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Milestone

October 2, 2022 by dragonsmeet

Stori Fer/Short Story

This short story was an entry in the Llanwrtyd Eisteddfod 2022, meeting the topic ‘Milestone’. The people and places are historically accurate. The snippets about the milestone were imagined, to fit the given topic. The people mentioned are my forebears.

“In 1837 Thomas and Mary Lewis had moved from Aberaeron to Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, when they married, requiring them to travel away from family and friends. They decided this was the best move as Thomas had secured a new job as a lead miner which had a secure income, far better than the variable pay of a farm-hand or being involved in fishing in the rapidly developing port of Aberaeron. However, several years later they had another big decision to make. The lead mine where Thomas worked was changing hands, yet again, and there were rumours that the lead seam was running low. Now, with little Evan growing fast, the future did not look so safe anymore. They eventually decided this time, to move to South Wales so Thomas, could get work in the coal mines.


They began their big journey on a familiar road, towards Llanrhystud, where the road divided, going south west to Aberaeron or south to Lampeter, Llandovery and onto the valleys. They rested a while at the junction. Emotions were running very high. There was a feeling of sadness on leaving the Mid Wales landscape and the sea, mixed with the thrill and fears for the new life ahead. Sitting at the Aberystwyth to Talsarn milestone, Thomas was overwhelmed with grief for what they were losing. He took out his knife and prised a sliver off the milestone. He knapped the sharp edges, so it sat comfortably in his hand. With tears in his eyes, he told Mary that ‘this bit of stone will bring us back home one day’. She tore off a short length of her petticoat and wrapped it around the stone, saying she would sew a pocket for it later.


Their arrival in the valleys was a shock, there were so many people and so much industry belching out unclean air. Thomas had no problem finding work down the mines near Bedwellty. His long experience in the lead mines was useful, but learning to be so deep underground would take a bit of getting used to. In the years that followed he and Mary vowed that Evan would not follow him into the mines. Evan was a bright lad with a good head for figures, so they found him an apprenticeship that later gave him work as a blacksmith linked to the industries in Port Tennant.

Evan married a local girl, Jane, from nearby Swansea in 1869 and they set up home near the factory. Baby Edith was born within the year, followed quickly by Thomas. Evan advanced quickly in his work and was offered promotion and a job in Swindon with the Great Western Railway as an engine-smith. Evan’s father was thrilled to see this important opportunity open for Evan. Before Evan and the family left for Swindon, Thomas gave him a newly stitched pouch containing that sliver of milestone from Llanrhystud, saying “It will bring you home one day”.

Life was good in Swindon.  Evan and Janes’s family grew rapidly. Young Edith and Thomas were soon joined by more children, John Brynygog becoming the youngest of eight!

In 1895 Edith married William Griffin. The Griffins were a well-established family in the area, also with close links to the railway. Shortly after their marriage, Edith and William were transferred by the railway to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Following the family tradition, Evan gave his daughter the pouch and stone, with a note inside of what it was and the words that his father Thomas had used when he moved from Mid Wales. Her moving to the Isle of Wight was unexpected, but the rail system on the island was being extended and William’s experience was needed.

Whilst living in Ryde Edith and William had two boys (Norman and Reginald). Shortly after the birth of Reginald, Edith and William were moved yet again, but this time back to Portsmouth, on the mainland. Edith and William went onto to have two daughters, Marjorie and Ena.

After the war ended, Edith remembered about Thomas Lewis’ pouch and stone. She decided that she was not going to pass it, with the family photos and papers, to either of the boys. Both were too fond of beer, having a good time. Of the girls, even Marjorie was very flighty and forgetful. Edith renewed the pouch and the note inside, and gave it to Ena for her to pass onto her children.

In the years that followed, Ena had no children to pass the pouch onto. This weighed heavily on Ena. On one of her infrequent visits to Reginald’s family that coincided with Marjorie’s 50th birthday in 1959, she met Reg’s granddaughter. The little girl had brought a box full of stones and shells to show everyone, regaling them with where they had come from or who had given them to her. This was the solution, thought Ena! The next time Ena visited, she brought the pouch with her, and gave it to Reg’s granddaughter, carefully pointing out the scrap of paper inside, telling her where the stone was from. So began what turned out to be a life-long interest in stones.

Time moved on with Ena and her siblings passing, as did Ena’s nieces and nephews. The links to the railway fell away as the next generations stumbled into a very different world and society. Within the next generation, Reg’s grandchildren and great grandchildren all stayed in the locality of South Hampshire. However, in 2014 Reg’s granddaughter moved to Mid Wales. Remembering the pouch and stone from Aunty Ena she set about finding out whether any of the story was true. Using Ancestry Online she quickly found John Brynygog, Evan’s son (unusual name) and his descendants. Following the family backwards she found Thomas Evans, the lead miner from Llanbadarn Fawr!

At the first opportunity she visited the milestone near Llanrhystud. (Yes, it was real!). Plans to stick the rounded sliver back on were scuppered as the milestone had been painted white! She decided then, to push the sliver of stone into the soil, behind the milestone.

‘Well, great-great-great grandpa, it did indeed bring the family back home to the land you loved so dearly. However, it took this piece of milestone over one hundred and sixty years and quite a few miles to do it!”

y ddraig enfys

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January 1st 2022………

January 3, 2022 by dragonsmeet

I was asked for my comments, astrologically, on 2022. I decided to take a world view (UK-only view the last paragraph)

Click here for YouTube version: https://youtu.be/N-09aZfcuDw

Ironically because we celebrate the change of the year, worldwide on the 1st January, each New Year has similar patterns. This has been happening since 1582 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. These fundamental patterns, no matter where you are in the world, the Sun sign is always Capricorn and the Sun’s position is about 10 degrees. The Ascending Sign is always Libra. On a positive note, both of these signs have strong Saturn links, representing order, legality and a need for strong leadership. On the negative side this could become too restrictive, not allowing growth or change, getting extremes in crazy laws and irresponsible leaders.

The energy that does change, year on year, is the Moon sign. The Moon sign in any event chart corresponds to the people – the ‘joe blogs people’, us. The Moon sign on the 2022 New Year is Sagittarius, closely linked with Jupiter. This gives the year a more generous, sharing and expansive flavour than the last two years. In 2020 the Moon was in Aries, which can be very open to new ideas but can also be selfish and self-oriented. The Moon sign in 2021 was Leo, which continues the ‘self’ theme of ‘I am OK’ but does have a warmth that Aries often lacks.

Many people have picked up on the Jupiter connection for 2022, highlighting the openness, artistic and inspirational energies it brings. Opportunities run alongside this, bringing ideas for innovative business start-ups or expansion. However, the flip side is one of continuing confusion and without grounding or boundaries can actually be quite overwhelming and damaging. The power amassed by the political few is unlikely to be let go easily, so we could also experience more scattering and confusing energies as restrictive patterns try to unwind. Jupiter moved into Pisces at the New Year and joins Neptune there, in a direct connection in late March and April, which will bring all this into focus.

So, what is the bottom line in all this?

Starting with Pluto…… what a start point that is!

Pluto was demoted from being an astronomic planet in 2006. Many astrologers saw this as unfortunate, knowing the powerful energy that Pluto reflects. Indeed, Pluto’s entry/ingress into Capricorn at the start of the 2008 coincided with the banking crisis. Basically, things have gone downhill ever since! Ironically there is talk of Pluto being reinstated as a planet!

The reinstatement could not come too soon as Pluto’s energy often highlights areas that are not healthy and that need deep healing and fundamental change. In Capricorn, a sign that is often one of stability, ambition and steady advancement, Pluto upended any system, that was anything but. Societies that are grounded in reality have weathered Pluto well. These have mostly been less patriarchal/ male dominant as women tend to use power in a different way than men. Societies where money and rewards for ‘the boys’, with disregard for families, the poor, sick and disabled are struggling. Societies where there has been care that the whole of group thrives and survives, have been more successful. Covid, has been part of this pattern.  Pluto stays in Capricorn until January 2023, when is starts it slow, erratic departure into Aquarius. I suspect, therefore that many CV based problems, will be with us for at least another year.

Three Pluto cycles back in history was when the Black Death occurred. Two cycles back in 1530 there were a lot of religious changes and one cycle back was the American Revolution.

100 years ago, saw the so-called ‘Spanish ‘flu’ which was an outbreak of H1N1 or swine ‘flu as we know it today. Interestingly swine ‘flu returned in 2008/9 as Pluto moved into Capricorn.

Each of the faster-moving planets reflect how society functions. In New Year 2022 Venus is also in Capricorn, indicating a wary and tentative approach to relationships and a steady but slow progress building creativity. Mars started in Sagittarius (with a nod to Jupiter), bringing openness, adventurous and a willingness to try and learn new skills to broaden knowledge. The downside is that boredom can set in if no progress is obvious…….so movement onto the next topic is quick!  Jupiter in Pisces, we have spoken about and Saturn remains in Aquarius, working as it has done since 2020, towards a fairer and more humanitarian society.

There are four eclipses in 2022, all linked to Taurus or Scorpio

These are:

 30 April, a partial solar eclipse at 10 degrees Taurus, visible in southern parts of south America.

16th May, a total lunar eclipse (moon at 25 degrees Scorpio/Sun at 25 degrees Taurus, visible in the Americas, south and west Europe and Africa

25 Oct, a partial Solar Eclipse at 2 degrees Scorpio, visible in most of Europe, north east Africa and through to India and western China.

8 Nov, a total Lunar eclipse at 15 degrees Scorpio, visible nearly everywhere bar Africa and Europe.

In the New Year chart, these link to finances, values and deep healing.

The Lunar eclipse on the 8th November conjunct (same place) as the planet Uranus. Uranus reflects the energy of the pattern-breaker, the catalyst that creates change. This eclipse could herald a dramatic break from the past for the whole planet. This will also become very personal to anyone with other planetary placements or birthdays around 15 degrees Scorpio/8th November.

Although eclipses move in and 18-year cycle, the last time Uranus and an eclipse that coincided in Taurus was in the 1520/1530s – when Pluto was also in Capricorn! So we have lived through this pattern before.

UK Only Additional Notes:

The UK chart is often taken as 1st January 1801, so fits uncomfortably with the 1st January problems of any year.

2022 – Pluto – creates an ongoing aspect with Saturn in Leo, linked to the superiority stance taken by many in the UK tied in with karmic issues and habits. It covers too, the various laws being brought in to stop any show of disagreement the populace has with the government. Layers of control, one after another trying to ensure those in power stay there.

Uranus – has been sitting on the Mars in the UK birth chart since April 2021 and does not leave until April 2022, bringing to the fore the negative energies (because to date (3/1/2022) the UK has stubbornly refused to change). Hence the toddler-like behaviour from those who represent the UK. The eclipse in November is close enough to this natal Mars to suggest a very difficult time. It is also very close to Prince Charles birthday.

Saturn – reaches the UK Venus placement in Mid February, 2022 – hopefully giving stability to the need to be free of traditions that no longer serve.

Jupiter passes Natal Pluto in the second week of January giving a much needed push to idealism and the need for change but does not fully establish that drive until March 2023.

Winston Churchill is renown for saying” Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” So it is with those in charge of Westminster, repeating patterns of the 1520-30s that led to the Reformation and the split from Rome  – in the drive for Brexit.

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‘Interesting Times’

July 29, 2020 by dragonsmeet

The curse “May you live I interesting times”……..

Well we certainly have that!

I am writing this as the misinformation about over Coronavirus is spreading, and getting very political.

In a discussion early in July between essence makers, some of who are also homeopaths, it came around to the energy imprint of CV-19. It seems that those who have been testing CV-19 in a homeopathic mode experienced the same sort of pattern. Folks started off with the preparation lifting their mood, but at the weeks wore on it became apparent that old emotions began to surface.

Realisations then followed that this effect is being reflected in the collective. We are past the initial stage and well into the ‘old stuff surfacing and needing to be fixed’ stage.

True, the chaos that has ensued is being used to impressive political effect. That affects all of us, but it is being dealt with in different ways. This is where the populace starts to split.

On the one hand there are the folk who think ****, I thought I dealt with that stuff, but nevertheless get stuck in, working to sort themselves out. When asked to wear face-coverings, they can see the sense in whatever can be done to mitigate the spread is OK, especially from not wanting to be the unknowing or accidental vector, thereby infecting someone else. The recognition that if it helps others to feel more secure in being out and about, it is only a cloth mask.

On the other hand, there are the folk that could be classed as those not wishing to or wanting to deal with what is happening.

  • Still believing that people in charge (in UK, that is mostly Westminster) are doing a fantastic job, even though they can see through the smoke, the mirrors and the gaslighting that it is not the case.
  • The virus does not exist, inasmuch as it is only influenza. Asking questions of those who have encountered the virus – How do you know you have had it? Were you tested? Do you have proof?
  • The reactions of some people are fear-mongering and if you are young and healthy you will be fine.
  • Wearing a mask is seen as a personal affront, and finding every excuse and press release to back that up, (bearing in mind people who it would harm are not required to do so).
  • Not being able to see through the sometimes ’not-so-clever’ release of information and events into the public domain to introduce doubt, diversion and division.

One could surmise therefore, that some people in the second category are finding that the CV-19 energies are encouraging them to face their shadow, and that is not sitting well: Better to stay the same; let’s get back to normal; things couldn’t really be that bad; we have faced worse and come through; that is fear-mongering; Dr XX says that is not true; the vaccine will save us……..; we knew it wasn’t fatal so what is the fuss about……

The populace is split into two camps, like it was in both English and US civil wars, like it is over Brexit and many other instances. A population divided is weak, it is rich pickings for those who would manipulate, gaslight and carry out hidden agendas.

Just a while back people were being encouraged to get on with their lives, spend money and go on holiday. Then a few days ago being told – you have to quarantine for 14days when you get back. Classic gaslighting if ever there was!

 

From a completely different view, the astrology of these times can show a lot.

Pluto, the planet that is not a planet then it is one, sort-of……… has been trundling its way (transiting) through Capricorn. We felt the first ‘brush’ of what it reflects in the world in 2008/9, when we had the banking crash. Where there is no underlying truth, any situation is up-ended when Pluto comes to visit. Then as we approached the end of December 2019, Pluto was joined by Saturn. An interesting mix of a super, deep spring-clean and a need to look at boundaries, roots, instabilities and lack or organisation. Then in March 2020, Jupiter joined in……… so whatever was or was not going on, it then got splattered everywhere.

I call these three in Capricorn the ‘Covid planets’ and they stay with us, until mid-December 2020. The three together are reflecting a need to sort out the basics. If we don’t, we will be stuck in this type of mess for some time. Unfortunately, the ‘we’ here is not so much the everyday person, but those in charge, those in positions of authority. Yes, the same people who are manipulating us and gaslighting us!

 

astr29072020part

From a different view again – stories for the young men (the Welsh Mabinogi).

I have had the good fortune to have been studying Welsh literature over the last four years. The classic group of stories called the Mabinogi seems a strange place to find correlations for our time.

The first four stories tell of the escapades of young men as they learn life’s lessons. These stories were meant for the youngsters of the upper class.

Of the four countries/areas that have done well dealing with Covid 19, all four (Iceland, New Zealand, Kerula and Germany), all have women leaders.

The others, the men (mostly) need the lessons the Mabinogi teach.

Woven in all the of the stories of the Mabinogi is the same lesson……….. young men, brought up in male-dominated worlds setting out into the world and making a hash of it. Why, because of their upbringing, they firmly ignore or are ignorant of, the natural laws of their Land, they blunder into and over the sacred, destroying and decimating. Some eventually ‘get it’, but for other there is war, death and destruction.

The stories are often centred around relationships with women (about whom they know very little). In many, the woman is wronged or insulted in some way – usually grievously. The settings wander between the manifest world and that of the liminal otherworld. In the liminal places these lads are challenged and if the lessons are not heeded their misogynistic and patriarchal behaviour unbalances everything and then brings ruin into the manifest world.

This is the effect the Wounded Male or Wounded Warrior has on the Sacred Feminine.

Sounds horribly familiar, does it not! 

We have today the mindless, misogynist leaders raping the Earth, oppressing and making scapegoats of the poor, the ill, the disabled, the children – all for the wont of lining their pockets and keeping control of the masses.  (AND the government in the UK reckons it is doing all this stuff in the name of Sovereignty – give me a break and don’t get me started!)

Corona virus is not causing this – it has given us a window to see what is really going on.

We can either attempt to understand the situation in all its horrible-ness and try to sort out the issues it brings up for us, or pretend it is not happening in the hope it will go way.

 With Pluto reflecting on the scene…it will not be the latter!

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Freedom and Freewill

April 12, 2020 by dragonsmeet

There have been a lot of fairly strident posts on social media recently about the need for personal freedom, not being told what to do, being restricted etc. This was probably to be expected that these issues would surface as the situation continues. (see the end of the blog).

I am writing this at the end of week three in the UK lockdown.

We have government who is being vague, lying and deceitful. We have those working for the government directly as in spin-doctors, most of the UK media and interestingly, by agitated posts on social media, who are who are churning up fears, insecurities and paranoia.

‘Rules are for people who cannot trust themselves’ (HH Namkhai Norbu)
Rules are for people who cannot trust themselves to do ‘the right thing’.
Rules are for people who cannot be trusted to do ‘the right thing’.

‘Bondage is all in the mind.’ (Swami Muktananda)
Therefore freedom is all in the mind.

1. People believe they are being stripped of their rights and being controlled.
At the moment, yes, inasmuch as there are restrictions on travel and meeting in groups.
The flip side of this, given that we have a virulent contagion in the population, would be if we each took responsibility for ourselves and had compassion for the wellbeing of others, we would not be doing that anyway.

So maybe we aren’t being stripped of our rights, we are being asked to be fully responsible for our actions.

The appearance of being ‘controlled’ is because there are those in society who have to be given rules to behave responsibly. It is apparent, at the moment, that even with rules, that is not happening.

2. Liberty (Are the present restrictions setting a precedent for loss of liberty?)

This raises lots of questions? What do people think of as freedom?

For example….Is it being able to do what you want, when you want?
That sounds fine ……as long as self-responsibility comes with it.

In the present restrictions, consider the desire…. ‘I want to go and see my friend who lives 150 miles away!
…..with the knowledge that you might be taking the virus with you, or picking it up along the way.
…..with the knowledge that your friend’s health and those they are close to may therefore depend in you.
….. with the knowledge that if you have a car accident along the way, that you might get taken to A&E, using up valuable NHS time and resources.
….. with the knowledge that even though you might have had CV19, people have been shown to get re-infected.
….that you might bring the virus or another strain of the virus back with you…….. and then infect others.
So, one could argue that if you are prepared to take responsibility for all that and other unseen consequences, then why should you not go? Most people, thinking this through thoroughly, might opt for a WhatsApp call or a SKYPE session as safer and cheaper.

3. Freedom. (Are the present restrictions setting a precedent for loss of freedom?)

Those who think they have freedom tend to be those who have choices……..
-choice in where the live and being able to move somewhere else
– choice in where they sleep
– choice in what or when they eat
– choice to spend money or not
– choice in feeling safe and secure
-choice to do something or not

If you feel you don’t have freedom, you need to realise that you still have choices… and that you may have made choices in the past that might have restricted the freedoms you now value so much.

A vast percentage of the population of the planet have few, if any, choices. They therefore could be construed as having no freedom.

So when people shout …… “they are taking our freedoms away”.……what freedoms are those, exactly? Are they freedoms or are they options, choices?

So if someone is laying down the rules and asking you to follow………determine why and make sure that you are not kicking against what a responsible person should be doing anyway………………… make sure you are not kicking against something that is actually a privilege or choice afforded to a few.

4. Manipulation

If someone is laying down the rules to manipulate……then think it through.

If manipulation is involved, it means ‘a game is afoot’…. the infamous Drama Triangle/Karpman Triangle has been activated. (Psychological pattern interweaving, blame, victimhood and rescuing)

So, if you buy into the ‘we are the victims’, ‘they are the villains’……. then you have fallen for the ruse…..you are playing the game, you have been fooled into joining it.

The only way is ‘not to play’.

This doesn’t mean you don’t agree/disagree, but it means you don’t get involved.

By getting involved you automatically give your power away.

The more you play, the more power you give to the oppressor/manipulator/villain. It is a deadly game, but when you play it is endless, it is self-perpetuating.

You avoid playing by observing, not getting stoked up or angry, but by seeing it for what it is.

ogyenmenlasmall

The Astrology:

This was always going to be an interesting time…..astrologically lots of planetary cycles have been creating patterns, coinciding with a Pluto/ Saturn conjunction, aided by Jupiter – all in Capricorn. From Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn the scene was being set.

Pluto cycle is 247 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 247 year ago was the USA war of Independence
Neptune cycle is 164-5 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 165 years ago was the Crimean War
Uranus cycle is 84 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 84 years ago saw the build up to WW2, far right parties and activities dominant
Chiron cycle is 49-50years – 50 years ago saw the UK join the EU, 100 years ago saw the Spanish Flu epidemic
Saturn cycle is 28 years – Balkan wars
Jupiter cycle is 11-12 years – 12 years ago saw the banking crisis 108 years ago saw the start of WW1

Saturn brings restrictions, limitations but deep teachings about freedom.
Pluto simply upends anything that does not have a basis in truth.
In Capricorn – the negative is manipulation, coercion, over-regulation – the positive is understanding of responsibility, duty, compassion.

As Saturn slowly moves into Aquarius, we need to learn the lessons of Capricorn:

In the end we can only change that which is in our power to change.
We cannot ‘fix’ that which is not ours to fix.
Care for ourselves, each other, our families and expand that into the area where we live, if possible.
Taking responsibility for our own actions…is an act of love., not just for ourselves, but for others too.

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Celtic Wisdom in 2019

July 28, 2019 by dragonsmeet

Over the past three years we have been studying some of the myths and stories of the Celtic Lands.

The first work we did was on the Mabinogi……….the well-known collection of stories from Wales. The Mabinogi are a series of teaching tales aimed at aristocratic young men. The tales guide them through life lessons on how to deal with women, honour and above all, relationship with Nature, the Otherworld, its inhabitants and lore. A subject of many a blog from me has been aspects of Sovereignty, and the Mabinogi is packed with challenges where the young nobleman learns how to deal with living on the sacred Land.

We followed that course with one on Taliesin, the master magician, and more recently a course called Celtic Source, looking at the myth and stories of the Celtic Lands and from whence they arose.

Interestingly, as part of a discussion on the Celtic Source course …… we touched on something that has always fascinated me. From a detached viewpoint it was noticed in the modern-day spiritual scene there seemed to be two camps. One camp looks to refining personal energy as a means to move forward in spiritual growth. Seeking that which is beyond as a means of redemption, echoing many religions.

The other camp finding that gaining greater contact with the planet and nature aids spiritual growth. The latter, having a self-labelled, broadly pagan approach, the former looking to attention on the subtle energies of the body and to the subtle layers of being beyond the body.

So, where did the ‘it has to be better somewhere else’ come from? It brought memories of reading ‘Be Here, Now’ by Ram Dass in the 1970s and not totally ‘getting it’ then, but totally on it now.

The ‘better somewhere else’ simply looks outside or beyond what is in the Now.

The counterpoint indicates we have all we need ‘Now’, but we just don’t realise it. There is no ‘somewhere else’ better. Pining for ‘elsewhere’ just gets you further from ‘being here, now’.

Looking back to the roots of myths and stories of the Celtic lands, they were told to those who were not the workers but the next layers up. The workers knew how to have a good relationship with the Land, the cycles of Nature and the input of the liminal energies around them. They could not function in their daily lives without this innate knowledge.

The more gentrified had lost that link and the stories were for them. True, storytellers would have regaled both worker and overlords with the stories, but the land workers knew what the storyteller was on about. The workers did not have to be reminded, but probably smugly listened to the antics of the young warriors in the stories, messing up and being punished for it.

Where did these land workers get their innate knowledge from? One thought emerged that in the very distant past, the liminal energies of the Land taught them, much like it is believed that plants taught people (actually plants still do teach) how to use them for healing. The Land energies still do teach too, if you are open to listen.

However, as is apparent from these old myths and stories, if the Land is ignored and contact with it is lost, trouble follows fast. The past shows what needs to be heeded. Ignore it and the suffering will be repeated.

In 2019 our leaders who have no idea what ‘living in the real world’ is like. They know nothing of being poor, homeless, having to work 24/7 and still not having enough to keep food on the plate and a roof over the head. So not much different from the noble young men in the Mabinogi and other tales……..

Our leaders are ungrounded with their heads full of ideas that are not practical and in fact damaging to the wider populace.

Without being grounded, respectful of the Land and Nature…. those who lead are going to always fuck it up………. and here we are today…. Those with little or no connection with the Land and Nature are in charge and are destroying the planet.

Without being grounded, people will not be in touch with who they really are.

Without being grounded, people will not be able to learn from the Land and Nature. They might think they are, but will be unable to put what they have learned into practice.

Without being grounded, people will experience high levels of stress on every level (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) and be less able to adapt to changes in environment.

We have no bards or poets today whose job it was to train the young noblemen and to cunningly persuade their Lords to ‘do the right thing’. The media (modern equivalent of bards and poets?) have sold out to the leadership and use their influence to coerce the minions about the achievements of their leaders. A complete 180 degrees turnaround on the ancient role.

The latest batch of leaders have even consigned the wisdom of and respect for the womenfolk to pointless gossip or to tasks as handmaids.

The phrase “we want our sovereignty back” rings hollow, when real sovereignty is about having a good relationship and working hand-in-hand with the Land and Nature.

Real sovereignty is recognising what women have to offer, having a good relationship and working hand-in-hand with women.

When the ‘peasants’ revolt against the craziness of today they risk being labelled as terrorists.

These ‘terrorists’ are simply being ‘here, now’, mindful of Nature ……………

They want to be financially wealthy and secure, and are destroying Nature (e.g fracking) for short term financial gain.

They pay lip-service to caring for the environment and put pressure and responsibility onto the ‘peasants’ do their bit. In reality, those in leadership could demand scrubbers on cement factory chimneys, which would cut down carbon emissions hugely in one simple move.

Which begs the question of why are the leaders doing what they are doing?

I also sense that those in charge are afraid….they are scared…… scared of the things they are consigning swathes of the population to……. lack of money, loss of status…… they are scared of things they cannot control………they are scared of the power of Nature.

The planet with a quick shiver could kill us all, ants that we are, on her surface.

River2Mind you, we are doing a pretty good job of destroying ourselves……

 

 

 

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2019 and all that………

February 26, 2019 by dragonsmeet

I don’t blog regularly as I seldom think have something to say! Being, amongst other things, an astrologer I am acutely aware of patterns and cycles of time.

The Chinese Proverb ‘may you live in interesting times’ has come home to roost for all of us.

Only 28 years ago the world wide web use was begun, and what a 28 years since then. 28 years is a Saturn cycle. In humans it marks maturity and the beginning of a period of reassessment of the past and movement into the future. Technology took us into the Age of Aquarius with its potential freedom (Uranus) and the attendant responsibilities (Saturn).

Today the crazy (Neptune), dictatorial politics, is shown in the polarity of Aquarius (Leo) at its worst (May, Trump etc) showing the battle between unbalanced egos with a lot of power (Pluto) and the needs of the humanity.

I look at the UK that used to be the envy of the world with its gentlemanly police force, its excellent, free NHS, its broad educational system (a bit polarised, true…but it was education, not indoctrination)…and what do I see now….something that has been trashed beyond recognition…..so that rich people can get richer, companies can pay bigger dividends ….all on the back of conformity, poorer people, wrecked environment, art and music ignored, disregard for the disabled, elderly and sick.

Alice Bailey said in her works of the early 20th century, that glamour would be the problem in the future – that is, the proper meaning of the word glamour.
“Things looking like what they are not and people getting caught up in it all, buying into the hype and losing who and what they really are in the process”.

How do we get back from this? Short of a revolution, I have no idea.
Students in my day (ahem😉) were a revolting lot……demonstrations here there and everywhere……… not wanting to fit in…….politicians worked mostly for the greater good, with a few exceptions……

It all changed in the 1980s.

Here in 2019 we are a Uranus cycle (84 years) away from a repeat of the energies that led to WW2, which would suggest we have 4 years to sort ourselves out.

The racism may have always been there under the surface, but it seems now it is OK to show it and worst of all, flaunt it. Focus is once again on people now considered ‘the other’ – in the UK this is the Windrush generation, Gurkhas etc. These are people who have lived here and served this country well, now being shown the door.

Is this the glory days of empire that some people are desirous of? Britannia ruled the waves…….maybe, but nearly every current conflict has our ‘glorious empire’ and its haughty, patriarchal decisions at its root. Is that really something to be proud of? Do we want to ‘go back’ there? Neptune, delusions and glamour, for sure……….

History is there to show us consequences, to show us patterns……we ignore history at our peril – personally and collectively.

At the moment most western governments are leading their people headlong into repetitions of the worst, destructive kind. Current media squashes the rebels and the truthsayers, so the populace senses it has no choice………… 4 years…………. 4 years……. There is time!

uranus

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Adventures with Preseli Bluestone

May 18, 2018 by dragonsmeet

Someone on a Facebook group page asked today for ‘stories’ about working with Preseli Bluestone………. so here goes…….

My first experience “travelling” with Preseli was in 2004. We had been asked to investigate its healing properties by Liz and Colin. we were getting ready to ‘try it out’ on some students, so I thought I had better first, see for myself.

“Late in evening I laid down and instinctively put a small piece of Preseli on my upper forehead, at the little Soma chakra.
I just relaxed. Nothing happened for a while and then I found myself on a hillside, at night looking downhill towards a small village. I was dressed in a long, grey cloak and held a small coronet in my right hand.
As I looked down on the village, I thought ‘why am I here?’. There was great reluctance to put the coronet on, though I knew it belonged to me. I asked what healing was needed. I was drawn to absorb my ‘today self’ with the me I was aware of from the vision. I also had a good look around me, especially at the landscape.”

Nevern

The next year, we went to visit the Mynydd Preseli. We stayed in Felindre, just on the edge of the hills themselves. We dutifully climbed up towards Carn Menyn and collected water from a stream running off the hills to make essences. We also did other ‘touristy stuff’ – we climbed up to Foel Drygarn, visited Pentre Ifan and the Little Folk in the woods nearby. We ate lunch in Newport (Trefdraeth ), near the beach and visited the bleeding yews of St Nevern’s Church. We also went onto the headland beyond Nevern…….. Ah…..the land of my vision with Preseli bluestone…….. I knew this place and it knew me!

 

Another experience with travelling with Preseli happened several years later when an old back injury returned. This was probably brought on by a mixture of loss of hormones that keep tendons and muscles flexible (menopause) and lifting lots of cut wood for the fire. My back muscles went into spasm and again, a vertebrae went out of alignment. (This had also happened when I was seventeen following a session on a trampoline.)

The trouble is, 50 or so years on, the body is less forgiving. It took a couple of weeks of various sorts of painkillers, one month of four-times weekly osteopathy then a further two months of twice-weekly osteopathy to get me back on my feet.
Being so immobile and in pain gives you a lot of time to think. One thought was, ‘I wonder if this is an old injury?’ So I decided to use Preseli to find out.
Getting comfortable and then placing a small piece of Preseli on the Soma chakra, I started my journey.

Working with Preseli in this way is pretty consistent. Nothing happens for a while and then suddenly, like a quick film or tv replay, the memory comes.

“There I was, an old man, a former warrior, left in a village to protect the women and children whilst the men went off to fight. The enemy came. They rushed in and I picked up my shield to protect two small children to my right. The enemy sliced me through, shoulder to groin on my left. Needless to say, I started to die, but the children were safe. Then I realised the child nearest to me was a close relative. The emotions were overwhelming. Then I remembered that feeling. Nine years ago, I stayed at my daughter’s over the time she gave birth to her second son. Whilst driving home I started to cry. I had left him again. There was a deep bond there, but not one, this lifetime, of parent, but nevertheless I recognised it as very old. Whilst some consciousness was still in my vision if the old man, I talked to him and told him all was well. The child is well and living again within the family. It all got very peaceful and I found myself quickly back in the Now.

I am still very protective of those I consider I have been given care of, whether it is people, animals, the Land. I know I have paid the price for that in the past and that continues to this day. It is part of who or what I am. Part of who or what I am, is still the reluctance to ‘wear the coronet’. I still prefer to work behind the scenes, creating stability, good lines of communication, though I can be ‘at the front’ if needed………… So I guess the gestalt from Nevern is still working its way through.

PresliFlatsBig

The book ‘Preseli Bluestone’ Healing Stone of the Ancestors’ by Simon & Sue Lilly is available.

Published by Tree Seer ISBN 978 1905454082, £9.95 + P&P

Click Here

 

 

 

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Yet another dragon……….

December 13, 2017 by dragonsmeet

It has been a long while since I blogged as a lot has gone on, with deep shifts of energy and identification of patterns that have taken a while to surface and understand.

I have never been an ‘Earth Mother’ type as I am blessed with an independent, rebellious streak. Nevertheless, from time to time I have taken younger women under my wing to support them through times of transition and transformation, with eventual success.

This was until a year ago.

There came a time, at the point of transformation, the person chose to stay as they were. After they had put so much effort into working on themselves this came as a shock to me and caused me a lot of soul-searching, re-assessment and self-examination.

Had I failed?

Eventually the realisation came that it had been my job to create the opportunity for them to change and whether they did or not was nothing to do with me. I had done my job and kept my side of any karmic bargain.

It was compounded by other issues dear to my heart. The liminal beings of the Land were involved as were the energy flows within the Land.

I was guided by the energies of the Land, to help them make some delicate adjustments to how energy flowed in several places. This I did with a few trusted friends, but I was still emotionally troubled. I always support people in their freedom to make their own choices, but never had I come across someone wanting to stop growing.

Then I realised I had that same choice when I was in my early 30s. Stay where I was, conform, be safe or choose to break out of the apparently cosy place that my life had become. To me that was no choice, being the rebel so I chose to break free. The cost was considerable at the time, but I would do the same again. However, I can really appreciate that this would not be for everyone.

Events last year forced me to step back and let go…and then let go some more.

This I did and got stuck back into my work with the Land. I got to know this area where I now live, quite intimately, in a geographical sense, over a period of three months. Gradually this brought a deeper connection within myself too.

In meditation one evening, a new dragon companion presented itself. it seemed I had passed some sort of test……. but a skeleton dragon! WTF!!!
I had to let go of any preconceived thoughts about how it flies and just chuckle at the absurdity of the whole thing. Terry Pratchett would have had a field-day.

skeldrag

It was also made clear to me as a local cauldron-holder, that I needed to hold energies at every level…….for the Land, its liminal occupants, but also for the human occupants.

I had done a few things to try to help gather the disparate human energies of the valley in the last three years. Recently, an opportunity presented itself to do some very practical, mundane work for the local community. I threw ‘my hat into the ring’ without any idea if I was the type of person with skills that was being looked for. I told myself I was too old, for a start. Well, upshot was I found myself ‘walking my talk’, and doing a ‘real job’ for the first time in thirty years.

Of course, it is the ultimate “bringing spiritual practice into the material world” – so what more could I ask?

ogyenmenlasmall.jpg

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Kundalini – what it is and what it is not

August 16, 2017 by dragonsmeet

There is a lot of information on the web and a lot of chatter on social media about kundalini and related subjects. It is also becoming a selling, peddling and marketing description for workshops, crystals, energy healing tools and spiritual exercises. Many people also are very keen to ‘awaken’ their Kundalini, as it is understood to be a sign of spiritual progress and development.
Responding to a request, myself and a few friends have put together this short information sheet to help clarify what it is and what it is not.

What is Kundalini?
‘Kundalini’ was a word first used in the 7th Century and it was used to describe the creative force of the universe. In its original usage, it was closely linked to written Sanskrit and the power of language and sound.
Nowadays the name has become synonymous with the energy that most people describe as lying dormant or in a quiet state near the base of the spine. The word itself means ‘coiled up’. In traditional texts there are two energy flows that are important – a downward flow, often referred to as ‘Shakti’ or upper Kundalini and a lower one or red Kundalini that flows upwards.
It may help if we look at the subtle channels in the body according to Vedic tradition.
Many people are familiar with the chakras. The main chakras are only part of a much larger complex of subtle energies that go to make up the human being. There are many other chakras throughout the body, all of which are expressions of different kinds of consciousness and energy.


Intersecting each chakra are channels of energy or ‘nadis’ that interact with the rest of the body. (These nadis do have a relationship with some aspects of the autonomic nervous system and also with the meridian channels, but they are of a much finer subtle substance.) There are said to be, in total, seventy two thousand nadis. Three are of prime importance: the ida, the pingala and the sushumna. These three main channels run parallel to the physical axis of the spinal column. The sushumna is the central channel. Ida, the left channel, carries a lunar energy that is nourishing and purifying. Pingala, the channel on the right side of the sushumna, carries the solar energy, that is activating. They can be represented in two different ways, the first has all three channels running parallel to each other, the second shows the solar and lunar channels weaving between the chakras until all three meet at the brow chakra.

The lower Kundalini energy remains dormant until activated. This would normally happen after the person experiences a descent of upper Kundalini or Shakti from the crown chakra down to the root chakra.

What is Shakti energy?
‘Shakti’ is the name given to a type of cosmic energy that is given or transmitted to an individual via another person or energy archetype. Traditionally this is accompanied by the ‘laying on of hands’. This process is not tied to any particular belief system or religion. It can be referred to as the ‘Descent of Grace’ or ‘Descent of the Dove’ (in Christian traditions) or ‘Shaktipat’ (in Vedic Traditions). This descending energy compresses and activates the lower kundalini, sustaining and supporting its progress. The ‘Shakti’ energy and lower Kundalini energy need to unite to move up the central channel.

The upper Kundalini can also be stimulated through traditional spiritual practices.

Without activation of ‘Shakti’?
Sometimes the lower Kundalini energy gets activated without the descent of the Shakti energy. This can happen through specific meditation or visualisation, use of drugs (recreational or pharmaceutical), acute stress, types of physical activity or extreme situations.
There are two problems with this:
1. There is no connection to a teacher or archetypal energy that would support and guide the process.
2. Without the Shakti energy to help to clear the energy blocks on its way down, when the lower kundalini starts to rise up the central channel it hits energy blocks.

These energy blocks or samskara are the subtle scars we carry from previous actions, memories and habits.

When Kundalini becomes active without Shakti, its upward movement brings problems that need to be resolved. This can be a difficult process as the ‘scars’ or blocks are moved or try to be moved. Many people in this situation find their mental and emotional well-being becomes very delicate. If life experience has included particular stress, abuse or negative habits, these will become pronounced. This creates vulnerability and can create psychotic breaks. It leaves a person open to those who would manipulate, both physical people and subtle entities. Over stimulation of the lower Kundalini adds more energy into the process and can aggravate the situation. Even well-meaning friends sending absent healing can make things worse.
Pro-active steps need to be taken to integrate energy, to ground. Therefore, doing daily, physical chores can help to deal with the situation. Sometimes a complete withdrawal from spiritual practices of any sort may be the only way to cope with the effects of premature Kundalini activation until the energies have settled down.

Traditional spiritual paths prepare the person for Kundalini activity by basically dealing with samskaras. This takes time, maybe even lifetimes. These days, few people are attracted to this slow, but safe process of clearing the central energy channel.
There are three areas or ‘knots’ where the progress of kundalini is naturally checked -the solar plexus, heart and brow chakras. With the descent of shakti, these are loosened. When no Shakti activity has occurred when the lower Kundalini energy gets to these chakras there are major issues to be dealt with before the energy moves on. Each chakra’s correspondences will reflect the energies to be resolved.

Clients and Students
People working as therapists need to be aware of spontaneous, temporary stimulation or ‘flashes’ of Kundalini activity in their clients. Similarly tutors of energy work need to be aware of the same thing in their students.
If this happens, grounding is vital. Get them to eat something sweet can bring the energy back to a manageable state.
This temporary stimulation is not the same as a permanent awakening.
Anybody might experience a temporary stimulation but this is not something to be encouraged, sought after or set as a goal. It can only be of use as a result of the body naturally clearing the central channel.

Worldwide
All spiritual traditions have their own words to describe this process. We have used the Sanskrit here as most people use that terminology.
Different traditions have different ‘flavours’ of shakti, so a spiritual seeker may experience several types of energy descent to ease or manage the progress of Kundalini rising.
“There are no secret teachings or activities that will awaken you faster. All the steps to take are already outlined in all the major spiritual teachings. – Gopi Krishna”.

Sue Lilly, Simon Lilly, Swami Prakashananda Saraswati 2017

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Full Moon musings

May 22, 2016 by dragonsmeet

During a ritual many, many moons ago I was invited by the Gentle Folk to hold a cauldron. This cauldron held the area that they lived in, keeping it the animals and the humans living there safe.

That imagery has followed me since then, occasionally coming to mind when working with the energies of the Land.

The last few weeks saw a return visit to Carn Menyn, one of the outcrops on the Mynydd Preseli and a reinforcement of my connections with that magical place. In my dreams following that visit I watched the dragons dancing in the night skies above Wales.

carnmenyn

I was also made aware of the energy line connection between the stone at Callanish (Callanais) on the Isle of Lewis and the area of Wales that I now live in. This energy line runs parallel to the ‘Spine of Albion’ mentioned in the book of that name by Gary Biltcliffe and Caroline Hoare.

This line cuts through:

West of Lyme Regis
Taunton
Barry
West of Brecon
Anglesey
Isle of Man
West of Stranraer
Arran
Mull
Skye
Callanais (Lewis)

……. all places I have visited.

I have yet to discover more information about this energy line.

Uklines

Whilst being shown this line I was also reminded about the cauldron. The space that holds energy. The space that keeps energy safe.  The space in which new things can be gestated and born. The space where opposites blend to create union.

Looking at maps, the place I now live is due north of where we used to live in Devon. In Devon we were near the Michael line and on the big lunation triangle of Stonehenge. That was indeed a powerful have to hold a cauldron, but what of here?

If I think of the Vedic and Tibetan imagery of the spine and the energies alongside the spine, then the line I now live on could be one of those?

Then the penny drops………. If that was the case, then there would be another line to the east of and equidistant from the Spine of Albion.

Wow, I have lived on that line too…………………………..

Experience of disparate/opposite energies to balance………………………

As I reach out in meditation I perceive that the cauldron here is bigger, possibly as there are less people living in this part of Britain, certainly this is one of the least populated areas of Wales. The energies of the Unseen are stronger here and there are more of them. The Land is old, but still geologically active.

I am reminded of visits to the stones at Callanais, how the complex patterns are still not completely understood. Research has only scratched the surface of what our ancestors created there, let alone to really understand why they created the many stone circles. As an astrologer I was fascinated and had thought of each circle being linked to a visible planet, so the whole area being one huge astrological and astronomical calendar. Without living there and watching the passage of the planets from the site, that cannot be proved. It is thought that the circles were constructed at a time when crops could easily be grown that far north. Climate change? Is climate change cyclical too? The climate change we are seeing now, has it happened before? Was that when Callanais was created?

callanais

What opposites need to be in the cauldron now? What needs to be brought to balance now?

At a time when British Society has become very polarised, politics have gone crazy and grounded, humanitarian logic seems to have disappeared from our so-called leaders……….. what is being created in the greater scheme of things? Who or what is holding that cauldron?

 

Mmmm…………………………

 

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