My previous visit in 2011 to Arthur’s Stone had been in full sunshine. Today, Samhain, was very different with a blanket of grey cloud shedding rain all around us in sporadic bursts. I felt sure that we were in for a damp visit, but on arrival the clouds stopped dispensing rain and left only a wet sheen over everything, clouds still deepening in the background.
Kal set about trying to make the sun appear. By now I knew better than to vocalize any doubts about his abilities, but I have to say that I was really doubtful that he could penetrate the dense grey could cover that was all around us, and had been for most of the drive into Herefordshire. If anything, it was getting thicker and darker with every passing minute. Nevertheless, he stated his intention and I left him to his impossible task.
Discovering the Winter quest
As usual, at the turning of a point in the year I ask for a new quest – a chance to learn something new, and to find out how I am to be directed along my spiritual path for the next few weeks. As Samhaim is essentially the “closing of the energies” I didn’t know what to expect if I asked for a new challenge. I first asked if this was a suitable place to ask for such information, and then finding out that it was I asked to be taken to a place where I could ask the question.
I was directed by the dowsing rods to firstly climb up on to the capstone. Hold on! Wasn’t that exactly what I’d done at Tinkinswood a few hours ago too? Theme of the day! As I stood on top of the structure I felt the ley energies flowing through the stone. I had a feeling they were travelling up from and down to the valley below in a bi-directional exchange. Ley energies were not what I was here for, however, so I didn’t do anything about dowsing them. It was far too wet and cold to be doing an energy map! I’ll wait until it’s warm again for that.
Feeling “ready”, i.e. energetically attuned to the site, I asked if there was anywhere else I need to be. The dowsing rods took me off the capstone and turned around into the side of the structure. There was just enough room to crawl inside and be seated reasonably comfortably, so I did that. Kal watched me and tutted gently – wouldn’t catch him crawling about in the mud!
I settled into the space and began to tune in….
When the energy felt right I began to ask about my next quest. Rather surprisingly I felt a draught hit my face and I began to feel the presence of the Merlin energy. Aha…now something interesting would happen! Everything went still again and I asked the question – what is my quest for next part of the year? One sentence emerged…
“Learn about the herb Henbane!”
Simple. Direct. Clear. Done. Thanks Merlin. I crawled out of the chamber and began to come back to reality.
I thought about the instruction. Why this herb, I wondered? Was this part of the request that I had received at Din Lligwy on Anglesey where I had met the spirit of Saint Iestyn, and he had requested that I take on the tradition of knowing about herbs and plants? I would have to find out in the coming weeks.
A Promise To Ash
One of the things I know about my spirit guide, who I call ‘Ash’, is that he is bound with my spiritual path at the moment because we have information to offer each other. In return for his help with my work I sometimes feel the need to offer him knowledge or experience of subtle energy forms, which is what he has connected with me to learn about.
As I stood outside of the Arthur’s Stone chamber I felt this compulsion rise up again until it became a nag. I got my dowsing rods out and asked if there was any subtle energy formation here at the site which would be on interest to Ash. The rods indicated that there was, so I began to investigate, curious myself to see whether it was something that I hadn’t come across before too.
By now Kal was in full flow trying to bring the sun out. There was a distinct gap forming between some dark clouds but at this stage I wouldn’t say that it was a finished job. I left him standing by the capstone and dowsed around him. The dowsing rods locked into the path of this interesting energy form and soon i was being led around the edges of the capstone. I circled the stone three times to ensure that the path was consistent. It was.
By the time I was going around on the third pass I began to feel that the energy was flowing around with me. We had done this kind of work at Lligwy Chamber on Anglesey, so it was nothing too new. Yet, this time I felt like this was an actually ‘course’ of energy, programmed into the make-up of the site, not something that I was creating in the moment. I was following an old path!
The energy levels increased as the flow quickened. Now, as I passed Kal I fed the energy into his work to bring out the sun. Soon the energy flow was faster than I was walking, even though my pace had increased. Like a roundabout set spinning I stepped away from the circling flow and let it course on its own. At that moment Kal looked up into the clouds and pointed out the minor miracle. A patch of sunlight was glowing brightly from in between a blanket of deep black cloud. Impossible! He laughed and continued laughing for some time, offering my knowing glances. I took a picture in order to record the proof.
So, what was this energy form that I had been directed to find? I spent a while dowsing its content, its shape, even trying to discover how it had been created by listing every possibility I could think of. In the end I found out that this energy form is created by the megalthic builders – the people who had built the structure in the first place. When walked by an energy-aware person it enhances the energy work of someone working natural magick at the site.
With this astonishing bit of research we decided to leave. It was getting unbelievably cold now, and the rain was still threatening to come back, even with the sliver of sun in the distance. That sun wasn’t coming our way any time soon, so we retreated for the warmth of the car and headed home in jubilant mood.
