126 @ Thc Secret Life - of - Natureafter a scramble of several hundred feet up a rocky glen, Hodson came
out onto an open fell facing a huge crag; there he became aware "with
startling suddenness" of the presence of a great nature deva, "partly
within the hillside, which seemed to be in charge of that part of the
landscape."
Hodson's first impression was of a huge, brilliant, crinisonlike thing,
which fixed him with a pair of burning eyes, like a huge bat with a
human face, its wings outstretched over the mountainside. Seeing itself
observed, says Hodson, the deva flashed into what he assumed to be its
proper shape, about ten to twelve feet high, "its auric flow very beau-
tiful, swept back behind its body in wing-like sheets from the top of its
head to its feet, reaching back in graceful flowing lines."
The function of this splendid creature appeared to be to oversee the
evolution of the landscape, "its powerful vibrations having a quicken-
ing effect upon the animal, vegetable, mineral, and nature spirit life
within its sphere of influence." Hodson's own physical body thrilled for
hours afterward with the force of the contact and the rapport estab-
lished on that hillside.
Another sort of deva was spotted by Hodson on the shores of
Thirlmere, on the site of an old Roman colony known as "The City."
Three "lower level tree devas" were moving swiftly in an out of trees,
"continuously impressing their vibrations on their wards."And so great
was the power with which they moved, says Hodson, it produced the
psychic effect of a sound like the running of a well-tuned motor. He
found these devas' eyes preternaturally bright, looking more like cen-
ters of force than organs of vision.They were apparently incapable of
seeing to any distance, their consciousness seated at a higher level, their
awareness obtained by an inner sense rather than by sight.
Some of these tree spirits seemed to have associated closely with an
individual tree or a lesser group of trees and to remain stationary with
the charge or charges included within their auras. Others moved about
at the height of the topmost branches, from where they had "estab-
lished a powerful keynote for the auric vibration of the whole group
of trees, making their continued presence necessary for the mainte-
nance of the quickening, energizing force they induced." This force,