Thursday, July 1, 2010

Dinas Emrys (in the rain)

A wonderful filling Trigonos breakfast welcomed us to a new day. And today, it was raining.

Mara told us more about the various roles of Merlin in folklore, during our morning session. There are tales of him as a boy when he was captured to be sacrificed by King Vortigern, a wild man in the woods, and a wise old mage, or Druid counselor to the king. He was a shape-shifter, fool, jester, herdsman, lord of the animals, astrologer, magician, alchemist. Some even say lover, to Nimue or Morgan. And others say he is a God – the spirit of the British Isles. We would be visiting a place associated with him today – Dinas Emrys.

Dinas Emrys is a wooded hill near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, above the Glaslyn valley in Snowdonia. There are remains of a castle, which might have been erected by Llewelyn the Last, to guard the mountain pass of Snowdon. (Wikipedia)

King Vortigern, who many felt was a traitor to the Celtic cause because he negotiated with the Anglo Saxon leaders to win his battles against rival Celtic chieftains, thus beginning the invasion of Britain by Anglo Saxons armies.

During his campaigns, he chose the site of Dinas Emrys to build his castle, secure on a hill top. Every day, his men would begin the foundation stones, only to have them knocked down again during the night. The king’s Druids were consulted, and they advised him that the only way to ensure the building of his tower was to sacrifice a boy, born of a virgin mother. The king sent his soldiers across Wales to find such a lad. The found a boy being taunted by other boys because he had no father, and learned that his mother was indeed, a nun, who had been impregnated by a demon.

The boy, Myrddin Emrys, was brought back to the king. Satisfied, he ordered the child butchered, and his remains spread on the site of the new tower. But Myrddin was unafraid, for he was a child wizard of great powers. He astonished the Druids by using his sight to tell them that under the proposed foundations was an underground pool, whose waters were disturbed by the battle of two dragons – one red and one white. He foretold how the white dragon represented the Saxons, and the red dragon the local Welsh. The soldiers were ordered to dig into the site, and sure enough – they came across a pool in which two dragons were fighting, one red and one white (see image: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/images/ianb01.htm). Myrddin also prophesied the defeat of Vortigern and the rise of the Pendragon. What he saw came to pass, and he himself ended up the chief counselor to the Pendragons. Ddraig Goch Y is the Welsh phase for the Red Dragon of Wales, their royal emblem.

Red Dragon – symbol of Wales

Mara led us on a meditation where we saw a tree half in blossom and half on fire. The tree morphed into the shape of the great wizard himself, Merlin (Myrddin in Welsh). He was in his Wild Man aspect, wearing a wolf skin – more shaman that wizard. We were at a sacred pool, and he offered us a chalice to drink from. In this we were to ask a gift from him. I asked for the gift of bardship and seership. He laughed and told me that those gifts were already mine.

We met our next guide, Eric Maddern, another modern version of the great wizard, Merlin.

Eric Maddern

We met at the foot of Dinas Emrys, and he led us through the rainy woods and up the sodden hill. There was mist all around us, and it was a truly magical experience!

Merlin’s Waterfall and pool near the base of Dinas Emrys

Merlin the skull, with the waterfall pouring into his head!

Gateway to a realm of magic

The magical woodlands of Dinas Emrys

Climbing the hill, Dinas Emrys

A natural basin or depression in the center of the hill, Dinas Emrys

The depression above may have been the site of an original encampment.

Merlin at a sacred natural altar

The ferny depression beyond this tree might have been a shallow pool at one time – site of the famous dragon fight? Or is that far under the hill?

Eric’s theory was that the Druids chose a nun (or Druidess) to wait at a sacred place in Carmarthen. A chosen man (a masked Druid), performed the magic rite with her, thus producing the sacred child, Merlin, who would play his part in saving the Welsh nation. Today, Carmarthen claims that Merlin was born in a cave, not far from the town.

Eric had another surprise for us. He invited us to visit his very special home, Cae Mabon, which was established to honor the legendary hero, Mabon.

Portal to Cae Mabon

Cae Mabon (Field of Mabon in Welsh) is named after a folk tale about Mabon, son of Modron. Eric was happy to tell us this seminal tale of the Great Mother from the Welsh Mabinogion.

Modron means mother, and probably refers to the Great Mother Goddess recognized by the ancient Celts. There are many mother and son deities through out the world, and even reflected in Christian stories – the iconic Mary and Jesus.

An unknown assailant kidnapped Madron’s only child, her son Mabon when he was three nights old (the magical number three). He went missing until years later, when Arthur’s knights sought him out to help them do battle with the great boar, Twrch Trwyth, so that Arthur’s knight Culhwch could marry Olwen, the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. The knights had to go from sacred animal to sacred animal until they finally learned the truth from the Salmon of Llyn Llyw – the salmon of wisdom. This salmon shows up often in the wisdom tales among the Celts.

Eric Maddern is a local storyteller and songwriter, artist (woodcarver) and founder of the retreat center, Cae Mabon, not far from the town of Llanberis, near Padarn Lake. Founded in 1989, it is known for its beautiful rural setting and the alternative, “low impact” architecture of the buildings. In 2008, Cae Mabon was named the number one natural building project in the United Kingdom.

To me Cae Mabon looked like a wonderful woodland hamlet, the buildings reminding me of those built by the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings, with a little Celtic magic thrown in. I wish we could have spent an overnight here, at the very least!

A settlement of charming houses in Cae Mabon

A wonderful hobbit like home in Cae Mabon

And outdoor wind chime in Cae Mabon

Wood carving in a tree, at Cae Mabon (carved by the multi-talented Eric)

Inside the dining building

Eric and friends served us a wonderful tea on this cold rainy day, scones and chocolate cake!

Then we warmed ourselves at a fire in the traditional Celtic round house where Eric regaled us with drumming and stories.

Celtic Round House – the main lodge

A nice warm fire inside the lodge

Eric drumming and storytelling

An arched path

Eric not only told us traditional tales, but the remarkable tale of how Cae Mabon came about, and the battles he had to fight to keep it going.

Since being recognized in 2008, as the number one natural building project in the United Kingdom, he was finally able to get the permits needed for this remarkable place, and Cae Mabon is no longer under threat of being dismantled or removed.

Everywhere I looked there were little touched of magic, and wonderful natural fairy places! Even on this cold, raining day, we could not help but venture out to explore.

Cae Mabon’s pool

With great reluctance, we had to leave the warm, comfortable lodge and return to the bus, and our journey back to Trigonos, comforted by the fact that they would be preparing another fantastic meal!

One last look back at Cae Mabon. On closer glance, the carving looked suspiciously like Eric himself.

A Welsh pony, near Cae Mabon

Resources:

Mara Freeman’s Celtic Tours: www.celticspiritjourneys.com/

Dinas Emrys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinas_Emrys

Cae Mabon: http://www.caemabon.co.uk/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cae_Mabon

Carmarthen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmarthen

Mabon ap Modron: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabon_ap_Modron

Mabinogion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion

Lodgings:

Trigonos Retreat Center: http://www.trigonos.org/

Camera:

Nikon Coolpix P100 (with 26 zoom)