Ritual

I know, for me, that ritual was one of the hardest parts of druidry for me to learn. My particular brand of christianity had few rituals unlike the Catholic or High Church of England. As such, I spent long periods trying to apply the order from some book or other, holding the pages open so I could recite these whilst still trying to 'feel' what I was saying and the various responses from those I was calling in. I worried terribly about missing out something, fearing some dire consequence.

In fact, for a while, trying to do it this way both stopped flow and creativity and also tended to make me rigid. For some things I have a tendency to rigidity  and this made me worse! Of course, if you are an absolute novice you have no idea where to start and you look to those who do know, (or at least profess to know!) to copy. Again, in christianity, I, like many others were meant to be sheep, following blindly, those we were told were our 'leaders appointed by God' and often deemed as our 'betters!' especially if you were female.

Of course in time, as I read different books and eventually began to see others and what they did in ritual, I relaxed enough to hear and trust myself more. I began to sense what felt right to me and began to experiment with various ways of doing things. I also attended courses. One particular course helped me immensely. This was a Spirit of Druidry course ran by Rob Wilson. His way of teaching is not dogmatic and enables you to find your own way. For those interested this is the website: www.woodspirit.org.uk

With Ritual, as with all things, read what you can on the subject. Try and be aware of your own voice in this. If it sits with you, try it and if you like it, use it. Don't get bogged down though and do every ritual exactly the same way every time! Don't be afraid to experiment! There are those out there, both druid and pagan alike who may be horrified at such advice but you will only learn what is right for you by experimentation and learning to listen to your internal voice.

The best way to build confidence is to join others who are working a ritual. Then try this out for yourself. Keep checking with yourself if the words said feel right to you. There is no book of rules or though shalt nots! You will find that there are those of the Otherworld and on earth that will help you too. For me, the advice I received in the beginning came from a tree spirit. I also discovered, a Goddess was helping me. I didn't realise she was a Goddess at the time but her energy felt different, very powerful and protective. As I learned to listen - and this is imperative, I found many helpers and teachers. Some helped me with specific areas for a short period, while others helped me over a longer period and some I work with still.

If like me you have no idea where to look for these mysterious druids and even pagans per se, then the next few contacts might be useful as a starting point:

*Druid Network offers a wealth of advice and you can join as a member for a tiny amount  You don't have to be a member to read some of the pages on their website. They also run a Druid Camp every year which is well worth going to.

*Anderida Gorsedd - They run open rituals for each of the eight pagan festivals and they also run a spring and autumn camp weekends which are fabulous. However, they have very small numbers for these camps and once the tickets are sold that is it. The small numbers though, enables their bardic school, type camps to be so intimate and life changing.
 
*Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids - They run
an excellent course and a forum which contains great advice on various areas regarding Druidry. They also run camps for their members.








Some books on ritual and Druidry I would recommend would be:

Ritual - a Guide to Life, Love and Inspiration - by Emma Restall Orr

Creating Ceremony - Glennie Kindred and Lu Garner

Living Druidry - Emma Restall Orr

The Green Hedge Witch - Rae Beth

The Path through the Forest - Julie White and Graeme K Talboys

Natural Druidry - Kristoffer Hughes

The Voice within the Wind - Greywind

Singing the Soul Back Home - Caitlin Matthews

Treading the Mill - Nigel G. Pearson

Some of these books should be read again along the path. You will find, as you progress, that different aspects will reveal themselves to you later on in your journey. This is particularly true of Caitlin Matthews and Emma Restall Orr's  books. You also might find that a book you don't get on with at the beginning will be useful to you later on. I always look at the references used in a book because these may lead to other books that would be useful for you at this time in your journey.

You might notice that some of these books are not strictly about Druidry, however, the principals of respect for nature are upheld in all these books and they also allow you to see how different rituals are performed and different ways of working. It will also help you to develop your own fluidity and way of working.

The best advice I can give you though is get out in nature, out in the woods. If you have to drive to the woods, so be it. Get to the woods as often as you can and allow yourself to sit there with the trees around you and just be open to all your senses. Sit on a bench or find a little space at the base of a tree and sit there, get as near to nature as you can. Sit on the floor preferably without any synthetic protection like plastic! If you must have something beneath you, use a woven blanket in natural fibres if possible. Of course, a plastic backed picnic rug may be necessary if the ground is wet and muddy! Particularly if you are going somewhere else afterwards and can't afford to get excessively muddy.

Sit in the woods or in nature as often as possible and not just in your garden! The beach near the sea or sitting on a river/stream bank is great. If you can get your shoes off and walk in the stream then brilliant! Common sense prevailing of course.

Find a quiet spot if you can and visit it regularly, get to know the energies of the place. When you first start, this can be very helpful but try not to become rigid. This place belongs to a wealth of spirits seen and unseen. Wherever you go in nature, try to be aware of all the sounds and sights, the smells and the 'feel' of the place. If you visit a particular place often, you will begin to notice subtle changes at different times in the day and year. Don't be afraid to touch things. Close your eyes and feel the coarse bark of a tree, the knarled and twisting branches, the nodules and bumps. Take your time. Feel different types of leaves and grasses, being careful and respectful of all things. Please don't take or touch without silently checking with the spirit of the plant or tree you are approaching. You will, if you ask feel an answer. You may sense that the tree is not happy for you to be touching it or you may sense a pulling away or a sense of being allowed into its nemeton. Also, always silently thank the spirit for letting you take a leaf or sit against its trunk. As humans we have been used to stomping around as if we own the place so, taking care and being respectful may take time and practice to change. More on this later.

You might be thinking, how will this help me with ritual? Well the above will help you develop your own listening skills and will enable you to start listening internally as well as externally. This then enhances the relationship you have with the spirits in nature who in turn will help you 'hear' and feel subtle changes in temperature and responses. When working rituals, you will need these skills.
For instance, let us say you want to create an impromptu ritual in response to some beautiful scenery that you have been sitting in or have found on a walk.

You might want to check with the spirits in that place that they are happy for you to do this. If they  are you might decide to mark the area out with some peices of nature that you can find on the ground. A round stone, a grey feather, a flower that has fallen, a peice of heather (don't forget to check with the plant spirit if it is okay to take a sprig and always thank them for it or give a little gift if you have one). A gift might be some dried herbs that you bring with you for such a purpose. A small pinch will be fine with a thank you. Manners goes a long way. Alternatively, if you have developed a relationship with some particular tree spirits, you might want to ask them to hold the space for you. You may just use your body and share your energy without any particular space marked out for the purpose. You may choose to dance or chant or both. You may just find a pretty stone, and making sure again, that the spirit of that stone is happy to be moved, you might place it at the bottom of a tree you felt an affinity with or shared something with. You might just sit, filled with the wonder and awe of such beauty and spend time absorbing it. You might find a song or poem flows through you. This may be your gift to the place or you may write it down and share it with others. You may just say a few words of blessing and thanks. However small and simple or precise and complex your ritual make it yours and therefore meaningful for both yourself and the spirits you are referring to. When you have finished, always thank the spirits who you have shared this with or have called upon to help. Always close down if you have opened up something specifically and tidy away. Let there be no trace either physically or spiritually of your presence there. If you have put a circle around you or marked out a space, undo it and spiritually sweep it of any excess energy. Ask that any excess energy be absorbed into the earth and transformed into healing energy for the earth or other words of your choice. Be spontaneous, let words flow through you, listen to your inner self and any teachers whose voice you trust. More on this later.  Ground yourself. Either, sit on the floor, placing your hands on the floor as well or stand, with your feel on the earth and stamp them a few times saying, I am here, I am grounded, it is done or words to that effect. If it is possible, you can lie on the ground, in a foetal position and feel yourself fully there, know where you are , feel the earth beneath you. If you have something to eat and drink - which is preferable, share a little portion with the earth and her children and have some yourself. This will help ground you particularly if you are driving.

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Finding a way through the Forest

There are many books out there that refer to druidry, some good, some excellent and others not so great. One fundamental point I wish to make to any beginners and people searching, is that no two journeys through the Forest of Druidry are the same. This is important! It is not about following some demi god or god  like sheep. This is  being fully awake and making independent choices about what feels right for you and what doesn't. It is also about fully informed choices and choices made from your internal knowings and intuition.

 When you are new to Druidry and, especially if you have come from a background of organised religion, it can all seem very muddly and confusing. Part of the charm, at least for me, in Druidry is its freedom, but that can also be scary.

Druidry has many facets or branches as I prefer. If you can imagine a huge knarled Oak tree, its strong branches reaching upwards and outwards. It houses a myriad of wildlife from birds and animals to tiny insects.

Imagine that the trunk represents the main similarities and tenents of Druidry as a whole and the branches are the endless ways, ideas and paths within Druidry. These varied paths will reveal themselves to you as you travel your individual path and you will make exciting discoveries along the way.

The central trunk can be said to refer to overarching tennents that most Druids would agree on - however, do not make the mistake of thinking that every Druid believes this. Druidry is fluid like a river meandering past sun spangled woodland and golden fields of corn. Rippling over rocks and pebbles and tumbling down little drops carved in the landscape like tiny waterfalls. Suddenly gathering speed as it careers towards a cliff edge and cascades in a sheet of white power down to a pool at the bottom where it whirls and circles and drops again to a pool further down. White foam spraying and thundering as it flows endlessly down and out again as the river takes up its journey cutting through field and forrest, hill and dell until it reaches the open sea.

Here are some ideas that may be held in the trunk of that Ancient Oak:

Justice - not the moralistic, manmade justice but an inner justice that incorporates everything. It is not something that is linked to right and wrong in a religious or dogmatic way. My sense of justice may be different from yours but as it evolves and throws away old teachings from culture and religions, you will find it shines clearly within you - aspects that hold true to you, values that are your own and linked to a deeper justice from the earth herself. An example would be:

When I started this journey myself, shedding some of the religious, moralistic indoctination of my religion and culture, often  painfully and slowly to begin with, I found that new ideas of justice would float to the surface from somewhere deep within myself.

 Previous to my Druidry, I was quite anti any eco friendly nonsense as I saw it then. In my, then very capitalist view of the world, I thought this was a notion brought about by the same eccentric people that spouted ridulous ideas like recycling, world peace and tree hugging. They often boasted strange hairstyles and clothes and wore jesus creepers. These same oddities of the margins walked alot whilst eating miniscule amounts of food utterly unsuitable for red blooded carnivores like me!

After my journey through the Forest began, there were subtle changes in my attitude, barely noticeable at first, like some inner force was opening my mind to feel more about the impact I had on the rest of the world. Totally unlike preaching or the incessant visual and verbal advertising of disturbing images that charities, governments and religious organisations employ to manipulate the masses. This was a gentle flow of ideas or feelings that promoted awareness within myself. These things came from inside as opposed to outside.

 Over time I developed a strong sense of injustice about what was happening to the earth and for me, the land of my ancestors - our sacred isles. Old beliefs began to loosen and detach and there were times when I felt I was out in the middle of the vast ocean in a tiny boat, spinning and tossing perilously, at the mercy of her great power. (I use she because that is what is real for me, you may feel the power as male or simply as power with no need for gender). This was because I was cut astray from all I had held dear for most of my life and these things no longer rang true for me. This can be deeply alarming, even petrifying at times but you find that you begin to take root again, in new and often beautiful ways that support not just you but all things. The earth pulls you in and holds you safe again. I discovered within myself that all things are sacred. The impact of this was huge for me. An example of this would be:
 Seeing someone deliberately and senselessly kicking and maiming a tree actually hurt me. It brought a rush of anger and outrage that made me want to rescue the tree from this onslaught.

Truth - again this is not the truths sold to us via religion, cultural upbringing and moralistic views. These are internal truths, ancient and profound truths that come as a result of the internal changes within as you move into Druidry. They are sometimes difficult to express and are often felt as knowings or wisdom that wells up from an unfathomable source. These you will discover for yourself as you journey.

Peace -  again this happens gradually and may manifest differently in each Druid. It may be an internal peace that develops. This is often felt by others who may be drawn to their calmness. Sometimes it is created within from an inner contentment and a feeling that you have arrived 'home' from your endless searching and disquiet. It may manifest as a quest to enable peace or call for peace actively in the world.

Grounded on the earth - Druidry is not the path of the spiritual guru who seeks ever higher the spiritual realms accompanied by a resolve to remove the self from earthly confines and basic needs. Neither is it a belief in a here after/heaven or navana, with life on earth as something to be endured. Druidry by contrast is living and celebrating life right now. Seeing the beauty in all living things, the smoothness of a pebble, the glistening water, the song of the black bird, the graceful flight of the raven, the crashing waves that thunder onto the beach. Not, and I stress, not because you have made yourself do this by an act of will. No! Within, you will feel a pull to life and as you journey deeper into the forest, that pull will fill you with exhilaration at times. Druidry is living life in your journey now, with all its ebb and flow, ups and downs. There is also a deeply spiritual side which you will discover, which adds to living more fully, bringing a richness to your life that is beyond words.

Druids - Children of the Forest

On this blog I intend to post subject matter that I hope will be of interest to new and old druids alike. I hope to cover, in time, Celtic languages, Myths and Legends, Goddesses and Gods, Herblore, Ogham, Trees and much more.

I also hope to look at ways in which druids work, heal and dare I say create magick. I do believe that druids in their time utilised magick. I know this is a bone of contention amongst some modern day druids but I am using poetic licence as this is my blog!

I also hope to show and sell various creations as I make them and may show articles and book reviews and also stories and poems and more.

In short, although this blog is primarily aimed at Druids it is also open to all persons who are interested in what is written here. I have deliberately aimed it, in the first instance at Druids. This is because wherever one goes on the internet, Druids often only get a little corner if not less, within the pagan web pages, with the vast majority of shops and blogs aimed at and for Wiccans. I also realise that druids are a free and varied bunch with varying beliefs and interests. It may be out of my scope to reach all of you in your colourful diversity but I do hope, over time to produce subject matter of interest to a goodly number of you!

Of course Witches and Wiccans and Heathens and all Pagans, and in fact all persons are very welcome too!

Please take a seat by the hearth and warm yourself or sit awhile and take a cup of mead and let the golden nectar warm your heart and still your mind.

Bright Blessings!