Winter
Amongst Giants
by Kevin Panton
I might
be the least likely Druid Bard -- a rapper turned poet from London England
-- who followed his intuition to Druidry. I belong to the Order of The
Loyal Arthurian Warband, which has a few titles. A Bard has all the
musical, storytelling, poetic attributes associated with it, and a Battle
Chieftain bestows authority and is usually a recognition of participation
of a road protest (many members of the Warband protest against the unnecessary
building of motorways, the English equivalent of a highway, often living
among the trees that are due to be cut down and paved over.) A Shield
Knight is bestowed upon one who is believed to be an incarnation of
an original Knight of the Table.
As a result of good fortune, good deeds, and good intentions, I was
knighted a Shield Knight and Bard by the man currently accepted by three
Druid Orders as the current representation of King Arthur. 'The Once
and Future King' took Her Majesty's Government to the European Court
of Human Rights to allow us Druids to celebrate in Stonehenge on ceremonial
days without paying. The ONLY days you are allowed within the stones
for free are on ceremonial days, and the only reason we are allowed
is because Arthur took the government to court to allow religious ceremony
in there on those days. The court papers read King Arthur versus Her
Majesty the Queen. (And we won!) But this is not my story, nor his -
this is merely one Bard's account of the Druidic ceremonies in Stonehenge
and Avebury during the Winter Solstice of 2006.
If it wasn't
for the fact that I was already acquainted with the Druids, and count
myself among their number, it is hard to imagine what I would be doing
in the English countryside in the middle of the night on the eve of
the Winter Solstice! I was there the night before - I was staying in
the car-park nearby with around 60 other people, staying up throughout
the longest night round bonfires with guitars and mead, indeed all a
Bard could need. (Mead, fermented honey, is sacred to us Druids, and
there is an old saying - "ask the wild bee what the old Druids
knew.") And layers, it was extremely cold so this bard needed layers!
But it was worth it for A LOT more people turned up while it was dark
for the sunrise ceremony in the stones. Fifteen-hundred people apparently.
Stonehenge
itself is owned and managed by English Heritage and despite many years
of battling to have use of it on ceremonial days, English Heritage people
are very compliant and allegedly a joy to work with. Stonehenge appears
to pre-date the era most associated with the Druids although it is widely
accepted that the Druids used it for ceremony. It is widely suspected
that the Druids of old had more of an idea what it's use was than we
do now. This is made more confusing by the fact that most archaeologists
refuse to accept the work of Graham Hancock and countless others who
have indicated that what we refer to as civilisation may have existed
thousands of years before what was previously believed. The precise
astrological alignments and the unique resonance of sound within the
stones indicate that it was both a giant, extremely accurate calendar
and a sound chamber of sorts. It was certainly built for ceremonial
purposes.
This Winter
Solstice, there was beautiful ceremony in which Arch Druid Rollo had
us all chant for peace. The Druids entered the stones to the sound of
Drums. We did the traditional Druidic chant of IAO, the sacred syllable,
we chanted in the four directions and finally we turned to the centre
of the circle and chanted for peace throughout Earth. The ceremony was
very quick but very heartfelt. Rollo is also a Merlin, however Merlin
is this case is not considered an individual but a rank and a title.
(In this lifetime at least there is more than one Merlin, and I've met
more than one Merlin myself.) There were affirmations for peace in Iraq
and other ceremonies.
I felt strangely disconnected, but perhaps it's because I am an oxymoron
- a loner with alot of friends. I would have been more comfortable doing
a ritual on my own or conversely one that was more inclusive. I just
didn't feel like chanting IAO only when told to. But I was to have my
moment of personal reflection in the sacred stone circle of Avebury
a few days later in another Solstice Ceremony.
This Winter Solstice I also witnessed four handfastings in Stonehenge.
A handfasting is a Celtic Wedding that lasts for a year and a day, and
if you want you can renew your vows a year and a day later (the marriage
lasts for a year and a day, not the wedding ceremony!) These were beautiful
and added a romantic hue to a magical day. I saw friends that I had
made all over the country, many had little or no knowledge of Druidry
but felt compelled to attend Stonehenge on the Solstice morning due
to their own spiritual beliefs and intuitions. It felt like I had stepped
out of time, characters from different areas of my life within these
huge imposing stones, surrounded by Druids in robes making dramatic
exultations! (It did not feel like I was walking through the streets
of modern day London the day before, and it felt like had dreamed the
entire experience when I was walking through London later that same
day!)
There were huge crystal singing bowls and drums, lots of drums. And
fifteen-hundred people! All these people turned up in the freezing cold
and the thickest fog. It was a magic morning, the frost was gorgeous,
spiders-webs were dripping with white and looked almost cliche. Unfortunately,
I felt like the drums took away some of the reverence, they felt too
loud and boisterous for heartfelt ceremony. But most of the English
Druids I have met love the theatrics of it all, they like a bit of drama,
and the drums definitely had that effect. But I felt like we were being
led into battle, or to party, not to pray. I wanted to pray, and by
pray I mean only to set positive intentions but with resolve.
The Saturday afterward I was in Avebury, where the ceremony was smaller
the numbers were a lot smaller but the vibe was all there. I love Avebury.
Stonehenge is widely accepted as the having masculine energy and Avebury
is regarded as feminine, my intuition is that this is correct. Stonehenge
sits directly on the Michael ley-line and Avebury directly on the Mary
line, Avebury feels more nurturing whereas Stonehenge is more imposing.
Avebury is apparently older and the stone circle is about four times
the size of Stonehenge, not including the various sacred sites within
its immediate vicinity. I met the Bard of Avebury and caught up with
quite a few of my Druid brethren. The Bard of Avebury is a guitar playing
singer-songwriter who lives in Avebury and attends all the relevant
ceremonies. I attended the ceremony with the friend who introduced me
to Druidy, Susanna, and I became her de-facto paige for the day, carrying
her staff and watching her dog when her hands or eyes were otherwise
occupied. Susanna is the only person who holds the post of both Warrior
Priestess and Battle Chieftain. (If it wasn't for a random conversation
with this elder a few years ago I would know nothing of modern day Druidry.)
I went for a walk, and my intention was to return to the vision-chamber/burial
chamber West Kennet Long Barrow. Ever since I slept in West Kennet Long
Barrow on the eve of the Winter Solstice in 2005, my intuition has never
felt or been this strong. Indeed it was only after I told Susanna the
events that led to me sleeping there that she decided I I had to meet
Arthur and the Druids. Despite our conversations always touching the
subject of spirituality she had never mentioned them before. But in
the knowledge that there were people waiting for me and our bus was
on it's way I only made it to Silbury Hill. 
I had a bit of a moment on my own at the foot of Silbury Hill. It is
the largest man-made mound in Europe, it is roughly the size and volume
of the Egyptian pyramids. Part of the Avebury landscape, archaeologists
claim it contained no burial or shrine, and was therefore likely important
in itself: but its purpose and significance remain enigmatic. I had
a vision that it looked like a Mayan temple when it was built. I recited
a poem, to myself or to the hill, I'm not sure which... then I departed.
I was buzzing, as Avebury is a spot of power and if you know what sort
of power there are ways to harness it intuitively. I felt chi coursing
through my body.
Afterwards, I reveled in my solitude and yelled a 'crow-call' across
the hillsides to celebrate. The crow is one of my power animals - I
have a collection of crow's feathers and I have amassed quite a few
unexplainable experiences concerning crows. About twenty cows in an
adjacent field looked up at me after I 'cawed' like a crow, with a look
of surprise on their faces. They came bounding toward me - despite the
fence between us, it actually scared me quite a bit! They might be docile
and even a little bit cute, but the fence was flimsy and they're big,
fat and heavy to quote Buju! I'd never seen cows run before! Anyway,
they got next to the fence and just stared at me as if they were waiting
for me to do something. On my way to Silbury Hill I walked right past
them on the other side of the fence in their field but as they stared
at me on the way back I was glad there was at least a flimsy fence between
us. Goodness only knows what the cows were waiting for, but I know fear
is never the answer (especially fear of cows!) and perhaps I should
have stuck around and delivered a poem for the cows. I can't believe
I just wrote that, but I meant it. Next time maybe.
For
my brethren across the seas and the trees. Love, gratitude and appreciation
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Your
Hip-Hop Bard and Shield Knight, Kev the Poet
Kevin Panton is the author of 'Silent Screams of Intense Bliss' and
the THC Society Website:
http://www.belowthebelt.bravehost.com
He is also a Shield Knight and the 'Hip-Hop Bard' of The Loyal Arthurian
Warband:
http://www.warband.org/
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