Tag: elemental

CastleRigg and the Genius Loci – Spring Equinox 2014 – 1 of 5

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Dowsing, Dragons, Edge Wizardry, Elemental, Quests, Spirit of Place

A really early start to the Spring Equinox of 2014 had us at a sacred site called Castlerigg around 10a.m. It was a fresh and breezy start to the days pilgrimage, but as ever I was hopeful of calling the sun out to play at some point, even as ominous clouds were gathering around us. … Read More “CastleRigg and the Genius Loci – Spring Equinox 2014 – 1 of 5” »

Spring 2014 – The Earth and Fire Angels

Posted on By Gwas 1 Comment on Spring 2014 – The Earth and Fire Angels
Angels, Elemental

The third elemental angel was found at the end of one of the muddiest walks I have ever done. I think there was barely a moment on the walk when Kal wasn’t complaining – but that’s what you get if you wear inappropriate clothing. This is Cumbria!! We parked at Long Meg stone circle, just … Read More “Spring 2014 – The Earth and Fire Angels” »

Imbolc 2014 – Releasing The Elementals

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Ancient Sites, Crystals, Dowsing, Elemental, Wheel of the Year

Finally, I get a post in February! Kal’s adventure was so interesting that I had to let it flow in sequence. Now it’s my turn to talk briefly about Imbolc this year.

The things I had to get ready for Imbolc were clear. Firstly, I had been informed that I would need to release the elementals that I had been working with. I had simply “outgrown” them, and am working at a level that they cannot be of much further use to me. Personally, I found this quite a sad directive, and so I used a tarot layout to ask for some reassurance. The card I drew for Imbolc was “Ivy” – the card of giving. So, that was confirmation, no matter how galling the split would be.

Secondly 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. We’ll come back to this at start of the next post.

Finally, I was going to ask for some guidance about the next part of the year – Imbolc to Beltane. What did I need to do during that time? It had become a tradition to ask for guidance at the conclusion of the previous part of the year. I will describe this in the next post as well.

Now, let’s get back to the releasing of the elementals. I had chosen four sites which I felt we could reasonably get to and get around in the limited daylight hours we had this Imbolc. Sunrise was about 7:40am and sunset was around 5:15pm. The sites I had chosen were picked for their elemental associations:-

  • Pistyll Rhaeadr – the most impressive waterfall I knew – the water site, obviously.
  • Breidden Hill – the most impressive hill bordering the Welsh and English border in Powys. This was my fire site as I reckoned it must have been a beacon hill, and the sun would be on it at noon.
  • Druid’s Circle – a stone circle at the windiest place I know, and today’s weather forecast was for gale-force winds in the afternoon. The air site.
  • Bryn Celli Ddu – the most intact example of an earthen mound in our vicinity. The perfect earth site should the weather be bad. It was.

I had a set of crystals which I had inbued with the essence of each of the elementals. Today I would take this set of crystals, leave the associated crystal at the correct site, and then the work would be done. Easy, right? Ha! Some were, some weren’t!

Here’s the story….

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Tree Tarot for Imbolc 2014

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Tree Tarot for Imbolc 2014
Hedge Druidry, Tarot, Wheel of the Year

You may remember that I did a tarot layout using the Camelot Oracle to help provide a framework for my work last year. I expected to do the same this year, so when i got prepared to do a layout I went seeking the cards. I felt a strong aversion to using the Camelot cards! … Read More “Tree Tarot for Imbolc 2014” »

Fire Pits and Elementals

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Fire Pits and Elementals
Ancient Sites, Elemental, Energy cleansing

24th September 2012 – Dyserth Castle, Denbighshire, North Wales.

I intended to go to a local hill to do some work, but there were people all over the hill that night and I wanted to go to a place where I could be alone with the spirits and energies of the natural world, and not to mingle with humans. This is the thought process of the Hedge Druid oftentimes.

Somehow I ended up driving… just driving. Within half an hour I began to formulate a destination. I was clearly heading for Gop Hill near Holywell in North Wales. As I approached the turning for the hill I carried on! What was I doing? As I allowed my direction to continue to be guided I realised I was heading for Dyserth. When I arrived there and drove straight through I realised I was heading back to Dyserth Castle. Why? I had been there only a few weeks before. It didn’t make sense to me.

Dyserth Castle at twilight in summer
Back to Dyserth Castle in darkness

Alone In the Wilderness

I was ill-prepared for such a venture. I didn’t have my usual outing bag packed with incense, waterproofs, lighters, candles, torches – all the things I normally take when I got visiting sacred sites. All I had was a cheap £2.99 tiny wind-up torch whose light lasted for about a minute before it needed a minute of winding. Hmm….It was normally Kal who was the ill-equipped one.

I walked through the darkness, only using the torch when the darkness was completely impenetrable and uninviting. There was enough moonlight in the clear patches of sky to be able to navigate by memory. I reached the imposing amphitheatre of Dyserth Castle. Would I have to climb up to the top tonight, in the dark? NO. The dowsing rods said that my work would be done in the ground-level surroundings that I was used to and which was relatively flat and unencumbered. I was thankful for that.

Twigs snapped in the undergrowth all around at random intervals, but I had put up solid protection and was unafraid. The night was my friend today – it was what I had asked for – solitude and relative silence in a sacred place. Now I wanted to see if there was anything out there in the darkness that could help me.

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Dyserth Castle – How to call an Air Spirit

Posted on By Gwas 3 Comments on Dyserth Castle – How to call an Air Spirit
Elemental, Hedge Druidry, Natural Magick

Following on from my previous encounter with a Nix – a Water Spirit associated with a river which became a waterfall in Dyserth town – we moved to the nearby site of Dyserth Castle.

It is a short drive away from the town towards the hill of Graig Fawr where it’s possible to park easily. I wasn’t expecting anything from this visit. I was really here to humour Kal who had been keen on re-visiting the site. Previous visits to Dyserth castle had been vaguely interesting, but never mind-blowing. Well, you just never know what might happen when you visit sacred places. Here’s my account.

Dyserth Castle at twilight in summer
Dyserth Castle at twilight in summer

Working in peace

I’m old-fashioned like this – I like to work in peace. I need silence to concentrate and to become more aware of my surroundings through extending my senses outwards into the slient space. So, it was a rare pleasure to have the area around Dyserth Castle to ourselves. We call it a castle, but as Kal frequently says “It’s not another of those castles with only one stone, is it?”. Well, not quite, but close. The castle has earthwork ramparts covered by trees and hedges below, and may have more remains on the top of the steep cliff, but we’ve always been satisfied to hang around in the quarried region below the actual castle. One day we may climb up and see what’s up there!

Despite being in the nether regions of this unusual place there is something interesting about the space. We split up as usual and found respective places to work. Kal seemed drawn to a corner of the area nearest the trees which lined the entrance. Then later he moved to the mound which must have been created from the debris left by the quarrying work.

I on the other hand was taken to a seemingly innocuous space which was a compatible power centre for me, bubbling with spirals  of subtle energy. I lit some incense and placed it around me. Kal call s across that he can feel a presence and asks me if I can feel it too. Indeed I can – there is something invisible moving around the area, tracking our movements, trying to sense our purpose. It has the qualities of an air spirit, and just at that moment Kal says that he thinks he can sense air spirits. They’re all around us – moving through the trees on the top of the tall quarry, and occasionally swooping down to pass around us – sensing what we’re up to.

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Solstice 2013 – Tintagel and Merlin’s Cave

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Ancient Sites, Arthurian, Dowsing, Glyphs and Wards, Wheel of the Year

This is my penultimate Summer Solstice post. I have one more – a real counterpoint to this story – which will teach me another strong lesson, but we’ll come to that in time. For now, we have arrived at Tintagel – home of all things Arthurian, especially the gift shops – and we have just scoured the town for some incense. We found some at Tintagel’s only new age shop, where the owners were very helpful and a delight to talk to. In a good mood we set off for Tintagel Castle where I hoped my tide times were correct and I would be able to enter Merlin’s Cave for the first time.

I only had one thing on my mind and that was to visit the cave that a lady named Zoe had talked about. Kal had met her at Glastonbury Abbey and had introduced me to her. She simply said to me that I should pass on my thanks to Merlin when I met him. There was a distinguishable twinkle in her eye as she said it, though, which stuck in my mind. That  seemed so long ago now but the memory was still strong, and I had taken the directive as a personal quest. I would indeed deliver her thanks now I was here.

Tintagel's steep cliffs
Tintagel’s steep cliffs

Maybe I can’t read or something but when we got to the shoreline and looked out to the base of Tintagel Castle the tide was in. I would have to wait until it turned before I could reach the caves. Kal showed me a secret ledge upon which we dozed and watched the waves, lulled by the rhythm. I picked up two stones – a flat one and a small quartz-veined pebble which I pulled out from a patch of grass. How I had known it was there I can’t say!

To sit on that wild perch listening to the lap of the waves, and to watch bird life wheeling around in a constant careering carousel like some kind of baby’s mobile spinning us to sleep….

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