summer solstice – Page 2 – The Hedge Druid

Solstice 2013 – The Arthurian Cross Gets Crosser

July 20, 2013July 18, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Arthurian, Dowsing, Wheel of the Year

Yet another stone circle – Tregeseal – was crammed in before we made our way north to Tintagel. We were both eagerly waiting to get to Tintagel, believing that it would be a very suitable site for learning about our respective quests. So, it was with mixed emotions that we drove up the rutted narrow track to the top of the hill to the north-east of the village of Tregeseal. Excitement at the prospect of a new circle, trepidation about the state of the circle and whether it would be worth the diversion. The circle had better be worth the delay and the threatening weather!

As it turned out, it was delightful, and judging by the gift of bright yellow flowers in the centre of the main circle (there are remnants of others nearby) then it was a circle that was visited often too. After taking some photos I began to think about what it was I wanted to learn at this circle. As I stood overlooking the site I felt a presence I had felt many times before – it was Merlin. My old friend and mentor. Hadn’t felt him in ages. What advice was he offering me this time?

I should be asking about the Arthurian Cross.
This was a suitable place to discover such information.

Well, I had been finding Arthurian energies at Glastonbury Abbey recently, so that tied in. “Follow me!” said Merlin and moved into the circle. I followed, dowsing to see where he had gone. Because he was invisible, a figment of my fevered imagination, and only my swinging two metal rods around in a random fashion could hope to locate such a being.

The circle was nestled in the lee of some imposing stones on the adjacent hill, which offered a beautiful and intriguing backdrop to the site. Kal set off dowsing the circle, and I went about my dowsing business too. It was time to find Merlin, and then to see what it was he was trying to tell me about the Arthurian Cross – a collection of psychological archetypes, symbols, and stations that, as a concept, was becoming ever more complex by the week! Would Merlin be able to straighten it out for me? The rods found him, standing by one of the stones in the eastern side of the circle.

Solstice 2013 – A Cautionary Tale about Attachment

July 16, 2013July 15, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites

Still the first day of our Summer Solstice outing in Cornwall. Dragging on a bit, isn’t it? Well, there are a lot of places to see in that area, and we had all day to see them in. Long warm days full of sunshine make us go a little bit crazy. However, this was our last site for this first day, and it would turn out to be the one that had the biggest impact on me personally because I would be taught a very strong lesson about attachment.

Death and the Maidens

Finding the Merry Maidens stone circle should have been easy. Kal had been there a few times before, and he told me “you can see it from the road“. Well, we scoured the road, passing by sights which Kal recognised and then we got into that grey area of “…and it’s somewhere around here.” Next thing you know Kal was putting the anchors on, “We’ve definitely gone past it.” We had been approaching from the Penzance end through Newlyn on the B3315, but if the site is approached from the other side, then it’s much easier to find. Soon we were parked up in a layby next to an information board, and then over the stile and up the slight hill through a green meadow towards the visible stones on the top of the slope.

As I parked myself by the outlying “heel” stone Kal zoomed off towards a stone which was seemingly embedded into the nearby hedgerow. I waited for a while and then couldn’t resist going over there too after he wandered off elsewhere. Something was inviting me to take a look, and the dowsing rods confirmed that the spot had some form of energy. But what? I peered into a circle of flattened grass – there was the corpse of a dead rabbit! It looked like a natural predatory death, but everything like this raises suspicions of peculiar rituals when they are close to stone circles.

Solstice 2013 – Men-An-Tol and the healing of attitude

July 12, 2013July 11, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Dowsing, Healing, Hedge Druidry, Wheel of the Year

Our second site visit in Cornwall on the Summer Solstice was to a very famous site called “Men-An-Tol“. This is one of the strangest configurations you’re likely to find in terms of megalithic sites. There are two standing stones about ten feet apart from each other, and in between is a holed stone just about big enough for a person to crawl through.

Men An Tol - Solstice 2013 (Large) — Summer sky at Morvah village, Cornwall – June 2013

We approached the site from the small road from Morvah village which passes through Bosullow, heading south towards Madron. There is a layby at Bosullow Common which has sufficient parking for about three of four cars. Take the stile up the slight hill from the layby, and after about ten minutes walk you will find a small sign guiding you over the ditch and onto the moorland. In the distance you can see the remains of buildings at Ding Dong Mine. Such great Cornish names!

Solstice 2013 – Boscawen Un – A Switch of Staves

July 9, 2013July 9, 2013 Gwas No Comments

Ancient Sites, Staff

We started our Cornwall adventure on a sunny Summer Solstice morning by visiting the last stone circle of these Albion islands – Boscawen Un. Having just come from Glastonbury where I had been given the task of engineering a meeting with a faery I was eager to find out whether the next few sites would reveal any more information about this new quest. Bodmin Moor had then supplemented this concept – I found out that I could use water as a means of moving between this reality and The Otherworld. That was very promising too.

As we walked down the long secluded path towards Boscawen Un stone circle the air was humid and pungent with the aroma of foliage and flora bursting into full bloom and throbbing with chlorophyllic life.

Boscawen Un - Solstice 2013 (31)

At this time of year the path to the circle was lined with a stunning procession of colourful wild flowers – foxglove, cow parsley, sorrel and many others that I couldn’t name. In fact, I began buying books to help identify flowers and I am making it my mission this year to learn the names of as many as I can. This time of year is perfect for starting such an education, and Cornwall was my inspiration.

Boscawen Un - Solstice 2013 (24)

Solstice 2013 – Glastonbury’s Faery Portal

July 1, 2013July 1, 2013 Gwas 3 Comments

Ancient Sites, Faery, Quests, Wheel of the Year

I had just discovered a fascinating energy formation that was created by the four energy polarities which were symbolised by four Arthurian characters. The walk from Glastonbury Abbey to the base of The Tor was full of anticipation about what might happen next. This was only supposed to be a prelude to a weekend in Cornwall, but already it was shaping up to reveal some fascinating insights into work done this year. There was more to come in that respect, but for the moment let’s return to The Tor.

There are tales associated with The Tor – Ynys Witrin – The Glass Isle. It is said to be a portal into the world of Faery – that unseen yet co-present dimension of sentient energies which inhabit the same space as our physical world, but which we rarely get the chance to encounter. Here I was at the base of one of the renowned portals into that world.

“With the 19th-century resurgence of interest in Celtic mythology, the Tor became associated with Gwyn ap Nudd, who was first Lord of the Underworld, and later King of the Fairies. The Tor came to be represented as an entrance to Annwn or Avalon, the land of the fairies.” (Source: Wikipedia referencing Introducing Glastonbury)

Yet my thoughts were trained on the Arthurian energies. My only directive to the dowsing rods at the base of the Tor was to guide me to a place where I could work best. Nothing more specific – just that vague notion. I took off my shoes and felt the cool grass on the soles of my feet. The earth went through me like a charge, and in turn I charged off up the hill following the rods’ lead.

Summer Solstice 2013 p1 Glastonbury Abbey a Goddess Discovered

June 27, 2013 kal No Comments

Pilgrimage

Our intentions were reasonable I thought. We had set out on the 3.5 hour journey to Glastonbury and beyond with high hopes of getting to Glastonbury with a reasonable chance of visiting one of our favourite sites, the Chalice Wells. The universe wasn’t playing fair (or so it seemed) and we hit traffic that pushed … Read More “Summer Solstice 2013 p1 Glastonbury Abbey a Goddess Discovered” »

Solstice 2013 – Glastonbury Abbey and the Arthurian Energies

June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 Gwas 3 Comments

Wheel of the Year

For the Summer Solstice this year Kal and I went out for a long weekend to Cornwall. On the way there and back we managed to visit Glastonbury. I used to think of Glastonbury as the ideal place for spending the solstice, but in recent years the attraction had worn off. However, on Kal’s suggestion we added the town to our list, and I booked us a stay in a hotel in nearby Taunton to give us the maximum amount of time in Glastonbury given that our true destination was still hundreds of miles further down to the south and west of the country.

From ‘Arthurian’ to ‘Zoe’

As is usual Kal and I split up to do our separate searches of the site. My goal was to see whether there were any remnant energies in the abbey grounds that I could characterise as being related to Merlin, Arthur, Galahad or Gawain – my Arthurian Cross – a concept that I was seemingly getting very engrossed in, almost obsessed with.

Having dowsed that such energies were available in the abbey I set about locating them. I didn’t choose any order – I asked the dowsing rods to take me to one of the energy spot and then I would dowse for which energy form it was on arrival.

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