The Apple: QUIERT

Sink your awareness down into the earth. Become aware of your breathing. Enter a trance state (using usual breathing techniques…)

You find yourself standing at the foot of a large hill - all around you is darkness pierced only by the brilliant light of the stars… twinkling like jewels embroidered into the velvet cloak of the night sky above you.

By the light of the stars you can see that a path winds in a spiral about the hill. You move to the left and begin to walk along the path - ever twisting and spiralling to the left. You begin to feel the ground slope beneath your feet as you slowly walk the spiral path. Your awareness shifts with each turn as you sink deeper and deeper into trance.

You are aware moonlight growing brighter as you near the summit of the hill and you realise that the moon is rising to hang just above the hill itself. 

Bathed in the moonlight is a tall, ancient stone that stands in the centre of a flat plateau. The spiral path winds ever towards the stone in the centre, one half of which is in shadow, the other illuminated by the silver light of the moon.

Gradually you find yourself walking in a ever tightening spiral as you move closer and closer to the stone… always and ever moving to the left. At last you come face to face to with the towering and ancient weathered rock. By the light of the moon you see that there is an image carved upon its surface… A straight line runs from an inverted V at the base to the top of the stone. Halfway up the line you see five horizontal lines extending to the left. This is the Ogham Quiert - the Apple, carved into the single upthrust spur of living rock.

You feel the power awakening in the stone and sigil as the moon continues to rise. The Ogham stave glows and you run your hand along its length. You feel the energy tingle through you from the tips of your fingers to your feet upon the earth. Suddenly everything shifts and you find that you have passed through the stone into another realm. Mist envelopes you and you experience a moment of disorientation, but you can now feel the stone standing at your back. 

You start to move forward and the mist begins to swirl and shred away before you.  It is early morning and you find yourself walking along a path, it is cold and you can hear the crunch of frost under your feet. Mist still shrouds the edges of the path so that you can't really see what is on either side but you continue to move forwards.  Gradually the path begins to widen and you find yourself in a flat, circular area. The edges of the circle are still misty. 

At the centre of the circular area is a very old, gnarled apple tree, devoid of leaves, flowers and fruit. At the foot of the tree there rests a large wooden bowl. You can feel that this place is also at rest... it is calm and beautiful in an austere way, the old bare apple tree, the wooden bowl and the mist at the edge of the circle. 

Take off your clothes and leave them at the edge of the circle.

Sit down at the base of the tree with your back against the trunk. Rest the bowl in your lap. Sink your awareness down into the earth and into the tree itself. Feel for the life energy that sits waiting to waken the tree, the thrum of the earth. Feel the essence of the tree and connect to it. Feel the calm, the waiting, the potential. Feel the eternity of the cycle of death and rebirth of the seasons... and the beauty that is found within the cycle.

When you are in touch with the energies of the earth and of the tree, stand up and face the tree. Holding the bowl in your hands begin to sing to the tree... sing to it a song of awakening bringing the energies of the land... the energies of healing and new life into the song and into the tree. Begin to dance around the tree calling it gently into new growth. As you dance and sing you become aware of the tinkling sound of bells accompanying your song... they are in the distance... at the edge of your hearing, but they add to the power of your song.

Continue to dance and sing, weaving in the song of the bells... a silvery sound of life renewing.

As you whirl around the tree you begin to notice buds forming on the branches and new leaves begin to appear.  They unfold and the bright green buds begin to darken into spear shaped leaves... Smaller buds appear and delicate white flowers scent the air as they burst forth upon the branches. Your dance becomes faster and faster.
Your music wilder as you sing in the beauty of the apple.

You feel the energies begin to peak as the divine madness of the dance is near release.

Release the energies by stopping and holding the bowl up to tree. Feel the power flowing from you, channeled from the earth and your dance and song. The buds of flowers burst forth with small delicate fruit and all is at rest once more. You have awoken the tree. You feel the bowl becoming heavier in your hands and slowly you bring your hands down to the height of your solar plexus. You see the bowl is full of cider, fresh and heady with all the promise of health and vitality within.

Thank the tree for this gift and libate some of the liquid at the base of the tree. Then drink from the bowl yourself.
 
You feel calm and refreshed and healed. 

Reverently place the bowl back at the base of the tree. When you replace the bowl you hear the bells above you. 

Look up into the tree and you see that one of the branches has turned to silver and the small crab apples hanging from it are the delicate silver bells that guided you in your song. You reach up to touch the branch and it falls into your hands.

Again thank the tree for this gift. The silver branch is the symbol of the shaman and the bard and can be both light and heavy. 

Holding the branch in your hand you look around  and see that the mist has cleared from the edge of the circle. You are standing in the centre of a large grove of apple trees. Sheltering under the branches of these trees is a animal. Look amongst the leaves and branches for it. This animal will be your guide in the otherworld.

When you have spotted your guide... shake the branch and the delicate rippling sound of bells fills the air once more. The animal moves around the clearing to another path that leads through the grove of apple trees. 

You understand that it wants you to follow it. The animal leads you along the path between the trees. Eventually you come to another large apple tree... this one is heavy with fruit and its branches almost touch the ground. There is room underneath it for true shelter.

The apple represents the path of the spiritual warrior but it also encourages rest and recuperation. It teaches the time for stillness and the time to fight, it is balance. There is a time to take shelter and a time to wield the power. 

Crawl under the shelter of the tree and think about this. Ask questions of your guide if you wish... or look at the animal itself and see what you can learn from it about stillness and the warrior, about beauty and eternity. There is joy, healing and rest within branches and shelter of the apple.

When you are ready ask your animal guide to lead you back along the path to the circle. Crawl out from under the tree and make your way back along the path.

When you arrive back at the circle thank your guide for aiding you. Farewell the animal with the sound of bells from the silver branch.

You see the animal move back into the grove of the trees where it becomes hidden from view once more.

Go to tree in the centre of the circle. Place the branch across the bowl. You feel rested and renewed.

Go to the path that leads to the standing stone. Take up your clothes and put them on. Make your way down the path back to the standing stone.

When you arrive back at the Stone you see it now bears a spiral marking. Begin to trace the spiral as it twists to the right. You become aware of mist forming around you once more and again a feeling of disorientation. 

As the mist begins to clear you find that you are once again standing upon the hillside under the fading light of the setting moon. By the light of the stars you begin to walk the spiral path out from the centre, ever moving to the right. You begin to feel the path sloping downwards as you tread the spiral path around the hill. As you walk you feel yourself becoming heavier and heavier, you begin to be aware of other sounds…. Slowly you reach the bottom of the hill and sit at its base. You become aware of the feel of your body, the shape of your skin and your breath. You feel the blood flowing through your veins . You become aware of the sounds around you… 

When you are back… open your eyes.