With about as much preparation as a shotgun wedding Kal and I decided to meet up “half way” in Chepstow in order to explore the South Wales area for megalithic sites. We both had different quests to pursue, but sometimes the quests are secondary to the much more enlivening act of just being out together at sacred sites, for there is no more pleasurable experience to me than to be with my old mucker dowsing and discovering things druidical and deep at the darkest and dingiest Neolithic remnants these fair lands have to offer.
So we pointed a random finger at the map and with only a name to follow and the promise that something worthwhile may be there we headed towards Parkmill village just beyond Swansea in West Glamorgan. I had already travelled for three hours to get to Chepstow, but such is our zeal for our quests that I was prepared to venture another hour or so into the furthest corners of west Wales just on the off-chance that this place might be good. Luckily, it was better than good!
We arrived at Parkmill and took what we presumed was the right track past the Heritage Centre and ended up at a small car park. We checked the maps but couldn’t decide which way we ought to be going so I went over to check a nearby information board supplied by Cadw. It showed the area of Parc le Breos (Park Le Bruce, or Park Wood) to be full of interesting sites – a reconstructed long cairn, a cave and possibly a well. Frankly, I didn’t read past the long cairn – already I wanted to see it. We made our way up the well-made path, eager to see what this reconstruction had to offer.
The long cairn (or more properly I should say it is an Initiation Chamber) had been excellently rebuilt. It looked beautiful, and gave us a very good idea of how the front may have looked in its original form. These builders clearly knew how to make a great structure. I took some pictures then put the camera away. It was time to have a look around inside. I approached the entrance and introduced myself to the place. When I walked forward I asked if I may enter and waited for a response. I got one – a horrible push in my stomach that felt like a nasty prod in the guts. Hmmm…rejection. It would seem that I wasn’t in the right state to enter at this time – maybe not at all?
I got my dowsing rods out and asked if there was something I could do in order to prepare myself for entry into the chamber. The rods directed me away from the building and towards the nearby line of trees. As I broke through the tree line into the woods the rods swung around to point at the moss-lined back of a large oak tree. “Sit here!” they seemed to be saying. So I sat down and lit some incense sticks, hoping they would assist me with the cleansing process. I felt I ought to rid myself of my “worldly” energies – the energetic clutter and state of mind that comes from driving in the modern world. I wasn’t in a megalithic state of mind yet!
Minutes later the oak had helped me to divest myself of all my detritus, and I felt cleaner and really “tuned in” to the place. I thanked the tree and went back to check whether or not I would be able to get back into the chamber to do some work.
The psychonaut has achieved re-entry!
As I stood at the entrance with my staff in my hand I felt completely different this time. I was more relaxed, and my request was more respectful (less demanding) that my previous request. The tone must have been correct for this time when I asked to enter I got a slight tug at my navel chakra. So, I entered. I stood for a moment wondering which chamber to enter, but the decision wasn’t too hard. My intuition was pulling me into the first chamber on the left.
I stood inside the chamber, feeling for its character. How did the chamber feel? It felt like it was warm. I felt warm too. In my mind I saw fire. This was a Fire chamber. I moved on to the chamber opposite. Same procedure – how did it feel? I smelt earth. I felt the ground beneath my feet and could feel the earth strongly. This was an Earth chamber. I walked along the central passage and stood in the middle wondering which chamber was next. Left again. As I walked into the chamber I could feel the freshness, the breeze, and the clarity of the space. This was an Air chamber. I crossed the puddle in the central passage and walked into the final chamber. It felt cool and clammy. I smelt water condensed in the air, and I knew this was a Water chamber.
Kal was nearby so I asked him to see how he felt. He went into the first one and said, “Air!” I said, “Really? What do the dowsing rods say?” He checked using his rods. “Oh, it seems to be fire.”, he corrected himself. I smiled. “What about the rest?” Kal went through each dowsing for their element and returned exactly the same answers as I had intuited. What could I say? My intuitive senses are getting better.
After Kal had confirmed them all I wondered what this meant. Why was I being shown the four elements in relation to an initiation chamber? I knew that the initiation process was not anything I needed to go through, so why was I being shown this particular configuration, and why hadn’t I discovered the same thing at other chambers such as West Kennett? I sat on the small ridge at the end of the central passage, which just seemed like a perfect seat. Then I realised it was a seat!
I went into meditative mode. The world began to fade away and I sent out connective threads to try to communicate with the Spirit of Place that the dowsing rods had indicated existed at this site. Soon I felt a tug of attention and knew that I was not alone in my thoughts. Time to ask some questions. Oh, Spirit of this place, I would like to know about my healing quest, and also about creating wards and glyphs…. “ONE THING OR THE OTHER!” came the indignant response. Oh well, I suppose I had asked for that one – being greedy for knowledge? I chose the healing quest. Please tell me how this elemental set of chambers relates to my healing quest, I asked.
The answer was startling and immediately obvious in its simplicity. I had been struggling with whether to concentrate on human healing or earth healing. My inclination was for earth healing. Now the Spirit of Place showed me that each of the four elementals could be used as powers to call upon to make the earth healing happen. I was shown in an instant that each site would need a particular blend of elements to re-balance it, to cure it. To effect earth energy healing I would simply need to call upon each of the elemental spirits that I already had affinity with, and to ask for their assistance in creating the right balance of elemental forces to heal the site. Simple. Obvious. Yet startling. I jumped up in a “Eureka!” moment and opened my eyes and mouth in astonishment. “How wonderful!” I said out loud.
I felt my work here was concluded, so I began to gather my stuff together and wait for Kal to finish his own work. Next I planned to go to the nearby cave, if we could find it. The sky was closing in a little and darkening, so I hoped that we would be able to find shelter soon. Kal concluded his work and we set off discussing our respective revelations.
Gwas.
