-Celtic civilisations had several influences that were more ‘energy-oriented’ than ours:-
- They probably still had an oral history of the megalithic cultures who built the ancient stone monuments
- They were closer to the land, the cycles of the seasons and Nature generally and this would have influenced their art, if only in an inspirational sense
- There was undoubtedly more rock art in existence at the time to copy
- Shamanic practises were still being used at that time, and so ‘getting in touch’ with Nature and her energies was a more regular practise than it is nowadays. Purely from a psychedelic standpoint this would bring forth such patterns through the visualisation of energy flows. cf. The Gundestrup Cauldron
It is not the spread or influence of the La Tene culture that interests me. As you can see from the diagram below it is considered that the influence of their culture was quite limited. What interests me is that such a culture, a culture with obvious similarities to other tribal cultures that are more native to this soil, was able to create artwork that seems to be based upon geodetic designs. Now, I introduce the term “geodetic” because I have been reading Guy Underwood. What I mean by the term is that the shapes and designs employed by the La Tene crasftsmen and artists mirror the underlying subtle energy forms that Kal and I have found, as have may others of course, when we have been dowsing around these islands.
In the first set of shapes I see the circle used as a central point, with branches swirling outward from that point. If you look at some of my diagrams from stone circles where I have sketched the shapes that emanate from the stones themselves you will recognise the similarity immediately. Good examples I can think of are Nine Ladies, Moel-Ty-Uchaf or Gors Fawr.
In this second set of diagrams of La Tene art I see another familiar shape – that of the double-headed spiral form that represents the travel of the sun across the sky in a year. This is actually found in subtle energy form as a sigil at several sites that I have dowsed recently, including Dinas Bran near Llangollen and at Birkrigg Moor stone circle in Cumbria. I am sure there are many more. The shape is defined as akin to that of a treble clef symbol, with one end more tightly wound that the other. The tightly wound end runs anti-clockwise and represents the female end (I’m sure there are parallels in life there, with the female being more tightly wound!) and the male end being fewer turns and clockwise.
It appears to me, and to Riverwolf – the kind reader who spotted this connection – that there is some inherent familiarity with these forms that is seeking expression in these symbols and the art that is produced using them. We are fortunate enough to still have them represented in our own time to be able to refer back to them, and to make such a connection. Whether or not that connection makes any difference to us on a practical level is not the significance. The significance comes from the acknowledgement – tacit or otherwise – that previous “tuned in” cultures were closer to the Megalith Builders that we are, and knew Nature’s flows more intimately than we allow ourselves to now. We hope this may soon be knowledge whose practicality is soon re-discovered.
In this sphere of recovering ancient knowledge the recognition of interesting coincidences can often put us back in touch with a clue to that way our ancestors thought, and how they viewed the world. Perhaps this expression of energy forms in art may be one of those clues?
Gwas.
Merlin’s sign: or how to startle a badger
Another stiflingly hot German evening in late July. I was at the end of my stay and would be heading back to England soon. Before I left I ventured out further than I had walked before in the quaint town that formed my temporary residence. It was eight o’clock in the evening and still twenty-eight degrees, although the light was soon to begin its descent below the horizon. A waxing quarter moon would stamp its presence in the night sky later that night.
The fields that I had been hidden by last week had been harvested, but as I walked out of the town following my intuition I noticed that I was taken a different way, past the fields, but not to them. A municipal broad concrete cycle path led out of town for miles and I began to follow it until I saw a sign for a quieter path, which attracted me more strongly.
The path led me to the edge of a wood that seemed to link several local towns or villages together, so I got my dowsing rods out to guide me as to where I should walk. My thoughts to the rods were: “please find me a magical place in the forest where I can meditate peacefully.” I followed a narrow dirt path into the heart of the woods, and the rods kept indicating small groves amidst trees off the track to the left and right as I walked. Each one I scrutinised for suitability, but none felt quite right. During my slow walking a pair of red deer looked up at me, then turned and fled into the thickets between the trees. It was a lovely sight.
Stopping again the rods were both pointing down a small track, seemingly made by a two-wheeled vehicle, that had long wispy tails of grass down its length. It was an easy track to see and I noticed that eventually it led back to the main path. Well, that wasn’t where I wanted to go, so I turned around and I changed my request to the rods slightly: “please show me a magical place on the path that I was walking before.”
Only moments later the rods crossed at a dry spot between two trees. This spot felt different in a subtle way. I could feel the aura of the tree behind me to the right of the path, but also one emitted from the beech tree immediately to my left as well. Also, the air felt different here – clearer, lighter, easier to breathe, filled with the sparkling motion of faint speckles of energy. I knew this was the place, but being on the path – would I be disturbed? Again, I resorted to the rods for the answer : NO, I wouldn’t be disturbed. OK. Well I just had to believe that.
When I dowsed as to exactly where the best spot for me to sit would be the rods insisted it was on the near side of one of the trees, practically sat on the path. Was it not around the back where there were some comfortable looking leaves, I asked hopefully? NO. Oh well. I tried.
Settling In
For the first time I took my shoes and socks off, enjoying the coolness of the earth and night air on my hot feet. Never done that before. Ready and settled in the roots of the tree (again, it was a perfect fit and very confortabe) I asked if I should use crystals. YES. Should I set up protection? YES. I laid out my small five crystal set and set up circle. As the light was fading I felt that I needed to protect it very strongly. I sat meditating for several minutes until my breath was almost nothing and I was completely still. The forest went still too, as the birds went to sleep, and the slight winds abated.
It seemed appropriate at that moment to introduce myself to the forest as Gwas Myrddyn. servant of Merlin, merely by emitting the thought all around me. Recalling a Caitlin Mathews idea I formulated the plan to call upon the spirit of Merlin himself. Where better to meet him than in the depths of an unfamiliar forest at dusk? I asked Merlin to show me a sign, a sign that would show me where I was on my journey. A sign to show me the way to go on this spiritual path of druidry. I fell silent again and stilled my mind to become aware of any response.
The Black & White Minstel Show
The noises started. A loud crack of a thick branch inthe dark realms of the thickets to my left. I smiled, but my heart rate increased and I re-doubled the protective circle I had estabished around me. Something fell from a tree close to where the I had heard the snapping branch. Another crack - farther down the path into the gloom of the darkening tunnel of undergrowth and the overgrown canopy of young birches, It kept my attention pinned to my left. I let it slip back to the circle and waited again, calming my blood.
A loud rustle to my left, close by, from behind the tree I was meditating besides – at the lush-leaved spot where I had wanted to sit initially. It sounded like a small dog. I didn’t move except to turn my head slowly towards the sound. A black and grey striped snout and body appeared only two feet away from me. A badger! It stopped when it was almost touching me, looked up at me, realised I wasn’t a bush and ran for its life down the path inthe direction of the snapping rustling noises, which I now realised must have been other badgers making their way to their night-time feeding grounds!
My heartbeat was raised, and I was ultra-alert. This was not a meditative state, and I needed to assimilate what this meant. so I started to pack away crystals. As I gathered my things the badger that I had startled returned to watch me from about fifteen feet away, standing in the middle of the path and sniffing the air.
As I walked past the two trees I thanked them and left. On my slow and steady way back I noticed that the moonlight was picking out the side path formed by the grass and car tracks – the one that led to the main path. That was exactly the quick escape route I appreciated. How lucky to have found it before!
Once back at the apartment I thought about the evening’s events. What had this meant? Anything? Undoubtedly the crystals and circle had given me the mental strength to resist any fear that had arisen. Within it I felt safe and secure. The rods had been correct to indicate that no person would disturb me. I had asked for a sign about my way along this journey, and in the stillness and silence I had experienced something unique in my life : an intimate natural encounter. I had been rewarded with a fabulous experience when I adopted the correct attitude and presence.
The Badger As Symbol
What of the badger as a symbol? Here are some quotes I found relating to Celtic concepts of the badger:-
“An animal said to possess unyielding courage in the face of danger, the badger was noted for its tenacity. In the Welsh tale of Pwyll’s courting of Rhiannon, a badger was mentioned as a guide during dreaming. The Badger was symbolic of the fight for individual rights and the defence of personal spiritual ideas.” (Source: Celtic Symbols)
“BADGER (Breach): Tenacity and courage. The Badger will teach you perseverance and endurance in the face of adversity. The badger is a powerful protector of both material possessions and ideals held close to the heart. ” (Source: Celtic Animal Allies)
“Unyielding courage in the face of danger.”? Well, it was hardly danger – more mild alarm – but it was quite exciting meeting the badger. I had learned something here this night and I knew it with every fibre of my being. Be still and silent and things happen. The nuifre, the fire within, burned brightly all through that night’s sleep.
Gwas
Chased by small mammals
A Balance of Dark and Light: Bryn Celli Ddu, Druid’s Circle and Monument 280
Equinox on Anglesey
We had fun and games trying to get to Anglesey for the time of the Vernal Equinox. We were trundling along, yapping away and missed the junction just over the Menai Bridge. We doubled back, went over the older bridge, then got behind slow drivers – all good fun. But we made it. Just in time to deposit our bags and relax on top of the mound at 11:45am – the exact Vernal Equinox at Bryn Celli Ddu (pronounced ‘brin kethli thee’) by my best estimation. There were no other visitors that morning until we were about to leave for Penmaenmawr – which made our relaxation easier. [Kal ~ and the two visitors that did appear were named Deanah and Rob, Deanah was a "good witch" and felt she had some innate sensitivities (don't we all have them? Perhaps we dontall feel them?) And Rob was her enabler, his words.]
We tried sitting inside the mound but quickly found this wasn’t where we were supposed to be. We went to sit back on our respective power centres that we had found on top of the mound, and soaked in the experience of the exact balance point between light and darkness that day – the Vernal (Spring) Equinox. The equilibrium point of night and day.
[Kal ~ Both Gwas and I had a most unusual sensation whilst at BCD. Up until that day our usual modus operandi has been to set about dowsing around and generally getting a feel for the Genius of the place, which then innevitably leads to other more directed questions and interesting paths (figuratively and literally). However on this occasion we seemed unconcerned with dowsing and when we both speculated on this - via the rods - we were given a resounding message "you are here to just be" - which, for the most part, is what we did]
When we had relaxed enough we started dowsing. I noticed the WSW-ENE alignment of the chamber with the remaining sighting stone and vowed to check that once I got home. I found that if you follow that orientation across North Wales it runs through several significant places, not least of which is the intriguingly named Woodchurch on the Wirral Peninsular. I also picked up a seed whilst sat on my power centre on top of the mound for no apparent reason. I pocketed it as a souvenir.
Baaad vibes
An hour later we stopped off for supplies in Penmaenmawr village. The journey up the hill was slow and dramatic with stunning views thanks to the clear and sunny weather. We tramped up the hill towards our next dowsing objective – a lone boulder in a field next to a line of tall fir trees and a house at the end of a track. As we slowly readied our dowsing rods and gingerly approached the stone, the sheep that were in the nearby fields looked up. Quickly, they began to assemble, from all directions. With every step we took three more sheep joined the gathering flock – and they were bleating like crazy at us! What an unusual welcome! I talked soothingly to them, but they were having none of it and warned us off in no uncertain terms.
Kal took the lead and dowsed towards the stone regardless. His rods crossed strongly and he backed away quickly. “Very strong bad energy.” he warned. We looked at each other and at the sheep. They had now blocked our path to the stone, and we were beginning to take the hint. As we packed our rods away the sheep fell silent, just watching us. We walked away further up the track a little and the sheep began to disperse.
[Kal ~ this has to be one of the strangest occurences that we have come across and deserves some more attention. When Gwas says the sheep gathered, this is an understatement - they came in from surrounding fields too, through gates and gaps. Talk about eerie! Before I even got to dowsing I got a buzzing in my head that felt like a headache coming on, which prompted me to dowse for -ve energies. Perhaps we should have a note to self - ensure protective shields are set up prior to wandering around ancient sites - as on this occasion we came up against a monster of a bad one and, as you will see further down this post, another -ve energy encounter. And here is another question that we will be investigating in a lot more detail in the future - Why didnt we do anything about the -ve energies around that stone?]
As if to break the uneasy silence Kal pointed to a fallen branch – “Didn’t you need a staff?” I preferred to have one, and had ‘forgotten’ my own in the morning rush to get ready, so I picked it up. It felt light but strong, and was a perfect height and weight to walk with. So be it. We would continue to the circles.
‘Decorative stones’
It’s always nice to meet people who take an interest in what we do. As we arrived at the Druid’s Circle we saw and heard two gentlemen who were discussing the origins, history and purpose of this site and others. After we did some preliminary dowsing during which Kal managed to find all the same paths and main energy points as I had found on my previous visits, even down to the order of strength of particular stones and power centres. That was very validating, and I was pleased that not one single thing was different. I vowed to show Kal my pattern sketches of the site and really freak him out!
We were soon joined by the two strangers who quizzed us about our dowsing activities. After they got more familiar they ventured their own theories about significant stones and suggestions that the ring of small stones that surrounded most of the major standing stones at the site were “decorative”. Kal eager to find out using only the rods. He asked – “Were they merely supportive ?”. No support from our rods. We asked: “Do they enhance the energetic field of the stone around which they are placed?“. Yes. The onlookers sensed a conspiracy and pulled their faces. We weren’t speculating, though. Just trying to ask good questions backed by practical experience.
We found the main power centre for the Druid’s Circle to be the patch of earth slightly off-centre to the circle. This has become a regular feature of some sites, but not all by any means. However, it didn’t surprise me because I had found this on my last visit too. Our friendly dowsing newbies were struggling trying to get the rods to do anything other than stay straight (if only you knew the irony of THAT statement!). They gave up trying to find any energy emerging from “The Hooded Man”, as one fo the stones is apparently known. I dowsed it and found a four feet wide band of neutral straight aligned energy that crossed through the Hooded Man and the tall stone opposite – the infamous “phallic emblem” of the tall rock and two small round rocks. Were ancient people trying to tell us that this circle was mainly MALE energies? Well, they are right.
The Bryn Celli Ddu to Childwall Ley
It’s not every day you make a new discovery. Or at least a discovery that’s new to you, if not to anyone else. Today was such a day, although it took several hours of plotting and lining up in Google Maps to reveal just how interesting the discovery was. When a line is drawn from Bryn Celli Ddu through the two circles at Penmaenmawr it traces a route through Old Colwyn, Mynydd Marian, Woodchurch on the Wirral, Croxteth Cemetry, Cbildwall Manor, Mcgoldrick Park, and probably beyond that in either direction too. The alignment is on a WSW-ENE path.
The only other notable finding at Druid’s Circle (the day was ebbing away) was the entrance to the circle. This was located in the gap between two flat stones at the southern end of the circle. One of the entrance stone (again, as we are now often finding) registered for strong female energies, and Kal proceeded to place some quartz crystals on the rock and put his bottle of water in the middle of the crystals. I dowsed a link from that stone to the other female recumbent stone on the western edge, where I had lain my staff to ‘rest’.
As the two now-disappointed gentlemen packed and left with hearty goodbyes, Kal and I decided to see what links there might be with other sites nearby. I dowsed a male line starting at the tal stone with the two ‘balls’, which seems to be the key stone, as it has all three energy forms in and around it. The line led in a slow sinewy path out of the circle and over the small hill to a formation of stones a few hundred yards away. I returned to the Druid’s Circle to determine the nature of the linkage. Was there any other form of link? Yes, a neutral ‘bridge’ between the two sites that went through the air, following the path of the alignment ley. Well, well. We’ve seen that before too!
Monument 280: The Healed Circle
“Monument 280″ is such an impersonal moniker for an ancient sacred site. the Megalithic Portal categorises this site as a ring cairn. Fair enough. It’s sort of rounded in shape, and the stones aren’t very large – not large enough to call it a stone circle. 
This circle seemed different. The stones were smaller and far more rounded by weathering than the jagged male phallic symbols of the Druid’s Circle. We dowsed for its age – older than Druid’s. We asked if it had fallen into disuse – yes. Well, still unsure as to what that meant, but I didn’t want to take it further right then. However, there was still a link.
We were about to leave – fairly disinterested by this circle’s lack of drama when I turned to Kal: “Should we ask if this circle’s alright?” He knew what I meant. Could we, should we, re-energise it? I hesitated, then asked him to go ahead and dowse for the answer. Despite his disinterest he got a positive response! Oh no! Then we had work to do here, and couldn’t call it a day just yet. The sun was now beginning to drop along with the temperature, and the sun seemed permanently masked by a thick veil of cloud.
Before we did anything we decided to work out which stones had which qualities. We located the Key Stone (the most energetically important), and that had male, female and neutral energies. Most other stones were male. Two of the longer stones opposite each other (pictured) dowsed as female.
We found male and neutral energies were creating black streams affecting the energy balance of the stone circle. Kal dowsed for the source of the black streams. Hmmm..maybe we shouldn’t have asked. Peculiar goings-on at this site! Some dark energy workers had been utilising this site for their own ends, it seemed. We recoiled and chatted for a moment about what to do next.
The Straw Deer
We decided to protect ourselves and try to re-balance the energies (i.e. remove the black streams). Kal dowsed that this was work for me to do, with his help from outside the circle. He went off to put some protection around me, and I did the same. Later, when we compared notes the sensations and visual metaphors employed were identical in every way. I certainly felt well protected. I quietened my mind (with some difficulty) but soon felt as though I was able to let thoughts form from outside my rational consciousness. I suddenly knew what I had to do – I had to create the symbol of Venus that I had been shown earlier that week at the base of the stone that Kal had identified as the key stone for transmitting the new energy form we were about to create.
I got up from my meditation and scoured the area. I had to form the symbol out of something real, I felt. I found some dry grass stems and suddenly remembered the little seed that I had picked up for no reason at Bryn Celli Ddu – that would form the eye-shape I needed. I had to make sure that the symbol wouldn’t be blown away as soon as I laid it down, so I cut back a layer of turf and placed the symbol on the earth directly, at the place where Kal had identified as most suitable for energy work.
As I patted the grass back down the sun came out from behind the veil of mist and I gasped in amazement at the synchronicity. But then, we have come to see this happen so many times that I really shouldn’t be surprised any more. I smiled deeply. Confirmation that we were on the right track. Now we felt as though we needed to disconnect and cleanse ourselves.
We went back to the Druid’s Circle to drink the water that Kal had placed in his circle of five quartz crystals. It tasted great. Then we both stood with our backs to the flat main stone on the eastern edge. We faced the remains of the day’s sun and drank in the last rays. After a few minutes we felt the stone pulling energy out of us – cleansing us of the traces of the other circle’s energies. A few minutes later we both stepped away from the stone simultaneously without prompting. Time to go. A quick dowse : had we done any good? Yes. Was the other circle being balanced by our work? Yes. Would it have any adverse effects? No. We made a note to check it regularly.
We watched the sun set as we headed back down the hill to the old faithful little blue car.
Gwas
Following some newbies with copper sticks.











