Month: October 2013

Claiming The Torc of the Hawk

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Hedge Druidry

It is becoming less surprising when the threads of my path’s journey knit themselves into a situation where opportunities can arise. I had the chance to visit Ireland with my wife. She was working in the week, but at the weekend I could join her before she went elsewhere in Eire. Initially the venue was Dublin, then her work changed and it was Belfast. Then, though a mutually beneficial arrangement it was somehow back to Dublin, though no pressure of mine! Well, well. So be it. Now was the time for me to fulfil a quest that I had been given at the start of the year.

The Torc of the Hawk is an artefact that is of especial significance to me. I had been given a quest at Imbolc by the female energy known as ‘Brigid‘ in lore. In her Maiden Castle in Cumbria, as the day’s rays faded to a pink sunset that I will never forget, I was informed that I had to seek out this golden torc.

The torc, I would discover through dowsing, was an artefact from my ancestry in Roscommon in Ireland. It had been worn by the spiritual warrior that I had fought at The Fort of the Bulls – an ancient site of contest in the heart of western Ireland. You can read about the background to this whole Ireland quest here. The essential aspect is that in order to inherit the spiritual energies of my ancestors there are several artefacts that I need to recover. One of them – The Eel Sword – I had already found. This second one – The Torc of the Hawk – I knew from research had once been in the National Museum of Ireland. I had no idea if it was still there.

National Museum of Ireland in Dublin

So it came to be that I was granted the opportunity to go to Dublin for a weekend with no itinerary other than to visit the museum and fulfil the quest to absorb the energy of this torc, if I could find it. To make matters harder I decided not to take my dowsing rods. If I was going to find the torc, then it would have to be done by feeling alone. So I flew out to Dublin, met with my wife, and we agreed to spend the next day looking around the museum. What would we find?

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Calling The Lightning

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Glyphs and Wards, Hedge Druidry, How To, Magick, Quests, Ritual, Telluric, Trees

Now I’ve researched all the theory it’s time to put the “call the lightning” quest into action! I had to sort out three remaining issues – the exact location where the work could take place, to re-affirm the full method of calling the lightning, and then to determine the exact timing of when it could be called and when ti would appear. One final local outing was required to do that.

1. Location

I was called to go out the other night. I dowsed which direction I should go in, and knowing the sites on that bearing I worked my way outwards until I found the correct location. It was a nearby local hill, but not one I usually visit. I know it used to have an Iron Age hillfort on it once. That was the location where I would find something related to the ash wood – either a staff or a tree that I could use in my experiment to call lightning.

So it turned out to be the case. On arrival in the dead of night I saw the outline of an ash tree’s leaves. Was this the tree I could use? NO. But having identified the ash tree I noticed that next to it was a solitary tall dead ash tree! This was the focal point that I would use to call the lightning. It was perfect. I didn’t have to be holding on to it, and it wasn’t going to mean that a living tree would get hit. Perfect!

Francis Danby - The Opening of the Sixth Seal
Francis Danby – The Opening of the Sixth Seal

2. Method

The way I would need to call the lightning had a couple of components:-

  1. I would need to bellow like a stag in order to get the ground around to vibrate at the right frequency. I think this will involve evoking the feeling of the stag as I did in the forest recently [see this post]. This would change the “charge” of the earth and make it begin to attract lightning from any storm clouds above.
  2. I would need to draw the lightning sigil around the dead ash tree in order to specify the location that I wanted to lightning to strike.

I did these things in preparation for the event. I let out a low grumbling bellow across the hilltop. It was audible but not loud – it was the dead of night after all, and there were houses nearby. I wondered whether it would be enough o cause the lightning though. We would see. Next, I drew the sigil out from the base of the dead ash tree that I had identified as the focal point for the calling. I dowsed afterwards and could follow the new energy pattern, so I was happy that this would be in place ready for the actual calling.

3. Timing

After a great deal of dowsing I was able to determine that the correct time for me to call lightning is during the three days of the Full Moon. I could do the work on any of these days, but the outcome was quite specific. Lightning would strike exactly three days after the peak of the Full Moon. By my reckoning that’s going to be somewhere around Midnight on Monday 21st October.

Now for the big event. Will I be able to call a lightning strike on this dead ash tree? Let’s see!

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Menorca – Your Gods are Our Gods

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Ancestors, Ancient Sites, Dowsing

Naveta Des Tudons – Menorca – 9th October 2013 In the final part of my Menorcan excursions I found one more site that had any energy left at all – and that was a chambered cairn called “Naveta des Tudons” – the burial chamber of Tudons. I was on my own for this one. M stayed … Read More “Menorca – Your Gods are Our Gods” »

Menorca – The Death of Energy

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Hedge Druidry

Cala Morell Necropolis – Menorca – 9th October 2013

At the north-western end of Menorca’s small island is a necropolis – a system of caves which have been used for the deposition of human remains. Notice that like the last encounter I had – the one at Fort Marlborough – the subject is again ‘death’.  Let’s talk about death in relation to Menorca’s sites.

It seems that generally the sacred sites on the island are now dead or dying. There is a distinct lack of energy at these places, and I believe that is due to the neglect (i.e. the failure to re-energize the sites) by people who have a magickal purpose or intention. Sure, there are lots of visitors, and yes I’m sure that some of them are energy-aware. But I equally think that no-one is maintaining the sacred sites of Menorca in accordance with how they were energetically created. Hence, there is almost nothing left at these places. Out of ten, they register as a zero or one on the scale of energetic strength.

Who created the sites in the first place? Well, the information boards talk a lot about a tribe of people known collectively as The Talaiotic Culture. It is supposed, although little is known for sure, that these people were responsible for the construction of these megalithic sites. There are a few ancient settlements with some well-preserved layouts and I visited a couple of them. They were very beautiful, and their structures were reminiscent of much of the architecture which we see from the north fo Scotland al the way down through to the Mediterranean islands. Amazing consistency of concept.

Caves at Cala Morell Necropolis
Caves at Cala Morell Necropolis

So, let me tell you about my visit to the necropolis of Cala Morell.

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Menorca – Death Energy at a Fort

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Dowsing, Energy work

Fort Marlborough, nr. Es Castell, Menorca – October 9th 2013

I recently went to Menorca – one of the beautiful Balearic Islands off the eastern coast of Spain. One of the ways in which I was persuaded to go there was that not only was it a great destination for some autumn sunshine, but it was also littered with megalithic sites. Well, this hedge druid only needs one such invitation. We were going!

After a few days relaxation and recuperation M and I hired a car and headed out into the island’s interior. We were based in the south-eastern corner of the island as S’Algar, and within half an hour’s drive there were a couple of places that I had already ear-marked as being potentially interesting. I had a print-off of the location and a brief description, We made our way along the main island highway stopping off at places along the way. First destination – Fort Marlborough.

For Marlborough Menorca

I didn’t have any expectations of this place. For me it was just intended to be a sightseeing episode, but actually it turned into something more interesting.

Being Scared To Death

Our adrenalin levels had been sent sky-high – firstly M jumped at seeing a wax dummy of a solider when she rounded a corner on the tour path. Then I jumped when I was struck my a simultaneous blast of air and explosion noise when I ventured into one of the tunnels under the fort. It was a demonstration of how sappers sabotaged attempts to burrow under the fort’s walls, but it made me jump! It nearly scared me to death! And maybe that was the start of the whole theme for Menorca’s ancient sites – death.

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Mitchells Fold – Part 2 – Crystal Patterns and Life Mysteries

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Crystals, Energy work, Experiment, Healing, How To

I was scared, I have to confess. In my humble opinion, people take working with crystals without the seriousness it deserves. It is understandable. I used to be in that position myself many years ago. However constant experience has taught me that crystals have a powerful effect on energy. As with many things esoteric, I … Read More “Mitchells Fold – Part 2 – Crystal Patterns and Life Mysteries” »

Mitchells Fold – Part 1 Gathering the Song of Albion

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Celestial, How To

I know, I know…preludes are supposed to come before the beginning of a tale but for this instance I’d like to leave it for part 2 (a kind of flashback if you will). I think that I say this about most of the sites we visit, but I’m going to say it for this one … Read More “Mitchells Fold – Part 1 Gathering the Song of Albion” »