Tag: journey

The Yew, the Tree of Life and the Golden Bough

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Bookshelf, Staff, Trees

Since Imbolc I have been reading up on yew trees. The aim is to assimilate as much knowledge as possible about this incredible species so that when Spring Equinox comes around I will be able to begin the process of understanding my yew staff’s potential powers. At the moment it is merely a piece of yew with a stag’s antlers on top. Soon I am hoping that we will forge a relationship that will be as fruitful as the one I had with my ash staff.

To start the process off I read Allen Meredith and Janis Fry‘s book “The God Tree“, as recommended by Philip Carr-Gomm‘s blog post.

Yew are the God

This book revealed many amazing insights which I had never considered before such as:

  • yew trees may have been transported here from the staves carried by such well-known early Celtic Christian saints such as Cadoc, Patrick, Christopher and Bueno
  • the trees may be the source of the myth of the “golden bough”
  • the yew tree is the origin of the concept of the World Tree – or the Tree of Life

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Bardic Shape-shifting

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Hedge Druidry, Quickie

I am now adept at putting my consciousness outside of myself. The great Bran taught me many of these skills, and others I have worked on through my own training, guided as always by those forces unseen which lend their collective hands to guide me along this druidic path. Consciousness relocation is a skill which … Read More “Bardic Shape-shifting” »

Tarot for Sword and Shield

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Ancient Sites

My second favourite method of divination, after dowsing, is now tarot card reading. I don’t use much of a methodology – I’ve never “learned” the cards, nor do I have any background in the original tarot card meanings. At one point I was as far as to learn the general characteristics of the “suits”, but then with each changing deck this got re-worked and soon I forgot all about that information. I now just take some keywords from the book that accompanies the cards, read the general meaning, and let my intuition find the meaning for me in the light of the questions I asked. This method has worked very well for me, and has been astonishingly useful. I’m not going to change my ways now, even though I have bought the renowned tarot book “78 Degrees Of Wisdom” on Kal’s recommendation. One day I might even read it.

I wanted to do a tarot reading to fill in some of the gaps from my current quest of “The Sword and The Shield”. Sure, I had gone through two incredible experiences to acquire these energetic symbols, artefacts if you will, but what were they for and how could I access them? These were among some of the many questions that I had about the quest. I gathered my questions, and then pulled out the Wildwood Tarot deck – my favourite deck for druidic forms of answer.

Here are the questions that I came up with to ask:

  1. What is the purpose of me having Galahad’s sword and shield?
  2. To what purpose should I put these energy forms?
  3. How will the sword and shield help me in my spiritual quest?
  4. How will the sword and shield help others?
  5. How can I evoke the sword?
  6. How can I evoke the shield?

Some preliminary dowsing was required to complete my other questions, which I felt weren’t suitable to a tarot form of answer:-

  • Will these energy forms last beyond this year? – yes, for as long as I work magickally
  • Is there anything else I need to know about the energy forms? – this tarot will reveal all
  • Is Ash involved in evoking their powers? – yes, I will always need as Spirit Guide to assist with their use.
  • Do the two energy forms of sword and shield always have to be used together? – no

 So, with some questions answered, and many remaining, I dowsed for the number of cards to draw for each question, and then made an ad-hoc layout on that basis.

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Anglesey Winter Solstice – Part 3: Lligwy Chamber

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Anglesey Winter Solstice – Part 3: Lligwy Chamber
Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Edge Wizardry, Energy work, Modern Druidry, Wheel of the Year

4. Lligwy Chamber, SH501850, Llanallgo, Moelfre : A5025 (East Anglesey)  We found the road to Lligwy Chamber a lot easier than the last time we visited in August ’08. This time we parked right next to the chamber, rather than having to walk back from the ‘official’ car park for the main ‘settlement’ site. With … Read More “Anglesey Winter Solstice – Part 3: Lligwy Chamber” »