kerry – The Hedge Druid

The Pact with Cailleach – Summer 14 P9

August 20, 2014 Gwas No Comments

Hedge Druidry

Shronebirrane stone circle, Kerry, Ireland

To find this circle you need to follow the brown signs inland from the R571 Beara peninsula coast road after passing through Lauragh village. More information can be found at the Isle of Albion site.

After wending our way along a single track road that snaked along a valley floor for what seemed like an eternity we end up at a small car park next to a long farmhouse. We are surrounded by beautiful and tall hills, yet the valley is wide enough for us to catch the remainder of the solstice day’s rays.

Parking at the floor of the valley for Shonebrane circle — Parking at the floor of the valley for Shronebirrane circle

As we pass the farmhouse we are met by the owner who charges us a nominal fee to enter the site in what is effectively their back garden. Their sheep wander around the circle leaving small black deposits.

I begin my investigations outside of the circle, whilst Kal heads straight inside, as he often does. I dowse firstly for the Spirit of Place for the site and find that the circle has one. Good. I ask to be shown where the spirit is, and I am taken all around the outside of the circle, threading in and out of some of the stones. That’s unusual, but vaguely familiar! I’m sure I found the same energy form at Cerrig Pryfaid near Conwy years ago. After my third perambulation I am back on the same track again, so it would appear that the spirit forms three discernible circles of energy around the stones.

When I ask to connect with the spirit I am taken by the dowsing rods to stand at one of the stones which lie to one side of the circle. Here I can connect with the spirit, and I learn that she is born of the surrounding mountains and that she has been at this circle for thousands of years.

The helpful sign is ten feet away from the circle!

A Choice of Quests at Uragh – Summer 14 P8

August 13, 2014 Gwas 1 Comment

Ancient Sites, Quests, Wheel of the Year

Uragh stone circle, Kerry, Ireland

The solstice day is picking up in terms of weather. The sun comes out as we pick out way slowly down the narrow track which we hope ends at the picturesque stone circle of Uragh. We park when we can drive no further, and walk to a small rise between two lakes, and suddenly the view becomes amazing in all directions.

Uragh stone circle - June 14 (5) — View of one lake from Uragh circle

As Kal went straight into the circle I walked to the top of the rise to give myself an overview of the area. There was a large recumbent stone on top of the small hill, and this became my base from which to observe. I could see other people milling about in the area admiring the views and visiting the circle. I would wait until the place felt calmer before I descended.

When the coast was clear I came down to visit the circle. I waltzed around it seeing if I could sense the right place to approach it. There was a ritual creation on the grass a few feet away from an opening in the rib-like structure of the smaller set of standing stones. This was the entrance point that I felt was right for me. Clearly, it was right for someone else too, and they had got there before me. I approached the oval of stones, a shape typical of this region, and introduced myself to the site, hoping to catch the attention of the Spirit of Place.

I noticed that my black wings (see previous posts) once again gave me an unhindered access and an immediate welcome to the site. That is so refreshing! It was like having a calling card, or a free pass. I felt the Spirit of Place react to this and to my druid name. It would also seem that my family name has some resonance in these parts too, although not the same power as when I am farther north in this island. As I settled to lie down (the obvious thing to do in the slight depression) I felt comfortable, and the sun shone through breaks in the clouds to light the scene.

The Spirit of Place introduced himself as Igneorl. It sounded like it was based on the word “igneous” – a classification of rock. Now it was time to get to work.

Two Male Streams – Summer 14 P7

August 6, 2014 Gwas 2 Comments

Hedge Druidry

Cashelkeelty stone row, Kerry, Ireland

As we drive down the R571 (Ring of Beara road) towards Lauragh village I make a sudden and impulsive decision. There is a brown sign with a megalith on it, and I am sure I saw the words “circle” on it. I pull over at the next available parking space which is some half a mile down the road. Little did I know that if I have gone back I would have found a car park next to the sign. Hey ho! Only the first of a series of decisions that would make this journey more difficult than it needed to be!

The sign reads “Caiseal Coillte” or Cashelkeelty when rendered from the Gaelic into English. Sure enough, it’s a stone circle indicated on the sign, so we hop over the metal stile and head off into the dark and closely-knit fir trees. The day is humid which adds to the intensity of the climb up the hill, but after half an hour we are clear of the tree line and heading over the couple of rounded slopes that separate us from the ‘good stuff’ on the top. All told we climb for the best part of an hour before reaching the remains of a stone circle.

There is nothing of interest to us at the stone circle. Kal has moved on within seconds of arriving there, whereas I stay a while to ensure that it is of no interest. Yep – there’s hardly any energy here and certainly nothing worth wasting time over. A bit of a disappointment, but suddenly Kal is waving at me from the near distance. Is there something else to see further up the slope?

The Blackthorn Portal – Summer 14 P5

July 30, 2014January 8, 2015 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Hedge Druidry, Spirit of Place, Tarot, Visions, Wheel of the Year

Kenmare – County Kerry, Ireland – 21st June 2014

We roll into town with clear instructions – the stone circle is just on the edge of the town, down Market Street. That’s true but for some reason we decide that the street designated as “market” must be the one with all the shops on it. Well, that was foolish! A long walk out and back means that we start the day off grumbling about how to put a sign up to name your streets in small Irish towns. We haven’t wasted much time, and soon we find the pristine, manicured stone circle at the end of a well-kept hedge-lined path. It feels like we’re walking on to a bowling green!

Bowlers on the Green

The circle is composed of beautiful stones – not too tall, but equally spaced, regularly sited, and overall the circle is impressive. The stone monument is enclosed on all sides by shrubbery, and on one side by tall trees. Other singular trees make themselves known too – a blackthorn and a hawthorn stand in solitary silence on the left-hand side, as though waiting to be noticed by the interested observer. I notice them. I’m interested.

Kenmare stone circle - June 14 (6) (Medium) — Kenmare stone circle bowling green

There are a few others who have ventured out to the circle this special Summer Solstice morning – a young lady sitting at the far side, and an older lady who is wandering around watching what everyone else is up to. Tourist? Interested party? We find out later that she’s interested in all things “heritage” and is from the United States. Well, the odds were in favour of that, really!

Having dowsed to see if there is anything to do here – luckily getting a positive response – I ask to be taken to the starting point. I am taken on a huge inwardly-winding deosil spiral that takes me from weaving betweent eh outer stones to a point on top of the plat stone in the centre. I guess I have to sit here? I sit facing the solstice sun and just allow me aura to be cleansed of the modern world’s detritus. As this is Ireland and we’re in a small town it only takes a few seconds to be cleared and ready for the next stage of the adventure.

Tarot for the Solstice – Summer 14 P1

July 16, 2014 Gwas No Comments

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?

Nine of Bows (Respect)
Ten of Bows (Responsibility)
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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