Known in Germanic countries as Mother Hulda, Holda or Holla, she is an extremely ancient Germanic supreme goddess who probably predates most of the Germanic pantheon, including Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki, continuing a tradition from pre Indo-European neolithic Europe. She is associated with ploughing, one of the oldest activities of humankind, and with spinning with its magical connotations. The cultivation of flax is assigned to her. She haunts lakes and fountains and although in the fairytale is residing at the bottom of a well where she is obviously guarding the threshold to the otherworld, she also rules the weather for when it snows it is said that Frau Holle makes her bed, fog is the smoke from her fire, thunder occurs when she works her flax and rain when she is doing her washing. Here we have clearly a sky goddess, contrasting the later patriarchal view that all female deities are ‘Earth Mothers’ while sky gods are always male.

Her name means ‘gracious one’ and although she shows attributes of the Maiden and the Mother as well, she is most striking as the Crone who comes into her own during the twelve days of Christmas, likely to originally have been the days following the Winter Solstice, known in Germany as ‘Rauhnaechte’ (lit. ‘rough nights’). Then she leads the Wild Hunt, riding the sky in a wagon, pulled by many different animals of the woods. During the twelve days she directs it towards human dwellings where she leaves presents for children who well behaved over the past year.

She is protector of childbearing women and small children and it is to her where the souls of infants go where they die early. Brides used to bathe in the Frauhollenteich (Frau Holles’s pool) near the Hohe Meissner in Hesse to ensure fertility as wives and through the pool children were said to be born. In some areas of Germany, her wagon is followed by a host of children and in others, where she rides the wind leading the Wild Hunt, by twenty-four daughters.

She is connected to crossroads where she tends to stumble and her wagon breaks down, requiring a peasant to repair it. Having carved a linchpin for her she pays him with the wood chips or with dog dung from her pocket which he reluctantly accepts, only to find they have turned to gold once back home. Returning to the place to find more he then finds no trace of her ever having been there.

Elder is the tree of the Great Goddess once known as Holla in northern Europe. The tree’s High Old German Name holun tar simply means Holla’s tree. Elder was widely seen as the dwelling place of the good house spirit that protects house and yard. Related customs and traditions reflect the notion that Elder is the threshold to the subterranean world of Faery and Frisians used to bury their dead under it.

As mistress of the Wild Hunt Holla is also known as Frau Gode or Gaude, derivations of Wodan/Woden, the old German name of Odin and in Northern Germany also as Frau Freke or Frikka, variants of Frigg, strongly suggesting her being an older form of Odins wife. At the end of harvest farmers used leave the last bunch of grain standing in each field as ‘fodder for Odin’s horses’ or declared it to be ‘Frau Gode’s portion’, thereby preserving the memory of a Mrs Odin at work in the field beside her husband.

Demonized by the the church and her worship denounced, people accused as witches were said to have ridden in the Frau Holle’s Wild Hunt. The reason for her rejection by the patriarchal new faith may well lie in Frau Holle being protectoress of housewives through her association with spinning, the only occupation able to give them a little income and some form of independence from male domination.

Much more could be said about Frau Holle/Hulda who appears to us as a very powerful goddess with a wide range of responsibilities, presiding over the whole cycle of life, from birth to death and rebirth. Records of countless local folk customs and traditions, some of them still observed in the 19^th century, bear witness to the failure by the church to quell the belief in this grand lady of high rank in her robes as white as the snow that she covers the earth with in winter. Even today she is still much revered not just by children – and long may it be so!!!

Holger Burkhardt (2013)

For many centuries, and in fact until comparatively recently, people in rural Wales followed the natural cycle of nature and adapted their lives accordingly. That meant that in the winter months their lives were in the main bound to the low lying hendre and when spring arrived they migrated to the upland hafod in order to tend their livestock and crops. This transition from one half of the year to the other was often marked by public festivities as well the more intimate, symbolic rites within the houses.

The change of the summer routine to that of winter generally happened during the latter half of September when in many places local fairs were held. In Breconshire, for example, FfairCapel Coch was held on the 25^th September and traditionally people, having returned home from the fair, used the occasion to light the first candle and eat supper by its light. From then onwards, as elsewhere in rural Wales, the hearth became the focus of social life and the scene of numerous domestic chores and crafts, helping the family to make ends meet. This was amser gwylad, roughly translated ‘time to keep a vigil’, in Eifionydd also referred to as cadw dechreunos – ‘time to keep (i.e. spend) the evening’. Significantly, being close to the autumn equinox, knitting whilst seated around the hearth could now begin once the day’s work was completed. The noson weu (knitting night) was an important economic and cultural institution in moorland communities when neighbours took it in turns to assemble informally in each other’s houses, usually on moonlit nights. Whilst the knitting by the women would often turn into a competition as to who could knit a fathom of yarn quickest, the menfolk would join them making spoons, ladles, baskets, brooms, candles, ropes and other household items.

In Caernarfonshire the pilnos (peeling night), when neighbours assembled to card wool and dress hemp and no doubt also peeled rushes in preparation to make rush lights, was an important factor in keeping alive the oral tradition of story telling. Likewise, the asking of riddles was a common diversion at these fireside gatherings on long winter nights and some of the tradition bearers appear to have gained some renown. In the Dolwyddelan district a certain ‘Robin Bryn-Moel’ and ‘Ioan Glan Lledr’ in the 19^th century were given a gentleman’s welcome at the houses where they entertained the gatherings with scores of humourous old tales in unimitable stile, ‘as natural as running water’. Here then we can see how these evening gatherings gave rise to a noson llawen (mery night) with informal competitions in composing and singing of impromptu verses in which all those present were expected to participate.

The end of amser gwylad came in March and again was marked by countless fairs. One of them, Nos Ffair Caron, was held on 16 March in Tregaron. That evening the maid would symbolically hand back a candle to her mistress as to say that from now on the family would retire to bed before dark. It is said that in many households this was the same candle that was handed out the previous September. On old St David’s Day (12 March) in the Gwaun valley of North Pembrokeshire the wax candle on the table was changed for a wooden one as a sign that it was no longer necessary to eat supper by candlelight. By the way, farm labourers would from then onwards be entitled to three meals a day as opposed to the just two during amser gwylad.

When industrialisation came it meant, at least initially, by no means the end of old folk customs. It rather refreshed them and new ones would come into being. For instance, with the end of amser gwylad, in the wool factories of rural Wales working by candlelight was suspended for the summer what the young people of Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire, inspired to assemble in the middle of the village to form a procession, singing:

Ffarwel i’r hen ganhwyllau, ffarwel i wylad nos,

Ffarwel i fyned adra rhwng naw a deg y nos – hwre, hwre, hwre!

Ffarwel i’r hen ganhwyllau, fe ddaeth y Jiwbili,

A pheidiwch â rhyfeddu mai canu’r ydydm ni – hwe, hwre, hwre!

(Farewell to the old candles, farewell to keeping the evening,

Farewell to going home between nine and ten at night – hurray, hurray, hurray!

Farewell to the old candles, the Jubilee has come,

And don’t be surprised that we are singing – hurray, hurray, hurray! )

It must be said that only with the introduction of electric light this marked change in people’s lives got lost. Before then the contrast between winter and summer would have left a much deeper impression on human experience. The coming of long summer evenings, when hearth traditions receded into the background, held out the promise of life in the open, even though this meant more likely toil than leisure back then.

Holger Burkhardt

Source:

The Customs and Traditions of Wales – Trevor M. Owen, University of Wales Press 2006

Sunday, 5th February, was a chilly grey day, but dry and free from snow, so that we could all make the journey safely to Christine and Merfyn’s in the Crafnant Valley. Eight humans and four dogs made up the gathering.

We began fairly promptly at 11.am. with a general meeting and discussion in Christine’s cozy back room. Dates were discussed and decided on for the rituals for the rest of this year (see list at the end of this piece) and we took some time examining the full complexity of opening and closing ritual, as recommended by Emma Restall Orr in her book “Ritual”. We decided to try it and then discuss our thoughts and observations at the next Study Group meeting. Everyone was given a task or part to contribute and those who wished had time before lunch to quietly gather their thoughts and even write something down on paper in preparation. As I particularly like to move about the land during a ritual, or even go inside for a part of it (as we did this day), I was unsure how to cast a circle of sacred space and maintain it while also maintaining our mobility. I am indebted to Gwdihw, who suggested that we cast a circle, which remains open on the site where it is cast, but which also travels with us as we move about the land, and then is returned to for closure.  We also talked about ways in which we can change and improve our commitment and approach to our grove gatherings, encouraging everyone to take more joint responsibility; and how to integrate enquirers and newcomers so that they do not disturb the deeper work that we look forward to sharing in the future.

Ruth supplied a delicious hot soup, and fortified with this and various hot breads and flapjack, we finally sallied forth out onto the land.

First we went to Christine’s Tree and spent a few quiet moments there, communing with the spirits of the place, before moving a little further down the slope to one of the fresh water springs on Christine’s property. Here we formally opened the ritual, finding our feet, calling to the Spirits of Place with our intentions for the ritual, then Calling for Peace, before defining the sacred space we were to use and consecrating it with incense (which represents three of the four elements; earth, fire and air) and water; walking with both around the outside of the circle, then blessing all those gathered within the circle, and finally circling the very center. The Spirits of the Four Elements and Directions were then called, and finally the Ancestors of the land, Blood and Spiritual Heritage were asked to be present with us also.

The central part of the ritual focused on water and fire, having an abundance of the first at this time of the year (albeit in mostly frozen form!) and seriously needing the comfort of the other to survive the weathers exigencies! We drew water from the spring, cupping our hands and scooping up the sparkling liquid to symbolically cleanse ourselves. Then Merfyn lit the bonfire that he had so careful and thoughtfully prepared and we cast our old, worn out past upon it and watched the voracious flames consume it. We shared the warmed spiced milk, representative of the first ewes milk of spring and the nurturing of the mother, and Christine’s poppy seed cake (indicative of the seeds lying waiting beneath the surface for the warmth of spring to release them into new growth). Then we mindfully returned indoors to light our own candles, representing the new things that we are bringing forth from the dark resting time of winter. Some of us had written poems especially for this ritual to celebrate the time of year and we read them now, in the warmth and intimacy of the candle light and firelight. We also focused on the word “Hearth”, which is sacred to Ffraid/Brigit, and listed all the qualities that are “contained” within the word, using each component letter as the first letter of each quality.

Later, as the light was beginning to fade, we returned outdoors to the same spot by the spring, to formally close the ritual, grounding ourselves first, and giving thanks for a touching and unique experience.

Everyone had excelled themselves with the edible contributions for tea and we all ate and talked into the evening.

I am sad to have to report though that, only the day after the ritual, Christine’s great dane, Bascumb, suffered from a heart attack and passed away. He has been an integral part of so many of our rituals… we will all miss him. I am only glad that he was able to join us one last time in ritual so close to his going. Our thoughts and love go out to Christine who will miss him so very much.

Presently you hear movement… the trickle of disturbed rocks. Someone… or something… is approaching…. coming closer…. closer…. closer

You feel uneasy…. exposed…. vulnerable

Suddenly a tall man stands before you…. grizzled hair, scarred face, stocky, with powerful hands and thickset bull-like neck. A small brown dog cringes at his heels.

Then he sees you…. and a twisted grin spreads slowly across his face revealing blackened and broken teeth.

“You! All alone? We’ll ‘ave some fun!”

He begins to slowly move towards you.

“Nice and lonely.” His smile slides into an ugly sneer. “Like to sing do yer? Oh, I can make yer sing. I can mek you urt so as you’ll sing and scream those mountain tops right off!”

Your mouth goes dry… the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise….. you break out in a cold sweat….

The little dog whines and the man turns and kicks out viciously at it. His foot misses and he utters a string of snarling oaths as the little creature scampers away yelping…. only to turn and stand a few yards away whining and keening deep in it’s throat……… it knows what this man is like…….. it knows what this man can do…………………………………….

The man’s face becomes set…. hard…. intent…. as he slowly begins to approach you again.

You begin to slowly back away….. Fear surges over you like the waves of the sae…..

This powerful man can easily overcome you….can so easily hurt you… make you scream……… and enjoy doing it……………………………….

Suddenly, you back into hard rock……. nowhere to turn…. nowhere to run to get away from this creature who is stalking you….. you are trapped……………….. The man is much closer now… stretching out his great beefy fists to grab hold of you…… Panic…. tears spring to your eyes and you feel your gorge begin to rise……………..

Now the man is close enough to touch you……………. you want to scream………. cry out……… wretch… but you simply cannot move…………..

This is it…….. nowhere to hide………….. nowhere to run…………. no way to defend yourself…… no time left…………

……….you are about to die….. you are helpless……… this ordinary simple struggle of a life of yours

(2)

seems very precious now…. how you want to cling on to it… how you would love to be able to carry on living it…. how you love to see the clouds billowing over the mountains in the morning……… how you enjoy a scalding hot cup of tea………….. how you love the comfort of a nice warm bath……… sliding between cool clean sheets……… making love to your partner…………. loving your family…………… your parents………… brothers……… sisters…………. children………….. pets…………….your home… your garden…….. loving………….. loving……….. in these last moments before agony begins and life is extinguished you still have one last choice……. to feel love……………. to feel love……………

Suddenly you lurch forward… as if you are falling… as if there is a dark black hole beneath you… beneath you… within you – a swirling black hole of emptiness… deepest darkest black, as softest velvet or the darkest starless night…..

You are there, swirling around in this dark place…it engulfs you… but it is also you…. all of you…everything you are and ever have been and ever will be…. your essence… your true potential…

You are no longer in the hole…. the spinning dark vortex is within you.

Suddenly you feel something else stir deep within you….. deep down in your guts at the bottom of your abdomen…. a rumbling shaking fiery breath…..

…..a warmth that begins to rise upwards…..

….the strength returns to your legs as you notice the threatening thug of a man still standing before you – as if he has been frozen in mid movement….

Your stare intently into the man’s eyes…. courage…. the thrusting power of your life force surges up through your body making your whole body tingle…….. feet… legs… hands… arms…. chest… head….

Deep within you… from out of that dark swirling hole your inner dragon is awakening…. it is slowly uncoiling it’s long scaly body… panting little puffs of smoke from it’s flaring nostrils…..

Higher and higher…. as your dragon takes flight… feel the fiery strength sweep through your body – your whole being……………………. and as it reaches your heart, it feels like a thunderbolt hitting you….. as if your chest will burst…… you stagger and cough with the force of it……………..

……………..then recover your balance….. your breath………….and find yourself standing taller and straighter and you feel a warm glow slowly spreading through you as you realise that there is only one thing left that you can do…………..

Your heart feels like it will explode as a deep pink mist begins to emanate from your heart…. from your chest……. it is all you can give…. all you have left…..

The pink cloud grows larger… brighter….. you begin to realise that it is forming some sort of protection around you and you are beginning to feel safer……..

The dragon is also growing larger and roars…. your heart swells uncontrollably with love…. and you begin to smile…. your smile becomes a joyous grin as the pink mist begins streaming out from you….. not just your heart but your whole body…

(3)

You tremble with the sheer force of it…. cry out and laugh with the sheer joy of it…. watch in wonder as the love within you spills forth….. everything it touches changes…..the cold dead air is filling with little rainbows and prisms….. the sky is beginning to get lighter…. the grey rocks are melting into shades of brown… green…. purple…. yellow….

And then you notice the man still standing in front of you… he is no longer “frozen” but watching you intently…..gradually the expression on his face is changing…. something deep within his eyes is altering…. there is uncertainty there…. confusion…………………… pain………… he is strangely contorted ….shrunken……

He is still watching you as his limbs wither and recede, while all around him swirls the warm pink mist….. his eyes fill with tears and his face crumples – as if in slow motion – fall in upon itself…..

You watch horrified – this poor pathetic creature – shrinking… dissolving…. before your eyes….. You feel pity… compassion….. as the man becomes a very small child – shivering – trembling – silently crying in front of you as his abusers kick him, laugh at him as he wimpers and twitches…. they are smoking cigarettes but there is also the stench of burnt flesh… pale skin… cuts, burns and bruises… the roar of their laughter as the child begins to scream…..

Your inner dragon answers with a surging spring!

You step forward and look down at the child, feeling nothing but pity and a deep desire to help….

The shades of it’s abusers fall away from you as you bend down and slowly, gently, ever so tenderly, you gather the sobbing child into your arms and hold it to you….

…you look down into the child’s face…. the scarred, vicious face of the man who was about to attack you snarls up at you….

…but this time you are not afraid and know what to do….

You direct the love pouring from your chest onto that face…. smoothing… softening…drying the tears…..

….the man’s face begins to melt away….. the child’s face returns….

Carefully you sit down with the boy cradled in your lap….. you notice his injuries and as you do you see them begin to heal and fade away, one by one, everywhere you look, the pink beams of loving light shine out from you eyes and everything they touch is made whole and well again.

Slowly, you go over the child’s body, looking for wounds, bruises and scars, gently healing them as you see them.

The child is now sleeping peacefully in your arms – healing – recovering – growing clean and whole …

Gently, you place him on a bed of dry bracken at the foot of the cliff and turn to face the rising sun of midsummer…. the last of the clouds swirl swirl and melt away… a golden lightf loods all the valley floor below you, the mountain ridges around you on every side…. bathes you in warm light.

(4)

You spread your arms out towards the sun… your inner dragon fills your body, your mind…. and roars again…. your own dark pool of infinite potential swirls swiftly, silently in your inner core….

You gaze into the distance – seeing people… places… things that you know are hurting…. damaged…. broken….

….but looking with your new eyes, still streaming out beams of pink loving light, you notice first one and then another…. softening…. healing…. as your loving gaze falls gently upon them…. just as it did with the child’s hurts….

Think now of something in your life that needs healing – a person – a relationship – a situation – yourself – see it all before you…. surround it with the love pouring from your eyes… your chest…. gently, without judging it in any way…. just send out your love until it is all completely coated, surrounded… loved…. and leave it to absorb…. to go on healing….

Stand tall.

Know and bless that infinite dark black hole of potential deep within you – feel it there – spinning you with the joyous rhythm of life and love and all that can be….

Feel the dragon of your life force coursing with vigour, courage and joy through your veins….

Seek the blazing sun before you… allow its life-giving heat and light to be absorbed by your body… your mind… your spirit…. filling you, nurturing you, satisfying you…..

Be one with your spirit…. your energies…. your world…. you loving spirit….

…AND KNOW THE POWER OF LOVE…and rejoice…..

They are essentially a container that transforms the contents into something else. (Think metaphorically here!) They also represent the source of all nourishment, standing upon the alter of the hearth where all elements come together in alchemical transformation. (The Fire of the hearth, the fuel used to feed the fire (Earth), the liquid used to cook with (Water) and the smoke which rises up the passageway (chimney)to higher shamanic worlds (Air). The fifth element of spirit is represented by the human presence).

The cauldron represents the process of incubation and birth; of growth, of emergence into the light. In spring it is the dawn, Imbolc/Gwyl Ffraid and the Spring Equinox. It nurtures, provides, actualises the root energy of the source.

Conversely it provides the shelter and focus into which we must return; either annually at Samhain/Calan Gaeaf after harvest for our temporary introspective period which prepares us for the next growing season, and also ultimately at the end of our lives when we must return from whence we came to enable us to rejuvenate and be reborn. (Cauldron of Anwn… Ceridwen’s cauldron, etc..)

Cauldrons of Poesy: an old Irish text which says that the cauldrons are inside us.

Cauldron of the Dagda: one of the four magical talismans of the Irish Tuatha De Danann, from which “no company ever went unsatisfied”

Also covers three aspects of life:

Bran (Body):Cauldron of physical regeneration and restoration, (but minus speech, for none may return from the realm of death and tell of their experiences).

Dagda (Mind): Plenty, livelihood, vocation.

Cerridwen (Spirit): Wisdom, sacred inspiration, Awen.

Physical prosperity… material and spiritual wealth… womb of the Goddess….

….Cauldron symbolic prototype of the “holy grail”?

DARKNESS:

Behind the philosophy of Pythagoras was an awareness that the sun rises from the dark “underworld”, it’s home’ and returns there every night. Thus the source of greatest light is the darkness. Pythagoras believed that I order to find clarity we must all enter darkness, physically as well as metaphorically, for darkness is the real source of light.

Spiritual and theraputic practice of taking retreat in physical darkness for the purpose of accessing inner light – spiritual enlightenment.

Can use darkness as a spiritual tool for breaking with your past, prior conditioning and limited reality of society.

Experiencing complete darkness, even for relatively short periods of time – hours not minutes! – can bring about a remarkable clarity and mental stillness and so provide a springboard for creativity, intuition and spiritual development.

Darkness – a form of initiation. Perhaps to discover who you are and why you are here; where you are going and who you are to become…. we need to feel welcome in the world and to find our place within it.

STILLNESS:

In stillness comes a melding and blending, an absorption into and with….

A way of integration between your higher self your incarnate spirit and your physical surroundings.

Be truly still so that you can detect and appreciate movement elsewhere.

SILENCE:

Silence brings the ability to:

hear what is going on around you

hear your own thoughts, fears needs, aspirations and dreams

hear what is going on in your own body

hear communication from your higher self

hear the voice of the Divine/God; “the still small voice within”

Most of the time we endeavour to “tune out” from surrounding distractions.

I am asking you to find suitable time/place/space and “tune in”.

KEY POINT: So that you generally become more sensitive to who and where you are and at will can greatly deepen that connection for specific purposes.

DEVAS (Angels):

Devas are of extreme high intelligence.

All the planets in our solar system are embodiments of a planetary deva or angel. (Incidentally this forms the basis of the “rulers of the houses” in astrology.) Each of these great beings works with a particular cosmic force emanated by our sun and also those reaching us from across the galaxy via the constellations.

Any creature or life form can only respond, use or conduct frequencies of energy for which it has developed a capacity or receptor, rather like a radio which is tuned in to a certain wave length or programme. Planetary angels specialise in a particular band of frequencies which they filter out from the general mass bombarding our solar system. They can transmute those energies into a form that the creatures living in the solar system can use, both to sustain and to evolve those lives in the most appropriate way. Without this filtering and modifying these energies would be of little use to us, passing us by or bouncing off us because we are not capable of responding to them.

Our planetary angel has many names, among them Gaia, Earth Mother, White Goddess, Mary – expressing feminine attributes, being the complimentary pole to the sun, which is regarded as masculine. We can see this duality as Mother/Father, Matter/Spirit or Water/Fire.

The three aspects of spiritual life, devas, nature spirits and elementals represent the inner patterning of all aspects of life and devas are the great angelic beings – the architects – who design the archetypal form that anything and everything takes.

NATURE SPIRITS:

These are semi intelligent and occupy the frequencies or energy range between the devas, who are supremely intelligent, and the pure elementals, who are instinctual forces. Nature spirits are concerned more with groups, species or types and we understand them best in their work with aspects of nature such as trees, water courses, meadows, flowers, rocks, crystals, caves, mountains, etc..

We can communicate with this range of angelic energy quite easily as it is only just outside our ordinary sense range. When visible to us, they are on the etheric level; when invisible, they are on the astral/mental level.

They absorb the solar energy from the devas and distribute it to the natural world.

ELEMENTALS:

Elementals have limited or no intelligence and work in accord with the laws of nature, building and maintaining everyday energy forms. They take the vibrations from the higher devas, from whose memory and nature the archetypes of all things derive their structure and using this as their blueprint, they take the energy from the nature spirits and “fix” the matter of the lower planes into those patterns.

(2)

Basically elementals work ceaselessly behind the scenes to make the whole production come together and work as it should. What we see of their work is only the appearance – the effect – and so they go about their business unnoticed. What we would notice is if they didn’t do it – life as we know it – if not life altogether – would come to an end.

WHAT ARE THEY?

In esoteric knowledge, the higher energetic planes (etheric, astral, etc.) are made up of a fine energy, vibrating at a slightly higher rate than the physical plane that we inhabit now. It is from this fine energy that the mould is created for every form manifest on the physical plane.

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

Devas, nature spirits and elementals are too pure a form of energy to work on the physical level and have to take on an etheric body to work with the etheric blueprints. The form that they take comes from humanity itself. Being humans we tend to imbue these energies/essences with recognisable human forms emotions and behaviour.

When you “clothe” your perceptions of the spirit world in certain ways, the spirits of that world respond to your imagined perception and take on that form. Over time, as certain energies (for instance, the woodland god, Pan), are perceived in a specific way, and become fixed in the mass consciousness of humanity, then people will always perceive him in that form and persona. Thoughts are all powerful. It only takes one person to think something to begin to bring it into being, via the accommodating work of the spirit world.

So, when someone thinks of earth elementals and nature spirits, they will usually imaging pictures of little grumpy gnomes and dwarfs. If they think of spirits of the flowers, they will see delicate pretty fairies.

Devas, nature spirits and elementals can also take another form and be seen in as a light body; “A whirl of energy rather like a nebula. It is very very transparent and beautifully coloured, maybe a number of colours, maybe one colour. And it has an extraordinary appearance of fine lines which are in constant motion, which seem to be flowing almost like fluid through a pipe, always curved; all the time interweaving. Forming the most exquisite patterns, and their colours are wonderful. It would be almost impossible for an artist, however clever he was, to depict them, because our colours are not pure enough.”

“The Gentleman and the Faun” R. Ogilvie Crombie.

THOUGHT FORMS:

One or more people can create a thought form by thinking a certain thing. If thousands or millions of people think the same thing then the thought form becomes hugely potent. For example, where there is strife, fear, hatred or a strong desire for power, thought forms will be attracted and help to fan the flames and build it up, making a bad situation much worse.

Worse still, human created thought forms can take on an elemental-type life of their own and elementals can become overwhelmed by these generated thought forms and become negative and evil. (Thankfully, if the situation is identified, they can also be helped back into the light again and the thought forms dispersed.)

(3)

This is particularly true of our thoughts which involve our emotions. When you think or feel something, the energy you have put into that feeling continues to exist. The emotional and mental energy is bound together by devic/elemental essence in precisely the same way that an atom of solid matter contains devic essence. There are wave particles of emotion and mentality, just as there are wave particles of earth and water. There are therefore many types of spirit whose major realms of existence is not in solid physical life but in emotion and thought.

Mediaeval occultists sought mastery over elemental beings that they fashioned by incantations. Sometimes if the magicians used the elemental forces for negative purposes, they would create a

tulpa, or thought form, that became an uncontrollable elemental demon. Once in existence this entity was hard to banish and could destroy it’s creator.

DEVAS, NATURE SPIRITS AND ELEMENTALS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ONE OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS.

EARTH:

Usually imagined as small, dark coloured creatures with squat bodies and flat faces, carrying spades – the seven dwarfs in Walt Disney’s “Snow White” is a typical interpretation. The atmosphere around such beings is dense, contracting and uncomfortable, so we tend to think of earth elementals as dour and grumpy, but this feeling of sombreness comes from the way we experience them in our own energy fields, when our vibration is focused down into dense matter more than usual. In other words the force of physical gravity creates a corresponding mood of emotional gravity.

Earth devas can be perceived as such creatures as fabulous powerful fire-breathing dragons connected to large and powerful events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The mile-long mythic earthworms of fable and fairy story are the devas who care for the invisible energy network of earth and ride the ley lines, which are earth’s equivalent to the meridians and energy lines of the human body.

The nature spirits and elementals appear in the guise of goblins, gnomes, hobgoblins, dwarfs, elves.

WATER:

It is perhaps easier to believe in spirits who inhabit water as it often moves in such a lively way – running, swirling, gushing, spraying, falling….

Streams and wells (typically places like the Chalice Well at Glastonbury) are often regarded as holy places where healing takes place. The Celts believe that water issuing from the earth comes direct from the earth mother and therefore contains her powerful essence. (These places are also subliminal which from a shamanic/magical point of view makes them potent.) Even today there are still many rivers around the world which are held as sacred; the Ganges, Nile, Euphrates and even our own River Thames among them. Many people in countries around the world value the different properties of particular springs – scientifically it depends on what minerals etc. their water contains, but then which elementals of the mineral kingdom are also involved here? It is also a very modern trend to buy bottled spring water at the supermarket.

Powerful water devas include Titan and Neptune.

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Nature spirits and elementals are typified as the alluring and playful undine water spirits, with tales

of mermaids in the sea. This is a perfect anthropomorphisation of an energy flow, with the image of the mermaid’s flowing fishes tail, alluring body and long silken hair, singing hauntingly to sailors.

AIR:

It is also easy to imagine spirits of the air; seen and felt in breezes and explosive winds, dancing leaves, waving flowers and shrubs, thrashing storm-tossed treetops, rippling across green pastures and through ripening fields of grain; blowing the clouds about and shifting rain from vertical to horizontal!

Devas – gods – of the wind, sky and weather include the North American Thunderbird, the Norse god Thor, the Welsh god Taran.

The slightly less powerful nature spirits and elementals in this category are the much romanticised sylphs, in their diaphanous clothes, with silken wings and spangled colour. Also the cliched fat cherubim with puffed up cheeks blowing through fluffy white clouds.

In the Celtic countries, there is the magic of scent and smoke which can be utilised to transport messages and intention to higher/other realms, and the immense importance of the chimney as a shamanic door/entrance/pathway to other planes of existence.

FIRE:

These can cover forces from a tiny candle flame to the magnificent grandeur of the sun. Candles and lanterns are associated with religious and spiritual experiences and practice all around the globe. Try it for yourself and notice the magical effect of lighting a single candle. There is also the potent effects of using incense and essential oils which involve both the elements of fire and air.

The typical devic appearance of fire is as a salamander; but there are also mythic beings such as the phoenix. Lesser nature spirits and elementals tend to simply adopt the flames of what the represent.

One mustn’t forget the fiery element of inspiration!

ALL DEVAS, NATURE SPIRITS AND ELEMENTALS HAVE THE CAPACITY AND FUNCTION TO CLEANSE: earth spirits cleanse pollution in the earth, water spirits pollution in the water and air spirits pollution of the air. But fire spirits have a particularly useful and necessary ability where humans are concerned for fire cleanses spiritual and mental pollution.

HOW CAN WE COMMUNICATE WITH THEM?.

To understand and work with spirits is not to take a trip into another realm but to expand our awareness about the nature of life and living here and now.

“ Devas are called in using a form of telepathic vibration. Just thinking of them creates the vibration. The vibration from the thought makes a harmonic connection and attracts their attention and they turn towards you. Their response follows a basic law of physics: like attracts like. Thinking of a particular deva creates an electromagnetic signal which ripples out holographically – it is felt through space and the inner dimensions in a way that is not obstructed by time or distance.

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“So to invite the spirits in, you need to have some idea of them in the first place. But this idea does not need to be a full and intimately familiar technicolour vision – the slightest idea of them works.

Simplicity and purity of intention are all that is really needed.”

“Working with Angels, Nature Spirits and Fairies” by William Bloom.

WHY IS CONTACT WITH THESE SPIRITS SO IMPORTANT?

Humanity used to have far greater awareness and contact with the nature kingdom and it’s spirits. This contact was largely lost, probably because humanity had to develop it’s intellect and to do this it had to loose a lot of it’s sensitivity. But the time has come to re-establish our sensitivity and

connection; coupled with our newly developed intellect this will in fact make humanity very powerful. The other vital ingredient is “love”. Humanity needs to learn to love unconditionally, and to work in conjunction with our spiritual counterparts to bring about balance and health on all levels. Failure to do so will be catastrophic and possibly/probably terminal!

“We do not “come into” this world, we come “out of it”; as leaves from a tree. As the ocean “waves” so the universe “peoples”. Very individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.”

Western teacher of Zen, Alan Watts.

REMEMBER

Wherever there is a weed or a blade of grass growing between two bricks, there you will find elemental “fairy” life. Wherever you are, even sitting in a concrete box, you are surrounded by elemental life, channelling Divine life and energy from the Divine, through the devas, nature spirits and elementals, into physical form.

The implications for health and ecological issues – and many other challenges and problems – are immense.

And also remember: when you stroll “alone” in a wood or a sunlit meadow, or across a wild bare mountainside, you are actually in a dense crowd! A very harmonious crowd, but a multitude all the same….. but then you yourself are a “universe”. You also contain endless numbers of elementals and inner universes… puts a whole new perspective on life!

FOR FURTHER READING:

1) “Working with Angels, Fairies and Nature Spirits” William Bloom

2)”A Complete Guide to Fairies and Magical Beings” Cassandra Eason

3)”The Gentleman and the Faun; Encounters with Pan and the Elemental Kingdom”

R. Ogilvie Crombie

Spirituality can bring us:

• connection with the wonder and energy of all life;

• values and the fuel to be good, do good and serve others;

• development of heart, compassion and consciousness;

• a mindful, solid and inspiring strength to carry us through the good and bad times;

• a sense of meaning, personal integrity and purpose independent of material success and the opinion of others.

• An embedded sense of wellbeing to support physical and mental health;

• a deep enjoyment of life that is also fully present to its challenges and suffering.

Three key spiritual practices:

If we look carefully at spirituality in its many forms, we will find three key practices, three golden keys, that sit at the heart of all of them. Moreover, William Bloom suggests that these three practices were not invented by spiritual teachers in order to help us, but are innate and part of us just because we are human….whether you know it or not, you do spirituality just because you are alive.

• Connection: sometimes, surely, your heart is touched and you connect with the wonder and energy of life.

• Reflection:sometimes you pause and reflect on your life and actions, and ponder how to change and improve.

• Service:sometimes you have a clear sense of what is right and what is wrong, and you act so as to do good for others.

Connection… when does it happen for you?

What kinds of situation and circumstances most easily melt your boundaries, make you more permeable,touch your heart, open your awareness and connect you with the hum, the wonder and energy of life?

A sense of connection… a change in ambience… a healthy and natural shift in your consciousness and mood… (even if it is very subtle, perhaps just a whisper) is a normal spiritual experience.

When has your heart moved? When have you felt an inner knowing, a haunting or even a wild ecstatic inspiration that there is a marvel and vitality to all life and creation?

These are important experiences. These are the times when, even if you do not know it, you are in a state of connection with the underlying brilliance and mystery of creation, when the usual boundaries of your sense of self become more relaxed and permeable and you feel your relationship with all that is.

Most of the formal research from institutions such as the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, which is the U.K.’s major academic research body studying spiritual experiences, suggests that nature is the major environment in which people have a sense of spiritual connection. But William Bloom has found that if the question is asked in a very open way – especially if we start with the proposition that spiritual connection is natural – then the list is far longer and more varied.

• I thought that kind of connection only happens to saints in caves. But it happens to me when I’ playing football with my son. And when I’m cooking. I kind of knew something was happening when I went walking by the sea or in the hills. I felt something special. I couldn’t put it into words.

• Mad dance! I have to dance. I love raving. It takes me into a state of being completely ecstatic and connected with spirit.

• Reading is very important to me. I also like puzzles. Sitting there, pencil in my mouth, I go into a sort of reverie. The world feels good.

• With my animals. I love them.

• I am most deeply in my experience of connection when I am csaring for someone who is in pain. When I witness suffering something moves in my heart, and it’s strange, I can feel the beauty of life too.

EXECISE: When Does it Happen For You?

Pause for a few moments and look back over your life.

There have been times and circumstances when you have felt a sense of life’s magic.

This experience may have been very obvious or very subtle.

It may have lasted a while or touched you for only a few seconds.

Notice and be aware of when this has happened for you.

Extract from

“The Power of Modern Spirituality; how to live a life of compassion and personal fulfilment”

by William Bloom, 2011

ISBN 978 0 7499 5285 3

Why should we have it in our lives?

WHAT IS RITUAL?

Ritual is the fine art of taking a break. Pausing on this trodden path of everyday life, we give ourselves the time to see where we are walking. It is “time out”. It is experiential. A profoundly personal act even when shared, ritual reconditions our perspective. It is the practice of reminding ourselves of the value and power of living. It is that moment in which we stop and, looking around, understand that life is sacred.

(And if something is sacred to us when we perceive its spirit, there is no need for us to set that thing aside as being too precious to handle. Far from it. Relating to the sacred inspires communication).

Ritual is the act of pausing to learn on a journey that leads us to know that all life is sacred.

RITUAL IS:

Certainty: Ritual helps us to focus on what we believe and so create an inner certainty. Where there is faith, a craving to believe, ritual guides that need to a place of knowing, grounding it, assuring us that it is real. Put another way, ritual helps us to take complex spiritual concepts and bring them into actual tangible reality that we find easier to identify and interact with. It helps to make our beliefs more accessible to us and more easily integrated into our everyday lives.

Congruence: Ritual is a tool for harmony. The process and perspective of ritual directs us to the essence of our spirit’s purpose, while acutely attuning to the changing world around us. Therefore ritual becomes an interface between our most inner beliefs and our daily life and practice.

Relationship: Ritual helps us to forge relationships and deepens our connection. It provides us with physical tools and direction to honour the individual…. the new moon, the old oak tree, the person we love…. as a sacred being, but it also provides us with a time and place that is dedicated to developing and deepening our relationships further. Ritual provides an arena in which we can discover, and deepen and extend our discoveries. Within ritual,we are able to explore the sacred, experiencing life through our own spirit energy and connecting with that of others. It is within that vision, connecting with spirit, that we are most filled with the creative energy of life. It is here that we find our inspiration, in the beauty and power of spirit’s creativity.

Change: The primitive drives of life are the ones that cause most mayhem, both within the individual psyche and within our society. These are the drives of survival, reproduction and familiarity. Ritual can be harnessed to help specifically address those subjects that are difficult to deal with, particularly those clouded with social taboos such as sex, death and insanity. Ritual can afford us a time and space for safely expressing deep emotion through periods of crisis and confusion. Where our perceptions are confused, tattered or wounded for any reason, the language of ritual offers us ways to reconnect with what heals, allowing us to clarify our beliefs, sort out the positive from the negative, and once again claim our strength. Grounded in the here and now, ritual is a potent technique for facilitating and enabling any process of change, re-creating and reconnecting us, body and soul, to the nourishment that the world around us naturally provides.

Celebration: Ritual is a way of marking and honouring changes in our life. Once change in our life

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has been achieved, whether by ritual or determination, celebrating and joyously marking that change is a critical part of the process. It affirms that the shift is done; declares it openly to those who would witness it, and closes the gate to ensure that reversing is not an option.

Clear intent connects our physical actions with their spiritual outcome.

ACTIVITIES THROUGH WHICH RITUAL IS CONNDUCTED:

Words and Prayers: Ritual language must accordingly have within it a clear intent which speaks to spirit, a flow of energy that engages with our subconscious perception, and an action that communicates to the outside world what has been done. Our intention, through congruence, slides into the creativity of manifestation.

(But also bear in mind that it is of vital importance to have very clear and definite intent in your mind, positively in your heart and soul, before you even put such things into words!)

Stories and Poems: These can be used to express elusive emotions and capture complex thoughts; or, in the case of stories, archetypal situations, characters and problems can be illustrated and discussed.

Drama and Mythology: Another useful tool to illustrate problems or remember important events or concepts. Drama allows the person to assume the mantle of another character and briefly begin to experience another persona from the inside out, thus deepening our understanding and awareness.

Music and Dance: Methods of literally attuning oneself to the energies of mood, thought, emotion and expressing them through sound and movement which literally resonates with energetic vibration. One could almost say that it is the sacred, the hidden within us, made externally manifest.

Trance, Chants, Meditation: All mechanisms to enhance attunement and connection, generally or specifically, or to heighten awareness and clarity of perception. For example, when seeking to clear and cleanse oneself, seeking greater nurturing, or the answers to specific questions and challenges.

“ESSENTIAL ASSECCORIES”:

“There are none. If we can’t make a ritual work with no tools whatsoever, we have no hope of making it work with a clutter of props” Emma Restall Orr.

Robes: There is no uniform code of dress or colour of robe in the druid tradition, though some orders do work with certain ideas from various old manuscripts. White robes are very often used, symbolising the highest light or attainment of knowledge, while many robes are of naturally died an d unbleached fibre, giving the impression of an off-white robe. Some druids consider the potency and vibration of colour more important, wearing the blues of the ocean, greens of the forest, greys of rocks and thunderclouds, reds of bloodlines, browns of earth, etc..

Yet why wear a robe at all? One reason is that when we step into ritual clothes, we step into the mindset of perceiving the sacred world. It is one of a number of ways in which we can move from mundane perception to the state of mind needed in a ritual.

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Other ways include:

• Ensuring there will be no distractions; taking the phone off the hook, allowing yourself a sacred period of seclusion.

• Bathing, perhaps in water scented with essential oils or an aromatic infusion of herbs or flower petals.

• Changing the lighting, closing the curtains, turning off all the electricity, using only candles, lanterns or firelight.

• Changing into clothes and jewellery that are used only for ritual or special and sacred occasions.

Altar: The value and use of an altar is as an enduring tool for focus. When our sanctuary, both of our body as intimate space and th inner temple of our mind, is strong enough to be unaffected by distraction, our spirit centre is the pivot, the balancing point, with our consciousness taking our perspective wherever it will. When the world around us is buzzing with distraction, the focus point of an altar is quite invaluable.

Your altar might be dedicated to a god or goddess, your ancestors,, the land which feeds us, etc.. Family objects or photographs might be placed here; natural items, works of art. In fact, any artefact or object which expresses the beauty and power of the forces which we are honouring through our alter and which will guide us to focus better – seashells, pine cones, leaves, stones, fossils, or pictures. The important thing to remember is that whatever you place on your altar must resonate and be significant/important to you. Objects on an altar are an aid to focus, and the mental and emotional associations we have with everything we place upon it must be considered.

Candles are perhaps one of the most helpful tools. Lighting a candle on an altar clarifies our focus, bringing us back to perceive the sacred, while at the same time being an act of thanksgiving, honouring whoever or whatever the alter represents.

Power Objects: Feathers, fur, claws, teeth,horns, shells, bones, pebbles, stones, pieces of wood. Anything that is loved and respected soon starts to glow and it’s innate spirit shine through and resonate with your own.

Incense: If you accept that everything resonates with it’s own energy, so do the plants and spices which are used to make incense, whether they are essential oils, dried herbs, seeds, resins, petals, berries or tree bark. Incense is usually used for consecration and cleansing, but can assist the mind to focus and concentrate in many different ways for a wide variety of purposes.

Fire: The element that is often considered most powerfully transformative. Where ritual requires a symbolic or actual process of release, representations of what we are letting go can be given into the ever-changing, bright flickering, consuming flames. Also a way of making offerings to the ancestral spirits; fire is an ideal medium, for it takes the physical and reduces it to its pure spirit essence, where spirit to spirit, it can be shared.

The Bowl: Cups, glasses, bowls, chalices, cauldrons. Symbolic of the womb, the power of the feminine creative source, the black iron cauldron is the most important representation, which holds the terror of true potentiality the depths of the unknown, the dark void of the universe, infinite and boundless.

Weaponry: Symbolic power of masculine creativity….knives, swords and wands represent the penis

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that balances the energy of the cauldron womb, and can be used for directing energy and the flow of intention.

The Staff:A wooden staff works in much the same way as a wand. Though not used so much for directing energy, staffs also show relationships between trees and druids. The druid carries his or her staff as a symbol of their connection to that tree, or that species of trees, and a reminder of the wisdom of all trees. The wood is chosen for its unique wisdom and natural lore; the weight and length (traditionally shoulder height) are carefully determined. A staff amplifies our rootedness deep in the earth, our arms open wide to the beauty of the skies as the branches of a tree, the stability of the trunk reflecting the core of our physical being.

Offerings: These are an essential aspect of the druid tradition, as they represent the mutual and appropriate exchange of energy on physical, emotional and spiritual planes. When we are inspired, it is necessary to offer our thanks in return. Many druids will carry with them at all times an offering pouch. In this will be a blend of herbs, nuts, seeds, dried petals, berries, little stones, or shells; the mixture is unique to the person and the place they live in, and the season of the year. (I personally frequently offer something of myself… like a hair, plucked from my head; or a few minutes of loving or healing energy, or the blessings of light.)

THE FORM A RITUAL TAKES:

Finding Our Feet: Ways/techniques of calming ourselves and truly being present, with clear intention in our minds, before we can begin. A way of coming together mindfully. Of centring ourselves.

Spirits of Place: Before any ritual is performed, it is essential to call on the spirits of the place where it is to be held and ask their permission. If the spirits of a place are not willing to have a ritual take place in their space, then the whole proceedings might become disrupted, disconnected and very unsatisfactory at best, and decidedly distressing and potentially damaging at worst. If working alone, it is necessary only to pause and mentally send out your intention to hold such a ritual, and wait to sense the “feeling” that comes back to you. With a group, good simple language will suffice. For instance:

Hail, Guardian Spirit of this place!

Hail, Guardian Spirit of this sacred place!

Hail, Guardian Spirit of this place!

We come here in peace and with clear intent.

We come here to (state intention)

And we ask, in peace and with respect, that you might accept our presence.

Hail, Guardian, accept our presence!

Guardian, we ask you to accept our presence.

Speaking of the ritual intent is important here, but we are not talking to all those gathered for the event, simply the guardian of the place. Of the three levels of communication we use in ritual, then, the first two are important here: speaking spirit to spirit, where words are not so necessary because energy is the main medium of communication, and speaking to our own subconscious. Spirit will respond through the vibration of energy the atmosphere of the place, though those who are able may see or hear an answer more clearly. The response from our own subconscious tells us how we are feeling deep down about performing the ritual, and this emotional feedback needs to be

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acknowledged. A negative tremor within may not mean that we must c all off the ritual (a stronger reaction will indicate clearly if this is the case), but may offer us a distinct impression of the internal fears that are being addressed by doing it.

Calling For Peace: Calling for Peace in a druid ritual is a tradition with a long history. Affirming that there is peace on many levels, internally and externally, the call works through the psyche, the community and the world beyond. It is a way of assuring that the rite is celebrated without disruption. In some circumstances the druid’s words will establish peace. Any words can be used, but the traditional ones are:

May there be peace in the North!

May there be peace in the South!

May there be peace in the West!

May there be peace in the East!

May there be peace throughout all the worlds!

Defining Sacred Space: Usually, rituals are held out in the open air, with the grass, leafmold, sand or rock for a floor, while the ceiling is the open sky above, with all its colours, clouds, the stars, the moon and the sun. Sometimes a circle of trees or stones might be used and the energies of the resident spirits invited to make the circle stronger. Usually though, a circle is then cast by the druid in person, using a sacred knife, a wand or a pointed finger. This shows a clear intention to detach the sacred space from the surrounding world, creating a “bubble” within which there is absolute safety. Thus the ritual is not affected by the happenings in the ordinary world beyond its boundary, and the world is not affected by what is taking place within the ritual space.

Consecration: Cleansing and calming to the site to be used; druids use the four elements of creation; earth air, fire and water. The first three are found in the form of incense, where plant matter is burned to give off a pungent smoke. Both incense and water alter the vibration of energy in a sacred space, clearing, cleansing,lifting, settling, quickening or invoking. They can be healing and exorcising, affirming and dissolving. Incense can clarify the mind and draw us into different mental states. Water from different sources also has different effects, the salt-water of the sea having more of a cleansing effect than the life-giving energy of fresh water.

When consecrating the circle, the censer is taken to the centre, the altar or the west, where the druid asks that the water be blessed. The smoke of the incense is then offered around the circle, first around the edge, then within the circle of those gathered, then around the centre, three circles being walked altogether before the censer is returned to the altar or centre.

The chalice (container) of water is then taken to the centre, the altar or the west, where the druid asks that the water be blessed. It is then taken around the circle in the same way as the incense the water being sprinkled upon the ground, the altar and all those gathered as the blessings are shared.

The Directions: The next part of the ritual is the honouring of the spirits that inhabit our world. In some traditions, the spirits or guardians are invoked or called into the rite, yet the druidic perception understands that these spirits are already and always with us. Instead of asking for their presence, we offer them our respect, focusing our mind to understand their energies and power, their wisdom and the relationship we have with them. In other words, we reach for the spirit, the sacred,in the four corners of our world, so that we might find inspiration in every part of creation.

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Words that might be used – spoken by four different people:

Spirits of the East, powers of waking and of freedom, blackbird song and eagle’s flight, sylphs of the wind, breath of life in the rose light of dawn, I ask that you honour this our Circle as we honour you. Witness and inspire this rite. Hail and Welcome!

Spirits of the South, powers of vitality and beauty, pride of stag and fire of fox,sprites of the sacred flame untamed, courage and heat, I ask that you honour this our Circle as we honour you. Witness and inspire this rite. Hail and Welcome!

Spirits of the West, powers of fluidity and direction,wisdom of salmon and otter’s play, undines of chuckling brook and raging sea, devas that dance with our love and emotion, I ask that you honour this our Circle as we honour you. Witness and inspire this rite. Hail and Welcome!

Spirits of the North, powers of stability and potential, guardians of earth and ancient stone, creatures of night and fertile soil, badger and mole, silent owl, I ask that you honour this our Circle as we honour you. Witness and inspire this rite. Hail and Welcome!

Spirits of Place: The three Worlds: Once we have established our perception as one which sees the world as sacred, we honour the spirits of place once again, this time not by simply asking the guardian spirits to accept our presence, but in search of actual inspiration from them. This involves specifically addressing the spirits of the three worlds… land, sea and sky. In some druid rites, the words of reverence to the three worlds are expressed in the honouring of the directions. Other rituals in the tradition spend less time on the directions, pouring focus into the three worlds. Some parts of the tradition associate only the land with nature spirits; the seas being the world of ancestral spirits and the skies that of the gods. In practice this is understood to be merely a metaphorical model, and most do acknowledge that there is spirit, ancestral energy and deity in all three worlds.

You of the Sacred Lands, of the skies that hold us and the seas that surround us, tooth and claw, fur and feather, root and branch, flipper and fin, earth and sea and sky, may your journey be blessed by the Gods whom we both revere.

Spirits of Place: The Ancestors: These are the spitits of the land beneath our very feet… those ancestors whose feet walked the earth beneath our feet, whose hands, sweat and blood shaped the landscape around us. We are looking for their wisdom, the stories of their lives that will guide our own.

The nature of the call may vary, depending on the purpose of the ritual. It may be a thanksgiving with offerings, or we may be invoking the ancestors, asking for their presence so that their wisdom might inspire us.

Hail, Ancestors, you of this sacred land, you whose breath we now breath, whose tears have fallen upon this meadow, whose laughter is music lingering among the trees, whose blood has mixed with this blessed soil, honour our rite as we honour you. If you would come in peace and share our intention, join us here that we may learn. Hail and Welcome!

Druidry is a very locally focused tradition and it is the spirits of the environment directly around us that we first turn to and honour, for these are the most important relationships. Yet we never loose sight of the global picture and often a call to the ancestors of the land will be to those of our islands as a whole. If we use more abstract words, such as “ancestors of the land which feeds us” we can extend the prayer, thanksgiving or invocation through the world as a whole.

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The Ancestors: Blood and Heritage: Our blood ancestors are also honoured within the tradition of the Druid ritual. It isn’t necessary to invoke these as souls who drift through the veils: our blood ancestors are within our blood. Their stories, their failures and their mistakes, their victories and affirmations, their life experiences all hum in our bones, flowing through the wires of our nervous system, shimmering in the hologramatic core of every cell. This is our DNA. This is evolution. This is the most powerful source of wisdom, if we would listen to it. It might be remembered too, as we have just crossed the threshold of the millennia, that in just 1,000 years we each have somewhere close to 8,600,000,000 direct grandparents or forebears. We are all related. So we might say:

Ancestors, you who gave us life, womb to womb,hand to hand, breath to sacred breath in the twine of souls through millennia upon this Earth, accept our thanks for your innumerable gifts. Those of you who would join us here in peace, be welcome here. Share with us in the beauty of our celebration.

Like many things, ancestors come in threes; those of the land, those of blood and those of our spiritual heritage. This last group are those who have shared the spiritual and religious beliefs and perspectives that we now hold. They are the druids of old, the priests of the land back through time, those who have revered the gods we revere. While our blood relatives gave us the gift of life, our spiritual forebears showed us the beauty of living:

Hail to you, sacred Ancestors, teachers of old, you whose wisdom has passed through the ages, now to touch us with softness of owl’s feathers, with clarity of mountain water, with strength of undoubted love. Enter our circle, come in peace, that we may know the power of your Awen. So may it be.

Please note: To carry out every part of the ritual form so far could take half an hour. Obviously where there is not the time, a shortened version can easily be put together by blending elements and invocations, prioritizing what is important and what is appropriate. However we condense or extend the opening of a ritual though, it must be kept in mind that the creating of sacred space is profoundly important in any rite. Simply making the temple is the heart of spiritual and ritual practice. Our intention, on some level, is always to acknowledge the world as sacred, and it is the creating of a sacred sanctuary which affirms that perfectly.

The Declaration: is when the druid announces why it is that eveyone has been brought together. The intention was previously stated for the spirit guardian of the locality, so that they would accept and bless the rite; now it is spoken to all who have gathered, in body and in spirit. It is a prayer for guidance, an affirmation of resolve, a confirmation of the goal shared, once again bringing the focus of all those present into the here and now, into “one purpose, one voice and one sacred space”.

The Gods: It isn’t necessary to work with gods in druid ritual. As a spiritual philosophy that holds within it so many different religious paths, from the Classical to the Christian, Nordic to Celtic, the tradition is not primarily about deity, but about our relationship with the spirits of place and the ancestors, communication and connection.

The Action: With the sanctuary created, the spirits of creation honoured, our gods and sources of inspiration invoked, what needs to be done in a ritual can now go ahead and be done; whether it is a ritual for change, a rite of passage or a festival celebration. (We will look at what is done in ritual separately)

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The Grounding: At the end of a ritual the winding down process is as important as creating the temple/circle in the beginning. Any benefit gained can be shattered if the closing is done ineffectively or disrespectfully. When the ritual has been powerful the need to ground is crucial. Simply checking the flow of energy and how we feel may be enough to restore the balance. If not, we can return to the consciousness that we had before the ritual began. Aware of our own sacred circle of intimate space within the wider circle or filling the circle (if that is appropriate), we can again follow the energy of the earth as it seeps into our body, rising through us like summer sap to spread through our branches, reaching up into the skies, as the energy of the sun is gently absorbed by our skin, tingling, slipping down through our bones and into the earth.

Balanced, centred between earth and sky, we review the ritual, olur purpose, the energy we have invoked and the inspiration gained, and we spend the time we need simply letting that current move on into our creative response. Sometimes it is possible and appropriate to pour our inspiration into creativity while still within the ritual space, to dance, sing, write, sculpt, to generate a needed breakthrough, to find a new idea, a new level of healing, whatever it may be. If we must wait, our awareness of the flow will hold and guide our focus until the rite is done, when the energy will pour into the world beyond according to our new creative intention.

The Eisteddfod: The eisteddfod in druid ritual is the “official” place and time for our creativity to be expressed, though the weather, the nature of the rite and every other influence and intention will decide whether and when this is the case.

The Feast: The celebratory sharing of the feast affirms that we are in touch with our physical selves and grounds the rite more deeply. In most rituals this is the simple sharing of bread and mead or wine, (though any other liquid… like water, fruit juices or milk can be used…. and any other food can be substituted such as cake).

The bread is first blessed with the druid touching it to the ground and calling to the powers of the earth, to those of the dark soil that feeds us, to the goddess of the land who nourishes our crops. Rich words of thanksgiving are often used, those that weave with the course and purpose of the ritual, words that are appropriate too for the time of year. The druid might speak of the magical alchemy that takes the green wheat through its golden drying and dying process to emerge from the fires as the sacred loaf, the staple food of our culture. A simple blessing might sound something like this:

Mother Earth, in the name of our Gods and the Gods of our Ancestors, we give you thanks. You nourish us body and soul with your gifts of beauty and of abundance. As you honour us with such precious life, so may we honour you. May this bread be blessed.

The mead, often in a traditional mead horn, but otherwise in a drinking bowl or chalice, is then raised to the skies and the powers of nature are called upon as the druid makes their blessing. Often they will speak of the wild dance of the bees, the nectar of summer’s bright and colourful flowers, the sun’s fire drawn down through sweetest beauty to inflame the sacred drink of our ancestors. A simpler blessing would be something like:

Father Sky, in the name of our Gods and the Gods of our Ancestors, we give you thanks. Light of the Sun and blessings of rain fall upon the body of our mother, bringing forth her gifts. As you honour us with your blessings, so may we honour you. May this mead be blessed.

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The bread is then broken and the first part is given back to the earth. Likewise the first sip of mead is poured upon the ground. If there is a fire or ancestral altar, the next piece and sip are offered to the ancestors with the invitation:

Feast with us, spirit to spirit.

The key individuals in the rite are then offered a mouthful of bread and a sip of mead with a blessing that is apposite to the ritual. Here are a few ideas.

Eat, that no one may hunger. Drink, that no one may thirst.

May this bread be the first taste of an abundant harvest.

May this mead be fire to warm your heart through the winter.

The feast is then taken around the circle and offered to everyone who has gathered. In this way, the blessings of the land and of the ritual are shared.

In summertime, when the rituals are blessed with warm sunshine and can drift on for hours, very often after the ritual sharing of bread and mead, the feast is opened out to become a glorious picnic, the eisteddfod continuing amidst the food and drink.

The Closing: After the sharing of the feast and the eisteddfod’s creativity, the last prayers are said within the circle, with thanks being given to all those whose spirits have inspired the course of the ritual’s flow and blessings offered out to the worlds beyond.

The closing of the ritual is in many ways a simple reversal of the process that created it. Each spirit who has been honoured and invited to witness, inspire, bless and protect the rote is once more honoured, this time with thanks. While most of the spirits of place and the powers of nature who have infused the temple/circle with their energy will remain present anyway, as we come to close the ceremony we say our goodbye:

Return to your realms in peace, as in peace you came to honour this our rite. With thanks, in the names of the Gods of our people, and all that we have been, all we are, all we can become, we bid you from this sacred rite, Hail and farewell!

Beginning with the gods, then the ancestors of blood and heritage, the ancestral spirits of the land, the spirits of place, the three worlds and four directions, dryad, devas the faerie and elementals, all are honoured and given thanks. Nobody can be missed out, for if they are, the energy of that relationship will hold a part of us in that otherworldly place of the ritual, keeping us unsettled and ungrounded.

Spirits of the North, great bear, mighty badger, spirits of the earth, we give you thanks for the gifts of strength and endurance that you have brought to our Circle. My Lady of the Womb, may your gifts remain with all who have gathered here this day. We bid you hail and farewell!

Spirits of the West, wise salmon, laughing otter, spirits of the water, we give you thanks for the gfifts of deep wisdom and fluidity that you have brought to our Circle. My Lady of the Seas, may your gifts remain with all who have gathered here this day. We bid you hail and farewell!

Spirits of the South, proud stag, running fox, spirits of fire, we give you thanks for the gifts of passion and energy that you have brought to our Circle. My Lord of the Wildwood, may your gifts

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remain with all who have gathered here this day. We bid you hail and farewell!

Spirits of the east, singing blackbird, eagle flying, spirits of the air, we give you thanks for the gifts of clarity and far sight that you have brought to our Circle. My Lord of the Rising Sun, may your gifts remain with all who have gathered here this day. We bid you hail and farewell!

The thanksgivings done, the last prayers made, the circle is now ready to be opened., marking the end of the ritual. If the temple was detached by cutting the threads that connect us to all through the web of spirit, to open the Circle the druid weaves those threads again, walking counter-clockwise around the Circle, using the power of their intention. If a barrier of brilliant energy was scribed, the druid withdraws it as they walk the Circle. If the Circle was simply woven together, spirit to spirit, in one intention, the counter-clockwise walk can be enough to open it. Hands held in a circle are consciously unclasped. The outside world trickles in.

If other circles were invoked, those made by the dryads and devas, or the spirits of the stones, these will stay firm and true until the druid, giving thanks, asks that these spirits release their hold. In this way, the shift from the sacred sanctuary of the consecrated circle back into daily life is made a gentle process, step by step.

When a cirlce is opened, particularly one that has been tightly cast, the shift in energy is extraordinary. Often the temperature drops suddenly, a wash of vulnerability sliding in as we are once more exposed to the energies of a changing world. At the same time, there’s the excitement of being able to take what was done in the ritual and integrate it into our ordinary lives. The inspiration gained starts itching to be used.

The druid then offers thanks to the guardian spirit of the place and all those seen and unseen who are still gathered around. The last prayers before the ritual is done might sound something like these:

May the Spirits of this Place have been nourished as much as their presence has nourished us. Guardian Spirit, we give you thanks. May your Gods guide and protect you well, the energy of your worlds flowing freely and inspired. Blessed be as blessed is.

This celebration ends in peace as in peace it began. May the wealth of this rite and the blessings we have received go with us all as we depart this place, to nourish, strengthen and sustain us until we meet again.

So may it be!

(The words and prayers, invocations and blessings written here are given as a guide. It is strongly recommended that people use their own…..)

In other words, every word spoken and action undertaken in a ritual are simply all ways of focusing the mind, body, emotions and spirit on the sacred energies, helping to deepen our intention and connection.

The ancient druid was a highly respected member of society, frequently recruited from learned families among the nobility of the land. Their training was long…. at least 19 years, depending on what level of druidry they wished to attain.

Functions:

Counsellors, law-givers, mediators, healers, teachers, historians, genealogists, astrologists, diviners, shamen, bards.

It could be said that historically, one definition of a druid is someone being of the magical order of the Celts. Perhaps to a certain extent this still applies – much of what was once considered “magic” ( healing, use of psychotropic drugs, astrology, divination,shamanic journeying, energetic work) now have more scientific explanations and are far more widely known about, accepted and understood.

The challenge today is to emulate the Aes Dana, “The Gifted People”, whose gifts and unusual skills were given in service of Celtic society. They could walk between the worlds; help people through conflict, sickness and death; communicate lofty or earthly impressions through music and poetry. Musicians were charged with regulating society by means of their music; highly trained, they could make people joyful and lively, sad and tearful, relaxed and sleepy… or warlike! Society was kept in harmony by bards instead of police. (Look at effect classical music has on people today, calming the mentally ill, Mozart easing certain sicknesses…. on other hand, what effect does modern pop music have on our youngsters??????)

On a less elevated level, today we too can all strive to develop as many of these qualities, and skills as possible…. what mother hasn’t employed many of these gifts in a natural and automatic way in bringing up her children? Some of us may encompass some of these skills as part of our profession…. we may work as doctors, nurses, alternative therapists, social workers, voluntary charity supporters, teachers and professors, historians, genealogists, advocates, solicitors, writers, journalists, publicists, high class performers and musicians. But whatever our capabilities, whatever our job of work, we can all aspire to bring these qualities into our lives and the lives of those around us. In a nutshell, it means that today, all of us at our best, can produce wondrous things from our talents and share them!

Traditional/Modern Representation:

The traditional historical figure of a druid as portrayed by the classical writers is that of an aged man with long flowing hair, beard and white robes, clutching a golden sickle or leaning on a tall wooden staff. This image has in part been reinforced by the patriarchal figureheads so popular in the Age of Pisces, as presented by the druid revivalists of the last three hundred years or so. Even now, the figure remains strong in people’s psyche.

Many books about druidry list the physical prerequisites for practising one’s druidry: long robe, a cord or belt, a wooden staff, a druid egg, a crane bag, a blank book for recording observations, poems, songs, stories, etc., something made from the wood of the tree you are currently working with, your preferred divinatory tools, a sickle, a musical instrument. These “theatrical props” are possibly good tools to help a person focus on their objectives, as long as they don’t become an end in themselves and the reason for them lost. But none of these things are actually necessary… it is what is going on in your heart and mind and on your spiritual levels that counts, rather than what you adorn your body with or hold in your hands.

Definition of Druidry Today:

It is often, jokingly, said that there are as many definitions of Druidry as there are Druids. There are certainly many differences among those who call themselves “druids” today. (Do you think of yourself as being a druid? Whether or not that is the case, what do you believe?)

Rob Wilson of The Druid Network writes: “Driudry can be viewed as an intangible essence that holds, guides, challenges and directs – not blind faith – a knowing…. but not knowing at all.

Main Beliefs:

1. Animism

2. Polytheism

3. Respect of Ancestors

4. Reincarnation

5. Importance of Trees

6. The Fairy Realms

7. Awen

8. Ethical Behaviour

9. Ecological responsibility

These can be condensed into fewer headings, but for the purposes of specific identification, consideration and discussion, I have chosen to specifically itemise.

Animism: The belief that all things are imbued with spirit. This fundamental belief encourages us to be aware of the true spiritual nature of all things, animate or inanimate. This awareness encourages us to treat all beings and all things with respect and lies at the heart of the “green” spiritual environmentalism that is so much a part of modern druidry.

THOUGHT: Phil Ryder of The Druid Network comments that scientists tell us that 65% of the universe is energy that they cannot identify.

Polytheism: The belief that there are many gods and goddesses, all of whom are worthy of respect and reverence. Fosters tolerance, allowing us to see other faiths as valid paths to spiritual growth. (Personally, I see various god and goddesses as archetypal figureheads born out of mass human belief. Or any/all deities as part of the “spirit worlds”…. plains of other existence. But we are all imbued with that of the Divine, whether we are gods, humans or blades of grass(back to animism) which is all worthy of respect?????????)

Respect of Ancestors: Recognising and honouring those who have gone before us, both of our genetic bloodline and of the land/place where we live. Also respecting those of our spiritual path who have gone before us and with whom we therefore feel a close affinity. Our respect for the ancestors stems from the fact that so much of who we are is derived from them, both physically and spiritually… they are also sometimes our teachers, guides and inspiration. It is important to call on your ancestors; the gifts and wisdom of your heritage flow through you and never die, but will be built upon, refined and improved…. a way of “remembering yourself”…. your inner self.

Reincarnation: Belief in the eternal self, soul, anam; in a cycle of lives; a constant life passing from one expression to another. The ancient Greeks knew this continuous process of rebirth as metempsychosis, the transfer of the soul to living form. Self comes into the world, usually in human form, but it might be in any animate or inanimate form. May even be something as fleeting as a shout, a wave or a fleck of light. (Quantum physics has proved that these do make a lasting impression on the cosmos. Some scholars doubt that this concept dates from the druids; that the idea of soul/spirit dwelling in non-human form was introduced later and is Pythagorean in origin. Greek/ Roman sources describing druid beliefs only mention transmigration which is the immortal soul in physical form. But just how much did they really know of druidic practice???? What do you think?

(Many similarities between druids and Pythagoreans… has been suggested that the Pythagoreans might have been spawned by the druids, rather than the other way around)

Important to be able to reincarnate many times in many forms. (Theosophical concept that we have already had many lives in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms before graduating to the human plain).

If Time is not linear, can we/do we reincarnate up and down history… or experience more than one lifetime simultaneously? (You might like to go away and give some of these questions more thought)

Tir na n Og …. Land of the living…. Beautiful Paradise…. the Summer Lands…. located across the Magh Mell, The Plain of Honey, out in the western sea, where the soul goes between incarnations to rest and recuperate.

It might be interpreted as an underlying metaphysical goal to accumulate spiritual growth/knowledge/wisdom by experiencing the diversity of the universe; whether this is viewed as an issue of reincarnation, or psychic transformation within one lifetime, or a fusion of both, is a personal matter.

The Importance of Trees: That trees are a huge source of wisdom, often living centuries longer than we do. Until very recently they have also been absolutely vital to our survival and well-being on the planet, feeding, clothing, warming and sheltering us… even now we still use wood for a great many things in 21^st Century life. And they are still the lungs of the planet! In druidic terms, there is the Tree Alphabet, Ogham and the World Tree (found in many cultures around the globe). Trees span plains of existence as well as physical plains; their roots are sunk deep in the earth, their trunks pass through our physical arena of life and their branches commune with the sky and the spirits of air/heaven… or in shamanic terms, they span the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds… from etheric to astral. Druids respect trees; they seek out their company, their strength and accumulated wisdom. They meet in groves of trees.

The Fairy Realms: Different plains of energetic existence (etheric, astral, energetic levels), vibrating at higher rates than that of the human plain, but very close to us, so that sometimes they overlap and we see, smell, touch or otherwise become aware of “that which is not real”. This covers the Tylwedd Teg, the Sidhe, realms of ancestoral spirits, animals, rocks and vegetation; spirits of place and archetypal deities. Levels of existence that we perceive as beautiful, seductive, timeless… but they are also different to our own and can be “distorted and dangerous… need to be handled with great care!

There are frequent references within druidry to shapeshifting and shamanic practice… these are activities which are carried out on these other levels. (If people “see” something, or if someone becomes “invisible”, it is by changing people’s perception of something, not by actually becoming it)

THOUGHT: Connection with ancestors and land spirits in modern context can be construed as a deep concern for family, in its broadest sense, and a deep environmental awareness. (Order of Imbas, America).

Ethical Behaviour: Because of the remarks made by classical writers concerning druidic teachings, the early Revivalist druids of the 18^th – 19^th centuries came to believe that the ancient druid moral doctrines were essentially the same as Christianity. Therefore the revival of druidry in Britain attracted social reformers, activists for various causes,labour organisations,socialists, etc..

Modern druids have inherited a number of important ideas from the early Revivalists, including the one-ness of the world, the immortality of the soul, the presence of Awen, the experience of the Divine in trees and landforms and in nature generally; and the inherent goodness of human nature – as well as possessing better quality historical, linguistic and archaeological information about the ancient Celts and the druidic era.

Druids ancient and modern had/have a deep interest in questions of moral and social philosophy. But druidry daoes not pronounce or enforce – in a gentle and open-minded way, questions are posed and support given if wanted while people search for answers.

Philip Carr-Gomm writes “Most druids have a highly developed sense of ethical behaviour which is usually implicit in their actions, rather than explicitly stated”. He believes that druidry contains four main ethical concepts; responsibility, community, trust and integrity.

Another quality frequently mentioned is “honour” and Emma Restall Orr believes that this is the sum of three specific virtues; courage, generosity, loyalty.

Others suggest that to live with truth is to live with kindness, tact and diplomacy; to know the truth of one’s own nature and to shun self-delusion and that to exhibit true strength is to live life courageously honourably and to its full.

Below are a list of fairly typical qualities often referred to in druidry:

Hospitality Generousity Integrity Truth Responsibility Authenticity Attentiveness Respect Honour Wisdom Courage Service/Sacrifice Sovereignty

Which do you think apply most to druidry?

What else might you add?

Which take personal precedence?

Structure:

The Revivalists of the last few centuries established patriarchal traditions, in keeping with their patriarchally dominated Christian upbringing. In fact, modern druidry has no central authority; national and international Orders and organisations are created to facilitate networking and study between druids. (Although I fear that certain large Orders are loosing sight of this!)

In this country we have The Druid Network, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and The Druidic Order, with a handful of smaller groups.

There are three branches of druidry: bardic, ovatic and druidic. These can denote how advanced a person’s personal path is if you are following a course run by one of the Orders, or it can simply clarify what aspect of druidry attracts a person most.

Druids meet in “groves”, often small groups of friends and family, with a recognised leader or egalitarian group alternating administrative functions between themselves. They might just meet to celebrate the eight main festivals around the wheel of the year, or for specific celebrations connected to Celtic/local deities, the position of the moon or stars, rites of passage, etc.

There are many more who are “solitary” practitioners, either because they prefer to remain private in their activities and beliefs, or because they cannot find others with whom to share their spiritual ideals and interpretations. Craig Cartmell of the druid network has proposed another category for those working alone… that of Feral Druidry…. learning to literally stand still and silent with your eyes wide open; seeing and approaching reality from different perspectives “outside the box”.

Some More Definitions of Druidry:

Most agree that a druid is a man or woman who walks a spiritual path founded upon the Celtic branch of the indigenous European tradition. Unfortunately, there appears to be many divergent views of exactly what is Celtic, spiritual, indigenous or traditional! (Personally, I think that druidry can be applied to whoever or wherever you are, and that the Celtic interpretation is only relevant if you are living in the Celtic lands or are of Celtic descent…… discuss?) Having said that, as Nicholas Mann and Maya Magee Sutton point out in their book “Druid Magic”, it can be argued that each one of us comes to understand druidry only by making the effort of getting inside the many layers of Celtic cosmology from the past and by practising druidic principals in the present.

But above all else, druids are people who have in common a reverence for all Life, fully engaging in Life; celebrating and honouring the relationships, cycles, spirit and matter that make up each of us and the world in which we live.

Another unifying factor of modern druidry is a desire to give back to the earth. Historically, massive deposits of valuable objects were made to the spirits of lakes, rivers and springs, but the druids of today offer more practical gifts; money, time and energy to persue ecologically motivated work.

Pauline Kennedy Allen of The Druid Network suggests that druidry is a family of related paths; sometimes so disparate that the only thing that they have in common is the term “druid”. However, she goes on to say that druidry is where we all have in common the principal of respecting each others opinions and beliefs; the honour and respect of nature and share similar goals and principals.

Her own definition is “Someone who is inspired by Celtic myths and loves to work with the Spirits of the land they live in, their ancestors and their own Gods in whatever form they feel these beings take; who strive to honour and respect those around them even when they disagree with them; who work to improve themselves and the lives of those around them in whatever way they can; who take responsibility for their own actions and for their own learning and development”.

Robin Herne, author of “Old Gods, New Druids”, suggests that around the world, druids fall into roughly three categories of belief:

• Some strive to maintain strong continuity of belief and practice with the original druids of history.

• Some engage in practices that are as much inspired by Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity as they are by ant Insular Celtic ideas.

Some see “druid” as a term to convey the suggestion of “nature priest(ess) more than to imply a specific link to ancient practice.

SUGGESTED QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Try writing your own personal creed/declaration.

2. Ancient druids were part of a structural hierarchy, whilst many modern druids prefer to steer well clear of any spiritual hierarchy.

• What have we gained and what have we lost by rejecting such power structures?

• How do you personally feel about the idea of an organised priesthood?

SOURSES USED IN PREPARING THESE NOTES

Books:

1. “Druid Magic: The Practice of Celtic Wisdom” by Maya Magee Sutton and Nicholas R. Mann

2. “Druid Mysteries: Ancient Wisdom for the 21^st Century” by Philip Carr-Gomm

3. “Old Gods, New Druids” by Robin Herne

Various articles from the following websites:

1. The British Druidic Order: www.druidry.co.uk

2. The Druid Network: www.druidnetwork.org

3. The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids: www.druidry.org

4. Druidic Dawn: www.druidicdawn.org