The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘tara’

This is the last, final and ultimate post on this year’s Ireland trip. We only went for a weekend but it has generated so many posts because so much happened in the three days we were there! This is the last one, and probably the one that taught us the most valuable lesson, even though that lesson was once again a painful one. 

On the Sunday evening we had discussed what we should do the next day. Kal wanted to show me a bookshop he had discovered at Tara and said that I would be interested in talking to the proprietor. Sounded good, so that was our plan. Monday morning over breakfast I had forgotten all about that for some reason. Only later would the reason be known to me - by that time I had attracted the unwelcome attention of a leprechaun from Tara. I was no longer making sensible decisions, as the events of this day and Kal’s behaviour towards me would bear out completely. 

 

 
 We had trouble finding the village for starters. A seemingly easy route that would take us most of the way towards the Ferry Terminal at Dun Laoghaire, and yet we managed to make it very difficult to find. We parked miles away from the supposed location of the portal tomb, and decided to walk what seemed a simple route to access it. Again, nothing about this day would turn out to be easy. We walked up tiny tracks (barely roads) past houses that weren’t marked on my GPS map, and were always being diverted and lead away from our intended destination! How frustrating! We persevered, climbing over a gate to follow an overgrown track alongside a field lined by prickly hawthorn hedges. Now we could at least see the dolmen, perched on the opposite hillside to where we were, only a few tantalising fields widths away from where we were. Surely this track would lead us there? No. It ended, and we were presented with a small hole in the hawthorn through which we might be able to squeeze if we wanted to. Does this sound familiar? Kal sounded a warning shot across the bows! I urged us closer and we scrambled through into a field in the full heat of the midday sun. Sweat broke out, and we paused for breath. Then onwards in a curious silence across the field. 

Next we fought our way through two fields, crossing a stream on the way between them. Somehow Kalmanaged to fall into it and get his feet wet! At the end of the field we were a mere hedge’s width away from reaching a road that looked like it could only lead to the dolmen. However – it was a hedge that even a Hedge Druid balks at – Red Rum would have thought twice about leaping this one! However, something was driving me on without any thought of sense and I urged Kal to use the old martial artist’s trick ‘walking lightly’ – this is where one imagines one is light as a feather and walks accordingly. Honestly, once mastered you’d be astounded by what this can achieve. As with dowsing, the trick is not to think at all about what you’re doing - just believe that you can do it. Next thing you know I was walking on top of the hedge and leaping down to the side of the road. Kal went next and immediately plunged knee deep into the prickly hawthorn branches! Honestly, I almost stifled my laugh, but not completely. Kalwas beginning to get annoyed at this journey now. Like I wasn’t?!! We were both sweating cobs, and Kal was wet and lacerated into the bargain. Hmm….still we were almost there now….only a few hundred feet to go. 

The Kilternan Dolmen 

Sure enough, a few short minutes later we were alongside the open field where the dolmen say resplendent in the summer sunshine. I was drawn towards it, passing under the electric wire that was designed to keep the one or two small horses that grazed the field in check. Kal faltered. He wouldn’t pass the electric barrier and retreated giving me stern looks. I was away, however, taking his reticence for a bad mood after the hedge-scraping incident. I shouted back at him -’I'll do some quick dowsing and then we can get off’. But it wasn’t going to be as simple as that. 

Kal retired to a boulder next to the road and began to take an interest in the horses that were wandering down towards him. I, on the other hand, had my dowsing rods out and was eager to check this hard-won site out:- 

1. Was there energy here? YES. Good, because I was concerned about the use of concrete pillars to support the capstone and whether this had affected the energies.
2. Had the power of the site been adversely affected by the concrete pillars? YES. But some energy remained? YES.
3. Was it beneficial energy? YES, sort of. That half yes response again which meant – “re-formulate your question slightly“.
4. Was it beneficial to me? YES. Was it beneficial to Kal? NO. Oh! Perhaps he had intuitively recognised that?
5. Could I do some energy work here? YES.
6. Did the site need healing? NO. Was it balanced? YES. Hmmm…then what to do….?
7. Was there a spirit of place here? NO. Did there used to be one? YES.
8. Is the cave-like interior suitable for shaping my aura? YES. Could I do that today? YES.
9. Would that process be helped by incense? YES. How many sticks? 3. I lit three sticks and went to sit inside the dolmen’s small interior.

Minutes later I was imagining the seven colours of the chakras I had been working with all integrating into my aura as one white light. The shape of the interior seemed to facilitate this intuitive imagining, and I felt like it helped to compress the various frequencies of light and colour into the one blended layer. I felt…integrated with myself and satisfied. I emerged to re-join Kal to see if he was over his strange mood. 

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We are still on our first day in Ireland, having just landed at the hotel and taken a breather from our long journey through the “non toll” roads of Dublin, we decided to hit out for Tara.

As Gwas will no doubt relate some of the historical aspects of this site I will deal with an interesting experience that occurred there for me.

We arrived, the long way around (this seems to have been a popular theme in Ireland) and the sun was just setting across the western countryside.

I wandered around the many gentle mounds of the site and eventually ended up in the church yard that is situated there.

The church is dedicated to St Patrick and to be honest, that late in the evening with the many crows nests above, it could have easily doubled as any Hammer House of Horror setting.

With the crows squawking there sleeping call I sat where the dowsing rods had led me i.e. in the church yard there looks to be the remains of a wall. You can see it in the picture below. So there I was, having been “called” to this haunting place by the rods promise of an “interesting” place.

After many moments of contemplation, with no result and it getting a bit cold, the day had been gorgeously sunny but the night was much cooler. I was thinking that it was about time to leave.

When a couple of crows landed right infront of me. They gave me a true fright and I half got up to run, but in the past I have had strange portents with crows so I decided to watch these with intent. They both jumped about and seemed to be fighting over some food on the floor, but I couldn’t see any. Then after a few minutes they let off an almighty screeching…it sounded to me like they were screaming “kay-leech, kay-leech” after a couple moments of this one flew off, then the other. I was dumb struck by the behaviour of these creatures and the mesasage they were trying to communicate.

About fifteen minutes later I met up with Gwas and we exchanged experiences. I asked him whether he had heard of anything called kay-leech. His response was no, so I let it skip from my thoughts. Then some time later to fill a curious void I decided to google it (at great expense!) and as I put in the words, google suggested …”caileach”

What! Seriously! I delved further…

“The cailleach is a sort of mystery; a Goddess who survived eons after her worship died out. she is vastly ancient, so ancient that we virtually nothing of her original myth and ritual. she can be found in Ireland and Scotland and England, traced through folklore, through the names of ancient monuments and natural wonders, and through enigmatic verses and stories.
It is not possible to obtain an idea how long she was worshiped, or by whom. The Celts came to the lands of the Cailleach some 2000 years ago. bringing their own pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. The new arrivals recognized the Cailleach as already ancient, for as a famous Irish poems says, ‘There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Cailleach.’ It is impossible to know what this Goddess meant to her original worshipers.
Cailleach must have been very important, for she did not disappear as countless other divinities have, If nothing is truly known about her, paradoxically she is still alive, still a power in the lands once dedicated to her. from these vestiges, we can reconstruct  something of the powerful original figure of ancient times.
She had many names Cailleach Bheur or Carlin in Scotland; Cally Berry in northern Ireland; Cailleach ny Groamch on the Isle of Man; Black Annis in Britain; the Hag of Beare or Digne in Ireland. She was of fearsome appearance, with only one eye an eye of preternatural keeness, in the middle of a blue black face.  She was noted to have red teeth and hair white as a frosted snow covered mountain top. Over it she wore a kerchief and over her dull grey clothing a faded plad shawl.” Source: Order of White Moon

What did this mean? I was at a loss to explain it that night, but the next day had more revelations and a deal to be had. But if you want a hint…it is right there in the text above…”There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree…”

Just before I finish this post I want to mention the locations that this path took:

• It started at Tara and St Patrick
• More was revealed at Knowth
• Concluded at Four Knocks

Google is a fantastic tool and I searched for a connection with these terms and found one that connected Tara, St Patrick, Caileach and Four Knocks… An Imbolc Celebration , stay tuned for more!

Bless,

Kal

The Hill of Tara – Thursday 27th May

It was late in the evening when we decided to grab a ‘travelling tea’ and head on up to the hilly complex of sites known as The Hill of Tara [info], the legendary site that was famous throughout Ireland as the seat of ancient Irish kings. We found it despite the SatNav trying its best to deceive us, as it had many times earlier in the day.
On approaching the visitor centre (how nice to see a disused church being put to good use) we spotted a huddled group of people (“loons” Kal called them) some dressed in traditional garb of cloak and sporting staffs, standing huddled on a grey gravelled spot next to a May Tree and at the top of the hill. We ignored them for fear of a conversation we might not enjoy, and instead contented ourselves initially with a recce of the graveyard that surrounded the now-closed visitor centre.

Official plan of Tara

In the graveyard Kal spotted 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 ‘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.’) 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. aligned to himself (“I bet it’s in the middle of those trees”, he stated and then proved it) and I found one close by that was a definite circle in the grass. This done we headed for the “good stuff” in the main complex.
Kal was first to reach all the parts of the site adjacent to the graveyard. I was him atop the Mound of the Hostages, then he was bounding over to the twin standing stones (including the so-called Stone of Destiny) and then on to an earthwork next to it. Here he paused a while before coming back.

Entrance to the Mound of the Hostages

Whilst he did all that I was up on the MOTH watching the spectacular sunset as the sun’s rays played with the low-lying lands before me. I marvelled at just how many hilltops could be seen in all directions from this place. I felt the surge of energy coming up from the mound and noticed that I was standing in the smaller sized bare earth patch on the top of the mound. It was smaller than the other patch that was offset from the centre. About the same ratio as the sun to the moon, I mused

Inside the mound

Guiding Lights and Earth Elements

I asked the dowsing rods to take me to a place where I could interact with a guiding spirit who might help me through a pilgrimage type quest. I was set upon visiting sites over the weekend that would promote my consciousness levels through the attunement of my chakras. I was asking for a guiding spirit to lead me safely through that in this land where I had no concept of what I might find. The rods obliged by taking me to the nearby celtic cross. Not something that I had expected, so that was interesting, and not something I had expected to be interested in. I stood there for a few moments and felt a presence surround me as I stared wistfully into the oncoming sunset’s purple and pink light. This was a presence I had felt before – and I knew its name. This was my helpful teacher/guide of previous adventures, and with that re-assurance I moved on to other tasks, knowing we would meet again soon.

Tara's undecorated Celtic cross

I knew what I wanted to do now. At this place, a place of earthly treasures, of earth and stone, this was a place where I should try to fulfill the final part of my own Celtic cross – the fourth element in my crossed circle: the earth element. So far I had been successful in Cumbria at retrieving the assistance of three other elemental forces: water, fire and air. Here was an opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the earth element.

I did some work to recall this particular elemental. At the conclusion of the work I felt a tingle through my feet- and then I felt the power of the earth rising up through my legs. I felt like I should now unite all these forces again, so I called each of the other elements to mind. The appropriate element flared up inside me, and then around me. When I mentioned the name of the wind it blew. When I called the fire, the sun burst through the clouds to glint in my eye. When I called on water I smelled the dampness rising from the grass. When I called for earth my feet felt riveted to the earth and I felt an upsurge of earth energies beneath me.

Sun setting over Tara

This place is special. I felt absolutely empowered by it. So much so that I went off dowsing to find the most empowering place for me. It was at a low-lying earth work near to the church and next to the MOTH. I stood on that spot and felt replenished, filled, revitalised. And happy.

The Chakra Map

I wonder if the features of Tara’s hill could be considered to be a map of the chakras? I only postulate this after returning back to England and seeing an old plan of the site. I present this possibility as an aside, and as something that someone might like to investigate if I don’t get back there soon. Here’s the concept:

The only correlation is that there are seven “raths” identifable on the site, which are areas of embanked earth in a circular form.

The Crow and The Crone

I bounded back to find Kal who was, as expected, in the churchyard. He looked….disturbed. I told him how amazing it all was, and he trumped it. He told me he had been sitting next to the remains of a stone wall when a crow landed a few feet in front of him cawing at him. Kal has an affinity with crows – they are his totem bird – but this was different. When he asked it what it wanted it responded by telling him its name – it cawed at him “Cay-leach, cay-leech”. Clearly the bird had been speaking to him because he said that it offered to be his teacher, and to teach him about the ways of the dead, of dead spirits and their energies This is something he has been denying himself for several months now, even though he had been given the name “Spirit Walker“ by the yew at Llangernyw. He saw in a split-second vision as the bird flew up to join a noisy cluster of other crows that it was an old woman that had become a crow.

In the graveyard at Tara

He told me this and I asked if he had accepted the offer. He said he hadn’t decided yet, but had dismissed the crow for now while he checked it out. As I drove us back to the hotel we discussed what the potential spelling of the word “Cay-leech” might be. I suggested it might contain “Cai” as the first part, then perhaps “leach” as the second, because it sounded vaguely Gaelic in form. Kal Googled the name “caileach” on my phone. It came back with this: “Did you mean “Cailleach?” – he clicked the link – “Cailleach is the name given to the crone form of the Triple Goddess of pagan lore. She is primarily associated with death.”

Kal had seemingly come into contact with an archetype of the triple goddess of pagan lore herself, and the crone had offered to teach him all about death and death energies at a church yard at Tara – the Hill of the Kings. That was how it seemed to us at that moment. He was in a quandary as to whether to accept or not. I told him we would go back in a few days and he could decide then whether to accept the offer.

Little did we know that other events would make that decision easier for him over the next few days, and we would encounter more of Ireland’s legendary spirits in the process. The whole trip had just taken the most bizarre turn!

Gwas