When we think about the building blocks of a new human society, a human society that doesn’t destroy the planetary biosphere, that nurtures and supports human beings and communities, that fosters our creativity and innovation—I think it starts in fostering …
Stories
Druid Tree Workings: Finding and Working with Grandmother Trees
A grandmother is a really special person. I remember going to my grandmother’s house when I was a little girl–it was literally my favorite place to go. My grandmother and I would go to the thrift store and buy used …
Exciting News at the Druid’s Garden: Podcasts, Book, and More!
I wanted to do an extra post this month to share some of the exciting things that are happening here and give everyone some updates. I want to start by expressing so much gratitude to all of you, my readers! …
Honoring the Ancestors of the Bardic Arts: Tools, Techniques, and Legacies
Browsing an antique store a year ago, I found a wonderful shoemaking hammer. It was an interesting shape, and when I held the tool, I could literally feel the connection this tool had had with its previous owner. Whoever had …
Awen, Bardic Arts, and the Ancestors
The time between Samhain and Yule is always a time of deep reflection for me. As a homesteader, this represents the end of the season– the first frost happened in the week I was drafting this post, making everything curl …
Sacred Tree Profile: Chestnut’s Magic, Medicine, Mythology and Meaning (Castanea dentata)
Just a few weeks ago, I went and checked the local chestnut trees that are in a field near where I live. Ever since I moved to the new homestead, I have been eagerly visiting these trees. Last year, they …
Spring Equinox Rituals: Rituals of Looking Back and Looking Forward
Sometimes, when we are hiking on a trail, we are in a hurry to get somewhere–that far-off vantage point, that mile marker on the map, or just seeing what is over the next horizon. I remember hiking with some friends …
Building Deep Plant Relationships at Lughnassadh
Last weekend, some druid friends came over for a retreat with a focus on land healing. As part of the ritual we collaboratively developed, we wanted to make an offering to the spirits of the land. I went to my …
A Druid’s Guide to Connecting With Nature, Part III: Nature Engagement
I’ve heard a lot of conversation in the nature spirituality community, including the druid community, about not touching nature, leaving it alone, to simply “be”. I remember one influential druid speaking at an event and saying, “The best thing you …
A Bardic Storytelling Ritual for Empowerment
Everyone has a story to tell, and some stories are worth their weight in gold. How we retell past events, through the bardic art of storytelling, can help shape our present understanding. Thinking about stories as acts of empowerment in …
The Moon’s Sunbeams, or, Reflections on the Solar Eclipse
In the druid tradition, we recognize that the solar currents, those currents of energy coming from the sun, are extremely powerful. And so, when the sun in the noon-day sky suddenly darkens, ancient peoples saw it as an incredibly bad …
Art and Spirit: The Bardic Arts as Self Development and Spiritual Practice
“The way to see what looks good and understand the reasons it looks good, and to be at one with this goodness as the work proceeds, is to cultivate an inner quietness, a peace of mind so that goodness can …
Taking up the Path of the Bard, Part II
Creativity is the singing of the soul. When we create, we draw from the deepest parts of who we are and express ourselves to the world. The act of creation, drawing forth and connecting to our inner selves, is the …
Taking up the Path of the Bard, Part I
A group of people sharing stories and songs by the fire. A fine pair of leather shoes. A beautiful woven garment. A tale full of twists and mystery. Finely wrought iron doors. An amazing wood carving on a stump. A …
On Keeping a Spiritual Journal
Recently, I took some time to go back through the many spiritual journals I have kept on my journey deeper into the mysteries of the druid tradition and my relationship with nature. These journals spanned over a decade. They included …
Finding and Working with Ancestral Traditions
When I was a child, my grandfather took my cousins and I to a wild area we later called “Grandpa’s field.” It was a field on the edge of the forest below our houses, the edges rich with crab apples, …
Ode to the Rooster
As I write this, the Chinese New Year is now being celebrated, and it is once again the Year of the Rooster. I see this as a tremendously positive and powerful sign–a message of light and hope in this time …
Sacred Tree Profile: Hawthorn (Lore, medicine, magic, and mystery)
In honor of Samhuinn, a festival of beginnings and endings, today we’ll explore the most sacred of trees–the hawthorn. This is the 6th post in my “Sacred Trees in the Americas” series where I examine abundant trees in the Eastern …
Spiritual Lessons from the Land: On the Vines that Catch and Snag
Nature is abundant with stories and metaphors that allow us to reflect upon our own lives and draw deep meaning, as I’ve written about many times on this blog. It is in these simple lessons that we find the most …
Being the Voice of the Trees – Stepping Forth in the Broader World and Communicating Publically
The trees and the broader living landscape of our great earth speak to us in subtle but powerful ways. Many in modern industrial society choose not to spend time hearing the voices of the trees and our other plant allies; …
A Journey to the Source of a River – A Metaphor for Sustainable Action
I wanted to spend some time in my blog describing a journey I took last summer to see “the source” of a river. My work with the OBOD Druid grade initiated this journey, and it lead me to important insights …