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.
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?
The Head and The Headband
Without dowsing rods I had little choice but to switch on my “deviceless dowsing” capability and to feel around. Usually I asked for a specific direction to be taken in, but in this case I used it slightly differently. I was sure that if the item was going to be in the museum it would be part of the amazing Ór collection of ancient gold. Therefore, I wandered around the many alcoves and stands which contained the items. I was walking in a different awareness – scanning for a ‘pull’ or a feel towards any particular item. I was using my head to locate the headband.
I wandered around three-quarters of the exhibits without feeling anything. I was getting concerned. Maybe I had come all this way for nothing? Was it a lost cause? As I moved into the rear of the exhibition I began to feel a pull. It was towards a cabinet displaying what looked like three gold nooses. As I stared into the case with curious eyes and with special attention to what I felt there was a strong pull to the back of the cabinet. At the back I saw two golden torcs laying side by side – one “fancy” and the other very thin and plain, with a slight ribbon twist. It was the thin one that drew my special attention.
This was the right torc – I was drawn to it. Looking at it I had an agitated feeling in my stomach, like I had found a great treasure . I needed to be sure. There were only three torcs that I had identified in the museum’s online listings which originated in the Roscommon area. Was this one of them? I looked at the card below to see whether it contained any complimentary information…
Near Athlone. Yes, that’s the right place! The town at the foot of Lough Ree – the next lake down from Lough Arrow upon which the barrows of Carrowkeel overlook (where I found an ancestor’s resting place) and Lough Key where I discovered The Eel Sword – a symbolic and energetic artefact of my druidic ancestors.
By a ‘strange’ coincidence the legend associated with the ancestral home of my forefathers is one which is linked to a lightning strike, which coincides with my current quest. But that’s a different story:
“The earliest record dates to 1184, in the Annals of Loch Cé, where a lighting strike is reported to have started a fire in “The Rock of Loch-Cé,” a “very magnificent, kingly residence.” (source: Ireland Reaching Out)
The area around is also near to where the Raths of kingship and ceremony are situated. The whole area is riddled with ancient sites and megalithic structures. My ancestral heartland on my paternal side. This realisation came to me in that moment and a spike of excitement flushed through me.
I stood in front of the glass, my hands raised up to waist level. I activated my inner senses and began to absorb the energy from the torc through the glass. I felt the energy going into my heart chakra – a powerful influx into the very heart of me – a jolt to the core. Within seconds it had subsided. Once gathered it felt like it spread into my arms and then up into my head and out of my face. It felt as though I had wings and a beak! I had gathered the hawk energy. That’s what I’m calling it, but I don’t know what its purpose is yet..
I had the second artefact’s power. How many more would I need to find? According to the dowsing rods – ONE MORE to complete this set of ancestral artefacts. Three is such a recurrent number in ancient lore, it was no surprise that there was one more thing to find. Already I felt I knew what it was, but we will have to wait to see what happens and when. I am guided by forces that will know the right time – I just have to be patient and willing. This exciting personal ancestor quest continues!
