hawk – The Hedge Druid

Summer 2015 – P3 – A Sting at Dowth

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 Chris No Comments

This is a short post. It’s also a sad post (for me) and a humorous post (for you). It concerns an object lesson in following one’s intuition.

We were in Ireland and were visiting the Boyne Valley sites again. We had bought tickets for both Knowth and Newgrange, but as we left Knowth Kal wanted to go directly to Dowth. He reckoned that there was nothing there for him at Newgrange, and although I actually did want to go, my brain kicked in and added several reasonable reasons not to visit: it would be busy, we would have to get the hot stuffy bus back and wait for another one going back out, Dowth was just a lovely walk down the road.

We went to Dowth. It was a lovely walk, but as we approached I had mixed emotions. My thwarted intuition was giving out warning signs, but my rational ego-driven mind was tweeting to all and sundry that I was about to enter one of the most interesting and energetic site sin the area. I don’t know if I was trying to convince myself or what, but as soon as I approached the site I knew I had made the wrong decision.

The Long Man – Striding Like a Giant

May 3, 2015April 27, 2015 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Energy grid, Giants, Other Entities

Some people like to take their holidays in a place they know and love. Me too – but let me qualify that statement. For me holidays are about an opportunity to visit somewhere I haven’t been before in a place that I know I love – Britain. You can imagine, though, that having spent over 40 years in these islands finding new places is getting more difficult. M and I therefore agreed that Hampshire and The South Downs should be our target as we had little knowledge of that region.

Before we left I did very little research. I had an idea that I might get to some of the places mentioned in Andrew Collins‘ book “The Black Alchemist“. Something, however, was keeping me away from such places. I think I know why, but that’s another story.

I wasn’t expecting much ‘activity’ as I was supposed to be having time away to rest. However, one day I looked at the map and saw that we were travelling near to a place I’ve always wanted to visit: The Long Man of Wilmington. We had to go!

Long Man of Wilmington (1) — The Giant Surveryor

On arrival we realised that it was pretty busy. If you visit in a motorhome you’ll find that you can’t park at the car park at the top of the village. There’s another place further up the road, so we pulled up there. We were now on Windover Hill – a place teeming with ancient remnants. None more impressive than the giant on the hill, though.

Imbolc 2015 P4 – Germination at Trefignath

February 18, 2015January 26, 2016 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Arthurian, Landscape Zodiac, Wheel of the Year

We have been to the interesting island of Anglesey many times. We have scoured the island for sacred sites on many occasions. We have spent literally days of time researching places to visit. Somehow, two startling omissions had occurred. Firstly, Kal had never seen the reconstructed chamber of Barlodiad Y Gawres. Secondly, we had never found the Trefignath monuments. We set both of this things right for Imbolc 2015.

We’re not going to cover the reconstructed barrow of Barlodiad here. Let’s just say we visited it. It was cold and windy (as it always is) and there was nothing energetically significant about it. Let’s move on to the fun stuff!

We were at the end of our Imbolc day. The trail of Arthur-related sites had reached the furthest tail of The Great Bear and was pointing us to Trearddur Bay near to Holyhead. That’s where we headed now, knowing that we had never found these sites before, but today we were in luck.

Ty Mawr – The Trefignath stone

Ty Mawr standing stone is set alone in a fenced field. In the background it has the delightful soundtrack of swooshing vehicles hurtling along the A55 trunk road carrying potential ferry passengers and lorries to Holyhead on their way across to Ireland.

As a backdrop it has Holyhead Mountain in one direction and a skyline of dark and square geometric buildings from the neighbouring industrial estates. It’s not a pretty setting, and yet the local council have tried their best to give the stone pride of place.

This seemingly innocuous and out-of-place stone turned out to be strangely synchronistic!

The Hawk and The Robin

October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 Chris 2 Comments

Hedge Druidry

Ben Nevis is a tall mountain. I can report that back from first-hand experience. Yet, despite its arduous and seemingly never-ending path up, there was one incident that made the effort all worthwhile. M and I were on our way up towards the mist and clouds that hung around the upper part of the mountain. On our way we had to zig-zag across the initial slope up from Glen Nevis visitor centre car park. Once you start moving back and forth across the slop, you know you’re in for a steep climb!

We had reached one of the streams which cross the path and before us was a little ramshackle hut hiding underneath a small but aged tree. It may have been hawthorn, I wasn’t paying attention. The reason for my diversion was that as I drew level with the tiny shack a robin appeared on a branch that was in my eye line. I stopped. The robin turned to eye me up side on. I thought to myself “I need to make contact”, so I introduced myself and acknowledged its presence and thanked it for its attention. I offered it some love, joy and respect emotions through my heart chakra. It chirruped at me, but remained on the branch. I looked up the path ahead. M was beginning to realise that I was not right behind her any more and turned to find out why. I directed her attention to the robin, but she wasn’t engaging with me, and she certainly wasn’t about to come back down to look. I said my goodbyes to the bird and then continued up the path to meet M.

It was a beautiful experience, one which I will remember for a while. Rarely do we get the chance to be so engaged with wildlife. I was clearly being invited to pay attention to something : some message or sign that was important at this time – the time of the Autumn Equinox. Something wanted to be with me as I travelled that day.

We reached the top and didn’t stay long. It was freezing and unrewarding being on the summit. The scene cuts now to hours later. We are getting tea ready after our monumental climb, and beginning to relax and settle into the motorhome in the Glen Nevis site at the base of the huge mountain. I have offered to go and fill up the water carrier that we use when we haven’t got a fresh water supply for the motorhome. As I step out of the van a robin appears next on the lawn some mere four or five feet away from where I stand frozen to the spot. Again, this seems to be “for me” alone. We exchange words again, and again I offer my heartfelt energy in exchange for its interest.

Ben Nevis – 4.4k feet of long arduous climb

As we settle in for the evening I begin to muse about the coincidence of the interested robin(s). It’s Merlin in his Winter guise, I wondered?

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Using signs in daily life

November 28, 2013November 28, 2013 Gwas 4 Comments

Energy work, Hedge Druidry, Signs and Synchronicity

There have been a lot of ‘big’ posts recently, but here is a little one. A little story about how the forces of Nature can work with you in daily life to make your life a little better. I often go out running at lunch time. My work is flexible enough to allow it, and … Read More “Using signs in daily life” »

Delphi – The Hawk, The Shade and The Vapours

March 1, 2013March 1, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites

The Hawk Vision

Standing in the amphitheatre half way up the Delphi temple complex I had beautiful scenes in either direction down the valley. Yet, it was not the scenery that captured the imagination, but the sonics of that space. I still find it incredible how perfectly mathematical the calculations were for such structures. Standing in the “play space” – a crescent of smooth stone at the base of the structure – I could project the smallest whisper upwards with no effort until it was amplified around the seats above. Incredible. Every time I visit an amphitheatre it amazes me. I imagined how it could enhance a sound vibration in a meditation – imagine a didgeridoo here!

Above the Delphic amphitheatre – playing with hawks

The dowsing rods then lead me upwards on a small path that seems to lean nowhere. That ‘nowhere’ turns out to be a vantage point above the amphitheatre affording a holistic view over the feature. I begin to get a ‘feeling’, and so I pay attention to it. The feeling exerts itself as an impulse, then emerges into a voice. “Sit back and relax!” it says to me. I look behind me and see a rock large enough to lounge against, and with a convenient ‘seat’. So, I sit down. “Lean back and relax!” I am instructed. OK, no harm in having a moment’s rest in the sun – I am on holiday, after all.

I am now practically lying back on the rock. My gaze goes skyward, and at that exact moment I hear the cries of a bird of prey slightly behind me. I look right up into the sky and see two hawks come out from the top of the cliffs behind me, performs a few circles, and then move back out of sight again. Wow! I wait to see if they re-appear, but they don’t. That moment was just for me to see.

The “inkling” leaves and I return to the dowsing rods to lead me onwards. They now stop me at a point in the path where the main path carries on upwards with its modern stone tessellation, but there is an alternate path – one which is overgrown but somehow ‘older’. The rods point over the restraining rope towards the old path, the lush green path, the path that leads into the woods. Time to make a decision.

Lammas 2012 – Healing History

August 27, 2012August 30, 2012 Gwas 5 Comments

Ancient Sites, Experiment, Glyphs and Wards, Quests, Wheel of the Year

The day began with the promise of something beautiful to emerge from the nascent silver-grey clouds, whose meagre partings would later reveal the full glory of the late summer sun. Intrepid as always, and eager like beagles penned until their exuberance breaks free, Kal and I rushed for the mutually agreed starting point for most of our special journeys into the magical adventures we live through in Wales. We would start at the Llangernyw Yew and see what visions it might divulge to us today – August 1st – the festival of Lammas in the pagan calendars. At the beginning of the adventure the day felt pregnant with possibilities, and it would happen that I would have a wonderful and inspiring revelation, learn a new magickal technique for self-healing the traumas of the past, and find my way onto the next part of my spiritual path. Let the tale begin!

It was mere seconds before Nature herself was showing me the signs and symbols that have accompanied so many of my special days around the Wheel of the Year. As soon as I began to drive off from home I heard first then saw a buzzard flying low over the car and circling around a nearby field. Of course – all such days should start with the aerial vision from the hawk! The hawk would also re-appear at the end of the day as we returned to the car to drive home again. Almost like a closing narrator to the proceedings, having the final word.

As well as all these coincidental and contrived moments, I was aware that we would be spending the day in the company of the invisible Grain Moon – the August full moon that was burgeoning with its astral emanations on this day and those that surrounded it. It felt like everything was gathering in order to give us the best chance of having a truly meaningful and magickal experience – which is exactly what happened when we followed our intuition and our guides.

The Safety of the Yew Tree

Llangernyw - Lammas 2012 (2) — Llangernyw Yew in full splendour

Although yews have many poisonous parts (berries and bark to name but two) there is something that I consider to be very safe about being around this old tree. The Llangernyw Yew is so old that it baffles your sense of history to even consider when it sprouted. Let’s just say that when this tree was beginning its life our ancestors were discovering the wonders of mixing Copper with Zinc to produce a new metal for the first time.

As Kal wandered around the graveyard like a lost ghost (he always has a purpose, really) I sat beneath the tree’s canopy and felt for the right place to sit. I found my place and found that I could connect to the tree very quickly. Moon? Festival Day? Noon? My energy? More experienced? Previous encounters? I don’t know what the magic combination was, but within seconds I was asking for and receiving answers from the bowels of the great yew….

“Have I completed the last quest yet?” – “It is a continuous quest until the end of the year.”. Straight question, straight answer.
“Am I ready for a quest for this part of the year?” – “You have enough energy, yes.”
“Can you tell me the nature of this quest, please?” – “I can’t. You need to go to the Portal Stones.” (situated at the rear of the church). “OK – thanks!”

As I came out of my tree trance I met with wandering Kal. He told me what he had learned so far, and asked what I had got. Nothing yet, really. I’m off to see the Portal Stones. Kal pointed out that his attempts to make the sun appear through the slate-grey Welsh cloud cover was happening as we spoke. I looked up in amazement to see a fiery spotlight appear in the thick grey cloudscape. Impossible, I roared! Kal smiled. “Impossible is nothing!” he seemed to suggest.

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