BSD Conference 2008

[Grahame Gardner]

Sticks .......and Stones
The BSD Conference
26 to 28 September 2008
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Glos, GL 7 6JS

This conference, the high point of our year, celebrates 75 years of the BSD and builds on the highly successful 2007 event.
The conference is open to all-comers, however there is a £25 surcharge for non-BSD members (which, amazingly, is also the price of your first year's membership, so why not join at the same time?)

An exciting mix of lectures, practical workshops, outings and presentations is complemented by our new ˜Dowsing Fair', with an exhibition of all aspects of The Society, Dowsing and a Gallery of artwork. Our acclaimed BSD shop for tools & books will be on hand, new books will be launched and ˜Meet the Author' book signings will occur.

Whether you come for just one day or the whole weekend, there will be plenty of opportunities to try out new ideas, meet and make friends, and be stimulated by lectures from leading speakers.

Our theme, ˜Sticks and Stones', harmonises the twin aspects of our dowsing tools (rod and pendulum) with the landscape in which we use them, whether wild or managed. We travel in time, through rhythms in nature, to the many and various standing stones of Britain and Ireland. We look at Stonehenge as a place of healing and discuss dowsing, what it is and how it can stimulate changed perceptions... and there's more! To celebrate 75 years of BSD, a Party takes place on Saturday evening.
The Royal Agricultural College, a much loved venue in the heart of the Cotswolds, is easily reached by train and car, with plenty of parking, comfortable en suite bedrooms and a reputation for good food.

Speakers include Dr Serena Roney Dougal, Professor Timothy Darvill, Dr Clive Beale, Hamish Miller, Michael Bott.

For full details see the main website

[Ian Pegler]

Wow, that does look good.

Ian

[Ian Pegler]

It starts tomorrow !

Don't forget your camera, compass, GPS device, L-rods, pendulum, mager disc, funny wiggly device you bought there last year, etc.

Take lots of snaps and send any good 'uns into the office so we can use them for the Conference Report in the December edition of Dowsing Today.

Remember to have fun, it looks like we're going to have good weather.

Happy 75th, BSD...

Ian

[Rory]

Just come back from Sunday at the Conference and have to tell you all what a great day it was. Really well organised, lovely people and some excellent lectures.
Thanks to all of you who helped put on the day.

[Geoff Stuttaford]

Seconded.....in Spades !

Geoff

[Grahame Gardner]

Yes indeed, a most excellent weekend, and a worthy celebration of the BSD's 75th anniversary. Many wonderful memories - one of my favourites was confronting two beautiful young ladies in party frocks who were lost and looking for the wedding reception, only to be surrounded by dozens of people in silly hats as we all returned from setting off the paper lanterns. I'd love to know what was going through their minds as they saw all these strange people appearing out of the darkness!

Here are a few images:
Dr. Serena Roney-Dougal in full flow:


What an inspirational speaker, and I thought her topic title 'Where Science and Magic Meet' was a perfect description of dowsing.

The one successful aerial shot of the Rose Labyrinth specially designed and constructed by Maria Hayden and myself that I managed to get - this after several attempts with the camera on 10-second delay taped to the end of a very wobbly tent pole:


A close up of the labyrinth goal:


The labyrinth in night-time 'fire mode' - note that I didn't use a starburst filter on this:


I have a few more interesting 'orb' shots that I'll post on the orbs thread.

Incalculable thanks and brownie points are due to all concerned. A lot of people worked incredibly hard to make sure everything went as smoothly as it did, and I'm sure you'll agree it showed in the final product.
Now - where do we fancy going next year...?

[Satyr]

I love the triquetra in the middle of the labyrinth. Very cool....

[Ian Pegler]

Here are this year's award winners:

BSD Merit Award - Ian Pegler
The Bell Award - Nigel Twinn
The BSD Award - Eleanor Burke
The Roy Talbot Award - Aaron Bray
The Pogson Cup - Hamish Miller

and last but by no means least...

Best dowsing-inspired hat - Elspeth Winkler

The awards were presented at the BSD AGM on Sunday 28th Sept. 2008.

Ian

[Vapour Trail]

I'd like to thank the staff of BSD who organised the event for making us feel so welcome and remaining upbeat to everyone they encountered. It made the travelling from up North worthwhile. A special thanks to Helen Lamb for making every effort to get us there and for her helpful recommendations all through the day. That's the kind of dedication and effort that keeps societies going.

Both my friend Kal and I enjoyed Serena Roney-Dougal's lecture "Where Science and Magic Meet" tremendously. It was inspiring and hugely informative. We must have spent the whole lecture nodding in agreement, and marvelling at how well she pulled a wide range of topics together into a cogent and coherent lecture.

We hope that you have many more such intriguing speakers at future events.

Chris McDermott.
http://www.hedgedruid.co.uk

[Ian Pegler]

Many thanks for your kind comments Chris. I have forwarded your
post on to the office.

cheers

Ian

[Grahame Gardner]

From Hedgedruid blog:

In one of the quads they had laid out a maze using coloured ribbons - the purpose of this escaped both Gwas and I.

What can I say, Chris - you should have come on one of the labyrinth workshops!
Your comments on the labyrinth are interesting, coming as they do from a completely external perspective - however had you done the workshop you would have understood why things were the way that they were when you found it.
Let me just comment on a couple of your points if I may -
Labyrinths are highly interactive spaces where dowsing is concerned and their energy manifestation changes the more people work with the pattern. See The Geomancy Group section on labyrinths for more information.

The central 'rose' (indeed the entire labyrinth) was not laid out to map an energy manifestation, it was purely geometric and decorative when we laid it. However, as you found, the labyrinth does resonate with that and after some use produces a matching energy field. There was also a very strong vortex in there by the end of the weekend. Whilst it is possible to 'invoke' a labyrinth and lay it out by dowsing the positions of the walls, this one was specifically designed to be of a more formal layout.

The centre was positioned on the crossing of a water vein and an energy line (ideally we would normally use a blind spring, but that was needed for the water dowsing workshops) and was geomantically activated the night before by 'Drawing Down the North'. The position of the centre was confirmed by three dowsers. The orientation of the labyrinth was not astronomically aligned due to the poor sight lines around the quad; instead we aligned it to the large tree in the far corner which we felt was the most active presence in the area. However, it was in the general direction of midwinter sunrise.

The three-fold geometry in the centre was specially designed for this occasion; chosen partly to reflect 75 years of the BSD, partly for the more obvious lunar/triple Goddess symbolism, and partly as a reference to the six-fold petals of the Chartres labyrinth pattern.

The pot of water had a mirror at the bottom, into which all who walk the labyrinth should look, to find that the 'Minotaur' in the centre of the labyrinth is really their own reflection - their shadow self. The shards of coloured glass and the water symbolise how difficult it can be to connect with this part of our psyches as the image is distorted and coloured by our own emotional attachments and perceptions.

Oh - and the roses were part of a private ceremony that took place late the night before to mark the recent passing of a very dear friend, Maryrose Price (a member of both BSD and The Geomancy Group), who loved roses, colours, and labyrinths. We did remove them for the afternoon workshop...

[Vapour Trail]

Grahame,

Thank you for the detailed explanation. It was actually my friend Kal who blogged that particular line that you quoted, but nevertheless I was curious as to the purpose and symbolism of the various elements too.

I found it interesting that you thought the trees near the corner of the quad that housed the labyrinth were the most energetic, as both Kal and I convened around them during the intervals between workshops. Perhaps we should have split up, then one of us could have chosen the labyrinth lecture too, as it sounds very intriguing.

It was also satisfying to hear that we weren't far off with our findings either. We were rather puzzled as to the link between the energies and the laid-out pattern. Now we know! It's all grist to the mill.

Thanks,
Chris.

[Dragon]

May I thank Grahame and Maria for the wonderful labyrinth. The centre and the coloured ribbons were an inspired addition. Having laid out a few myself I know the work that goes into them. I watched on Friday as it was done, and would have loved to lend a hand, but at that time I was unable to do so.
I walked it several times on my own, the final time late Saturday night whilst the candles still marked it and by then it had turned into quite a special place.
The workshop I attended with Grahame and Maria on Sunday afternoon was far to short - curtailed by our new presidents necessity to be at the final meeting!! It was a very enlightening experience, the energies the labyrinth had acquired were by then quite strong, leaving me rather spaced out to drive home!!
Many thanks to all at the BSD for a great weekend.

I send all fellow dowsers my best wishes for a happy and peaceful Equinox, Midwinter, Christmas and the coming year

Annie