Since I became a druid 5 years ago, I've read of divination, especially ogham divination, as being part of druidry. I don't believe in divination in a supernatural sense, but it seemed to me that it's like art. It's a way to see beauty and tap into your feelings.
So I bought The Celtic Tree Oracle. There are instructions for a complicated way of drawing a bunch of cards of having each one signify a certain thing. But from the start, that was not my intent. My plan was to draw one card, maybe in the evening, maybe before meditation.
I did that for the first time last night. I was very tired yesterday. All day at work, I was especially distractible. I got work done, but I wasn't working on the things I meant to be working on. I kept going off on other projects. Usually I have one coffee before work and one in late morning or early afternoon. But I was a mess from the time I got to work, exhausted and irritable. I had my second coffee of the day not long after getting to work, and my third mid-afternoon.
I stayed late at work, not super-late, but until just before 6. Then I did two errands after work.
When I got home, I was exhausted. I had dinner, and then lay in the living room listening to the radio until bedtime. I went to bed early, at 8:45. But then I had trouble falling asleep. Maybe it was because I had extra coffee to try to make it through the day.
I got up and went to the ogham cards. I shuffled them carefully, and let myself be drawn to a particular card. I chose my card, and it was Uilleand. I opened the book to read about its meaning. I read of a bird which, when disturbed, flies up and makes a scene to draw attention away from its nest. I read about turning away from distraction and seeing the truth at the center. This seemed apt, since I have been reading about ADHD and since I had a distractible day.
After reading about Uilleand, I felt a sense of peace. I went back to bed, and this time I could fall asleep.
Showing posts with label druidry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label druidry. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Spirituality Without Structure
Some notes from Spirituality Without Structure by Nimue Brown:
- She says "I've even had Druid practitioners tell me that I must repeat meditations that don't work for me, and repeat them daily because they are necessary. To question that, was, I was told, to disrespect both the teacher and the tradition." When I think of it from the outside, when I think of a religious leader telling people what they must do in order to show their respect to the leader, it seems like a situation which should inspire fleeing. But when I'm in the moment, when I've chosen to embrace a tradition, a person, I try to comply with what that tradition or person tells me I should do. I try to give them a chance. And then I get mad at them.
- She describes a spiritual experience as "an uplifting, inspiring, and positive occurrence" which may inspire "love, hope, compassion, and the like." That makes me think of a Pete Seeger concert.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Inner grove
Books that talk about meditation tell me that I should visualize my inner grove, that this will be a place I can return to time after time in meditations, a place for finding peace. The books talk about starting by imagining approaching on a path, bridge, or stairs. Then enter the place. Then maybe you will be greeted by creatures who inhabit the place. Then you can explore the place. Then you can leave using the same path, bridge, or stairs you used to enter.
So, I have been creating my inner grove. I'm terrible at drawing, but here's a general layout. The entrance is on the bottom of this map.
Now, the more descriptive details:
You start by walking on a stone path that goes beside a creek.
You cross the creek on a bridge.
Then, before you is a field, with occasional trees, including maple.
In the field, you may find goats, sheep, llamas, rabbits, and chickens wandering about.
Off to the sides, there are shrubs -- lilac, hydrangea, and mountain laurel.
Ahead and to the left is the apple orchard.
Ahead and to the right is a hardwood forest, with trees including maple and oak.
Straight ahead is a forest of white pine trees, with a carpet of pine needles and boulders.
If you continue through the forest, you will come out to wild blueberries.
Beyond the blueberry hill is the granite ocean coast.
Hidden away in the forest is a cottage. In summer, the thick stone walls keep it cool inside. For winter, there's a sunroom in back, with a woodstove, so you can sit in a chaise chair reading, cozy and warm.
So, I have been creating my inner grove. I'm terrible at drawing, but here's a general layout. The entrance is on the bottom of this map.
Now, the more descriptive details:
You start by walking on a stone path that goes beside a creek.
You cross the creek on a bridge.
Then, before you is a field, with occasional trees, including maple.
In the field, you may find goats, sheep, llamas, rabbits, and chickens wandering about.
Off to the sides, there are shrubs -- lilac, hydrangea, and mountain laurel.
Ahead and to the left is the apple orchard.
Ahead and to the right is a hardwood forest, with trees including maple and oak.
Straight ahead is a forest of white pine trees, with a carpet of pine needles and boulders.
If you continue through the forest, you will come out to wild blueberries.
Beyond the blueberry hill is the granite ocean coast.
Hidden away in the forest is a cottage. In summer, the thick stone walls keep it cool inside. For winter, there's a sunroom in back, with a woodstove, so you can sit in a chaise chair reading, cozy and warm.
Monday, August 10, 2015
The past, the future
Druidry and the Ancestors by Nimue Brown reminds of us our roots. Wherever we live, this ground we walk upon has been walked on by humans and animals for centuries, for millenia. We are just one link in the chain. And we have a long chain of genetic ancestors -- 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents, and so on back for millenia, except that not all are unique -- when distant cousins marry, they have some common ancestors.
And my life is itself a chain in time. From the present, my life stretches back to the past. Living around here the past 20 years, discovering scenic areas around here, learning to rollerblade, being unemployed. Before that, living in the suburb of a big city while going to grad school. Walking a half hour to school. Walking to grocery shopping, hauling groceries in a backpack, taking the train to my internships, living in a basement apartment, choosing the basement because I can dance around, stomping on the floor all I want, without disturbing anyone below. Before that, living in the suburbs of a different big city, working a boring job in the big city, taking aerobics class, walking to visit my boyfriend, discovering the parks. Before that, college, a community, a circle of friends, a place where I belonged. Before that, growing up, my hometown, a misfit at school, some friends at school, vacations in more rural, rugged places, hippie parents who listened to Donovan, a rock band at my father's commune, playing on a homemade see-saw, getting a "swinging ladder" for the swing set, dressing up like a nurse.
And from the present, the future stretches wide before me. An unwritten story. An unforged trail. It could lead anywhere. We never know what's around the bend. We don't know what we will find, but when we find it, we choose what course to take.
And my life is itself a chain in time. From the present, my life stretches back to the past. Living around here the past 20 years, discovering scenic areas around here, learning to rollerblade, being unemployed. Before that, living in the suburb of a big city while going to grad school. Walking a half hour to school. Walking to grocery shopping, hauling groceries in a backpack, taking the train to my internships, living in a basement apartment, choosing the basement because I can dance around, stomping on the floor all I want, without disturbing anyone below. Before that, living in the suburbs of a different big city, working a boring job in the big city, taking aerobics class, walking to visit my boyfriend, discovering the parks. Before that, college, a community, a circle of friends, a place where I belonged. Before that, growing up, my hometown, a misfit at school, some friends at school, vacations in more rural, rugged places, hippie parents who listened to Donovan, a rock band at my father's commune, playing on a homemade see-saw, getting a "swinging ladder" for the swing set, dressing up like a nurse.
And from the present, the future stretches wide before me. An unwritten story. An unforged trail. It could lead anywhere. We never know what's around the bend. We don't know what we will find, but when we find it, we choose what course to take.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
What Do Druids Believe by Philip Carr-Gomm
What Do Druids Believe by Philip Carr-Gomm is a short and easy to read introduction. It's not a guidebook that will help you get started on your druid path. Rather, it's something you read to decide whether you want to start to walk that path. If you do make that choice, you'll want more books to help you find your way.
The first four chapters had to do with what druidry is, and what its history is. For me, that was pretty straightforward. I liked the point at the end of the 4th chapter commenting on famous druids in the past few centuries. Basically, it's a bunch of eccentrics. Carr-Gomm says you might think that a spiritual movement needs its famous people to be pious, wise, saintly and so on, but when you look at the famous people from other paths who supposedly have those attributes, you find that they were eccentrics too.
One thing that I thought was interesting in the history was the connections with the Universalist and Unitarian churches.
Chapter 5 tells what druids believe. For me, that did not go down as smoothly as the preceding chapters, because there are things in there that I don't believe.
What it lists that I do believe
If I twist it to my own understanding, I can say I believe these things. I can say that for the Otherworld, I believe that we can reach a transcendent state of mind, and for life after death, I can say that we live on in the legacy we leave behind -- our writings, the things we create, the things people remember about us. But to me, that is stretching it too much. It is like when I attend a Christian service, I can re-interpret the words to a pantheist meaning, but the fact that I can find a way to accept the words doesn't make me a Christian.
The Law of the Harvest is that you reap what you sow. I believe that it is often the case that if you are kind to others, you will have friends, and if you are cruel to others, you will find yourself alone. However, it's not always the case. Sometimes your kindnesses are never repaid. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You get sick or injured. People betray you. That doesn't mean that you brought it on by doing a bad thing.
I like what he says about reverence: "Druids treat the body, relationships, and sexuality with respect and as sacred. Reverence should not be confused with piousness or lack of vigorous engagement -- true reverence is strong and sensual as well as gentle and kind."
The next chapter talks about mysticism, shamanism, and magic. It says that mysticism is connecting with deity and shamanism is exploring the Otherworld. It talks about how the diversity of druidry means there is room for people interested in one but not the other. But to me, both are predicated on the idea that there is something else out there. To me, there isn't an Otherworld, there is only your own head, where you can enter a different state of mind.
I liked the discussion of magic. He says that magic includes "adopting an attitude of awe and reverence towards life and the world," and "becoming aware of the creative power that we possess simply by being alive, and then consciously using that creative power in the service of our values and ideals.
Chapter 7 is on ethics and values. There's a list of 11 principles of conduct from Athelia Nihtscada. They seem like something I could live by. I could post them in my home, and meditate on them.
Chapters 8-12 went down pretty easily for me, same as chapters 1-4 did.
Chapter 9 mentioned that birch is often the first tree that grows when a forest is starting, so in ogham divination, it is associated with birth and beginnings. That sparked in me an interest in learning this divination system. It is an interest that has been sparked other times in the past. I don't believe that cards foretell the future or anything like that, but that it's a way of tapping into different part of the self. He says this at the beginning of chapter 9, talking about ritual: "A psychologist would say that this appeals to the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain that processes art and music as opposed to logic, language, and mathematics. A mystic would say that ritual opens us to an experience of the spiritual dimension of life."
In chapter 8, Carr-Gomm describes some of the diverse types of druid practice. One thing he mentions is a daily ritual "to connect with the energies of Earth, Trees, Sea, and Sky." I want to think about that combination. I've heard about earth, sea, and sky, and I've heard about earth, air, fire, and water. In my own Sphere of Protection ritual, I've chosen sun, earth, air, trees.
Chapter 8 also says, "The most valuable and life-changing practice of all, though, evolves gradually and simply as a different way of being in the world. Through working with Druid teachings and cremonies, changes occur in our attitudes, feelings, and behaviour which enable us to live more and more frequently in alightnment with our sense of purpose and meaning, and with an awareness of the inherent spirituality of all life."
I don't think this is unique to druidry. It is what we get from any spiritual path.
Overall, I liked reading the book. There were a few things that were maybe a little different from what I've read before, but most of the material was familiar. Still, I like reading this kind of stuff. I find some spiritual inspiration in it. I like the way it provides examples of the range of druidry, including Christian druids, pagan druids, people who see druidry as a religion, people who see druidry as cultural.
For me, some ideas from the book that I might want to further meditate on or study:
Druidry is not a path were you read a book and then you are done.
The first four chapters had to do with what druidry is, and what its history is. For me, that was pretty straightforward. I liked the point at the end of the 4th chapter commenting on famous druids in the past few centuries. Basically, it's a bunch of eccentrics. Carr-Gomm says you might think that a spiritual movement needs its famous people to be pious, wise, saintly and so on, but when you look at the famous people from other paths who supposedly have those attributes, you find that they were eccentrics too.
One thing that I thought was interesting in the history was the connections with the Universalist and Unitarian churches.
Chapter 5 tells what druids believe. For me, that did not go down as smoothly as the preceding chapters, because there are things in there that I don't believe.
What it lists that I do believe
- learning from experience rather sticking to doctrine
- that life is spiritual
- acceptance of diverse theologies and beliefs within druidry
- reverence for nature
- trying to grow in wisdom, creativity, and love
- history and ancestors
- trees
- community
- reverence for life
- peace
- interconnectedness of the universe
- existence of the Otherworld
- reincarnation
- Law of the Harvest
If I twist it to my own understanding, I can say I believe these things. I can say that for the Otherworld, I believe that we can reach a transcendent state of mind, and for life after death, I can say that we live on in the legacy we leave behind -- our writings, the things we create, the things people remember about us. But to me, that is stretching it too much. It is like when I attend a Christian service, I can re-interpret the words to a pantheist meaning, but the fact that I can find a way to accept the words doesn't make me a Christian.
The Law of the Harvest is that you reap what you sow. I believe that it is often the case that if you are kind to others, you will have friends, and if you are cruel to others, you will find yourself alone. However, it's not always the case. Sometimes your kindnesses are never repaid. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You get sick or injured. People betray you. That doesn't mean that you brought it on by doing a bad thing.
I like what he says about reverence: "Druids treat the body, relationships, and sexuality with respect and as sacred. Reverence should not be confused with piousness or lack of vigorous engagement -- true reverence is strong and sensual as well as gentle and kind."
The next chapter talks about mysticism, shamanism, and magic. It says that mysticism is connecting with deity and shamanism is exploring the Otherworld. It talks about how the diversity of druidry means there is room for people interested in one but not the other. But to me, both are predicated on the idea that there is something else out there. To me, there isn't an Otherworld, there is only your own head, where you can enter a different state of mind.
I liked the discussion of magic. He says that magic includes "adopting an attitude of awe and reverence towards life and the world," and "becoming aware of the creative power that we possess simply by being alive, and then consciously using that creative power in the service of our values and ideals.
Chapter 7 is on ethics and values. There's a list of 11 principles of conduct from Athelia Nihtscada. They seem like something I could live by. I could post them in my home, and meditate on them.
Chapters 8-12 went down pretty easily for me, same as chapters 1-4 did.
Chapter 9 mentioned that birch is often the first tree that grows when a forest is starting, so in ogham divination, it is associated with birth and beginnings. That sparked in me an interest in learning this divination system. It is an interest that has been sparked other times in the past. I don't believe that cards foretell the future or anything like that, but that it's a way of tapping into different part of the self. He says this at the beginning of chapter 9, talking about ritual: "A psychologist would say that this appeals to the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain that processes art and music as opposed to logic, language, and mathematics. A mystic would say that ritual opens us to an experience of the spiritual dimension of life."
In chapter 8, Carr-Gomm describes some of the diverse types of druid practice. One thing he mentions is a daily ritual "to connect with the energies of Earth, Trees, Sea, and Sky." I want to think about that combination. I've heard about earth, sea, and sky, and I've heard about earth, air, fire, and water. In my own Sphere of Protection ritual, I've chosen sun, earth, air, trees.
Chapter 8 also says, "The most valuable and life-changing practice of all, though, evolves gradually and simply as a different way of being in the world. Through working with Druid teachings and cremonies, changes occur in our attitudes, feelings, and behaviour which enable us to live more and more frequently in alightnment with our sense of purpose and meaning, and with an awareness of the inherent spirituality of all life."
I don't think this is unique to druidry. It is what we get from any spiritual path.
Overall, I liked reading the book. There were a few things that were maybe a little different from what I've read before, but most of the material was familiar. Still, I like reading this kind of stuff. I find some spiritual inspiration in it. I like the way it provides examples of the range of druidry, including Christian druids, pagan druids, people who see druidry as a religion, people who see druidry as cultural.
For me, some ideas from the book that I might want to further meditate on or study:
- Athelia Nihtscada's principles of ethical behavior
- The idea of Earth, Trees, Sea, and Sky
- Divination, with The Celtic Tree Oracle by Liz and Colin Murray
Druidry is not a path were you read a book and then you are done.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Druid study program
I completed the AODA first degree curriculum 2010-2012. Then I decided to take a break. Although I did read some of the books for the second degree curriculum, I stopped the daily meditation, weekly time in nature, and seasonal rituals. I knew I was having trouble keeping up with them. I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. I thought I would take a break and see what insights I grew into. The insights I've grown into at this time are:
I know that I like to make lists of things to do and books to read, and, rather than doing the things or reading the books, I just go on to make new lists But right now what I have in my mind clamoring to be written is a second degree curriculum.
Areas for my druid curriculum are:
For each area, I'll list practices and/or books to read. I've read a number of books in these areas already. I'll list books I've read and found valuable, and books I'd like to read. I'm omitting books I've read that I did not find to be crucial to my druid study. With the books I haven't read, I'll find them and at least look at them. If they do not seem worthwhile, I will delete them from the list. If they do seem worthwhile, I will read them and keep them on the list.
Ancestor study is framed in Nimue Brown's book Druidry and the Ancestors. I've read this book, but I want to keep re-reading it, because I think it has a lot to do with what my druid path is all about. It's about seeing myself is rooted in history, family, and the earth.
Brown writes about ancestors of tradition, place, and blood, so that's how I categorize my reading lists in this area.
Historical Druids
Alhouse-Green, Miranda. Caesar's Druids: An Ancient Priesthood.
Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. A Brief History of the Druids.
Hutton, Ronald. The Druids.
Hutton, Ronald. Blood and Mistletoe.
James, Simon. The World of the Celts.
King, John Robert. The Celtic Druids' Year: Seasonal Cycles of the Ancient Celts.
Markale, Jean. The Druids: Celtic Priests of Nature.
Modern Druids
Billington, PennyThe Path of Druidry: Walking the Ancient Green Way.
Bonewits, Isaac. Bonewits' Essential Guide to Druidism.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. Druid Mysteries.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. The Rebirth of Druidry.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. What Do Druids Believe?
Ellison, Robert. The Solitary Druid.
Greenfield, Trevor. Paganism 101.
Orr, Emma Restall. Druidry.
Orr, Emma Restall. Living Druidry: Magical Spirituality for the Wild Soul.
Taelboys, Graeme K. Way of the Druid: Renaissance of a Celtic Religion and its Renaissance.
Treadwell, Cat. A Druid's Tale.
van der Hoeven, Joanna. The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary Druid.
White, Julie, and Talboys, Graeme K. The Path Through the Forest: A Druid Guidebook.
Pantheist
Harrion, Paul. Elements of Pantheism.
Raymo, Chet. Natural Prayers.
Raymo, Chet. When God is Gone, Everything is Holy.
New England
Brown, Nimue. Druidry and Meditation.
Brown, Nimue. Spirituality Without Structure.
Brown, Nimue. When a Pagan Prays.
Kornfield, Jack. After the Ecstasy, The Laundry.
Nichol, James. Contemplative Druidry.
Patterson, Rachel. Meditation.
Pierce, Tamora. The Circle of Magic and Circle Opens series are fantasy novels which talk about meditation as a way of tapping into your power, and which promote respect for the forces of nature.
Greer, John Michael. The Druidry Handbook.
Greer, John Michael. The Druid Magic Handbook.
Kondratiev, Alexei. The Apple Branch.
White, Julie, and Talboys, Graeme K. Arianrhod's Dance.
Trees
Blouin, Glen. An Eclectic Guide to Trees East of the Rockies.
Fergus, Charles. Trees of New England: A Natural History.
Symonds, George W., and Chelminski, Stephen V. Tree Identification Book: A New Method for the Practical Identification and Recognition of Trees.
Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Trees.
Thomas, Peter. Trees: Their Natural History.
Watts, May T. Winter Tree Finder: A Manual for Identifying Deciduous Trees in Winter (Eastern US)
Wells, Diana. Lives of the Trees: An Uncommon History.
Insects
Berenbaum, May. Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs.
Buchmann, S., and G. Nabhan. The Forgotten Polllinators.
Capinera, John. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States.
Deltheir, Vincent G. Crickets and Katydids: Concerts and Solos.
Jacobsen, R. Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis.
Longgod, W. The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men.
Ransome, Hilda. The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore.
Tautz, J. The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a Super-organism.
Whynott, Douglas. Following the Bloom.
Other
Bailey, Elisabeth Tova. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.
Krichner, John C.and Morrison, Gordon. Ecology of Eastern Forests.
Mabey, Richard. Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants.
I have looked at several tai chi books, but none make the cut for my druid study program. Maybe these books will be interesting.
Roth, Gabrielle. Maps to Ecstasy: The Healing Power of Movement.
Roth, Gabrielle. Sweat Your Prayers.
Roseman, Ed. Edly's Music Theory for Practical People.
Coyne, Kelly, and Knutzen, Erik. The Urban Homestead.
Hayes, Shannon. Radical Homemakers.
Elgin, Duane. Voluntary Simplicity.
- 2012 was when I got involved in the time bank and Morris dancing. I think I thought my time was infinite. I don't think I realized how much those activities cut into time for druid practices.
- The books for the AODA second degree curriculum are not the direction that I want to take with my studies.
- Areas accepted by AODA are natural sciences, the arts, and magic. They do not consider social sciences to be part of druid study. The original druids were teachers, judges, historians, and peacemakers, but AODA excludes this from their definition of druidry. For me, human studies are essential to druidry.
- I can't commit myself to AODA because my conscience objects to their censorship practices. I agree with their premise that internet forums should be moderated for civility, but the way they put it into practice is too much. I was uncomfortable with it from the first week I joined, but I tried to live with it. However, there was one incident that was the final straw, that told me that I can't in good conscience identify with this group. Someone posted a question about the origins of a phrase. I posted a link to an article about the origins of the phrase. My link was deleted because the people who originated the phrase were pacifists. Apparently AODA thinks we can't learn history if the history has anything controversial in it.
I know that I like to make lists of things to do and books to read, and, rather than doing the things or reading the books, I just go on to make new lists But right now what I have in my mind clamoring to be written is a second degree curriculum.
Areas for my druid curriculum are:
- Ancestors
- Meditation
- Ritual
- Nature
- Movement
- Music
- Sustainable living
For each area, I'll list practices and/or books to read. I've read a number of books in these areas already. I'll list books I've read and found valuable, and books I'd like to read. I'm omitting books I've read that I did not find to be crucial to my druid study. With the books I haven't read, I'll find them and at least look at them. If they do not seem worthwhile, I will delete them from the list. If they do seem worthwhile, I will read them and keep them on the list.
Ancestors
Ancestor study is framed in Nimue Brown's book Druidry and the Ancestors. I've read this book, but I want to keep re-reading it, because I think it has a lot to do with what my druid path is all about. It's about seeing myself is rooted in history, family, and the earth.
Brown writes about ancestors of tradition, place, and blood, so that's how I categorize my reading lists in this area.
For my druid study program, studying the ancestors of tradition means reading about what others have said about druidry and pantheism.Tradition
Historical Druids
Alhouse-Green, Miranda. Caesar's Druids: An Ancient Priesthood.
Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. A Brief History of the Druids.
Hutton, Ronald. The Druids.
Hutton, Ronald. Blood and Mistletoe.
James, Simon. The World of the Celts.
King, John Robert. The Celtic Druids' Year: Seasonal Cycles of the Ancient Celts.
Markale, Jean. The Druids: Celtic Priests of Nature.
Modern Druids
Billington, PennyThe Path of Druidry: Walking the Ancient Green Way.
Bonewits, Isaac. Bonewits' Essential Guide to Druidism.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. Druid Mysteries.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. The Rebirth of Druidry.
Carr-Gomm, Philip. What Do Druids Believe?
Ellison, Robert. The Solitary Druid.
Greenfield, Trevor. Paganism 101.
Orr, Emma Restall. Druidry.
Orr, Emma Restall. Living Druidry: Magical Spirituality for the Wild Soul.
Taelboys, Graeme K. Way of the Druid: Renaissance of a Celtic Religion and its Renaissance.
Treadwell, Cat. A Druid's Tale.
van der Hoeven, Joanna. The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary Druid.
White, Julie, and Talboys, Graeme K. The Path Through the Forest: A Druid Guidebook.
Pantheist
Harrion, Paul. Elements of Pantheism.
Raymo, Chet. Natural Prayers.
Raymo, Chet. When God is Gone, Everything is Holy.
My ancestors were from New England, and before that, they were from Britain and Ireland. I want to learn the history of these places in order to know about the lives of my ancestors, lives which led to the creation of me. I want to visit the places in New England where my ancestors lived.Place
New England
Historical FictionBritain
Hebert, Ernest. The Old American.
Hebert, Ernest. Whisper My Name.
Hebert, Ernest. The Dogs of March.
Voigt, Cynthia. Tree By Leaf.
Memoir
Robertson, Adele Crockett. The Orchard.
Nonfiction
Bunker, John P., Jr. Not Far From the Tree: A Brief History of the Apples and Orchards of Palermo, Maine, 1804-2004.
McBride, Bunnie, and Prins, Harald E.L. Indians in Eden: Wabanakis and Rusticators on Maine's Mt. Desert Island.
Rainford, Sheila, and Jones, Ruth Owen. Harvesting History: Amherst, Masschusetts Farms 1700-2010.
Russell, Howard S. Indian New England Before the Mayflower.
Sherman, Sam. Ipswich: Stories from the River's Mouth.
NonfictionIreland
Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun.
Sykes, Bryan. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts.
Historical fiction
Shaw, Maura D. The Keeners.
Mythology
Gantz, Jeffrey. Irish Myths and Sagas.
Heaney, Marie. Over Nine Waves.
Heaney, Marie. Names Upon the Harp.
Smyth, Daragh. Guide to Irish mythology.
Nonfiction
McCaffrey and Eaton. In Search of Ancient Ireland.
I've read a book that one of my ancestors wrote about another of my ancestors, but mostly the study of ancestors of the blood is not about reading published books. It's about spending time with my relatives, and collecting stories and photos.Blood
Meditation
I want to practice meditation every day. In addition, the following books may be useful in cultivating that sense of spirituality and being present in the moment.Brown, Nimue. Druidry and Meditation.
Brown, Nimue. Spirituality Without Structure.
Brown, Nimue. When a Pagan Prays.
Kornfield, Jack. After the Ecstasy, The Laundry.
Nichol, James. Contemplative Druidry.
Patterson, Rachel. Meditation.
Pierce, Tamora. The Circle of Magic and Circle Opens series are fantasy novels which talk about meditation as a way of tapping into your power, and which promote respect for the forces of nature.
Ritual
Practice rituals to celebrate the wheel of the year and other occasions.
Greer, John Michael. The Druidry Handbook.
Greer, John Michael. The Druid Magic Handbook.
Kondratiev, Alexei. The Apple Branch.
White, Julie, and Talboys, Graeme K. Arianrhod's Dance.
Nature
Go for walks every week. Watch the turning of the day and the turning of the seasons.Trees
Blouin, Glen. An Eclectic Guide to Trees East of the Rockies.
Fergus, Charles. Trees of New England: A Natural History.
Symonds, George W., and Chelminski, Stephen V. Tree Identification Book: A New Method for the Practical Identification and Recognition of Trees.
Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Trees.
Thomas, Peter. Trees: Their Natural History.
Watts, May T. Winter Tree Finder: A Manual for Identifying Deciduous Trees in Winter (Eastern US)
Wells, Diana. Lives of the Trees: An Uncommon History.
Insects
Berenbaum, May. Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs.
Buchmann, S., and G. Nabhan. The Forgotten Polllinators.
Capinera, John. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States.
Deltheir, Vincent G. Crickets and Katydids: Concerts and Solos.
Jacobsen, R. Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis.
Longgod, W. The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men.
Ransome, Hilda. The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore.
Tautz, J. The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a Super-organism.
Whynott, Douglas. Following the Bloom.
Other
Bailey, Elisabeth Tova. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.
Krichner, John C.and Morrison, Gordon. Ecology of Eastern Forests.
Mabey, Richard. Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants.
Movement
Practice movement every day. This includes dance, Nia, and tai chi.I have looked at several tai chi books, but none make the cut for my druid study program. Maybe these books will be interesting.
Roth, Gabrielle. Maps to Ecstasy: The Healing Power of Movement.
Roth, Gabrielle. Sweat Your Prayers.
Music
Listen to music. Sing. Play musical instruments. I have long had the idea to learn to play hammered dulcimer or harp, but in the mean-time, I have a ukulele and I found that practicing it is a way of opening my mind to music theory.Roseman, Ed. Edly's Music Theory for Practical People.
Sustainable living
Integrate sustainable practices into my life. Be mindful of where everything you use comes from. Don't use products that harm the environment. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Use renewable energy. Reduce, re-use, recycle. Buy local and organic. Support small businesses and farmers.Coyne, Kelly, and Knutzen, Erik. The Urban Homestead.
Hayes, Shannon. Radical Homemakers.
Elgin, Duane. Voluntary Simplicity.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Advice to myself for living a druid life
- Practice meditation and movement every day.
- Movement is tai chi, Nia, dance. You were made to dance.
- Do the things you avoid. Let go of the things you cling to.
- Spend less time engrossed in computer or reading, and more time present in the moment.
- Go for a nature walk every week.
- Craft a life of simple beauty. Instead of going out to more activities, stay home and meditate. Instead of buying more things, sort through the things you already have. Get rid of the clothes you don't like, and only wear clothes you love.
- Observe the changing of the seasons, the times of day, the moon, the stars, the trees.
Monday, July 14, 2014
AODA
I joined the AODA 4 years ago, and I saw right away how into censorship they are. I figured I would bear with them for a while, see what I could learn. No group will be everything I want them to be, but they might still have something to offer. In my first two years, I completed the First Degree curriculum. In the second two years, I've been making some strides toward the Second Degree curriculum, but I haven't been going at it full-time like I did with the First Degree. I thought that at some point I would be ready to buckle down and really focus on the Second Degree. Possibly when I have fewer other things going on.
But today I saw another instance of censorship. It was so ridiculous, so stupid. Basically, someone can use a phrase, and wonder about what it means, but they can't post a link to the history of the phrase, because the phrase was used by pacifists. The AODA thinks that is political. A while ago I asked if peacemaking could be considered an area of study in AODA. My question was censored. I received a private message saying that AODA druids don't talk about peacemaking because that's politics. Apparently this is such a controversial question that it cannot even be asked and answered in a public AODA forum.
Also, we cannot discuss anything about healing, because that could be construed as giving medical advice.
I don't think I can continue with the AODA. It is against my conscience to squash an article about history because there were different political sides existing in history. That is not druidry. Druidry is about learning. It is about exploring knowledge, not about hiding knowledge from view.
I am a druid. I want to be in community with other druids. Maybe I'll try OBOD. But maybe not now, when I'm already involved in more things than I can handle. I also want to get involved in UUism. The advantage of UUism is that it would be an in-person spiritual community. UUs believe in what I believe in, but they come to it from a lot of different traditions. I want fellowship with people who are specifically pantheist druids. I am finding that the pantheist is perhaps more important than the druid. I find that many druids who identify as pagan really aren't the same as me.
But today I saw another instance of censorship. It was so ridiculous, so stupid. Basically, someone can use a phrase, and wonder about what it means, but they can't post a link to the history of the phrase, because the phrase was used by pacifists. The AODA thinks that is political. A while ago I asked if peacemaking could be considered an area of study in AODA. My question was censored. I received a private message saying that AODA druids don't talk about peacemaking because that's politics. Apparently this is such a controversial question that it cannot even be asked and answered in a public AODA forum.
Also, we cannot discuss anything about healing, because that could be construed as giving medical advice.
I don't think I can continue with the AODA. It is against my conscience to squash an article about history because there were different political sides existing in history. That is not druidry. Druidry is about learning. It is about exploring knowledge, not about hiding knowledge from view.
I am a druid. I want to be in community with other druids. Maybe I'll try OBOD. But maybe not now, when I'm already involved in more things than I can handle. I also want to get involved in UUism. The advantage of UUism is that it would be an in-person spiritual community. UUs believe in what I believe in, but they come to it from a lot of different traditions. I want fellowship with people who are specifically pantheist druids. I am finding that the pantheist is perhaps more important than the druid. I find that many druids who identify as pagan really aren't the same as me.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Tai chi
I took tai chi early in my druid studies, July 2010-April 2011. I took it to fulfill a requirement for the AODA curriculum. At that we had to choose one from a list of areas of study. One area of study was healing, and one of the requirements was to study a healing art. I chose tai chi as my healing art. In December 2010, the AODA curriculum changed, and allowed greater freedom for choosing an area of study. It required that we spend at least 20 hours studying our chosen area. I had already spent more than 20 hours on tai chi. I did continue with tai chi at that time, but that when we got to the end of the 24 forms, I chose to quit. I think one of the things that bothered me was that the teacher seemed annoyed at me for not being better at it. I didn't really feeling paying someone to act annoyed at me.
This summer, they started offering tai chi on lunch hour at my workplace. I have been to two classes so far. So far, so good. I have also been feeling very healthy the past few weeks. It is possible that the tai chi is the reason, but it seems unlikely that such a small amount of tai chi would have sudden and dramatic effects, especially since it did not have that effect when I was doing it before.
The renewal of my tai chi practice inspired me to take another look at a book I bought when I started tai chi a few years ago, Tai Chi for Beginners and the 24 Forms by Paul Lam and Nancy Kaye. Much of what I see in the book is like druidry, but there are also places where I feel a sense of cultural incompatibility. The stories that don't resonate with me culturally:
Now, what are the things I did like in the book, things that sounded to me much like druidry? Meditation is part of druidry, and tai chi is a form of meditation. Both tai chi and meditation include consciousness of breathing and being present in the moment. The section in the book on qigong breathing reminded me of druidry's Sphere of Protection. Both are about standing, doing some basic movements, and feeling the life force within and around you. The concept of yin and yang in tai chi is like the concept of giamos and samos from The Apple Branch. Druidry is about seeing the world in a cyclical way, the way the year turns from season to season. The tai chi book says on page 106:
This summer, they started offering tai chi on lunch hour at my workplace. I have been to two classes so far. So far, so good. I have also been feeling very healthy the past few weeks. It is possible that the tai chi is the reason, but it seems unlikely that such a small amount of tai chi would have sudden and dramatic effects, especially since it did not have that effect when I was doing it before.
The renewal of my tai chi practice inspired me to take another look at a book I bought when I started tai chi a few years ago, Tai Chi for Beginners and the 24 Forms by Paul Lam and Nancy Kaye. Much of what I see in the book is like druidry, but there are also places where I feel a sense of cultural incompatibility. The stories that don't resonate with me culturally:
Chen Fa-ke was sickly and weak as a child....Chen was supposed to be learning too, but he didn't. He was either too lazy or just not interested...Chen's physical weakness had become an embarrassment to him....Chen used every available minute to practise....Chen had done all the hard work on his own.and
Chen style was not taught to outsiders. But Yang was so eager to learn that he pretended to be a starving beggar and....was then taken in and accepted as a servant in the Chen household....Yang would peer through a crack in the wall to watch Chen-style tai chi practice, and then practise in secret....In those days, Yang could have been legally executed for such and act....Yang Lu-chan remains an extreme example of how one can become so addicted to tai chi that one is willing to risk one's life.What bothers me in these stories is that they are trying to teach the lesson that you can do anything if you are really dedicated and work really hard at it. To me, these particular stories have a distinctly Chinese flavor to them. In American culture, we have a similar idea, it just has a different flavor. In Chinese culture, it seems there is more of an emphasis on dedicated study, while in American culture, there is more emphasis on bold risk-taking, but either way, I don't like it when cultures perpetuate the idea that you can do anything you want if you try hard enough. That's demeaning for the people who actually can't do something.
Now, what are the things I did like in the book, things that sounded to me much like druidry? Meditation is part of druidry, and tai chi is a form of meditation. Both tai chi and meditation include consciousness of breathing and being present in the moment. The section in the book on qigong breathing reminded me of druidry's Sphere of Protection. Both are about standing, doing some basic movements, and feeling the life force within and around you. The concept of yin and yang in tai chi is like the concept of giamos and samos from The Apple Branch. Druidry is about seeing the world in a cyclical way, the way the year turns from season to season. The tai chi book says on page 106:
Nature goes in circles. Fast complements slow. Full moon alternates with no moon. It's in our nature to be stressed and relaxed, depressed and happy, moving fast and slow -- as long as appropriate balance is achieved.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Ronald Hutton
I'm glad to be free of TV, movies, pop music, and commercial radio. One thing that I haven't quit yet is Facebook. I do value the way it has allowed me to connect with people who otherwise would not be in my life, and to get to know people who otherwise would just be acquaintances. However, what I don't like is all the extreme opinions, and claims made that are not based on thorough research. Today as I was reading Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton, I appreciated his thorough research. Two books I've been reading for the AODA curriculum, The Book of Druidry and The Druid Revival Reader are not like that. They are like Facebook -- people throwing around ideas that are not based in thorough research. I try to view these two books as historical, as showing me how people thought in the past. Unfortunately, Facebook shows me people still think that way, still twist things to fit their own beliefs.
I see that stuff on Facebook, and it seems to me it is too big. There is so much that the government is doing, the corporations are doing, and we'll never understand it all. We'll just keep throwing around ignorant opinions.
Then I read Ronald Hutton, and he is a beacon of light. He is what I want to be -- someone who seeks and shares truth.
I see that stuff on Facebook, and it seems to me it is too big. There is so much that the government is doing, the corporations are doing, and we'll never understand it all. We'll just keep throwing around ignorant opinions.
Then I read Ronald Hutton, and he is a beacon of light. He is what I want to be -- someone who seeks and shares truth.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Information literacy and the search for truth
I have been concerned of late about information literacy. On Facebook, I have been noting that:
We latch on to stories that fit our beliefs. Therefore, I have recently latched onto some stories which express some of these concerns.
My attention was captured recently listening to the January 3 edition of On the Media. In one story, The Best Piece of Radio You'll Hear in Your Life, Bob Garfield and Luke O'Neil talk about how in the media, the financial incentive is to get people to click on stories. The goal becomes not truth but to be funny, inspiring, cute, or infuriating. False stories go viral, because they are designed to tap into people's emotions. The truth is not so tidy, and does not make such an appealing story. These false stories can have real consquences. In one example, an elementary school was flooded with threats because of a false story that a student had been suspended for saying "Merry Christmas" to an atheist teacher.
Another story from the January 3 edition of On the Media was Regret the Error 2013. In this story, Bob Garfield and Craig Silverman gave some examples of the false stories that journalists aired in 2013, such as that President Obama was using his personal finances to fund a Muslim museum.
I was also struck by what two NPR commentators had to say about Nathanael Johnson's recent research on GMOs. Johnson set out to do objective research about GMOs for a liberal web site. In A Green-Movement Web Site Shakes Up the Debate Over GMOs, Dan Charles says that Johnson was accused of being "an unreliable source" by an anti-GMO person.
It seems to me that we tend to think that those whose views are different from ours must lack intelligence, rationality, and compassion. But when we find ourselves making such assumptions, that should be an alarm bell that our cognitive biases are at work.
The other NPR commentary about Johnson's work that caught my attention was GMO's and the Dilemma of Bias by Adam Frank. Frank asks, "How, then, do we maintain democratic practices when informed consent often requires absorbing new information at odds with pre-existing values and world views?"
It is okay for fictional stories to inspire us, as long as we understand that they are indeed fiction. Unfortunately, many of the stories circulating as fact are actually fiction.
Druids are the keepers of the stories of their tribe. They are scholars and historians. They provide information to guide the rulers of their tribe.
It is part of my responsibility as a druid to seek truth and to share that truth with my tribe. I can resolve to start by refraining from clicking on sensationalist headlines, just as decades ago, my great-grandfather resolved not to buy any products he had seen advertised, because he was opposed to advertising as a way of making profit.
But that's just a starting point. What else can I do?
Years ago, I studied social science research in school because I wanted social policy decisions and social programs to be designed so as to really help people, rather than to be designed on false assumptions about what would help people. Since then I found that: 1) Though I applied for jobs in social science research, I didn't get any offers, and 2) I don't see research and statistics as holding the answers as much as I used to. Now I believe that there are some things better understood qualitatively than quantitatively. Now I believe that we also have values. Research may tell us the consequences of certain paths, but values tell us which consequences we wish to seek.
- Stories go viral because they infuriate people, even though they are false.
- People latch on to things which fit with their beliefs.
- Free speech means the government can't limit your speech. However, others are free to speak out against your speech, and companies are free to fire you for things you've said during non-work time.
- Conservatives are hypocrites because they are outraged about this guy getting fired, but they have not been outraged when liberals got fired for similar reasons.
We latch on to stories that fit our beliefs. Therefore, I have recently latched onto some stories which express some of these concerns.
My attention was captured recently listening to the January 3 edition of On the Media. In one story, The Best Piece of Radio You'll Hear in Your Life, Bob Garfield and Luke O'Neil talk about how in the media, the financial incentive is to get people to click on stories. The goal becomes not truth but to be funny, inspiring, cute, or infuriating. False stories go viral, because they are designed to tap into people's emotions. The truth is not so tidy, and does not make such an appealing story. These false stories can have real consquences. In one example, an elementary school was flooded with threats because of a false story that a student had been suspended for saying "Merry Christmas" to an atheist teacher.
Another story from the January 3 edition of On the Media was Regret the Error 2013. In this story, Bob Garfield and Craig Silverman gave some examples of the false stories that journalists aired in 2013, such as that President Obama was using his personal finances to fund a Muslim museum.
I was also struck by what two NPR commentators had to say about Nathanael Johnson's recent research on GMOs. Johnson set out to do objective research about GMOs for a liberal web site. In A Green-Movement Web Site Shakes Up the Debate Over GMOs, Dan Charles says that Johnson was accused of being "an unreliable source" by an anti-GMO person.
It seems to me that we tend to think that those whose views are different from ours must lack intelligence, rationality, and compassion. But when we find ourselves making such assumptions, that should be an alarm bell that our cognitive biases are at work.
The other NPR commentary about Johnson's work that caught my attention was GMO's and the Dilemma of Bias by Adam Frank. Frank asks, "How, then, do we maintain democratic practices when informed consent often requires absorbing new information at odds with pre-existing values and world views?"
It is okay for fictional stories to inspire us, as long as we understand that they are indeed fiction. Unfortunately, many of the stories circulating as fact are actually fiction.
Druids are the keepers of the stories of their tribe. They are scholars and historians. They provide information to guide the rulers of their tribe.
It is part of my responsibility as a druid to seek truth and to share that truth with my tribe. I can resolve to start by refraining from clicking on sensationalist headlines, just as decades ago, my great-grandfather resolved not to buy any products he had seen advertised, because he was opposed to advertising as a way of making profit.
But that's just a starting point. What else can I do?
Years ago, I studied social science research in school because I wanted social policy decisions and social programs to be designed so as to really help people, rather than to be designed on false assumptions about what would help people. Since then I found that: 1) Though I applied for jobs in social science research, I didn't get any offers, and 2) I don't see research and statistics as holding the answers as much as I used to. Now I believe that there are some things better understood qualitatively than quantitatively. Now I believe that we also have values. Research may tell us the consequences of certain paths, but values tell us which consequences we wish to seek.
So even though I'm not really pursuing social science research any more, I still have the thing that led me to pursue it: the belief that we should seek truth, rather than make decisions based on false assumptions. I'm still searching for the way I can make a difference. Do I belong in education? Should I be a librarian? Should I be teaching classes in information literacy? Should I be doing data analysis?
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
My druid path
Tonight I read the first 20 pages of Druidry and Meditation by Nimue Brown. It got me thinking of my druid path. I joined AODA. AODA prescribes a certain path, with lots of leeway to make it your own. The AODA path is a starting point. You know, it's like they say you have to know the theoretical foundations of something (like music) really well before you can start inventing stuff that breaks away from the foundations. Following a structure such as the AODA curriculum gives you a chance to try some stuff and learn some stuff. Then after you've tried some stuff, you forge your own path.
I took two years to complete AODA's first degree curriculum. When I completed it about a year and a half ago, I stopped. It was feeling burdensome to me, and I wanted to take some time away. I still identify as a druid, and I still read druid books, but I'm not really practicing.
So, I started reading Druidry and Meditation, and it struck me that meditation and time outdoors, both required by the AODA curriculum, really are essential to druidry. So that got me thinking, if we forget about following AODA requirements, what do I think is essential? Tonight's first thoughts on that question:
I took two years to complete AODA's first degree curriculum. When I completed it about a year and a half ago, I stopped. It was feeling burdensome to me, and I wanted to take some time away. I still identify as a druid, and I still read druid books, but I'm not really practicing.
So, I started reading Druidry and Meditation, and it struck me that meditation and time outdoors, both required by the AODA curriculum, really are essential to druidry. So that got me thinking, if we forget about following AODA requirements, what do I think is essential? Tonight's first thoughts on that question:
- Meditation.
- Time with nature.
- Learning. Continually seeking knowledge and wisdom.
- Service. Caring for my community and my land.
When I read Nimue's book Druidry and the Ancestors, I saw that studying my ancestry was essential to my druidry. Studying my ancestry is not just about my actual genetic ancestors. It's about seeing myself not as a disconnected individual, but as emerging from all who have gone before.
Just as I need to understand human history, I also need to understand the earth. This earth provides shelter, food, clothing, and air to breathe. It gives me life. I could not be without it.
AODA's Second Degree curriculum requires study of one specialized area that falls under Bard, Ovate, or Druid. I have been doing Morris dancing and thinking that it counts as Bardic study. But now as I think about defining my own path, not just fulfilling requirements, it seems to me that something is missing there. Druidry has to do with tapping into creativity. That's not what I'm doing in Morris dancing. I'm just trying to keep up with learning the dances. But druidry does require discipline as well as creativity.
So, what is my druid path?
- Mind. I need to learn about the world from which I have sprung, which includes both human history and nature.
- Spirit. In addition to developing my knowledge, I need to develop the non-rational side of things. Activities may include meditation, time in nature, tai chi, free movement, and any sort of creativity.
- Craft. We live in a society in which we are encouraged to have corporations meet our every need. These days our skills are not how to do things for ourselves, but how to look up information and buy things. As a druid, I need to learn to do some things for myself. Druids know how to make things, grow things, and build things.
With the knowledge I gain from pursuits of the mind, the wisdom I gain from pursuits of the spirit, and the skills I can from my pursuits of craft, my hope is to grow in my ability to take care of myself, my people, and my land.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Druid plants and seasonal celebrations
Reading about trees, plants, and herbs in The Path Through the Forest, I recognized names that often come up in druid-related books, names like vervain, meadowsweet, mistletoe, oak, and holly. Mistletoe was mentioned as associated with the winter solstice. In my head flashed the thought of going to a store to buy some mistletoe for the winter solstice, which will soon be upon us. That is totally wrong. The point of druidry is to be in touch with the land. If I want to include plants in seasonal celebrations, the way to do that is to go outside and see what the plants are doing this time of year.
The plants that are traditionally associated with druidry are those that are native to England. For my own druidry, the plants sacred to me will be the ones in my landscape, such as sugar maple, Norway maple, red maple, apple, crabapple, white pine, clover, and peppermint.
The plants that are traditionally associated with druidry are those that are native to England. For my own druidry, the plants sacred to me will be the ones in my landscape, such as sugar maple, Norway maple, red maple, apple, crabapple, white pine, clover, and peppermint.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Druidry and the Ancestors
I am reading Druidry and the Ancestors by Nimue Brown. It's a great book. It's readable, not too long, not too dense, and yet in another sense, it is dense. I mean, it seems light in terms of the ease with which one can read it, but at the same time, it is so richly thick with intelligence.
I'm eager to read it all, and yet each nugget deserves time for pondering. What I've decided to do is read it all the way through, giving rein to my eagerness. Then once I've satisfied my urge to see what more she has to say, I can read it more slowly next time. I can read just a few pages, and meditate on them. I'm not yet done with my first time through, but I'm more than halfway there. I'm on page 151 of 231.
Nimue has so much knowledge, and such an ability to synthesize that knowledge, and then to write it all in a way that makes her deep insights seem simple and obvious.
The title tells you what the book is about, but then when you read the book, you realize that the topic encompasses far more than you ever imagined. It's about how we understand our past, and making choices about what from our past to take with us into the future. "Our past" encompasses our family history, as well as the history of humanity and the planet.
At many points, there are things that remind me of some viewpoint I heard in the past that I knew I disagreed with, but I was not able to understood what was wrong with it with complete clarity and depth. Nimue provides that clarity and depth. I feel like next time I am faced with people who don't understand my viewpoint, I want to just hand them this book and say, "Here, this is it. This explains everything about how I view the world." Of course, that's not realistic -- when people don't understand me, I need to personally engage with them. It's just a fantasy, that if only everyone would read this book, they would understand me. Of course they wouldn't, because they would read the book through their own eyes, not through my eyes.
One thing I like is the way she talks about the history of druidry. She's very realistic about historical fact, about the fact that we hardly know anything about druids, and that so much of what we associate with druidry is a mythology that people have made up over the years. But she embraces mythology for its own sake. I've always found it strange the way some modern druids think the only way to be genuine is to focus on the actual Iron Age druids, and ignore everything that was made up after. What I find even stranger is when Reconstructionists seem to believe that Revivalists are foolishly believing that the stuff that was made up after is actually historical fact. It's as if Reconstructionists think, "Druidry is about revering the way of the Iron Age druids. Revivalists revere stuff that was made up later. Therefore, Revivalists believe that the stuff that was made up later is historical fact about Iron Age druids, because the only reason a druid would revere something would be if they believed it was true of the Iron Age druids." I also find it strange the way some Revivalists do try to believe that the Revival stuff is actually true of Iron Age druids. Nimue expresses so clearly that a) the Revival stuff is not fact about Iron Age druids, and b) that's okay. It's mythology, and we can embrace it as such.
Another example of something I've long believed that Nimue explains better than I ever could: Once a pantheist commented that it seems that humanity is evolving toward pantheism. This seemed wrong to me. It seems to me that pantheists, atheists, and Christians all believe that their beliefs are the most enlightened state, and they feel sorry for the people who live without the benefit of that enlightenment. It also seemed to me that she was speaking from a small knowledge of history. It seemed that she was mostly thinking of how the United States used to be more widely Christian, and now more people seem to be turning away from Christianity. It seemed to me that she was not thinking of the wider world.
One thing that Nimue brings to consideration of this comment once made by a pantheist is her consideration of the different ways people look at history. Some people look at history and see that we are progressing toward a more enlightened state. Others think that our society is in decay, moving farther and farther away from the good old days. Another way of looking at it is that there is no direction at all, it's just a bunch of people doing things and seeing how they work out.
I've always liked that. I like reading things that describe the different outlooks people have had, and how those outlooks have varied across times and cultures. It's as if my worldview is a planet, and seeing nothing beyond my planet, I believe that my planet is the whole world. Then I learn there are galaxies, and realize that my worldview is just one of many. I probably won't change my worldview, but it expands me enormously to see my worldview from the perspective of where it fits among many others.
Nimue's book is about how we build upon what went before. For her, one of the people who went before is Ronald Hutton. Like me, she has read his work and has been impressed by it. In a sense, we could not be where we are today without him. I mean, he compiled such vast amounts of knowledge that were part of laying the groundwork for the ideas -- the ideas that have lived inarticulately within me, and which Nimue has been able to express so well.
Ronald Hutton is just one example. Where any person is at today is a result of the past work of millions of people, stretching into the past for millenia. It's something we don't often think about, but Nimue's book reminds us.
Druidry and the Ancestors expresses a great deal about what it means to be a druid, and what it means to be human. This is a book which I want to read, reread, and meditate upon. This is a book that will inform my understanding as I read other druid books.
I'm eager to read it all, and yet each nugget deserves time for pondering. What I've decided to do is read it all the way through, giving rein to my eagerness. Then once I've satisfied my urge to see what more she has to say, I can read it more slowly next time. I can read just a few pages, and meditate on them. I'm not yet done with my first time through, but I'm more than halfway there. I'm on page 151 of 231.
Nimue has so much knowledge, and such an ability to synthesize that knowledge, and then to write it all in a way that makes her deep insights seem simple and obvious.
The title tells you what the book is about, but then when you read the book, you realize that the topic encompasses far more than you ever imagined. It's about how we understand our past, and making choices about what from our past to take with us into the future. "Our past" encompasses our family history, as well as the history of humanity and the planet.
At many points, there are things that remind me of some viewpoint I heard in the past that I knew I disagreed with, but I was not able to understood what was wrong with it with complete clarity and depth. Nimue provides that clarity and depth. I feel like next time I am faced with people who don't understand my viewpoint, I want to just hand them this book and say, "Here, this is it. This explains everything about how I view the world." Of course, that's not realistic -- when people don't understand me, I need to personally engage with them. It's just a fantasy, that if only everyone would read this book, they would understand me. Of course they wouldn't, because they would read the book through their own eyes, not through my eyes.
One thing I like is the way she talks about the history of druidry. She's very realistic about historical fact, about the fact that we hardly know anything about druids, and that so much of what we associate with druidry is a mythology that people have made up over the years. But she embraces mythology for its own sake. I've always found it strange the way some modern druids think the only way to be genuine is to focus on the actual Iron Age druids, and ignore everything that was made up after. What I find even stranger is when Reconstructionists seem to believe that Revivalists are foolishly believing that the stuff that was made up after is actually historical fact. It's as if Reconstructionists think, "Druidry is about revering the way of the Iron Age druids. Revivalists revere stuff that was made up later. Therefore, Revivalists believe that the stuff that was made up later is historical fact about Iron Age druids, because the only reason a druid would revere something would be if they believed it was true of the Iron Age druids." I also find it strange the way some Revivalists do try to believe that the Revival stuff is actually true of Iron Age druids. Nimue expresses so clearly that a) the Revival stuff is not fact about Iron Age druids, and b) that's okay. It's mythology, and we can embrace it as such.
Another example of something I've long believed that Nimue explains better than I ever could: Once a pantheist commented that it seems that humanity is evolving toward pantheism. This seemed wrong to me. It seems to me that pantheists, atheists, and Christians all believe that their beliefs are the most enlightened state, and they feel sorry for the people who live without the benefit of that enlightenment. It also seemed to me that she was speaking from a small knowledge of history. It seemed that she was mostly thinking of how the United States used to be more widely Christian, and now more people seem to be turning away from Christianity. It seemed to me that she was not thinking of the wider world.
One thing that Nimue brings to consideration of this comment once made by a pantheist is her consideration of the different ways people look at history. Some people look at history and see that we are progressing toward a more enlightened state. Others think that our society is in decay, moving farther and farther away from the good old days. Another way of looking at it is that there is no direction at all, it's just a bunch of people doing things and seeing how they work out.
I've always liked that. I like reading things that describe the different outlooks people have had, and how those outlooks have varied across times and cultures. It's as if my worldview is a planet, and seeing nothing beyond my planet, I believe that my planet is the whole world. Then I learn there are galaxies, and realize that my worldview is just one of many. I probably won't change my worldview, but it expands me enormously to see my worldview from the perspective of where it fits among many others.
Nimue's book is about how we build upon what went before. For her, one of the people who went before is Ronald Hutton. Like me, she has read his work and has been impressed by it. In a sense, we could not be where we are today without him. I mean, he compiled such vast amounts of knowledge that were part of laying the groundwork for the ideas -- the ideas that have lived inarticulately within me, and which Nimue has been able to express so well.
Ronald Hutton is just one example. Where any person is at today is a result of the past work of millions of people, stretching into the past for millenia. It's something we don't often think about, but Nimue's book reminds us.
Druidry and the Ancestors expresses a great deal about what it means to be a druid, and what it means to be human. This is a book which I want to read, reread, and meditate upon. This is a book that will inform my understanding as I read other druid books.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Druids are present in the material world
Today in the mail I received a book I had ordered, Druidry and Meditation by Nimue Brown. She's such a good writer, so readable. It's hard work to write things in a way that they seem easy to understand. There's a nicely written introduction about how you can't learn druidry from a book, you have to do druidry, so why write a book about druidry? The answer is that books are like maps or instruction manuals. They can help you as you find your own way.
The introduction is two pages, and then on page 3 she writes
The introduction is two pages, and then on page 3 she writes
Druidry is not a religion that seeks to transcend physical experience. Our spirituality is rooted in nature and nourished by experience. We seek connection, relationship and inspiration....Druidry embraces physicality and honors our tangible selves."That was page 3, and that was as far as I got reading, because then I had to go write it here in my blog. It captures so well why I'm a druid and not a Buddhist.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Reading
Today I am enjoying some quiet time at home reading. I finished a book I had started last summer: Timeless Wisdom of the Celts by Steve Eddy and Claire Hamilton. It is a brief, easy to read book. It gives the basic concepts of druidry, and may be a good starting point, but to really get into historically accurate information, additional reading is necessary (such as books by Ronald Hutton).
One thing that I found interesting was that it said that the first monastery in Britain was founded by Ninian, and that Ninian's view was "to perceive the eternal word of God reflected in every plant and insect, every bird and animal, and every man and woman."
That sounds like pantheism to me.
One thing that I found interesting was that it said that the first monastery in Britain was founded by Ninian, and that Ninian's view was "to perceive the eternal word of God reflected in every plant and insect, every bird and animal, and every man and woman."
That sounds like pantheism to me.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
What an interesting world we live in
An excerpt from the Samhain chapter of Druid Priestess by Emma Restall Orr.
Our bodies decline with age. The alternative is to die young. I'm happy to be living life.
In the past, when my declining body curtailed some of my more energetic activities, I slowed down and looked at the trees. In the past, when my withdrawal from energetic activities cost me friends, I came to choose friends based on what is inside them, instead of based on the activities they would share with me. Perhaps this new physical curtailment will enrich my life just as my past physical curtailment has.
In this consumer society, we think that if we want anything, all we have to do is buy it. Many times, we don't even have to leave our homes. We just look it up on the internet, type in a credit card number, and it gets delivered to our door. If we feel pain or fatigue, we look for a pill to make it go away. If we don't like the way we look, we get plastic surgery to get the body we want. If we are too cold, we turn up the heat. If we are too hot, we turn up the air conditioner. We consume, consume, not seeing that we are using up the earth's resources, and some day, there won't be any left.
In druidry, we embrace the whole, good and bad, dark and light. In druidry, we learn patience. In druidry, we observe and grow. In druidry, we know that some things are beyond our control -- the forces of nature, the wills of others.
Yet just as others have wills, so do we have a will, and we can work with that which is around us. This is what we do in gardening. We can't change how nature works, but if we understand nature, we can try to bend it in the way we wish.
The people I love were not designed to my specifications. They have their quirks, but that makes them all the more rich. They don't always do what I would have wanted, but sometimes they surprise me with beauty I never could have foreseen.
With all its hardships, what an interesting world we live in.
Many spiritual traditions take it to the extreme of denying the physical any value at all, either focusing on their own spirit or reaching out to a spiritual force above, either way, eager to transcend the body of flesh and red blood. Yet such beliefs require a constant watch over the physical, with tight restrictions that affirm its baseness or prevent expression of its instincts of the ebb and flow of its energy. Then, because the physical can give us such pleasure, pleasure is next to be denied. Meanwhile, the transcendent force, now perhaps given form and name along with full responsibility for the oppressive rules, promises a blissful salvation that is little more than the release from the chains of suffering that it itself has imposed....Within Druidry, transcending the physical is a very different idea. Where there is an acceptance that the gods reside in everything, that every cell is vibrant with the spirit of the creative force, where every movement is both a prayer and an expression of deity, there can be no denial of our animal nature. Our instincts and passions, our sexuality and laughter, our hungers and revulsions are all a part of the dance of life that creates our world in all its beauty. It is nature -- and to deny any part of nature would take away our ability to perceive its wholeness, its completeness. And through that judgement, we would be separated from it, cutting the connections that feed us....The concept of dominating nature is an anathema to Druidry. For although nature is wild and dark, filled with the shadows of the unknown, it is also the physical expression of the gods. The Druid responds to nature with a poignant reverence, always open to its beauty with wonder and awe.For me at the moment, the negative side of nature is the ailment diagnosed today which, at worst, could be with me all my life, and which could prevent me from doing some of the activities I love most.
Our bodies decline with age. The alternative is to die young. I'm happy to be living life.
In the past, when my declining body curtailed some of my more energetic activities, I slowed down and looked at the trees. In the past, when my withdrawal from energetic activities cost me friends, I came to choose friends based on what is inside them, instead of based on the activities they would share with me. Perhaps this new physical curtailment will enrich my life just as my past physical curtailment has.
In this consumer society, we think that if we want anything, all we have to do is buy it. Many times, we don't even have to leave our homes. We just look it up on the internet, type in a credit card number, and it gets delivered to our door. If we feel pain or fatigue, we look for a pill to make it go away. If we don't like the way we look, we get plastic surgery to get the body we want. If we are too cold, we turn up the heat. If we are too hot, we turn up the air conditioner. We consume, consume, not seeing that we are using up the earth's resources, and some day, there won't be any left.
In druidry, we embrace the whole, good and bad, dark and light. In druidry, we learn patience. In druidry, we observe and grow. In druidry, we know that some things are beyond our control -- the forces of nature, the wills of others.
Yet just as others have wills, so do we have a will, and we can work with that which is around us. This is what we do in gardening. We can't change how nature works, but if we understand nature, we can try to bend it in the way we wish.
The people I love were not designed to my specifications. They have their quirks, but that makes them all the more rich. They don't always do what I would have wanted, but sometimes they surprise me with beauty I never could have foreseen.
With all its hardships, what an interesting world we live in.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Beauty around us
In the blog post "Working with the Three Realms," Bob Patrick writes that after a friend wrote “looking inward you become despondent. Looking around you become disillusioned. Looking up you become devoted," he composed the following in response:
Looking inward I become still.
Looking around I become connected.
Looking up I become awed.
This reminds of the song "Now I Walk in Beauty" recorded by Janice Marsh-Prelesnik. The song says:
Now I walk in beauty
Beauty is before me
Beauty is behind me
Above and below me
When I google these words, I find that they seem to be a variation of a Navajo chant. Similar words can be found at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/beauty-chant.html and http://nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter5.html.
Similarly, in "Morning Song," Daniel Dutton says
Sun I pray
Let my life begin today
I promise
I will go with beauty round me
I am also reminded of the AODA's Sphere of Protection ritual.
All four of these -- Bob Patrick's words about looking inward, around, and up, the Navajo chant about beauty, Daniel Dutton's Morning Song, and the Sphere of Protection ritual -- are about a serene connectedness to the universe. It seems to me that this serene connectedness is an essential part of both pantheism and druidry.
Looking inward I become still.
Looking around I become connected.
Looking up I become awed.
This reminds of the song "Now I Walk in Beauty" recorded by Janice Marsh-Prelesnik. The song says:
Now I walk in beauty
Beauty is before me
Beauty is behind me
Above and below me
When I google these words, I find that they seem to be a variation of a Navajo chant. Similar words can be found at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/beauty-chant.html and http://nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter5.html.
Similarly, in "Morning Song," Daniel Dutton says
Sun I pray
Let my life begin today
I promise
I will go with beauty round me
I am also reminded of the AODA's Sphere of Protection ritual.
All four of these -- Bob Patrick's words about looking inward, around, and up, the Navajo chant about beauty, Daniel Dutton's Morning Song, and the Sphere of Protection ritual -- are about a serene connectedness to the universe. It seems to me that this serene connectedness is an essential part of both pantheism and druidry.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Manifesting beauty
Today at the farmer's market, I paused to listen to a busker. As I stood there, a man in a suit passed by, looking happy and competent in his role as a professional.
I was thinking the other day that maybe if I dressed more professionally, I would be treated with more respect at work, not only because of how I looked, but because I would feel more professional, and would comport myself more confidently.
I saw the man in the suit, and I saw the busker, and I knew the world of the man in the suit is not the world where I'm meant to be.
The busker is named Thaddeus Gaffer Venar. His life is not what I want either, but he does provide inspiration, in showing that there are lives out there beyond the models of success inculcated in me when I was in college.
One function of a druid is to be a bard. Many modern-day musicians are so highly commercialized that they don't fit with my druidry. (There is no One True Way in druidry, so I speak only of my own druidry. Others may have a different way.) Gaffer exemplifies my vision of a bard. He says, "It's all about manifesting beauty. And there's so many opportunities in the corporate world to manifest ugliness even without consciousness about it that finding an opportunity where I can feed a lifestyle that abuses no one and simply exists to put beauty back into the system is tremendously rewarding."
It's a beautiful sentiment. I admire him for "manifesting beauty" in his music. I also admire the organic farmers at the farmer's market, for food is essential to life. There are so many ways that people can support themselves doing something positive, such as growing organic food, building solar houses, making clothing, mentoring and teaching others, collecting and disseminating knowledge, and making music that inspires people. I have only a finite time on this earth. I want to spend it doing something good for humans and for the earth. But I also need to survive, and I'm still searching for a way that I can earn a living that is compatible with my vision for my life.
I was thinking the other day that maybe if I dressed more professionally, I would be treated with more respect at work, not only because of how I looked, but because I would feel more professional, and would comport myself more confidently.
I saw the man in the suit, and I saw the busker, and I knew the world of the man in the suit is not the world where I'm meant to be.
The busker is named Thaddeus Gaffer Venar. His life is not what I want either, but he does provide inspiration, in showing that there are lives out there beyond the models of success inculcated in me when I was in college.
One function of a druid is to be a bard. Many modern-day musicians are so highly commercialized that they don't fit with my druidry. (There is no One True Way in druidry, so I speak only of my own druidry. Others may have a different way.) Gaffer exemplifies my vision of a bard. He says, "It's all about manifesting beauty. And there's so many opportunities in the corporate world to manifest ugliness even without consciousness about it that finding an opportunity where I can feed a lifestyle that abuses no one and simply exists to put beauty back into the system is tremendously rewarding."
It's a beautiful sentiment. I admire him for "manifesting beauty" in his music. I also admire the organic farmers at the farmer's market, for food is essential to life. There are so many ways that people can support themselves doing something positive, such as growing organic food, building solar houses, making clothing, mentoring and teaching others, collecting and disseminating knowledge, and making music that inspires people. I have only a finite time on this earth. I want to spend it doing something good for humans and for the earth. But I also need to survive, and I'm still searching for a way that I can earn a living that is compatible with my vision for my life.
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Tribe's relationship to the Land
In The Apple Branch, Alexei Kondratiev wrote that the Tribe must establish a relationship with the Land:
If the Tribe is truly to become her kin, she must be accepted in all her aspects, not just the immediately attractive and 'useful' ones. Spiders, adders, and wasps, thistles, gorse, and nettles, are as much the Land's children as domestic animals and crops or the showier birds, butterflies and wildflowers....While the Tribe's economic needs will necessarily have an impact on the appearance of the Land, care must always be taken that the changes not lessen its variety, that no aspect of its being -- however unattractive or irrelevant to the Tribe's everyday life -- be lost as a result. If the Tribe comes to dismiss such concerns and places its need above that of the Land, the balance in broken, the Land's blessing is withdrawn, and before long the forces that sustain life cease to serve humankind, as we see today.I like the way this makes clear why nature study and sustainable living practices are integral to druidry.
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