A few posts back I wrote about the festival of Imbolc, devoted in Druidry to the Goddess, and gave a couple of links to relevant sites: to Joanna van der Hoeven’s essay on Women in Druidry and the Seaside Druid’s essay on what he means when he says he incorporates “Goddess Spirituality” into his practice.

It is wonderful to be living in an era where we can question received wisdom and the beliefs and behaviour we see around us.  In the social and political sphere a fantastic movement has had a big impact these last few months in terms of the support it has received worldwide: the HeForShe campaign. In the first few moments of Emma Watson’s speech you’ll hear about this:

In the face of the injustices and inequalities women are often subjected to, it is heartening to see this campaign gaining momentum. More about it here.

In the spiritual, magical, Wiccan, Druid and Pagan world, received wisdom is being questioned too. Gerald Gardner’s theology has exerted a strong influence in these approaches, but now people are starting to question this way of understanding Deity. They are asking direct questions about the ways we envision the god and goddess, and how we understand the concepts of polarity and deity. Have a look at Druid author Nimue Brown’s recent Patheos blog post. A few lines to give you an idea…”Turning away from God the Father towards a spirituality that also embraces Goddesses, should be empowering to women. But is ‘The Goddess’ as we encounter her in depictions really a feminist or even feminine representation?” Read more

And have a look at Maria Ede-Weaving’s reflections on Deity, archetypes and gender here.

How’s this for dancing? The Independent says: “Ukranian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin has performed his stunning visual interpretation of Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” and it’s so good, you have to see it to believe it. Directed by David LaChapelle, the atmospheric video sees the 25-year-old pirouette and sauté to the chart-topping anti-gay oppression anthem, against a beautiful backdrop of a studio amongst the trees.”

Somewhere in the lyrics you can catch “If I’m a pagan of the good times, my lover’s the sunlight”…

It is natural to think that who we are is the result of what has happened to us, and to try to get to the bottom of what makes us tick, or why we feel the way we do. This project lies at the heart of the spiritual quest – epitomised in the injunction carved into the temple at Delphi: “Know Thyself’.

But is it then true to say that by knowing more about the past – or about the apparent cause of any difficulty we might be experiencing – that we will be more equipped to solve our problem? Most people would probably now think this is so, thanks to the popularity of psychotherapeutic ideas, ever since the time of Freud. The wisdom of trying to solve the problem of why we might be suffering by looking into our past is challenged here in this latest blog post from Barry Winbolt. Once you’ve read this, you might want to ask yourself “Has understanding my past contributed to solving my problems?” There is much food for thought here – and for disagreement! I would love to hear your opinions on this!

Have a look at Barry’s post first:

When faced with a problem it seems to be in our nature to explain what caused it. It is as though, in asking “Why?” the solution to the problem will magically reveal itself.

Conflating lines of thought like this is an example of what I call ‘dodgy thinking’. At best it confuses and distracts us, at worst it makes us feel worse.

When we get into a tight spot, say, with the way we are functioning psychologically, or in a relationship, many of us turn automatically to searching for an explanation. “It’s natural”, you might say “to want to understand the reason.”

It may be true that we have a natural inclination to search for meaning and understanding, but it’s false to assume that such understanding will light the way to solving a problem.

Shock! Horror! I’ve seen the reaction to this idea for years. Think about it though, it’s all to do with the difference between cause (why something happened), and effect (the impact of what happened).

The cause is always located in the past. Even if we could identify it and provide an explanation for our problem it doesn’t necessarily follow that we’d also know how to fix it.

Read more

The marvellous thing about the OBOD Facebook page is that all sorts of people visit it, not only Druids. Molly Ramsay contacted us via Facebook asking for some information that she could use to help develop her University project. Molly is a talented interior design student and had been asked to design a Druid Shrine for the United Nations Building in Guadalajara as part of her course. Here Molly talks about her project and shares photos of her wonderful Druid Retreat Centre:

My name is Molly Ramsay and I am an interior design student at Florida State University. In one of my classes, students were asked to design a religious shrine dedicated to Druidism for the United Nations building in Guadalajara, Mexico. After extensive research of Druidism and Druid ideals, I began the project with the concept of the four elements– earth, air, fire, and water. The design solution succeeds in accommodating the United Nations Druid retreat center’s visitors through its dynamic interpretation of Druid ideals through the use of color, materials, and structural elements. While standing on the south deck of the space, users are greeted with an expansive view of the landscape to the left and right. The building’s front façade is a live wall with the religious logo and signage protruding from the foliage. Upon entering the space, visitors are provided with clear sight lines to the back of the space where the worship area is located. The user then encounters a blue interactive pathway reactive to his/her body heat, alluding to the interactive qualities of water. Along the outskirts of the pathway are columns that resemble trees to further connect to Druidism and their ideas of nature, and trees specifically, being sacred. These columns connect to the top of the space forming a veiny leaf pattern along the ceiling. As the user approaches the worship area, he/she will be framed by art installations to his/her left and right. To the left is a string piece backlit by a partition wall reading “We are all connected by the web of life.” To the right is a series of pictures and windows. The pictures represent the four elements while the windows provoke the user to consider the four elements at play in the outside world. Once reaching the worship area, the user is confronted by four columns, each containing an element: earth, air, fire, and water. ~ Molly Ramsay

 

 

From the BBC:

A mummified monk found preserved in Mongolia last week has been baffling and astounding those who uncovered him.

Senior Buddhists say the monk, found sitting in the lotus position, is in a deep meditative trance and not dead.

Forensic examinations are under way on the remains, found wrapped in cattle skins in north-central Mongolia.

Scientists have yet to determine how the monk is so well-preserved, though some think Mongolia’s cold weather could be the reason.

But Dr Barry Kerzin, a physician to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, told the Siberian Times that the monk was in a rare state of meditation called “tukdam”.

“If the meditator can continue to stay in this meditative state, he can become a Buddha,” Dr Kerzin said.

The monk was discovered after being stolen by a man hoping to sell him on the black market.

Go to article

Imbolc was one of the first festivals I experienced when I encountered Druidry. Nuinn, the old Chief Druid, explained to me that it was dedicated to Brighid. As we sat in the circle gazing at a bowl of water, out of which eight candles rose, we listened to poetry devoted to the Goddess. It was touching and beautiful. I’ve never forgotten that evening. On Sunday Stephanie and I held a quiet ritual on our own – reading the same poems I had heard almost fifty years ago.

In celebration of this time of year, let me offer three inspirations on the theme of the Goddess: the first a very short essay on what a particular Druid thinks about the Goddess and the question ‘Why gender Deity? The ‘Seaside Druid’, Bill Bitner, writes: ‘When I use the term “Goddess Spirituality” to affix one of many adjectives to my spirituality, it’s not because I believe “God is a woman.” God isn’t even a person. I don’t even like the word “God.” I believe “there’s something out there.” But I don’t know what…’ Read more

Joanna van der Hoeven writes a short article on ‘Women in Druidry’: ‘Within Paganism, there appear to be an equal number of women and men in leadership roles.  One of the most popular Druids today is Emma Restall Orr, one of the most popular Wiccans is Starhawk.  Heathenry has Galina Grasskova and Diana L Paxon.  There are countless others in all pagan paths and traditions that stand alongside the men in equal roles of leadership, teaching and more. We know historically that there were female Druids, often termed as Druidesses…’  Read more

And then, just today a beautiful essay arrived from an OBOD member that touches on the experience of the Feminine in a very personal, but universal way. My assistant, Maria, pipped me to the post and has just posted this up on the blog, so you can read it in the post below…(scroll down to ‘Skyclad, the previous post, or click here)

Lots of food for thought! Happy Imbolc!

OBOD are in the process of putting together a book to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. It will be a collection of 50 articles and 50 pieces of art/craftwork that will share experiences of what it means to be an OBOD Druid. I include here a wonderful and moving submission for the book by Sue Lobo. If you would like to contribute to the book, please send submission in to Maria at philip@druidry.org and Sharon at sharon.zak@slipperyjacks.com.

When I went through the  journey of Bard to Druid a few years ago,  it coincided with many milestones in my life: with children leaving home, my husband working overseas & away from home for months on end, death of friends, family members & pets & all merging with the menopause which is such a bridge to cross. I started studying with OBOD while going through all this because I felt I wanted to go home, back to myself & wow what a journey of emotions it was. I can honestly say that it saved me from deep depression & probably auto-destruction by turning to pills or some other crutch. (I think it’s helpful to others who struggle with such things to share that last sentence, but equally if it feels too self-revelatory for you, that last sentence could come out and it would still read well). When I finished studying the course, I came out of the tunnel a completely new person, reborn, & knew that although the course had ended, the real studying had just begun & by this time I was officially now a crone & knew how to celebrate this fact & embrace this new woman with such joy. I also started writing & have now published many poetry books & also my autobiography. Life has taken on a completely new meaning & although I am a solitary Druid, I enjoy every minute of it, rejoicing in my continuing path. To celebrate my Cronedom at the end of my course, I did a Skyclad ritual & wrote about it. I would like to share it with you, as I feel very much a part of the OBOD family & maybe it will give a spark of hope to other women who are going through the same feelings I went through at the time.

SKY-CLAD:
The passing of passage is marked by many calendar moons, birth dates, entering & exiting the teenage years, engagements, marriage, motherhood etc. I decided to celebrate my coming of age, my entering into crone-hood & it merited a ceremony, my own private getting-to-know-me-as-I am-today-ceremony:
I drew back the curtains of a new dawn; I lit my bees-wax candles, cast my magic circle & dropped my robe. I stood completely sky-clad/naked, feeling dawn´s billowing caress as I searched for the real me in the ancient mirror on the wall.
I looked down at my ageing body, starting at my feet, feet deformed by bunions, crooked toes bent & crippled like an old tree. My eyes moved up my legs which are knotted by thick blue ropes of veins, bulging & throbbing. In between these blue pathways, scattered in array over the bumps of flesh, criss-crossing, red spider veins, mapping the failing secrets of life beneath my skin.
My soft belly protruding south towards my sadness & flaccid transparent breasts following the rest in resigned silence. Sloping shoulders, not as upright as before; before what? Before life happened.
All that my shadowed eyes beheld was encased within a white creased sheet of skin, like that of a newly hatched moth that has never seen the light. My lank grey hair was as colourless as a blind man´s stare & I felt older than life itself:
I pushed away all the age-depressing images, closed my eyes against the woman in the candle-lit mirror & took a deep breath.
I gave myself over to the Goddess, the Gods & the Elements, feeling myself whirling into time´s spinning vortex & all around me & within me, the beautiful choral voices of the singing matriarchs of the ancient tribes of my ancestors, serenading my senses, my womanhood, & the path I was about to enter.
Entering into the realm of the Goddess, I opened my eyes & I felt younger, lighter, stronger & wiser. My eyes sought the flickering mirror once again, but now with the wiser eyes of ancient knowledge.
I now saw my feet as the beautiful gnarled roots of the ancient tree of knowledge & realized that these same feet had carried me through life & the five continents, safely & steadfastly, leading me to where I stood today. The thick knotted veins on my legs converted to the rivers flowing with my life-blood, as precious as the great rivers of this planet, of the African rivers where as a child I had swam deep & content. Those red criss-crossing spider veins vying for importance on my flesh now became the map of path-ways & routes, taking me through my many travels in this life upon earth, some leading to where I had to go, others misleading me, making me retrace my steps, simply so that I may learn a lesson. Dusty pathways through the African deserts I had walked in childhood, but all steps leading to where I stand now.
My round protruding belly, the cauldron that protected my sons, many, many moons ago. My tired breasts, a testimony to the nurturing & comfort bestowed upon babes & men in my long-ago youth of another era, now grateful to be left in slumbering peace. My sloping shoulders, those hills that have carried weighty problems of the past, now slipping & sloping down further into nothing, oblivion, leaving my now-shoulders free & weightless, yet marked by their duty in the past, of continuous support.
My skin, not bronzed by the sun of Greek Gods, nor burnt to cinders from summers past. I now see my skin as a silken mantle, kissed by the beams of many ancient moons, giving it the hue of an open creamy rose, old velvet petals, drooping, ready to fall with a beauty with which no bud can compare. My breeze-billowing hair is now the silver surf of oceans, caressed by millions of moon moths, softly illuminating the nights of life.
I have studied my being from toe to head, getting to know the woman I am today & I am content.
I turn around in my circle three times, feeling the power within. I dedicate my profound & eternal gratitude to the Goddess within me & within all women. I thank her for the beautiful maid I was all those eons, yet seconds ago. I thank her for the loving, nurturing mother I was but yesteryear. I thank her for the lover I was & the men I have loved. I now thank her for the wonderful, wise crone I am at this moment in my life. I don my robe & continue down the corridors of the rest of my life. SUE LOBO ©

I am just writing my responses to interview questions for the next issue of Aontacht the Druidic Dawn magazine. I have just written this, and I’m interested to know if you agree with me, or whether you think it’s hopelessly optimistic!

“If you love something, you want to protect and nurture it, and so most Druids today (and many other people too, of course) are interested not only in their own spiritual progress or development, but in the welfare of the planet and its inhabitants. This is such an obvious idea it is easy for us to miss a significant point here, which is that the spiritual quest – while including an emphasis on care and charity, in the Christian world, and compassion and seva (service) in the Dharmic world – has always been primarily about gaining salvation or enlightenment for oneself. Now I believe there has been a shift in the Collective Mind, and that many people are as motivated by the desire to be of service to the world as they are by the idea of gaining personal enlightenment. Now both goals are seen as equally important, both are primary – that’s the shift, or the evolution, I believe that has taken place over the last decade or two.”

What do you think?Has there really been this shift?

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. People all around the world will come together, in gatherings or in private, silent thought, to remember and honour the millions killed in the Holocaust. Today is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and I am sharing here a very moving and poignant guest post from Siggy – a member of OBOD from Austria – about her experience with Felix, a concentration camp survivor. With thanks to Kate for fine-tuning the translation and for Siggy for her wonderful words and images:

Making candles is a tradition in my family, and I was fascinated by the art as a child. Then, as an adult, I started doing it myself.  At first, I made decorative candles for friends or just for me, and it was only years later I realized that candle making can have Druidic power, combining the creativity of the Bard with the healing work of the Ovate.

As an Austrian, a tour guide and a historian, I always felt a very strong connection to WW2. It was a shock to my soul, at the age of 13, to learn about my country’s role in it – and that motivated me to study history. I had visited some former concentration camps, but somehow I could never go to the most infamous one in my own country,  Mauthausen. Even the thought of it was like a black, beating heart, but at the same time, it called to me.

One morning, I suddenly felt I could go, but something within me said “not alone”. I was stunned to get a call that very day from a tourist office, asking me to go there with Felix, a holocaust survivor of both Auschwitz and Mauthausen. I agreed.

It was an amazing experience, as though we were walking into the past. I had been so afraid of being overwhelmed by the energy of this place, but I felt completely protected, as if there were a shield around me. I told him, “Officially, I am your guide, but actually you are mine”.

Deep within me I wanted to make a candle for him, and I asked him for the most important date in his life. It was May 5th 1945, the day of his liberation, and I resolved to make it in time for the next anniversary.

When I make a candle, first, I wait for a colour or symbol to appear. Usually, it doesn’t take long, but this time months passed. I even took it to a Samhain ritual, hoping for a sign, but nothing happened. I started to get nervous – perhaps this candle didn’t want to speak to me.

Then, one day in January, I heard Auschwitz mentioned three times on the radio; it was the anniversary of the liberation, and this was the sign. Red and black came to mind. Felix had become a number, so that featured, as well as a swastika, a symbol I never ever thought I would make but I felt the candle wanted it. Fire erupts from it, with blood dripping down, and the letters KZ (the abbreviation for Konzentrationslager – German for concentration camp). Barbed wire symbolizes imprisonment and mortal danger, and the broken candle is for broken lives. Felix’s survival is represented by leaves growing towards liberation and becoming a human, a name, again. I included the Hebrew words for peace and life, and eventually, only one last symbol, two laurels, remained to be added, but I couldn’t do it. Making candles is to listen to the candle itself, and it was a definite “wait”.

I wondered why, then I realized that I had a visit to Poland planned, to Lodz,  where Felix was born. I took the candle with me and finished it there, in his home city. In the morning of my last day there, I held it up to the light of the rising sun. It was very, very magical as I connected with the spirit of the land and the sun to ask for blessings and healing for him.

Felix received the candle in time for May 5th. His daughter wrote to tell me he could read the story I had put into it, and that it meant a great deal to him. 

Now, I go to Mauthausen to create and light candles, and sometimes I take groups there. I tell them the story of the camp on the bus, and then when they arrive they can go wherever they feel drawn. When we meet again, I give each of them a candle and ask them to light it wherever they feel they want to.

Through Felix, I realized the very place I had feared so greatly was actually the place I had been searching for, and his candle gave me a connection to the spirit of the candle and to what it means to be an Ovate. ~ Siggy