dragons

This was a workshop which Cheryl Brennan and I did a few years ago, in Tintagel. It was the first one we did together and was wonderful.

We had a terrific weekend, with glorious weather, and although we had a structure for the entire weekend, we ended up adding things that we had not expected to do.Our intention was to initiate people into becoming Guardians, Keepers of the Grail. As a result of the initiations they would then ‘become One’ with the Earth. They each worked on a part of the site with which they resonated. The needed energy-work, at a particular place, exactly matched an issue which needed healing in the person doing the work. In healing the site they were healing themselves and in so doing, healing that facet of human consciousness.

We discovered, that our overall work was to anchor the female Goddess energies at certain points, points which had become predominantly masculine and therefore missing its balance. Some places were easy, once we figured out what needed to be done, and other points felt incredibly difficult. The energy needed to anchor a female consciousness, in places which have been, and continue to be, used as male strongholds, was a challenge. Some of these sites brought up a lot of anger for some, as it was apparent what the power imbalance had created. But now we were in a position to, at least, plant the seeds of balance for the future.

Its not difficult to see how this works. All you have to do is look at how long it has taken women to gain some semblance of power in a patriarchal world. Men believe they have to behave in a certain way and, as a result, women are forced to behave in another way. Anchoring the female energies will bring a slow awareness of the nurturing and powerful aspects of Woman into the lives of both men and women, with the eventual hope of peace. The wounded female needs healing as does the wounded male.

We had intended to begin the weekend at King Arthur’s Halls but, as we had a day to ‘potter’ we went to the Rocky Valley to check out the labyrinth. We spent some time beside the river and then did some unexpected ‘anchoring’ beside the labyrinth, carved into the walls! Just beyond both Labyrinths was a small room, which once formed part of a building, possibly the house of the miller. Just standing there was energising. We discovered, by following the clues, that there was no Maiden/Spring energy here, just Mother/Summer and Crone/Winter. As we were all women on a healing path this was significant for our personal healing. The maiden represents that part of ourselves that yearns to live spontaneously. She is full of potential, full of life-force, moving towards the birthing. Bringing this energy here meant uniting with this part of ourselves so we could become more of who we truly are.

We anchored a white flame here, which is a Brigid Flame. Eartha held the ability to channel the female solar energy, so she anchored it here. She was amazing! She so represented that energy, completely uninhibited and spontaneous. It was a powerful moment and we felt very energised by it. We manifested the physical flame by lighting a candle and leaving it there. The creative, feminine solar energy was now blended with the white flame of Brigit. An unexpected piece of work but amazing.

The following morning we began the day by visiting Arthur’s Halls. The Merlin (male) line flows through this building and it contains a golden serpent energy. We did a meditation and anchored three different flames of the Divine Feminine consciousness, which are, Magenta, Yellow and Blue. It was very difficult to anchor the energies here because, as Anne, one of the participants, pointed out, it is used mainly by men. It is used regularly by the local Freemasons who own the building. The whole point of anchoring these energies at a male site and on a male energy line is so that the change in consciousness around the feminine can be sown within the masculine consciousness. It softens the masculine energy and brings it back into balance.

Later in the afternoon we went to St. Materiana’s church to do Magdalene Flame attunements, given to me originally by Jhadten Jewall, and to re-anchor the energy there. We didn’t know it, but they were preparing for a wedding there that day and we were just in time. They had decorated the church with white and gold, the colours we had previously worked with in the Rocky Valley! Cheryl and I carried out the attunements and we all then went down for the initiations in Tintagel Castle. The female energy line, runs beneath St. Materiana’s church, so we were ensuring that it was maintained energetically.

On our way down to the castle Eartha suddenly pointed out the dragon’s head, right where we were going to do the initiations. His head faces out to sea. All the times we had come here and we had never noticed! We wondered where the tail ended up? I discovered a couple of weeks later that according to Paul Broadhurst the tail is at St. Nectan’s waterfall, which was where we were finishing the work the following day!

We carried out the initiations at the Solar Portal, which is a point on the highest part of the castle and looks out on the setting sun, and each person received their ‘mantle’. The mantle is a layer of colour vibration placed in the energy-field of the person. We also created a new essence there. As we were leaving the hall we had a nice piece of confirmation. The tour guide was explaining the uses for each room when the castle was in power, and where we did the initiations was where they kept their cloaks!

When we had finished we pottered off to explore. Anne and I ended up in Merlin’s cave and I did a personal activation with her. The vortex lay just inside the entrance and, after we had gone through to the other side of the cave, we came back and Anne ‘freed up’ the trapped creative energy here. She and the vortex were one which meant that in healing the energies there, she was equally healing her own matching issues. A couple of years later, Chris Bishop also had an initiation here and met the Dragon of Tintagel.

The following day we began at Bossiney Mound, which lies on a cross-over of the male and female energy lines. There is a local story that on Midsummer’s eve a golden, round table rises up from beneath the mound and then goes underground again. Cheryl led the meditation and we anchored layers of energy here, all designed to help heal the world and change the consciousness of those receptive to the energies of Divine Balance. When we were finished we went to St. Nectan’s waterfall. Jaynie needed to do work here so we spent some time doing that. This was her initiation, on the inner levels, into working with Divine Balance and the unification of the forces of Nature with Humanity. Doing this meant that she could work more closely with site guardians and the Elder Race. As part of this she then was to lead the next meditation, which was terrific and very powerful. Eartha, once again, picked up the discordant energies of the site, which Jaynie was able to ‘upgrade’. We also placed the intention for the site keepers to maintain the cleanliness of the place, which they weren’t doing! Jaynie’s work also involved creating a ‘holding’ structure for the energies to flow through, as they were not being ‘contained’.

To finish the day we all created a strong heart connection and commitment, to the healing of ourselves and the earth, through the site.

When I first began to work with serpent energies, my guides started me off working with serpent energies, then they began teaching me how to work with the dragon energies. But, becasue there seemed to many crossovers between the energies of the serpents and those of the dragons, I asked for clarity. This is what they said: (The italicised words indicated communication from my guides).

“Dragons are the guardians of the underworld, both that of the Earth realm and that of the realm of human consciousness. When you awaken the sleeping dragon, you are initiating a course of action within the mind of humanity, which will change the thinking of everyone on the Earth plane. For this reason, only certain people are ‘qualified’ to work with the dragons, as they have built up, over many incarnations, the ability to work with the human mind. Their thinking is focused and direct and they are capable of deep contemplation, plumbing their own depths and that of humanity. The dragon represents all that is mighty and powerful within the forces of creation. In awakening this dragon you also awaken man’s ability to create heaven on earth. Only in using power with wisdom can true magic be effected.

The serpents, on the other hand, are those energies which allow for certain frequencies to be brought into play. The Earth serpents ‘maintain’ an energetic balance between sun and Earth. They hold the grid in place. Without their energy, there would be no world. They are designed to activate certain areas within the grid that resonate with Divine Power. At these sites, abundance is attained and with it, the lessons of Power. The ability to generate abundance that is free to all depends on the ability to balance power with desire. If one desires much and is given what they desire, yet their power issues are out of balance, that abundance is then used for personal gain and does not benefit the whole.

However, when abundance is achieved by one who balances power with desire, that abundance is then used to generate ‘more abundance’ for the common good and the betterment of humanity. Working with the serpents needs courage and dedication. Working with the dragons requires a sound connection to both Sun/heaven and the Earth. When you assist in their awakening, and maintenance, continual creation is assured.

In the time of the ancestors, this ability to work with the serpent energy was well known. Many goddesses, and gods, were portrayed with serpents because they worked with the flows of fertility energy in the land, and within their bodies. They understood the deep connection between their own sacred sexual spirituality and the fertility of the land, and often temple fertility rites involved sexual rituals to both feed the land with this sacred energy, and the people.

The serpent priests/priestesses, trained for many years to become capable of holding and guiding this serpent energy of fertility to bring it to the land, the land that grew the crops which then fed the people. Highly trained men and women ensured the people were fed and the elements were kept in balance. At least in their part of the world.

Serpents, as an expression of fertility, keep the energies of the soil, alive and vibrant. This energy, the soil which is alive with it, maintains the growth of every living thing. It allows the water to keep flowing, the sun to connect to the earth and energetic particles of charged air to feed everything that flies or that reaches to the skies.

There are serpents of water, serpents of land, of the sun, and the serpent of the force of fertility from the Mother herself. Many sacred sites, such as Cathedrals, are built upon great rivers of blue serpent energy, the waters of which are both energetic and physical. Ceremony held at these places feeds the serpent river and this charged water then travels through the land, feeding everything it touches. Water was life and the fertility of the water was of the utmost importance.

Serpents, and their energies have been venerated for millenia. Here are some examples:

Serpents played a significant role in Egyptian mythology. The cobra, known as the “uraeus,” was a symbol of sovereignty, worn on the crowns of pharaohs. But only those pharoahs who had mastered their own emotions and thoughts and undergone initiation could use the serpent energy the uraeus represented. This was the rising of the golden earth serpent energies up the spine and over the head. Once this level of activation had been achieved, the pharoah could then see with the eye of the serpent, meaning he saw with the Will of the Divine mother. His vision was now hers.

Snakes, particularly cobras, are venerated in India. The Nagas (serpent deities) are powerful and protective figures. In Hinduism, the serpent Shesha is seen as the king of all Nagas. Snakes in Hinduism are often associated with the god Shiva, who wears a snake around his neck, symbolizing control over time and death. They are also connected to fertility and the life force.

The serpent was associated with healing in Greek mythology. The god Asclepius, the deity of medicine and healing, was often depicted with a staff entwined by a serpent, a symbol still used in medicine today (the Rod of Asclepius). Serpents were also connected to oracles, such as the Oracle of Delphi, where the Python, a serpent, was said to guard the sacred site before being slain by Apollo. These cobra guardians were the protectors of the feminine oracles so in slaying it, he was laying it bare to his masculine will, his power over the feminine.

In Mesoamerican cultures, particularly the Aztecs, the Feathered Serpent, Kukulkan was a deity associated with the morning star, wind, learning, and the arts. This deity was revered for bringing civilization and was a major figure in religious practices. During the equinoxes, on a site called ‘The Castle’, as the sun moves it creates an optical illusion of a serpent moving down the pyramid. The solar cretive energies being brought to earth to fertilise it.

In Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, in Luxor, Egypt, descending down either side of the main staircase, are carved undulating serpents that move downwards, taking the light of the sun from the upper world. They end at the body of Horus, the Hawk, Divine intermediary between the deities and man and messenger of the Gods. The energies have to be ‘stepped down’ so they can be utilised by the land and its people.

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, is a colossal serpent that encircles the world and is destined to battle Thor during Ragnarök, the end of the world. This serpent symbolizes both the cyclic nature of the world and inevitable destruction. InCeltic Symbolism and culture, serpents often symbolized renewal, healing, and the earth’s fertility. The serpent was a potent symbol in Druidic traditions.

In Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, the Nagas are serpent beings believed to inhabit the underworld and protect the earth and its waters. Naga offerings are made to ensure protection from natural disasters and to seek blessings for water and fertility.

Among some Native American tribes, the serpent is a powerful figure in creation myths and is associated with the earth and water. The Horned Serpent, for instance, is a significant figure in the mythology of tribes like the Cherokee and the Lakota.

In the Christian tradition, the serpent is most famously associated with the Garden of Eden story, where it tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. This act links the serpent with sin, temptation, and the devil in Christian theology. And yet, prior to this demonisation of women, and their connection to serpent power, the Goddess was the trees and the fruit and the serpent. They were her gifts, her power and she shared them freely.

In Fijian belief, the god Degei is depicted as a serpent. He is considered the creator of the islands and the judge of souls in the afterlife. Degei’s serpentine form symbolizes power, creation, and the duality of life and death.

So you can see how powerful this serpent energy is as an archetype. As an energy, it is equally powerful.

There are two celestial serpents which travel through space and through the Earth, keeping it anchored. The blue serpent energy is female and circles the earth many times before finding an ‘entrance point’. This serpent is usually associated with rain. The original people of Australia speak of the Rainbow Serpent, which enters, and leaves, via waterholes, sacred to them. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, they have been the custodians of this sacred work.

Both the Blue and Gold Celestial serpents are the energies that come from outside the planet as Sun and Rain, the two physical energies needed for life on Earth. And although they are Celestial energies, they also need to travel through the Planet in order for their energy to permeate the body of the Earth. The Gold and Blue energy lines flow throughout the land, surfacing in certain places and at certain times of the year, then going underground again.

My first introduction to future work with the serpent goddesses was about thirty years ago. A friend and I were doing a meditation to find our Soul names. I listened for mine but was not getting anything, then I heard ‘Astarte’. Astarte, I thought? Isn’t she a goddess? That can’t be my soul name. So, I asked again, frustrated, and again it came back: ‘Astarte’. I obviously was not doing this right, so I gave up and thought I would it some other time. But, unbeknownst to me, I had just received my Goddess-aspect name which would explain why I seemed to do fertility work with sacred sites in the landscape.

Astarte was a Canaanite goddess of fertility but also worhsipped in Egypt where a temple was dedicated to her in Memphis.

In this image, she is holding lotuses in one hand and serpents in the other, and she is standing on a lion, which represents power on earth. The god of fertility, Min, stands at her right hand side, and the pharoah stands to her left.

If you are interested in reading about the journals of working with these energies you will find them here:

http://gaiamethodtravel.wordpress.com/travels-through-aran-time-ireland/