What a lovely afternoon....

Musings on Animal Communication

Watched Hauntline the other night, and the guest was an Animal Communicator.  By the way, if you're not watching Hauntline, you should be.  It's an interesting live hour of paranormal conversation and phone-in question and answer session.  This is not your typical 'reality' paranormal fare where you're never quite sure if it's being orchestrated for TV or not.  Hauntline is in real time, with real people phoning in with real questions and comments about real paranormal experiences.  The host is a paranormal investigator and his guests range from Reiki practitioners to dream experts to past-life recall therapists.  As I said, Wednesday's guests were an Animal communicator and the hosts own dog, and I was reminded of my interest in this topic of inter-species telepathy.  I have run into one or two charlatans in the field in the past, which put me off a bit, but this lady seemed very genuine and was clear about the fact that communicating with animals on a telepathic level is a talent we all possess.  It was a pretty engrossing hour of TV, and how often can we say THAT these days?   When and where is Hauntline on?  Wednesdays at 9pm on Cogeco Cable 10.

Some years back (and wow does it show...) I did a presentation on Animal Communication for a study group I belonged to.  If you're at all interested in seeing what I wrote, click the link below -

http://abreezyday.typepad.com/Animal%20Communication.wps.doc

As I scan my bookshelf, I see new books on the topic I have added over the years to Penelope Smith's Animal Talk and Arthur Myer's Communicating with Animals.....there are several on Animal Spirit guides which is a closely related subject and the very thought-provoking Animals and the Afterlife, by Kim Sheridan.  I feel myself wanting to get them down, dust them off and read through them again.  And Hauntline's recent guest has a book out on the subject as well, Animal Illumination, which I plan to add to my collection.

Working in an animal shelter environment as I do, the whole animal telepathic communication thing becomes a bit problematic.  When I walk into work, the shields go up.  The animals have their shields up.  No matter how you slice it, everyone involved is trying to not get hurt any more than they already have been.  Lowering the shields enough to talk beyond the most superficial level is risky.  Then again, there's that pesky little doubt problem I have too, where I have to sniff around everything from every angle to be sure I'm not just imagining it all, and thus probably missing any actual responses I might be getting.  I know one thing....the animals know when I'm having a bad day.  They seem to sense changes in my aura or something.  One cat in particular will wrinkle up her face and screw up her eyes when I offer her my fingers...either I smell really bad or she gets that I'm stressed out of my gourd!

 

 

Some Ontario Sacred Sites

Part the third of that presentation on ley lines and sacred sites.  Sorry about the small script and multiple formatting, it doesn't want to copy and paste properly for some reason.

 

 

Some Local Sacred Sites that You Can Visit!

 

Manitoulin Island, Great Cloche Island and Dreamer’s Rock.

Manitoulin means spirit island. For centuries, the Chippewa, Ottawa and Pottawatomi peoples felt the presence of the great spirit here. Dreamer’s Rock, on Birch Island, is a huge quartzite bluff from which you can see out over the North Channel and Lake Huron. It was and still is a place of vision quest. Great Cloche Island is the site of a strange, empty field in which stands a boulder that rings like a bell when struck. It has been sacred to the Indians for centuries. Scientists have been so far unable to explain why or how the rock rings. Manitoulin is possibly the epicentre for what might be a Bermuda Triangle of the Great Lakes. It is a long drive to get here, you will need a few days. Birch and Great Cloche islands are both accessible off Hwy. 6 from Espanola.

 

Peterborough Petroglyphs.

This sacred site, located north-east of Peterborough, is a huge exposed face of limestone crystalline shield rock, covered with mysterious and beautiful carvings. The carvings were made between 500 and 1000 years ago by Algonkian-speaking Aboriginal people. This site is still sacred today to the Ojibwa Anishinabe Nation today who call the carvings The Rocks That Teach. When you visit the Petroglyph site, you can often see offerings of tobacco, sweetgrass, feathers and even small altars set up on the rock. This beautiful, natural area has a deep feeling of peace and mystery about it. There is a lot of underground water here, and when the conditions are just right, you can hear it’s movement under the rock. It sounds like voices whispering. Follow Hwy. 45 to Norwood, and keep following the signs for provincial park. There is a small fee to get into the park, which is jointly run by the Provincial Government and the Ojibwa Anishinabe Nation.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/canada/peterborough-petroglyphs.htm

 

  Marlbank.

At first, this place doesn’t feel particularly sacred. But it is situated on a major Canadian ley line, and is the location for a rather interesting place called Philoxia. It was founded by some people who claim ancestry from a clan of Carpathians. The Philoxians apparently go back to pre-Mu and Atlantis. At one time Philoxia was the site of a private health spa, a vegetarian restaurant, a museum and learning centre, an animal sanctuary and a chandlery. But after a devastating fire there is now only the candle making operation left. The Pheylonian beeswax candles are noted for their purity. Some of the geographic features of this area are interesting. There are strange long mounds and small, conical hills with deep valleys. Nothing in this area seems to be smooth and rolling. There is also an interesting area nearby called the Hell Holes. I haven’t explored it but apparently it is a bit like the Warsaw Caves. To visit this area, travel east on the 401 until you get to the Napanee exit and go north on Hwy. 41 until you get to Hwy. 3. Then turn to Hwy. 32 and follow the signs for Marlbank.  The area is kind of interesting and is a good place to experiment with your L-rods.

http://www.naturalbeeswaxcandles.com/about.html

 

Lake On the Mountain.

Lake On the Mountain is a strange place, it is literally a Lake on a mountain, or high hill. On one side, you see the Bay of Quinte below the level of Hwy 33. Then, level with you on the other side, is the Lake on the Mountain. It is weird to see two bodies of water on each side of you on completely different levels. An accepted scientific theory is that the site is a collapsed doline. The Lake has no visible water source and is very deep. The Mohawks called this place Onokenoga, or Lake of the Gods. They believed that spirits dwelt within it’s deep waters, and each spring they offered gifts to the spirits to help ensure a fruitful season. Although a provincial park, there is no charge to enter the park. There is a small picnic area on the side of the highway by the lake, but I would recommend if you visit to find a secluded spot on the banks of the lake. This can be done, but may involve a short hike.  Please do not tresspass, but there is a small track way that everyone seems to use from which you can access the lakeshore and really tune in to the spirit of the lake. Many people have noted how the air seems extra clear and fresh on Lake On the Mountain. It is certainly a beautiful, mysterious spot, with a sence of peace and quietude about it. It is a great place to leave an offering. Take the 401 to Belleville, and follow Hwy. 62 down to Prince Edward County. Then follow Hwy. 33 through Picton to Glenora. From there, just follow the signs.

 

Glastonbury Abbey, Tor and Chalice Well

Another of those presentations.  I have a vague sort of idea that this one was part two of the one posted earlier on ley lines.  Originally, there were two diagrams attached, but they refused to copy and paste properly for some reason, so instead I have added a photo I took long ago when I visited the Glastonbury Abbey ruins.  Time, alas, has bestowed upon my British Isles photos a sort of nostalgic, post-cardish quality.

 

Glastonbury Abbey, Tor and Chalice Well

 

Glastonbury, in Somerset, England, has become the centre of Pagan worship in the British Isles, and people come from all over not only Great Britain but the world to visit this sacred place. There is strong evidence of a pre-Christian site here, one example being that a number of animal bones have been unearthed on the site, which points to a society that consumed meat. Meat eating is not consistent with the diets of early Christians. Also, two bodies were discovered at Glastonbury with the graves pointing towards the south, with is usually a non-Christian alignment. Glastonbury was a pilgrimage place in Druidic times (2,000-2,500 years ago) and it has been suggested that the series of terraces that encircles Glastonbury Tor, a conical hill surmounted by the ruins of St. Michael’s Tower, are what remains of an ancient three-dimensional maze.  (The tower, incidentally, is a more modern inclusion.) Such mazes were a feature of bronze age art and ritual in Europe 4,000 years ago and are known as Cretan labyrinths, since they have the same design as the famous Minoan maze of legend in Crete. Another example exists near Tintagel in Cornwall; they can also be seen in Wales, Ireland, Pompeii, and India. The same magical pattern is even found among the Hopi Indians of Arizona, who call it the Mother Earth Symbol. Glastonbury Tor was very possibly an ancient sanctuary of Goddess worship and a centre for fertility rites.

 

Glastonbury is also traditionally the site of the first above-ground Christian church in the world. Apparently the first Christian church was built by the Saxon king Ine of Wessex sometime in the 7^th century. It much later became a flourishing Benedictine abbey, which was built according to a prehistoric arcane tradition of sacred geometry known to the masons of the middle ages. The proportions of the abbey relate to the principle numbers of the magic square of the sun. These numbers symbolize various aspects of solar energy.

 

Certainly Glastonbury has become almost synonymous with the Arthurian legends. It is a possible site for the mystical Isle of Avalon, where King Arthur was taken after being wounded in battle; the sea is reputed to have once washed right to the base of the Tor, and later receded to become a lake; an old name for it is Ynys-witrin, the Island of Glass, and certainly from many areas of approach it would have resembled an island. In 1191 the monks of Glastonbury unearthed graves which they later claimed were those of King Arthur and his wife Guinevere, but there is conflicting opinion as to whether or not the bones were those of the royal couple. One theory as to why the monks would have fabricated such a hoax is that the devastating fire that broke out at the abbey in 1194 threw the monks into severe financial difficulty; perhaps they thought that identifying the bones as those of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere would bring revenue to the area in the form of pilgrims and tourists! Whoever they belonged to, the bones were placed reverently within the abbey, where they remained until the abbey, along with many others in Great Britain, was pretty much destroyed by Henry the VIII in the 1500s. At this point the bones disappeared and haven’t been seen since. The coffins they were found in are still there, however, and can be seen at the abbey ruins.

 

Other fascinating stories include one that says Joseph of Arimathea, an older kinsman of Jesus who was in the area on a trading mission, according to one version, came to Glastonbury and began a settlement nearby. It is said that he planted his hawthorn staff in the ground and it became a tree that blossomed at Christmas time. It is a fact that certain hawthorn trees in the area do bloom in December; no other English hawthorn does this, but several varieties in the middle east do.

 

Other interesting features at Glastonbury include Chalice Hill, site of the famous Chalice Well, so named because the Holy Grail is supposedly buried in the well or nearby. The water of the well is highly magnetic and is reputed to possess healing attributes. Many people who visit this site report hearing music, seeing lights and smelling non-existent roses.

 

Glastonbury stands on the Great Ley, which also seems to be known as the St. Michael’s line, which runs from St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, through Glastonbury and Avebury, and on to the Suffolk coast. It is situated on a major acupuncture point of the earth body and is one of the most powerful energy centres on the planet. Many people have reported seeing strange balls of coloured light spiralling around the Glastonbury Tor.

 

So as you can see, there is a huge wealth of history, legend, myth and mysticism connected with Glastonbury, which just seems to be added to as the years go by. I could write 15 more pages about the place, but when you come right down to it, all these stories are from the archives and experiences of other people. The most important thing about any sacred place is what you yourself experience there, which is why I chose to focus a bit on Glastonbury, because I’ve actually been there and felt, just a bit, a hint of what all the fuss is about. Glastonbury is a beautiful place which seems to breathe a sort of otherworldliness. Wandering through the ruined abbey I experienced a feeling of profound peace and contentment that I’ve rarely felt anywhere else. The memory of it has remained strong, even though a decade has passed; even now I can close my eyes and feel myself there, looking up at the ruined arches and feeling that sence of utter contentment; it is very hard to describe. For months afterwards I had dreams about it. Although I only spent a short amount of time there, I would have to agree that it is a very magical place. It will be the first place I head for when I re-visit the British Isles.

 

Ley Lines

　

While tidying up some files on my computer, I came upon some presentations I had written for a study group I used to participate in some time ago. It occurred to me as I read them over that alot of research and effort had gone into them for them just to sit unread in a file somewhere, so I figured what the hell, I have a blog, why not share? Someone out there may find them of interest.....

Here's one I wrote about ley lines.

 

Ley Lines

What are they?

Ley lines are ancient tracks or paths that seem to connect or link ancient burial grounds, stone circles or henges, temples, churches, and other sacred sites. There is quite a bit of conflicting opinion and information about ley lines. One source has ley lines as being extraterrestrial in origin, another says they were laid out by prehistoric societies, while another states that ley lines are natural streams of earth energy, associated with magnetic currents in the ground. Ley lines are closely related to grid networks, which are a system of energy channels that encompass the planet. It is probable that migrating birds, fish and insects follow these energy paths. Ley lines are not as geometrical as the grid nets but it would seem a logical assumption that they too are lines of earth energy. They are common to many different ancient civilizations; the Aborigines of Australia called them Songlines, on the North American continent they were known as Spirit Paths. In China they were called Dragon Paths, and the ancient art of Feng Shui recognizes the importance of such earth energy. Certainly it is a fact that many grid leys display a marked magnetic force that necessitates planes and boats to adjust their compasses to up to 15 degrees. So in answer to the question, which came first, the ley or the sacred site, it would seem to be a logical assumption that our ancestors could sence this earth energy and built the sacred sites accordingly. Many sacred sites connected to ley lines also seem to be aligned with the movement of the sun, as well as to the solstices, equinoxes and cross quarters. The St, Michael line in England, which connects 8 churches, the Hurlers Stone Circles, the Cheesewring stone, Glastonbury and Avebury Ring, is also called the Beltane line, because the sun on May 1^strises and shines directly through all of these sites. However, there is a theory that early humans constructed ley lines, or more accurately straightened them, as natural currents of magnetic earth energy are said to curve and flow rather than travel in straight lines. Exactly how our ancestors could have achieved this is a whole topic on to itself! But perhaps the art of Feng shui could provide a clue, since much of it deals with the flow of chi, or energy, and the changing of it to bring about harmony and well-being.

 

Alfred Watkins

 Alfred Watkins was an English flour merchant who in 1921 put forth a theory that that a web of perfectly straight lines connected ancient sites across the English countryside. Of course it sparked a controversy as most unusual theories do; one of the objections Watkins’s detractors put forth was that too many objects were admitted and that one could draw a straight line almost anywhere within the British Isles and hit at least 4 or 5 sacred sites since there are so many of them! This is an argument that more or less continues to this day, although it doesn’t really explain the fact that ley lines exist in many parts of the world and were known to many different cultures. Although some of Watkins’s tracks do appear to be wishful thinking, others are rather outstanding. Watkins thought that the tracks were probably made by early hunter-gatherers who constructed the paths from hilltop to hilltop as they travelled and explored the countryside. Eventually they marked these hilltops with stone cairns so that they could relocate certain places. As time passed the pathways took on spiritual attributes, and the stone carins became places of burial and worship. He also found that many old churches on ley lines were sites of ancient Pagan worship. It was much later that the theory of ley lines as magnetic currents arose or was rediscovered; indeed many people today make a distinction between “energy leys” and simply a line that connects sacred or prehistoric sites.

 　

How do ley lines affect us?

 It is said that hauntings and occurrences of a psychic nature occur frequently along ley lines. The effect upon the compasses of boats and planes was noted earlier, and certainly not all such energy patterns are good for us; many people complain of feeling sick or headachy in a highly charged magnetic area. Such areas are often blamed for “sick building syndrome” and can adversely affect the immune system. Areas such as the Bermuda Triangle and the Marysville Vortex are often blamed on the magnetic energy of ley lines or grids. But there are just as many beneficial effects of ley line energy, including heightened creativity, rejuvenation, healings and enhanced awareness and spirituality, which again links the ley lines with sacred sites…many people report visions and miraculous healing at sacred sites which are said to be situated on grid points and ley line intersection points.

 

How do I find a ley line?

Earth energy can be dowsed in a similar manner to dowsing for underground water springs. In Chuck Pettiss’ book, Secrets of Sacred Space, students dowsing over a ley line describe it as feeling “light”, “began to feel like I was weaving”, “faint smooth energy”, and “pulsing, flowing.” A person who sits over a ley line for an extended period of time will begin to feel hyperactive. Probably everyone reacts slightly differently to ley lines and experiences slightly different sensations when dowsing over them. The other way to locate a ley line is just to be able feel them, naturally. There are, unfortunately, no metres yet available for measuring such earth energy, although an EMF detector can detect electro-magnetic fields and is a device often used by paranormal investigators. But if you’ve had the good fortune to visit a sacred site, try to remember how you felt there and how it affected you. If you come across a spot that seems to resonate in a similar way, it could well be a ley line. Then you can dowse with L-rods or a pendulum or whatever method works for you and see what results you get.

 

 

Odds and Ends of Interesting Ley Line Lore

 There is a school of thought that ley lines are cosmic forces that originate outside of the earth. They penetrate and leave the earth vertically at various points on the planet. The points of entry are called power centres. There is reputed to be a water spring at every power centre, and at about 70% of exit points.

 

The word Ley is related to Leoht, an anglo saxon word which means light illumination, and to the Middle English word lea, which means a pasture or open area such as a meadow that is open to the sun. Ley is also a saxon word which describes a cleared hilltop notch, this is the word coined by Alfred Watkins.

 

Ley lines are said to be to the Earth what the meridian system is to the human body, with various sacred sites being acupuncture points. This seems likely since the Earth is a living thing.

 

　Another example of a ley line in England: Shipton Hill, Cerne Abbas Giant, Castle Ditches, Grovely Castle, Stonehenge, and Sidbury Hill Fort are all connected. Another line crosses this one, with Stonehenge as the point of intersection, the other sites on this line are Clearbury Ring, Salisbury Cathedral, and Old Sarum Mound.

 

Books of interest on the topic of or containing information about ley lines and sacred sites:

 

Sacred Sites of the West, by Bernyce Barlow

The Encyclopaedia of the World’s Mystical and Sacred Sites, by John and Anne Spencer

Secrets of Sacred Space, by Chuck Pettis

Thorsons Way of Psychic Protection, by Judy Hall

Encyclopaedia of Wicca and Witchcraft, by Raven Grimassi

Encyclopaedia of Mind, Body, Spirit and Earth, by Janna Crosse