Year: 2011

2011 – Summary of the Year by Gwas

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Hedge Druidry

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]

Chakra colours, energy frequencies and healing may be linked

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]

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2011 amazing times

Posted on By kal No Comments on 2011 amazing times
News article, Other reports, Updates

In one sentence…

“The universe sings the song but you provide the song title”

Ok, I can see from the draft posts that Gwas is beginning his 2011 round up and since (see The World is Changing) the new spiral has already begun for me I thought I’d get my update in first!

In complete honesty 2011 has only one word that can describe it, amazing!

Where to begin? Of course this year has been dominated by my Knights Quest. So that is a good a place as  to start as any…

Knights Quest

It all came to the fore at Imbolc festival when, quite innocently, Gwas and I were venturing out to several sites. Our first stop was at a site we, incorrectly, identified as St Helen’s well. At this site I had a vision of that infamous entity Caileach. She directed me on a quest to fulfill the achievement of nine blue keys. Once this was achieved I would be knighted. I know, I still have to laugh when I think of it. But that adventure led me across the Atlantic on an improbable.

Although I tried to follow this questing path with courage and aplomb. It was late this Autumn that I was informed that the quest remained incomplete and that a tighter spiral would have to be journeyed. I am rather disappointed at that but understand now why it has to be thus. See? Sometimes you just need to be told twice!

Some of the more salient points (as determined by me) were:

  • Journeying 3,500 miles to the States
  • Personal physical healing
  • Creating a Knights Code to live by (which I have so far)

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Persistence and the Pendulum

Posted on By Gwas 2 Comments on Persistence and the Pendulum
Dowsing, Experiment, How To

I keep going back to try things that I thought I was unable to do, and finding that experience, or whatever was blocking the skill, has now allowed me to achieve it. A case in point this time is my experiences with the pendulum. Even this year I was saying to people attending my dowsing … Read More “Persistence and the Pendulum” »

Closure at Thor’s Cave

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Ancient Sites, Incense, Spirits, Wheel of the Year

In the second part of my Winter Solstice expedition I hereby present the story of  Thor’s Cave. You may remember that I was directed to seek the sanctuary and sanctity of a cave atmosphere as a suitable space within which to see out the end of what has been a very interesting year. I think there are several reason why a cave would be a suitable space. Firstly, because I was visiting at the Winter Solstice, this time of year is all about closure. It is about letting go of any tensions built up in the year, of concentrating all of the information learned in that yearly cycle, and then of closing down to wait for the energies to re-appear at Imbolc in February. With a cave’s aura-shaping capability, it made sense to me that seeking a dark enclosed space within which to agglomerate all of the year’s teachings would be the ideal choice. Kal and I learned about the aura-shaping aspects of caves earlier in September from our visit to South Wales.

Thor’s Cave is probably quite easy to get to if you approach it from the road below, but you would be presented with a very steep climb. Instead, Mike and I approached from the footpath just at the edge of Wetton village and there was very little climbing involved, but the ground was wet, muddy and slippery in many parts so we had some amusing episodes both there and back as we struggled for grip. One you reach the front of the cave, however, the entrance is awe-inspiring in size.

Entrance to Thor's Cave - he was out when we called

It may not be obvious from the pictures but you can’t walk into the cave – you have to climb. For us at this time of year this meant scrambling over wet smooth rocks and all hands and feet were needed to get into the cave without sliding back out. I would recommend you visit on a dry warm day. For some reason I was totally unprepared this day and hadn’t brought a torch! Luckily, Mike had – this was a complete role-reversal that amused us both for ages.

Shafts of remaining sunlight filtered into the cave from the huge entrance and the tall slit in the rocks at the side of the cave, letting in enough light for us to make our way slowly and carefully to the back of the cave. There, the ground rose slightly and split into several hollows arranged around a central protrusion of rock. We tried to make ourselves comfortable to begin a meditation, but the intense slope of the ground and the dampness of the rocks made it difficult to find a comfortable position. We rapidly decided that a standing meditation would be sufficient today. “Adopt, adapt and overcome“!

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Winter Solstice celebrations at Nine Ladies

Posted on By Gwas 10 Comments on Winter Solstice celebrations at Nine Ladies
Ancient Sites, Energy work, Hedge Druidry, Orbs, Spirits, Trees, Wheel of the Year

When I dowsed to find which sites I should visit for the Winter Solstice this year I was surprised that only two types were signified: a circle and a cave. Well, it didn’t take me long to work out which stone circle I should visit. Top of my list was Nine Ladies, and it remained the favourite because all the others failed the suitability test when dowsed. Next I had to find a suitable cave. This task was much harder. With my first site being in Derbyshire I reckoned that finding a cave in the area would be simple .Far from it! It took me several days to find and dowse the suitability of a natural cave that was not a tourist attraction closed for the Winter. The result was Thor’s Cave, which was just inside the Staffordshire border, but close to Leek and south Derbyshire. Perfect! I deliberately didn’t read up anything about it so that the experience would be fresh and exciting. I will blog about the cave visit soon, but first, here’s my account of my Winter Solstice visit to Nine Ladies stone circle.

Solstice morning arrived and I began to tedious journey across to mid-Cheshire to meet my friend Mike. At each step of the journey I was delayed – firstly by a huge lorry trundling along the back roads, then by a tractor pulling a huge payload of hay bales, and then, just as I had cleared that obstacle and was wondering whether I could possibly get behind anything that would be slower – out pulled a funeral cortege and I was down to 20mph for the next few miles of reverent driving. I had to laugh! When I arrived at Mike’s I fold him that I had arrived at exactly the right time – 15 minutes late, but just as I had completely chilled out due to the slow pace. Perfect timing!

Nine Ladies Dancing

As we approach the stone circle from below, following a track that is probably only visible in the Winter months, I stop to register the edge of the stone circle’s nemeton – I can feel an energy change and I turn to look at Mike, but Mike has a puzzled look on his face. Is he sensing something, I wonder? He says that he can see lots of “little people” all around us, gathering to usher us on towards the stone circle, and dancing around our feet. He wonders if I can see them. I can’t, but I can feel their presence, like being brushed past by lots of invisible mice. He searched his mind for the correct word, and returns with “Pixies”. I haven’t heard that word in years – how quaint!

We continue to the small gathering of sandstone rocks that are heavily carved. Now that the undergrowth is completely gone they are all exposed, and I can see one facing me with a very clear message…

Pot-Head Pixie immortalised at Nine Ladies Stone Circle

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The Circle and The Spiral

Posted on By Gwas 11 Comments on The Circle and The Spiral
Healing, Theory
Changes with The Moon

My wife had a friend. She has worked with this friend a long time ago and they used to have happy times, but then her friend began to succumb to the stresses and strains of working in the mental health profession, and rapidly began to suffer from the very symptoms she was trying to cure. Friendship became strained. Honestly, her friend has never really recovered properly. and now, perhaps cruelly, her name is often accompanied by the prefix “Mad…” Everyone who knows her expects a whirlwind visit near to a full moon. Oh yes, despite what sceptics say, experience has taught me that this so-called myth is very true – people affected by the moon are prone to lunacy when the moon is full.

One night I heard a knock at the door. My wife was away and it was 8pm. I opened the door and Mad Lady walked straight in, chattering about seeing our cats, and 101 other topics within a ten-second burst. Definitely “hyper”! She is a buddhist and spotting an ornamental buddha perched on our fish tank she began to bow to it in little fast bows, hands clasped in prayer, and muttering incomprehensible mantras to herself and her deity. I calmly asked whether she would like a cup of tea, if she was staying? To my surprise she said yes, so I began to prepare the necessaries. All sorts of thoughts were going through my head. Mostly, “What am I going to do now?“. To be honest I had always let me wife take the brunt of her behaviour and had taken every excuse possible to slip away.

Sounds harsh, bur this lady has a lot of issues and she is a vortex of negative energies. She is a “taker”, but when well is equally a “giver”, so you just have to know when to catch her right. Sadly, she visits people most often when she’s in need, and in “take mode”. Tonight was clearly such an occasion, and this time there as no escape. this time I would have to deal with her on my own. The test was obvious to me. She was going around in circles with grief, stuck in a time loop, weighed down by the grief and guilt that accompanied the suicide of a former lover. She is spiritually and intellectually active but I know that very few of the people that she encounters are prepared to deal with her frantic and overpowering curiosity combined with such a strong neediness. People often are willing to help, but she is like a vortex of neediness that people get quickly depleted.

This time, however, the test was mine and mine alone. I prepared myself.

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Buried alive!

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Buried alive!
Energy cleansing, Spirit rescue

There are some people with whom I have a special connection. Kal is obviously one – whenever we work together or even just at the same location, something interesting, even life-changing, always happens. Another special person is my friend Mike. Mike’s psychic abilities always give a totally different slant on the work we do. Lately we have taken to clearing psychic blockages, or clearing away dark areas of energy from sites, in particular at churches. So when Mike came to visit at the beginning of December I knew that something interesting was likely to happen. And I was not disappointed.

I had been investigating a new energy ley that I believe exists between The Wirral and Derbyshire. Due to the location of the ley and the types of sites that it goes through I have been provisionally calling the line The Royal Line. When I come to reveal it in due course then this will all make sense. This weekend in December was my first outing along the line to determine whether it really existed at the locations that I had theorised that it would. My first stop was a nearby village with its St.John the Evangelist church. Such churches are a common recurring theme along this ley.

St John's Church, Kingsley, Cheshire

Mike and I spent a short while on the car park side of the church noticing a “dark patch” emanating from the corner of the car park. We decided to come back to that later. I wanted to find the ley line, if it existed, and the investigate the church’s exterior. I was drawn to a white birch tree with peeling paper bark, the like of which I had rarely seen. It was an outstandingly beautiful contrast to the leaden grey skies all around us, and we admired its beauty before I began to dowse for the ley. Within minutes I had located it. It was easy to find – it ran the entire length of the church and the width of the church was the width of the energy ley. The ley was balanced at this point and needed no work doing to it to harmonise it. Great. Time to move on.

Near Miss Black Spots

As we peered into the road from the churchyard I pointed out a specific spot in the road where I had seen several cars have near misses, and which always made me feel uncomfortable when I drove over it. Mike noticed that there was some red tarmac at that point – an indicator that the local council also thought that this was a place to drive cautiously. In fact, there was a solar-powered “30” sign there too which flashes at anyone doing in excess of this speed, despite the fact that they are at the lower end of a long downhill stretch, making 30mph pretty difficult to attain.

Mike said that he felt that the line of holly bushes that marked the end of the church’s boundary, and which coincided with the accident blackspot, was hiding a flow of negative energies. We tracked back into the grounds and found that the negative energy was being emitted from a house on the other side of the holly barrier. Hmmm…someone in that house was giving out bad vibes, and this was being drawn along the hedge and into the point in the road where the near misses were happening. Interesting! I was about to dowse some more when Mike began to get psychic impressions about the person in the house. Then suddenly I was getting them too! I knew things about this person – felt how they felt, knew things about their life – it was all very strange to suddenly begin to describe this as though the person themselves were speaking this out loud. Between us we diagnosed the situation. I won’t divulge any more, except to say that the saving grace was that someone else was counteracting the negativity with some positive energies, and this was leaving the energy ley in a balanced state. Yet, the negativity was still feeding into the road and its vulnerable black spot. We decided to take a different tack and see if there was anything we could do on the other side of the road.

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