Finally, I get a post in February! Kal’s adventure was so interesting that I had to let it flow in sequence. Now it’s my turn to talk briefly about Imbolc this year.
The things I had to get ready for Imbolc were clear. Firstly, I had been informed that I would need to release the elementals that I had been working with. I had simply “outgrown” them, and am working at a level that they cannot be of much further use to me. Personally, I found this quite a sad directive, and so I used a tarot layout to ask for some reassurance. The card I drew for Imbolc was “Ivy” – the card of giving. So, that was confirmation, no matter how galling the split would be.
Secondly I needed to ensure that I had read as much as I could about Henbane. Countless encounters with spirits, guides and psychics had reaffirmed this, no mater how bewildered I was that I needed to research the properties of a well-known poison! For what purpose, I didn’t know. Nevertheless, I diligently sought out and read all the books I had on the subject. Or so I thought. We’ll come back to this at start of the next post.
Finally, I was going to ask for some guidance about the next part of the year – Imbolc to Beltane. What did I need to do during that time? It had become a tradition to ask for guidance at the conclusion of the previous part of the year. I will describe this in the next post as well.
Now, let’s get back to the releasing of the elementals. I had chosen four sites which I felt we could reasonably get to and get around in the limited daylight hours we had this Imbolc. Sunrise was about 7:40am and sunset was around 5:15pm. The sites I had chosen were picked for their elemental associations:-
- Pistyll Rhaeadr – the most impressive waterfall I knew – the water site, obviously.
- Breidden Hill – the most impressive hill bordering the Welsh and English border in Powys. This was my fire site as I reckoned it must have been a beacon hill, and the sun would be on it at noon.
- Druid’s Circle – a stone circle at the windiest place I know, and today’s weather forecast was for gale-force winds in the afternoon. The air site.
- Bryn Celli Ddu – the most intact example of an earthen mound in our vicinity. The perfect earth site should the weather be bad. It was.
I had a set of crystals which I had inbued with the essence of each of the elementals. Today I would take this set of crystals, leave the associated crystal at the correct site, and then the work would be done. Easy, right? Ha! Some were, some weren’t!
Here’s the story….
1. Releasing the Water Spirit – Vacouyou
- I dowsed that I only needed to work at the base of waterfall – this saved us a steep climb to the top in cold weather.
- I dowsed for the correct place to release the spirit – Kal was disappointed that it wasn’t behind or in the raging waterfall.
- It was a perch above the base of the waterfall, and the crystal (white quartz) had to be thrown into the point where the falling water hit the lying water.
- This was easily done, and I felt something leave me as I said goodbye to my friendly watery maiden Vacouyou.
2. Releasing the Fire Spirit – Guss
- I was wearing my Merlin necklace for some reason, and we then passed a road sign for a place that included the word “emrys”. Being flexible and intuitively-driven we ended up going to Dinas Emrys – on the other side of North Wales!
- On the way there the rain got heavier and heavier. As we entered the Nant Gwynant valley we went through a massive rainstorm near Snowdon. Impossible to be dry enough for a fire?
- We worked on releasing Solstice energy and the weather cleared only for the duration of our visit – to the second!
- I lit a fire at a spot directed by the dowsing rods inside the re-furbished enclosure.
- I put the black tourmaline crystal in the flames, but it rolled to one side, where it was intermittently passed through flame when the wind blew the fire.
- I tried to retrieve the stone to place it back but it disappeared!
- The fire spirit had been released. Another little part of my was vacated. I felt oddly lighter.
3. Releasing the Air spirit – Okhrag
- It was a tough climb up Penmaenmawr in the gale-force winds and driving stinging sleet. I had the right gear, but Kal was soaked and freezing, battered by the ice shards. I was toasty and dry. But this was the way he wanted it, and he declined my offers of extra waterproofs and gloves. Foolish boy. Turned out there was a reason for this. Still , tough gig!
- Kal is challenged to make the sun appear even on a day like this, so he does…
- I thought maybe I needed to put the air crystal – a rose quartz – into a tree, like the Celts used to leave their dead high up for carrion to pick their bones. I felt like the crystal needed to be “up in the air”.
- I picked a possible suitable tree, but something told me I needed to visit the circle before I did anything with the crystal, so we soldiered on.
- I took refuge at my familiar female stone, where strangely, despite being the lowest stone, I felt the least wind! Very odd.
- I dowsed for where to release the spirit and leave the crystal – this involved me standing with my back to the hurricane wind and letting the rods point where I should walk. Most of the walk was done sideways! I was taken to a familiar stone – the one where I had worked with the elemental when I was last at Druid’s Circle. Fitting.
- I needed to place the crystal “in the air” in a hollow of the tall stone. I found a perfect hollow and stayed there despite the winds. Perfect!
- I said goodbye to my oldest elemental, and the wind (if this is possible) grew stronger for a moment, blowing me clean out of the circle! I laughed. We had played together before. This was Okhrag’s last “push” and it was fun, yet slightly sad too. I felt devoid of her.
4. Releasing the Earth Spirit – Milgrew
- Easy back-track to get to Anglesey – the car even knows the way without me now.
- The weather was still wild, and we hurried to get to the site so that we could shelter. No messing about outside today – straight inside!
- I had five stones in my crystal set. I thought I had brought all of them, but strangely my earth crystal had gone missing! I only had one crystal left – a quartz crystal which I used as my essence – the focal point for my work with the elementals. I wondered if all my plans would be scuppered!
- Turns out I could transfer the earth elemental contact into this remaining crystal, and in fact, it was a really fitting way to rid myself completely of the crystal set, because otherwise I would have kept that crystal. Also, I remembered that I had once left another crystal in BCD – and this too was a quartz crystal. Hmmm.. something other than me was also at work here, I felt.
- Inside we lit incense. There was evidence that we were not the only visitors here today. Someone had left a gift on top of the petrified tree
.
- I touched the tree and gathered the strength to let the last elemental go.
- I knew where I had to release him, and I put the crystal into a secret place. I felt completely empty now: exhausted, light and hollow.
We left the island of Anglesey exhausted. It had been a long and fruitful day – more so than other years. I think this is the template for this year’s work. It’s going to be harder, more demanding, and more exhausting than ever, but the rewards are likely to be equally intense. I can’t wait! The year has started!
