The Hedge Druid

Posts Tagged ‘tumulus’

Last year I went to Ireland based on the idea that I was going in search of renown. I don’t think I properly explained that idea, so in the hope of making  the motivation behind those episodes a little clearer I want to discuss what I have come to think about the idea of “renown”.

The original meaning of renown is to “repeatedly name”, in the sense of repeating the name of someone until they accumulate fame. A sort of “making a name” for someone through the stories and mythology that comes of telling about someone’s deeds and life history. Figures who ended up in tales, poems and songs would come to be passed down through the generations and across cultures.

In an energetic sense one can increase the renown of someone or something (or place) by increasing the amount of intent and attention that they receive. By receiving the energetic focus of an energy worker a person, place or thing can accumulate subtle energy (of the human variety). Some cultures have spent time creating structures, spaces and coincidence of time and space which will corral, encourage and intensity subtle energy forces with the express purpose of creating renown for a person or place. A sacred place is made special to humans by the use they can obtain from its energy fields. Repeatedly focusing one’s intent upon something, say by gathering many people at specific times of the year when the energy is more abundant or in harmony with the Earth and Sky, only serves to increase the energetic renown.

Collectively forming renown

Building a collective legacy

When it came to the idea of one’s legacy, I think that the Neolithic people had a concept of renown that meant that they sought to achieve a nothingness, a balance of energies at the point of leaving their physical bodies. For them, achieving renown was a personal matter of achieving the maximum personal power in order to have sufficient energy to carry one’s spirit through death into the Otherworld. Sacred sites and point of strong subtle energy on the Earth were places where such passings into spirit could be completed with the best effect. As the spirit retreated out of the world, renown was left behind – an energetic shell which retained both energetic force, and more importantly the information field of that person.

What a person of renown left behind was his story, his history, his achievements, his energy. For example, what a shaman left behind were the tales he had collected from the tribe’s ancestors, the healing knowledge, plant wisdom. A tribal mother may leave behind her knowledge of how to bring children into the world safely. Renown was accumulated not only through personal experience, but through the recovery of knowledge from the Otherworld (by liaising with energy forms in that existence) or by undergoing a shamanic journey to recover knowledge through a revelatory experience.

All these things still exist in the information field of the person of renown when they transferred into spirit. Their subtle information energy field, their information field, remained in place, accessible to future generations, and kept alive by the renown with which they were adorned. The tribe continued to apply its focus of attention and intention upon the sacred places, the places of the passing of people of renown, and thus they re-energised and kept these field integral, kept them from disintegrating through neglect.

Power and status now denote renown

Bronze Age – A change of ideas

I think that the Bronze Age people changed their concept of renown. In their eyes renown was imbued into a person or place based on the assessment of personal power. Consequently, for the Bronze Age people renown meant the maximum accrual of energy through wealth, status and influence. The concept of renown began to become entirely anthropocentric – all based on the human’s energy, rather than a combination of power, place, timing and human energy, as it had been seen earlier. They no longer sought to transport spirit and leave renown for spiritual purposes. Now the renown was purely linked to the life of the individual who was the pinnacle of the social hierarchy – the King or Queen. Thus we see the introduction of tumuli in the megalithic landscape and the concept of burial becomes the parting practise instead of creation. In time this became a physical and material shift away from the spiritual and subtle energy forces that held the renown energy. With that change in emphasis came the move away from spiritual practices that retained and encouraged the preservation of subtle energy forces. As the subtle energy dissipated over time through a lack of intent and awareness, so the site gradually became abandoned. What purpose did they have now? They were merely the marker stones and turf mound graves of forgotten individuals. No longer did they have the same subtle powers, and the information field dissipated into the general consciousness of the nation, held in place by written mythology alone, and no longer functional as information sources, or guiding forces for the tribes that had moved away from the sites.

My quest of renown last year was closer to the original concept – I went back into the landscape of my forefathers in search of places where their renown still lingers. In this way I took on their energies, leaving them free to move on. In taking their energies I accumulated more personal power and this added to my own energetic strength, whilst simultaneously cleaning the land of their remnant energies. Only I can judge whether this is going to be a beneficial thing for me and my ancestors, but I believe the concept is real, and marks a passing of “the mantle” of information to a living generation. Now it remains for me to find out whether this information can be put to good use for the benefit of myself and future generations. It is for me now to create my own renown through my words and works.

Thursday 23rd September – Llyn Brenig, North Wales.

We had tried to get to see some of the megalithic sites around Llyn Brenig once before. At that time we didn’t have the same amount of clever GPS devices, or the same availability of mapping software (or paper maps). Or we didn’t prepare well enough. Either way, we spent a cold long trek through dismal pine forest tracks looking for non-existent sites last time.

This time we got it right. We found our way (only one missed junction) to the start of the Architectural Trail from the northern car park. Within seconds of parking the car we were stood atop a tumulus. Within easy reach from there was a wall denoting the remains of a roundhouse, similar to the one we had seen up on Car Top near Barbrook Reservoir in Derbyshire only a few weeks earlier.

Here’s a link to the historical information about some of the sites around this man-made reservoir.

Lyn Brenig tumulus

Druid Diary excerpt for the Llyn Brenig mound: DD-LynBrenigMound

[podcast]http://www.hedgedruid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DD-LynBrenigMound.mp3[/podcast]

On top of the mound there was a slight dint, a small depression, circular and full of lush grass. I stood in it whilst we pondered the purpose of this hillock. It was definitely man-made, but why make it? Having recently finished a book which explored the possibility that these structures were made to promote the fertility of seeds we started our enquiries there.

1. Was this mound capable of enhancing the fertility of seeds? A cautious YES. This was not a strong response, but a positive one nonetheless. It hinted that there was more to it than that.
2. What kind of energy was in this mound? Male – NO. Female – YES. Neutral – YES.
3. Was this mound built specifically to enhance seed productivity? NO. Clear no.
4. Was it built to enhance fertility generally? YES.
5. Could the mound enhance the fertility of the land around it? YES. For 30 miles around!

We did some additional questions regarding the exact flows of energy in and out of the mound and found that it was being fed by a female energy source from the hill nearby, and later we would find that the neutral energy was from a ley line that connected to it.

The Shaman’s Roundhouse

Onyl a matter of some tens of feet away from the tumulus is a round wall that indicates the remains of a dwelling that used to be sited by the lake side. Now, if they had any sense the entrance was on the hill side because the raw wind hurtles across the lake with some ferocity even on what appears to be a fine day. Maybe, thousands of years ago, the climate was more forgiving. Of course the lake wasn’t there then, but today, you wouldn’t house a prisoner there – it’s so harsh!

We began to dowse and to record our findings. Kal became interested in the energy lines flowing through the site, whereas for some reason I wanted to know about a stone that I kept coming back to in the centre, and which Kal then identified as a power centre. We had found our respective power centres – mine at the lake end and Kal’s spot was closer to where we imagined the door to be.

View from Lyn Brenig roundhouse

Druid Diary excerpt for the Llyn Brenig roundhouse – Part 1 : DD-LynBrenigRoundhouse

[podcast]http://www.hedgedruid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DD-LynBrenigRoundhouse.mp3[/podcast]

We began to form an energetic map of the house. The more we looked the more we found. There was a ley line running across the lake end of the house, and when we took a bearing using the rods for direction they pointed straight at the tumulus we had just come from. In the picture below Kal is marking the alignment of the ley line from house to mound.

There was an other ley line coming from the direction of the hill, and intersecting the lake line. At the point where those two lines met there was a feature that other dowsers call a “node point”, or vortex of energy. Interestingly, we kept coming back to a point slightly away but close to the node point. It was the most energetic spot in the house and when we dowsed it we found that it was the place where the shaman of the hut slept.

Here’s what one source says about this building:

“Another major site, on the short trail, is a ring cairn consisting of a low stone ring surrounded by a circle of posts. We do not know what rituals were practised here but the circle was in use for the 400 years that the cemetery was in use and probably served as a kind of church, although some burials were placed within it.” (source: Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust)

Kal marks the ley line alignment

Druid Diary excerpt for the Llyn Brenig roundhouse – Part 2 : DD-LynBrenigRoundhouse2

[podcast]http://www.hedgedruid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DD-LynBrenigRoundhouse2.mp3[/podcast]

Then we moved on to testing for sentient energies. There was no spirit of place here, but there were two shades, or energetic shrouds as Kal terms them. We might say that they were energy forms that were resident in this location, being fed by the earth and radiant energy forms, and possibly by the ley lines too. I asked Kal to go an investigate one of them, whilst I went to look at the other.

Kal’s form was a shade that had not been a resident of the house when it had been inhabited. It was, if you like, a wandering shade that had taken up residence. The shade I looked at, however, was something else. I found the position where the shade was now, a place very close to Kal’s power centre, and as I stood on that spot I got a shiver. In an instant I was seeing an ultra-condensed fast-forwarded pictorial download of imagery and knowledge. Suddenly I knew that this shade was a woman who had lived here, and that she had been a healer, married or partnered to the shaman.

I was so shocked by the experience that I didn’t feel like doing anything else. It seemed like it would be quite dull in comparison, and slightly rude to be dowsing this lady’s house. A bit like going over someone’s belongings when they’re in the room with you. We took that as our cue to head off to the next site. I had only thought that this would be a bit of light sightseeing before the “main event” of the Autumn Equinox later. Instead we had had some useful energy information, and now I had met a healer’s spirit.

On to the Llangernyw Yew tree!

Gwas.

Friday 28th May – Newgrange, County Meath

On our second day on the Ireland megalithic tour we were going around the main Boyne Valley sights. It would be rude not to, seeing as we were in the vicinity. It would be interesting to contrast how the Irish valued their sites compared to the English, Welsh and Scottish. That said, I don’t think were were prepared for the…organisation levels that we were about to encounter.

To get to Newgrange from Knowth you have to…er…go past Newgrange, back to the bus terminal near the Visitor Centre and catch the bus back to Newgrange. Of course you do! On arrival we had to wait for the guide to, er…open the small two feet high unlocked gate and to tell us to walk up to the standing stones in front of Newgrange’s famous entrance. The arrangements are all a bit of a faff, but it began to dawn on us that this was necessary to control the number of people at the site and make the experience rewarding for everyone. In the end we capitulated, although Kal still went off and did his own thing whilst I endured the guided tour to get some background on the site first. Later we walked back rather than hurry for the scheduled bus. We wanted time to dowse, of course.

I’m going to recount things out of chronological order now, because I want to relate the interesting stuff together, so bear with me! We found that the constant influx of tourists into the mound was causing a build-up of negative energies. It was only slight, and took a while to accumulate, but was there.

The accretion effect I suspect may be due to the fact that tourists in no way “prepare” themselves for entering such sites. Why would they? Of course they wouldn’t, and yet in my experience this can often be a necessary part of approaching these sacred places – to cleanse oneself of the subtle energies from the places we have visited (or live in) that is like wearing a smelly coat!

We walked around it the ‘correct’ way – clockwise, sunwise. This ancient (and now partly modern) construction  was a chamber whose energies we left were in synchrony with the Sun’s movements primarily. We wondered as to why the main path invited tourists to walk around it in a contrary, widdershins, direction. This was something that we found to be the case at Stonehenge too, Tourists were ‘invited’ to walk around the structure in a way that would neutralise positive energy flows and keep the place feeling…drained. It would take quite a strength of will for a tourist to walk around in the opposite direction to the flow of everyone else. Of course, we did just that! Swim against the stream, young salmon!

One thing we did wonder about was this: if the flow of energies during Spring was clockwise, would it change direction at other times of the year? Perhaps someone who lives closer might be able to tell us that?

As we stood outside the entrance being given the known history of the site both Kal and I were separately thinking about the hidden history of the place. Kal had gone off exploring, and my mind was split between taking in the historical information and feeling for the energy coming from the nearby standing stones. As my eye wandered absently along the line of the stones I saw that there was an alignment with nearby tumuli (or mounds) closer to the Boyne River down in the valley floor. Interesting that all these sites are aligned to the path of the Sun, and that they all were built within the bounds of this wide bow bend in the river.

Now it was time for the guided tour of the inside of the Newgrange chamber. We all filed into the chamber, careful not the scratch the artwork, and emerged in the central corbelled chamber. Then Kal appeared again and I could see that he was holding his dowsing rods. He wouldn’t, would he?

Read the rest of this entry »

CropCircleConnector – the site that I trust to deliver sensible and timely information about the location and circumstances of the latest crop circles – has posted pictures of the first 2010 circle to appear. Yet again it has started in Wiltshire, and again the location is significant to those of us who watch for such things. The bigger question though is – what does it signify?

That has been a difficult question, but not one to which I have placed much of my attention, time or focus over the last year as I casually observer their appearance, and equally casually admired their form. This time, however, the formation seems to be particularly relevant to my researches at this very moment. Timely in a spookily coincidental way – the kind of coincidence that makes me prick up my ears and have a good sniff of the flow of consciousness as it passes.

Here’s what it looks like (courtesy of CCC’s site):

Old Sarum's consciousness map

What this means to me

My reading of this formation is entirely personal, and I urge you to make your own reading to suit yourself. This is in no way relevant for anyone else, but in case you’re interested, here’s what it means to me. Remember that this eighth part of the year I have recently found to be concerned with the study of how to investigate, understand and utilise the seven chakra energies that can be produced from the white light of neutral light energy? There was also the suggestion that I work at uniting the two energy centres of the lower and upper energy stores in order to work towards this understanding of the seven energy powers.

So, I look at this picture and I see the eye in the lower half – the observant eye – the eye that is looking at the seven circles – the seven vortices – the seven chakra points. Above it I see the upper wider eye symbol, which I take to be the third-eye – a stylised and symbolic eye, more perfect and with wider vision than the lower “real” eye. Through that third-eye flows five lines of energy, that may either be passing through, emanating from the power point, or flowing into it. Perhaps all three directions at once?

I think the five energy streams are five levels of consciousness through which I have to pass as a result of working with and understanding the seven forms of vibrational energy form that can be diffracted from the white light energy source of the neutral energy form. That’s about as mad and esoteric as it needs to get, right? Clearly, I’m cracked and ought to have voted Monster Raving Loony. But there’s one more thing…

The formation is reputedly laid out on the ley line that Danny Sullivan documents in his book “Ley Lines” on page 199, and which he credits to Sir Norman Lockyer and Alfred Watkins, calling it perhaps the oldest identified ley (by modern man). He names this as being the “Old Sarum Ley”.

It passes through the following sacred sites:-

1. Durrington Down tumulus [link]
2. Stonehenge [link]
3. Old Sarum [link]
4. Salisbury Cathedral
5. Clearbury Ring [link]
6. Frankenbury Camp [link]

That’s a lovely North-South line, and it comes close to a line that I identified as passing through Arbor Low as it travels further up north. I will see whether I can get anything more about those five lines of consciousness change. I have a draft post that I was already preparing about the numbers 7 and 12. Well, I don’t need to point out to you that 7+5….. Things just keep knitting together in this line of work!

Gwas.

Section 2. Dowsing and Earth Energies

A lot of work was done by Kal in particular this year relating to the modification of energy centres within houses. Some people call this “house dowsing” or “healing sick houses”. It relates to a concept called “geopathic stress”, but we have found that this “stress” has more causes than simply a water course running under the house. There was a fantastic checklist produced by a British Society of Dowsers member in the December issue of the group’s quarterly magazine ‘Dowsing Today’, which lists these causes, and I will post more on that soon, because I think the information bears repeating and distributing.

I was lucky enough to spend a day at Carnac in France this summer. It was a most glorious day and highly productive, but I absolutely must go back to spend longer there. I feel there is more to be learned still from this massive and impressive site. Other interesting sites this year include: Druid’s Circle above Penmaenmawr; also Nine Stones Close and Nine Ladies stone circles in Derbyshire. I will publish a full list of sites as one of the summary posts in this series.

Here are some of things we learned about dowsing and earth energies this year:-

2-1. House dowsing:

• We can dowse houses accurately, either locally or remotely
• We can either send and receive energy to specific points in the house, providing the house has not been “sealed off” and permission is given
• We can modify the energy formations on site
• Crystals can be used to repair this energetic state, and to change unhelpful or misaligned energies into helpful and aligned ones
• Plants can be asked to contribute to this
• The beneficial effects take some time – depending on how far the energy has to convert from harmful to beneficial, this can take from hours to weeks to achieve. Also dependent upon the amount of new positive input into the formation(s).
• The Moon or Sun can also contribute to the energetic change, acting as a catalyst for the change, and also providing either male or female energetic input.

2-2. Flat recumbent stones attract female energy (moon), whilst pointed stones attract male energy (sun). We don’t yet know which elements of a site attract star or planetary energies, but we know they are present at sites, especially stone circles.

2-3. Kal found that certain geologically faulted locations with water running through them can pin energy to a place.

2-4. Ironwork and iconography (in the case of stones in Brittany I found that it was Christian crosses) can restrain the energy of a standing stone, reducing its aura (field of effect).

2-5. Earth energy spirals are created from sacred geometrical principles and number. Even manifestations created by us have the same properties. Of particular significance has been the discovery that stone circles are based upon sacred geometry in their design. For exmaple, Moel-Ty-Uchaf stone circle in North Wales is based upon a pentacle,or five-sided shape. I have found that this is linked to specific “deities”, but more importantly, that these deities are actually one of the planets. The pentacle therefore is associated with Venus, which itself describes a five-sided geometrical figure around the earth in its annual travel.

2-6. Power centres are the central point of two cones of energy- one going up into the air, the other going down into the ground. Also confirmed by Viktor Schauberger’s research.

2-7. Avenues or rows of standing stones have male and female energies intertwining, and travelling the length of the line of a stone rows of standing stones.

2-8. Tumuli can provide a terminus pointfor energy to sink back into the earth. As an example, I found this double mound pictured below was a terminus point for the energy running through the Kermario avenues of standing stones at Carnac in France.

2-9. Cup-marked stones often provide a rising point, a focal point or source of earth energies entering into sacred sites. Some standing stones that are cup-marked are a map of the energy power centres nearby.

2-10. “Hand spread” patterns of energy fields can be dowsed on the side of circles where energy is being dispersed out of the area. They indicate areas of high fertility energy.

2-11. Many neutral alignment leys travel the length and breadth of lands, and have accumulated sacred sites and churches along them. I suggest this is similar to the geometirc patterns that many dowsers and researchers have discovered overlaying the British Isles, and some say, the whole of Earth (cf. John Michell)

2-12. “Martin”, “Margaret” and “Anne” are other synonyms for the male and female energy lines surrounding national leylines, as well as the better-known “Michael” and “Mary” energies. This year I traced what I call The St.Martin Line running from South-West England through France and into Italy.

These findings should be viewed in the context of the complementary section coming soon on our findings at Ancient Sites. I hope next year to concentrate on water dowsing, or rather, dowsing the energetic properties of water, sap and blood. Next in the series – Part 3 – I will be summarising our findings relating to tree energies, elemental spirits and death energy.

Gwas.

This post follows on from the first part of the Rollright Stones complex, which can be found here. In the previous post I had been dowsing arounnd the King Stone. I had identified a female line that followed the course of the path that leads up to the stone, and now I was following it back to see whether it connected to the King’s Men stone circle, as it appeared to if I followed the line of sight.

I wandered across the road following the zig-zag motion of the female energy line, which got decreasingly erratic as is moved towards the King’s Men circle. The rods showed me that the line went into the northern end of the circle, so, as I couldn’t follow it directly through the fence and hawthorn trees, I opted to pick it up again from the other side. So I made my way into the signposted stone circle area, where I was accosted my a modern day highwayman! Stand and deliver! He wanted a whole engligh pound sterling from me, which I duly obliged him.

As it turned out, a pound was a cheap price to pay for some priceless dowsing tips from the old man. We started off on the wrong foot as he challenged my tools of the trade for being un-sheathed. His, by comparison, were contained in copper handles, but looked too thin and wiry to be of any use in a stiff breeze. I retorted that there were no rules regulating this dowsing lark, and that my opinion was different to his – I liked to feel the response of the rods as they turned so that I could gauge the strength of the reaction, and feel for whether it was a true response or caused by an external factor like the wind. This didn’t go down well – a relative youngster debating with a seasoned pro – and he went on to present his credentials: 50 years dowsing and a former member of the BSD (“too many silly people with their own pet theories“). Oh dear, I didn’t let on that I might be one of those very people whom he detested – an independent thinker with my own ideas. I did the polite thing and appeared impressed, but in my experience longevity is not a good indicator of ability.

We discussed the nature of the site, and he swung into action with his own theories on “positive” and “negative”, or helpful and harmful energies. He was a healer who had spent a lot of time at this circle, which he claimed had healing properties because it was composed of limestone, which was porous, and therefore capable of absorbing harmful energies and purifying them. This he opposed to granite sites, which he categorised as generally harmful and the cause of illness. “Ah, geopathic stress” – I responded. I mentioned that I wasn’t much into healing, but that I was interested in understanding the workings of the site’s energies. “Well, you’ll find lots of energies here.” he stated emphatically. He wasn’t wrong.

Later, as I dowsed, I was treated to both a display of his “twirling rods” as they helicoptered and whirred around in the centre of the circle, and then to a display of his healing capabilities as he wobbled a lady’s head around until she told him she felt better. I’m not going to say anything about either display, as I’m a mere youngster who understands nothing, and have much to learn yet.

The Nemeton’s Edge

I started my own investigations by looking for an aura, or nemeton for the circle. I got a boundary response from the rods about 25 feet outside the stones on the south side (the site is approached from the south-east end). I followed this male edge line clockwise around the site and found that it narrowed up to the stones themselves at the western side before increasing again to about 10 feet wide coming back around the northern edge. By the time the nemeton was back at the south side it was back out to 25 feet wide.

Cross Leys and Entrances

Two neutral alignment leys traversed the site – one running North-South and the other travelling East to West. At the point where the east-west ley line hit the western edge of the circle, at the nemeton’s thinnest point, I found an entrance to the circle. I later discovered that there were two entrances to the circle – one for lunar-aligned people, and another for solar-aligned people. The western entrance was for those people aligned to the moon’s energies, whilst the more “famous” southern entrance was that discovered by archaeologists and other dowsers, many of whom must have been solar-aligned people, I reckon.

As a reminder, you’ll know if you’re solar or lunar aligned from standing in the power centre that is either male or female. If you stand on one that is not aligned to your energy field (and it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female as to whether you’re solar or lunar aligned) then you’ll feel a certain discomfort after a while, such as a tense head, even a headache, feelings of queasiness or a tight stomach, or more generally just an inclination to move away from that place. Luckily, most of us intuitively go to stand on places to which we are aligned. Sensible us!

Central healing spirals

After having seen the old gentleman doing his twirly rods show for tourists I decided to take a look at the centre point. I firstly dowsed for a male energy and found a spiral starting some six feet out from the brown bare patch of earth that marked the middle. A tight spiral (unusual) of male energy spiralled densely-packed lines into the centre, but the outer edges didn’t go anywhere – this spiral was self-contained. Again, quite an unusual finding.

Next I dowsed for any female energy, and found a much looser spiral going anti-clockwise and overlaid on top of the male energy spiral. This female spiral was not quite so tightly-wound (again, quite unusual), but its terminus point was outside of the circle, as the energy of the third spiral snaked off through the western entrance and into the trees and the setting sun.

In my experience a combined male and female energy, in addition to the crossing of the two ley lines, would form a powerful positive energy formation, and this seemed to be what the old man was demonstrating with his healing and twirling displays. As he looked on I credited him with choosing the perfect spot to perform with energy work, to which he winked knowingly.

As I dowsed for the suitability of the site to various purposes the only strong response was to “healing”. Again, it looked like the old man was right to say that the limestone circle was suited to healing and purification. Equally, despite his idea that granite-based rocks generate “bad” energy, I was certain from my own findings that granite stone circles are suited to transformation of consciousness. But he didn’t look like he cared for that kind of thing, so I kept it to myself.

Western entrance to the right of the stones

Male and female stone balance

I decided next to dowse each individual stone to find out how many were male and how many were female. The general outcome was that there were two banks of female stones consisting of at least two sets of 5-8 stones at the western and eastern points. The northern and southern edges were much more complicated, alternating frequently between small groups of male then female stones, sometimes even single stones going M-F-M-F. There were, however, three banks of male stones consisting of at least 5 stones in the south-western edge, the north-western edge and the eastern edge. All in all the number of male or female stones seemed well balanced, and this was certainly how the site felt.

‘Hairy’ stones

Each stone has an energy spiral coming out of its exterior face, and a short spiral going around the base of the stone. Female spirals are anti-clockwise (although they start off circling clockwise around the stone before turning back on themselves outside the circle to form an anti-clockwise spiral). Male stones do the opposite, but with slightly less tight spirals (fewer turns). We have found this at many other sites like Gors Fawr and Nine Ladies to name but two where we have looked for it.

The Southern View

The King Stone connection

I found the female line from the King Stone over the road coming in at the north-eastern edge of the circle. This line terminated at a female spiral at the northern end of the circle. However, there were four other female centres connected to this line, and they appeared all around the western edge of the circle, going from the north to the south, and including my own power centre. In all, five female power centre spirals connected to each other on the western side of the circle.

This was somewhat mirrored by the two male power centres I found that were connected to some circle stones on the eastern side of the circle. Starting at the eastern edge a male energy line moved in and out of the stones, sometimes circling them, to eventually terminate at a spiral in the south-eastern edge inside the circle.

Both sets of male and female connected centres had energy flows that were bi-directional – they flowed back and forth between the first and last power centres, and presumably back to the King Stone in the case of the female lines. The male centres were again, like the central spiral, a self-contained energy system.

Staff marking my power centre

Finally I asked a series of questions that I have asked at other sites recently. They were:-

1. Is the site still capable of performing its original function? - NO.
2. Is the site still energetically active? - YES.
3. Can the site be activated, or when is it best to activate it? – Activated by human activity at Samhain (Oct/Nov).
4. Is the purpose of the site education, revelation, healing, transformation, communication, purification or some other purpose? –  HEALING, PURIFICATION.
5. Does the site need restoring, healing or balancing? – NO.
6. Is a genius loci present at the site? – YES, a female energy.
7. Does the site respond to human interaction, the position of the sun, moon, or stars? – HUMANS, SUNSET, FULL MOON.
8. Can the site be used as an observatory, a calendar, for initiation or as a burial place? – CALENDAR, INITIATION
9. Is there underground water at this site? – YES, at the western entrance flowing SE out of the circle. (i.e. from the point of the narrowest part of the nemeton to the point where it was at its widest).

Armed with that information I headed off South East towards the site of the Whispering Knights, a ruined dolmen that stands at the south-easterly edge of the adjacent field to the King’s Men circle. When I arrived I was of course disappointed to find that these stones were also caged. Presumably to stop them wandering around the countryside mauling unsuspecting meek children?

I found that the aura of the stones was again contained within the iron cage, but there was a combined male and female line coming out of the north-westerly edge, and the rods were pointing directly at the King’s Men circle. I dowsed as to whether the two sites were connected by this line and got a positive response.

In addition to this there was a line coming out a little further north. It was a male energy line that connected to the raised mound I had seen next to the King Stone some hours ago. So, more dowsing will have to be done to prove that this line connects directly to that mound, but that is how is appears at the moment. I will have to do some more work on that mound next time I come down to the Rollrights.

Gwas.

Visiting an old stalwart.

What follows is a description of a visit to the Rollright Stones that are a complex of megaliths perched on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border, near to the village of Little Rollright. I will, in due course, sketch out all of the findings and put them onto the Sacred Sites page so that you can see the things I am about to describe. For now, you will have to use your imagination, which will be helped enormously if you have visited the site yourself already.

I had intended to try to do some druidry work at the site, but the sheer number of visitors made concentration difficult, although, as you will soon read, this didn’t put off one old man who resplendently displayed his skills. How he concentrated I’ll never know! I have much to learn, as he was all to eager to point out.

I parked in a little lay-by which carried a sign telling me that I was only parking there at the gracious behest of the site’s trustees, and that I ought not to outstay my welcome by still being around after sunset. A warm southern welcome indeed. *I decided to head for the King Stone, situated on the other side of the road some hundred feet away. Yes, I still count in old measurements. Don’t start me on that discussion! Let’s just say such measurements are beyond “imperial” of any variety and should be considered “divine” instead. See John Michell‘s “The Dimensions Of Paradise” for a full explanation. As usual, I digress.

I approached the King Stone without my rods. What was the point? I knew there wouldn’t be any nemeton to dowse because I could see that the standing stone was caged in an iron railing that hemmed it tightly. This is a disgrace! Of course, modern people can’t be trusted, and so despite the fact that it has stood for over 4000 years, it needs to be caged, right? I suspect, therefore, that whatever energetic capabilities this site used to have they have been severely restricted by this action. I dowsed for the nemeton – yes, exactly at the railing. What a coincidence!

Nevertheless, I began to see which earth energies were travelling into and out of the stone. I found a male line coming in from somewhere in the direction of the hills around the village of Long Compton – well, that’s the direction is was heading in anyway. On either side, fanning out and following the shape of the wilder grass were two female lines. The first zig-zagged along the path that people walk up to the stone along. The second followed the lower edge of the rise behind the stone. The first female line intruiged me – it appeared to head to the road, and possibly might cross it and go into the stone circle there? I would check this later.

The male line was of interest to me as well. The King Stone was clearly male. I have seen and dowsed enough male stones (at Carnac – row after row after row of them) to recognise them by sight now. This was a male stone. It was essentially flattish, with a ridged edge pointing in the direction of the energy flow. Despite it’s “unusual” shape, this was a classic “repeater” stone that would pulse male energy onwards to another place. I checked the other side and found that only the male line emerged, strongly, and went into a grassy tumulus a few feet away. Check the link above about the King Stone to read what this tumulus might be.

Judging by the pitted nature of the stone this was limestone or something very similar. Soon I  would find out some new information about the significance of this.

I must point out – I deliberately didn’t read ANYTHING at all about this site before going. Sometimes that works in my favour, because I get fresh responses without prejudice, but sometimes I miss important elements. Needless to say, this is a site that warrants more investigation that I could manage in an afternoon.

Two men had been standing on the ridge behind me looking out over the valley below. Now I could see one of them approach me, an older man with white hair and a pair of flimsy-looking dowsing rods in his hand. I stopped what I was doing as he walked up to me and began a conversation. He was a relative beginner, he said, and wondered what I was looking for. I made a special point of stating that I wasn’t, as most people expected, looking for water but instead for earth energies. He didn’t seem too surprised at that, so I went on to tell him what I had found so far.

He seemed to absorb that, and much more, before he asked my opinion on what he should be looking for. I laughed, and replied that it was not my place to tell anyone how they should conduct their enquiries with dowsing rods, it was a matter of determining for oneself what information on was seeking, and to what extent the response could be trusted. He said he was rather afraid that I would say that. I mentioned some authors for him to look at – perhaps Tom Graves, or Sig Lonegren? He seemed distinctly unimpressed by anything I said which amused me somewhat.

I laughed at his thin and wiry rods. “No good in today”s wind, I’d say.” and showed him my thicker copper rods. He seemed daunted by their lack of copper cuffs to aid rotation, and by their weight. This amused me too as his eyes boggled at their relative weight in his hands.

I decided he had been inquisitive enough, and it was my turn. What was his background? He was a scientist, he stated. This amused me even more! “Then you’re in for a fun time with dowsing!” I warned. He was either going to chase the “what is this energy” question forever, or he would have some very tricky ontological questions to resolve. He seemed to respond to that with a resigned shrug and a disappointed “hmmmm”. I wasn’t sure I was helping him at all! He asked me how I had started, and I told him of a TV programme “Tomorrow’s World” that I had seen when I was young that demonstrated dowsing, and this had inspired me to try it out, but I didn’t have enough incentive to pursue it further at the time. He jumped – “I saw that programme too!”. He shouted over to his friend, “This man saw that same programme about dowsing!” he said to his friend, calling him over to join us. The great Scottish dowser David Cowan apparently saw the same programme:

“Twenty-five years ago, I watched a programme on “Tomorrow’s World” on the use of divining rods, and, to my absolute amazement, discovered for myself that they really did work.” (source: The Leyman web site)

We briefly discussed the unlikelihood that we would both have been started in dowsing by the same programme, only shown once, and revelled in the coincidence of it. Then he bade me farewell, happy now, and let me carry on following the subtle energy lines.

I picked up my pack and rods, and dowsed my way back down the path that had the female line following it, wandering back and forth, looking like a right prat, until I crossed the road and found the line went into a small gap between the elder and hawthorn trees that edged the King’;s Men stone circle. Time to go and find out what all the fuss was about with the Rollright Stones then!

Gwas