In early June 2013 Kal and I visited The Druid’s Circle at Penmaenmawr near Conwy. We arrived there in time for sunset, and the western skies filled out with ever-deepening shades of red until the whole sky turned inky-blue as the sun retreated beneath the sea. Before the light around us completely faded I had some work to do. I was here to try to find out more about my spirit guide who was relatively new to me. My previous guide Theodora had been unfathomable, but honestly I had stopped trying to know more at the first hurdle, not wanting to upset her. Now I had Ash, and he seemed more amenable, so I felt it was incumbent upon me to make the effort to forge a strong relationship that could be mutually beneficial.
With that in mind I made my way towards the stone circle’s long teeth and stood poised at the edges while I worked out what I needed to do next. I needed somewhere to “be”, so I used the dowsing rods to find me a suitable location to make the connection. Surprisingly they led me not to my usual stone, but to one of the larger stones next to it. I hadn’t worked at this stone specifically before. I had worked at those on either side of it, but not this one. I stood in the lee of the stone, against the flat of its back. The stone was almost my height at its peak, and I’m tall.
It was time to get to know this guide of mine. I was eager to know whether the tarot reading I had done fitted with how he revealed himself through this spiritual connection, rather than through divination. What was he here for? What could we learn from each other? Time to find out.
“Ash is a tree of interesting mythology and character with a connection to the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids: the first founder Ross Nichols took the name of Nuinn, Ash” (source: OBOD)
A reciprocal symbiosis
As I stood with my back to the Hooded Man may gaze settled on my ash staff and this provided me with a focal point into which to sink into a light trance. I called Ash to come work with me and he made his presence felt strongly. I shivered despite the warm evening air and my spine tingled. He was here.
I have described in a previous post how I gave him information about subtle energies as perceived by and interacting with humans. Now Ash returned the favour. He told me about his role – he is the fifth element in the Arthurian Elemental Cross, bringing together all the other elements. I have come across the concept of the fifth element before – it is the spiritual nexus point, and surely the most intriguing aspect of any configuration of spiritual forces.
I asked him if he could help me understand what this meant, for although I understood the idea of the nexus point, I didn’t understand which forces he was talking about. Was there a way he could describe this here and now? He took me around the Druid’s Circle showing me the four types of Earth energy at different power centres within the circle.
The result of my wandering was a stop at four different centres. I recognised two of them. Strange how you remember spots if there’s something interesting about them. One of the power centres i recognised as being the place where I had discovered water flowing over crystalline rock, and how this was generating subtle energy. This was the spot which Ash designated as being the “Merlin” energy centre. The other spot I recognised was one where I had worked when it was an incredibly windy day. This was designated the ‘Galahad’ centre. With these two reference points I questioned the nature of the ‘element’ at work in these power centres. Were they air, earth, water and fire energies?
Ash revealed that the power centres were all earth energy, but mixed with elemental forces too. The elemental aspect could be recognised by the feel of the energy at the power centre. Thus I ended up with this list of earth energy types:-
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Arthur – fire + earth – felt impetuous, imperative and imperious
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Merlin – water + earth – felt emotional, moving, and profound
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Gawain – earth only – felt nothing! steady, inert, stable, unmoving, rooted
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Galahad – air + earth – felt sparky, light and bubbly, thrilling, exhilarating
Interestingly, this does not relate to the aspects that I discovered when I first found these archetypes in this formation. Here was my original set of characteristics:-
- Arthur – North/Light/Leader/Great Bear constellation/Motivation/ Tarot: Wands
- Merlin – South/Darkness/Protector/Bootes constellation/Change /Tarot: Pentacles
- Gwalchmai (Gawain) – West/Intellectual/Sirius/Steadfastness /Tarot: Swords
- Gwalchaved (Galahad) – East/Wise Man/Venus/Emotiveness /Tarot: Cups
My elemental stations are:-
- North – Sky (Air)
- South – Land (Earth)
- East – Sun (Fire)
- West – Sea (Water)
What a confusing mix of formations! What are we to make of this? Which ones are right for which occasions? Is there a definitive ‘set’ of orientations? Am I trying to use the same archetypes for completely different purposes which are not mutually compatible? Something to be worked on, I feel. There’s more information to come… some .. finesse, some twist in my view of these energies that will make it all come clearer. I hope!
At least some element of synthesis was possible. Ash invited me into the obvious ‘centre’ of the circle. Here he asked me to feel the energies. I felt him bring the various types of energy together from their respective power centre sources. At the centre I felt the whole of them combine which made me laugh out loud. It was lovely – a ripple of delightful currents like being bathed in warm waters from every direction, and then massaged gently at the same time. Such a subtle and joyful experience. Kal looked on bemused, but I couldn’t help myself. It was so lovely I laughed. Ahh…this work is such delight sometimes.
We left the sun to its setting, and the stones to their stations. As we departed I was left with an incredible experience, but a head full of a confusing mix of archetypes, symbols, and types of energies. How could I unravel this lot, I wondered?
