igsaisbdedicant

This journal was my way of journaling my trip through the DP. With that journey completed, I think this journal has served it's purpose.

If you have interest in my continuing adventures and ramblings, please feel free to jump over to http://www.livejournal.com/users/igsaisb which someone has recently chided me to start using.

Enjoy!

JLC

PS: If you friended me on this journal PLEASE do the same over there. Thanks.

I was informed early this week that my DP submission passed. Two years for me to do it and I think that was about right.

Thanks to all who have commented here and in person. Thanks to all who have listened to me as I tried to work stuff out in my head. Thanks to you all.

Also, a few weeks ago, I was informed that my Bardic Grade work was sufficient and I could progress to Ovate in the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids.

Back to work!

JLC

I took my Dedicant’s Oath with the Dedicant Program Study Group of Grove of the Other Gods, ADF (GOG) on March 31, 2007. I had been prepared to take it since January, but had wanted to wait until I could do it with my Grove as the importance of community has become a central value for me during the last two years of walking a Pagan path. Furthermore, GOG has become my spiritual home and that community, located a hundred miles from my residence, now includes some of my closest friends.
On the drive down, I turned over in my head what I wanted to say and knew the themes I wanted to touch upon, but left the exact words to the inspiration of the coming moment. The ritual was done in standard liturgical form, but allowed for some discussion of what each of us felt as we moved through the liturgy. I invoked Brigid as Muse noting that my daughter, whose middle name is Brigid, provided the original impetus to begin exploring this path. As we invoked Gatekeepers, I thanked Manannan for opening the way for me to walk this path and, given His large presence with GOG, for opening the way into this Grove. As we made our offerings to the Outsiders, I reflected upon how I truly believe that the identity of “the Outsiders” is a relative thing and that today’s Patron of the Rite can be among the Outsiders tomorrow, depending upon the purpose of a ritual. Further to this point, I noted that while ADF does not generally consider the Outsiders to be representative or our individual personal demons, I felt that the concept had helped me come to terms with aspects of my personality that could be useful in one circumstance, but damaging in another. I called to Pan when we invited in our own deities as I work with him in limited ways but do not consider Him my Patron.
As we came to the invocation of the Patrons of the Rite and the Oath, I asked Brigid, Manannan and An Dagda to join me thanking Brigid again for inspiring me to walk this path, Manannan for opening the path and An Dagda (whom I called by several of his names) for joining me on the path. I addressed the Grove and spoke of how important this group of people had become to me how community is a central pillar of my Pagan faith. I offered up a pendant I have worn for the last two years to anyone in the Grove who wanted it. I explained that the pendant, which is a simple spiral of soldered metal, had been my emblem of being a seeker of knowledge and an explorer of this path and that as with this Oath I was making a commitment to the Pagan path, I would be adopting a new emblem to symbolize that commitment. One of the other Dedicants accepted it (she later explained as part of her Oath that she felt she was still seeking and coming to terms with her faith and that it was an appropriate emblem for her). I turned then to the altar and said that I was donning the emblem of my Patron, An Dagda’s Club, as a symbol of acknowledging that I walk a Pagan path, that I accept and honor the obligations of this choice and will continue to do so until the Gods and I no longer feel that we share the same journey. (Please note, the exact wording was chosen on the spot and I do not have it.)
We drew individual Tarot cards for the omen. I drew Strength, which I felt was both a reflection that I need strength to deal with the issues and conflicts of my life, some of which stem from my choosing a Pagan path and also that my faith will bring me strength to deal with these issues. A group omen was attempted by placing all our cards on the floor and then dropping jelly beans on them; the beans seemed to slide right off the cards. I felt that the group omen was essentially that in this moment, the Kindred were speaking to us individually and there was no group message.
I drank my Waters of Life and we concluded in standard form. As the ritual was a group ritual, it is hard to make a full assessment of how I performed the ritual, given that I only spoke in parts when moved to do so. I was less articulate that I liked, but managed to muddle through. I felt my oath communicated what I wanted to say without making grand promises I couldn’t keep.
My last comment on the Oath Rite is that I see it capping my experience in the Dedicant Program as a rite-of-passage in which I formally acknowledged that Paganism is no longer “something I am interested in”, it is now part of who I am.

PASSED!!!!

(cross digits on DP)

I started OBOD's Bardic Course the same time as ADF's DP in early 2005 and funny enough, getting through them has taken about 2 years. I reached a milestone Sunday night in sending off my OBOD work in order to move on to the Ovate grade. All I lack on the DP is to do my Oath and write that up. Soon, soon, . . .

And please don't fire off OBOD criticisms. It's a different paradigm than ADF and I am well aware of the shortcomings in scholarship.

I run into a problem when I try to categorize the concepts of the deities, ancestors and such: I find the categories too confining and end up with a lot of areas of blending and overlap. Ultimately, I think this problem is inherent for humans trying to describe the beings ADF tends to call the Sacred Kindred. Categorization is essentially a function of the human mind trying to segregate, simplify and label its experiences in a way that can be use for future reference. These beings, be they what we might call Spirits of Place, Ancestors, or Shining Ones, are in some ways almost by definition beyond the human mind's ability to categorize.

I also wonder if these division are in some way a modern conception; it is clear that many ancient tribes traced their origins directly to a god in order to justify claims of sovereignty. Jordan Paper, in The Deities are Many points to a Chinese general who originally had a small shrine by his grave commemorating his victories in life. As time went on, people began to make offerings to him for success in all sorts of ventures. His shrine grew and ultimately he became a god. So, day one was he an Ancestor or a God, was there a line or is the demarcation arbitrary?

Perhaps we may need to rely on some sort of definitions that derive more from the relationship we have with these entities, how we interact with them, rather than a definition arising from Their nature. Having said this, the same sort of overlaps, inconsistencies, and uncertianties could certainly arise. So, for a very tentative and nowhere-near fully thought out example, perhaps the Ancestors are those we call upon for guidance in dealing with matters of self, family and tribe, such as: "Will the demands of a new job be compatible with the well being of my family?" or when my daughter was born nine weeks early I should have prayed to my physical ancestors to ask them to lend her their strength on the rationale that as her progenitors they have an interest in and most immediate ability to aid her survival. This also accomodates those humans whose ideas help shape our personal world view, be it Martin Luther, Adam Smith, or Hunter S. Thompson.

The Nature Spirits or Spirits of Place (I find those terms to conjure very different ideas) are who we call upon for guidance in understanding our interaciton with the immediate physical world.

Lastly, perhaps the Shining Ones are best understood as ones to call upon for guidance in dealing with society beyond our family/tribe and whose aid we ask when faced with those things beyond a normal human's immediate control. So perhaps I call upon An Dagda as my patron and a god of bounty for aid to understand if a change of job is lucrative and will provide security (a different question than above and a question that takes into account the economic system, a thing beyond a normal human's control) or Brigid to heal my daughter (yes we have doctors, but in some ways I see Brigid acting through them - I can't just "do" medicine immediately; further when a doctor says something to the effect of "We can't do any else, it's up to the patient now" I see that as a realm where healing is well beyond human hands).

I fully acknowledge the "system" above is flawed and I suggest it only as an example of how such a categorization by functional relationship might work. The "ancestors of mind" present a significant challenge to it that I know I haven't resolved. Martin Luther King for example is one whose ideas are appealed to for societal change, yet I would not consider him to have a continuing existence and ability to affect the world such as that of a god. Perhaps the distinction is that an Ancestor can only effect the world through the actions of humans while a God can act directly or through a human?

How evil are you?

With the holiday season upon us, I would like to share my insights in a form of divination that I find quite appealing.

You start with a bottle of sparkling wine such as champagne, prosecco,cava, etc. You must have appropriate stemware, i.e. flutes. The "Marie Antoinette" sherbet style glass will not work.

You pour out one glass to whatever deity of inspiration and divination you work with.

You drink three glasses as quickly as you can. Make sure there is enough in the bottle for a last glass.

You pour (or have someone pour for you) the fifth and last glass. Now with some source of light behind the glass, such as a candle or neon bar sign, stare at the steady stream of bubbles until you receive an omen or pass out. If you receive a message and it is to your liking, drink and take in the omen. If the omen is not to your liking, switch to drinking martinis and try again later.

Fasting the day before improves the effectiveness of the technique.

Enjoy.

JLC

“The Shining Ones” – That’s how I generally and generically refer to the entities we deem to be the mightiest of the Sacred Kindred, the Gods of our religion. I tend to use that moniker as much because it’s just easier to get out of my former atheist mouth than “Gods” as because I also like the subtle mystery it conveys. These beings are in some ways beyond our full understanding and comprehension. At the same time, they are individuals of great, but not unlimited, power and like humans of great power; we can approach Them to build alliances and relationships. We just have to realize that we are on the junior-end of any “partnership.” Still and all, there are rules They must play by and limits they must recognize.

I struggle with a few problems with the Nature of Our Gods. While I have always been convinced of the need to deal with each God as a fully realized and functional individual rather than an aspect of a single entity, I have never completely rejected the possibility of some greater unity behind Them. What I have concluded is that I can’t ever be completely sure on this question and that I am sure that An Dagda likes it when I give him oatmeal, so there I have some sort of functional certainty. I also have tried to reconcile how there can be multiple Gods with shared areas of responsibility. The answer I have come to is that the Gods are like powerful people in a given region who have had to grapple with globalization; they find themselves from time to time outside their “native lands” and must seek local allies to function. This is one of the areas where the Gods need us. At the end of the days, while I know They don’t need any given individual human, I do believe they do need humanity in order to be fully realized individuals, after all what is the purpose of having great powers if no one sees you use them?

I think the use of the term “Patron” is very important to understanding our relationships with our Gods. A patron of the arts in the human world gives money and influence to aid the career of an artist. Why does the human patron do this? Such activity is a demonstration of the patron’s power and wealth and is rewarded with prestige and strengthens that patron’s position in the community. I think at some level, our Gods become our patrons for similar reasons; this is Their way of displaying power and ultimately they need to demonstrate their power to maintain status amongst the community of the Sacred Kindred, including the fourth estate of the Kindred, us humans. Let us not forget that the human patron can rarely do the things his adopted artist can do and I believe that there are realms of action where we humans can act that lie beyond the Gods. What are these? I believe the furtherance of technology is one example. Further, I believe we have freedoms of choice that the Gods do not. I will admit I have yet to fully think this idea through and it is one I continue to struggle with, but it is apparent to me that if They could stop some of our actions (say global warming), They would. So there must be some choices over the fate of our world which are beyond Their powers and it is Their sincere need and desire to influence the choices we make in those arenas beyond their reach.

Samhain is generally considered by Neopagans to be a time when the “veil between the worlds” is thin and the various spirits of the Otherworld are able to walk the earth. In keeping with this idea is that this is a time when we are best able to communicate with our Ancestors, and perhaps more importantly, our Ancestors are best able to initiate communication with us. As a result, Samhain is generally also considered a prime time to engage in divination activities as the messages from the Otherworld are least plagued by “interference.” Another general Neopagan belief is that Samhain is the third and last harvest festival. The harvest theme is natural and there are numerous folk practices associated with this time, including tossing the last sheaf harvested into a neighbor’s field and the last recipient of such a sheaf (and therefore last field harvested) was either lucky or unlucky, depending on local belief.

The Celts, my hearth culture, appear to be the source of the name of this holiday, though the linguist source is somewhat uncertain. There does not appear to have been a deity bearing the name, despite certain sources claiming such. The holiday marks the end of the Summer and beginning of the Winter for the Celts, who really saw the year only having two seasons, and as the Celts measure time intervals by alternating cycles of light and dark, Samhain marked the beginning of the new year.

I generally look at this holiday as a time for attempting to reach catharsis over the happenings of the preceding year in order to begin a new cycle with something of a clean slate and fresh outlook on life. It is a time to remember those that have passed from this life. In keeping with my desire for catharsis, it is also a time to let go of the events of the preceding year, to cease to second guess decisions made and stop considering “woulda-coulda-shoulda” thoughts. Lastly, as it is the “new year” I do find myself beginning to think of ways to change my life and even doing the sort of house cleaning where old clothes and unused items go to charity or are discarded as appropriate.

Samhain got a bit caught up in the hectic pace of life this year and didn’t affect me as much as it did last year. I had lost only our oldest cat this year, and while a meaningful loss, I think the loss of my cat Timmie a year and a half ago somewhat prepared it for me. A former college room mate lost his son after only a few days, and this was someone we honored in ritual, but it was not a loss I felt that intensely.

The ritual itself was solely our home ritual with me officiating. The ritual was largely improvised as I just could not bring myself to focus on it beforehand. I had an outline of the ADF liturgy handy and improvised the language of each step. The gates flew open as they always do in our rituals (again, holding them in the foyer of our house beneath Manann’s triskelion makes for pretty liminal space). As we called on Don, Son of Mil as the Patron of the Rite, I did suddenly become very aware of feelings of being indebted to those Ancestors who helped pave the way for this world of ours and also keenly aware that too many of them were forgotten. I like working with Don at Samhain as he is an Ancestor to humanity rather than a separate tribe such as the members of the Tuatha de Danann whom I usually work with.

My wife has a ritual she has been doing for a number of years in which she writes the name of those who have departed in this year on a piece of birch bark, burns it, and places the ashes in a potted lily. The lily was a gift to us at our daughter’s birth, so the imagery of the cycle of life and death this ritual is quite powerful for us. She performed this ritual with the names of our friend’s son and of our cat. I felt moved in the ritual to write an “X” on a piece of bark in honor of all those who have been forgotten and all those who passed without notice to the most of the world.

Our omen was oghams drawn asking in order the Nature Spirits, Ancestors, and Shining Ones "What message do the Sacred Kindred have for us?" We got, in that order, Eadha, Tinne, and Ioho, Using Skip's book, I got something about communication, justice and balance, and rebirth. Looking at other sources, I get a lot of stuff about conflict, work, and skill. I believe this message relates to me and my family about certain opportunities and challenges that have arisen at my job which hold both the promise of prosperity as well a disruption of our life. Asking a more experienced hand at Ogham, I was later offered the following interpretation: Eadhadh: Watch for natural omens. Pay attention to communication from those outside your normal sphere. Tinne: You're building on what others (ancestors?) have created. Respect that, and carefully forge your own way from that. Idho-old: Gods returning in ritual or in life. Looking back on the omen now, I think I am beginning to understand that the opportunity presenting itself does not have to disrupt our lives, that there through care counsel with others, awareness of conflicts (and addressing them fairly), and some measure of skill I can still have the upside without the upheaval. I also see the interpretation from my friend as consistent as I think the choice to be made needed me to consult with friends outside my day to day life, that I need to build my life also on the efforts of my wife (which have manifested in making connections outside of my work), and that my faith has become important enough to me to take my religious community into account when making life changes.

We closed the Gates though I felt that the energy lasted for sometime in the house.

My grove, Grove of the Other Gods, ADF (GOG), celebrates an eclectic mix of patrons in rites, having held rituals in honor of John Barleycorn, Mnemosyne, and the Earth Mother, just to name a few. However, I would say the core of the Grove’s practice is heavily influenced by the Celtic traditions. For example Manannan and Brigid have annual rituals dedicated to them and also serving as Gatekeeper and Muse for most rituals respectively.

I have found my personal practice drawn toward the Irish Celtic pantheon in particular, with An Dagda, Brigid and Manannan taking the forefront in my devotions. I try to think of them with some small praise everyday and take care to make some regular offerings in my home altars dedicated to them. When we held our home blessings, we asked Manannan to watch over our threshold, Brigid to watch over our hearth, and for An Dagda to bless our home with protection and bounty. A triskelion I bought from a carver on the Isle of Man hangs above our front door, a Brigid statue sits by our stove and a cauldron is kept in our kitchen. I offer porridge or oatmeal to An Dagda whenever I have any myself, milk to Brigid when I cook, and beer or whiskey to Manannan whenever it seems appropriate, which is about weekly. When we hold a home ritual, I always offer to them beforehand. Lastly, in addition to the GOG rituals to honor Brigid and Manannan, I dedicate the Summer Solstice ritual to An Dagda, as it falls so close to Father’s Day and I see An Dagda as a patron of fatherhood.

I have read and reread the Book of Invasions and the Tain and continue to read other relevant texts in search of an understanding of the underlying context of values and worldview that these stories reflect. I have found some insights that are re-shaping how I approach life. It is clear to me that hospitality and generosity were important to these people and it has become so to me. I am fortunate in many ways so it is incumbent upon me to share with my community. Keeping ones oaths and responsibilities is also a central Celtic ethic, but what I find a powerful is the realization that one’s responsibilities are not what are placed upon you by others without your consent but those that derive from your participation in a community or a promise made. While it may seem somewhat uncharitable, what this insight has given me is a keen appreciation of who I owe what to and to whom I should or should not make a promise to. There is a rather grim ethic of accountability that runs through the tales, and that may be foreboding to some. I see the stories relaying a message about the power to make choices, but serving stern reminders that those choices have consequences. Lastly, I have come to believe that the ancient Celts had an ardor for the experiences of life; it is reflected in An Dagda’s enjoyment of the porridge at the Fomorian’s camp, CuChulain’s embrace of his role as guardian, Manannan’s trickery, even Brigid’s keening. They embraced the experiences of life, even the painful ones. The myths do not hand down a rationale for this, but it seems clear to me that the Tuatha de Danann have a keen grasp that the feeling of life is what matters.

The Tuatha de Danann don’t appear to me to be interested in giving us things we want, but are willing to influence conditions and help us find the strength within to go and seek those things. An Dagda will not fill my pantry, but He seems to remind me that I have an obligation to fill it and gives me the strength to get to work each day. He may also be working to make sure there is a market for my skills and opportunities for me, but it remains up to me to fail or succeed. I pray to Brigid when I work out, asking that my efforts succeed, but I still must put forth the effort. No free rides from the Tuatha de Danann. (As an aside, we can succeed without Them, as the Sons of Mil did against Them, but it may be a bit harder!)

Outside of the Tuatha de Danann, the only deity I routinely work with is Pan. I work with Pan as my appointed patron of rockclimbing. As a god of high rocky wild places, I offer to him before and after outings, asking to be sure of foot and for the opportunity to see something of the wild world. He appears pleased with this and accepts my limited devotion.

Lastly, I have recently hosted an ADF-Style ritual in my home which I announced over the ADF-Announce and ADF-Northeast lists. The ritual was not held for one of the High Days, but rather as a Thanksgiving to the All Gods, in an effort to be welcoming and inclusive. Out of this event, I believe I have found six to eight people who might be interested in continuing to hold rituals around feast days of our choosing and not necessarily the High Days.

In summary, through a devotion to the Tuatha de Danann, I find myself reshaping my own worldview. Consistent with that, I try to keep them in mind throughout my days and to make regular offering to them. The limited scope of my work with Pan seems appropriate and could be a model for other “single-purpose” relationships that might become appropriate in my life.

My view of the Nature Spirits is rather complex. I see this grouping as ADF conceives it to be somewhat of a hodge-podge and it could use some further division. There are the spirits of place that can manifest as the elves, pixies, gnomes, that are so familiar in mythology. I believe that Their manifestation in the form of humanoid beings is not Their true nature but rather a way for Them to appear to us that we can understand. We believe there is a group of these who inhabit a very liminal strip of land at the edge of our back yard. We offer milk and honey to them every full moon in the spirit of “good fences make good nature”.

I also think of the Nature Spirits as the manifestation of the spirit of a species, say the spirit of the hawk, similar to how some Native American and African tribal beliefs understand the concept. One difficulty I have with the concept of the Nature Spirits is how to differentiate between one of Them and the force that is the Earth Mother. Perhaps it is best to think of both groups as the Earth Mother’s most direct offspring with responsibilities for the welfare of specific places, animals, or certain phenomena.

I believe it appropriate to offer to the Nature Spirits in recognition of the sacrifices we ask of the animals and plants we consume in order to live. I also seek to find peace with Them when I venture into the woods for a hike or climb and pray to the spirits of the Air when I get on an airplane as well. With travel, I do find myself compelled to introduce myself to the spirits of whatever new place I come to and offer them something, usually some beer or wine or a coin tossed into the bushes. I just think it polite. The general rule is that when you venture into Their domain, you should make peace with Them.

The Autumn Equinox with Grove of the Other Gods (GOG) was a bit different from other GOG rituals. It was also my first ritual with GOG since the Spring Equinox and it was good to be back with my Grove. The ritual honored the Earth Mother. As the ritual approached I found myself very focused on environmental issues; my personal reading seemed to turn in that direction and at work I found myself assessing a number of investments with environmental impact issues (most notably a couple of biofuel projects and a coal powered electricity plan privatization).

The ritual proceeded through the normal steps beginning with our call to worship and then the Earth Mother invocation. From the first moment, this felt a far more personal, more intimate ritual than most, even though there were upwards of forty people in attendance, many whom I had never met. We invoked the Air as muse, which was quite a change from our normal Bardic deity of Brigid. GOG usually invokes the muse after opening the Gates, but in this case we did this invocation immediately after the statement of purpose; I actually feel this works better. I think the aid of the muse is meant to help with the performance of the ritual and waiting until after you open the Gates, the most important act of the ritual, seems to defeat the purpose. I led the meditation using one that I do everyday as part of my devotionals; it calls for you to think of all those you love and take a little of that love and release it to Mother Earth for just a moment. I believe the meditation worked well and helped to focus the group on the intent of our ritual.

We worked with the Sea, Sky, and Land as the Gates in place of the Fire-Well-Tree. This seemed appropriate for a ritual honoring Mother Earth, but I would not use it for any other purpose. We used the Moon as Gatekeeper and I’m not sure this was particularly successful. The energy felt rather aloof and if we were working with a more distant Patron of the Rite, I’m not sure it would have worked. I might have chosen Jupiter (the planet, not the Roman deity) instead as the Jupiter’s gravity cleared the inner planetary orbits of asteroids and helps protect the Earth from comets and other random objects speeding through the solar system.

The praise offerings focused on the gifts of Mother Earth though our Senior Druid reminded us that Mother Earth is also responsible for earth quakes, hurricanes and such. She had a good point and it motivated me to give praise to Mother Earth for the anger I have carried with me since the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I carry the anger that so many people deny climate change is a problem and the consequences of that denial. I also carry the anger regarding the failure of our government to render aid and that anger has really focused my political thoughts regarding the proper role of government.

The omen was taken by three female attendees spinning around until they fell and then interpreting the first thing they saw. One saw the shelter of leaves and limbs of a fig tree she fell under, another saw a gnat and our Senior Druid simultaneously, and the third saw the chimney of the house next door. They interpreted the omen as even though there are petty annoyances, we always have a roof over our head, earth under our backs (feet), and a mother who loves us: essentially, we are always home. I’m not sure I agree with that interpretation; it felt to me more like “Mother Earth is here to give shelter to life (leaves and limbs), she values all life equally, even that which we may think inconsequential (gnat) and Her wrath could be great (Senior Druid, who reminded us of that feature of Mother Earth) if we continue to hurt Her for our own comfort (chimney).”

We drank the Waters of Life and closed as usual, though the Gatekeeper dismissal drug on too long and I felt the Moon was trying to insinuate herself into this ritual a bit more than deserved.

The meditation was the largest role I have played in a GOG ritual and I’m glad it worked. I look forward to being a bit more active in the future.

The Autumn Equinox, commonly known as Mabon among Neo Pagans, is another of Wheel of the Year with no attested celebrations among the ancient pagans. . The name Mabon appears to be a modern invention for the holiday. This time of year was a sweep of harvests with the chosen holiday most probably dictated by the relevant local climate its time of harvest. Late September here in the Northeast of the US certainly sees a change in weather with daily highs dropping and the mornings in particular prone to an occasional “freshness” that hints at the coming winter.

Most modern Neo Pagans celebrate with references second harvest, that of fruits. For us, our raspberry patch has come into a final crop, perhaps heavier than at any other time of the year. Our vegetables are all but gone and the lone pumpkin to survive has been picked.

For me personally, I feel some relief upon getting to the Autumn Equinox. I have passed the anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina, of 9/11, and finally of my birth. A little stress releases from my shoulders and I begin the serious preparations for winter. In our times, these preparations are not that critical for many of us: make sure the tires on the cars are up to the winter weather, buy firewood, get the chimney swept, and so on. Perhaps, aside from signaling an end to my personal “dog days”, the autumn equinox is for me the final realization that I must let go of summer and grapple with the reality of winter.

I see Life itself as the ultimate sacred with Life seen as the whole cycle of birth, growth, death, and re-birth. The world is sacred to me as a manifestation of the impetus of Life. I therefore honor the Sacred Kindred for their roles in creating and sustaining this sacred thing that is the world. This is also why we must respect those we call Outsiders for they are not opposed to Life, but rather a manifestation of Life that is simply not part of the order we are trying to impose at a given time and They are the reservoir of alternate potential that the world can draw upon when a particular order fails. Lastly, we should honor other humans who work to shape the world in ways consistent with the impetus of Life.

The Ancestors are generally considered the Mighty Dead, who live on in some form of the afterlife or, perhaps, have been reincarnated. They are receptive to praise and willing to look after their descendants by offering protection and guidance. Ancestor worship as a historical practice seems to have two main roots. One root arises from tribes tying their ancestry to a deity in order to cement their claim to the land. Another root of ancestor worship comes from a rather opposite direction as great heroes of a tribe or nation who in their life achieve something great for their people and then, after their death, the living would remember them and call upon them for aid. A simple example would be a general who achieves great victory and then his spirit is called upon for aid in future struggles.

These historical examples tie into my world view as the Ancestors’ actions in life helped to shape our current world. The energy of their lives carries on in this world and by honoring the Ancestors we can call upon that energy to further our aims that are in agreement with their purpose in life. With this in mind, I believe we can call upon the spirit of artists, leaders, thinkers, and heroes whom we have no blood relation for aid in the areas of activity where they made their mark.

I am less comfortable with my own blood relations as Ancestors. I have never looked back at my genealogy with much interest, thinking that while I exist because of these people, the have not had much effect upon how I live my life. My family heritage is one of mostly farmers and with my life taking a distinctly different direction it is hard to relate to my personal predecessors for guidance. My personal values differ sharply as well from those of my parents and grandparents which has also made if difficult to look to my family Ancestors. To put in terms akin to what I wrote above, I don’t see that my world has been created by them. With that said, I have come to accept that I am in part the person I am because of the genetics and culture passed onto me by family (including those instances where I defined myself in opposition to them; my own personal Outsiders I guess). I believe that my strength of determination, intellectual curiosity, and ability to simply “grind-out” tasks both mental and physical are a direct inheritance from familial ancestors and I thank them for that. You do not have to like everything about your Ancestors to embrace their gifts.

Lughnassadh is the festival of the first harvest, particularly the harvest of fruits and vegetables in addition to the cutting of the first grain. Folk practices include gatherings, festivals, and games. The name refers to an assembly or games held in honor of the Irish god Lugh. One version of the origin of the holiday is that Lugh convened a series of games in honor of his foster-mother Tailtiu. The holiday also in known as Lammas, which comes from Anglo-Saxon hlaef-mass, meaning the “loaf mass” again in honor of the first harvest of grain and was the ending of summer pasturing of livestock . In Ireland as well, a celebration on the nearest Sunday became known as Garland Sunday and a girl would be seated on a hilltop, covered in flower garlands, while people danced about her picking the flowers. Most modern Neopagan practice surrounding this holiday is a focus on the harvest and you often see food drives associated with a groups rituals at this time. The imagery of John Barleycorn is a favorite at this time.

For Lughnassad, I celebrated with Spiral Spirit Protogrove. It was a rather spontaneous occurrence on my part as I was unaware of their ritual until some three hours prior to it happenting when I spotted a post on the adf page of livejournal. I have come to know a member of the Protogrove recently and had been intending to join them for a ritual at some point anyway. The previous week had been difficult at work and on that Friday our eldest cat, the matriarch of the group, had passed away suddenly. My wife and daughter were out and about on Saturday and my wife had a baby sitter lined up for the night as we had intended to go out, but she had forgotten that her coven’s ritual was that night. So, all signs pointed to me going. I was missing Grove of the Othergods’ ritual as I would be away that weekend and I was feeling the need for an ADF group event.

The ritual was very harvest focused as we sat in a gazebo in the middle of a centuries old apple orchard. We sang to honor the Earth-Mother and gave peace to the directions (a vestige of OBOD membership for two of the members of the protogrove). The centerin-and-grounding meditation was a narrative of birth and rebirth through the story of Taliesin. Manannan was called as Gate Keeper and Bridgit as Bardic Diety. Tobacco was offered to the spirits of the Native American deities through honoring a local Native American Chieftain and this was tied into the overall Outsiders offering. This was an interesting concept for me that makes sense: as the Outsiders include those whom are not part of the intent of our ritual making an offering to the Gods and Spirits who were here before us and aren’t part of our pantheon (to use the term very broadly) seems appropriate. This is a feature I will carry over into my personal practice going forward. Offering of various foods were given to the Sacred Kindred.

The story of Llew accompanied us eating fruit and bread, shared with the Kindred and Llew in the ritual as part of the praise offering. We chanted the names of many Sun gods to honor them as well. We sang “John Barleycorn.”

The omen was taken by scrying the crumbs of a piece of the shared corn bread that was smashed onto a table. The omen was a shape of an ear of corn ready for the harvest which was taken to mean the wheel of the year would continue to turn and the harvest would come again. We drank of the waters of life and closed as normal.

This ritual was done at a leisurely pace, though much was done during the ritual. The eating of the shared meal in ritual was a meaningful reflection on the importance of the harvest. Early August saw a massive heat wave on the East Coast which reminded me of climate change issues. My hosts were commenting on a fire blight that threatened the apple orchard. All in all, the ritual broadly drove home a message that we rely on the Earth for our existence and that our irresponsibility continues to threaten the Earth and ourselves. I also came away grateful for ample and kind hospitality.

I try to incorporate an awareness of Nature into my everyday existence; both the blessings of Nature and my impact upon it. My household is a conscientious recycler. We attempt to buy organic produce to cut down on the toxic impact of modern agriculture and look to buy in-season and locally produced foods as well which reduces transportation and therefore pollution impacts. We have purchase carbon emissions offsets through Terra Pass in order to account for the emissions of our vehicles. We have planted our yard with clover, which does not require fertilizer to grow (it is nitrogen fixing), doesn’t need de-thatching, requires less mowing, and frankly the local groundhogs and other fauna like to eat it. We have planted our flower garden with indigenous plants so that they require less watering. I have waged a one man war on invasive exotic plants where I see them. I have stopped drinking bottled water at my office and don’t use the paper plates to reduce waste. Those work documents I must print out are done double sided to reduce paper usage. I know the above reads like a laundry-list of little things, and so it is, but the point is that I and my family make a concerted effort to thinking about all the small ways we can try to lessen our footprint.

As part of the property of our house is a smallish area of wetlands (rough 0.7 acres) that is covered in trees. When we moved in, we discovered that previous owners had used this area as a dump for trash and construction materials. Needless to say, this has been cleaned up. As part of our overall house blessing gave that piece of land over to the Nature Spirits as a small sanctuary and playground. I pick up litter on our street. We give money to the Nature Conservancy to preserve land and the Appalachian Mountain Club which acts as an advocate for nature preservation and tries to promote awareness of the joys of Nature. The latter is important in my mind as I firmly believe if more people embraced a good hike or canoe ride regularly; our culture would change dramatically in favor of preserving the Natural world. I have done trail maintenance to put action to those words; and my pack is regularly laden with other’s trash at the end of a hike. Lastly, environmental issues sway my vote more and more as well.

My spiritual connection with Nature has been strengthened by hiking and rock climbing. Both have helped me to embrace the love of Nature and recognize the deep enormity of what the natural world really is. Rock climbing has driven home an important point: Mother Earth may love us, but she will not save us from ourselves. If we disrespect her enough, we will die and She will still be there in all her beauty. We need her more than She needs us in the long run.

My daughter remains a strong tie to Nature as well. The idea that we do not inherit the Earth from our forbearers, but only borrow it from our descendants is clear in my mind and this drives me to take what actions I can to heal and help this world.

Lastly, I have two spiritual practices that I use to honor the Earth. The first is a meditation I do it as part of my morning devotionals. It is adapted from something the Dalai Lama suggested. I think about those beings I truly cherish - friends, family, trees, animals, etc. and I allow the feelings of love, care and concern (and ultimately compassion) rise up in me, visualizing them as a ball of energy in an imaginary sky. I then visualize the world and look for a spot that seems a bit "dry" and then release the energy as a gentle rain. I use a stone as a focus, a witness if you will, for the Earth. The other thing my wife and I do is libate the first glass from each bottle of wine we open to Mother Earth with the prayer: “Earth Mother you give of your bounty so we may live, we return this bounty so you may give”.

Note: edited for coyotegrrrl's early comments.


The Triumph of the Moon by Professor Ronald Hutton has achieved a status in the Neo-Pagan community few other books have: it is talked about and cited as much if not more than it is actually read. Why is this? Hutton in this study put forth a formidable case that Modern Witchcraft, or Wicca, is a modern invention that can lay no claim to an unbroken line of transmission from medieval, Classical or Neolithic times. Hutton traces the various influences that Gerald Gardner drew upon including freemasonry, ceremonial magic, his experiences in India, and a fair amount of inspiration to create the basic frameworks and original materials that constitute what is commonly known as British Traditional Wicca. He does this in detail, looking over various sources that have been put forward as “proof” of the unbroken chain and convincingly debunking each.

Hutton’s work also demonstrates what endured until modern times of folk practices that might be lumped into practices called “witchcraft” or “cunning craft”. Such practices he found in the folklore literature include various folk remedies for man and beast, cursing and raising curses, horse whispering, and so on. What is important about these practices is that in no way can they be construed to be part of any surviving pre-Christian religion that could serve as the source for modern day Neo-Pagan practice.

Hutton’s study is actually quite respectful of Wicca and Neo-Paganism by extension. He never dismisses modern belief as a mistake and is at pains to argue that historical roots are neither necessary nor sufficient for a religion to be valid. To my reading, he implicitly makes the case that the creation modern Neo-Pagan religion was the result of a convergence of developing trends in Western European thought that had taken place over decades and centuries, in particular the sort of ritual practices of freemasonry and related orders as well as the seeking of alternative spirituality seen in the Golden Dawn and Theosophy.

I found the book useful for its demonstration of how those various lines of thought over a long period of time led to modern Neo-Paganism, with Gardnerian Wicca as the first full public expression. While this book does not expressly address Druidry, it is clear that Revival Druidry, what Isaac Bonewits calls Meso-pagan Druidry, shares in the heritage that led to Wicca. Furthermore, with Wicca the dominant form of Neo-Paganism, knowledge of its roots and development is a form of cultural literacy in the Neo-Pagan community. For this reason of cultural literacy, I believe that this book’s inclusion in ADF’s DP reading list is justified, despite concerns that it is focused on developments in Britain and does not address Druidry specifically. We Druids might not like it, but Neo Paganism became a relevant, public phenomenon because of Wicca and therefore its roots are our roots as well. I initially read the later edition of Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon for this requirement but found it unsatisfying. The Neo-Pagan community Adler reported upon does not look much like the one I happened upon in 2005; her effort to be contemporary sacrificed the book’s longevity. Hutton’s book, in contrast, relates an essential part of our shared Neo-Pagan history.

I will say that this book is a scholarly type text, with a density of material and wealth of detail that make it a challenging read, though I find Hutton’s writing itself clear if a bit dry. Lastly, the printers could bump the type size up a point or two and do us all a favor.