Tag: perfect shield

Summary 2013 – Lessons Learned Pt1

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Hedge Druidry, Hedge philosophy

In the second of my year-end summary posts I am listing the most important things I have learned this year. I’ve arranged them in chronological order by month as this seems to show the development of the learning in the best way. There’s too much to read in one go, so I’ve split this into two posts. Part 1 is January to June/July. Part 2 will be the back half of the year.

One of my favourite phrases is “Every day is a school day.” It certainly feels like that walking this path of druidry and divination!

January

Spooky!

  • Learned that some pet energies can be grounded through respectful burial involving knowledge of their energetic links to humans (e.g. an owner)
  • Also found a spirit that is classically called an Incubus preying upon the vibrant energies of the three teenage girls in the house. Discovered that they can be ‘ensnared’ using a spiral-carved stone to confuse their pathway, and by changing the energy flows around the house to disrupt its patterns and portals.

Related posts: Exorcising an Incubus, Poltergeist Pet

Tarot Framework

  • Created a four-stage cross tarot layout coinciding with the Celtic festival dates, and drew from the Camelot Oracle to define the path, the champion and the challenges at those special dates. The result was a fantastic way to keep me on track with my progress!

Related posts: Arthurian Overview of 2013, Camelot Oracle

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Summary of the Year 2013 – Themes

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Hedge Druidry, Wheel of the Year

Welcome to the first of three posts to summarise the adventures I’ve had this year. The first post will discuss the major themes of the year and my opinions on them. The second post will go into detail about the lessons I’ve learned and how I have developed as a result of those teachings. Finally, … Read More “Summary of the Year 2013 – Themes” »

Being brave in Thor’s Cave

Posted on By Gwas 2 Comments on Being brave in Thor’s Cave
Ancient Sites, Elemental, Energy work, Hedge Druidry

Whenever I mention a sacred site to visit I can see the cogs going round in Kal’s mind… “Will there be climbing involved?” Well, in this instance yes. As we  made our way through the Manifold Valley path towards the conjunction of three hills I could hear a familiar tone evolving in his phrases. So this cave…. is it…high up? Yes, it’s high up. And the way is steep. And the path precipitous. But the views are amazing and the climb is worth it for the reward of experiencing the cave’s vast space and acoustic properties.

On this particular visit I had chosen to try to find the easier way up. The walk was longer, but I knew that coming down from the top of the hill from the village of Grindon was not only a muddy experience but a buttock-clenching one too, at times. I hoped to spare Kal the worst for this former vertigo sufferer. Was it appreciated? It didn’t sound like it! Did I offer him soothing platitudes to ease his worries?

Hell no! 😉

Approaching Thors Cave in Staffordshire.
Approaching Thors Cave in Staffordshire.

The cave is monstrously impressive! The height, the altitude, the view, the difficulty to get in…. it’s such an effort which is rewarded by the timbre of the acoustics even standing at the entrance. Having been here before I remembered that somewhere deep inside there was what our ancestors used to refer to as a “goblin” inside – an earth spirit. I hoped to meet him again, but that wasn’t the reason I was here.

My main reason for visiting the cave was to test whether I could create my “Perfect Shield” – an energetic construction for protection. The Shield was purely theoretical at this point, and which I needed to have practised before I came to use it “in anger”, as it were, when I needed it. I think the shield is linked with the Shield of Faith that I obtained as a gift from Faery too. Why I would need such protection wasn’t clear yet, but something somewhere knew and had guided me to learn how to create it. I had the image of how it could be done, now I needed the space and time to make it work.

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Beltane 2013 Pt3 – The Perfect Shield

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Ancient Sites, Wheel of the Year

In this final part of the Beltane story for this year I record the nature of my quest for this part of the Wheel of the Year – Beltane to Summer Solstice.

We were back into the east of Derbyshire now and visiting sacred sites along the way as we came to them. Being back in Derbyshire visiting places we knew felt like coming home, and it also felt like the right time of year to be working. Arbor Low was briefly in sunshine so I took some pictures before the freezing cold gale-force winds forced another early retirement from the site. Is that place EVER warm?

As we moved towards Congleton I veered off the road and up a hill to park near to a field. In that field could be discerned Clulow Cross – a vertical gritstone pillar on top of an ancient mound. Personally, I have always had the impression that this was a meeting place since ancient times, and once or twice I have felt the presence of a ghostly host on the lower slopes, gathering to listen to the pronouncements of an exalted few on the top. Others who have visited the site have said similar things, but of course there’s unlikely ever to be any form of evidence for such events.

Clulow Cross at Beltane
Clulow Cross at Beltane

After the bitter chill of Arbor Low this site was…  exactly the same! Aaargh! If anything the wind had become stronger. Kal and I passed each other on the hill and exchanged knowing glances. We wouldn’t be here long today. I found shelter at the base of the cross and thought about which spirit to connect to in order to ask what my next quest would be. Should I try the Spirit of the Place, the various nature spirits that I hoped might be around, or one of the spirit energy forms that I have worked with previously?

The Lady of the Lake came to mind. She fitted the bill because she had worked with me in providing the Sword and Shield of Galahad. As my quests this year seemed to be entirely related to this Arthurian stream of development then I would continue in that vein unless something indicated strongly otherwise. Hunched in a quiet area behind the pillar I invoked images of the Sword and Shield, forming connections with the site, the earth and celestial objects above me. I then asked what the next stage was, directing my request to an image of the Lady that I had seen when I last worked with her at Lyn Tegid in North Wales.

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