To boldly go...
You may recall the early voyages of the Starship Enterprise, and especially the activities of Mr Spock, who went on to have a highly successful career as a child psychologist.
I am thinking especially of Spock's skill as an exponent of the Vulcan Mind Meld, in which he firmly grasped the skull of a less than communicative interloper and used his mind to penetrate their psychic defences.
This leads inexorably on to the re-launch of this journal's sister website - LocalDowsingGroupNews.uk - for we have need of Spock to bring it to full manifestation.
The bones of the website will shortly consist of a readable library of all the editions of this newsletter, a description of the various Special Interest Groups, an index of the various local UK dowsing groups, and a form by which you may communicate with our esteemed editor.
To these benefits we now add a forthcoming events list, which describes the dowsing activities you can participate in, some via zoom and others via the flesh.
And what has this got to do with Mr Spock, and his innovative methods of personal communication ?
There was great resistance to Spock's probes, almost as strong as some people's resistance to saying what their dowsing group is doing.
But benefits can flow from informing us what your local group - and your Special Interest Group - is about and intends to do. Especially when you are having a meeting about a subject that others can join in with.
For example, perhaps you have a view on the need for a new Special Interest Group on human/toad interaction, and would like to float the notion.
None of this can manifest if you do not tell us about your Local Group, your SIG, your meetings, or your new approaches. We can only print the info you supply !
I look forward to hearing from you.
Info@CedJackson.org
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Wiltshire Dowsers
Report on the Yule Social - Dec 19th 2022
Our December meeting saw our traditional social gathering. Members' short presentations included Alison showing us a collection of photos and anecdotes of several of the 2022 field trips.
This included the long weekend to Pembrokeshire, so excellently led by local expert Hugh Thomas. It was lovely to remember the sunny days of summer and to catch up with the trips we may have missed.
Peter then showed a selection of pictures from the Stonehenge Exhibition held at the British Museum in London.
Some of the exhibits demonstrated amazing sophistication in their exquisite detail, such as the rhyolite mace head from Knowth, Ireland and the gold Rillaton cup from Cornwall showing that our distant ancestors were highly skilled. He then showed some images from the recent Gaia installation at Wells Cathedral.
Sue had created some dowsing games to test our skills. Map dowsing, and "how many beans in the jar?","find the queen", and "what is in the pot?" challenged some but delighted others.
The proceedings were interspersed with seasonal nibbles of sandwiches, dips, mince pies and chips! The evening was rounded off by sitting in circle, initially led by Daniel. His question to the room concerned how each of us first got involved in dowsing and the spiritual aspects of our lives. Some people told us their stories and it sparked an interesting and lively conversation. Unfortunately we ran out of time but many of us said that it would be good to repeat the exercise allowing more time for discussion. Sue W.
Report on January 16th Meeting. The Story of Stonehenge with David Dawson. We were given an informative presentation by David, Director of the award-winning Museum in Devizes, in which he outlined the latest discoveries and theories of Stonehenge and the other sacred sites in the extended landscape.
David began by explaining how fast-moving the discoveries had been in the last decade, both here in Wiltshire and in the Preseli Hills, home of the world-famous Bluestones. Moving more or less chronologically through his talk, he informed us that, as well as the famous Blick Mead site near Amesbury, there are several other Mesolithic sites in the Stonehenge landscape, including some massive post holes on the site of the old car park near the stones. Blick Mead itself was a seasonal gathering place at the site of a spring, at which thousands of worked flints have been discovered.
Moving forward to the Neolithic, David discussed the early stages of the monument, saying how the initial circle was that of the Bluestones. The favourite place of origin for the slab-like stones seems to now be regarded as Rossi Fellyn, and he speculated on the route the stones may have taken from South Wales.
At Stonehenge itself, over 100 cremations have been excavated in the famous Aubrey Holes, which used to contain the original megaliths.
Analysis of the remains showed that the majority of people came from Wiltshire and South Wales. Regarding the origins of the larger sarsen stones, which form the outer circle, it is possible to identify where they came from, due to the differing chemical composition. A good number appear to have been brought from the West Woods area.
The favoured route is now thought to be overland, via Knap Hill and Marden. In terms of construction, it is thought that the sarsen stone settings may have taken 50 - 75 years to build. He did suggest that people back then may have regarded the stones as embodying the spirits of the ancestors. He then took us on a tour of the other, perhaps lesser known, sacred sites near Stonehenge. The West Amesbury stone circle once stood at the end of the Avenue, where it meets the River Avon. Work has uncovered that Bluestones once stood here prior to them being taken to Stonehenge. He also revealed the positions of the vast and newly perceived circle of deep pits, dated late Neolithic – Bronze Age.
He also described some specific burials in the Stonehenge landscape. Bush Barrow, on the opposite side of the A303, revealed much high status gold goods, brought here from Europe by the so-called Beaker People. It was excavated by Cunningham in 1808, and is still the richest burial site of its date anywhere in Europe. The famous gold lozenge-shaped breast plate, dated 2,000BC, was shaped and patterned suggesting, to David, that its makers had knowledge of maths and geometry.
Another burial, found during the building of a new school in Amesbury, contained the famous Amesbury Archer, whom David suggested may have been a shaman.
The Upton Lovell Shaman was another famous find from this area. In his tomb were the remains of a shaman’s costume, with animal bone decoration, and signs that he was also a metalworker. Three flint axes had over 1,000 years of use when they were buried with him. These were clearly sacred objects, passed down through the generations.
After taking some questions, we thanked David for his informative, authoritative and well-illustrated presentation. It was suggested we may go to Devizes Museum this year. Peter K.
Provisional Wiltshire Dowsers Trips: March - June 2023.
Sat 11th March. Avebury, dusk into darkness, with stargazing and drumming meditation.
Sat 22nd April. Savernake Forest guided walk to some of the 1,000 year-old oaks, with meditations.
Sat 20th May. Belas Knap. A return trip to this wonderful Cotswold chambered tomb.
23 – 25th June. We are looking to organise a long weekend in the Salisbury area. It would be good to hear from all who are interested. News of more trips to follow. The Steering Group are still formulating the programme of trips and talks for 2023. If you have any ideas for potential speakers and field trips, then please let us know (to Peter re talks/speakers, and to Alison re field trips). -
Wiltshire Dowsers Steering Group:
Alison Onslow - Field Trips and Long Weekend Co-ordinator: 07941 712444.
Sue Wallace - Treasurer, newsletter proof-reader, book and equipment sales: 01249 823287. sue_wallace@btopenworld.com Peter Knight -
Talks organiser, Facebook admin, Newsletter Editor: 0775 408 2691, stoneseeker@waitrose.com
Follow us on Facebook (search for ‘Wiltshire Dowsers’), where we post extra images of our events, plus updates and interesting news shared from other dowsing groups.
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Letters ...
A dowser writes...
Does the DRG publish its research and where?
The answer may also de-mystify its existence some.
R
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The Holy Axis
Gary Biltcliffe and Caroline Hoare
A Modern Grail Pilgrimage of Earth Energies
across the Neck of Britain
A zoom talk at 14.15 on Sunday, March 12th 2023
Gary and Caroline will present a talk about their experiences in dowsing an east-west alignment of sites across Northumberland and Scotland, which links the Holy Islands of Lindisfarne and Iona with Rosslyn Chapel and the prehistoric valley of the dead at Kilmartin.
This historic line, or Holy Axis, with its accompanying male and female dragon forces, also connects medieval royal citadels, stone circles, early trade and pilgrim routes - and many sacred sanctuaries of early warrior kings, Celtic Christian saints and the Knights Templars.
The book of the zoom of the pilgrimage will be published in the summer of this year.
Zoom link to follow
Good Afternoon all
Our next Zoom talk will be on Sunday, 12th March at 2.15. Gary Biltcliffe and Caroline Hoare will talk on 'The Holy Axis - A modern Grail Pilgrimage of Earth Energies across the Neck of Britain'. Please see above for full details.
As ever, if you wish to join this talk through Somerset Dowsers, please pay £3 by BACS to the account details below. When you have made your payment, please email me to confirm by noon on Friday, 10th March. I will send out the link that afternoon.
If you are expecting the link, please check your inbox to confirm you have received it. If you have not received it by Friday evening, please email me to query, and we will have time to sort out any problems before the talk. I am not always available on the day a talk takes place, and it's easier to deal with issues ahead of time.
Best wishes
Judith Thomas Secretary, Somerset Dowsers
Somerset Dowsers - Sort Code 08-92-99 - Account no 65412879 - Reference Your Name
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Technical Assistance
Ced would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of Geeky Gadget Girl in putting together our website.
She writes ...
" Here you can find out more information on the services I offer in the Malvern area, learn a little about me, send me a message and watch video reviews and testimonials given by my clients themselves. Choose from the menu or scroll down to see more about each service. "
geekygadgetgirl.co.uk
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John Baker writes...
London Dowsers also includes Middlesex and Surrey Archaeological Dowsers. MASA is run by Keith Harmon who has a number of visits planned around London. For more information see London Dowsers website www.londondowsers.org, or contact Keith on email nrgft@hotmail.com .
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