In what is an uncommon privilege I got to work with one of the most eminent examples of what I would call a “wise woman” this week. Debra Delglyn is a well-travelled and widely-experienced practitioner of shamanic arts of all sorts. When we work together I come away wishing I had the time and dedication to make my life as completely immersed in the Way of the Shaman like she does. I always learn a lot.
We took our rare opportunity and headed off to Gop Hill. We had been talking about it for months. Now it was the right time of year to go – early April – yet the winds were raw and I warned her to expect coldness. It’s always cold on Gop Hill. We set off in the midst of rain and dark clouds, but I felt like we would overcome that and be welcomed in sunshine. So it turned out to be.
Debra has asked me to tell her about what kinds of energies she might encounter at the hill. For some reason I had declined to share that knowledge. At the time I couldn’t justify it, but for some reason it didn’t feel relevant today. Little did I know what was about to be revealed which would explain that!
The Beech Couple
As we passed through the gates which forms the three-way meeting point of paths we stopped to admire the beech trees which stand there. Perhaps I should say that instead, both of us felt impelled to stop as our energetic attention was drawn towards the pair, and we knew that we needed to stop and pay homage.
I started at the male tree. It stood tall and straight, proud and strong. I re-introduced myself and attuned to its energy field. The impulse that it gave off was one of strength and dominion. I felt male energy around it too, so I got out my dowsing rods and found that there was a male line coming through it and heading into the female tree.
Debra and I switched places – she came to the male tree and I went to the female. The female tree had a wide bowl at the base and was leaning across the stiles. When I connected with the tree it indicated that it wanted to feel the energies of those who stopped and lingered at the stiles. I noticed that the male tree had placed a lower bough gently onto the female tree as though protecting her with its arm. It was a lovely touch.
We left these portal trees and went the long way around to the hill. This entailed going down at a diagonal then finding a straight and little-used track which cut back in the opposite diagonal taking us up to the base of the hill.
At various points on the track we stopped to notice energetic boundary points, the sight of sunlight on tree buds, or listen to the sound of birdsong in the developing canopies around us. We stopped at a stone which would have marked an entrance point to the hill. Everything was changing around us. Spring is all about CHANGE – getting rid of the unnecessary and opening the space for new energy to come in. Turns out that is exactly what was happening at Gop Hill today.
The Chainsaw Massacre
As we reach the end of the path and make our way to the base of the hill the sound of a chainsaw greets us. So much for a meditation session, I say! As we take another few steps the full impact the sound implications reach me. All of the trees and shrubs at the base of the hill have been cut down!
A chill ran through me. Was it the cool early Spring wind, or the shock of the ‘management’ of the plant life? After the shockwave had subsided I warned Debra – perhaps we might have been called here to do some healing work on the hill to counteract the clearance?
We walked to the top of the hill in silence. As we got ourselves prepared I found a spot to sit in, after pointing out some of the hill’s energy hot spots to the new visitor. Working alone I began to meditate. Oddly, I didn’t feel the energies of the Spirit of Place very much. Was it too early in the year to meet her – The White Lady?
In my mind I saw e a beacon fire being lit in the middle of the hill. The hill had been disconnected until that point. Now that the fire was lit, the surrounding hills and far beyond could re-connect with Gop Hill.
With that done, I ask about how I should prepare my meditation group which was due to start the next week. What mental image should I use during the meditation to connect the group to the land, I asked?
I get an image of a tall vortex above the earth. As it whirls inward it draws in all the sun, moon and star energies. These energies are drawn down to the spot where I am sitting, connecting the the land around. All my negative energy goes into the earth, and I am left in a prepared state.
Then this is the image I will try to convey to the meditation group this year. I come out of my meditation to find that Debra is nearly done too. Soon we talk about some of our visions, and we find that our image of the beacon is a shared one, and with the same concepts of the hill’s connections with other places too. Amazing.
In the next post I will reveal more about the nature of the changes at Gop Hill. This was not the end.
