One topic that has continually interested me since I began my in-depth practice and study of Feng Shui has been sacred sites, both man-made and natural. This past summer I read the book “Celtic Sacred Landscapes” by Nigel Pennick and was fascinated by the accounts of how druids used sacred trees, rocks, caves, mountains and other geographical features as places of worship and ritual, and by the mystical qualities associated with these sacred sites. I mentioned the book to a friend, telling her I planned to someday visit the British isles to see some of these historic places in person. “Why don’t you start out with the ones around here?” she responded.
I asked her to elaborate further, and she recounted her experience visiting a “druid cave” located near a spiritual retreat in a nearby hilltown. She showed me the book “America B.C.” by Harvard professor Barry Fell, which purports to document the existence of Bronze Age relics from Pre-Columbian Celtic settlers of the new world, primarily in New England and New York state, based partially on translations of Ogham writing found at stone structures throughout the Northeast. My friend, a highly gifted and sensitive energy healer, told me the structures possessed very strong metaphysical energy and that she had visited several around New England.
I began reading Fell’s book as well as researching the topic on-line, and came across another book on the subject (which can be read online), “Celtic Mysteries: Windows to Another Dimension in America’s Northeast” by Philip Imbrogno and Marianne Horrigan. Although somewhat sensationalistic, this volume provided me with more information on the structures, the metaphysical phenomena associated with them and their possible Celtic/druidic origins. It also mentioned the specific cave my friend had told me about, and one other located nearby.
Given my interest in sacred sites, heightened by my recent trip to China where I visited many historic temples and holy mountains, an in-person visit to the “Monk’s Cave”-so called by locals because of a rumor that it was built by an Irish monk in the seventh century AD-was inevitable. I called the retreat and asked the person who answered if she could give me directions to the structure, which she did.
On a Sunday afternoon I set out for the cave by myself. It was about a 20 mile drive from my home. Once I got there, finding the cave was easy. Trees grew around the entrance giving it a picturesque quality. I noticed some green beans left at the entrance as an apparent spiritual offering. I climbed through the entrance, backing in (It was small enough that I had to crawl through, although once inside it was possible to stand up). Even in broad daylight, I felt a little bit of a chill go down my spine-I remembered the accounts of ghostly happenings around these chambers which seemed commonplace. A stone slab had been positioned on the floor of the cave and I sit down there, beginning to enter a meditative state by focusing on my breath and the sound it made.
I went deeper into the moment and began toning, starting with the sound “Om”, my voice echoing off the walls. After a few minutes I began to make more primal, emotive sounds. After a few more minutes a feeling of intense joy and freedom came, moving me to tears. I had practiced toning and chanting many times before but had never felt such a deep release. It was as if the energy of the place was pulling my blockages out of me.
On a somewhat humorous note, after my emotional exhilaration had smoothed out but while I was still chanting I apparently (unintentionally) frightened away some local teenagers who had come to see the cave but quickly left the area after hearing “a noise from the cave!”.
After leaving the cave I walked around at the retreat (up the mountain from the cave) and met someone working there who told me about a Native American who comes to the cave for 3 or 4 day meditation retreats and says the cave has a long history of use by native shamans. He also gave me directions to the second cave in the area, but since I was short on time and it was located in the deep woods I was unable to find it (hopefully I will some day).
Two or three months passed since then, but I knew I’d be visiting the cave again. After taking a yoga class at a home nearby the chamber, I realized I could visit the “Monk’s Cave” after class. My energy channels would be open then, an ideal time for deep meditation. I decided to go after the next class.
My teacher pushed her students especially hard in the class that evening, so I was feeling highly energized when I left (it was about 11:30 PM by then). The cave was a fifteen minute drive from there. The first thing I did was take several photos, two of which I’ve included here:
I put my camera back in my car and put a pair of gloves on (it was a cold night). As I approached the cave, alone, I felt some apprehension. I had felt that whole day like I was being spiritually tested, and that I needed to keep my thoughts very pure. I stood in front of the entrance, feeling the energy. The whole area around the mountain had high levels of metaphysical activity-the retreat was built there because of the strong energy-and the cave especially sizzled. The trees growing around it felt overwhelmingly alive and sentient. I tentatively eased my way in the entrance and sat down. I listened to every sound I could hear. The forest was very quiet. I began meditating, but it was hard to quiet my thoughts, the feeling of spiritual movement around me was so intense. I toned for a few minutes, then pulled the stone I had brought with me-taken from another high-energy outdoor site in the area-and placed it in the wall of the cave. I took a pebble from the floor of the cave to replace it in my collection (stones become charged with the energy of the place where they are found).
I placed one hand on the ground, and felt suddenly connected all the way to the center of the earth. I could feel the heart of the earth, something I’d never experienced before. I believe the cave may be built on a positive earth vortex, where two earth energy lines meet at a 90 degree angle. From my study of dowsing I know that many sacred sites such as the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge were built in such locations.
I stood up and let the top of my head (crown chakra) touch the top of the cave. I received some intuitive messages about other people who used the cave, including the Native American I had heard about earlier. When I left the cave I stood at the top of the hill, looking around at the forest. The moon was almost full and I could clearly see different-colored energies swirling around me.
I hope someday to research the history of these structures more, and I definitely plan on visiting more of them. If you would like more information feel free to contact me
Interesting sidenote-When I was searching the internet for references to the cave I came across a geo-caching site used by people who search for different locations using GPS coordinates. Almost universally it seemed that the posters on the site reported that their GPS devices “went crazy” as they neared the cave
