Tag: ireland

Tarot for the Solstice – Summer 14 P1

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Tarot, Wheel of the Year

We’re a bit late with all of our Summer Solstice posts due to major problems with the blog. Apologies for the delays, the unavailability at times and the general faffing about with what had been a very stable setup. We are slowly returning to normality, and beyond. There are some great new things coming very soon which I will personally be launching for you in the late summer. Before that, we’ve got a series of Summer Solstice posts which we hope will fascinate and amuse you.

Our destination for Summer Solstice was The Ring of Kerry in Ireland. Before we left I did a tarot reading to try to determine some of the aspects of the trip. Now, doing such a draw is always a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario. In other words – does the reading make the events happen, or do the events happen in accordance with the reading? We can never really know objectively, but subjectively the tarot readings are inspirational, aspirational and often sensational. This was one such reading.

The Questions for Summer

1 What are the characteristics of my energy going in to Ireland?

  1. Nine of Bows (Respect)
  2. Ten of Bows (Responsibility)
  3. Knight of Vessels (Eel)
Tarot draw for Summer Solstice 214 (3) (Medium)
Three cards to describe my energy going into the Summer Solstice

Notice that the Respect card features an Otherworldly face. Whenever I have encountered energy forms from the Otherworld I have been guided to treat them with great respect.

I also noticed that the Responsibility card showed a person climbing a mountain weighed down with stuff. Previous outings suggested that I would be climbing mountains on our expedition, but this was South West Ireland we were heading to – wouldn’t that be flat?

The Eel card had come up on my last summer solstice draw! Back then it had shown me the way to finding The Eel Sword. Would this be a reference to ancestors? I was certainyl back in my ancestral homeland, so that was promising. We will see.

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Claiming The Torc of the Hawk

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Hedge Druidry

It is becoming less surprising when the threads of my path’s journey knit themselves into a situation where opportunities can arise. I had the chance to visit Ireland with my wife. She was working in the week, but at the weekend I could join her before she went elsewhere in Eire. Initially the venue was Dublin, then her work changed and it was Belfast. Then, though a mutually beneficial arrangement it was somehow back to Dublin, though no pressure of mine! Well, well. So be it. Now was the time for me to fulfil a quest that I had been given at the start of the year.

The Torc of the Hawk is an artefact that is of especial significance to me. I had been given a quest at Imbolc by the female energy known as ‘Brigid‘ in lore. In her Maiden Castle in Cumbria, as the day’s rays faded to a pink sunset that I will never forget, I was informed that I had to seek out this golden torc.

The torc, I would discover through dowsing, was an artefact from my ancestry in Roscommon in Ireland. It had been worn by the spiritual warrior that I had fought at The Fort of the Bulls – an ancient site of contest in the heart of western Ireland. You can read about the background to this whole Ireland quest here. The essential aspect is that in order to inherit the spiritual energies of my ancestors there are several artefacts that I need to recover. One of them – The Eel Sword – I had already found. This second one – The Torc of the Hawk – I knew from research had once been in the National Museum of Ireland. I had no idea if it was still there.

National Museum of Ireland in Dublin

So it came to be that I was granted the opportunity to go to Dublin for a weekend with no itinerary other than to visit the museum and fulfil the quest to absorb the energy of this torc, if I could find it. To make matters harder I decided not to take my dowsing rods. If I was going to find the torc, then it would have to be done by feeling alone. So I flew out to Dublin, met with my wife, and we agreed to spend the next day looking around the museum. What would we find?

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Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 3 of 3

Posted on By kal 2 Comments on Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 3 of 3
Dowsing, Edge Wizardry, Ritual

It was our last day in Ireland and so far our stay had been monumental. Gwas had battled with his ancestors to rest his ancestral energies and I had claimed a gift of an Emerald Dragons soul book. Yes, “Can life get any crazier?” is a question that is on my mind too. There was one … Read More “Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 3 of 3” »

Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 2 of 3

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How To, Natural Magick, Other Entities, Ritual

Okay, I was concerned. As my last post mentioned… You will meet a Dragon and it will give you its Soul With that kind of pronouncement from the guides, what was I supposed to do? The next day being the 5th May 2012 Gwas and I continued on our quests for meaning. Our next stop … Read More “Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 2 of 3” »

Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 1 of 3

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Edge Wizardry, Spirits

Gwas was on a quest. Ancestor energies in Ireland was the name of the game. For me, it was side-kick time. Gwas sayeth and I follow. I like it. No responsibility, just the pleasure of a great mates company and the pleasant energies of nature (although we were both very wary as our last trip to Ireland was … Read More “Ireland and the Emerald Dragons Soul 1 of 3” »

Forging the Sword at Ogulla Holy Well

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Ancient Sites, Energy work, Quests, Ritual

I’m over half way with the telling of this tale of retrieving my ancestor energies. Only three posts to go. Up until now Kal and I have visited our first rath (or ringfort) – Rathcroghan. Feeling a bit peckish we retreated to the visitor centre to get some delicious food, and to obtain some directions … Read More “Forging the Sword at Ogulla Holy Well” »

Lough Key – The Search for the Eel Sword

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Ancient Sites

We couldn’t get into Boyle Abbey before 10am. No-one seems to get up early in Southern Ireland! It was 9am when we arrived there, so I decided to show Kal Lough Key Forest Park which was close by. It might be open and it would be a pleasant walk amongst some trees while we waited for the abbey to open. I had been there once before with M on our only Ireland holiday together. Seemed like a good plan to while away an hour. Turned out to be slightly longer than that!

Lough Key

Lough Key is a forest park. Is that a forest that contains a park or some parkland with a bit of forest? I’m never sure. Be one thing or another, I say. In terms of the name of the lake, Wikipedia suggests it has druidic connections:

Lough Key (Irish: Loch Cé) is a lake in Ireland. It is located in the northwest of County Roscommon, northeast of the town of Boyle. The lough’s name is believed to come from Cé, a druid; the lake was formed over his grave.

Whether by chance or be subliminal design I appeared yet again to be in the right place suited to my quest.

We parked easily and because the visitor centre wasn’t open (of course – before 10am?) we made use of the excellent relieving facilities (Kal rated them highly) before we thought about finding somewhere that we “should be”. The dowsing rods were our first stop for an answer to an esoteric question like that. When I asked the question the rods quite clearly led across a grassy field towards the middle of nowhere. Typical. Still, having nothing better to do we followed – all the way up to the point where they swerved around an old and glorious beech tree.

We both sat at respective positions beneath the tree and I began to look around. What a wonderful day! How beautiful the park is! How perfectly the tree’s hoary branches framed the delicate Spring flowers and mosses that lived in their protective cloak, and how dappled the sunlight was as it filtered through the lightly-leaved branches of the beech. Soon I was drifting away…drifting into one of my light druidic trances where my heart soars and my mind relaxes into communion with the surroundings….

Kal in a special place at Lough Key Forest Park

A vision appeared to me – the same sword-fight that I had seen the previous day at Carrowkeel. There was more detail this time. I could clearly see the protagonist – so much so that I knew I would recognise him if I ever saw him again, in a dream or in reality. I knew not which it would be yet, but I was sure our meeting was inevitable, like the inevitability that a thread will unravel a garment in intricate weaving.

Now the visions faded and was replaced by a spoken phrase that I didn’t understand at all. The sword I had seen in the vision, the sword that I was holding, it was given a name. Something told me that it was called The Eel Sword, and that I had to now find a sword that looked like an eel. This made no sense. What madness was this? Why did I need an eel sword? Where the heck would I find such a thing? Reality re-imposed itself and the connection wavered then released its trance-like grip on my senses as they re-absorbed the beautiful Spring sunshine and the fabric of greens that made up the forest park’s lush landscape.

Where was this sword? Here? The dowsing rods confirmed it even as I began to position them horizontally in preparation. It was here , somewhere.

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