The Veil Thins: Teutoburg Forest (Part 4)

 





Images: Equipment of a Germanic warrior, the large oak tree I saw, and two images of the dark forest on the Germanic side of the battle lines, or the Germanic Weg. Images taken by myself. 

It was around this time I checked my watch and saw that a little over an hour had passed. I was amazed; all of this surely had taken me no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes, or so I thought. It was as if, in the middle of these conversations, I felt nothing. I did not feel the passage of time, my legs getting tired, not even the cold of my limbs or the numbness of my face from it. I felt utterly as if I were in a dream, and time could pass quickly but I did not feel it. I was stationary, stuck in a moment in time, staring at a singular spot on the battlefield. It utterly engrossed me, enveloped me, whatever was happening to me.

I decided to walk back onto the Germanic Weg and follow that path, as I had not gone there yet. As I walked, however, I felt the presences around me, doing what I thought was almost impossible, feel even closer. It was like the more I interacted with them, the more sensitive I became. I felt nearly paranoid, as I could feel their eyes all watching me, walking around me. It was such a great feeling as I walked along on that path that I looked over my shoulder, turned around, a few times, as I was so sure I would see someone following me. I could feel the Roman soldiers, and some Germans too, treading near me. At one point, I stopped and reached out by the spirit and said, “If someone is here, you can show yourself.” Nothing happened; however, I felt the words enter my mind, the voice of a nameless man, “Come back alone, and we can show you more.” I was not entirely sure what that meant; however, I assumed it meant after the park was closed and no one else would be there. Unsure of what to do with that information, and feeling somewhat disconcerted, I continued on my walk.

I continued giving the invitation at multiple places, stopping periodically to do so. At one point, I was on a secondary trail again, near a large, very ancient-looking oak. One might hope it was a witness tree, as Oaks were sacred to the Germans then, holy trees admired by the popular god Wodanaz, or Odin in Norse parlance. I doubt it was, but I do wonder at its age. Here, in between the juvenile deciduous trees, I gave the invitation again. The response I got, I did not expect in the slightest.

A voice answered, but it was the voice of a woman. She answered my invitation. “I am…” Once again, I struggled to understand the name. I was not expecting a woman here. Why was she here? “I did not fight, but I was not far. I was the daughter of one of the men who fought here, and wife to another. I lingered not far in the forest to see the outcome of the battle. We were deathly afraid. Not just for our husbands, but that we would lose. The Romans would come; they would sell us and our children into slavery and burn our homes to the ground. I could not wait far away for the news. If I saw my husband die, I would rather die myself. I would never let them take me. I would fight back as hard as I could. That is what we fought for; we put everything out there. I met Arminius, walked with him through this patch of woods in preparation for the battle. Many of us were scared this would not work because we had not been able to defeat the Romans in a very long time. But he helped give us courage that it would work. We had to try.”

I was unsure how her spirit was there. Her voice was probably the weakest of the three, and I am unsure why. Perhaps she did not die here. Or maybe she did somehow. It was strange how the most discontent one came through the strongest. Her voice faded, and I did not really have the chance to ask more questions. I continued down the path; that interaction took me nearly 30 minutes. The sun was now setting.

I did not want to leave. I mean, of course, I had an interest in this place, but the spirit, the feelings, they were utterly magnetic. I almost felt a tingling in my body. The veil felt paper thin. I scarcely have ever had a feeling like this in my whole life. I could feel them all around me. At one point, as I walked back to the trail, I felt there was one staring at me from behind a tree. I’m not sure why, but he felt to be staring more than the others, almost like he wanted me to know he was staring. I cannot say precisely if he was Roman or German. But I felt him, incredibly strongly. I want to say he was Roman. It was so strong, I audibly and firmly said, “Please, show yourself, if you wish to be seen.” Nothing happened, and then in an instant, the feeling of his presence was gone.

I returned to the museum visitor center, got a book for myself and one for a friend, then left shortly before closing. It was nearly dark, as the sun sets early in wintertime Germany, and I got back to my car. I turned it on, readied myself to go home. I was tired, almost exhausted, but I felt as if I were on a spiritual high, unlike anything I had felt before. That is really the only way I could describe it. I felt it buoying me up. But this feeling, like something pulling at the back of my brain inside my skull, it’s like I had to go back. I needed to. Like an itch in my soul I couldn’t scratch. It was a four-hour drive, and I knew by the time I left I would not get back to my hotel until around 9:00 PM, and I was physically quite tired. I turned on the car and said to myself I was crazy, literally telling myself I am nuts. But the feeling persisted. I prayed in my heart to know what to do. I was watching the employees leave and drive home for the night. The lights turned off. Night overtook day. I felt a prompting that I could go home, get some early rest. Or, I could follow the prompting I received and see what awaited me in the forest. Accept that spirit’s invitation. The choice was mine to make.

An hour lost. An unexpected voice. An invitation from the unseen. The pull to return to the dark forest is undeniable. Follow the blog for the next installment to see what happens when I answer the call.

Location: 49565 Bramsche-Kalkriese, Germany

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