Last year as winter moved into spring, I disturbed a local shaman mid practice just around the corner from where I live under the castle in Brno. I followed his activities capturing photographs of his intricate designs on full display to anyone who might stop for a moment and notice them. I really wanted to meet this man and ask him a bit about what he was doing but the activities ceased suddenly in late spring. The encounter with this shaman, resulted in the book – Chasing the Shaman and its follow up Chasing Dragon’s in Moravia.

Since then, I have kept my eyes open for any further sign of his activities. March 1st is traditionally the day that Vesna, the goddess of Spring, is first welcomed. At the Spring Equinox, her arrival is complete and Morana, goddess of winter, is defeated. So, on March 2nd, in the same spot, I came across a number of things that I think may be down to the shaman celebrating the arrival of Vesna.

I have been mapping these energy lines around the castle and way out into the city of Brno. Me and my dowsing rods. Hours of walking, checking and mapping. I’m still no where near like finished. But as these lines emerge and as I discover them passing through churches – directly down their aisles – and then find memorial crosses and children’s playgrounds decorated with carved Slavic designs on these lines, I have to ask…… how?

One line I am mapping passes directly through three churches. All the churches are modern! Built in the last 80 years or so. So how did they site these churches on these energy lines that I dowse? I do not yet know.

Do the lines even exist? Are they real? Am I imagining the dowsing rods crossing?

So last weekend, I took a friend and we walked around the Castle. Periodically, I had him dowse and area with his rods and every single time, he found the same line I had – broader and wider even than I had.

And so I will continue mapping the lines in Brno….

Won’t you join me?

Words from Sue….

One of the things I do these days is try to connect with the land but what does that mean? Well…. it’s really about getting out into nature and following a whim. I usually try to chose places where there is a link to the Slavs or Celts or, failing that, Templars. Also, monoliths, stone circles, natural places of energy like Macocha, or say, Holy Hill in Mikulov. I tend to approach these visits with a sense of curiosity and of wanting to find the magical or spiritual energies of the place so I may take my dowsing rods and I may meditate or even engage in a small ritual. In the end, we are often guided by synchronicities.

The idea of connecting with the lands isn’t mine. I borrowed it from a close friend and her partner after they took me around a bunch of places in the UK. She told me to connect with the land here in Czechia and see what happens. I did and a lot happened that I have blogged and written about. But, let Sue tell you what connecting with the land means in her own words….

Writing about the experience wasn’t my idea originally either but Sue and Stuarts, and I can recommend their trilogy of books to get started (Triad of Albion) to get a feel for what it is all about!

And if this interests you, then please do get in touch and joins us in connecting with the land ([email protected]).

With this website now activated and a Facebook group/page set up, this group is now active. Anyone who may be interested please do email us at [email protected] for further information.

The general idea is to keep this a relatively informal group – you participate if you want to in whatever activities you want to. There is no ‘membership’ per se. However, having said that, anyone who wishes to take a some magical instruction – either beginners or more experienced folk, will need to follow some basic rules. These will be communicated at the time of inquiry regarding the courses.

We are very keen to start having trips into the landscape as soon as this is permitted again to explore the land and the magic of the land. These will be day trips or even weekend trips and there may be a small participation fee just to help defray any expenses. Some examples may be as follows;

• An exploration of the Slavic past of Hostÿn,
• A trip to Holy Hill in Mikulov to feel the Earth Energies there and explore the site,
• A trip to TempleÅ¡tejn and an exploration of the Templars influence on that region,
• Or, just a wander around Å pilbirk dowsing the energy lines there.

Stay posted for further details.

The area north and east of Brno is formed by the Moravia karst – a limestone landscape and natural park of considerable beauty and filled with attractions. Today, I went to the tiny hamlet of Holštejn. A remote village at the end of a dead end road in the middle of nowhere about 35km outside of Brno (see map).

There on top of a limestone hill with two sheer sides is the ruins of HolÅ¡tejn Castle. Built in or around 1278 by Hartman, the son of Crha of Ceblovice. Sometime around 1320, it is purchased by Vok of Sovinec and just four generations later, it is owned by Hynek from ValdÅ¡tejn, Půta from Sovince and DobeÅ¡ ÄŒernohorský from Boskovice. In 1493, HolÅ¡tejn bought Hynek from Popůvek, after his death in 1528 the estate was inherited by his daughter Markéta. In 1531, the castle is listed as desolate.  The Castle ruins are directly above a large limestone cave called the Hladomorna cave (famine Cave). It was bricked up in the middle ages but was connected to the castle.

As with many locations in these lands, the cave is associated with some interesting tales. One revolves around a buried treasure guarded by a black man who lives in the cave. There is also another legend that one of the Vok’s (IV) fell for the charms of a nearby maiden and not able to win her over with gifts, took her and her Mother by force of arms. He imprisoned the Mother in the cave and would only release her if Agnes would marry him. Unfortunately, Agnes’ Mother died of starvation and Vok had to go off to war. Agnes was rescued and Vok met a nasty end in battle. Interesting, a local historian of an earlier era states that the black man is actually a red woman! Perhaps the ghost of the poor lady who was starved there? Indeed, the Vok’s were not very nice people it seems and they routinely held travelers for ransom and imprisoned them in the walled up cave.

Whatever the history and legends, I felt an energy there and next time I visit, I will take my dowsing rods. It seemed to me to be an idyllic place for meditation and working with the Goddess Živa (due to the stream) and I sensed no evil presence in the cave or area of the Castle. Behind the limestone hill on which the Castle stands is a beautiful stream that when I was there was full of water due to melting snow. It bends around and eventually disappears underground. The area is full of underground rivers, stream and caves of course and I believe the water comes back to the surface again at the nearby Macocha cave. The Macocha cave area is reputedly the site of a dragon and therefore I believe strong Earth energies. The area behind the Castle and to one side of the stream seemed to me to be a very peaceful and strong energy area.