The day began with the promise of something beautiful to emerge from the nascent silver-grey clouds, whose meagre partings would later reveal the full glory of the late summer sun. Intrepid as always, and eager like beagles penned until their exuberance breaks free, Kal and I rushed for the mutually agreed starting point for most of our special journeys into the magical adventures we live through in Wales. We would start at the Llangernyw Yew and see what visions it might divulge to us today – August 1st – the festival of Lammas in the pagan calendars. At the beginning of the adventure the day felt pregnant with possibilities, and it would happen that I would have a wonderful and inspiring revelation, learn a new magickal technique for self-healing the traumas of the past, and find my way onto the next part of my spiritual path. Let the tale begin!
It was mere seconds before Nature herself was showing me the signs and symbols that have accompanied so many of my special days around the Wheel of the Year. As soon as I began to drive off from home I heard first then saw a buzzard flying low over the car and circling around a nearby field. Of course – all such days should start with the aerial vision from the hawk! The hawk would also re-appear at the end of the day as we returned to the car to drive home again. Almost like a closing narrator to the proceedings, having the final word.
As well as all these coincidental and contrived moments, I was aware that we would be spending the day in the company of the invisible Grain Moon – the August full moon that was burgeoning with its astral emanations on this day and those that surrounded it. It felt like everything was gathering in order to give us the best chance of having a truly meaningful and magickal experience – which is exactly what happened when we followed our intuition and our guides.
The Safety of the Yew Tree
Although yews have many poisonous parts (berries and bark to name but two) there is something that I consider to be very safe about being around this old tree. The Llangernyw Yew is so old that it baffles your sense of history to even consider when it sprouted. Let’s just say that when this tree was beginning its life our ancestors were discovering the wonders of mixing Copper with Zinc to produce a new metal for the first time.
As Kal wandered around the graveyard like a lost ghost (he always has a purpose, really) I sat beneath the tree’s canopy and felt for the right place to sit. I found my place and found that I could connect to the tree very quickly. Moon? Festival Day? Noon? My energy? More experienced? Previous encounters? I don’t know what the magic combination was, but within seconds I was asking for and receiving answers from the bowels of the great yew….
- “Have I completed the last quest yet?” – “It is a continuous quest until the end of the year.”. Straight question, straight answer.
- “Am I ready for a quest for this part of the year?” – “You have enough energy, yes.”
- “Can you tell me the nature of this quest, please?” – “I can’t. You need to go to the Portal Stones.” (situated at the rear of the church). “OK – thanks!”
As I came out of my tree trance I met with wandering Kal. He told me what he had learned so far, and asked what I had got. Nothing yet, really. I’m off to see the Portal Stones. Kal pointed out that his attempts to make the sun appear through the slate-grey Welsh cloud cover was happening as we spoke. I looked up in amazement to see a fiery spotlight appear in the thick grey cloudscape. Impossible, I roared! Kal smiled. “Impossible is nothing!” he seemed to suggest.
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