Here is an update from Trees for Life about the OBOD Golden Anniversary Grove with a link to our Grove page:

In 2014, you dedicated a grove of trees in memory of the Order’s founder Nuinn – to give back to the Earth and to celebrate the Order’s founding fifty years ago! We were truly overwhelmed by your generosity in creating a grove that received such thoughtful donations and special dedications from your friends and family. 

I thought you would appreciate an update on your grove, and would be interested to hear how your trees are growing and helping to bring wildlife back into the landscape.

The native trees planted in your grove include a mix of species such as Scots pine and birch, along with aspen, rowan, willow and juniper reflecting the range of species that are found in the Caledonian Forest. They were all planted by Trees for Life volunteers and each personal dedication written on your grove page was read out as your trees were planted.

The trees planted within your grove are less than a year old. Birch trees are growing the fastest, and are now helping to provide shelter and protection from the elements for the other trees which take longer to establish, such as Scots pine. Willow are also doing especially well and the aspen are showing new steady growth. 

This spring, we were delighted to see an increase in Black Grouse in and around the new woodlands created by dedicated groves. These birds are very rare and declining in many parts of their range. They need a healthy mosaic of habitats both for food and protection from predators. With the planting of your grove, you have helped to conserve the natural habitats and woodlands needed to expand the population of these beautiful birds at Dundreggan.

We regularly carry out ecological surveys and some exciting discoveries have been found at Dundreggan in the last few years. Spectacular insects such as the puss moth, pebble prominent moth and the green hairstreak butterfly are just some of the species that will benefit from their expanded habitat in the future. Lots of information on the biodiversity of the Caledonian Forest and its fascinating species can be found here: http://treesforlife.org.uk/forest/species-profiles/

Last year we launched our new website, and this has given your grove page a slightly different look. One new feature that I particularly hope you will enjoy is the selection of seasonal photos. These will enable you to enjoy the Caledonian Forest as it changes month by month throughout the year.  

You can see your grove page here http://treesforlife.org.uk/plant-trees/grove/6290/. To date you have 594 trees in your grove, and you are welcome to add further trees and dedications to your grove at any time. 

I have included some photographs with this email to help you visualize the trees planted in your grove. As your trees are still young, I have also included a photo of mature trees so you can picture just how magnificent your trees will be in the future. 

If you would the opportunity to visit your grove and also plant a tree yourself, we have a special Grove Day at Dundreggan on Sunday 13th September 2015. Places are limited for this guided tour so please contact me asap on emma@treesforlife.org.uk for more details. 

Thank you for continuing to expand the Caledonian Forest through your generous support. We look forward to adding further trees to your grove and watching them grow with you in the years to come. 

Avebury June 2015. Photo: Valentina Bernardi

Just back from another wonderful OBOD Summer Gathering at Glastonbury. Many participants travel a long way to get to these events, which become pilgrimages as well as celebrations. About 100 out of 200 participants at the Gathering take a coach at 4.15 on the Sunday morning to join in a ritual at the Avebury stone circle. Here are photos from Avebury this year taken by Valentina Bernardi. And here is a quote about the desire to go on journeys:

The moon and sun are eternal travelers. Even the years wander on. A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years, every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. From the earliest times there have always been some who have perished along the road. Still I have always been drawn by windblown clouds into dreams of a lifetime of wandering.

‘Narrow Road to the Interior’ by Matsuo Basho (1644-94)

OBOD ceremony at Avebury June 2015. Photo: Valentina Bernardi

Brigid’s Way is an alignment of ancient and sacred sites in Ireland that has become a Pilgrim Path to connect with the Goddess/Saint Brigid.  It is the inspiration of Dolores Whelan and Karen Ward and stretches from Brigid’s Well in Faughart, County Louth to Kildare. On the 27th June 2015 a group of Pilgrims will start their walk in Faughart, arriving at Brigid’s Monastic city in Kildare on the 5th July. This will be the third year that the walk has taken place. The following is from the Brigid’s Way Website explaining a little about the route and how the Pilgrimage came about, along with a short film about the first Pilgrimage that took place in 2013.

Origins of Brigid’s Way
Why this Pilgrimage route at this time?

As with many wonderfully profound ideas they seem to just arrive mysteriously. At the Brigid of Faughart Festival 2012 Karen Ward and Dolores Whelan attended a lecture given by Anthony Murphy (co-author with Richard Moore of Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers). He spoke about the ancient alignment between the holy well on Faughart Hill in County Louth with the Curragh of Kildare, the two primary locations of worship to Brigid in Ireland.

As Dolores and Karen listened they realised that Brigid’s pilgrim path, which linked these two most prominent places of devotion to Brigid in Ireland, was unfolding before their eyes… This was both exciting and challenging! This initiative was inspired by a strong desire in these two Irish women to revive the ancient art of pilgrimage, a spiritual practice central to the indigenous spiritual traditions of this land.

Having many experiences of the sacredness of the land in Ireland and other countries, they believed that remembering, reactivating and walking this pilgrimage way had the potential to reconnect people with the sacredness of the land of Ireland.

They also saw that this pilgrimage had the capacity to awaken people to the consciousness of Brigid, who in all her different forms, Goddess, pre-Reformation Saint and wise woman, represents the divine feminine within the traditions of this land and belongs to the whole population of this country.

A little something to make the cat lovers smile…’Dear Diary…’

‘Cheesehenge’ by NatureCater. Photo: Ali.

Just back from the Court of Math and Cheesehenge. An extraordinary experience! (Stephanie tells me we were at an OBOD Retreat held at Cae Mabon in Snowdonia, and that Cheesehenge was in fact only a few inches tall. I refuse to believe her! We were at the court of Math and I was there at a sunrise ritual amongst the Red Leicester and Caerphilly Blue. But Stephanie says No! Story-teller and Honorary Chief Bard Eric Maddern was disguised as the magician Math, and our ritual circle was produced by our wonderful caterer Jade Fellows-Smith,who not only fashioned these monoliths but has also produced beautiful Reiki Healing Cards and runs Nature Cater). I am dreaming on…

‘Cheesehenge’ by NatureCater. Arial photo by Ali.

Eric Maddern as Math on the OBOD Retreat Cae Mabon May 2015

A poem by Rumi…

We are the mirror
as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste of eternity
this minute.
We are pain
and what cures pain.
We are the sweet cold water
and the jar that pours.
Soul of the world,
no life, nor world remain,
no beautiful women and men longing.
Only this
ancient love
circling
the holy black stone
of nothing.
Where the lover is the loved,
the horizon
and everything
within it.

~ Rumi

This is a lovely event that Stephanie and I will be involved with this summer…

Global Spiritual Studies Presents Sacred Scotland
7-19 July 2015

“The roads and waterways I’ve travelled over the past two weeks can be traced on a map of Scotland. But there is no map of the inner landscape  of memories, images and emotions that poured forth as the spirit of place in this timeless land led me home, ” says Linda Marson.

“I saw the remains of sacred sites, followed streams and waterfalls through fairy glens, lay atop a magic mountain and soaked up the sun and the breeze of a fairy tale landscape. No guide to this inner journey is needed, you simply live in the moment and trust what you see and feel.”

Linda, a tarot author and teacher, returns as special guest on the 2015 Scotland to help you use the tarot to interpret your inner landscape as you travel the magical outer landscape of this timeless land.

Anyone who’s been on a Gothic Image tour through Scotland will tell you it’s not only good for the soul but good fun! You travel in a small group of like-minded people with tour leader, Jamie George, himself a Scotsman who loves to share the secrets of his homeland with you.

Tour highlights include:

• 15th century Rosslyn Chapel with its ornate, arcane carvings, including many depictions of the pagan Green Man
• The enchanted fairy glen at Rosemarkie
• Islands of Orkney with their wealth of pre-historic sites – the 3000BC village of Skara Brae, the Neolithic stone circles of Stennes and Ring of Brodgar and the burial chamber of Maes Howe.
• Joining the tour on Orkney in 2015 will be Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm from the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Their knowledge of the Druid tradition will add a fascinating dimension to the sites we visit in Orkney and other locations.
• The Callanish complex of megalithic sites on the island of Lewis
• The stunning fairytale landscape on the island of Skye
• The beautiful island of Iona which radiates a special energy that brings peace to your soul.

Click here to download the full itinerary. If you have any questions about what to expect on the tour, please email Linda Marson – linda@globalspiritualstudies.com.

Click here to register online.

Cost
£2,495 per person, twin share
Single supplement: £300 per person
Deposit: £500, payable upon booking

For further details click here.