May 2007

Copyright of the Journal.

Contributors to the Journal are reminded that the copyright of material published in the Journal becomes the joint property of the contributor and the Society.  This means that while the contributor retains their full rights to reproduce, in other publications or in other forms, the material they have submitted to the Journal, they at the same time allow the same right of use of their material to the Society.  This has always been a condition of the Society and the Journal.

Disclaimer

The Society and the Journal editors do not necessarily associate themselves with the views expressed by contributors and correspondents.

This and That

We have had to put up the price of our dowsing rods I’m afraid. This is due to the increase in the price of brass which you may be surprised to hear is beyond our control. But, we have a few rods left at the old prices so hurry if you want any at our unbelievably low price.

Arrangements are well underway for the annual long weekend trip to the Golden Valley in South Herefordshire.  Don’t forget to see Shaun if you decide to join us as he has details of the campsite and addresses for accommodation.  If you are only coming for the day or part of the trip we can arrange meeting points.

AGM

Notes on the year:

In January 07, the British Society of Dowsers advised that its public liability insurance had been re-assessed, bringing it into line with modern practice, and therefore the charge to each member group had to rise from £25.00 to £80.00 p.a. including an amount of £25 for service charge. The old premium had probably remained unchanged for at least 10 years and needed re-assessing in the light of our increasingly litigious society.

We were so shocked by the increase, however, that we did not make our annual contribution to their Water for Life appeal, which we normally dispatch when paying the premium. We are currently holding £29.85 in donations and the Committee will decide in due course an amount to round that up to.

Profit from Guests at the monthly meetings was down by £ 100.00 on last year

We spent £80.00 more on speakers this year than last.

Newsletter and stationery costs remained static (a vote of thanks to Pete and Sib), as did much else. The balance in our Portman account was up by £255.22 on last year. It does not look as though the Society will receive a bonus from the Nationwide/Portman merger which is planned for August 2007. It would have been worth £ 160 after tax.

Do try and borrow a book from the library. It only raised 25 pence last year and this year the profit declined even further!

Peter McDade, Treasurer 24^th March 2007

Membership

As at 31/3/2007 we have 36 standard members and 10 Family memberships.  The membership numbers have remained static for a number of years, although we have a steady round of members no longer renewing and new members joining.

May Field Trip.

This month’s trip has a distinctly equine theme - we go to Wayland Smithy and the Uffington White Horse.  Meet at the White Horse car-park at 10.30am, slightly earlier than we sometimes meet.

The magnificent White Horse probably needs no introduction, but for any one who is unfamiliar with it, it is of great antiquity and has recently been proved to be considerably older than was previously thought.  Excavations at Uffington now suggest that the horse was part of a funerary complex dating back at least 4000 years.  A Bronze-age burial site was discovered nearby.

There is a theory that the horse represents an ancient goddess riding to the underworld, and that she may have been associated with Epona, the horse goddess of the Celts.

Major Earth-energy lines, including the Mary Line, run near the horse, actually passing through the church [St. Mary’s] in Uffington village and the eye of the horse is a particularly strong energy point.  On previous trips members have often stood in the centre of the eye to get the feel of the energies.

The peculiar elongated shape of the horses body and the shape of its head have made many people question whether the creature was originally a horse; some believe it was a dragon.

In “The Sacred Earth Guide” by Michael Howard, there is mention of a theory that the Horse had been carved to align with the rising sun at the winter solstice, Jon Appleton, who postulated this theory, claims that from a natural plateau on the B4507 road from Woolstone to Uffington he had seen the midwinter sunrise.  The sun rose and progressively moved over the horse’s tail, then followed the angle of the hillside until it lifted clear of the land at the horse’s head.   [From an article in “The Edge” magazine, which Michael Howard says is now defunct.]

Only a mile or so away from the horse is Wayland’s Smithy,

From the splendid vantage point at the horse you can see nearby Dragon Hill, a Lammas hill which has seen its share of ritual activities in years gone by.  Local legend states that George gave the Dragon its come-uppance here.  There is a patch on top of the hill where grass does not grow – this is where the dragon’s blood was spilled, according to local folklore.

Remains of an early Christian chapel, probably from the 5^th century was found beneath the hill and it may be that was an early attempt to Christianise  what had been an important place of pagan worship.

Wayland Smithy is equally as impressive as the West Kennet long-barrow and is similarly frequently used by modern pagan groups today.  Legend has it that anyone who leaves an unshod horse here overnight on the night of a full moon, along with a silver coin, will return next day to find that the horse has been shod with silver shoes.  Michael Howard suggests that this legend may be associated with early horse-worship in the area.

Shaun has booked places for a pub lunch and don’t forget to bring warm clothing as the White Horse can be decidedly draughty at times.

The Michael Howard book, “The Sacred Earth Guide” is published by Capall Bann Publishing.

And the Rest is History

To the Honourable Members of the Wyvern Dowsing Society:

Your correspondent was recently practising his poor dousing skills in the Avebury area. To his surprise he detected an old, faint conversation. He has recorded it as accurately as possible and presents it to .you so that you may judge belief that it offers an insight into the origins of the great works standing there.

“...and so how long have you been at this game then?”

“Oh, about ten seasons now I suppose. You're new here, aren't you?”

“Yeah, our group arrived a couple of days ago. We built the shelters and now the women are settling us in like, so I thought I'd have a look around. There's a lot of work on here.”

“You said it! What's your speciality then”

“Speciality? I ain't got one.”

“You got to have a speciality, mate. Look, I'm a digger, see?”

“Yeah, I noticed you had them antlers. Whys that so important?”

“You lot just got here, right? So, very soon they will get you all together and find out what you can do. Them that's got a speciality will be put to doin' that. The rest will catch all the rubbish jobs. Did you see all those stones stuck in the ground over there?”

“Yeah, I was going to arsk about 'em. What they there for?”

“Never mind what for. 'Ow d'you think they got there?”

“Dunno, perhaps they was just lying about and someone stuck em up.”

“Nah, some poor sods dragged them all the way from across there, other side of them hills. Now, if you ain't got a skill you could end up doin' that! See, the bosses comes round and watches us dig for a bit, but they soon gets fed up and off they go. Then we can relax a bit. Long as the ditches gets deeper and the banks gets higher, every ones happy. But when you're dragging stones they're on to you all the time. An' its dangerous! Bloke I knew got his leg broke when one of them slid unexpected like. He was lucky not to end up under it. Course there was a big fuss, they tried to say it was his fault, he had been told about the healf and safety stuff. He tried to make out he weren't given the proper kit, but they said what kit and he didn't have no answer to that. He couldn't work of course and his woman went off with a flint knapper.”

“Oh I see. 'Ow did you get to be a digger then?”

“I weren't! You just got to say you are, then get into a job and keep your head down!”

“But I thought all this was all done by, I dunno, experts or something.”

“Yeah, they all tell you that! Look, the bosses can never make their minds up from one season to the next, and the real top bosses ain't got a clue what's really goin on. See that circle of stones over there? My father an his mates sweat blood getting them in. That's how I know about specialities, see. Then when they thought they had nearly got it done the planners changed their minds. Wasn't big enough for them? Wanted this huge thing we’re doin’ now. My dad was livid, ‘You'd think it big enough if you'd dragged them half way across the country!’ he'd say. And did you see them tree trunks in the river down there? Bloody daft idea that was. We all knew it wouldn't last. Supposed to keep the fish in they were. Then we has two or three dry winters, like what we do, and the water dried up! Course the moaners said if it kept up we would all be killed 'cos everywhere would be so hot nothin' would live! Have to change our way of life and stop cutting down trees! Never heard anything like it. It was so wet the next season we was permanently white, digging in all that chalk mud.”

“On the way down we heard stories about some big stone thing a few days south of here. What's that about?”

“Ah well, just think yourself lucky you stopped here! They're building a big'un there with stones across the top of others. They're dragging then from right near here, some of em. And you won't believe it, but somes being brought from right out west, near the sea. I met a bloke who had worked on it.”

“How long will that take?”

“Seasons and seasons. He said they was tryin' to put them on boats and bring em round the coast, but they keep sinking. He says you will be able to walk round on em soon' The locals down there think we are all mad for doin' it. Never liked them anyway.”

“Are you running out of stones here then?”

“Nah, its just the bosses, innit. Always want to go one better. I ave' eard that the planners is working out if they can build a hill!”

“A hill, get off' There's hills all over here, what they want another one for? There's that one over there with the burial heap on it. What's wrong with that one?”

“Nuthin. There's plans to do another conversion job on it. The old people built the fort and now the bosses want to put stones up there too, but they can't get permission yet.”

“Permission, what permission? I thought as this was your area you could do what you want.”

“Yeah, in the old days perhaps. Pick a hill top on a track with a good view, whack up a fort and there you were, nice and snug and a bit of income. Now you got to have permission. No, its just another way of earning.”

“So come on, you were going to tell me what the stones are for. You don't know, do you?”

“Oh yes I do' Its the bloody French, innit!”

“We heard about them. Why don't we like' em? What they done to us?”

“One of the old bosses, seasons ago, went across the water to see them over there, he had some relations there or something. They took him to this place called Cormac or Karmak or whatever they call it in their lingo. Turns out they had been buildin' the same as us, circles and things. Then some of them came here and saw ours and what do they do, they goes back and builds a bigger one. Next time ours go over they sees them, comes back, wants something bigger and better don't they!”

“So that's what its all about, us and them tryin' to out do each other!”

“Now it makes sense, don't it. Catchin' fish with them trees. Who else eats stuff like that, the French of course! They builds bigger circles, so we have to. That's why they gave up on the one me Dad built. Now we got to have one with stones across the top!”

“Hang on though, I heard there was an idea that you could predict the sunrise and stuff like that with some of the circles.”

“Look, anyone with any sense knows where the sun rises, we sees it every day don't we? And you have to know all about them things to know where to build it, so where's the prediction in that? What was I saying, oh yeah, so then the French starts one like it so we have different colour stones, blue they say. That's where the hill comes in.”

“To be buried in?”

“No, the French have never built no hills, not yet any rate, so that's us goin' one up again.”

“What do you think people will say when they see all this, in the future?”

“Well, as long as we beat the French I reckon they'll think we did good!  Hey up, here comes a boss. Get hold of them antlers and dig!”

Dave Oborn

April Field Trip.

Swallowhead Spring was flowing well [no pun intended!] when we arrived for the pre-lunch dowsing session.  Several members said that they had never seen it with so much water.  This source of the River Kennet is a winterbourne, and during the winter it normally dries up completely, starting to flow again at the end of the winter, heralding the rebirth of the growing season and the hope of fine weather.

The Mary Line flows through the site, several members dowsed for this while others just soaked up the atmosphere.  The whole place felt wonderful and looked very festive, the trees having been decorated with dozens of what looked like old chandelier drops, in addition to the usual “clouties”, probably for the recent Spring Equinox celebrations.  Wonderful – if the pub had not been booked for lunch we might still be there.

After lunch we went to Langdean Stone Circle.  This intriguing and very attractive spot is on private property but we had obtained permission from the landowner to visit the site and he kindly allowed us to park near the barn, saving a long walk.

Archaeologists have always been uncertain just what the site has been.  Although it is usually referred to as a stone circle on maps and in books there are some who believe it may have been a barrow, stock enclosures or even a naturally occurring formation.

Last time I dowsed at Langdean, it seemed quite low, energetically but this time the stones seemed to be willing to give quite a lot of ”information” and I came to the conclusion that the possible circle had indeed not been a circle as such but had once been a barrow, long dismantled, and that the stones had been re-used for other, probably agricultural purposes

Whatever the truth of the matter, the site certainly has all the right credentials for a stone circle or other sacred site – a sheltered spot with fantastic views and the right “feel”. S.C.

April talk by Andy Thomas.

Once again Andy Thomas gave an inspired and entertaining talk.  This time he spoke on modern Mysteries, Urban Legends and Conspiracy theories. 

One of the things he stressed was that you can rarely believe much of the “information” that governments, the powers behind big business [often the same!], established churches and historians tell us  Even things that have been witnessed by reliable sources have been discounted by government mouthpieces.  The Twin Tower disaster, popularly known as 9/11, is a catastrophe that Andy is endeavouring to find the truth of, and he is involved with a movement that works to find out what really happened on that day and on the days surrounding it.  Much of the official story is now being found to be distorted or untrue.

Andy gave many examples of official mis-information, dis-information and downright lies.  He also pointed out several instances of activities by those in power that may have been perfectly innocent but had been denied, giving rise to the belief that something was being covered up.

He told us not to be too despondent about our seeming lack of power to do anything to improve matters, and referred to points made at his previous talk which showed the power of positive thought, and how this could influence events.  [see the piece from Bea, elsewhere in this issue].

I think that everyone present enjoyed this talk and it provided much food for thought.  Andy has now given the society three excellent talks on different subjects: hopefully he has some more up his sleeve so that we can get him back at a later date.

Date Ice Cream

Those lazy days of summer are just around the corner and here is a recipe to help you keep your cool.

Serves 4

16 pitted dates (Chopped)                   8 fl oz water

1 tablespoon milk powder                     Quarter pint whipping cream

Put the dates in a blender. Add the water and mild powder and blend until smooth.

Whip the cream until stiff and fold into the date mixture.

Place in a container and put in freezer, after 20 minutes, remove and whisk, then re-freeze.

This can be eaten completely guilt free as there is no sugar!!!!!!!!

A wish hounds recipe

Positive Thinking.

Several of the things that Andy Thomas discussed in his talk last month reminded one member, Bea Menier, of part of the 1986 musical “Time”, and she has let us have a copy of the extract that so impressed her.

Bea says that for full impact it is best to download the theme from “Time” then you can actually listen to Laurence Olivier speaking the words, along with background sound effects.

These amazing words were spoken by it Laurence Olivier who played the Time Lord ‘Akash’.

Stand before me on the Sign of Infinity all you of the Earth. With the granting of ‘The Law of Probenation’ comes the application of change. I will give you the key. And with this knowledge, please realise, comes responsibility of sharing it. I will show you the way: (It's very simple). Throughout the Universe there is order. In the movement of the planets… in nature… and in the functioning of the human mind. A mind that is in its natural state of order is in harmony with the Universe, and such a mind is timeless. Your life is an expression of your mind. You are a creator of your own Universe, for as a human being you are ‘free to will’ whatever state of being you desire through the use of your thoughts and words. There is a great Power there. It can be blessing or a curse.

It’s entirely up to you, for the quality your life is brought about by the quality of your thinking. Think about that. Thoughts produce actions. Look at what you're thinking. See the pettiness and the envy and the greed and the fear will the other attitudes that cause you pain and discomfort. Realise that the one thing that you have absolute control over is your attitude. See the effect that it has on those around you,  for each life is to linked to all Life and your words carry with them chain reactions like a stone that is thrown into a pond. If your thinking is in order,  your words will flow directly from heart, creating  ripples of love. If you truly want to change your  world, my friends, you must change your thinking. Reason is your greatest tool. It creates an atmosphere of understanding which leads to caring which is LOVE. Choose your words with care. Go forth…with Love.

Powerful stuff

Thanks Bea for sharing this, [and the ice-cream recipe], with us.  I presume that the Timelord’s name, Akash, was inspired by the Akashic Record?

Dowsing in the veg. patch.

Just about every gardener I know is busily trying to get their carefully nurtured plants into the ground, now that the rain has made it possible to dig holes without having to resort to using a pickaxe. 

Don’t forget to take the phases of the moon into account while sowing and planting.

Flowers and above-ground vegetables such as beans will do best planted early in the day as they grow and germinate in mimicry of the rising sun.  Roots and tubers do best with an evening planting as this encourages downward growth and development.

Some vegetable growers always plant with the rows on a north/south axis, traditionally using the Pole Star as a guide.  Another belief was that if you sowed grass seed while the moon was increasing, you would get more prolific growth of grass with fewer weeds.  One belief that I particularly like is that if you shake flower plants under the arch of a rainbow, they will be more brilliantly coloured!

Info. gathered from “Discovering the Folklore of Plants” by Margaret Baker, a Shire publication.

The picture below came from the same book.  Note the raised bed – obviously not a trendy new idea.