Month: May 2014

Taliesin and Creative Energy

Posted on By kal No Comments on Taliesin and Creative Energy
Energy work, Incense, Natural Magick, Visions

Gwas was off again chasing Taliesin and I was in tow. Our journey this fine sunny evening was to a marker of the birth place of Taliesin. As with the other time, I had no specific purpose in mind. I was going with the flow as they say, which if you know me is a … Read More “Taliesin and Creative Energy” »

Muse of Taliesin 3 – In The Bosom of Ceridwen

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Muse of Taliesin 3 – In The Bosom of Ceridwen
Ancient Sites, Crystals, God or Goddess, Natural Magick, Quests

In the third (final?) part of the Muse of Taliesin quest stories, Kal and I found ourselves taking the difficult path up the hillside towards Deganwy Castle. high above the mouth of the River Conwy. As usual we were making it hard work, or rather let me say that all of the work in this particular quest was characterised by having to really work to find and arrive at the correct location. Perhaps that was a part of the work?

No matter how much effort was involved in getting there, at the top Kal and I split into our respective places – him staying at the old outer fortifications, and me heading to the very centre of the old castle grounds. We seemed to be arriving at exactly the right time. I’ll explain that in a moment when you see the celestial objects some together in a perfect synchrony.

Deganwy Castle - April 2014 (11)
Sunset over the River Conwy from Deganwy Castle

As I walked into the barely-lit dark cauldron of the castle I was faced with the two silhouetted breasts of Ceridwen. These were two hills which a well-known feature of the castle’s upper formation – like the Paps of Anu in Kerry, Ireland. To me they were symbols of the Mother Goddess. My thoughts moved back to Taliesin whose mother was Ceridwen – the crone goddess associated with inspiration. Surely, I thought, I was now in the bosom of the goddess at this site associated with her son? For Kal, he has experience of the crone goddess in the form of Cailleach. For me, currently, it is Ceridwen. She is the owner of The Cauldron of Poetic Inspiration (awen).

Read More “Muse of Taliesin 3 – In The Bosom of Ceridwen” »

The finer points of becoming a Knight

Posted on By kal No Comments on The finer points of becoming a Knight
Quests, Spirit of Place

As you will read in Gwas’s posts he is on a mini quest to seek out energies pertaining to Taliesin. Who am I to say no to tagging along on such a quest? So when the opportunity arose, of course I said yes! We drove to the outskirts of Conway, skirting the beautiful castle there … Read More “The finer points of becoming a Knight” »

Following an intuitive path

Posted on By kal No Comments on Following an intuitive path
Dowsing, Experiment, How To

For about the last 2 years I have been running an experiment. Actually scratch that, for the last 4 years I have been running an experiment. I think it seriously began when I had a  vision of being dropped in the South-West of England, an impossible notion at that time, and yet only two weeks … Read More “Following an intuitive path” »

Battle for the Wand

Posted on By kal No Comments on Battle for the Wand
Edge Wizardry, Energy work, God or Goddess, Visions

Temporal note: This event occurred prior to the events at the Druids Circle and the Ice-Dragon We had just been to the Ancient Yew tree and felt that we could still get some more work in. So we drove to the nearby lake Brenig and determined that this was a suitable place to have an … Read More “Battle for the Wand” »

Muse of Taliesin 2 – Inspiration Re-Kindled

Posted on By Gwas 1 Comment on Muse of Taliesin 2 – Inspiration Re-Kindled
Ancient Sites, God or Goddess, Natural Magick, Quests

In Michael Dames‘ book “Taliesin’s Travels” the famous bard moves from the dolmen of Maen-Y-Bardd to Llyn Geirionydd (“Lake Language”). Completely unbeknownst to me, I followed in exactly the same path! I had used the book merely as a quick reference to discover some of the sites, and they had been lucked out at random. Then I had used the dowsing rods to determine which sites I should visit, and in which order. Behold, the order mimicked the text when I went back to read the text properly. Quite a surprise, and another beautiful coincidence.

On the way up through the forest from Llanrwst to the lake we missed a very small turn off to the right and continued up the hill. The road became more of a single-lane rally track through Gwydyr Forest, and I rather enjoyed putting my car through its paces. Kal probably wished the car had an on-board bucket, or at least ‘bucket’ seating! After a few miles of fun/terror we arrived at a small car park at the end of Llyn Geirionydd – the supposed birthplace of the legendary bard Taliesin. We would take the ‘proper’ road back down later.

Llyn Geirionydd - April 2014 (1) (Large)
I quickly realised that the monument that was my intended destination was on the other side of the lake, so Kal dutifully opened the gates along the road – out, open, in, out, open, in again – until we were able to park at the far end in a lay-by at the bottom of a pine-laden hill. The monument was a minute’s walk along the edge of the lake to the small mound upon which it stood. Now the fun could begin.

Taliesin's Monument - Llyn Geirionydd - April 2014 (15) (Large)

Read More “Muse of Taliesin 2 – Inspiration Re-Kindled” »

Muse of Taliesin 1 – Birth of the Quest

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Muse of Taliesin 1 – Birth of the Quest
Ancient Sites, Energy work, God or Goddess, Quests

We couldn’t help ourselves. We were having a stretch of great weather in England and it was only the middle of April. We had to go out. I was running out of time to begin my latest quest – The Muse of Taliesin. Therefore, a couple of quick texts, a designated date and time, and the “game was afoot” as they say. I waited for Kal and watched a hawk circling the house. A good omen.

We were heading into the depths of North Wales on the first part of my quest. I had a list of sacred sites associated with Taliesin the bard. Tonight we would visit the first of them. I drove with Kal in keen conversation mode to Rowen village near Conwy. I sort of remembered the way to my intended destination – the dolmen of Maen Y Bardd. I know it was up on the hillside at the back of Penmaenmawr, but I also know that I didn’t want to take the narrow steep road up. We drove through Rowen village and ended up on the narrowest, steepest road in North Wales. A road we said we’d never do again after last time. Something was making me work hard for this sacred site visit! I hoped it wouldn’t become a theme on this quest.

We parked and walked down the water-ridden track to a standing stone with male energy emissions. The flat blade of the stone marked the path to the dolmen. One could almost follow its shadow. It looked like a giant had thrust a blade up through the earth.

Maen-Y-Bardd - Conwy Valley - April 2014 (5) (Large)
The wind picked and so did my excitement. Soon, back on the track, I was able to point out Arthur’s Spear in the field opposite the little dolmen. An old tale tells of a giant throwing the stone to account for its positioning. My experience with such stones told me that it was probably pointing at a particular star, but this was not an evening to be hanging around trying to determine such things. The wind grew more bitter as the sun lengthened the shadows, but the atmosphere was still vibrant and expectant. On to the dolmen!

Read More “Muse of Taliesin 1 – Birth of the Quest” »