Sunday 1st February 2026
12 Noon, local time
Sun in Aquarius, Air, Water/Intellect
Moon in Leo, Fire, the Leader/Child
Rievaulx Abbey from Rievaulx Terraces – Photo -The National Trust
Dear Gatekeepers,
Welcome to Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire, in the constellation of Leo on the British Landscape Zodiac, where our full moon meditation takes us on the 1st of February. Arriving at this hauntingly beautiful place on a bend in the River Rye, it is almost impossible not to share these initial, 900-year-old impressions of Aelred’s.‘Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world.’ Aelred was a young man from an influential Scottish family, and a steward to King David I of Scotland sent, on the king’s behalf, to pay a visit to Archbishop Thurstan of York in 1134. However, calling at Rievaulx Abbey on the way, he spontaneously requested and was granted admission as a novice.
By 1147 he was abbot, a position he held until his death. These were Rievaulx’s greatest years, with the monastery blossoming under his influence where monks and lay brothers joined in their hundreds. However, at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Rievaulx’s best days were already long behind it. After Aelred’s time the community faced terrible difficulties, including financial problems, famine and disease. Worst was the Black Death in 1348–49. When Henry VIII’s commissioners turned up in 1538, there were just 24 poverty-stricken monks remaining. The abbey is, of course, a ruin and is now in the care of English Heritage.
Here we link our Leo leadership of Aelred with Charlotte in the sun sign of Aquarius:
https://gatekeeper.org.uk/events/wheel-of-life-full-moon-meditation-aquarius-sun-leo-moon-2/
This year we have the rare combination of the Celtic festival of Imbolc aligning directly with a full Moon (the Snow Moon). As a cross-quarter festival, marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, we celebrate the, return of light and the first stirrings of spring. In some parts of Britain snowdrops are already flowering. Here in the north there are even buds on the daffodils, and our younger hens have continued to lay eggs throughout the darkest days. As Peter Dawkins says “The weather is in fact subsidiary to the real seasons, as well as being affected by other factors, both natural (such as the moon, tides, winds and ocean currents) and manmade. The real changes from one season to the next are determined by the changes in the position of the Earth in respect to the Sun, as a result of the Earth's orbit around the Sun during the course of a year. Each season is a quarter of each year, with the solstices and equinoxes marking the midpoints of each season. The quarter days mark the midpoints between each solstice and equinox.
Copyright Peter Dawkins
Remembering our dear friend and innovative geobiologist Rory Duff.
Rory Duff sadly passed away in mid-January and was known by many of us. His son writes:” Rory was a trailblazer in geobiology and a trusted voice in the rapidly evolving field of conscious awareness. His groundbreaking work spans Earth Energies, Ley-Lines, Dowsing, Meditation, Universal Prophecy, and Group
Consciousness.
He is the author of groundbreaking books such as Grail Found and Grail Bound, a beloved guest speaker, running courses and seminars nationally and internationally including his own unique group learning experience in his Sacred Path Modules.
Rory has led our understanding of Earth Energies and Ley-Lines by devising the first ever comprehensive classification system now in use all over the world and was also the first to document the return of the Emperor Dragon lines, the most powerful earth energy lines in the world, and the first to dowse their paths over land and sea.
His popular documentary on this can be found here… https://roryduff.com/videos/
Beloved for his extensive and informative monthly newsletters, can be found on his website here… https://roryduff.com/news/
Rory changed many lives with his humble wisdom and sincere approach. His positive messages have uplifted many, giving us hope for humanity and for all Lands and Life.
STANTON DREW WITH RORY DUFF AND SARAH DAWKINS 2019
We met on a wintry day in the clouds and cold, but very happy to be with Rory and share our Gatekeeper
attunement for attunement to the angelic ‘spirit of place’, peace and harmony.
We created a mandala with lanterns, and Rory measured the energy field before and after. This ritual and ceremonial site is near his home, where his group regularly meet. The image of the ‘trumpet’ and spiral ‘donut’ energy was made here and can be found in his book and website.
Stanton Drew is on the Fosse Way, running from north of Lincoln and passing through Bath, on its way to Exeter and the Southwest (Aquarius in the British Landscape Zodiac), so this event was very significant, and a consolidating event for his pioneering work.
Sarah Dawkins and Charlotte Yonge
PORTLAND PROGRESS January 2026
Progress is being made on the two key areas incorporating the two portals bounding the Green Corridor path: the top Gatekeeper Stone with outdoor learning area, and the lower pathway for reconstruction of the archway from 81 Fleet Street and its connection to the accompanying outdoor learning spaces. Funding routes are being followed with planning permission and approved traffic management plan in place, enabling some work to start on clearing invasive species These Portals will give access to new partnerships and collaborations that offer innovative opportunities and ways forward for ‘Climate and Land, People and Nature’.
Dr Clair Chinnery has an artist’s residency with Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust (PSQT) that will contribute to the Gatekeeper Stone / learning area, building on her recent research into sculptural forms that draw a parallel with stromatolites as the earliest life forms - a theme that was identified for the first area of the Green Corridor.
The Gatekeeper Stone is a uniquely-sited with its quarried face aligned east to west representing the formation/ geomorphology of the Isle of Portland. Geomorphology underlies the whole UNESCO World Heritage Coast Site (96 miles) with Portland at its centre both geologically and geographically.
The Gatekeeper Stone is the last evidence of a Gulley from Inmosthay Quarry and marks the entrance to the first outdoor learning/creative zone with the stromatolites. This has global and local significance as the earliest living thing that gave oxygen to the planet.
PSQT has a unique fossil record that forms part of a digital and physical Living Land Archive, informed by primary source materials from field study research by over twenty earth-scientists’; foremostly Paleoclimatologist, Prof. Dame Jane Francis with her research and commitment to Portland spanning 40 years. Examples from the Living Land archive will be reinstated along the path leading from the Gatekeeper Stone, with every footstep representing 1 million years descending through time. There is also an innovative concept to incorporate examples of the fossil record within the new design for the reconstruction of the back of the arch, with both portals reflecting Portland strata from past to present and present to past.
Hannah met up with Sam and Donna Dawkins in London to discuss the installation of the Fleet Street archway at the base of the Green Corridor pathway. Not only is this a continuation of the Dawkins family’s involvement in the Portland collaboration, but Sam and Donna are inspirational and talented architects who understand the importance of correct siting in the landscape, honouring the history of place. A visit to Portland is being planned in the Spring.
Sam and Donna have an existing connection with Portland stone having previously won a competition to carve a bench from a ton block of Portland Stone. Inscribed with quotes and directions, installed near Smithfield Market in London, the bench is the central focus of a public garden in West Smithfield. Some Gatekeepers visited it while on the Shakespeare South day in October 2025 with Peter and Sarah Dawkins, following a powerful London ley. The journey ended at Sir Christopher Wren’s house on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Angela Shaw
Gatekeeper Trustee
With thanks to all the Trustees and Amelia.
Sending love and light to you on your landscape.