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This is the time of the year that we thank the landlord of the Angel at Purton for allowing us to use the upstairs room for the monthly meetings. So far, we have been using the room free of charge - hopefully this will continue. To this end please help keep up our good relations with the landlord by purchasing lots of drinks, also the meals are very good, with the emphasis on fresh home-cooked dishes.
The menu for the forthcoming festive season is much more sensibly priced than last year’s, too. If you are planning to eat before or during the December meeting, please book in advance by contacting the pub direct.
The December meeting will be a social occasion, and all being well should feature our resident Tarot and Rune readers, for anyone who wants a go, and there will probably be some interactive dowsing as well. For those new to dowsing, or new to the society, this is a good opportunity for asking dowsing questions, or about techniques, etc. and a chance to get to know other members.
You will see from the lists that we are putting together an interesting program for next year. An innovation will be a linked talk and field trip with Kate Fenn which we think will be well received.
No field trips planned for November or December as in the past we have found that most members are too busy involved in other, seasonal things. Therefore the next planned trip will be in January so keep your fingers crossed for good weather. With possible cold weather in mind, the venue for January is fairly near to civilisation [if you can call Swindon civilised, that is!] We will meet at the Lawns – part of the old Goddard estate, to do some more investigation into the now destroyed stone circle, also there are a number of other interesting features to dowse at the site, more details next month.
The October meeting was a talk with slides by WDS chairman, Shaun Ogbourne, entitled “Working with Nature Spirits”
Shaun began his entertaining and interesting talk by dowsing the meeting-room to check for the presence of any nature spirits. Several were present [having managed to creep in without paying!], and seemed to be mainly located at the back of the room. Shaun gave a demonstration of a meditative technique for engaging with nature spirits, and learning how to see them, and got us all taking part. He told several anecdotes about personal experiences he has had with them, and suggested ways of dealing with troublesome ones. They can be quite mischievous and sometimes like to play tricks such as hiding pens or car-keys for example, these objects suddenly re-appearing in the very place that you have just unsuccessfully searched for them.
Many nature spirits are associated with specific habitats, for example trees or water, although one tree that they apparently do not inhabit from choice is Leylandii – this is only used as a last resort!
Shaun’s talk was presented in a humorous but thought-provoking way, and gave explanations for some of the odd things that happen to us all from time to time.
Later in the evening, after the main talk, Shaun gave an update on Nora Morris, one of our members, who has recently had a stroke. Thankfully Nora is now on the mend and hopefully will soon be among us again. A short healing session was then held for her. S.C.
Maybe you would like to communicate with nature spirits and are unsure whereabouts to start looking for them, a good place to try is Knoll Down, near Avebury. This small group of trees situated on what is believed to be a section of the old London Road, is a very evocative and magical place. It is also a great place to practice general dowsing, with masses of underground water, blind springs and spirals of energy. For the best peace and quiet, Knoll Down is best visited during the week, or very early in the morning if you can only go at weekends, as it is popular with riders and dog-walkers.
Paracelsus wrote a book which was printed in 1589, 48 years after his death, about nature spirits. It was called “About Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, Salamanders and other spirits”. This book described the different species of elementals and their characteristics. The word “Pygmies” comes from the Greek word pygmaios, which means a kind of goblin. Paracelsus states that nature spirits should not be seen as demons, as they are part of divine creation. He suggested that Nymphs were connected with water, and quality of life. Sylphs were aligned to air, and quality of space. Pygmies[goblins] are connected with the powers of earth, and physical manifestation, and Salamanders are connected to fire and transformation. S.C
Not a trip as such, but another bonfire, dowsing and “pot-luck” buffet at the home of Barbara and Adrian Crocker. Lots of work has been done on the converted barn since last year when we dowsed for appropriate uses for newly built rooms and living spaces. More outdoor work in the garden area also provided dowsing exercise, the pebble spiral and mini stone circle already developing dowsable energy fields.
A small indoor space still had the rather stagnant feel that it had when dowsed last year, just after the building work was completed. Several suggestions were made about how this might be remedied.
Last year, the newly installed “Flow-form” water cascade, was not yet working, but this year, with the water swirling around the basins in its “DNA” shape movement, the energies were so strong that you didn’t need to dowse for them. Just standing near the feature made me feel really good. Several other members found the same effect.
Even the weather was kind to us. In spite of the rotten weather earlier in the day, and a poor forecast, we were able to have the bon-fire in the dry, along with sparklers, then back indoors to have a second session at the buffet!
Thanks once again to Adrian and Barbara for an excellent evening.
Shaun’s talk on Nature Spirits got me thinking about something I had recently seen on the “River Cottage” television programme featuring the self-sufficiency lifestyle of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Hugh discovered that his home had been infested by mice, and rather than scattering poison around, he decided to call in some vegan pest-controllers who claimed that they would be able to rid the cottage of its unwelcome rodent population by humane means.
The two pest controllers and Hugh sat down together and closed their eyes. They then relaxed and began to visualise a large mouse. They instructed Hugh to visualise himself looking into the eyes of this mouse and connecting with it. He had to engage with this mouse then ask it and its friends, respectfully, to move out of the cottage and take up residence somewhere else where they would be safe and out of harm’s way. The mouse was thanked for its co-operation, and the interesting part of the story is that the method seems to have worked.
This might seem incredible but a few years ago I tried a slightly different method of naturally clearing a specific area of ground of moles. The method I used was one where you try to communicate directly with the Devas, or spirits who are the guardians of what you are having the problem with, in this case, moles.
I explained to the Mole Devas that I had a great respect for moles and did not wish them any harm, but I would appreciate it if they would be kind enough to vacate my rhubarb patch, and suggested an alternative adjacent area where they would be welcome to live. I thanked the Devas in anticipation of their help.
From that day to this I have not seen another molehill on the entire allotment site.
It did occur to me that it might be possible to use a similar method to get rid of aphids, slugs and snails. However, on giving the matter some thought, I decided that this would not be the right thing to do, since these creatures all provide vital food for the small birds that are having such a hard time of it these days. If I did try it, I’ve a horrible feeling that mother-nature would reap retribution. I’ve been caught like that before! S.C.
A wolf isn't obviously a Chihuahua waiting to happen so we must allow that Evolution is a house with many mansions, allowing many Platonic possibilities to manifest, across time.
Like a cricket match. The longer it goes on, the more improbabilities have a chance to occur on the field, in blinding split-seconds, and become the collective memory of the game.
Who could forget the duck-billed platypus or that diving catch which turned the course of the Ashes summer?
A she-wolf gave suck to the founding fathers of the city of Rome, of course, so wolves have a lot to answer for in a political sense.
When I took the name Grey Wolf in the mid-nineties, however, it was more of a guest for spirituality, an abandonment of pure intellect and a yearning to make other connections through the soul of an animal.
There is now a ghostly otter hound who manifests on the landing at times of perplexity and, late this summer, as I was rummaging below stairs for the remains of my cricketing gear, I'm fairly sure I ran into the wraith of an Icelandic sheepdog.
All I can say is, they must have very big sheep in Iceland. He stood about 20 inches high and growled at me all the time I was down there.
I looked him up in my copy of De Cambus Britannicus (1570) and the Observer book of dogs.
He enjoyed a certain vogue in this country just after the Second World War as a fashion accessory, but did not in the end prove popular for showing. He was too unruly for shepherding and too ferociously disposed to be a good companion.
"I thought I had a bottle of ‘Owzat’ bat conditioning oil," I informed him.
He just went on growling.
"Oh, do shut up," I said.
People say to me all the time, you're obviously fond of dogs, why don't you keep one? But dogs are sensitive plants and I know my limitations. I'm not very good with cyclamen either.
There was a mould growing in my cricket hold-all that may have been new to science, and there seemed to be yards of black netting everywhere. Stumps and bails fell out of it at irregular intervals, like drunken memories.
I took the whole lot upstairs to a well-ventilated room, spread it on the floor and discovered that most of it was beyond use. The bat blades looked thin and dried-up, and too light-weight, and the wrong colour for the modern game. All the handle string was working loose.
The pads had those old-fashioned leather straps. I cast them down and the buckles made a muffled clinking sound on the floor which was like an awful stab of nostalgia.
I knew that if I held any of the bats by the handle, and balanced the weight, and started lining up forward defensives, my emotions would be gone for the rest of the day.
There were three or four tattered score-cards, reminders of that summer when my Aunt Judy put her foot down and made them find me a job in the family brewery.
I became assistant secretary of the works social club, which had an occasional cricket team called the Stoute Fellowes.
Our biggest match that summer was against the Suicide Invitation XI and took place at Abbotsbury cricket ground in Dorset.
The Suiciders ran a local semi-legal cider still. They were a hardy collective of farm-hands, relocated hippies and raddled old moonshine men. They thrashed us and the fixture was never repeated.
I don't recall much of the game but the ground was very lovely. I opened. I blocked one end for half an hour. I looked up at the sky a lot. I was run out on three by a friend.
The tea was absolutely sumptuous.
The pitch was on a gentle slope which, as somebody remarked, was ideal for those of us who'd played most of our cricket at Lord's.
At one end of the ground stood a thatched cottage, with an Irish wolfhound living there. I think he came on to help with the fielding during the later stages.
You always talk of these rural cricket grounds as being the birth-place of the game and nurseries for up and coming talent.
The view beyond the cradle of the Abbotsbury ground was of St Catherine's Chapel on the hill and, next to that, shining blue-green through the folds of the landscape, the murmuring sea.
Actually, reading my Wisden Cricketer Magazine the other day, I see that Abbotsbury won the award for Loveliest Ground of 2004. They received a plaque, a goodie-bag and probably a life-time's supply of tea.
As for myself, the plain fact is that I have been overlooked by the England selectors for the best part of 30 years.
I think we all know that feeling of waiting by the phone for a call that never comes.
"Graveney here. It's our old enemy, the Australians. We need a man who can block one end. Would number three be all right?"
Well, I'm still not sure how it happened, but this summer the Muse touched the England side with her wing and we won a series 2-1 against the Australians.
Thrillingly complex crop formations happened in the fields of England and we regained the Ashes. Given time, all things must manifest.
All of which led to me having a conversation in a bar with two archaeologists (or ‘brickies’ as we dowsers call them, for their rather literal ¬minded insistence on needing to dig up masonry to prove their theories) and agreeing to a 30 overs beer-match on the village ground at Avebury.
I would provide the gear, the beer, and a donation to charity. They would rent the pitch and provide the tea, as it's well known that dowsers, when flowing in their prime, can't be trusted with things like boiling water.
So, what are the following?
Navarone, Samurai and Octane.
Give up?
How about Purist, Legacy, Hero, Velocity, Classic, Maestro, Control, Powerbow, Maxi, Diablo, Belta and Beast.
They're the names of cricket bats.
There's even one called a Tsunami. They haven't withdrawn it from the market, or re-named it, they just point out that it was launched in 2003.
I don't think men are ever going to grow up.
I decided to equip my team with Merlins. We should all be wizards at the crease with "the very best unbleached Grade 1 English willow".
I got a couple of junior models and some scaled-down pads as well, because it's a well-known fact that the top scorer on these occasions is usually someone's eight-year-old daughter who refuses to take things seriously, won't take her iPod off and thinks she's in a game of rounders.
I thought about burning something, to produce some ashes.
"What about Ian Botham?" said Dave.
Grey Wolf
Last month we included part of a letter from a member who is trying to obtain or borrow the maps produced by Hamish Miller to accompany the “Sun and Serpent.” He would also like to hear from any other members who have dowsed these lines. His name is Tony Boult and his address is 2, Cockhill House Court, Trowbridge, BA14 9BG.
Extract from another member’s letter written 22 October:-
“I also wanted to mention a few things about the Yew, Taxus Baccata after your article last month.
I’ve known the Yew as a cleanser, or refresher to stand under or near after doing energy work of whatever type. I have also been given intuitively a few years back that it is “the tree of death”, something that surprised me at the time despite knowing how toxic the berries are, but after the meeting I describe below, that intuition has a clear explanation.
Earlier this year on a dowsing weekend I met a man called George who is a consultant toxicologist in North Yorkshire. As an aside we taught him to dowse and he was astounded at his own abilities as his scientific mind kept wanting to kick in and say “this isn’t possible”. Oh yes it is we said!
While standing under a very large group of yews, and talking about the Druids, he told me about Taxol which is an extract from the twigs and bark of the Yew and is used in cancer chemotherapy. It is highly toxic but only actives when in water.
He advised that if you are ever gardening and cutting or trimming a Yew then it is vital to wear not just gloves but goggles and a mask as well because the Yew is poisonous in all parts, and would irritate the mucous membranes, which contain water, on contact.
Taxol is patented by one of the pharmaceutical companies and is used as a treatment for breast, ovarian and bowel cancers. There may well be other cancers it is used against but they are the ones we spoke of. It works by changing the cell division genetic sequence so that it doesn’t work and the cell can’t then duplicate. That is highly helpful in a cancerous growth but obviously not to be encouraged in normal cells, hence the trade-off in chemotherapy about killing the cancer before killing the patient!
So, what strikes me is that the ancient knowledge of the Yew as a “cleanser” of the aura has a modern scientific explanation”
Best wishes to you all,
Beth.
Last month I wrote about Wilhelm Reich, his times and a little about Orgone energy. This month I want to examine Orgone Energy in more depth and talk about Orgone accumulators.
At this point I think I should point out that I am only explaining some of Reich’s work. I take no responsibility for anything you might try based on these articles. The subject of orgones, orgone accumulators and the treatment of ailments using these techniques is complex and you are well advised to conduct considerable research before starting.
Orgone Energy
As described by Wilhelm Reich orgone energy is the cosmic life energy, the fundamental life force known to those in touch with nature and speculated about by scientists for centuries. It charges and radiates from all living and non-living substance. All materials affect orgone energy by absorbing or reflecting it.
The orgone also exists in a free form in the atmosphere and in space. It is excitable and capable of expanding and contracting. It is most strongly attracted to living things, water and to itself. It can collect into large fields and according to some of Reich’s later work appears to act and react in a ‘semi-intelligent’ fashion.
The streaming of orgone in the atmosphere affects changes to the weather.
'DOR'. (Deadly Orgone Radiation) is the opposite of Orgone energy and can be harmful. It is associated with deserts and acid rain. Organisms exposed long term to DOR are likely to suffer ill health.
Orgone Accumulators
Orgone accumulators are built to collect orgone energy for health or for vitalising seeds or plants. Size varies from small with a tube leading out to being big enough to sit in. With the tubed models energy flowing out of the accumulator can be directed to any part of the body requiring healing.
They are constructed of alternating layers of metallic and non metallic materials with the inside bare metal and the outside a non-metallic material.
The products used in the construction are important as the wrong materials can cause toxic effects.
Good non-metals:- wool, raw cotton, acrylic, glasswool, fibreglass, soil, water
Poor or toxic non-metals:- wood, plywood, any organic materials containing formaldehyde, asbestos or other toxic chemicals.
Good metals:- steel or iron, steel wool, stainless steel, steel/tin can alloy
Poor or toxic metals:- aluminium, lead, copper.
This suggests that using an accumulator inside an aluminium clad mobile home is a BAD idea.
A good accumulator can be made from a steel box buried into rich soil free of pesticides and herbicides. This sounds remarkably like some long barrows made of iron rich stone and covered with earth.
Strong charges develop on fine days, but as the overall level of orgone charge is lower during wet weather they are not so effective.
The orgone accumulator should not be used in any room with any form of electromagnetic field, ie fluorescent lights, TV, computers, smoke detectors and the good old electric blanket(even if switched off but plugged in) and of course electric clocks and watches.
They should also not be used in the vicinity of high power electromagnetic fields ie airport radar systems, mobile phone or microwave relay towers, nuclear bomb storage areas(do they still store nuclear torpedoes near Bath?) and high tension electric lines. As to safe distances from these sources I have seen figures of 5 kilometres mentioned.
What I find fascinating about Reich’s work with Orgone energy is how it seems to tie in with the energy descriptions from various cultures and with some of the energy we as dowsers can find. The similarities of the problems of DOR and the ill health that house clearers see which is often related to electromagnetic ‘smog’ are also interesting in an ever increasing electronic society.
I hope you have found this very brief introduction to Dr. Wilhelm Reich and his work interesting.
Sill Hilbury