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Enchant Your Druidism!

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2013 | 17 Comments »

My friend and fellow ADFer, Victoria, had an excellent question for one of the ADF e-lists today.  Feeling secure in ADF’s scholarly approach, she was looking for a way to add enchantment and whimsy to her personal practice.  Somehow, the “magic” had fallen to the wayside through her reading and community building within ADF itself.

Druidism can be quite intellectual.  You spend a lot of time reading history, mythology, anthropology, maybe some philosophy, and science.  If you join a Druidic organization, you’ll probably find yourself writing to complete one of various study programs or to contribute to a publication.  If you’re lucky enough to attend a festival or grove gathering, you might find yourself sitting around a fire with other Druids, debating the nature of the cosmos.

Just don’t get too caught up in that!  Yes, the scholarly approach of Druidism is a huge draw to me.  Yes, it’s important as it provides us with a real grounding in our hearth cultures and the lessons of the past.   However, if you don’t balance it with some inspiration and some hands on experience, you’re likely to experience a sense of let-down, a disconnect from the spiritual, or, worse, the reputation as someone who is all talk and no walk!

For me, Druidism came alive when I started to experiment with Ian Corrigan’s Nine Moons system.  Although I have yet to finish it and plan to start again when life isn’t as crazy, it’s an approach that had me working with the spirits each day.  I didn’t feel so connected until I started to do that…  It demanded that I nurture my novice meditation and trance skills through practical experience and practice.  It got me making frequent, if not daily, offerings.  It had me spending hours in the forest…

And truly, you don’t need the Nine Moons system to do any of that!  You just need the self discipline to sit down, to quiet your mind, to make offerings, to express gratitude, and to go outside and just be…  listen…

Taking the time to sit outdoors truly opened up my senses.  The Nature Spirits, as they are, started to reveal themselves to me.  There are the flesh, blood, and bark beings we are used to.  We know they are there, but we can take them for granted.  I started to notice more, to experience more.  Bones began to appear; fungi I hadn’t ever noticed before revealed itself to me; I saw wild animals in person I had never encountered outside of a zoo.  It’s been a humbling, deeply gratifying experience to feel that I am forming a relationship with the land – especially after moving here and feeling like a bit of a stranger. And the unseen nature spirits…  they too make themselves known, but in subtle ways.  Sometimes terrifying ways as they are often mischievous.  You have to be ready for that, especially in the more wild places.  You have to work to maintain a level head – perhaps even listen and do when you are told to GO.  Perhaps make an offering to show kindness, or learn about the old protective charms and amulets…   And for goodness’ sake – take care of the Earth!  Pick up trash, join/support conservationist organizations (don’t overlook the local orgs that exist in your region!), plant trees, and advocate for the land you love.  It goes a long way towards empowering you, the land spirits, and your relationship with them.   Perhaps that doesn’t sound terribly spiritual, but such experiences can be transformative for Earth-centered Pagans – just ask Starhawk!  The journey is never done and I will always be learning – but I had to take the first steps!
Which brings me to a recent revelation.  ADF is my spiritual community.  I’ve found it difficult to relate well to most other Pagan groups because their approach isn’t as harmonious in scholarship and inspiration.  ADF groves are places I can go to comfortably worship the Old Gods in the way that feels most natural to me with others.  I love the chance to celebrate, grow, and socialize with ADFers.  And yet…  the greatest chunk of my spirituality, the greatest growth, has always been what I’ve experienced on my own at my altar or in the forest.  Whether or not you’re in a grove or even a bigger Druidic organization, you are always a solitary in some way.  And you must be! Only you can commune with the spirit realm on behalf of yourself. Are there others out there with more experience than you?  Yes, there always will be – it’s just a fact of life.  Perhaps they are better skilled to help you in some ways (a lot of spirit work appears to take years of experience), but if you want to grow in your own Druidism, you at least have to try and take the baby steps on your own.  Learn from others, heed the advice of those more experienced (provided they demonstrate integrity) – but don’t ever give up on your own.  If you have to take a step back for awhile, it’s never too late to come forward and pick it back up, review, and resume.

If you are like my friend, and are looking for the whimsy in Druidism, then I encourage you to go out and find it – or make it!  Embracing the magic of your hobbies is an excellent way to start.  Approach making meals as kitchen magic.  See sewing, crochet, spinning, painting, weaving, sculpting, leatherwork, smithcraft, dance, song writing, poetry, etc as the magical practices they already are!  Pray to an appropriate deity or spirit before beginning a hobby and always thank him/her/it for the help and inspiration!  Talk to your houseplants, view their care as part of a magical relationship, and thank them when you harvest.  Pray before eating, traveling, sleeping…  Yes!  Pray!  It’s not just for monotheists!

Finally, stop worrying so much.  Enchantment exists everywhere but you have to stop and see it – experience it!  Sometimes, as in forming bonds with the land, it takes time.  Others it’s right there to be had!  It’s as simple as brewing a cup of tea and whispering your words…  It’s as easy as pouring an offering in the light of the moon… It’s as electrifying as stepping beyond the hedge after sunset…  It’s as satisfying as dancing around a fire, even if that fire is only a little candle in your bedroom.  Put your anxiety aside, dress yourself with a smile, and dance like the wild child you always wanted to be!

Allow yourself to be enchanted!  The growth will come in time.

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Pregnant Pagan: The Sacrifice of Self

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 20, 2013 | 13 Comments »

When we decided to try having a baby, my husband and I were well aware of the fact that doing so would mean putting some of ourselves aside (at least for a little while).  We must re-prioritize how we spend our excess money and time.  Traveling will be a little difficult for a few years.  Spontaneous nights out at the movies will stop until the little one is old enough to come along (here’s hoping there are some good children’s movies in the making!).  I’d like to think I’ll still be able to do the crafting I like, but even now my energy levels aren’t what they usually were. Any sewing or fiber work I’ve done has been for the baby or my future niece (although I did take time to make my friend Corinne a pair of owl earrings).  I don’t see that changing any time soon.  My desire to vend has vanished for the time being. I’m planning to “close” my certificate of authority allowing me to sell at craft fairs.  I will probably make more pieces to put in the ADF store or other local shops in the area, but I’m no longer taking consignments.  Any free time I have to craft, I intend to spend it expressing myself just how I want, making things for the protogrove, or for my baby.

A fellow blogger, Octopusdance, wrote about “Pagan Monasticism” the other day and it got me thinking.  I remember a younger me wishing I could just go away from the rest of society and focus intently on my spiritual path.  I would spend my time in a self-sufficient community of like-minded individuals.  We would grow and prepare our own food, tend a garden sanctuary to the Nature Spirits, make our own tools, teach each other our specialties, commune with the Spirit World, meditate, and study.  And of course, nights would be spent around the fire telling stories, singing songs, and drinking our own homemade meads, ales, and wines.

What a dream, right?  Now, initially I was thinking of such places as child and spouse-free because, let’s face it, family creates distraction.   Monastic life couldn’t be for me, at least not in this life.

Then something dawned on me.  I was thinking of a deeply spiritual life through the lens of Christianity and Buddhism.  I suddenly recalled reading about the ancient Druids’ ability to marry and have children (Ellis, 82).  Indeed, Irish stories are full of Druids having liaisons and children, and the Gods themselves were constantly trysting and marrying.  Why would the Druids limit themselves if they didn’t want to?  Now, of course, we know the ancient Druids held a high place in society.  Fosterage was probably a common practice among them just as it was with other high ranking families.  There’s evidence that Medieval Irish children were given to foster parents around the age of seven (Bitel, 86).  Did this practice exist among the ancient Druids?  If it did, seven year olds are far more independent than infants.  If a female Druid had a baby, did she take a break?  Were her duties lessened?  Did the community help her?  We may never know.

And yet, perhaps we modern Druids can continue to be (or at least try to be) deeply spiritual while acting as parents.  It’s not monastic life, but then again, we modern Druids have embraced an idea of reveling in all of life’s blessings (within moderation) rather than denying them to ourselves.  Parenthood is just another joy to be experienced, another lesson to be learned, and another way of experiencing the Kindreds.

So, no, I don’t see myself sacrificing my spiritual life.

Northern Rivers Protogrove remains a priority to me.  It doesn’t rank as high as the baby, of course, but I set this whole thing in motion last year with the study group and I don’t intend to see it fall on its face.  Thankfully, everyone involved is also very dedicated and very supportive of my pregnancy.  My protogrove sisters are excited to help plan a Mother Blessing ceremony for me, and I am hoping to having a baby saining ritual later in the year.  I have confidence in them that if I ever need to be absent from a rite, they will perform beautifully!  I’ve even had offers from nearby ADFers to come and help with a summer High Day should I not feel up to it as I approach delivery.  Even after the baby is born, we plan our rites ahead of time.  I’m sure a family member will be able to babysit for a few hours while we celebrate.  Bringing baby to workshops, study sessions, and business meetings won’t deter me.  I’m hoping to carry baby close, and my husband can easily take a fussy babe away for a moment if needed. Thank goodness for Weretoad!  Thus I intend to remain a facilitator and “priestess type figure” for my little community.  I do not, however, intend to become clergy anytime soon.  I will continue to work on my Initiate Study Program to better serve my community and deepen my spiritual practices, but the clergy training program, and the demands of clergy responsibility, are a bit beyond me right now.  Those are goals for later in life.

But what about my personal practices?  I guess I won’t really know until the baby arrives.  I’ve read and heard that the first few weeks are the hardest.  My world will revolve around the baby and recovering.  I imagine any energy I have left could go towards a prayer before my altar or a lit candle on Brighid’s shrine.  Seems appropriate.  After that, I may just set aside some time each week, like a Saturday morning, for meditation and ritual.  I am hopeful that I can continue my daily devotionals.  Things may be a bit touch and go for the first year or so, but I imagine it will settle out eventually and I’ll be able to have a routine again.  It will be a new routine, but it will exist.

My life as I knew it is going to change – already is changing – and some things must be sacrificed for the new life I’m bringing into the world – at least for a little while.  Yet I don’t intend for my spirituality to be one of them.  If anything, I can see the baby strengthening my Druidism.

I guess only time will tell!

Bitel, Lisa M.  Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland.  Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY.  1998.

Ellis, Peter B.  A Brief History of the Druids.  Carroll & Graf Publishers: New York, NY.  2002.

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Offerings in the Snow

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , on February 3, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

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Photo by Grey Catsidhe, 2013.

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Focusing on What Really Matters

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 27, 2012 | 10 Comments »

Christmas has come and gone, and I know I’m not alone in the Pagan community as I breath a big sigh of relief.  While celebrants often feel a sense of regret or let-down that Christmas is over, I am thrilled to be out of such a stressful period.  For the last few years, December has come with a certain insecurity and anxiety.  Everyone at work seems to celebrate Christmas, and they just assume that everyone else doe!  Fearful of discrimination, I don’t correct anyone.  I try to focus on the commonalities and that my coworkers mean well.  I’m not lying when I play along – I do visit my family for Christmas and exchange gifts, yet having to wear a mask is exhausting.  I can’t quite take it off after vacation starts.  Although my immediate family knows quite well that I don’t observe Christmas, they still want to spend time with me on their special day.  That’s understandable, of course, and I’m hopeful that they’ll reciprocate next year since it will be our little one’s first Winter Solstice.  The mask goes on firmly when I visit with other family members who either don’t know I’m a Druid or don’t quite understand and think I’m all about Christmas.  It’s exhausting trying to explain otherwise, and most of the time, any attempts are seen as hostile or me acting as a party pooper.  So I do my best to go along and enjoy myself all the same.

Every year, I seem to have a traditional Christmas meltdown.  High on hormones, this year was particularly bad.  I was stressed with finishing last minute gifts, wrestling with what-if explanation scenarios in my head, and girding myself for new questions about how I will raise my baby.

In the end, my anxiety was dwarfed by two very profound things.

Before driving to stay with family for their celebration, Weretoad and I went to my midwife for a checkup.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but suddenly I was on my back and she had a small instrument hooked up to a speaker.  Realization dawned on me and, suddenly, I heard my baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  It was fast and otherworldly sounding, and yet there it was – the rhythm of life.  The midwife confirmed that it was a healthy heartbeat.  My husband and I smiled at each other, and he hurriedly found a recording app on his phone so he could share the special moment with loved ones.

Later that evening, we shuffled into our grandparents’ home for our traditional Christmas Eve visit and gift exchange.  When my sister and I were little, this included Christmas Eve mass at a Catholic church.  I’m in the broom closet with this group, more or less.  In December, my anxiety level is always highest visiting this part of my family.  We were warned ahead of time, however, that grandma and grandpa had taken a turn.  Sure enough, our  grandmother was forced to remain sitting the whole time having injured one of her hips.  Our grandfather, on the other hand, has been struggling with cancer this year.  A side of his face droops due to chemotherapy-related nerve damage.  He winced almost continually from pain.  My uncles, his sons, were holding off on his sleep-inducing pain medication so he could see us.  Gifts were handed out at a rapid pace and we agreed that we should go so he could take his medicine and rest.  As we scurried back out into the cold night, my sister cried.  I tend to maintain composure in such situations, but it shook me a bit as well.  My grandmother, despite her injury, is still very alert, talkative, and sharp,  My grandfather, on the other hand, has been reduced from a very active repairman, salesman, town historian, and author to a squinting, shaking, wincing, nearly deaf man who can barely whisper a few words at a time.  His face is misshapen and full of chemical-related pain.  I recalled something he said to me when I was much younger: “The day I stop working is the day I die.”

Thus Christmas Eve was framed by this juxtaposition: coming birth and impending death.  I’ve been reflecting on it since that day, and how timely it is with the themes of winter.  We talk about birth and death in Druidism.  It is in our lore, our symbolism, our music, our ritual, our art.  I like to think we have a greater appreciation and acceptance of the dance of life because of this, yet it always gives us pause when it occurs in our own lives.

I tried my best to focus on family during the Christmas celebration after that.  That is, of course, what really matters regardless of religion or holiday.  I understand that is not easy for all of my readers, but I’m grateful that my family is as kind, loving, generous, fun, and (mostly) easy to be around.

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Ancestors of Land – A Guest Post by Nimue Brown

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 23, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I’m an English Druid, this soil very much part of my psyche, and the rivers of my home feel like part of my blood. A sense of connection to the land itself is absolutely intrinsic to my Druidry, and if asked to explain what I do ‘priest of the land’ is a description I feel comfortable with. The landscape of the British Isles can seem to be hardwired into what the word ‘Druid’ means. Tara and Stonehenge, Avebury, Glastonbury, Anglesey… these settings evoke Druidry. Orders from beyond these shores claim Welsh, Irish and Avalonian influences even though they are far from the ‘motherland’. You could be forgiven for thinking that to be a Druid is to be a priest, very specifically, of this landscape, and that to live beyond these shores means having your work cut out. I don’t think that’s the case at all.

I’ve been to America twice. The first time, I remember those early views of the landscape as I flew in over the east coast and the absolute sense of enormity. Looking at maps gives a person no sense at all of how huge America is. England has been densely populated for a very long time. We don’t have much in the way of untouched landscapes, but America does. The sense of wildness, and vastness, struck me.

A few days after that landing, I was on a beach, attempting a bardic initiation. Planning it from the comfort of home, I’d rather arrogantly imagined it would be easy. I knew from the moment my feet touched soil that I had a very steep learning curve ahead of me. This was not my land. It was not in my bones, and my ancestors were not part of it. I did not have the rivers in my blood. I had never heard the voices of the spirits of place. The sense of being a small thing in a big place and totally out of my depth, was educational to say the least. I was lucky, though, the beach was used to people, and welcoming enough, tolerant of a lone Druid from another place who had not got sufficient time to really learn to feel any of it properly.

To be a priest of the land, is to be the priest of the specific bit of land you are engaging with. I’d say as a general rule it’s probably wherever you can walk to from where you live. You may find there’s a core, that you really belong to, a wider landscape where you feel passably at home and a point somewhere beyond that where it all starts to get a bit alien.

Every landscape has spirits. Every land has power, sacredness and a need for service. What your landscape may not have, is stories. One of the things that makes the iconic places of the British Isles seem so powerful, is the number and richness of the stories attached to them. However, most of the UK is not in the Isle of Avalon and doesn’t have a stone circle or other mythic place in easy walking distance. I spent a decade in a more industrial landscape where stories of place where few, and I found engaging with the land hard work. I grew up in a place rich with story.

It is through stories that we connect to the land. If your landscape doesn’t have the kind of mythic, powerful tales to make it equivalent to Stonehenge, the answer is simple: Make them up. Invent them. All stories were made up by people, either out of pure imagination, or based on shreds of history, or weaving the two together in ways absolutely designed to give future historians nasty headaches. If your landscape does not have myths, then the greatest service you can perform, is to invent a few. Getting into the details of how to do that would need another blog in its own right, at the very least, but I wanted to seed the idea, because I think it’s a very important one.

Druidry is an international movement. No one outside the UK should ever feel that their landscape is somehow less important, or that their connection to the land less meaningful. Wherever your land is, that’s where you are a Druid. And in truth, there is no definite historical connection between the ancient Druids and most of the UK sites associated with them, although I think a pretty decent case can be made for Anglesey. It’s just stories. Future Druids, wherever you happen to be, can have stories of Druidry in your landscape, if you create them. Listen to the land, and the stories will come, because that’s very much in the nature of stories. They turn up when you’re paying attention, and sometimes when you aren’t as well.

Anyone interested in exploring the subject of modern Druidry’s relationship with ancestry, I’d like to point you at my book Druidry and Ancestors.

I also blog most days at www.druidlife.wordpress.com

By Nimue Brown

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Sharing the Love: “How to find your own crystals”

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2012 | 3 Comments »

I’m sure most of my readers remember my posts on the ethics of using silver in ritual, and the reactions and suggestions by others.  I had an amazing response from others who feel the same way – that Earth-centered Pagans should really try not to support mines that ravage the Earth Mother!  It is just unsustainable.

Today, Count on the Birds posted a wonderful article on how to find your own crystals!  I loved it and could definitely relate since I’ve started to rely on the forest spirits’ generosity for my magical resources.  The author recommends looking around uprooted trees.  I can think of a few near my home that I’m hoping to visit later today.  We’ll see what I find!  Usually I happen upon quartz by chance,  but I have found some rose quartz.  Count on the Birds is from Switzerland, but I could relate to her accounts of finding quartz most often.  

Inspired, I’ve dug out The Crystal Bible: A Definitive Guide to Crystals by Judy Hall.  It’s part field guide and part New Age book, so keep that in mind when considering it as a resource.  I wanted it way back when I was first poking around with Wicca.  Hubby gave it to me as a gift.  Although my interest in crystals waned, I’ve kept it around because of the amazing photographs which are useful in identification.  Now I find myself growing more interested in learning about native gems and crystals.  According to the New York State Museum, the formation of precious gems, such as diamonds and rubies, is probably impossible in NY due to the lack of necessary stone and mineral deposits.  However, along with quartz, one could find “calcite, fluorite of several colors, sphalerite, moonstone, labradorite, and celestine.”  Unfortunately, the most likely location of gems, especially the much celebrated “Herkimer diamond,” a type of very clear quartz from that region, will mostly be found down by Herkimer and Little Falls – too far south from the North Country.  I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my engagement ring is actually a Herkimer diamond.  It was important to me not to support questionable diamond mining operations and to support local, ethical miners who I knew personally.

Some quartz balls I’ve had for ages and new, wildharvested white stones and quartz from the forest soaking up moonbeams.

Although crystals are not a large part of my spirituality, I have started to charge quartz and white stones for magical purposes.  When consecrating items for magical use, I like to surround them in a circle of quartz and white stones charged by the full moon.  They are useful in the creation of charms and talismans and, in my experience, they also make good offerings to bodies of water.  To me, Druids are supposed to connect with their location.  Working with the stones and local land spirits seems somehow more appropriate most of the time.  I understand some may feel important situations require different, more rare materials – but I think, most of the time, we should start learning how to use what is around us.

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A Druid’s Toolbox

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , on October 5, 2012 | 3 Comments »

 

Fire is a sacred element in Druidic ritual and cosmology.  As a result, it is almost always present at our rituals.  Photo by Weretoad, 2012.

 

Have you ever wondered what Druids use in magic and ritual?  Due to the variety of Druidic traditions that exist, an exhaustive list of tools is impossible.  That said, here are some of the more common paraphernalia:

  • Fire – A usual element in most religious traditions, fire holds a special place in the Druid’s heart.  It is at the center of almost every ritual in the form of a bonfire or candle.  In the home, fire is represented by the hearth fire, or stove.  It symbolizes the comforts of civilization, the inspiration from the Gods, and the powers of transformation.
  • Cauldron – Although cauldrons are often thought of as a witch’s tool, they have their place of honor in Druidic tradition too – in part thanks to an Irish story about An Dagda and his magical cauldron that provided food according to need and worthiness.  And we musn’t forget the Welsh story of Ceridwen and her cauldron of magic!  The cauldron can also be a representation of sacred wells – vessels of water that connect us to the Otherworld.  Indeed, many Druids often put water in their cauldrons to symbolize this.  If a cauldron cannot be found, a simple bowl may be used.  In addition to Otherworldly associations, the cauldron can represent the waters of life, the magical powers of the divine world, and healing.
  • Wands and Staves – Wands and staves can be used to direct energy.  There are many Celtic stories about Druids utilizing these tools, such as the story of Cormac Mac Art and his silver apple wand from the God Manannan mac Lir.  As in other magical traditions, they are used to direct energy.  Some Druids use them to open gates between the worlds.  On a practical level, many Druids also use staves while taking nature walks for balance and protection.  The type of tree wands and staves originate from are often chosen with special care, and, although there is no substitute for an actual grove of trees, these tools can stand in as representations of them.  Trees are central to Druidic cosmology and rarely omitted from ritual.
  • Sickles – Pliny the Elder described ancient Druids in Gaul ritualistically cutting mistletoe from an oak tree with a golden sickle.  Because of this reference, some Druids utilize the sickle in their ceremonies and magical workings.  They may be used to harvest plants or direct energies similar to wands.  Some traditions use sickles in oath keeping; the blade is placed against the throat while the person swears to complete a task.  This is not done to physically threaten the person, but to remind him or her that the spirits of Justice take oaths very seriously.
  • Cloaks – Ancient Druids wrapped themselves in the hides of newly slain bulls to meditate and communicate with the divine.  Many modern Druids use cloaks for such workings.  Although one does not need a cloak to participate, on the practical level cloaks are perfect for cold rituals in the snow!
  • Divination Tools – Although augury was one of the most popular forms of divination, there is some evidence that ancient Druids used tools to discern messages from the Otherworld.  Modern Druids may use a wide variety of divination tools – ogham, runes, tarot cards, the Druid Animal Oracle, or even coins.  Often, these are stored in a special bag and may be poured or read on a consecrated cloth.

Although it can be very exciting to add to your Druid toolbox, it is important to remember that the greatest instruments you have are your brain and senses.  A person may have all the above tools, but without a proper grounding in history, lore, and the realities of the natural world, they will be as good as toys.  Finally, a Druid must have compassion for the natural world, and not confuse obtaining magical tools with materialistic goals.  Often, Druids work hard to create their own tools from locally harvested materials, or they look to trusted artisans who use ethically obtained resources.

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Autumn Equinox with Muin Mound Grove, 2012

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Before traveling to Syracuse, we stopped at the Burrville Cider Mill for some  locally made cider and donuts.  They were our potluck contribution.  I mulled the cider and it was fantastic.  Visiting the mill was a wonderful way to ring in the new season.  Autumn pleases all of the senses!
A pouch I made to hold old match and incense nubs.  Because they were objects used in magic and ritual, throwing them into a garbage can did not feel right.  I collect them in handmade pouches and put them into the seasonal fires.
For our Autumn Equinox workshop, Willow taught us how to make corn dollies – a traditional craft  for this time of year.  I have tried before but certain aspects confounded me until this group activity.
My finished corn dolly.
Here she is posing with my hubby’s corn dolly. These were offered to the Earth Mother during ritual. 
The wheel has turned.  Contrary to the summer rituals, our Autumn Equinox rite began under the veil of night.  There was a slight chill and we joyfully circled around the sacred fire.
The main offering was a bowl with some of our personal harvest.  Everyone contributed with fruits, vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers.  They were put into the hedge for the Earth Mother to take back into her.

I hope your celebrations were filled with joy and that you communed with the harvest spirits.  May your autumn be full of blessings and bounty!

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The Ditzy Druid Does the Central New York Pagan Pride Day, 2012

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2012 | 10 Comments »

An image of the main ritual , a Keltrian Druid rite, from the Central New York Pagan Pride Day, 2012.  Photo by Weretoad.

We woke and dressed just before sunrise.  It was going to be a long day.  Skip and Sharon Ellison, the keepers of Muin Mound Grove, very generously offered us hospitality in their camper the previous night.  We fell asleep to the music of heavy rain and, indeed, the ground was still moist when we emerged, ready to travel to Liverpool, NY.  This year, my grove decided it would be fun to work together and show what our artisans are capable of, vend some wares, and provide information on ADF and Druidism.  When we arrived at the Long Branch Park in Liverpool, we immediately got to work setting up a massive tent.  I displayed my dolls, Phoenix hung her jewelry, and we showcased some of Dragonfly and Willow’s work.  Soon we were joined by other grove members, old and new.  It turned out to be a really fabulous day.

Snake Dance from the CNYPPD, 2012 – Photo by Weretoad

The festivities began and ended with a spiraling snake dance and very, very casual Wiccan rite.  I found myself swept away in a whiplash of joyful energy as we careened over the hills, through the tall oaks, and around the vendor tents.  Laughing, grinning, and even tumbling down the grass, we joyfully welcomed a beautiful day full of learning, music, ritual, and camaraderie.

Because I was vending, and I didn’t want to leave my husband alone too long*, I only attended one workshop – “The Tribal Origins of Sacred and Folk Music with John Hartford.”  I’m glad that was the one I picked.  He demonstrated several instruments and discussed the evolution of tribal music.  I also learned some interesting things about Celtic instruments that I didn’t know before.

I was very interested in attending the main ritual.  It was lead by a Keltrian Druid grove from the Syracuse area.  The Henge of Keltria seems more private than ADF, so while I was aware of this grove’s existence, I had never seen them or their rites before.  Having grown out of ADF, I was curious to compare styles.   There were some awkward moments in the rite, but I feel it was entirely due to being such a massive ritual.  They are very difficult to lead!  My favorite parts were the tartans worn by the members (showed a sense of community), their attention to lore, and their method of “recreating the cosmos.”  My new friend from the North Country, RavynStar, came and we discussed some ideas for the North Country Druidic Study Group.

Space set aside for a simple healing rite on the edge of Onondaga Lake.  Photo by Grey Catsidhe, 2012.

As the afternoon waned, our Senior Druid lead us to the edge of the park where the land met the Onondaga Lake, one of the most polluted lakes in the country.  There, we partook in a simple healing rite.  We offered song, spring water, and seeds to the local wildlife.  We took care not to offer anything that would cause further pollution.  The Senior Druid told the story of the lake which nearly moved me to tears.  The omens spoke of further work to restore this body of water and the land.  This poignant, quiet ritual was probably the most meaningful part of the festival to me.

Other highlights included hooping, drumming, and a belly dance performance by Adi Shakti.

My friend Parallax shows me her moves at the CNPPD, 2012 – Photo by Grey Catsidhe
My friend Jen joins the ranks of Adi Shakti and their annual performance at the CNYPPD, 2012.  Photo by Grey Catsidhe

As a vendor, I was pretty successful.  I felt comfortable taking some of the money I earned and shopping for Winter Solstice gifts.  Although it was a sunny day, the chill in the air whispered of winter.  The wheel is turning, and Pagan Pride Day always ushers in the Autumn Equinox.  It was fun to gather with other like-minded individuals, including old friends who I hardly ever get to see, and my grovemates.  The memory will comfort me when this region’s Cailleach spreads her cloak of blizzards, isolating us until the thaw.

 

 

* Bless my husband.  He gave his entire day to helping me vend without any complaint.  I’m a very lucky gal!

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Huzzah for Airis!

Posted in Druidism, tagged , , , on September 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I’m very excited for my mentee Airis!  After working with him for months, his Dedicant Program has passed!  This is an especially major achievement for him because English is not his first language.  Airis is from the Czech Republic, and I loved learning about his country and its lore through his work.  He did an excellent job and I’m so proud of him!

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