Exploring Ancient Pembrokeshire

A shamanic journey to Pentre Ifan*

The second week of our holiday in Wales June, Simon, Indi and I set off again, leaving Stepaside for a short hour and a half journey to a caravan site at Llanychaer near Fishguard. The caravan site was lovely and very peacefully with beautiful views over Cwm Gwaun. However June and Simon’s faces were not quite so lovely a picture as they approached the site and saw the hill they had to go down to get to it. Going down wasn’t a problem but they were right and had to call out a knight of the road from a local towing company to get them back up it in order to go home at the end of the week!

Tycanol ancient woodland

The first place June wanted to visit was Pentre Ifan. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, they turned off the road too soon and ended up at the beginning of a walk to Tycanol ancient woodland. Tycanol,one of the few remaining ancient woodlands in Wales, is representative of the type of forest that would have surrounded Pentre Ifan when the tomb was built around 3500 BCE.

These lucky sheep live in the tranquility of Tycanol

Tycanol is understandably wonderfully atmospheric and if you are fortunate enough to take a walk there yourself look out for one of its outstanding features, the variety of lichen. There are over 400 species of lichen many of which are rare, as well as of course many trees including ancient oak.

Pentre Ifan framing Carningli

Pentre Ifan itself has a huge capstone unbelievably balanced on three upright stones. This Bronze Age megalithic burial is surrounded by extensive views over the Nevern Valley. Turn one way and you can see the sea, turn the other way and you see the stones perfectly framing Carningli, Hill of Angels.

Carreg Coetan - 5 foot 5 inches tall to the capstone as proven by June (and Indi)!

A smaller Neolithic tomb, Carreg Coetan, can be found in the middle of a small private housing estate at Newport.

The Great Cross

Another visit on June’s list of ‘essentials’ was the Celtic Cross at the Church of St Brynach, an ancient church located in a wooded valley at Nevern. St Brynach was an Irish born Celtic monk who married the daughter of a Breconshire chieftan. Legend says St Bryach came to the Gwaun Valley and freed Pontfaen from evil spirits whose horrible howling had made the village uninhabitable. When he arrived in Nevern an angel told him a white sow would show him where to build his church.

Standing under a 'bleeding yew' in the rain

The tower of the church you can visit today is Norman but the remainder dates to around 1425 – 1525. The avenue leading to the church is ancient yew trees. These ‘bleeding yews’ were believed to shed blood and you can see why when you see the red sap dripping from the trees yourself!

Church of St Brynach

If you visit do go into the church itself to see the Maglocunus Stone which has an Ogham inscription in Goidelic, the Irish branch of the Celtic language then predominant in parts of Wales.  No dog's are allowed inside but as hedgehogs weren't mentioned I went in with June.  While you are in the church pick up a booklet (for a small donation) to make sure you don’t miss any of the other fascinating ancient features here. The Great Cross itself is very difficult to miss at 13 feet high. One of the most perfect specimens of Celtic Cross of its kind it dates from around the 10th or 11th century. Just before the Celtic Cross near the church porch is the bilingual Vitalianus Stone, believed to date from the 5th century – one of the oldest examples of this type of monument.

The Vitalianus Stone

Other features well worth looking out for include: the male mask on the wall near the Vitalianus stone; the incised stone believed to be a remnant of a vertical Latin inscription dating from the last years of the Roman occupation on the north wall of the church; and the Consecration Cross on the wall of the Glasdir Chapel.

We will definitely be going back to visit this beautiful area of Pembrokeshire again to explore all the areas of the Preseli Hills we didn't have time to see. In the meantime I am leaving June and Simon to work on creating the Summer edition of the Indie Shaman magazine while I hit the road again. Back soon to tell you all about where I am and what I am learning about!

Many blessings
Shaman Sham

p.s. * My title photo 'A shamanic journey to Pentre Ifan' is apropos and in appreciation of Kenn Day's book 'Dance of Stones: A Shamanic Road Trip'.  June reviewed it for the Indie Shaman magazine and highly recommended it so I'm reading it before I hit the road again for another shamanic road trip of my own.  

Stepaside

The sun is shining so I may help with some gardening again this weekend.  Last weekend when June was doing a bit of weeding she noticed that there were a good few empty snail shells lying around.  Simon said you could tell I was back!  

Waiting for my dinner in the caravan

But first a blog update about my lovely fortnight’s caravan holiday in Wales with June, Simon and Indi.  Indie is my adopted dog-sister.  Like me Indi was born in a rescue so we have a lot in common.  I was born at Secret World Wildlife Rescue and adopted by Indie Shaman in 2009 so I’m a couple of years older than Indi who was born in a foster home with Four Paws Animal Rescue and adopted by June and Simon.  Indi had her second birthday while we were on holiday but didn’t have a cake which was a bit disappointing, only a dog toy, but she did share some of her dog snacks and chicken with me.

 

 Comfy rock 'seat' at Amroth

For the first week we stayed at Millhouse Caravan Park which is in Stepaside near Saundersfoot.    If you are looking for a place to stay the site is very nice and quiet, nestled in a sheltered valley.  You can take a short but lovely walk from there through the woods to Wiseman’s Bridge which is what we did the day after we arrived. 

Amroth Beach

Stepaside is not very far from June’s Mum so I got to meet my adopted Grannie for the first time.  We met her every day and went out to the sea side.  The weather was a bit cold but the rain held off enough for us to go out nearly every afternoon.  I think my favourite place was Amroth, which means ‘on the brook called Rhath’. Amroth has a long sandy beach with lots of rock pools and wonderful views across the coast.  There is a handy pebble bank to the beach where you can find comfy large rocks to sit on if the sand is damp. 

 Petrified wood

Simon found tree stumps and petrified wood while walking Indi down to see the sea.  This is the remains of a petrified forest which grew during the Ice Age that archaeologist believe was destroyed when the sea levels rose over 7000 years ago. 

 Treated to lunch at the Pirates Cafe, Amroth.  The food is lovely!

Back soon with tales of my second week which included a visit to Pentre Ifan megalithic burial chamber and to see the 13 foot high Celtic Cross at Nevern.

In the meantime if you like competitions, the Indie Shaman Facebook page has a new one where you can enter for a chance to win a free year’s subscription to the new pdf version of the magazine. 

Many blessings

Sham

Hibernation

Hi everyone

Sorry about the large gap since my last blog. I decided after all my travels and learning about other things it was time to try hibernating and learn about being a British hedgehog.

Hedgehog hibernation depends on the weather conditions and begins when the temperature turns colder, usually around November to January, and ends around mid-March to early April. Our food, such as slugs, snails and caterpillars, is more difficult to find during this time so it makes sense to conserve our energy - during hibernation a hedgehog’s metabolism is almost at a standstill. If we live somewhere where it stays warm, or live indoors and there is enough food we don’t need to hibernate. So this is why I have never tried hibernating before as people tend to keep me warm and feed me cat food when slugs and snails aren’t available. I also like muesli and raisins very much (always worth telling people what you like to eat I think just in case you go to visit them).

Hedgehogs start looking for the best place to build a nest to hibernate in towards the end of autumn, liking under hedges, by the roots of trees and inside old rabbit burrows. Urban hedgehogs also like underneath sheds and inside compost heaps. Nests may look a bit messy and are made up of things like old leaves and grass. I admit I didn’t start looking until after Winter Solstice and then I didn’t have to look very far to find a nice comfy bed going spare. I didn’t bring in any old leaves as I didn’t think it would be appreciated and the quilt is much comfier.

When hedgehogs hibernate we become immobile, our body's temperature drops to around 10˚c, our heart rate decreases to only 20 beats per minute (as opposed to the usual approximate 190 beats per minute and we only breath once every few minutes.

I woke up a few times while I was hibernating. Once because Biscuit the cat moved into the bed while Judith was visiting so I moved back out into the doll’s cot for the night. The second time because it was my birthday and I didn’t want to miss out on any potential presents and party food. I did think about staying awake then as I gave June a hand with the new Books page on the Indie Shaman website but once I got back into bed the temptation to go back into hibernation and learn more from Grandmother Hedgehog was too much.


The third time I woke up was because Rochelle was here. Rochelle and June went on a Walk with Wolves and brought back my new friend, Laputa. He is only a young wolf so once Rochelle had gone I let him sleep with me as he still likes to sleep as part of the pack. (You can see some of the photos from the Walk with Wolves Day on June's Facebook)

Other hedgehogs also wake up fairly frequently for a day or two during their hibernation but rarely leave their nests. If the weather becomes too cold we tend to wake up and go and build another nest as it’s dangerous for us to get too cold. If you see a hedgehog wobbling, staggering or rocking it needs help as that is a sign of hypothermia - sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs are very susceptible to hypothermia. They may also look like they are sunbathing as they spread themselves out in the sun to try to get some heat. Hedgehogs with hypothermia can be helped by taking them indoors and putting them in a box with a well-wrapped hot water bottle underneath them. Don’t let the bottle get cold and ring a hedgehog rescue centre such as Secret World Wildlife Rescue or the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

I’m going to stay awake now. The spring edition of the Indie Shaman Magazine is due from Minuteman Press today. It’s got some great articles in it and some wonderful photographs by Rochelle, including some of wolves I want to show Laputa. Plus I’ve heard talk about a trip to Wales so I may see if I can smuggle myself into the caravan without anyone noticing.

Promise not to leave it so long to my next blog!
Many blessings
Shaman Sham

Solstice Blessings

Hi all

I just wanted to wish all my friends many blessings on Solstice or for Yule or Christmas ... whatever you personally are celebrating may your celebrations be wonderful!

There seems to be something interesting going on here with a pile of food and presents appearing. I wonder which one is for me? I do so love this time of year!

Many blessings to all Indie Shaman subscribers and customers; to all Indie Shaman Facebook friends and my personal Facebook friends.

Many blessings also and many thanks to all at Minuteman Press Bristol for looking after me so well during my visit and to everyone else I have visited over the past year.

And last but most certainly not least Many Blessings to all my friends who are reading this because they follow my blog.

As you can see I intend to take it easy over the holidays. I found a lovely little cot (it rocks you know!) that was made by June's Dad for her daughter's dolls when she was a little girl. So I have my own space all set up now with a bed as well as my chair - both are really comfy!

This evening we have candles lit all around the room for Solstice to help bring the light back. Not much light out there at the moment so maybe I should fetch a few more.

Happy Solstice everybody! And many bright blessings for the Coming Year!

Ezekiel
aka Shaman Sham the Wandering Hedgehog
(who is currently all wrapped up in the warm planning next year's adventures!)

Printing the magazine and protecting the environment

Now I’ve learned all about printing the Indie Shaman magazine with many thanks to everyone at Minuteman Press Bristol. It’s been fascinating watching their expertise at work and as I’m very nearly an expert now too I look forward to being able to advise June, the editor, when I get back home.

Here I am doing a post-press spot check of colours and print. All in order so on to the next stage.

When the print run is complete it’s time to collate, staple, fold and trim the edges.

All done! Just time to box the magazines. Oh, and what a great image on the front of this particular edition!

Just time for a chat with Peter about Minuteman Press’s all important environmental policy. Like Indie Shaman, Minuteman Press Bristol recognises that there is a great responsibility in printing magazines so they use only FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified paper. This means the paper is sourced from sustainable forests. A sustainable forest is one where felled trees are replaced by new trees. It will contain trees of all ages and care is also taken to ensure the safety of any wildlife there.

All the paper used by Minuteman Press Bristol is EU sourced as well as FSC certificated. Sourcing things as locally as possible helps carbon emissions – June told me that was important. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when people (I nearly said ‘we’ then but to be honest its people that do it not hedgehogs) burn fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used in transporting things to different places so it’s much better if you can source things locally or from as least far away as possible. In nature’s cycle carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants and trees, which is one reason sustainable forestry is so important. But the trees can’t keep up with the amount of carbon dioxide people produce which is why it’s equally important to think of the ‘carbon footprint’ of everything you do.

Peter told me that the inks they use for printing are vegetable based too. We then had an interesting talk about plastic bags because Minuteman won’t accept orders to print them and Indie Shaman don’t stock them. I don’t like plastic bags either as my cousin hedgehogs in the wild can get stuck in them when they are discarded as litter and suffocate or starve.

As a hedgehog it’s always good to know that some people care about things like the environment and plastic bags. Maybe one day all people will but possibly all people aren’t as wise as hedgehogs yet. Well we do pass down our wisdom through the generations and we are quite ancient animals having been around for about 15 million years!

Visiting Minuteman Press Bristol to find out how our Indie Shaman magazine is made

Hi everyone

I was very happy to hear that Peter Wise, Director of Minuteman Press Bristol, had said to June Kent on Twitter that they would be happy to have me visit them to learn all about printing magazines and to give a hand with printing the Indie Shaman Shamanic Lifestyle Magazine. Peter said they had a desk and seat and cardboard box with straw all ready for me!

Having written a couple of articles for the magazine about my adventures I was very excited to get the opportunity to learn all about how the magazine is produced. June, who is the editor of the magazine, says she likes Minuteman Press because they are local, helpful, friendly and very efficient. In fact I have heard her say that without their help there wouldn’t be an Indie Shaman Magazine as ‘she hadn’t a clue when she started’ and that would have be a great pity as the shamanic lifestyle magazine is pretty popular now! She also likes their ‘environmental policy’ as things like that are very important to Indie Shaman so I am hoping to talk to Peter about what this is and learn a bit more about it.

In the first photo above I am helping one of the graphic design team make sure that the latest edition of Indie Shaman looks crisp and clear and that the colours are as they should be.

After a final few adjustments and a paw to the start button the press roars into life. Yes I started the latest Indie Shaman print-run!

Hot off the press the latest run of Indie Shaman is expertly (following intensive training) supervised by me.

Here I am having a well earned lunch break shared with Tom, Peter’s son and Minuteman Press’s youngest employee. Peter said I do eat a lot of worms but I was happy to share Tom’s food too.

Its pretty tiring learning all about printing but I’ve been having great fun. Next I’m learning about post production checks, bindery and despatch so I’ll be back to blog about them and the all very important environmental policy soon.

In the meantime I've had a telephone call from June who said that she has been learning about Seidr Shamanism which sounds pretty interesting. If you would like to learn more about Seidr June is interviewing Runic John for the next edition of the magazine so send her any questions you have and she could include them in the interview! June can be contacted via Indie Shaman or I don't mind if you post any questions in the comments on here.

With many blessings

(and not very inky paws thanks to all at Minuteman Press!)

Ezekiel

Pagan Federation 40th Anniversary Event

Merry meet and bright blessings.

What a wonderful atmosphere there was at the Pagan Federation 40^th Anniversary Event last Saturday and what lovely people there were there. I met lots of new friends who all seemed very happy to meet me and hear about my travels.

I got my chair set up on the Indie Shaman stall straight away as I wanted to get a good position where I could see everyone. The stall was very busy with people being especially interested in the Magazine. We also sold out of some of the large Fair Trade shamanic drums so June has to get more soon! It was also lovely to meet a new member, Graeme, in person who joined up on the day.

Getting a hug from Mike

I was very pleased to get the opportunity to meet Mike Stygal and get a manly hug which was great after knowing him online for so long. It’s difficult to sum up all of Mike’s work in few words but he was there as one of the Pagan Federation’s event organizers and is also an interfaith champion extraordinaire, running among other things the Pagan Moot Forum. I don’t know how he fits it all in! Mike congratulated me on all my ‘ologies and said I must be a very wise hedgehog now. Made me blush to the end of my snout but I don’t think he noticed!

Our stall was opposite Rev. Rebecca D’arcy who runs an Interfaith Ministry and Spiritual Counselling service including Sacred Ceremonies. Judith spent quite a bit of time chatting to Rebecca about Egypt as Rebecca also runs off the beaten track tours with ‘A Passion for Egypt’. I told Rebecca that I would really like to go to Egypt and that I am a very experienced and well behaved traveller. Her partner Agi Angliolini came to talk to me so I told her as well. I have my paws firmly crossed!

Sitting with Neil's Hedgewitch

We were also fortunate enough to be opposite the very talented Neil Geddes-Ward’s stall. I rather liked the young lady in the painting I am sat by ‘Hedgewitch’ but June and Simon fell in love with the sketch of the woman with the sword on the wall behind me and had to bring a small print of her home.

Geraldine Beskin from Atlantis Bookshops came over to say hello to June. Judith brought a book from their stall which June wished she had brought too. June also fell in love with a bracelet from Runesmith which she had to buy so she could take it home. Just as well the Indie Shaman stall kept her busy for most of the time or she would have been bringing most of the contents of everyone else’s stall home!

A hug from Carrie

Then the very lovely Carrie Kirkpatrick came over to speak to me and asked if I would like to visit her and Liz on the Goddess Enchantment Stall. Lucky me because I got a hug from her too.

Very lucky me all round because I had a wonderful time, received lots of hugs and learned lots of interesting things from many interesting people. Many thanks to all involved for organising the event. I believe a lot of them went onto further celebrations on the Sunday but we had to travel back home. Maybe we can go to one again another year and next time I’ll get someone to take me to some of all the great sounding workshops and talks I missed!

Many blessings

Ezekiel