Touchstone - No 092 - 2011 01

Magazine Overview

Title: Touchstone
Issue: No. 92
Date: January 2011
Publisher: Surrey Earth Mysteries Group

This issue of Touchstone, the newsletter of the Surrey Earth Mysteries Group, focuses on the Society of Leyhunters' Equinox Moot in Ireland in 2010, Part 2. It details visits to significant ancient sites and discusses various aspects of earth energies, folklore, and archaeology.

Society of Leyhunters Equinox Moot in Ireland 2010 - Part 2

The article begins with a visit to Uisneach, described as a rival to Tara and a significant Irish centre. It was privately owned but allowed visitors, hosting a Beltane fire festival. The site featured wattle structures and was said to be older than Tara, with seven roads converging there and being called "The top of the world." The approach was along an ancient road linking to Tara, leading to the figure-eight shape of King Tuathal Techtmar's palace. Archaeology in the 1920s revealed Bronze Age structures and souterrains. Panoramic views from the hill allowed sight of twenty counties. At the summit is a glacial erratic called the "Stone of Divisions" or "Cat Stone," also known as "Umbilicus Hiberniae" and "Axis Mundi," considered the centre of the island and a gateway to the fifth province, "Mide." It was customary for claimants to the high throne to "marry" Eriu here. The site was felt to be powerful, with Laurence dowsing a major ley here. Some texts claim the stone was once surrounded by a stone circle, and Geoffrey of Monmouth suggested the bluestones of Stonehenge originated from here, with Merlin involved in bringing "The Giants' Dance" from Killarus. Lethbridge's dowsing indicated Tipperary as a source for bluestone beds. A violent thunderstorm occurred as the group left.

On Wednesday, the group visited the chambered tomb at Fourknocks, noted for its carved stones, including a zigzag and the "Face Stone." Archaeologists found remains of over 65 people, pottery, and personal ornaments. Eileen Roche reported earthlight phenomena. Laurence plotted two leys through the site. The group also visited the Baltray Stones, a row of stones aligned with Fourknocks, with a cairn visible in the distance. One stone was on a midsummer sunrise line to Rockabill Island.

Next, they visited Drogheda to see the Millmount mound and Martello tower. Legends suggest it's the burial place of Amergin, a Celtic poet. It was fortified by the Normans and resisted Cromwell. Three leys were plotted through Millmount. The Hill of Slane was visited, where two leys cross, and it's a vantage point from which Tara can be seen. It has an abbey and an ancient mound. St. Patrick lit a fire here on Easter Eve, coinciding with Beltane, which was illegal and led to a confrontation with the king, but Patrick resolved it peacefully. A rainbow appeared.

Thursday began with an early start for a visit to Loughcrew for the equinox sunrise at "Cairn T," which coincided with a full moon. Despite cloudy skies and a locked gate, a group of pagans celebrated the equinox with drumming. The site is on a ley to Millmount.

The group then went to Kells to see the round tower, the site of the Book of Kells. St. Columba and his community sought refuge here. The tower served as a lookout and refuge. After seeing Kells, they returned to Cairn T, obtained the key, and saw the carved stones.

Lusk was visited, featuring another round tower built into a church tower, the only remnant of an early monastery. Later, Pat Toms gave a talk on alignments and their meaning, discussing the modern perception of order and straightness, and his interest in heritage and explaining it to young people. He referenced the Necropolis in Glasgow and a legend about a yoke of oxen setting a path. He mentioned earlier researchers like Arthur Matthews and findings in the Boyne area, with Watkins postulating "initial points" for trade.

Research into Alignments and Ley Hunting

The article delves into various perspectives on dowsing and alignments. In the 1930s, dowsers found standing stones over underground streams and fissures. Arthur Lawton found geometrical associations in leys, suggesting a cosmic force and a system of measurement. Major Tyler questioned the track thesis, finding it difficult to understand multiple alignments meeting at one spot. In the 1940s-80s, dowsing became more sophisticated, with Guy Underwood thinking sites were deliberately laid out in patterns, possibly electrical equi-potential lines. T.C. Lethbridge found fields of force associated with nymphs and spirits, and leakage between the psyche and earth fields causing ghosts. He devised a pendulum for dowsing.

A revival of interest in leys occurred in the 1960s, initiated by Tony Wedd, connecting leys with orthotenies (UFO sighting alignments). Philip Heselton and Jimmy Goddard started "The Ley Hunter" magazine. John Michell wrote about terrestrial magnetic currents. In the 1960s, others found alignments, like Richer in Greece with zodiacal patterns and John Barnatt with zodiacal layouts in stone circles. Alexander Thom aligned sun and moon extremities. The standing stones at Baltray were aligned to the midsummer sun. Lamb found streams crossing under altars in old churches, and Muriel Langdon found churches on complex systems of hidden springs. At Cairn Ton, Pat detected crossing fissures and spiralling energy. Pettis found water domes and thought ley lines were cosmic. Paul Devereux initiated the Dragon Project. Clive Bleadon felt ley lines were thought waves. Sig Lonegren divided leys into "energy leys" and "topographical leys."

Some researchers, like Harry Bell, focused on prehistoric site alignments. Robert Forrest's statistical analysis of Coldrum ley was inconclusive. Pennick and Devereux noted that newcomers often saw leys as lines of force. Devereux later declared aligned sites as leys were dead, suggesting alignments might exist as corpse paths or spirit flights, but not as a network of straight lines.

Other research includes Tom Brooks' analysis of alignments and triangles in southern Britain, Alan Watts' placement of sites in the New Forest, and Robin Heath and John Michell's Stonehenge Lunation Triangle. At Mellifont Abbey, Pat demonstrated dowsing of etheric influences. Mellifont means "fountain of honey." The abbey ruins remain, including an ornate eight-sided lavabo. Pat noticed a tree with a spiral twisted trunk over an etheric "hotspot," caused by geological differences. He also found hotspots under the altar and in the centre of the lavabo.

Visits to Newgrange and the Book of Kells

On Friday morning, the group visited Newgrange, described as the "palace of the ancient gods," built 5,000 years ago. The 40 mounds in the valley are called the "Palaces of the Boyne." At Newgrange, the sun shines through the roof box at the winter solstice. The quartz stones ("Stones of the Sun") were from Wicklow, granite pieces from the Mourne Mountains, and "grey wacky" blocks from Drogheda. The Boyne River is sacred and associated with the Milky Way. Quartz represented youthfulness, and granite eternity.

The tomb was in use for 7-800 years, possibly abandoned during a mini-ice age. Later, a large stone circle was built around the mound. The carvings might relate to constellations. The entrance stones are found throughout Europe, with the highest concentration in this valley. The article speculates on its use as a pilgrimage site, an ancient language, or a meditation stone. The roof box was precisely built, predating Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The corbel-vaulted roof is original, and the stones weigh 1-10 tons. The dome has two buttresses, predating them by 4,000 years. The mound is built in layers, similar to a Reich accumulator. The cruciform chamber has three recesses with basins. The dead were placed on the basins; only five people were found. The right-hand recess is decorated with a tri-spiral. The sun shines through the roofbox, and the passage is S-shaped, representing a womb. One of the circle stones resembled a lion's head.

After the tour, the group visited the Book of Kells exhibition at the Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin. The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin, written on vellum in "insular majuscule" script. Its origin is attributed to the monastery founded by St. Colum Cille on Iona, with monks later taking refuge at Kells, County Meath, around 800 AD.

Later, a Prehistoric Ireland tour at the National Museum covered the first settlers in Mesolithic times (around 7000 BC), hunter-gatherers, and preserved Mesolithic fish traps and microliths. Neolithic agriculture (around 3700 BC) introduced cattle, sheep, goats, and oats, leading to specialization and stratified society. Passage tombs were built with decorated stones. The Lurga logboat and Knowth macehead were noted. 70% of Neolithic art is at Knowth. Jade axes, despite no jade in Ireland, suggest continental communication. Copper mining began in the late Neolithic.

The Neolithic period was peaceful, but the Bronze Age saw the appearance of weapons. Gold was found with copper, and thin crescent-shaped gold lunulae were seen. Celtic crosses predated Christianity. Goldwork developed into torcs. The Tara Bracelets contained a kilogram of gold.

Ancient Ritual or Artistic Licence?

This section, by Bob Shave, explores the novel "The Broom-Squire" by Sabine Baring-Gould. The introduction notes that place names in the south-west of Surrey, such as Thursley, Tuesley, and Peper Harow, reveal the worship of pre-Christian gods. The area attracted Baring-Gould, and his 1896 novel "The Broom-Squire" was set in Surrey, around Thursley and the Devil's Punch Bowl.

The novel is rooted in a real event from 1786: the murder of an unknown sailor by three men in Thursley. The sailor was followed and murdered in the Devil's Punch Bowl. The perpetrators were apprehended and executed, their bodies hung on Gibbet Hill. Baring-Gould dramatizes this event, adding a twist where the sailor carries a baby girl, who is later found and raised as Mehetabel.

The article then focuses on "Thor's Stone and Mehetabel's ritual." Mehetabel, distracted by thoughts of a friend named Iver, decides to perform a ritual at Thor's Stone on Thursley Common to cleanse her mind. The place is described as a grey block of ironstone resembling a gigantic anvil, known as Thor's Stone, where people in trouble would knock to make known their requirements to the "Pucksies." Mehetabel runs to Pudmere Pool (Pudmore Pond) on a full moon night, picks up a liver-coloured ironstone as a hammer, and approaches Thor's Stone amidst a faint mist. The narrative then quotes Baring-Gould's description of Mehetabel's actions at the stone, striking it with the ironstone and crying, "Take him away!"

Questions arise about the authenticity of the location and ritual. David Graham's paper identifies a stone near Pudmore Pond as likely Thor's Stone, but suggests Baring-Gould may have invented the name. The stone is located at the meeting point of three parishes. Graham notes that the stone was not mentioned in 1767 records, suggesting it was added later as a boundary marker. The conclusion is that Baring-Gould used real locations but embellished the names for dramatic effect.

Baring-Gould and Thomas Hardy

Similarities are drawn between "The Broom-Squire" and Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles." Both heroines are trapped in loveless relationships and accused of murder. Tess runs to Stonehenge, while Mehetabel runs to Thor's Stone for a ritual. It is suggested that Baring-Gould may have borrowed aspects from Hardy's novel, noting how both writers evoked rituals at stone monuments.

Conclusion

The Broom-Squire is seen as a blend of artistic licence and glimpses of folk tradition and ritual in old Surrey, possibly attracted by the area's place names commemorating pre-Christian gods. The author, a West Country antiquarian, concocted a story of passion and mystery.

Letters

Norman Darwen from Lostock, Lancashire, enjoyed an article on "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the E-Line," mentioning "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and Phil Rickman's work on folklore.

London Earth Mysteries Circle Meetings

A schedule of upcoming meetings for the London Earth Mysteries Circle is provided, with topics ranging from "Conserved Corpses" to "Thom in the East: Geometry in the Timber Circles."

Anniversary of the rebirth of ley hunting

June marks the 50th anniversary of Tony Wedd's "Skyways and Landmarks," a publication that revived interest in leys.

Meyn Mamvro

Information is provided for "Meyn Mamvro," an organization focused on ancient stones and sacred sites in Cornwall, offering subscriptions and guides.

The Hidden Unity and Beginnings

This section reviews two booklets: "The Hidden Unity," which explores subconscious siting of ley points and the predominance of worship places on leys, and "Beginnings," detailing discoveries in earth energy detection, antigravity, and cognitive dissonance, concluding with an account of Alfred Watkins' discoveries.

Earth People, Space People

This reviews a manuscript by Tony Wedd, "Earth Men, Space Men," detailing extraterrestrial contact claims, with articles on the STAR Fellowship and evidence for extraterrestrial life.

The Legacy of Tony Wedd

This describes a CD-ROM based on Tony Wedd's travelling exhibition, covering flying saucers, landscape energies, and lost technology.

Touchstone Subscription

Information is provided for subscribing to "Touchstone," the newsletter of the Surrey Earth Mysteries Group.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are ancient sites, ley lines, earth energies, folklore, and archaeology, particularly in Ireland and the UK. The editorial stance appears to be one of exploration and investigation into these subjects, presenting research, historical accounts, and personal experiences from contributors and visitors to significant locations. There is a clear interest in connecting ancient practices and beliefs with modern research and understanding of the landscape and its energies.