Full Moon Meditation – 24th April

FULL MOON SCORPIO TAURUS SUN
April 24th
12 NOON

The Bran’s Head Pilgrimage with Sarah Dawkins (https://www.zoence.co.uk/infosheets-other/holy-head-of-bran-grail-pilgrimage-route/)

Taurean values involve becoming Earth Builders, inhabiting the two worlds of the imaginal and the real.

the pilgrimage along the route of Bran’s Head, includes the sunken Caer Arianrhod, the Castle of the goddess of ‘The Silver Wheel’, just off Anglesea.

It represents the 13th sign of the zodiac, half sunken into the sea, half arisen to be a visible beacon of the invisible.

The Castle of Arianrhod: ‘Stand on the northwest shore of Wales at low tide, and you might catch a glimpse of the sunken reef believed to be the site of Arianrhod’s earthly home.’ http://seekingawen.net/index.php/2017/09/10/three-realms-arianrhod/

Caer Arianrhod/Arianrhod’s Castle - or Ariadne of the Silver Wheel (spider’s web of interconnectivity). The 13th holy island in our British Zodiac is an actual sunken rock, together and seems to express a mythical and ‘imaginal’ reality, as revealed in the sign of Taurus: earth, constellation, and ocean. Is this a symbol of the 13th Zodiac sign of Ariadne the ‘weaver’?

The Bran’s Head Pilgrimage

THE TAURUS LANDSCAPE: pilgrimages along the ancient ways – questing the liminal and the sanctuary meeting points of traditional sacred places – CREATING AN INTERFACE with the liminal and co-created ‘grail space’ in our landscapes.

Along the A5 from London’s ‘white hill/Tower of London’ to cusp with Shropshire and Cheshire – Brans Head– a Romano-Celtic Road, built when the ‘star map’ of the heavens was part of the Europe-wide spiritual alchemy.

The ending at Anglesea and Holy Island - ‘The Holy Head of Bran’ pilgrimage linked with the holy land of Ireland.

‘After many years of preparation and research along the Route of the Most Holy Head of Bran, we made a full pilgrimage from the Tower of London on Bryn Gwyn, ‘the White Mount’, to Caer Arianrhod in North Wales.

Sarn Wydellin, which stretches from Holy Head in Anglesey to London, formed not only the spine of Ancient Britain but also what is referred to in myth as the Way of the Most Holy Head of Bran. This can be seen in the map above as the ‘red line’. This and the yellow lines are original Celtic roads.’ Sarah Dawkins (https://www.zoence.co.uk/infosheets-other/holy-head-of-bran-grail-pilgrimage-route/)

Starting at the Tower Hill, City of London, the pilgrimage covered:

Castle Rings of Cannock Chase

A large and highly fortified multi-ringed Iron Age Fort at the highest point of Cannock Chase – directly north of Watling Street.

This area still has a powerful spiritual presence – the spirit of place or ‘Kindly Luminous Beings’.
Sanctuaries visited on the pilgrimage:

St Albans, Towcester, High Cross, Wall, Lichfield, Castle Rings, The Wrekin, Llangollen, Snowdon, Dinas Dinlle, Lleyn Penninsular, Bardsey and Anglesey.

Sarah Dawkins writes: Caer Arianrhod – a sunken city off the coast of .Anglesea – Arianrhod was seen as ‘The Silver Wheel Goddess of Wales, who is cloaked in mysterious power. Her name evokes a sense of enchantment, for she is the moon’s guardian, a symbol of fertility and magic.

In Welsh mythology, Arianrhod is beautiful and captivating. She resides in Caer Arianrhod, her celestial castle above us. She controls the phases of the moon, guiding its silver light across the night sky. Arianrhod is the guardian of this wheel, thus holding great influence over nature’s cycles.

This mythology reflects how important the sea of stars of the Milky Way were honoured: Anthony Thorley considered the ‘thirteenth sign’ of the zodiac to be in two places: cusp between Taurus and Gemini (the site perhaps being the landscape zodiac of Macclesfield) and the cusp between Sagittarius and Scorpio (the site being perhaps the zodiac of Kingston-upon-Thames). He called these the ‘Silver Wheels’ - reflecting Arianrhod/Ariachne mythology. Anthony also suggests there might be 12 stars in each: he envisaged that around the silver wheel ‘pilgrim paths’ the hermits, there could be found visiting sanctuaries and ‘heal’ the larger circle of 12 major signs. This way, a hermit could embody, envisage and, deep in meditation, virtually travel through the larger star patterns in alchemical fashion.

Head of Bran Pilgrimage - Dinas Dinlle – Cair Arianrhod

‘Our journey culminated at Dinas Dinlle, on the coast of the Irish Sea. From the hillfort, at low tide, you can see Caer Arianrhod or Arianrhod’s Palace as a rocky outcrop in the sea. This is midway between Anglesey to the north and the Llyn Peninsular to the south, where the energy line from Uisneach crosses the coast on its way to High Cross – the Gold route.

From this viewpoint you can see the landscape of Llyn Peninsula, Caer Arianrhod and Anglesey, which can symbolise the triple goddess. We celebrated the Affectionate Alliance between Britain and Ireland in friendship and love, with a fire ceremony on the beach, with offerings to the sea.’ Sarah Dawkins‘.

ANGLESEA Ynys Môn – the last centre of the Druids before the Roman Age began. Its name might be derived from “Ǫnglisey” (Ǫngli’s Island).

Barclodiad y Gawres on Anglesey – the Giantess’ Apron, in myth is the place of marriage of Branwen and the King of Ireland.

Are we builders of the ‘subtle realms of the landscape when we are on pilgrimage?

The Imaginal and the liminal worlds come into contact with the real, earthly dimension. The two facets of our conscious ‘emergence’ involve the intuitive ‘felt sense’ in our bodies as it communicative intuitively with our conscious mind. The spectrum of intelligent energy of Gaia is our ‘Gemini’ of dual realities: visible and invisible intelligence.

The 13th sign represents the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, the physical and the imaginal playground of the soul.

THE NORTH WALES COASTAL PATH

The Wirral and its symbolic islands on Cusp with ARIES at Anglesea, and cusp with Gemini at Chester/Macclesfield. As the culture of iron working traditions that were developing in Shropshire, Shrewsbury and the Cistercian virtues of knowledge and industrious work, the new Severn railway has brought coach to the new ironworks and water technology initiated by the Cistercians.

ALONG the CUSP of Taurus/Gemini, Wirral stands as a landscape at the edge of the potent, liminal worlds of the zodiac.

WIRRAL - The triplicity of islands: Hildeburg Island, Little Eye Island and Middle Eye Island

Middle Eye Island

Hildeburg Island on Wirral. – home to the anchorite St Hildeburg, next door to the ‘Middle Eye Island’ and Little Eye Island’ confirming the mythology of Taurus includes the opening of the pituitary gland in the process of initiation.

Little Eye Island

Each is a glimpse into the ‘liminal’ landscape between land and sea, full of the hermetic mystery of isolated saints and sinners, symbolizing the two dimensions of the Milky Way of the star map: water, land and sky (cosmos)..

CHESTER/DEVA – (Roman ‘Deva Victrix’ named after the goddess of the river ‘Deva’)

The only rock-cut shrine (to Minerva) still in situ in Britain. Beside it is a cave – Edgar’s Cave) to which the goddess Minerva was associated. Minerva is associated with knowledge and craftsmanship, which later expressed through the industrial revolution. Roman stone mining was the first major quarrying industry in England - giving rise to the Taurean skills oriented technological culture that ‘weaves’ new connections between cultures and progressive ‘energy technologies’ of the rocks and landscape.

The altars found in Chester depicting Roman tools and alchemical symbols for ‘knowledge and craftmanship’: the horn of plenty, a crucible, measuring and crafting tools, the snake of ‘knowledge’ rising up the spear, and an oil can.

Crossing the Milky Way between ‘worlds’ of the inner and outer challenges of life:

Norton Priory: The statue of St Christopher represents the crossing between the imaginal/liminal world and the real. The River of Transformation, a psychic daily experience for pilgrims of the heart. The saint carries the Christ Child – our true Self – across the river of existence and experience, into new conscious realms. It is an analogy of the path of initiation, and the end of which we may realise our own creative power of heart awareness, and attend the ‘Siege Perilous’ at the centre of our ‘Silver Wheel’ of incarnation..

Norton Priory on the ‘cusp of Taurus/gemini’ – where St Christopher – our guide of the unconscious journey of transformation – would begin crossing ‘the River Styx’.

Wiki:
In Greek mythology, Styx (/ˈstɪks/; Ancient Greek: Στύξ [stýks]; lit. "Shuddering"[1]), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and river of the Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas, and the mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia. She sided with Zeus in his war against the Titans, and because of this, to honor her, Zeus decreed that the solemn oaths of the gods be sworn by the water of Styx

THE ISLE OF MAN

The Cusp-island and possible 13th sign: Isle of Man, it has its own zodiac and its Milky Way starts at the Calf of Man off the south coast.

Lying in the centre of our three mainlands, Manx tradition tells us from the Snae Fell in the centre you can see six kingdoms: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, The Isle of Man and the Kingdom of Heaven.

The island has many single cell hermitages all over its hills and valleys. It history included Cistercians at Rushen Abbey, who innovated with metal smelting and probably focused on the mining of copper at Laxey Mine where the ‘water wheel’ continues their tradition of innovating with water energy technology. The monks would have made a connection with technological advancements in Cumbria. The island was the hub of the copper processing revolution, in the electrical wiring industry.

It has its own Arthurian mythology, at Peel which we speculate is in the sign of Scorpio, at one end of the Milky Way:

[Wiki: Peel Castle has been proposed as a possible location of the Arthurian Avalon[165] or as the location of the Grail Castle, site of Lancelot's encounter with the sword bridge of King Maleagant.]

Isle of Man: Peel Castle (Cashtal Phurt ny h-Inshey in Manx Gaelic) with 11th century round tower and with the Cathedral of St German, together withSt Patrick’s first chapel, within its ruins.

Peel’s central myth is of a Black Dog – this is a usual feature of terrestrial zodiacs, where the Black dog represents the ‘gateway’ to a sanctuary/star map. It stems from the Egyptian myth of Anubis the guardian dog of the underworld. The Milky Way pilgrimages of old represented a journey into the individual pilgrim’s ‘psyche’, in order to imitate the life of Christ and become reborn. This tradition is so old, it has links to Middle Eastern religions, brought by traders such as the Phoenicians and Greeks.
St Patrick, kidnapped and taken to the ‘Emerald Isle - Ireland), he later came to the Isle of Man to be a healer and ‘drive out snakes and venomous beasts’.

Treated as a ‘holy island’ in itself, it has burial mounds and memorials to Irish, Scottish and British sovereigns. Its many hermit cells reflect the sanctity of its ancient traditions, and culture, which to this day has its own parliament, language and financial arrangements.

Nag ny Keely, an ancient hermit cell and chapel.
It is said to be the burial place of the Lords of the Isles, who reigned over Ireland, Isle of Man and Scottish Isles.

QUESTING THEME FOR TAURUS THE ‘BUILDER’ WITHIN
How do we co-create alternative forms of culture through engaging with the ‘IMAGINAL WORLD’ and using our own ‘inner magic’ of visualizing sacred space?

How do we experience the LIMINAL SPACE between sanctuaries and the ‘built environment’ – the potential ‘aura of interconnectivity, - for instance in urban landscapes as well as countrysides and island?

How do we experience the role of water elements, the oceanic energy that surrounds our islands. Were the hermits of old holding the liminal spaces of our isles for us to discover, and how do we see a future honouring of our many holy offshore isles?

How can we turn the ‘Silver Wheels’ of our own landscape, and imagine we are turning our own liminal sacred spaces into ‘wheels of the sacred’ or ‘grails of healing light’? We are manifestations of the ‘13th sign of the ‘high king’ of our own inner ‘zodiac’ of personal archetypes, or creative skills. We are ‘king Arthur’ souls of spiritual questing:

The ’Round Table’ of creative talents (Caroline Danby, after Peter Dawkins’ graphic) – indicate to us the potency of our own ‘inner silver circle’, awaiting our image-making magic.

Our work as investigative-pilgrims is to uncover these deep and hidden beliefs and wonder how we can emulate the ancient, self-sacrificial monks, learning how to move the liminal worlds into a more visible, energetic and creative emergence. We explore ways of talking to the ‘spirit of the land’ in LIMINAL SPACE, through the arts and pilgrimage, questing a co-creative dialogue.

What does the British Zodiac consist of:

• a circlet of islands – are they working liminal space between the archetypal qualities of the ‘star map’?
• Lines that orient to the solar directions
  • Belinus/Elen Line
  • Michael and Mary lines connecting to terrestrial zodiacs
  • Local ley lines connecting to sanctuaries
  • Islands with hermitages
• How do we envisage an ‘active landscape’ having been co-created by humans – can we imagine it energized and changing as days pass, and engage in a dialogue to continue being co-creators

PILGRIMAGE AS A way of questing the LIMINAL and creating new bonds and imaginative exchanges of energy through our image-making ’Human- magic.

Wiki: ‘liminal’ ‘occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold: "I was in the liminal space between past and present"

2. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process: "that liminal period when a child is old enough to begin following basic rules but is still too young to do so consistently"

At Norton Priory, the mythology of the British terrestrial zodiac and the ‘Milky Way’ which St Christopher symbolizes, must have been at the heart of the belief system carried through in the Medieval times. It means the AA line was recognized as a path to resurrection for human incarnation…. Humanity is identified with the Christ Child being held by the saint.

At the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, we have the Miners Sculpture ‘The Dream’ replacing the mine and the building of a park over the site. This is strangely synchronous with the mythology, as ‘the dream’ and ‘dreaming a good dream’ or a vision of the harmony and peace within our hearts, is the outcome of a ‘transformational journey’ of psychic ‘death and resurrection’ ….in other words the path of the mystic. This path of transformation was known in pre-Christian religions, millennia back in time?

CONCLUSION:

Builders of sacred space, we are essential ingredients to Earth’s destiny, as we are entwined, and have the magical ingredient of ‘imagination’ to create and recreate the sacred within our lives.

Editors: Charlotte Yonge and Rose Williams, with gratitude to Sarah Dawkins for her report on the Bran’s Head pilgrimage, and Anthony Thorley for his research into the terrestrial zodiacs of Northumbria, Avebury/Stonehenge (Capricorn) and Glastonbury (Sagittarius) zodiacs with their Milky Way symbology in sacred mythology and clues on the ground. 2024.

Round Table - [at end end]

Bran Pilgrimage map - [beginning]
Caer Arianrhod map - [with Dinas Dinlie]
Dinas Dinlie - [in the Caer Arianrhod section]
Barclodiad Gawres - [Please add: '
'A rainbow over Anglesey, Ynys Mon, the Mother of Wales – the last strong hold of the Druids:

'Barclodiad y Gawres on Anglesey – the Giantess’ Apron, in myth is the place of marriage of Branwen and the King of Ireland.' (Sarah Dawkins)]

Nag ny Keely - [In Isle of Man section].