druids – The Hedge Druid

Stonehenge – where the druids live

August 7, 2016August 7, 2016 Chris No Comments

M and I were returning from Brittany. We had been spending a lovely sun-soaked week with my aunt and uncle parked up at their home near St Malo. My father was also there – which was a rare family get together – and I embraced the week as just that. No mystical work – just … Read More “Stonehenge – where the druids live” »

The Role of The Fool

April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 Chris 2 Comments

Theory

Happy April Fool’s Day. In recognition of this important day I wish to take you on a little journey – a Fool’s Journey. I want to re-enforce the importance of laughter. This year Kal got a message that would define his year’s perspective – it would be a year of laughter. He is still learning what that means, but I have an historical context for it, and that context becomes particularly salient today.

We start the journey in all seriousness.

Advisors

In druid culture accounts seem to place the druid in many positions of status and recognition – law-making, dispensing justice, directing war, and advising on political matters too. It seems that druids had the ear of the ruling leaders.

“When druids were not kings, they were advisors to king, queens and chieftans…” (Philip Carr-Gomm: Druid Mysteries)

druid_advisor — Druid advising, guiding, satirising and entertaining monarchy

From this lofty position there was a gradual decline, helped along by our friends The Romans. The skills and wisdom that the druid class was renowned for – especially the arts of divination, the bardic arts of wit, satire and lampoon – would struggle to survive. Unless they got preserved somehow.

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!

Samhain 2012 – The Hawk and The Dove

November 25, 2012December 16, 2012 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Hedge Druidry, Natural Magick, Quests, Ritual, Trees, Wheel of the Year

Finally I have got around to writing up my Samhain experiences. It’s only the back end of November, and this occurred at the beginning of October! One aspect of this year’s work has been the incredible amount of material we have had to deal with. Only a fraction of it appears on this blog. This year we will end up with 200 draft posts that didn’t get finished. But now – back to the tale at hand.

Yew Know What To Do

We start, as usual, at the Llangernyw Yew tree. 4000 years of dendrochronology pulsing through its dark boughs. On the way to the village of Llangernyw (yew) I was heading towards a rainbow which coincidentally seemed to land on the village as I approached. Coincidence, of course, because this light phenomenon is linked to one’s position relative to the light refraction.

The churchyard was quiet. This gave me the space to follow my intuition. I walked down to the graveyard and sat on the wooden bench where I had once met a shade. There was nothing there now, but I felt I needed to be here first before moving back up to the tree. Perhaps I needed to be grounded before approaching the tree, or energetically harmonised? Soon I was back at the top of the churchyard standing on the edges of the yew tree’s canopy. I asked for entry…waited…and it was granted.

Llangernyw Yew Tree - Samhain 2012 (3) (Small) — Llangernyw Church with its magnificent yew tree

For some reason I had brought some new crystals with me. I felt I should place them along one of the yew’s branches. In the early morning sunlight they glowed with their respective colours and I left them to do whatever it was they were doing. Sometimes such acts have no intention on my part. This is where trust comes into the equation. I felt around for the best place to sit and found that it was not in my usual place. As I settled in I noticed that I was sitting in the place where I got a particularly sparkly view of the sunlight through the branches. That was lucky, eh? I began to drift off…therefore before I went completely I asked the yew tree to help me discover my quest for the next part of the year… and then my mind went blank as the sunlight danced in my eyes and the spark of wonder that drives my spiritual path began to surface.

Autumn Equinox 2011 : Part 1 – Lligwy and LLanfechell

October 7, 2011September 12, 2026 Gwas No Comments

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

For the recent Autumn Equinox this Hedge Druid went back to a place of druidic significance – Ynys Môn, or the Island of Anglesey. There were several favourite sites that I wanted to visit, and given that I was seeking the solitude and sanctuary of enclosed sacred spaces I could think of no better examples of this … Read More “Autumn Equinox 2011 : Part 1 – Lligwy and LLanfechell” »

Tarot: another source of information

September 21, 2010September 10, 2026 Gwas 1 Comment

Modern Druidry, Tarot

I rarely use Tarot Cards. That’s mainly because they are so damned spookily accurate! They make me nervous. There was a spell when Kal was using the cards regularly, for himself and for others, and he found the same. He told me how it was useful for obtaining the kind of information about a situation … Read More “Tarot: another source of information” »

The Shining Ones: re-acquiring ancient knowledge

January 13, 2010September 9, 2026 Gwas 4 Comments

Dowsing, Other reports

There have been many wild and fantastic suggestions and theories about the coming of the group known enigmatically as The Shining Ones. Some “theorists” have said that they were so called because they gave off an unearthly light, or that they were extra-terrestrial visitors who came down to give knowledge to the human race to … Read More “The Shining Ones: re-acquiring ancient knowledge” »

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