Dana O'Driscoll

Dana O’Driscoll has been an animist druid for 20 years, and currently serves as Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America (www.aoda.org). She is a druid-grade member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and is the OBOD’s 2018 Mount Haemus Scholar. She is the author of Sacred Actions: Living the Wheel of the Year through Earth-Centered Spiritual Practice (REDFeather, 2021), the Sacred Actions Journal (REDFeather, 2022), and Land Healing: Physical, Metaphysical, and Ritual Approaches for Healing the Earth (REDFeather, 2024). She is also the author/illustrator of the Tarot of Trees, Plant Spirit Oracle, and Treelore Oracle. Dana is an herbalist, certified permaculture designer, and permaculture teacher who teaches about reconnection, regeneration, and land healing through herbalism, wild food foraging, and sustainable living. In 2024, she co-founded the Pennsylvania School of Herbalism with her sister and fellow herbalist, Briel Beaty. Dana lives at a 5-acre homestead in rural western Pennsylvania with her partner and a host of feathered and furred friends. She writes at the Druids Garden blog and is on Instagram as @druidsgardenart. She also regularly writes for Plant Healer Quarterly and Spirituality and Health magazine.

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22 Comments

  1. This was a wonderful post. I am one of those writers who own piles of notebooks and journals that I never write in – I fear that whatever it is I write in them won’t be “good” enough. Hopefully I’ll just write – after all, that’s what I bought them for!

    1. Transforminglifenow – Thanks for the comment :). I’m a university writing professor and professional editor, so I see this kind of thing all the time! The thing is–its probably not good enough the first time you write it. But that’s also part of the process! We expect everything to come out perfect from us the first time, and that’s not possible. Its no different than dancers practicing before a recital, or practicing your instrument. Writing is like that too. We have to write it, get it out, and then start working on it and getting feedback. Everything on this blog goes through 2-3 revisions before anyone sees it–some posts (like the one I posted last week on “produce no waste”) took 8 months to write, lol! This one was easier. The point is, you won’t get better as a writer till you write–and till you take on the mantle of “writer” :).

  2. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get away from the news from Paris. Your painting “The Land Loves You” is striking–because, given all that we do to it, how can it love us? Yet that’s what I feel when I go out there. I applaud you for making the effort to take a spiritual retreat day for each holiday. That’s been very hit or miss for me (mostly miss). One other practice I do is a physical practice, either qigong or yoga. Once you learn these practices, you can do them at home for free, anytime, anywhere, and they can be very calming.

    1. Karen,
      Yeah, I thought this post (which I actually finished two weeks ago) was really good for today. I’m going into the woods for the rest of the day; I can only listen to so much about Paris and the other bombings/attacks.

      Great point about daily movement practice!

      PS: I’m also working on the chagga tincture today! 🙂

  3. Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature

    Lovely post Willowcrow (do you prefer Dana now?) Great reminders. Always helpful. Your self care practices are very similar to mine. I also do tai chi, especially outside.
    Peace,
    Mary

    1. Yeah, I’ve moved to just my first name, haha! Willowcrow was a very old name I gave myself as a magical name, over 10 years ago. It no longer suits me, so I’m in the process of choosing a new one. Good suggestion about the Tai Chi! 🙂

  4. Your paintings are so lovely!

    1. Thank you :). Its the work of many years of practice, and I still have many years ahead of me to get where I’d like to be as an artist!

  5. Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine and commented:
    This is a great post.I do write but not as much as I would like.

    1. Thanks for the reblog 🙂

  6. I love this post! If I commented on all the bits and why I liked them, it’d turn into a post of its own! 🙂 🙂 I really like the idea of bardic circles. I think your paintings are beautiful – lovely colour and light. This is the first time I’ve come across your blog so am going to enjoy exploring further.
    One thing I do, is to play my crystal singing bowls. Even five minutes a day gives me a deep sense of calm and feeling centred and connected to my inner self. And playing them is also a way of expressing myself – no worrying about “doing it right” or hitting a wrong note 🙂 just feeling and sensing the sounds and vibrations and playing from the heart rather than the head. I so agree with you about finding a creative outlet to express ourselves.

    1. Thank you, Jillian! I love the crystal singing bowl suggestion. I was totally remiss in mentioning playing music–I have a panflute and I play it often. I’ll never be THAT good because I spend too much time on my visual arts, but its really just for me or for the land anyways 🙂

  7. Reblogged this on Laura Bruno's Blog and commented:
    I’ve been meaning to repost this one for awhile now. I so agree with all of these observations and suggestions. For me, self-care has also involved building local community and celebrating Wheel of the Year turns with others. Thank you, Dana, for sharing your Wisdom, gentle spirit, and also your beautiful artwork with us, too!

    1. Thank you, Laura! I agree about community–a good community nurtures, heals, and supports us :).

  8. I took off work all 8 Sabbats in 2013… and it was very good for me to do. I have the available time so I need to make sure I do that again this year.

    I also wanted to mention an extra special thanks for your post on Hawthorn. I found it very helpful recently.

    1. Justin, sounds wonderful. I know not everyone has the ability to do so, but if we can, its well worth it. And I’m glad you enjoyed the post on hawthorn! Its one very magical plant!

  9. This post really touched me today. And I adore your Tarot of Trees. You are an inspiration. Thank you.
    In two weeks, I’m going to start teaching at a small Native American Community College. The Tribes have managed to hold on to community, keeping them close. If there’s anything I might do to help, it would be to emphasize what a precious thing this is. I will teach them to use their media arts skills to continue to build community, and to speak their truth.
    For my own growth, I am researching our history and ways oppression has been countered. I hold out hope that when the time is right, we will collectively find a way to deal with it. Behind the scenes, there are many who, like you, are building systems that will see us into the future. You’re right; it doesn’t make the meanstream news, but it nevertheless makes it into many people’s awareness.

    1. Hi Crystal, Thank you so much :). It sounds like you are doing really important work–I hope we stay in touch as you are working to empower your students as well as do your own research. I’m a faculty member at a university myself, and I have experienced firsthand (on both sides) the importance of mentoring our next generation. Thank you for your wonderful comment!

      1. Thank you for your kind words. I haven’t been too active on social media of late, but you may remember I first subscribed to your blog after reading your cattail paper post! I did a series of prints and paintings on some I made, and you can find a few examples here: http://wildplumstudio.com/blog/ Yes, please do stay in touch.
        I forgot to post this link earlier, which I thought you may enjoy. Cheers!
        http://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2015/episode-1524-right-livelihood/

        1. Great – thanks for the links! I’ll check them out 🙂

  10. […] This article has been republished from The Druid’s Garden […]

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