Traditionally, Imbolc is a celebration of the first stirrings of spring coming back into the land. For people living in temperate parts of North America, particularly on the eastern seaboard, the timing can be challenging–we are in deep winter and …
maple
Druid Tree Workings: An Initiation from the Trees
In the western esoteric traditions, and traditions tied to them, like druidry, initiation is a powerful method of transformation and energetic work. While features of initiation and their overall goals vary widely by tradition, many initiations do follow some basic …
Building a Rocket Stove Maple Sap Boiler / Evaporator for Maple Sugarin’: Design Plans and Instructions for Boiling Sap
Maple syrup season is one of my favorite times of year. Honoring the maple trees, collecting the sap in buckets, seeing the magic drip from the trees, and feeling the return of early spring. Sap begins running just after the …
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 …
The Allegheny Mountain Ogham: An Ogham for the Northern Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern USA
By Dana O’Driscoll, The Druid’s Garden Blog (thedruidsgarden.com), Copyright 2020. The Ogham is an ancient alphabet, used to write early Irish and later Old Irish. The inscriptions that survive of Ogham, some 400 or so primarily on stone, are found …
Imbolc Symbolism for the North Eastern US: Reflections on the Landscape
Imbolc was traditionally a Gaelic holiday celebrated in the holiday celebrating the first signs of spring. When I first started down the path of Druidry, I never felt very connected to Imbolc as a holiday because there seemed to be …
A Journey through the Senses: Breathe Deeply
Over the summer, I spent the weekend at a beautiful farm with my family for a family reunion. That land had gifted me, and all of us, much that weekend. I had found some stunning new stones for pigments, I …
Druid Tree Workings: Nywfre, Telluric Energy, and Sap Flows
Last week, I wrote about the many flows of the month of February: the flowing of the springs from the hillside, the flowing of the river, the flowing of deep emotions, and the flowing of the sap from the trees. …
Druid Tree Workings: Establishing Deep Connections with Trees
Imagine walking into a forest where you are greeted by many old tree friends, each members of different families that form a community. You know their common names, their less common names, and the secret names that have taught you. …
Druid Tree Workings: Finding the Face of the Tree
Sometimes the trees themselves share lessons with us about how to work with them, talk with them, and heal with them. These are often presented to me as mystery teachings from the trees themselves–and I’ll be sharing some of these …
Sacred Tree Profile: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) – Magic, Mythology, and Medicinal Qualities
“MAPLE SUGAR” – Chippewa Song “Maple sugar is the only thing that satisfies me” This is the third in my series of posts about magical trees native to the Americas. In this series of posts, I explore the lore of …
Four Sacred Trees Brew (Druidic, Magical Tree Tea with Hickory, Pine, Birch, and Maple)
There is nothing like an earthy, warm, sweet cup of tea on a cold winter’s night. This recipe is a magical blend, one of the most sacred drinks I have ever enjoyed. This recipe is derived from an Algonquin recipe …