Tag: Hedge Druid

Time Space Place Presence Intention

Posted on By kal No Comments on Time Space Place Presence Intention
Time Space Place Presence Intention
Edge Wizardry, Energy cleansing, Energy work, Experiment, Glyphs and Wards, House Energies book, Magick, Quickie

A simple question often leads to a complex answer. So it was in this instance. A couple of friends and I had the opportunity to watch a film called Oui-Ja. It wasn’t my idea, quite the opposite. However I bowed to the majority and so found myself suffering through another Hollywood attempt at depicting the … Read More “Time Space Place Presence Intention” »

The Crutch of Orthodoxy

Posted on By Gwas 3 Comments on The Crutch of Orthodoxy
Hedge philosophy

You know a post is serious when there are no pictures! In this post I offer an explanation of how to construct your own theology no less! If you are interested in the foundations of paganism, then read on.

We frequently get requests from people who know we write a blog. They say things like, “..but how did you know to do this, that or the other?“.  These people are looking for guidance, and we are more than happy to offer our experiences up for them to consider. Yet some people want to go further. They say things like: “How do you do this, that or the other?“. These are requests for orthodox teachings. Here are my opinions on the relative merits of oxthodoxy on a seeker’s path.

Following The Rules

Orthodoxy essentially means following the rules, or taking a path that has already been trodden before. Someone whom one considers to have been a person of more spiritual value than yourself has been out into the spiritual world(s) and has come back with a description of the way in which that world operates. They have perhaps described the way it works, the way they perceived it, told you their tales and maybe even offered you the benefit of their experience. They might have come back with warnings – don’t say this to that, don’t do this in there, etc. The value of orthodoxy is generally supposed to be that the new seeker learns from the mistakes and the wrong paths of those who have gone before. Progress should be faster, easier, further, deeper. The devout and orthodox religios seeker should be the most enlightened. How does that fir with your experience of such people?

If this were the case, that strict orthodoxy reaps the best rewards, then after several thousand years of the prevailing orthodox religion wouldn’t we all be enlightened by now? Of course, we have free will, and we are entitled to ignore the prevailing wisdom and teachings. Thus, we are bound to continue to make mistakes, continue to throw impediments on to the path to our spiritual freedom. So claim the guardians of such teachings and the preservers of religious structures.

I have a different opinion to offer.

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What I learned from crop circles – Part 2

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on What I learned from crop circles – Part 2
Crop circle

In the previous companion post to this one (Part 1) I talked about the death of crop circles in 2013, and how the prediction of that phenomenon was one of the major markers on my wayfaring through the magickal world I now inhabit. In the follow up I will be talking about the ways in which crop circles added to my druid work.

This year has been a testing year in many ways. One of the elements of travelling The Doubtful Path, that was indicated for me in a tarot draw at the start of the year, is that it is necessary to re-visit and recapitulate elements of wonder that have been encountered, and to consider what these things mean to you as you proceed. So it is with crop circles.

I certainly don’t celebrate the death of the crop circle. Even though it was an incidental phenomenon (or so I thought at the time) that had no apparent bearing on my druid work, I now begin to see the things that the phenomenon brought home to me. Let me first list, then describe, what these things are.

  1. Mystery
  2. Beauty in Nature
  3. Meaning in pattern
  4. Co-creation with Otherworld forces
  5. Primal energy

In the next section I will talk about these concepts in more detail as they relate to my experiences with the crop circle phenomenon.

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Cloak of the Green Man

Posted on By Gwas 1 Comment on Cloak of the Green Man
Ancient Sites, Crossing The Hedge, Other Entities, Staff

It was shortly after the visit to Dinas Bran in Llangollen that an opportunity arose to visit the old Llangernyw Yew tree near Conwy. Of course the weather reports said “rain” so we planned for sun. It was sunny. The shadows were lengthening at the end of the day, but the temperature was still warm. Always handy if you’re walking through a graveyard because it keep the chill of the shades off you!

I was here to try to learn something more about my new yew staff which I had recently acquired in Glastonbury, and which had just been “initiated” (charged up) at Dinas Bran. Now I wanted to know about the energy that it now contained – was there a spirit form associated with it (as there had been for my previous staff – the ash staff)?

Llangernyw Yew - July 2013 (3) (Large)

Straight away on our arrival I put up protection. Recent experience had made me more careful. Although I felt I knew this place, maybe there had been some recent new arrivals? Better safe than ill! Kal immediately went off dowsing and I headed up to the church area to see where I should be going first.

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The Arthurian Earth Energies

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on The Arthurian Earth Energies
Ancient Sites, Spirit Guides

In early June Kal and I visited The Druid’s Circle at Penmaenmawr near Conwy. We arrived there in time for sunset, and the western skies filled out with ever-deepening shades of red until the whole sky turned inky-blue as the sun retreated beneath the sea. Before the light around us completely faded I had some work to do. I was here to try to find out more about my spirit guide who was relatively new to me. My previous guide Theodora had been unfathomable, but honestly I had stopped trying to know more at the first hurdle, not wanting to upset her. Now I had Ash, and he seemed more amenable, so I felt it was incumbent upon me to make the effort to forge a strong relationship that could be mutually beneficial.

With that in mind I made my way towards the stone circle’s long teeth and stood poised at the edges while I worked out what I needed to do next. I needed somewhere to “be”, so I used the dowsing rods to find me a suitable location to make the connection. Surprisingly they led me not to my usual stone, but to one of the larger stones next to it. I hadn’t worked at this stone specifically before. I had worked at those on either side of it, but not this one. I stood in the lee of the stone, against the flat of its back. The stone was almost my height at its peak, and I’m tall.

The tall stone in Druid's Circle was my workplace
The big stone in the foreground was my workplace

It was time to get to know this guide of mine. I was eager to know whether the tarot reading I had done fitted with how he revealed himself through this spiritual connection, rather than through divination. What was he here for? What could we learn from each other? Time to find out.

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Emotional content of blogs

Posted on By Gwas No Comments on Emotional content of blogs
Uncategorized

Appropriating the phrase that Bruce Lee made famous I am seeking within the small confines of this post to express an idea that is a little reflexive. That is – I want to write about the limitation to the power of the creative media to express the full impact and experience of magickal processes. I was made … Read More “Emotional content of blogs” »

Alderley reveals The Sword of Galahad

Posted on By Gwas 1 Comment on Alderley reveals The Sword of Galahad
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?
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!

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