In the previous post – Part 1 – I mentioned that one of my purposes for this Spring Equinox day was to discover the purpose of the time period between Spring Equinox and Beltane. I had done this in the first half of the day, finding that the theme of the period was the seeking of neutrality, of balance, of integrating with the concept of the Neutral. Obviously, much work would have to be done to unpack that revelation and discover what it meant. I guess many years of study may be required.
What remained to be discovered on this day – what other tasks had I set myself? I was going to attempt to reconnect with the four elemental forces of Nature and try to initiate my year’s direction by engaging with those forces. With that in mind Kal and I set off towards the popular valley of Eskdale. Eskdale seemed to offer the prospect of sites suited to all of the elements: a waterfall for water, a hill fort for air, more stone circles for earth, and then we planned to have a small fire in the dunes of nearby Ravenglass to finish the day.
Stanley Force
There is a small car park conveniently situated at the floor of the river which the waterfall flows into. We parked there and began the ascent up the slopes of the Eskdale valley like Stanley himself, trekking through the Cumbrian jungles to reach the meeting point with our Livingstone. OK, it wasn’t anything like that at all. Instead it was what could only be described as the most idyllic path that I have ever walked on in my life. And this was in March, well before the leaves and flowers had begun to decorate the path with their own wonderful colour.
At the official entrance to the Stanley Force path, gated and with a helpful information sign, we stopped to admire the first of several sweet chestnut trees that grace the way up to the waterfall. All around us mosses and lichens draped the place in regal green robes, and a variety of old trees leaned towards the river, yearning for its sparkling clean fell water.
We were both highly energised by the place, and were enchanted by the scenery. Kal grew particularly fond of the trees that lined the way up to the waterfall, hugging many of them spontaneously. Luckily no-one else was around to be disturbed by this and I was getting used to it now, ever since his encounter with what he cunningly called ‘Tree’. Leave him be, he has obvious problems!
The climb got steeper and the trance that we were getting into with the rhythm of the walk got deeper. By the time we had reached the refreshing spray from Stanley Force itself we were in silent awe, or was that Kal quivering at the steep sides and plunge into certain death, I couldn’t be sure? No handrails here. A steady mind and steady feet were required on the slippery rocks and muddy track.
Here was my first opportunity to engage with the elements. Using some crystals I had brought with me for the purpose I dowsed a pattern to lay them out into, and then, standing with my staff and allowing myself to mentally fall into the waterfall I asked for the assistance of the spirits of water in the furtherance of my work this year. The dowsing rods were out again afterwards checking the progress of the communing and with positive results, so we headed back down. More tree hugging antics, and a near twisted ankle if I recall. Well, he will jump around so – what does he expect? He’s 42 not 12!
We headed off up the Eskdale valley road heading for our next destination, the Roman hill fort of Harknott Pass – a notoriously steep route.
Hard Knott Fort
The car struggled up the steep inclines and we both got a whiff of gear oil burning as the automatic clunked and whirred, straining and grinding as it switched to drag the car and its payload up the unfeasibly engineered twists and turns of the thin strip of tarmac that calls itself a road up to Hard Knott . Mist veiled the view and soon we were squinting and peering trying to make out what we felt sure would be a huge neon sign indicating the position of the hillfort up there. We saw nothing.
Soon we were on the cusp of the hill and the nose of the car tilted downwards. We were beginning to descend. Surely some mistake? The fort must be nearby, I reasoned, having been here once before twenty years earlier. Oh, faulty memory! For the next half hour we struggled like the car up the steep sloped of Hard Knott Hill in search of a thick stone wall. We found none. Sweating and dripping from the mist we returned to the car disoriented. Where could it be? I decided that it was time for my Active10 GPS to earn its keep, and we waited for the unit to find enough satellites to get a reading. It was a mile back the way we had come. What? How could we have missed it going at such a slow speed as we did?
Ten minutes later we found a lay-by with a tiny sign, sideways on to the road, which indicated the nearby presence of the fort. But where exactly? Again we wandered off course in the mist. Only the sound of other tourists brought us back on course again, and finally the walls of the fort reared up in the mist like a great square stone snake.
Once inside the fort we were slightly protected from the bitter wind. The clinging mist made our hands cold and so dowsing was again at a minimum. I decided to check whether this was a suitable place to connect to the element of air. The answer was that it was highly suitable, so I urged to rods to find a spot where I could make a connection to draw down this air energy. I was taken across the site towards a nearby slight rise that ended in a corner of the fort. It was a quiet place, free of other people, and as I arrived there I felt the wind tugging at my clothing and tousling my hair. Yes, this was the place alright!
Minutes later I was heading back to the centre of the site where we had deposited our bags. Kal had gone wandering on his own mission, but I had another request. As there was a heavy scent of earth in the air I asked if this place was also suitable for connecting to the elemental energy of earth? I got a positive response again, and asked the rods to lead me to a suitable place again. I was taken to the opposite side of the site and the rod circles over a flat and rounded rocky outcrop that was inside the walls – why would the fort builders not have removed this rock from the site, I wondered? It was covered in old lichen and looked beautiful, with shallow pits and smooth curves. Minutes later I felt the forces of the earth arising and infusing me.
I can’t really explain how this communion takes place. It’s a form of meditation; a connection that envisions a descent into the earth and a connection with the primary planetary bodies. Beyond that, I don’t really know what happens to make it work. Sometimes it’s a thought, a feeling or an intention. Sometimes it happens of its own accord.
We left to head back down the way we had come up. A short steep and scary descent to be sure. The final destination was to go light a fire on the beaches of Ravenglass. Ravenglass looked like the perfect and closest place to do this, as it seemed to have vast expanses of sand banks and dunes. When we arrived the weather had beaten us to it. All the shops were closed. Al the people were safely indoors. The tide was in and the dunes were isolated. A quick glance made the decision – we were going home! The fourth elemental would have to wait.
Cumbria had been a balanced day – lovely in the morning and getting progressively worse, weather-wise. The whole day had felt like that – the morning had been immensely successful, but progressively harder as the day wore on.
Gwas.