Fellowship of All Life

(Image : The Sanctuary, soul card, SG, 2005)

…Personally, I think that “Ecopsychology” is another name for Neo-Druidry. Some may not agree of course, and that is OK, they say that among 10 Druids there are 11 opinions! Lol.

In general and very roughly, there are four groups of so-called “Druids”, and I think that it is very useful to learn how to distinguish them, because they show vastly different ways of being in concrete reality, and also vastly different aims.

The Old Ones, of which practically nothing is known. They didn´t write down their teachings,have never built a temple in stone,  and have not left a mark in History, apart from some really faint traces that have been handed down the long corridors of Time. I list them because they are the genesis, the origin, true or false, of the other three groups.

The Romantic Ones, which are a re-creation of what a past century felt about the subject, a century in which there was no electricity, no highways, no Internet – and in which nothing was really verified. That´s where you can find the robed Druids and Druidesses who know all about casting spells and calling to the ancient gods, though they often dine at McDonald´s; those are the ones that are traipsing through the new forests, or even public parks sometimes since not so many forests are left, in flimsy fake-medieval robes, and trying very hard to look ancient, though most of them haven’t even got to the ripe age of 50. (No offense meant, it is just a passing remark, that happens to be true.)I think that these people are compensating the harsh reality of modern life, the very hardship of what our society has become, through happy dreams.

The Reconstructionists, who are very serious people who think that intuition is a valid way to perceive History, (particularly “His-Story”, lol), and are very precise about a lot of rather vague stuff,

And then there is a new group, which is still largely a sort of seed-group, which is pushing through the earth, straining towards the Sun, like a very modest plant still, – The Future Druids, the Gaian Druids, or Neo-Druids.

Our Druid Grove is part of this last group. We do believe in intuition, use it a lot, but do not think that it is really a valid way to “re-construct” the past, because such an enterprise as rebuilding an imagined past according to non-verified present beliefs distorts what is happening in the present, and sometimes even veils what should be happening if we are to correct past facts that have brought us to this collective disaster of a present, (yes, a long sentence, read it again, lol); we don´t need robes and wands and staves, but yes, we care about the Future of Earth, and in midst of this preoccupation for the becoming of the human species of which we are a part, absolutely, we understand that humanity needs a new Myth, for “without a Vision the people perish”, so, having gone through a real Druid training (OBOD), we might as well be called “Druids”, OK, Neo-Druids, if you will.

…This Vision that we have been so clearly a-creating in our far away valley these last few years, is that of a Humanity that would finally consciously acknowledge the simple fact that we human beings are Children of Planet Earth. Whatever our nations pretend to be, first and foremost we are Gaians, Earthlings. From all Internet users down to Eskimos and Bushmen.

(Sorry to draw such a scale, I actually do not mean to imply that people who are not Internet users are not human, lol.)

Yes, we envision a number of people starting to live the Gaian vision, very discreetly at first, inside themselves to begin with, people living with the clear knowledge that some things have to stop, like the desecration of the planet. I´m talking about people who would truly understand, because they have been coolly trained, that things cannot go on like they are, running around in stupid circles, that something must change, and that this “something” is the very structure of the patriarchal ego, which is an extremely limited historical view, even of physical reality: since man walked on the moon  (at the very least) and invented quantum physics,  we do have a pressing need to get out of the Freudian back alley:

Everything in our lives can be aligned to prosperity, agape *and abundance of intelligence, which is how Nature really works. There is no real necessity to botch human evolution.

We could, yes we could. We could do it, you know. Difficult ? Yes. Impossible ? No. Anyway, what with Climate Change and Peak Oil, we may be forced to change. Change into what, is now The Big Question.

If you find it difficult to accept the idea that our civilization is still barbaric, and that we DO have to evolve as a species, don´t change anything except this basic understanding, which you have to “grok” with your very bones : we are Earthlings, and we will have to deeply acknowledge this fact. Or we will disappear. Easy choice. And a long long process. Do we really have the time?

It all boils down to the fact that all of us are collectively responsible for the welfare of all of humanity, and of the entirety of the planet.

War is a boorish, unrefined, uncultivated, churlish way of facing collective problems. Warriorship as a patriotic demonstration can best be used on an entirely different  level : I mean, a mental way of tackling problems, of grappling with reality. I do think that we have enough enlightened brains on this planet to create an entirely new game.

As for us as a group, as a Project, as a Neo-Druid Grove, we have made that choice already. Actually, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, we are deep into the consequences of it. As a group we have touched the brass tacks of what it means. This sense of consciously  “being on the side of the woods” (as Tolkien says through Treebeard), is what makes us Neo-Druids. We may even, if the Myth becomes as necessary as bread, sew some nice white robes and dance through our very own woods. We may as well, since we so deeply feel part of the Great Fellowship of Life on this Earth.

In this deep sense, we have the Vision of a huge Rainbow of Consciousness/Energy spanning thousands of years, from the Old Ones right down to us, the Druids in jeans. A new Ark of the Covenant, if you will. Or a new lease on our renting this planet from our great-great-grandchildren.

…Rivendell lives! Long live Rivendell!

 ;-)

 PS.- Agape  : Christianity. Love as revealed in Jesus, seen as spiritual and selfless and a model for humanity.

1. Love that is spiritual, not sexual, in its nature.
2. Christianity. In the early Christian Church, the love feast accompanied by Eucharistic celebration.

In the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans and their reciprocal love for God. The term extends to the love of one’s fellow humans.

Anchoring the Light

(Image : Mandala 46, Anchoring the Light, SG, watercolours)

…Not much more we can do these days, but anchoring the Light as concretely as we possibly can.

The ranting grandmother

(Image : Last Ray of Hope, collage on cardboard, SG 08)

…The image that people have of Druids is usually of white-bearded old men, doddering through the forest, with laurel in their long hair and a golden sickle to gather mistletoe or, more likely, to open the heart of a beautiful and willing virgin (I mean, litterally). Ridiculous. Truly, it´s time to do away with the cobwebs!

When I say that I am a Druid, I get this weird look, and then the question… Aaaah…Do you…err…cut mistletoe with a golden sickle, at midnight on full moons? *discreet chuckle,chukle* …Well, I can´t really see you doing that! Although …with you, one never knows…*more cackle*

Well, no. I don´t waltz through the trees in a white robe on dark nights, with wolves howling at my heels. Though…mmm…I like the image.

 You might see my involvement with Druidry as an ecopsychological stance. In my opinion it is urgent that we try to get to understand – to “grok” – the planet that we infest, lol. To understand, we have to observe. To observe we have to dedicate time and energy. To dedicate time and energy, we have to set priorities. And yes, for me, being with Nature, understanding Nature, including and first of all my very own inner one, wholeheartedly, is a priority.

What prompted my rant today? I just read an article saying that if we go on with our habits of consumption we will need another planet by 2030. That´s in 22 years. My grand´son will not even be 25, and the planet will be in such a disastrous state that we will probably have gone back to the caves(if we get to 2030, that is). Not a very nice perspective, to say the least.

 I am a woman, I am a grand´mother, and I am a Druid. I will speak for the trees (and for my unborn grandchildren, unto the seventh generation…). And no, I will not put on white robes – I will just be myself, jeans, a sweatshirt and my good old walking shoes. Have you hugged a tree, lately?

Damn it, is everyone sleeping???

PS.- Yeah, I have looked up the word consumption, and it means exactly what I want to say : the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction, Pathology : progressive wasting of the body.

Yeah, yeah.

Double

The fragile human

(Image : Vishuddi Chakra Blessings, SG 2009)

…As the world braces for a pandemia of the Mexican flu, I am thinking of how fragile our bodies really are, and how far we have strayed away, as a species, from nature. I think we´re on the brink of a rather painful “learning curve”, and I am concerned about the future of mankind. I wish you well, and please know that not all of humanity has lost its mind.

Take care of your loved ones, and do what you have to do to protect them and yourselves.

If you don´t have access to medicine, think “plants”. Here´s a short list that you might try as a last resource (but listen to your doctor first, if you have one):

Propolis, Calendula oficinalis, Echinacea, Green tea, Uncaria tormentosa, Aloe Vera, GARLIC, and NEEM (look it up). Shitake, Mistletoe. They all have antiviral properties.

Blessings Most Bright,

The Lady Dragon.

Happy Imbolc, everyone!

(Image : Hail, Brighid!,collage on paper, SG, 2006)

Spring is Coming!:

Imbolc is a holiday with a variety of names, depending on which culture and location you’re looking at. In the Irish Gaelic, it’s called Oimelc, which translates to “ewe’s milk.” It’s a precursor to the end of winter when the ewes are nursing their newly born lambs. Spring and the planting season are right around the corner.

Most Holy Brighid, Excellent Woman, Bright Arrow, Sudden Flame;
May your bright fiery Sun take us swiftly to your lasting kingdom.

Brighid is the goddess of creativity and regeneration.

So, Happy Imbolc, to all of you out there!

Love,

The Lady Dragon.

Mitakuye Oyasin

We live in the mountains, so I am a very privileged witness to the extreme vigour of Gaia, Mother Earth, when you let her do her thing. She will survive. We, humankind, might very well not.

So our team has chosen to live humbly beneath the trees, as our ancestors did. We know this is fundamental, and do not let ourselves be distracted by showers and computers, necessary as they seem now. We are learning simply to value the shadows that protect our vulnerable skin from the fierce sun.

Actually, our survival depends on the trees. You would think that people would understand that. But no. They do not. Their God from the desert has dethroned the old gods of the West, who knew about the importance of trees.

I have come to think of trees as allies, in the Castaneda sense, and friends, and living parts of our small community. Like the giant cypress which stands guard at the entrance of the main house. Or Grand Mother Fig Tree, or any big pine tree or acacia, elm, ash, oak, rowan. We know them by name, and we touch them with respect and awe at such lovely presences.

In our community, we humans are a minority, at the service of the forest, not the other way round.

We like and respect trees, ferns, rocks, mosses; water, birds, all kinds of wild animals. And in the middle of this great Dance, humans, of course. It lies in our bones that we now understand the Native American concept of *Mitakuye Oyasin*, All-our-relations. Trees and rocks are part of the family. As are wild boars, foxes and eagles. Rats, squirrels, weasels.

Yet, we do not believe in the innocent savage. Humankind, as a species, has lost its innocence. We are looking forward, when, as a race, we will have understood that we cannot live in the mind alone; that real progress is to understand the deep deep biosynthesis of humankind and planet.

As my daughter said to a Druid friend of hers : “I cannot breathe your imaginary trees”, when the said friend recommended a certain kind of “tree meditation”.

I do not think that we can “heal the Earth”. The Earth can heal us. And that is a whole world of difference. Maybe the difference between evolving and disappearing, like the dinosaurs.

There is hope, yet.

And please : do wake up!…