At the end of our Yorkshire outing [two-part posts coming soon about that visit] I discovered that I had forgotten (possibly deliberately) to discover the quest that I had to undertake in the first eighth part of the year. Luckily I had a few spare days before the official Imbolc date of 1st February. We are never too hard-lined about getting the cross-quarter dates perfect. These dates are more about a feeling than a rigid division of the year. They are about being ready for transition, not for clock-setting. I used my dowsing rods to determine that the best day would be Monday 31st January this year. On that day, a still and clear night, and very cold, it would be the perfect conditions for discovering this quest.
I chose an oak tree that I was becoming quite familiar with at the end of last year. I had come to feel that I had reached the third stage of druidic development, one that was signified by the symbol of the oak tree. I realise now that one never stops learning from the birch or yew stages either, one simply passed beyond them, taking their legacy and teachings with you as you progress. Both birches and yews will always have special memories for me about how I started out on this path, and then how I deepened that search through the portals of life and death itself, but I felt that now I was comfortable with the mantle of teaching, and thus I was at the oak stage.
The oak that I had in mind stood proudly at the heart of a small wood near to my home (only a few miles away). I drove up to the wood all togged up ready for a long stay in the cold and that’s exactly what I got. Although I was welcomed into the forest and could see quite easily to find my place beneath the great oak, the cold weather made it hard to keep still. It took me over half an hour to get into the right mindset to be able to meditate deeply enough to make contact with the oak. There is also the problem that at this time of year these great trees are barely coming back to life, so their voice is weak too.
I must admit that I really struggled to get any contact made with the tree, but eventually we were talking. Just as I got some words out of it – a large animal, probably a fox, barged into the clearing and smelt my incense burning, running away in a mad scramble that startled me out of my trance. I spent another ten minutes getting back to the point where I was calm enough to connect again.
I gave out love, gratitude and feelings of peacefulness. I wished the forest a fruitful year, and offered my physical protection as much as I would be able. In return I got an image, and an instruction. I saw the line of chakras all along my spine. Each one was a different colour from red at the base to violet at the crown. My attention was drawn up each of the chakras in turn. As my eyes moved upwards, each chakra “chimed” and sparkled. I knew that it was being “opened” by a sound. By the time I got to the top of the spine I was in a very excited state. I felt amazing, and I knew what the quest was. I had to learn to make the sound that would be capable of opening each of my chakras.
Wow. Something amazing to spend the next few weeks doing before Beltane on 1st May. Perhaps then I can put my “singing” into practice and see what happens?
Gwas. Singing for his spiritual supper.
