As you approach the Abbey of Iona – with its church dedicated to Mary – the first sight you encounter is the mound of Odran (or Oran). It lies before the abbey like a pregnant belly, partially obscuring the visible entrances to the abbey buildings. It immediately drew my attention, and I became mesmerised by it. It engendered in me an immediate sense of respect, and I entered the site of the mound slowly and reverentially for a reason that I cannot fully explain.
Odran was an interesting fellow – part mythology, part reconstructed Christian history. He is said to have been a druid, and also a companion of St Columba.
The ancient burial ground, called the Rèilig Odhrain (Eng: Oran’s “burial place” or “cemetery”), contains the 12th century chapel of St Odhrán (said to be Columba‘s uncle), restored at the same time as the Abbey itself. It contains a number of medieval grave monuments. The abbey graveyard contains the graves of many early Scottish Kings, as well as kings from Ireland, Norway and France. Iona became the burial site for the kings of Dál Riata and their successors. (source: Wikipedia)
Of Entrances and Exits
Right, that’s enough of the background. Let’s get into the account. I approached the mound respectfully, and stopped at what I felt was the ‘entrance’ – the point in the mound’s energy aura that was a point of entry for those who were energetically-aware. I gave my credentials and then asked if I could enter. A firm and stomach-churning push in the gut told me in no uncertain terms that I could NOT enter. OK – what was wrong? Time/place/me/my energy? I ran through some reasons and set about trying to right them. I gave a lengthier introduction to who I was, and stated why I was here. I asked to be shown the correct entry point via the dowsing rods – and thus was moved along the mound by several feet from where I had initially tried to enter. I tried again – this time I got a pass and was able to walk onto the mound in the shade of the nearby trees.
SYMPATHETIC VIBRATION: Of course you can walk into and onto most sacred sites as a tourist without any restrictions. When I talk of being “denied entry” I am talking about being able to feel for an entry point in the energetic shell of a place. If you don’t recognise that boundary then of course you can enter freely, but you won’t be in a state of awareness, a state of sympathetic vibration with the place. This is the state that I am seeking to enter when I look for an entry point because it leads to a state of mind in which revelation and acquisition of information is much easier.
It is also sympathetic and respectful to any spirit energy that is present at the site, which is why I spend time introducing myself and stating my purpose for the visit.
In addition, entering via the correct point, and leaving by one too, preserves your energetic condition. In other words, if you have accumulated/brought with you/acquired some subtle energy at a sacred site, and you are in the ‘correct vibration’ then you can preserve this state by following the correct path in and out of a place of power. To not do so can strip you very quickly of this sought-after resonance and subtle energy aura.
This is why we place great importance on coming into the correct entrance, following the right path to the power centre, and then leaving by the correct exit point.
Of Giants and Graves
Now things begin to get a little odd. I have come across the idea that many ancient mounds have been named “Giant’s Grave” or similar, and that lots of them are associated with giants in their mythology. Of course, the simple explanation we are given is that those stupid country folk (the superstitious fools) could only explain the presence of these large mounds by associating them with giants. After all, they are pretty long. Must be a tall person buried in there, right?
Of course, many mounds have been excavated and the kinds of finds inside them have been:-
- Bronze Age pottery fragments
- Normal-sized bones dating from the Bronze Age
- Neolithic tools
So, we have no evidence for anything relating to a giant in Britain, unless the mounds pre-dated the Bronze Age in construction, and unless excavations have only looked at the first layer of deposits that they came across. Or original bones were removed. We simply have no evidence that anyone can really point to with any certainty, although there are some sites that claim there are. So, that’s my disclaimer for what comes next….
I dowsed my way to a power centre on the top of the mound, going by a sinewy path that felt like a frequency waveform. Sitting on the eventual spiral at the top of the mound I felt in tune with the vibration of the place. Soon I was in full meditation mode, unaware of anything around me except the occasional flicker of changing light that must have been people moving nearby. I stilled my mind and only asked whether there was anything that I needed to know, then waited….
A name emerged… “Balgoran“. It was the name of a giant, a being of very large stature. For him the mound was small, sufficient. The mound was here for him. The naming was now wrong. He didn’t like that. It made people forget. End.
That was it. From this my brain began asking a hundred further questions and piecing together the fragments I had recovered. They meant little to me at this stage. Was he (it was a he) saying that he had made this mound, and that he was a giant? A giant called ‘Balgoran’? Sounded too much like Balrog to me. Sounded like I had made it up from “Balrog” and “Oran”. Sounded like I’d never be able to confirm it, anyway, because the time line was well before the Bronze Age, I felt. Before ANY human habitation of this island!
I rummaged around in my bag. I had brought something that I felt I should leve here as a tribute. It was a pine cone brought from the tallest tree in Wales. It seemed appropriate. I spent the remainder of the day wondering about giants. Might this Balgoran be linked to the legend of Balor, a Fomorian? This would be answered the following day. If I had researched the place properly I would have known already that the site was known as the grave of Oran (or in my case, of Balgoran).
I exited the mound using the dowsing rods to determine a suitable route. I lit four incense sticks and placed them around the edges of the mound at places that I felt appropriate and safe (the grass was dry, so I didn’t want to singe it). With the wind bringing occasional wafts of frankincense to my nose I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. What a strange encounter! And what was this lingering feeling that there was some sort of ancestral connection – a connection with Ireland? I had no information to work from at this stage, so moved on to the nearby building called Oran’s Chapel.
Oran’s Chapel and Death Roads
Actually, apart from the beautiful doorway there was nothing of interest here. I suspect that the dedication of the chapel was done in Oran’s name, rather than due to any energetic link with a real person. Does that add to the idea that Oran wasn’t really associated with Columba? Perhaps he wasn’t really part of his retinue?
“This attractive little chapel stands in Reilig Òdhrain. The Gaelic warlord Somerled, ‘King of the Isles’, probably built it as a family burial chapel prior to his death in 1164. This is the oldest intact structure of the abbey to survive. Only the slate roof is modern (1957).” (source: Iona History)
I noticed an overgrown cobbled pathway running from the chapel to the main abbey building but it was sliced in half by a new wall. Odd, I thought, and went to investigate. Turns out the path was what was signposted as “a death road” along which bodies would be moved into the chapel.
This is a familiar concept – many of the old roads in our islands are very straight and very old, and they all have names that link them back to being “spirit roads”, for it was believed (we think) that spirits (Kal would call them ‘shades’) travel in straight lines between sacred sites along these roads. I have found that Spirits of Place also do this using energy ley links between sites.
Now it was time to look more closely at the abbey site itself.
Gwas.
