24th September 2013 – Dyserth Castle, Denbighshire, North Wales.
I intended to go to a local hill to do some work, but there were people all over the hill that night and I wanted to go to a place where I could be alone with the spirits and energies of the natural world, and not to mingle with humans. This is the thought process of the Hedge Druid oftentimes.
Somehow I ended up driving… just driving. Within half an hour I began to formulate a destination. I was clearly heading for Gop Hill near Holywell in North Wales. As I approached the turning for the hill I carried on! What was I doing? As I allowed my direction to continue to be guided I realised I was heading for Dyserth. When I arrived there and drove straight through I realised I was heading back to Dyserth Castle. Why? I had been there only a few weeks before. It didn’t make sense to me.
Alone In the Wilderness
I was ill-prepared for such a venture. I didn’t have my usual outing bag packed with incense, waterproofs, lighters, candles, torches – all the things I normally take when I got visiting sacred sites. All I had was a cheap £2.99 tiny wind-up torch whose light lasted for about a minute before it needed a minute of winding. Hmm….It was normally Kal who was the ill-equipped one.
I walked through the darkness, only using the torch when the darkness was completely impenetrable and uninviting. There was enough moonlight in the clear patches of sky to be able to navigate by memory. I reached the imposing amphitheatre of Dyserth Castle. Would I have to climb up to the top tonight, in the dark? NO. The dowsing rods said that my work would be done in the ground-level surroundings that I was used to and which was relatively flat and unencumbered. I was thankful for that.
Twigs snapped in the undergrowth all around at random intervals, but I had put up solid protection and was unafraid. The night was my friend today – it was what I had asked for – solitude and relative silence in a sacred place. Now I wanted to see if there was anything out there in the darkness that could help me.
The Fire Pit
On our visits the places we sometimes come across fire pits. Some are recent, some are old and some are ancient. They each have their own energy signatures, composed of the intent of the people who have sat around the fire. It would seem that the thoughts and intent of the people assembled around a fire pit contributes to and defines the character of the energies they leave at that spot. I think this because I have found pits in places where… how can I put this… ‘less wholesome elements’ congregate and the pit’s energy is chaotic, unwieldy and downright nasty on occasion. Other pits, generally in places where seasoned outdoor types have pitched camp, these sites are generally full of more gentle, beneficial and beautifully-formed energy patterns.
At Dyserth Castle someone had gone to the trouble of shifting several large boulders to make a circle of seats, and inside that there was evidence of a medium-sized fire. There was no debris (usually empty cans of beer and broken glass) yet the spot unnerved me. I put it to one side and thought about why I was here. I wanted to ask some questions about my current quest – “Call the lightning”. I got out my dowsing rods to investigate….”Please take me to a place where I need to do some energy work tonight.”
I was taken around the outer edge of the circle of boulders. Clearly there was something that needed to be attended to here. Was it something to learn? NO. Was it something to restore? YES. I felt the energies – yes, chaotic, wild, dark. The site around was not pleased that there was such disruption to its normal patterns. There was a shuffling in the undergrowth nearby as though echoing this sentiment. Balance needed to be restored.
Neutralising the Fire
Once connected and with the soothing presence of my guide Ash, I began to gather together some of the elements that I thought I might need to neutralise a fire pit’s chaotic energies. From my work with the ash staff I knew that I could use Air elements to clear the space, then I could call upon Earth to provide a boundary to the space such that the effect was enclosed within the ring of stones, and so that subtle energy changes didn’t spill out into the surrounding area. Initially I tried to look up the air sigil form on my phone to use as a reminder, but a crack in the trees at the top of the cliff made me come back to the moment and I abandoned that to rely on what I had available at that moment. I would use my intuition.
I called upon my friendly Air elemental to come and assist with the generation of a neutralising, cleansing draught of air. Once gathered I drew a circle around the ring of stones using Earth energy. This provided a boundary to the clearance and so I could sweep my hand across the fire pit knowing that the only clearance would be to the jittery chaotic energies inside the ring. I made an intention that the energies would I had provided would dissipate once the space had been restored to a neutral condition. Done.
It was time to get back to the real reason I was here, which was to try to get some answers for my quest. So in the next post I will relate how a huge character gave me some insight into the relationship between fire and earth elements.
Gwas.
