Good day readers,
Often you guys come up with some inventive and challenging questions that Gwas and I are always happy to field. So this little post here is to invite you to ask any questions you like. Whether you want something explained a bit further, or you want to clarify some point? Whether you want us to investigate some phenomena in a bit more detail, or it’s a ‘What the heck are you guys talking about?” type of question? The floor is open!
Please drop a comment in this post and Gwas and I will do our best to provide what answers we can.
Kal and Gwas.
Hi
Just wanted to say this site is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been reading your blogs since the spring and always look forward to the next installment. In some ways it reminds me of the adventures of Andrew Collins in the Black Alchemist, however much better as you are constantly trying to positvely resolve “issues” and are not totally distracted by one quest to the exclusion of all else. The sheer number of quests you have managed to fit in this year is amazing. May the white light of the universe continue to energise you and aid you on your path.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your feedback. We DO seem to get involved in a lot of quests, don’t we? And I would say that this year seems to have been a bit of a ‘slack’ year too? We will begin to round things up for this year now, but there are still some posts to come about Anglesey, and then there is the eagerly-awaited Samhain festival coming up, and that always seems to generate an interesting turn of events.
Thanks for mentioning Andrew Collins’ work – I have a few of his crop circle and other factual books, but now I’ve bought one of his psychic quest books to see how that is written. They sound similar to those of Graham Phillips (Green Stone/Eye of Fire) and I was left with the same unfulfilled feeling from those books, in that they identified a problem but didn’t seem to do anything much about it, or have the tools to resolve the problems properly.
Still, a tale is a tale, I suppose. However, when we eventually publish our works in the paper form I would hope that we bring both insight and interest to the eventual outcome.
Gwas
Hi Chris,
I agree whole heartedly with Gwas. We do indeed seem to cover an awesome amount of ground. I am often stunned myself when it comes to rounding up at how much we cover. Since the outset these adventures have grown more varied and diverse. And we most of all are surprised at where they take us. Thanks for your comments.
Kal
And if as above so below works then even the most solitary of work must surely benefit all?
Andy
Wow. That’s some topic!! Shamanism is such a diverse field. Looking forward to the article and hoping it will also have some practices in.
I think what might connect Druidry and Shamanic practices are the animistic traits and the altered states which enable an effective communication with those spirits.
As to states then one which works well to retain an openness to spirit. For those interested then Hakalau from Huna (hawaian shamanism) provides an altered state which is open and is not ecstatic in the eliade sense.
Looking forward to the synergies and differences.
Andy
I would love to see an article on Shamanistic Druidry. I have been reading up on that concept lately and would love a different/new perspective on it.
Hi Tempus,
It has been a while since I posted an article, so I think it’s a reasonable request.
Could you flesh out a little more detail – some topic headings – that you would want me to cover in a article such as that, please? I have John Matthews’ “Celtic Shamanism” in mind, as well as a few others, but I would be interested to see what topics you would consider would form part of such an article?
Gwas.
The site that got me thinking about it is the Dolmen Grove: http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/dg/course.htm and I would love to see an exploration of how Druidry and Shamanism compare. Primarily around things like spirit travel, healing and ecstatic activities. It is my opinion based on what I have read that the Ovate path of Druidry is quite similar to shamanism and may have borrowed heavily from it. Although there is little to no proof of that available it would be great to have a bit of fun with that concept. I have not read John Matthews’ “Celtic Shamanism” but I have read “By Oak, Ash, and Thorn” by D.J Conway as well as the “Shadow of the Shaman” by Amber Wolfe as well as as a few other titles. But the one that I keep thinking about is Brian Bates’ “The Way of Wyrd”.
Thanks for giving me a few pointers. I will go away and have a think about some topics, and will begin to put something together as soon as I can. There are a few books there I don’t have, so I may have a flick through them before I begin too. I have discussed druidry and ecstasy states before, but my opinion is more balanced now, so I will include that aspect. Spirit travel and healing are subjects that I have studied, and should be able to put my slant on those. Where I have difficulty is that I think of the shaman as a key figure to a community, whereas my path of hedge druidry is a loner’s path. That is one difference that may define the article, and will be another perspective to the activities.
Hi there, Just thought i’d drop my two pennies worth.
Althought the title here is Hedge Druid and most of the work I do here is personally based. I like to take
what insights and knowledge I have gained into the wider world. So in that sense I might be able to
add a slant in that arena.
Over to you, Gwas.
Kal
Sounds great, Thank you.
Hi, what would be a good way to celebrate, honour, mark the autumn equinox. I am very new to this (wicca ?) and normally have a fire in my garden and enjoy a little silent meditation. Thanks, Mick
Hi Mick,
Well, we’re not Wiccan, so how the Wicca celebrate Autumn Equinox may be quite different from how we, or I in particular, celebrate it. I can only speak for myself so here are the elements that I consider to be important at this time of year:-
a) Balance – an equal balance between sun and moon energies. I would usually seek to balance my chakras by visiting various sites that would help me do that.
b) Celebration – fire is a good means of celebrating, in that it offers a ceremonial form of cleansing, and is one of the elements too of course. Ritual movement (or dance) is good too, as is eating and drinking. Anything that you feel is suitable for a celebration of all that you have received in the bounty of the Summer. Representative foods are commonly used. I tend to just mentally picture all of the things I have received that year, and give thanks to Nature for them.
c) Transformation/Integration – the Equinox is the point from which you can begin to condense all of the information you have gained, all of the spiritual teachings you have learned, and all of the wisdom you have acquired. A cave or enclosed space is a very good place to do this. For example, I will be visiting a chamber tomorrow in order to condense this knowledge into my being in readiness for the quiet of the WInter. I allow myself to begin to transform from an active person into a much quieter, stiller, more reflective person at this time.
That is how I use the Autumn Equinox as a Hedge Druid.
Gwas.
Hi Mick,
That is a good idea, Fire is an excellent element to work meditations with, very transportive.
You mention your garden…an intention to invite the life from there into your meditation/celebration might be a good idea.
Or how about gathering the other elements too and having them as part of your evening.
Nice to hear you are balancing intuition into your life.
Kal
I have a question for you.How do you know how to find the right place to undertake your dowsing enquiry and do you think that different places would provide a different set of answers?
OK. Two questions, and I’ll deal with them separately:-
1. How do you know how to find the right place to undertake your dowsing enquiry?
ANSWER: We don’t usually! Sometimes we will map dowse for a suitable place to do X, or Y. Sometimes we have a feeling that there is a particular place we should go. Other times we feel a place is suitable because we know it to have been good for a particular type of experience before. Then there are times when we simply turn up at places without any planning at all, and then ask the rods whether the place is suitable or not. Of course, it depends on what we are hoping to achieve. Often we will go to a new place and find out what it is suitable for whilst we are there, rather than the other way around.
2. Do you think that different places would provide a different set of answers?
ANSWER: Yes. I think each place is unique, and so every place will provide different specifics, but we can narrow down the likelihood of particular types of experiences by the type of site. For example, we happen to know that healing works well at stone circles. We also know that caves, dolmens, chambers and cromlechs are good for vision work. Having built up an experience of this sort of outcome we can begin to expect particular types of responses from particular types of places. Yet, each new place will surprise us, especially if it is inhabited by a sentient spirit form.
One of our working tenets is: Don’t expect anything when you arrive at a new site – prepare only to be surprised!
Gwas.
Hi Heddwen,
I would agree with the latter part of Gwas’s answer too. Often we have just chosen sites at random, based on the locale we are visiting. Then later, upon return and investigation we find so many synchronistic correlations. Which leaves us asking “did we choose the site or did it choose us?” This becomes more poigniant when we have healing work to do at a site.
An amazing area to explore because it goes at the heart of life, in that, where s our free will to choose?
Thanks for your comment.
Kal Malik
Hi Gwas and Kal. I wanted to ask Gwas about Chester itself. Especially the area known as the Groves and the area around St Johns.
Any areas worthy of more detailed exploration?
Best on the path
Andy
Hi Andy,
I have only done a small amount of work in Chester itself, but I have walked around the area many times absorbing the influences. The Groves is a fascinating and powerful area indeed. I think it is the River Dee that is providing the energy down there, though. Then all the sandstone constructions are retaining the energy very well. On a balmy summer’s evening the place feels almost magical. When I go there I feel like I want to throw myself into the Dee!! Every time!
I have spent time in Grosvenor Park recently and there were several places – stones and monuments – that caught me eye and made me want to dowse, but somehow I always seem to be there with non-dowsing people, or time-pressured.
I highly recommend you take a closer look at the ruins of St John’s church. I have dowsed this area deeply and found it to be highly energetic. I was only a beginner when I last dowsed it so I don’t have anything recent to inform you about, but if I get the chance I will re-visit the place because I remember it being extremely interesting. Lots of…interesting carvings. Very masonic, I felt. Also aligned to catch the sun through particular windows.
Yes. St John’s…. well worth a visit!
Gwas.
stumbled across a creature the other day in a forest which seemed to be calling us by sending an old song into my head. it was like a distorted small aspect of space. we revisited it and it seemed like it was not alone but this time it took a long period of the day to put the song in my head again. this time it (and the others) kept their distance, this is perhaps due to the fact we were carving wands and channeling energy using phurbas. do either of you know what it may have been?
When our intentions are aligned to or in harmony with the spiritual beings that inhabit the forests, then they are often inclined to inspire and encourage our work with their use of awen. It would be impossible to identify the creature exactly after the event – you would need to catch a glimpse of it psychically or have it reveal itself and its kin to you before you could begin to identify it. The exact form is not important, unless you are playing iSpy and collecting a sticker book of Otherworldly Beings. It is possible to try to locate the position of the being on an energetic scale relative to other known forms, but I have never found this to be of much use, because all this “ranking” is relative and ultimately unimportant.
The important aspect is that they were giving you a helping hand, and offering you a means of calling them back when you are on the right wavelength again. The song is the means to call them. The tune is an inspiration to continue to do good works. The reward is their co-operation in your efforts, and to have awen flowing through your work and ending up in the end product.
I love the idea of a sticker book! A Bill Oddie! Is there a market for such things?
This is interesting, what you have said. We tried using the song to call them on the second visit but they ignored (although several hours later the song appeared in my head again – dream a little dream of me? bizarre)
I think next time we will try to in tune and connect with them openly to end up on the same page.
Thank you.
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