stone circle – Page 3 – The Hedge Druid

Creating a Healer at Avebury

June 4, 2015June 3, 2015 Chris No Comments

Angels, Circles and Stones, Dowsing, Energy healing, Hedge Druidry, How To, Ritual

After Belas Knap in Gloucestershire where would a journeying Hedge Druid and Edge Wizard go next? Why, to Avebury, of course. Er….right. Because it’s an hour and half in the wrong direction! Nevertheless, somehow Kal persuaded me that there was time and a good enough reason. I don’t know what it was, but it seemed good at the time.

Actually, what started as a good excuse to go to the Avebury village bookshop turned out to be a very revealing and educational affair. I learned a lot about the notion and initiation of becoming a healer, and now I know exactly what I will be trying to do on my next visit. Let me explain how Avebury stone circle can be used to initiate an energetic healer!

98, 36, and 12

I dowsed my way around the circle beginning at the bookshop. Having a bag of books in one hand I was reliant on one-handed dowsing, which required a little “re-programming” to understand the responses. My starting directive was “Take me to somewhere where I can learn something that will help me develop.” You never know what you’ll get with such an open question! I suppose I could have asked “What is the sound of one hand dowsing?”

There may originally have been 98 stones in the outer ring around the smaller inner circles. Many missing stones have now been marked with concrete posts, but some go unmarked. Using the rods I moved around the outer circle, from stone to stone, often missing stones out or by-passing places where stones may have been. Where the rods indicated I should stop, I did so, and meditated on that spot. What I found was that I began to get visions, or rather one vision which became ever-more complex and overlaid with more information as I moved from stone to stone.

What was revealed to me was a geometrical construction of energy which described a method of initiating a person to become a subtle energy healer.

Beltane 2015 – Reparations and the Four Stone Circle

May 16, 2015December 30, 2016 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Circles and Stones, Crystals, Energy work, Hills and Mounds, Land healing, Spirit of Place, Wheel of the Year

We begin this year’s Beltane celebrations with a set of tales that are like ripples in life’s pond. They form concentric circles within each other, being made of the same substance, and affecting each other. So, I start my set of stories with the largest of the ripples – a ripple going back through time to loop around to the very beginning of our questing.

This first story is the longest, and the rest get progressively shorter. Strap yourselves in!

Beltane Bashing Background

Long ago, when we were young and the world seemed idealistic, we had a notion that we could create a stone circle. Surely, all that would be required is for us to gather some stones together, maybe put them on a hill, enchant them, and then we would be Circle Makers? That, dear readers, is what we did many years ago.

The action was full of difficulty – which should have been our clue, but we were less aware in those days. We hauled some rocks around up a steep hill in Wales on a hot day which then turned cold on us. The rocks cracked as we attempted to “tap” them into place in our makeshift circle. The energetic imprint we created has ever more been a source of slight guilt for us, as we came to learn more about what we were doing. We always said that one day we would return and right our wrong. This was that day.

The way this story works out is astonishing. My intention was to start the afternoon at St.Winifrede’s Well in Holywell. It was the head of an old pilgrim route from the North coast down into the heart of eastern Wales. My idea was to start with a cleansing, and then move on to somewhere that we could energise, and finally end up at Moel Y Gaer above Bodfari where we could harmonize our work, right our wrong, and find out what was next on our quest. Three simple steps, if somewhat vaguely defined.

Three simple steps that were immediately shifted away from MY plans, and instead worked themselves out in a completely different and most magickal way.

The Whetstones and The Hoarstones

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 Chris 1 Comment

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Healing, Hedge Druidry, Staff

In this second part of our Winter expedition to Shropshire we re-visit two circles that we have only been to once before – the so-called Whetstones and Hoarstones circles. Having had such a wonderful experience at Mitchell’s Fold there was little or no expectations attached to our visits to these much smaller circles. As this tale of healing shows, you can’t always judge the power of a circle by its size!

The first of the circles was The Whetstones, a semi-destroyed circle in the lee of Corndon Hill, less than a mile away from Mitchell’s Fold.

Sharpness at The Whetstones

We parked on the small road which passes the base of Corndon Hill, and looked for an entry point into the field. We could see that there was a cluster of stones in the second field away, but we couldn’t remember how we had got there previously. Over a rotting wooden stile, slippery with moss, and then into an empty field. We walked along the barbed wire fence until we found bunches and branches of prickly holly, ripe with berries, but slashed from the bushes, and now lying forlorn in the field. We both carefully gathered a small sample – only taking the fallen bounty.

We found a slack part of the barbed wire where others had obviously gained entry to the stones as well, and we hopped over into another field empty except for some distant sheep and a cluster of recumbent stones only feet away on a low rise. The circle was energetically defunct – that much we could tell from its feel and when we dowsed this only confirmed what we already ‘knew’. We’re getting good at identifying subtle energy forces now, and the rods only act as confirmation most of the time.

We checked whether it was suitable and proper to try to re-energise the circle. There was no spirit of place to connect to – one did not exist for this site, and so we only had our intuition and the dowsing response to work with. This informed us that it was okay to try, and we both got the same reply. Independently, and in our own ways, we both laid down offerings at different parts of the circle. I had with me the recently acquired holly, a stone that I had picked up when walking to the circle, and some old bones that I had obtained from Five Wells Barrow in Derbyshire. Now was the time to use these objects to set a new intention – to re-energise this site.

Whetstones - Dec 14 (5) (Medium) — Bones used to energise a sacred site

After setting our intention we did a bit of dowsing to see whether our work had attracted a new spirit of place or not. We both learned that the new spirit would be an animal spirit, and that it will come to the circle some time in the near future, although we couldn’t tell when. Kal dowsed that it would be a rabbit!

With that done, we felt ready to move on to our next objective – another small stone circle in the marshlands about a mile or two further on close to the village of Hemford.

Swapping Spirits at Mitchells Fold

December 12, 2014December 10, 2014 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Faery, Hedge Druidry, Modern Druidry, Spirit Guides, Spirits

This year has seen a slight change in approach to sacred sites. For the last few years I have been steadfastly holding the opinion that I should visit places with a specific purpose or set of questions. This year that has been less of a rule and I have often gone to places without any set agenda, often having a fantastic experience. However, for this visit I had a strange feeling that I wanted to investigate. Something was nagging me about my current spirit guide, Ash. Something was rotten in the state of Denmark, as Shakespeare put it, and I wanted to know more. Therefore when Kal suggested Mitchell’s Fold stone circle I knew what questions to ask my guide:

Am I still on track in terms of my spiritual path?
Are we still on track, as a partnership?
Do I need to concentrate on anything?
Is he staying around, or is there someone else waiting to meet me?

The Unfolding at The Fold

Midday Winter sun at Mitchells Fold stone circle — Midday Winter sun over Corndon Hill, Shropshire

On arrival Kal strode off to the stone circle, whilst I was guided off through the dying brown bracken to join a path that led to the King Stone outlier. From this stone you get a good overview of the stone circle which lies some hundred yards away. I could see Kal wandering around with his dowsing rods, finding a perfect place to cleanse, attune and then work. This, we have learned, is the process to use:

find a cleansing place to prepare your energies
find a place where your energies can attune to the site
find a place where you can work with the energies of the site

My cleansing place was the King Stone, After a few moments I was ready to be taken to the preparation place – the place where my energies would change vibration to match the site. The dowsing rods showed me the direction – it was a small animal track through the bracken which would have been almost invisible in the Summer months, but which was visible now to those who looked.

The rods swung left to point at the edge of the stone circle, rather than taking me into the structure yet. The attunement space was a spot outside circle which I had not been to before. I like new things! The portent was that something new was going to happen. When I felt ready I asked for a place where I could “work”, i.e. where I could ask my questions about my spirit guide. The rods took me to the tallest standing stone in the structure, and there I bumped into Kal as he too vied for the same spot!

Time for some answers!

Breath of the Seasons

September 19, 2014 Chris No Comments

Ancient Sites, Glyphs and Wards, Hedge Druidry, Natural Magick, Trees

Nine Ladies stone circle, Stanton in the Peak, Derbyshire.

The Harvest Moon has arisen. As it now customary, Kal and I try to get out whenever the moon is full in order to make the maximum use of the strong female energies which reflect down onto the Earth at this time of the month. When we discussed a possible site we laughed that Nine Ladies was the front-runner. We recognise that this is the site that we pick when it comes to the end of Summer. There must be something in the way that the energies form at this time of year which attracts us.

Nine Ladies - Sept 14 (16) (Medium) — Nine Ladies at dusk on a full moon evening

Again Kal and I split up and go our separate ways. I find myself drawn to a nearby rowan tree, and I can feel the pull of The Watcher – that otherworldly presence which seems to inhabit the Nine Ladies woodland in a silent invisible vigil.

Sitting in a preparation place I begin asking why I am here. I am reminded that my current quest is to see from the other side of an energy portal. Are there any in this place? Then I remember the Watcher’s Portal, and laugh. How could I forget that tussle? Here’s a link to that episode.

When I ask for an energy portal I am not taken to the Watcher’s Portal, Instead I am led to a bent over birch tree. Experience tells me that to open the portal I may need to search for a kind of energetic combination lock. I ask if there is a sigil protecting the portal and find that there is. I open its four locks by stating my druid name and visualising my intention to use the portal. I wonder what happens now?

Read More “Breath of the Seasons” »

Understanding The Energy of Hills – Summer 14 P11

August 29, 2014 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, God or Goddess, Quests, Spirit of Place, Wheel of the Year

Drombeg stone circle, West Cork, Country Cork, Ireland.

Finally, we have arrived at the last of my posts in the Summer Solstice set (for all the series see this link). It has taken much longer than expected, not only due to the number of posts that the visit generated, but also due to issues with the blog stability that we have now hopefully traced and resolved. Thank you for bearing with us during this particularly extended period of disruption. Sometimes the Universe communicates to us in peculiar ways, and certainly for me the gremlins have struck at my very heart by disrupting this blog. However, re-alignment is taking place, and I am confident that soon you will see a more unified approach to the blog. You’ll see what I mean very soon. For now, let’s finish this set of stories.

Entrance Of The Initiate

Drombeg stone circle - June 14 (5) (Medium) — Fuchsia bushes line the entrance to Drombeg stone circle

After a steep and narrow descent around Drombeg we arrived at a startlingly spacious car park, and then proceeded along the hedge-lined path to the stone circle itself. Along the way we passed a couple who had camped in the circle the previous evening. They looked like they had had an interesting evening! Along the path the fuchsia bushes reminded me of the wonderful floral displays on Iona that we had seen in September 2012.

There were several things to see at the site. Obviously, the circle, but we’ll come to that. Elsewhere there were some smaller oval and circular enclaves which were labelled as “Fulachta Fiadh” – more ‘cooking pits’ it seems. Hmmm… As I sat on the ridge overlooking the site and connecting to the area I had a vision of how the structures were used. I saw a young man being escorted by a hooden and robed figure. He was led into the covered dome structure. Inside he was put through a ‘sweating’ process and then left alone for the night. During the night he emerged and walked into the stone circle to meditate. That relationship seemed to replicate the way I felt about the Dromagorteen circle too.

Now it was time for my own initiation into the circle mysteries!

The Cauldron of Cailleach – Summer 14 P10

August 27, 2014August 29, 2014 Gwas 2 Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Visions

Ardgroom stone circle, Kerry, Ireland

Somehow, in our travels up and down the coast road of the Breara Peninsula, we had missed the sign. The sign was small and so was the lane along which we had to travel. The day was coming close to an end, and the sun was beginning to drag the shadows into longer shapes. Heading now towards Ardgroom circle we found that the land ended in a car park suitable for three or four cars. There was one parked there already, and we slotted in next to it. The signs to the circle pointed towards some marsh reeds, showing us that at any other time of the year we would be walking through a marshland, but luckily at the height of summer the ground was rutted but hard.

Ardgroom Outward stone circle - June 14 (1) — A stone circle in the lee of the Black Dragon Hills.

As we approached the circle we could see that it was dominated by a group of people, most of whom were standing with their backs to a tall stone. One woman was sitting at the edge of the circle in the middle of the company. She seemed to be directing a ritual, so Kal and I moved off to one side of the site so as not to disturb them while they worked.

Kal wandered down to the circle, dowsing as he went, prowling around the outer edges. I kept my distance, taking photographs of the circle from various angles to pass the time while we waited to see if the group would finish their work any time soon. They looked bedded in for the day, and so I dowsed for a suitable place to work outside the circle instead. I was taken to a small hillock where there were several fairy rings in the grass. This seemed a good vantage point to do my own work from while I wanted to see what would happen inside the circle. I did a connection and soon I was feeling the flow of energy from the hills behind me, and the sweeping power of a ‘dark’ lady whom I was becoming familiar with on this trip.

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