Beltane – Page 2 – The Hedge Druid

Imbolc 2014 – From Imbolc to Beltane

February 28, 2014February 5, 2014 Gwas No Comments

Hedge Druidry, Quests, Trees, Wheel of the Year

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.

Henbane and I

I have been redecorating my study. It has taken my several weeks to get everything out – my extensive library and music collection particularly – and then to decorate, re-furnish, and replenish the study. Now it is finally in a fitting state. Now that I have new bookshelf space I was surprised to come across a book in a completely different part of the house which I felt should have been in my collection in the study. It was a book of healing herbs! I looked up Henbane. No, I had not read this entry, despite having read every other possible entry in other books. I read the information on the morning of Imbolc. The first line of the “uses” section made me jump: “Used in the treatment of asthma“.

I have been struggling with asthma for almost thirty years. I have almost overcome it through a combination of steroid inhalers, vigorous aerobic exercise, and recently with the help of a friend who is working for Forever Living. He has put me on a treatment program which has added a little boost to my own efforts. Nevertheless, I have always been seeking the one final natural cure. Here was a possibility. I was being guided to it. Henbane.

I realised what I needed to do – this year I needed to gather Henbane, then prepare an essence of the plant. I would create my own homeopathic remedy for my asthma! I was excited. This was uncharted territory, and if there’s one thing I knew about Henbane, it was that it was deadly poisonous! Extreme caution must ne taken. But wow – the possibility!

This is to come in the second half of this year. For now, let’s leave this subject and go back to my other topic – what will I be doing from Imbolc until Beltane?

Sister and the Well: Beltane 2013 – 1

May 15, 2013 kal No Comments

Quests

When writing up these quests we tend to go for the salient and relevant points. However we have so often find that innocuous little details play significant parts and so, more for ourselves than anything else we add those bits here – just in case. Here is one such entry. Gwas wanted to visit a well … Read More “Sister and the Well: Beltane 2013 – 1” »

Beltane 2013 Pt2 – Wilderness and Laughter

May 12, 2013May 12, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Energy work, Hedge Druidry, Telluric, Wheel of the Year

I had deliberately kept the number of site visits low for Beltane. The daylight hours are still short, the distance we had to travel to get there was sufficient to drain away the day, and I wanted to be able to feel ‘unhurried’ when we got to a site. Almost as if enhancing this mood I had parked at The Broad Oak pub car park in the village of Strelley. It took us ten minutes to walk to Catstone Hill, and really it would have been easier to park right on the corner of the road just before the main village where there was ample parking, and the distance would have been more than halved. Such is life!

That wasn’t the end of our woes finding the site. Intuitively, and with only the barest map navigation, we found our way on to the hill. We inspected the broad flat plateau but couldn’t find any “capstones” for burial chambers. Were they hidden by the brambles and gorse? We tried to find more accurate maps on our phones but failed, so we resorted to dowsing rods. The rods pointed us out in the direction of a ploughed field. Our rationality kicked in and caused us confusion. We split up and went searching. Eventually I found the right place. It was at the end of the ploughed field and off the plateau behind a line of trees. The M1 motorway was is view below. Nice! Being off the main plateau was why we hadn’t seen it. We also realised there was a much easier way in if we’d only taken the steep tracks up the hill instead of following the main path. Once you know, you know – hindsight is clear.

Catstone Hill's buried chambers — Catstone Hill’s buried chambers

We inspected the area around the capstones. No entry into these chambers, if ever there was any. They were silted up to the brim now. Disappointment began to set in. We stumbled around tripping over the tangle of briars and bramble thorns, the thick dead grass and the outcropping tangle of shrub branches. Our sense of frustration was compounded when we discovered that the site had no energy signature either. There were no earth energies running through the site at all. The disappointment grew. Should we turn away and go somewhere else?

Beltane 2013 Pt1 – Hermits and Hermitages

May 9, 2013May 9, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Wheel of the Year

Hey – where have I been? Well, to Budapest, then back for Beltane, then off to Barcelona. I’ve been a busy bee! It’s all go at this time of year! Normal service is now resumed, and no neonicotinoids were ingested along the way.

For Beltane this year I decided to go over to the very edge of Derbyshire where it touched with Nottinghamshire. The meeting of counties seemed like the kind of liminal space where worlds collide and interesting things happen – a kind of amalgam which I’m calling ‘Derbinotts’. We would visit two new sites in the Nottingham area, and on the way back visit some favourites from Derbyshire, but first we had a “local” Cheshire site to do, because all good Fire Festivals should start with a cleansing.

Indeed, I had noticed that there was a pattern to the many years we have been marking these festival dates. For Beltane the pattern was this:-

Cleansing and purification through water
Concepts of birds, wings or flight while at a sacred site
A celebratory fire ritual, usually involving incense.

Introducing ‘Derbinotts’

You may remember that I am following the route of some tarot cards that I drew and interpreted at the start of the year. For the four Celtic Fire Festivals there are specific readings and I was keen to discover the first of what I would term “the tricky encounters”.

The tarot has said:

Q. How do you see yourself?

Vision: “A picture – a person turning into a place and back again. A choice. Then a wilderness – dark trees, tangled thorns and branches. A despairing, Lost. Lost in many ways. A lady’s laughter.”

For Beltane the reading had shown the place as being “The Hermitage” and the associated character as being “Linet“. The main character of the reading was that I would be challenged and goaded into making an important decision regarding my progress on the path. If you like, my faith would be tested! I was feeling confidant, however, after having gone through the process of acquiring two energetic talismans – The Sword and The Shield of Galahad – and I felt that these tools would assist me greatly in dealing with anything “untoward” that might occur in my mind space during this quest.

Chad meets Kilroy

Cleansing at Chad’s Well

To me Chad was that character who looked over the wall – the essence of childish curiosity, and a character which can be seen on many school walls. Apparently he’s also called Kilroy.

To the established Christian Church he was a saint of the 7th Century who lent his name to a well just outside of Stockport near Romiley in Cheshire. Maybe one day he’ll want it back? For now his name adorns a beautiful and well-constructed holy well that lies at the foot of a steep hill below the Peak Forest canal. The canal is the essence of tranquillity, and the whole area is suitably brushed with this soft and gentle quality.

Alderley reveals The Sword of Galahad

April 7, 2013April 7, 2013 Gwas 1 Comment

Ancient Sites, Quests

When the weather has been dry for several days in England then it would be rude not to go out into the world and see if you can feel the forces of Nature at work. Not wanting to be rude Kal and I gave a large part of our eating and drinking time over to a journey to our favourite magical woodland – Alderley Edge. It was the first visit of the year, and although it was definitely not Spring-like weather yet, at least it was dry and had been for days, which meant that we could walk around without fear of falling foul of a foot of mud and slutch.

As if our wont, we had to have a question to be working with in order to make the experience bring true reward (yes, wandering around aimlessly can be its own random reward, but if you want to make steady and sure spiritual progress then you need a mission, a plan, a guided meditation). For my part, I had questions about my recent work with The Sword and The Shield. I had managed to absorb some energy into my shield stone and this was very satisfactory. Now, I wanted to know about the Sword aspect. What was it, and how could I go about obtaining it so that I could fulfil my healing potential using these two magickal symbols and their associated energies.

My research into the figure of Galahad had shown that he had encounters involving a sword and a shield. For Galahad they were to be found like this:-

The Sword of Spirit – a sword drawn from a rock
The Shield of Faith – a shield found at the altar of a white abbey

Galahad or Arthur pulling the sword from the stone?

Well, that was all to plan so far. I had found a white abbey (Valle Crucis), its ancient altar location, and had transferred the energy of the “shield” into my shield-like stone, and was now able to use that to quickly protect and retain energies for sacred sites. My thoughts thus turned to The Sword. Drawn from a rock? Really? Like Arthur’s sword, Galahad also had to draw a sword from a rock?

Who owns the sword?

Last year I had been doing some research into Gawain. During that year I had some experiences, particularly on Iona, the led me to believe that the Sword is identified with the Will. This is especially true in magickal work. However, was the sword that I would work with this year related to Galahad, Arthur or Gawain? It was a confusing picture! Did it matter? Could the dowsing rods sort it out for me? Or maybe a tarot draw?

The dowsing rods were able to help me divine the answer. It is Galahad’s Sword that I am to find and work with.

“Sir Galahad survives this test [being sat in the Seige Perilous seat], witnessed by King Arthur who, upon realizing the greatness of this new knight, leads him out to the river where a sword lies in a stone with an inscription reading “Never shall man take me hence but only he by whose side I ought to hang; and he shall be the best knight of the world… Galahad accomplishes this test with ease, and King Arthur swiftly proclaims him to be the greatest knight ever. ” (Source: Wikipedia)

Now, on to the Alderley Edge tale, where I find out more answers than I bargained for!

The Cheshire Hawk Landscape Figure

June 15, 2011September 11, 2026 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Hedge Druidry, Quests, Spirits, Tarot

My Beltane quest, to be completed before the Summer Solstice, is the “See with the eyes of The Hawk“. That was the message from the ever-useful Llangernyw Yew tree meditation that I did within the hollows of one of its ancient branches. Whilst trying to interpret this information I had tried to elicit a bit … Read More “The Cheshire Hawk Landscape Figure” »

Beltane 2011 Part 2 – The Yew Tree Speaks

May 23, 2011September 11, 2026 Gwas No Comments

Energy work, Hedge Druidry, Wheel of the Year

Our second stop on our Beltane journey after performing a cleansing and energising routine at Dinas Bran was to head for our venerable and reliable teacher – the Llangernyw Yew tree – Wales’ oldest tree. This tree is tucked away in a small village just behind the Conwy hills and was easy to reach from … Read More “Beltane 2011 Part 2 – The Yew Tree Speaks” »

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: