Beltane – The Hedge Druid

Sun and Moon Glyphs for the Merlin Staff

July 15, 2015June 30, 2015 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Circles and Stones, Glyphs and Wards, Merlin, Modern Druidry, Quests, World Tree

The Moel-Ty-Uchaf stone circle high above the village of Llandrillo in North Wales is one of the toughest tests of determination and stamina. It takes around 40 minutes of relentless climbing up a very steep gradient to reach it. Yet, when a circle calls – we heed it! In this story I found that patience is rewarded, and that glyphs can unlock energetic forces at a site.

The agenda for this sunny Saturday outing was simple – two sites – Llandrillo and Dinas Emrys. Surely we’d be home for mid-afternoon? Ha! The Universe had other plans. In our way we had a panoply of tardiness-generating obstacles:-

roadworks on every major highway between us and the sites
weekend wanderers doing 30mph on major trunk roads
caravans and farm traffic using the main roads

It was an object lesson in giving in to the inevitable slowness. A journey that I had previously clocked at 25 minutes on my motorcycle took us 1 hour 45 minutes today. So far this year we are both learning that Patience is the watchword.

However, there was the promise of obtaining some vital information: I needed to find out the four glyphs that were the Essence of The Merlin Staff. They needed to be discovered before the Summer Solstice, and then I would have to get them carved onto the staff at some point this year.

The way up was hard. It always is. Yet we were in good spirits. We only needed to stop a couple of times to re-gain our breath and then we were approaching the circle in good spirits. Unusually, we both recovered from the climb almost instantly. It was a remarkable, so we remarked upon it. Now for the work to begin!

Beltane 2015 – Reparations and the Four Stone Circle

May 16, 2015December 30, 2016 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Circles and Stones, Crystals, Energy work, Hills and Mounds, Land healing, Spirit of Place, Wheel of the Year

We begin this year’s Beltane celebrations with a set of tales that are like ripples in life’s pond. They form concentric circles within each other, being made of the same substance, and affecting each other. So, I start my set of stories with the largest of the ripples – a ripple going back through time to loop around to the very beginning of our questing.

This first story is the longest, and the rest get progressively shorter. Strap yourselves in!

Beltane Bashing Background

Long ago, when we were young and the world seemed idealistic, we had a notion that we could create a stone circle. Surely, all that would be required is for us to gather some stones together, maybe put them on a hill, enchant them, and then we would be Circle Makers? That, dear readers, is what we did many years ago.

The action was full of difficulty – which should have been our clue, but we were less aware in those days. We hauled some rocks around up a steep hill in Wales on a hot day which then turned cold on us. The rocks cracked as we attempted to “tap” them into place in our makeshift circle. The energetic imprint we created has ever more been a source of slight guilt for us, as we came to learn more about what we were doing. We always said that one day we would return and right our wrong. This was that day.

The way this story works out is astonishing. My intention was to start the afternoon at St.Winifrede’s Well in Holywell. It was the head of an old pilgrim route from the North coast down into the heart of eastern Wales. My idea was to start with a cleansing, and then move on to somewhere that we could energise, and finally end up at Moel Y Gaer above Bodfari where we could harmonize our work, right our wrong, and find out what was next on our quest. Three simple steps, if somewhat vaguely defined.

Three simple steps that were immediately shifted away from MY plans, and instead worked themselves out in a completely different and most magickal way.

10 Beltane 2014 – Lair of the Land Giant

June 6, 2014May 30, 2014 Gwas 1 Comment

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Elemental, Faery, Modern Druidry, Wheel of the Year

Walking through the Broceliande Forest the next site that I had in mind is called L’Hotié de Viviane, or Viviane’s house (it is also called The Tomb of the Druids). The clouds are still a dull grey colour, but by now sunlight is beginning to pierce through the cloud cover, sending light scurrying through the lime green branches. It is Kal who points out the direction we need to go in, which is odd because he’s never been here before and I have! We reach the top of the hill above the main part of the forest, and I sit on the summit. The energy is male, and strong, yet not harsh, but energising. Kal is “away with the faeries”, off on a ramble, so I begin to descend the hill towards the sacred site. But I don’t get there!

The Oak at Viviane’s Tomb

On one side of the path is a beautiful symmetrical oak which positively invites druids to enter beneath its canopy. Never one to refuse an hospitable invitation from a tree I make my way under the leafy shade and sit on a dry clump of shrivelled leaves in perfect comfort. I settle in, do my introductions, and begin a process of matching my bresthing rate to the rate at which I feel the tree is breathing. Each breath takes just short of a minute to go from full in-breath to full out-breath. In this way, soon a dialogue with the tree begins. I am hoping that it will be able to help furthe my current quest relating to my vision of a giant destroying and creating a sacred site.

I ask why giants take stones from the earth and re-plant them. The youthful oak takes a cross-wind tack on that question and says something very revealing. It says that trees desire the destruction of a site which no longer has energy that can be used to sustain them. Also that the trees in the new location must be asked permission before a new site is created. The trees will maintain any energies associated with working sites if they are close enough. Presumably as long as the energies of the site are useful to them, and they can feed from them?

In the past Kal and I have worked at many sites where we have discovered links between nearby trees and the sites themselves. We haven’t really investigated the nature of this link, believing it to be one of the trees sustaining and feeding into the sacred site’s subtle energy network. Here I was finding that there was actually a mutually-beneficial two-way link going on. The trees are sustaining a sacred site’s energy fields, and are also linking to these sites in order to “feed” off them.

This was a very slow and laborious conversation! What you are reading in a minute took me fifteen minutes of slow rhythmic breathing to extort from the oak.

I notice that a young lady is passing me by, and she notices that I am sitting with the oak. She has a faraway look in her eyes. She goes to sit on the top of the hill – the exact same spot I sat at. Later Kal would tell me that she was “one of us”, but that’s his part of the story. Here’s the rest of mine….

9 Beltane 2014 – Return to the Giants Tomb

June 4, 2014May 27, 2014 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Natural Magick, Spirit of Place, Wheel of the Year

After a couple of unremarkable sites on the Locmaraquier peninsula, we were heading towards our final destination for this Brittany outing – Broceliande Forest. Broceliande has a reputation for being an ancient forest with strong claims to an Arthurian tradition. Certainly this is how the French Tourist Agency are marketing the space. For me, when I visited the forest in 2011 I found it enchanting. At the time I had an encounter with a leprechaun-type spirit which left me sure that there was a playful set of spirits in the woods there, but also that convinced me that the forest was truly a magickal place, regardless of its Arthurian connections.

Le Tombeau Des Geants

Somehow, through a miracle of unintended navigation, we find the car park at the southerly side of the forest – the perfect point to begin to explore because all the sacred sites were close by. For once, it was me who didn’t have the right clothing – I hadn’t taken my walking boots on this trip, but the ground was boggy and water-logged due to the torrential downpours overnight. How times have changed and the tables turned!

Tombeau des Geants - Broceliande Forest - Brittany 2014 (2) (Large) — Water-logged paths and ditches at Broceliande Forest

I had been to the Tombeau Des Geants (The Tomb of the Giants) before so I knew the way. We were able to quickly locate it again and after a few muddy paths the site appears complete with information sign, also steeped in fresh rainwater puddles.

Tombeau des Geants - Broceliande Forest - Brittany 2014 (4) (Large) — Can you read the sign? No, neither could we!

On my first visit I had encouraged a Spirit of Place to come back to the site. Of course, now I am here again, would such a spirit be here by now, several years later?

5 Beltane 2014 – Kercado and the New Quest

May 24, 2014November 27, 2014 Gwas 3 Comments

Ancient Sites, Hedge Druidry, Quests, Wheel of the Year

On the way back from Kerlescan I was feeling elated. I had achieved the release of the Taliesin energy into the Carnac Energy Engine. The result has been an amazing vision of the release of far-reaching, nay international, subtle energy. That energy has the purpose of strengthening the bonds between the regions of Brittany and Cornwall – between “Little Britain” and “Great Britain”. Only time and talk will tell whether such a magickal ritual will actually come to be realised in ways that I could recognise. Yet, it felt almost Gardnerian in scale, and it was something immensely positive which felt worth all of the efforts to achieve. Anything else was now a bonus, I felt.

On the walk back I remembered that there ought to be a small track leading off from the area between Kerlescan and Kermario which would lead to an idyllically situated and atmospheric tumulus called Kercado. The signs pointing to an Indian restaurant was incongruous, yet I remembered that this was indeed the way, so we set out down the old straight track towards the tumulus. How many “Ker-“s? I know! It’s confusing. But confusion is like a Thighmaster for the intellect! It’s like the “Tre-” prefix in Cornwall. Another link between these places.

It was like the opposite experience of what we had just been through. The straight road dissipated all energy that we had built up or which we had become entangled with in the last hew minutes. By the end of the road I felt refreshed, released, ready to begin again. What was this trip now? A sight-seeing tour? Where would I go next with it? Oh wait! If I had just finished one quest then, was I ready to learn about the next quest? My heart quickened at the prospect. Eagerness flushed through my body.

4 Beltane 2014 – Carnac and the Taliesin Quest Pt2

May 20, 2014May 8, 2014 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Crossing The Hedge, Energy grid, Hedge Druidry, Other Entities, Quests, Wheel of the Year

This post is the culmination of my Spring to Beltane quest which I have called “The Muse of Taliesin“, although I have also been calling it the Taliesin Awen quest too. I love confusion – it makes the brain work harder. In the first part of this post we had just left The Giant’s Stone in search of the Kerlescan alignments. These stones are not at the popular end of the fields. The only tourists who seem to wander this far are either the truly dedicated, or the ones being transported by the tourist bus. Perfect for we intrepid explorers seeking to do some energy work in peace.

Kerlescan

We wander past the main field of stones, Kal testing each entry gate to see if they are locked, They are. Well, if one was open, then that would be an invitation to enter, would it not? The dowsing rods were giving us clear indications that this was the section in which we would need to work. How could that be, we wondered? Walking round the back of the field we find that there is a house overlooking the area – another strong incentive NOT to hop over the fence. We are about to give up hope, but instead decide to ask where the best place to work might be, because there is one stone outside of the fence. Perhaps here?

Indeed so! The rods indicate that I can begin my work at this stone. Kal asks the same question and the rods point to a stone inside the field, towards the back, almost beneath a canopy of trees. He moves away to investigate how he might access that stone. Possibly remotely? No need! He returns to point out a unique “feature” – a small set of steps in the wall at just the point where the fence meets the wall. One step and you are over into the small gap between fence and wall. It’s too good to be true – an open invitation to work! By a perfect coincidence the area is hidden from view of the nearby house courtesy of some tall shrubs. Well then, we accept the invitation!

Tarot and Dowsing for Beltane

May 11, 2014May 5, 2014 Gwas 3 Comments

Tarot, Wheel of the Year

As I often do before embarking on a major point in the year’s work I decided to do a tarot draw to ask about my work for Beltane. I already know that my next part of the year will be under the auspices of the tree Blackthorn, according to the Tree Angle Oracle tarot draw which governs each point on the wheel of the year for 2014. This is not what I wanted to know about. Instead, I turned my attention to the current quest – the release of Taliesin‘s awen energy into Carnac. With interesting dowsing results.

Firstly, I did some dowsing to try to get some preliminary answers. My questions go answered through a series of dialogues and logical processes, culminating in this information:-

Why release energy into Carnac? To spread an energy throughout the remaining energy grid that is connected and marked by sacred sites.
What kind of energy will be created from this act? Friendship energy. Whoever connects to the sites that the Carnac energy spreads to, they will feel the bonds of friendship.
Is there any unwise or non-beneficial consequence of releasing this energy? No.

With that safely “in the bag” I turned my attentions to a tarot spread.Three questions regarding my work in Brittany for Beltane.

What are they three key events to be aware of?
What is the nature of the work that I will do while I am in Brittany?
How will I know that I have been successful?

I decided that the first question required three cards, the second two, and the third one. A 3-2-1 spread – a kind of reverse pyramid. I dowsed whether I should take account of reverse cards? YES. Which deck should I use? Rider Waite. Really? I never use that deck. Ah, well. More homework to do!

Here is the draw:

Q1. What are they three key events to be aware of?

Death – The Chariot – The Hermit

I am going to hold back in making an interpretation of these three key cards. Let’s see how they relate to events which occur in Brittany over the next few weeks of posts.

Q2. What is the nature of the work that I will do while I am in Brittany?

4 of Swords (rev) – 5 of Wands (rev)

Beltane_tarot_2 — Five of Wands and Four of Swords reversed – potential or opposite meanings?

MEANINGS:

Five of Wands (reversed)

“The Five of Wands reversed is like a sigh of relief after conflict and struggle. You are no longer up against so much competition and can just ‘be’. On more personal level, you have worked through your anger and hostility and you feel more secure in your relationships. You do not have to constantly prove yourself anymore.

The reversed Five of Wands can also indicate a realisation that you do indeed need focus to achieve your goals. You have come through a period of scattered thought and random ideas only to find yourself in the same place you were when you started. You now acknowledge that if you are to progress your goals further, you must focus your attention on your key priorities and stay committed to your goal without considering even more possibilities or opportunities.” (source: Biddy Tarot)

KEY PHRASES: Lack of struggle, avoiding conflict, focussing on priorities and not getting distracted.

Four of Swords (reversed)

“The Four of Swords reversed can indicate that you are feeling restless and wanting to do everything at once. Even if your body is telling you that you need to rest and relax, your mind may be pushing you forward, trying to accomplish a long list of tasks. You may be getting quite sick or stressed as a result, so it is vital that you force yourself to pause and take it easy to ensure that you do not become completely run down and exhausted.” (source: Biddy Tarot)

KEY PHRASES: Restlessness, burn-out, lack of progress, Knight’s quest, single topic.

I foresee that the work itself will be simple and effective, without barriers, yet the amount of work may leave me physically and mentally depleted.

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