Tuesday 31 March 2009

Eisteddfodd

Well here it is my entry for the short poem category in OBOD'S message board Eisteddfod.

Beltaine.

Silently owls, nights phantoms hunt
Along hedgerows which lie as yet
Untouched by the suns effulgent rays,
All is shrouded in shades of grey.

Hunting for scurrying mice foraging
Among the hedgerows undergrowth.
Lured out by natures burgeoning growth,
Unaware of the death that awaits them.

Perched above in Hawthorn boughs
Pendulous with snow white blossom.
Bedewed with mornings tears
Shed by natures gentle heart.

But this Beltaine morn the sun will return
And shine on Owl and Mouse alike.

Pangur-ban Beltaine 2009

Sunday 29 March 2009

Mirabilia designs


Here is a link to my favourite cross stitch design company, and guess what they have lots of mermaid designs.
http://www.mirabilia.com/

Friday 27 March 2009

Teachers.

I have just been listening to Dvorack's cello concerto and my mind went back to Mr Clayton.

Mr Clayton was my music teacher at secondary school who thought it was a waste of time teaching a bunch of adolescent boys musical theory, so what he did instead was to try and instil an appreciation for music in us. What that entailed was him bringing in his beloved classical music albums and letting us listen to them.

Did it work? In my case yes. I still remember him playing us Grieg's piano concerto and from that opening drum roll I was hooked. So much so that at fourteen the first album I bought was that same concerto and it still moves me to this day.

Every so often he would play us something that was challenging like Mahler. I remember saying to him it was awful and boring, his answer was look for the emotion. I wish he was around for me to tell him that forty years later I have found the emotion and now wonder how I could live without Mahler's music.

So thank you Mr Clayton, you did not waste your time.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Philip Carr-Gomm

This is for Raspberry to show what a Druid spiritual leader is really like. His name is Philip Carr-Gomm the chosen chief of OBOD.

Monday 23 March 2009

A Druids Word is His Bond.

Am I so wrong in expecting that when a Druid says something then he should stick to it. This does not seem to be the case when it is the self styled King Arthur Pendragon who is on a protest at Stonehenge.

This is a protest at his perceived mismanagement of Stonehenge by English Heritage. When he started his protest he said he would not enter the temple of Stonehenge until English Heritage mended their ways. This being the case why was he seen in the temple on the morning of the equinox.

I believe that a Druids word should be his bond obviously the King feels differently. If a Christian acted this way we would rightly say he or she was a hypocrite what then of Druids.



I have this thing for mermaids I think it could be that they are beings that inhabit two realms.
Of course it could all be down to Daryl Hannah in Splash.

Alban Eilir Ritual

Keeping the Mystery by Damh the Bard

Keeping the Mystery

snowdropsI’ve seen a lot of people recently talking about the need for proof, evidence and fact when related to Spiritual experience. There was something about this need for fact and evidence that was getting me down, and I just couldn’t put my finger on why. Then, whilst I was away on holiday I was reading a book that included the character Dion Fortune. The book was called The Chalice and was set in modern-day Glastonbury. It was a Glastonbury ghost story, and a great yarn to boot. In the book I found one of the characters feeling the same way as me, and he expressed it beautifully. He simply said, “Don’t destroy the mystery”. Simple.

See, to me, the Mystery is the Quest - be that for the Grail, the Awen, Faerie, Earth energies, it is The Quest. Would I REALLY want complete proof about UFOs? Nessie? Bigfoot? Ghosts? The Afterlife? …. Gods? If proof was found the Mystery would die, and it is The Mystery that has inspired poets, artists, musicians, songwriters, sculptors, writers, to create such wonders as to live up to its power. Yeats, Blake, the Classical Pagan Philosophers, Mozart, Shakespeare, Leonardo were all inspired by the Mystery. Although not in their league I understand the artist’s need for the Mystery.

If I want to experience the Mystery, I need to remain open to it, But when it feels like you are surrounded by the noise of people demanding proof, evidence, fact, it is easy to lose the Voice of the Mystery. It is delicate, like a fresh leaf in Spring that unfurls before the end of Winter’s Frosts. Preserve the Mystery, feel it, experience it, love it, but never set out to destroy it

Saturday 21 March 2009

Spring


Spring

Blossom flies in flurries like
confetti, thrown by the Gods.
Wildly celebrating the union of
the young Mabon and his Lady.
While yellow trumpets of
new born Daffodils fanfare
the news that Spring is here
and Winters grasp is broke.
Icy streams run once more
growling over gravel beds
soon to be graced by
Salmon home from the sea.
Bare trees burst to life
with a soft green mantle
covering naked branches with
leaves like a whispered prayer.
And amid this newness of life
my heart dances.

Pangur-ban 2008

Thursday 19 March 2009

Pleasure

My second lot of Gwers came yesterday. I did not realise how much pleasure could be gained by seeing a nondescript brown envelope laying on the hall mat.

Pagans and conspiracy

What is it with Pagans and conspiricy theories? Why are so many of us willing to believe any old thing without proof?

The latest one is to do with the regulation of the sell and production of herbal products The scare story goes like this.

"You know they are trying to ban the sell of herbal remedies don't you" "

You won't even be able to cook at home using garlic" "

And as for growing your own herbs for ritual use forget it"

Then along comes the voice of reason someone who is a Pagan and a health practitioner who uses herbal remedies who says "Actually this will only apply if you are involved in mass marketing, not small scale business" Ah yes the retort is but watch these videos, which turn out to offer opinion without any sort of back up fact. Which is the conspirators stock in trade. I just wish the Pagan world would get a brain sometimes.

I mean shock news folks Atlantis was probably not an advanced culture populated by aliens with nuclear energy.

There again George Bush senior may well worship a giant owl.

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Green Man Cross Stitch


This is my finished Green Man cross stitch, fifty five greens in total. I hope you like him.

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Such sad news today,at least twenty people killed in two gun incidents. When will we ever learn that guns only belong in the hands of professionals.

The sectarian violence in Northern Ireland is raising its head again. I know England has a lot to answer for in the situation there, and Churchill in particular, but we have to learn that violence is not and never can be the answer.

Jack in the Green


There is a song by Jethro Tull called Jack in the Green. Now Jack in the Green is a figure seen at Mayday festivals in England, he is a man covered in leaves and greenery and is meant to portray the Green Man. In the song it poses the question "Have you seen Jack in the Green" The lyrics pose the question can he be found in an urban setting. My answer is yes you just have to look a bit harder. It would not take long for nature to reclaim our towns and cities left to its own devices. So it may be a little harder to have a sense of your land in an urban setting but not impossible. This poem is about this



I am the spirit of the Green Man
The wildness of the green wood.

I am the snuffling of the Boar
Rooting for acorns on the forest floor.

I am the screeching of the Tawny Owl
Killing its prey.

I am the belling of the Stag
Heralding the dawn.

I am the mad march Hare
Running free through the green fields.

But!

I am the weeds that push through
Their concrete covering.

I am the newly mowed lawn
On which children play.

I am the manicured garden hedge
Tamed and controlled.

I am the spirit of the Green Man
And you cannot control me.

Tuesday 10 March 2009

A Sight for Sore Eyes

A sight for sore eyes they were
a handful of jackdaws feasting
on blood red berries
till their cheeks bulged,
and I thought of You.


This mornings sunrise, whose
colours of red, pink and gold,
shone through the tree in my garden
Making it seem on fire,
and I thought of You

The three quarters full moon
a rich golden yellow, hanging,
in the sky, a hare captured on its face
as a reminder each time I see it,
and I thought of You.

May I do this often.

Pangur- ban Whitecat 25/10/2007

Why am I a Druid

Why am I a Druid? What does it mean to me to be one? I am a Druid because even as I sit here typing one story up I can feel the earth calling me through my feet.

To be a Druid is to be connected to all that surrounds. The sunrise and set. Trees, plants, rocks, animals and people there is no separation. This is the biggest truth of Druidism we are all one.

To be a Druid is to hurt with those who hurt. Laugh with those who laugh. To be a Druid is to feel others injustice and try to put it right.

To be a Druid is to have a sense of your land and your place in it.

To be a Druid is to honour your ancestors recent and ancient

To be a Druid is to honour the Deities of your land.

The one thing I have not said is to be a Druid is to perform magic, to many Druids all the above is magic.

Monday 9 March 2009

Sacred Mists

I have cancelled my subsription to Sacred Mists, I could no longer justify paying fifteen pounds a month for something that I use as a forum.

I have no intention of completing my 1st degree or of even being a Wiccan so the time has come to move on.

Thursday 5 March 2009

I have stolen Raspberries idea and posted a music player,on it are some tracks that I like, some that I cant live without and at least one that is still painful to listen to all these years later. Mor will be added I just have to resist filling it up with David bowie tracks, I could easily post the whole rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from mars album.

Wednesday 4 March 2009

It's Snowing

It's snowing Gret big snowflakes about an inch has fallen so far.
I want Spring! Waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!

Tuesday 3 March 2009