Caerdroia is a Welsh word meaning ‘the Castle of Turning’ or ‘the Labyrinth’. It also has a much more profound meaning, as to walk Caerdroia is to explore the place of one’s soul and the powerful energy of the solstices and the the turning of the sun.
The first Caerdroia took place in 2005 in the heart of Gwydyr Forest near Llanrwst, North Wales. On the East bank of the river Conwy lies an old Tudor Castle, Gwydyr, the Ancestral home of the Wynne family who hosted the balls that the Bishop of the Bath attended at Plas Mawr the town house of the Wynne family in Conwy. Gwydyr means glass in Welsh and can be associated with magic and revolving islands when used with the word Caer, so Caerdroia brought together the magic of both Gwydyr and the Labyrinth. A magical experience where people walked by the light of the sun, moon or stars to find hidden meanings.
Initially I volunteered myself to the organizer Iwan Brioch as a Storyteller. When I arrived at dusk at the Summer Solstice to participate I wondered what I had let myself in for, I parked by the Gwydyr Chapel Uchaf (Gwydyr Upper Chapel) at the bottom of the track and looked up at the dark eerie forest. I was collected from the car park and taken along the cycle track route through the middle of the forest, we drove up narrow avenues between densely planted conifers. The atmosphere was still with a sense of the sounds and smells of long forgotten farms which were demolished to make way for trees.
Eventually we arrived at a wooden hut where we were given ancient black costumes to wear. Iwan Brioch briefed me for the story I was to tell as I sat on a wooden bench by a demolished old farmhouse. I was asked to tell the tale of the people who had lived on the farm, and show the visitors exploring the Labyrinth (Seekers) old photographs of the harvest. As I told the sad tale of how the family was forced out from the land to make way for the forest I felt myself becoming older and wiser, spiritually changing into the Nain (Grandmother) of the family. It struck a sad cord in me as I too had a sense of loss thinking about my own family now gone and although our farm has not been demolished it no longer operates as a working farm.
Although due to work commitments I was unable to participate as a storyteller in the next Caerdroia I did visit it with the Celtic Cauldron group. We paid for our tickets and looked forward with anticipation to walking the mile of the labyrinth. I sensed I was about to go on a very important journey, and wondered what I would experience in the depths of the labyrinth. First we were driven up the mountain to the start of the Labyrinth inside an old wooden hut where we assembled and were asked by Mike (one of the organizers) to map our lives out on a piece of paper. We were not given much time for this as one by one we were called to open a door on the inside of the hut.
When my turn came I felt ready to explore the underworld but was rather taken aback by sliding down a steep shoot into pitch darkness and landing on top of a person who, without speaking, helped me up and led me through a dark tunnel. This experience showed me how important it can be to trust a guide, especially during such disorientating conditions.
Various strange experiences followed, like finding a large bran tub or lucky dip which contained gifts but when I put my hand inside I touched a live human head was shocking and I felt unprepared for such surprises. My mood lifted when I heard the beat of a drum followed by music. I danced in the dark to the music of the labyrinth musicians. The steps came naturally to me it was a though I had been there for many centuries, I felt I was beyond the bounds of time.
I continued my journey alone. Feeling my way along the velvety wall at the side of the path, eventually found a rope which guided me to a clearing. I emerged from the darkness into the dusk and was caressed by the receding light where night and day became one. Two smiling women in long black robes welcomed me and gestured for me to remove my shoes and walk a small grass maze. The ground felt cold and wet and I knew this was part of the experience I would not forget. When I had completed the maze I was taken to sit on a seat and one of the women washed my feet in warm water, this felt extraordinary as we were in the middle of nowhere. I wondered where they had got hot water from and realised that it was better not to think too much but to go with the flow. I felt protected and childlike as I sat and enjoyed being cared for. The next experience was also evocative of childhood as I was taken to a hammock and rocked to and fro, I heard a lullaby and a heart beat creating a sense of being in my Mother’s womb. I felt at peace and had a sense of birth and death being as one.
After a while I was led by one of the ladies in black to beautiful sculptures of giant shirts covered in moss. I continued alone along a path between trees and came to another clearing. This time I was fascinated by seeing and touching huge rush baskets containing sheep’s wool. Further along the path I came to a standing slate circle where a story teller sat and told tales of wonder from welsh mythology. Many childhood memories were evoked. I walked on and experienced a warm, comforting smell of baking. I was offered delicious Welsh cakes by a smiling happy man. I realised that the labyrinth was focussing on separate senses each one delving deep into my soul. Further down the hill I heard the sound of a cello. The Caerdroia was awakening and stimulating all my senses.
My last experience focussed on the sixth sense of intuition when I saw a cloaked figure standing by a pond in the distance in the rapidly fading light. I felt that I had travelled between the worlds and when the time of my death came I would follow the Great Reaper without fear.
Gwdihŵ © 2007