The Stilled Pendulum No.14 Apologies for the delay, my request for more articles has met with a small response, and of course Hilary continues to support the Pendulum, (as a small response to some peoples unease there is no No.13), the saddest real news for us in the Ledbury area is the loss of the Whiteleaved Oak Tree, which even made the Midlands Today news, I hope that Eastnor will not wire off the area as that would be a pity, they are very generous with access and let us walk over most of the estate, there only, sensible request, is please take your dog mess home. We will be having a committee meeting soon, either a Zoom one or somewhere outside to discuss the way forward, especially with Autumn/Winter approaching. This edition’s articles are by Glan Jones, Hilary Boughton, and June Hancocks. A HOTEL IN CAREDIGION RESULTS This is the story of the Hotel as told to us by the Hotelier and local villager’s tales. The original building was a keeper’s cottage which belonged to the local large estate in the late 18th century. In the early 19th century it was converted into a Hunting Lodge by the estate owners and later in the century was enlarged into what we see today and developed into a hunting lodge come quest accommodation for the shooting parties. In the early 1900’s it was opened as a Hotel and has remained so until now. THE STORY My daughter met the Dog. Apparently this story goes back to the second half of the 19th century. The dog was owned by a guest of the estate and had been injured on the previous days shoot, and had been left in his master’s room to rest. Misfortune befell his master on the days shoot. He fell into a deep gulley in the woods and broke his neck. The dog never saw him again and we think he remains in the hotel room waiting for his master to return. BILLIARD ROOM and the BRIDGE. After a game of Billiards, a guest decided he would go for a walk in the gardens at the back of the Hotel. He had to cross a bridge going from the billiard room and then climb some wooden steps to the gardens on the hill behind the hotel. While he was there it began to rain and after sheltering from the worst of the downpour he made his way back to the steps to return to the billiard room, but the steps was old and had become slippery with the rain. On descending the steps his feet lost their grip and he fell from the steps and missed the bridge and fell into the passageway between the back of the hotel and the rocks. He had broken his neck. THE COLD ROOM A young lady was staying in the Hunting lodge on the eve of her Wedding. Her Bridegroom was a man many years older than herself (which was quite common in those days, money marrying money, to look after the wealth or even lack of, if the name carried prestige and breeding, even if both parties were willing or not. Ladies of titled and moneyed families quite often were told who they would marry.) This poor unfortunate soul who loved someone else could not face marriage with an old man whom she hardly knew and could not face the future, hanged herself from a beam in her room. June Hancocks Dowsing Old Churches By Glan Jones The distinctive - and sometimes unique - lines, features and patterns to be found in and around old churches make them a fascinating area for the dowser. Here we find a window into history, folklore and traditional practices, plus an apparently deliberate use of earth energies by early church builders. I define ‘old’ churches as those whose first construction took place in Norman or pre-Norman times. Churches and stone circles: My own initial dowsing interest many decades ago was in dowsing stone circles rather than churches. I learned then about the pattern of underground lines which formed the basis for the construction of such circles: two sizeable water lines always cross in the centre of the circle. These are not necessarily the same depth, nor do they necessarily cross at right angles, but the energy spiral which they create at the crossing spreads outwards in circular ripples. The outer edge of this spiral marks the position of the stones, which is why stone circles vary in size – the stronger the water flow, the larger the spiral generated and hence the larger the diameter of the circle. With usage, a third line known as a ‘church line’ would be attracted in which would have enhanced the spiritual nature of the site. (See church lines below). Amazingly, this same crossing pattern of lines can also be found in old churches (or in the original, oldest, part of a church later modified): on the central axis of the church will be a crossing of two water lines, one of which will always run straight up the central axis of the building. The second (and usually slightly smaller) water line will cross it from one side. At the crossing, an energy spiral will be created. In turn, this crossing will lie in the path of an energetic church line passing straight through the building. Ruling out coincidence, this suggests that either these churches were built on former stone circles, and/or that an arcane knowledge of siting sacred buildings in relation to underground water line crossings might still have existed into the 1100’s. A plan of the simple Saxon church of St. Lawrence in Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts, clearly shows the typical old church pattern of a straight (green) water line running down the axis of the building, crossed by a secondary water line. The crossing point is situated within the multi-banded church line passing through the building from the entrance door. (Sue Watts-C) Church fonts: One phenomenon in support of the persistence of an arcane knowledge of siting churches over water line intersections is that the fonts of old churches are sited right on the crossing of the two water lines, which thus generate an energy spiral up through the font. The effect of such a spiral on consciousness is to extend and open up the baby’s aura to the divine powers invoked by the priest at the baby’s baptism, thus strongly suggesting the position of the font was deliberately chosen with a knowledge of how to work with underground energies. DOWSING – SCIENCE OR OCCULT? By Hilary Boughton Part one. The word ‘occult’ conjures up images of the Devil and black magic. For the purposes of this article I’m referring to the dictionary definition of occult - mystical or supernatural phenomena beyond human understanding. There is no suggestion here that we are dealing with the dark forces (unless we choose to or we stumble upon them by accident!). Major General Jedyll Scott Elliot, a former British Society of Dowsers president, is quoted as saying, “What all of us are doing at this convention [the annual convention of the American Society of Dowsers] is witchcraft; in another age we could have been burned for it.” Is dowsing a straightforward phenomenon that can be explained by scientists, or is it an instrument of divination – a tool of witchcraft, magic, and sorcery? Scientists from the dowsing fraternity and from amongst the sceptics have, for many years, sought to explain how dowsing works. Some claim the movement of rods over an underground stream is caused by electromagnetic radiations, yet this cannot be proven. If we accept this as an explanation, how do we explain map dowsing where it would be impossible to pick up physical radiations emitted directly from a stream? Most dowsers would probably agree that we are connecting with an information field that is all around and that contains all knowledge. We do not need to fully understand this concept in order to accept its possible existence. The following points, written in italics, are those that have been made by other writers, in their attempt to classify dowsing as an occult practice. My thoughts are included after each of the points. Dowsers enter an altered state of consciousness when dowsing allowing them to focus on the subject in question. This can be compared to being in a trance. We are probably connecting to a source, whether you think of it as a divine source or simply an information source, and a better connection is likely to be achieved if we can remove other mental clutter before dowsing. This force is some sort of living power, though not ‘living’ in the physical sense that we would recognise. Dowsing may help a person to develop other psychic abilities, such as telepathy and clairvoyance. Although my dowsing abilities are limited, since practising the techniques, I have noticed that my general intuition has developed considerably. I often have a particular thought at a moment in time that I then dismiss. The next day, or soon after, my thought will come true. Be careful what you wish for! Concluding part of this article in the next edition .