megalithic – The Hedge Druid

Samhain 2013 – Arthurs Stone, Henbane and the Builders Path

November 18, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Hedge Druidry, Quests, Wheel of the Year

My previous visit in 2011 to Arthur’s Stone had been in full sunshine. Today, Samhain, was very different with a blanket of grey cloud shedding rain all around us in sporadic bursts. I felt sure that we were in for a damp visit, but on arrival the clouds stopped dispensing rain and left only a wet sheen over everything, clouds still deepening in the background.

Kal set about trying to make the sun appear. By now I knew better than to vocalize any doubts about his abilities, but I have to say that I was really doubtful that he could penetrate the dense grey could cover that was all around us, and had been for most of the drive into Herefordshire. If anything, it was getting thicker and darker with every passing minute. Nevertheless, he stated his intention and I left him to his impossible task.

Kal makes the sun appear in the middle of a rain storm

Menorca – The Death of Energy

October 24, 2013October 24, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Hedge Druidry

Cala Morell Necropolis – Menorca – 9th October 2013

At the north-western end of Menorca’s small island is a necropolis – a system of caves which have been used for the deposition of human remains. Notice that like the last encounter I had – the one at Fort Marlborough – the subject is again ‘death’. Let’s talk about death in relation to Menorca’s sites.

It seems that generally the sacred sites on the island are now dead or dying. There is a distinct lack of energy at these places, and I believe that is due to the neglect (i.e. the failure to re-energize the sites) by people who have a magickal purpose or intention. Sure, there are lots of visitors, and yes I’m sure that some of them are energy-aware. But I equally think that no-one is maintaining the sacred sites of Menorca in accordance with how they were energetically created. Hence, there is almost nothing left at these places. Out of ten, they register as a zero or one on the scale of energetic strength.

Who created the sites in the first place? Well, the information boards talk a lot about a tribe of people known collectively as The Talaiotic Culture. It is supposed, although little is known for sure, that these people were responsible for the construction of these megalithic sites. There are a few ancient settlements with some well-preserved layouts and I visited a couple of them. They were very beautiful, and their structures were reminiscent of much of the architecture which we see from the north fo Scotland al the way down through to the Mediterranean islands. Amazing consistency of concept.

So, let me tell you about my visit to the necropolis of Cala Morell.

Summer Solstice in Wiltshire

July 8, 2012July 8, 2012 Gwas 3 Comments

Ancient Sites, Staff, Wheel of the Year

Finally I get around to the Summer Solstice post! This year I spent Summer Solstice on June 22nd, and I spent it in the heart of Wiltshire on a tour round my favourite megalithic sites with Kal in tow. As we arrived we found that the remnants of the solstice celebrants were camped all around the sacred hills and places. In many ways my heart yearned to be with them – to live their nomadic life, to live so close to the places I loved and to move with the seasons and the celebrations. Yet, I have walk a different path and I have come to accept this. I live a balance between ordinary and extra-ordinary events, between the so-called mundane and the esoteric. “Balance in all things” – the hedge druid motto.

The day was being reported by the weather-predictors as being a downpour and a washout. We had driven through almost continual rain to get here, but when we arrived the weather seemed to be better than further north, and so we counted ourselves lucky. As we passed through the market town of Marlborough Kal finally asked where we were going. My reply was simple – “I don’t know. We’ll have to see what happens.” And so the tightly-packed mystery and potential of the solstice day began to unfold.

1) The Sanctuary

Our first stop was the remains of the stone circle known as The Sanctuary. Even though I have been to this part of the land many many times, and so has Kal, we have rarely been here together. However, it came as a surprise to me that Kal had never been to The Sanctuary yet, so when the impulse overcame me I stopped and we got out to have a look. Kal was hugely underwhelmed by the spectacle of some concrete markers on a vague circle. I knew what to expect, though, having been here a couple of times before.

Of course there’s nothing to see, but we still took the opportunity to FEEL for what was there. I felt that I should walk into the set of concentric circles via a particular path, and I decided to try and feel that path rather than dowse it. I would use the dowsing rods to confirm the final position when I got there. Minutes later of wandering in and out of the concentric circles, each time getting deeper towards the centre, I found a spot that appealed to me. When I dowsed to see whether this was where I should be – it was. I didn’t ask about the energies – male/female, strength, or anything else. This was just the place I needed to sit in. And it was raining. So whatever was about to happen should just get on with it. I put my hood up on my waterproof coat, and Kal did the same. Lucky I brought a spare, eh? Every time.

It was now really raining very hard. Even the hardcore crusties who had popped in to admire the remains of a once-powerful place didn’t stay around long in the wet. Luckily we were equipped for all seasons and weathers. We hunkered down against the summer storm. In many ways these kinds of weather conditions favour getting into a quick trance, and sure enough I quickly found myself emptying my head of the day-to-day junk thoughts.

As my energies re-balanced themselves to their new surroundings everything went calm inside. I knew this was the time to ask a purposeful question. “Please show me something that will further my spiritual quest.” I pleaded. There was a moment’s deliberation, and then a vision emerged in the dark stillness….

…It was me, sitting where I was, but I was seeing myself from above. Then a trackway, a path of electric green lines thrust across the landscape like two bolts of lightning and made their way over the hill nearby towards Avebury. In my mind I followed the lines as they arrived in the Avebury stone circle. They stopped at a stone that was shaped like a lion’s head. Here the vision zoomed into the stone and showed me a hole. I couldn’t gauge where the hole was on the stone because the image was just too fast, and I was barely picking up the plot line, never mind the intricate dialogue and the nuances of the word-play, so to speak! Then I knew something gnostically – in the hole I would find something that would guide me on my quest.

The Well of Saint Lassair

June 1, 2012June 14, 2012 Gwas 1 Comment

Ancient Sites

Kal and I are still just outside the village of Ballyfarnon on the shores of Lough Melagh. It is our first day in Ireland on my ancestor energies quest. We have just looked around Kilronan Abbey and found some interesting and significant graves. Now we’ve crossed the road to St Lassair’s Well.

Saint Lassair is an interesting lady. There is very little historical information online about this woman, except that the well dedicated to her is associated with Brigit. Now, isn’t that significant considering that there is a small megalithic site right next to the well too? Seems like this may have been a site originally dedicated to Brigit and later appropriated in the name of Lassair? One account says that Lassair was Ronan‘s daughter – Ronan being the founder of the ‘modern’ abbey. Maybe. Here’s another consideration of her origins:

It is with Sanas Cormaic that we find the first explicit link made between this goddess and the element of fire, in the word ‘bri’. McCone has convincingly shown that the three arts it claims Brigit supervised— healing, smithcraft, and poetry—were in early Ireland all associated with fire. The authors of the saints’ Lives of Brigit seem to have been aware of the same-named goddess, though they never say so explicitly: all of her Lives give Brigit a druid father figure, so she is made into a member of the druid class, the same class as poets and judges….

…McCone has pointed out that another saint, the virgin Lassair, also has a fire name, from lassar, flame. In his view Brigit, like Lassair, was a goddess who became a saint in Christian times; both succeeded in the new religions because their attributes could be harmonized with those of the Christian God, for the Bible is filled with light and fire imagery.”

(source: p.64 – ‘Women in a Celtic Church‘ by Christina Harrington)

Hot Spots in a Cool Place

Of course, our first task is always to find out whether a place has any energy worth investigating. It almost went without saying, yet still we both dowsed for it in our own separate ways. We both asked the same initial questions and ended up standing next to each other underneath a tall but closely-cropped yew tree growing nearby to the well. We laughed and confirmed that we had both asked for the most energetic and beneficial places for ourselves and we had ended up at the same location.

From our evergreen vantage point we scanned the site. It is a curious mixture of modern Christian tacky monumental-ism, of rehashed re-interpretations of vestal virgin figures and sad-looking never-be brides combined with a plaque commemorating the visitation of the Polish octogenarian Pope John Paul II. Lurking politely to one side like a faithful pet is a small table of stone – an ancient monument of diminutive proportions whose first sight evokes a small smile and even so far as a smirk. What the heck is THAT? And what is it doing here?

Read More “The Well of Saint Lassair” »

Kilronan Abbey

May 31, 2012November 8, 2013 Gwas 3 Comments

Ancient Sites, Ritual

In the second of my posts on recovering my ancestor energies we visited two sites for the price of one – Kilronan Abbey next to Lough Meelagh has a holy well dedicated to Saint Lassair right opposite it. As ever, we were driven by our findings rather than our curiosity, and my quest was directed by some higher intelligence, for I had only done a glancing amount of research to pick this site out before we arrived in Ireland. As usual, something else had decided that I would be in the right place at the right time. Here’s the tale of these two personally special places, starting first with Kilronan Abbey.

Kilronan Abbey

The most convincing information I have found about the origins of the abbey at Kilronan Abbey is this account by James McGarry:

“The first Church at Kilronan, Ballyfarnon, Co. Roscommon, was built in the 8th century by St. Ronan and his daughter St. Lasser (Lasair), hence the name Kilronan (kil or cill meaning church). It was replaced in 1339 by one built by Fergal O’Duigenan which was burned down in 1340 and replace three years later by the Church, one gable of which stands today. Sheltered by that gable is the vault of the McDermott Roes, in which Turlough O’Carolan was interred in 1738.

This gable is a memorial to the Gaelic Literary tradition from the 13th -18th century as represented by the O’Duigenans, hereditary erenachs of Kilronan (lay abbots who held church land from generation to generation), and chroniclers (as well as bards and ollavs-hereditary poets) to the Mac Dermotts, Princes of Moylurg, down to Turlough O’Carolan, sometimes styled “The Last of the Bards”. The O’Duigenans maintained a School of History on this site. The origin of the bards is lost in the mists of pre-historic Ireland.” (source: Freepages Geneology)

‘Erenach‘ – such a lovely word. It means ‘an ecclesiastic having duties akin to those of an archdeacon‘. More about Turlough O’Carolan later too.

There’s that name again – “O’Duigenan“. Followers of the blog may remember my encounter with the spirit of ‘Dignan’ at Vale Crucis Abbey in Llangollen. In that episode he gave me his name and then challenged me to follow him when he disappeared in a westerly direction. By meditation and dowsing I discovered that this spirit had re-located itself back at its source – Roscommon in Ireland. This was the reason I was here – to find this spirit again and fulfil whatever the next part of my challenge was.

Kilronan Abbey - Ireland May 2012 (13) (Medium) — Kilronan Abbey, Roscommon

At this point I had no clues about the nature and direction of my quest other than these two sites and the snippet of a vision I had obtained from Carrowkeel where I had seen a sword fight between myself and an ancient warrior. Where would I be led next, I wondered? What links would it make in the chain of the quest of recovering my ancestor energies? I was about to find out.

Understanding Megalithic Sites Presentation

October 27, 2011September 12, 2026 Gwas 5 Comments

Ancient Sites, Courses, Hedge philosophy, Recommended

I have prepared a presentation on the subject of “Understanding Megalithic Sites” and I am inviting anyone who wishes me to come and do a talk on this subject to let me know. These ancient structures are of continued and growing fascination for us, and yet many of these mysterious places are still under threat … Read More “Understanding Megalithic Sites Presentation” »

Arthur’s Stone – Initiation and Concepts of Arthur

September 3, 2011September 12, 2026 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing

Near to the village of Dorstone in the Golden Valley of Herefordshire is a wonderfully preserved ancient monument called “Arthur’s Stone“. The monument is on the borderlands of England and Wales, and as the map below shows there is a congregation of settlements and an alignment of sites along the ridges between the rivers Wye … Read More “Arthur’s Stone – Initiation and Concepts of Arthur” »

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