tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10322957809688054432024-03-05T14:34:04.145-08:00The Way Through the ForestA Bards journey along the Druid waypangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-26912704006095860462009-05-16T06:21:00.000-07:002009-05-16T06:23:44.293-07:00HallelujahKd Lang sings Leonard Cohen a marriage made in heaven.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/P_NpxTWbovE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/P_NpxTWbovE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-87636711382042628142009-05-13T00:55:00.000-07:002009-05-13T00:56:21.858-07:00If A Dog Were Your TeacherIf a dog were your teacher, you would learn stuff like:<br /><br />When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.<br />Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.<br />Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.<br />When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.<br />Let others know when they've invaded your territory.<br />Take naps and stretch before rising.<br />Run, romp, and play daily.<br />Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.<br />On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.<br />On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.<br />When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.<br />No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout... run right back and make friends.<br />Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.<br />Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.<br />Be loyal.<br />Never pretend to be something you're not.<br />If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.<br />And MOST of all... When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently<br />--Author Unknownpangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-25152038372427677002009-05-12T04:45:00.001-07:002009-05-12T04:47:10.068-07:00Stonehenge at Summer Solstice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC5lzOjvg_KBZaC33L4sSXyYuqxzTxHaGoZg7SBor8frOEx-GHSJLWzo1C5IuLv1vH8FLEx7jXifBuNlyAXh0qKGOMWNelGLW_Ywofav80O8Pi2gnZwOtnbhz-iELCsPFazCeFbcDYTmt/s1600-h/GD6650174@Stonehenge-at-dawn-1583.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC5lzOjvg_KBZaC33L4sSXyYuqxzTxHaGoZg7SBor8frOEx-GHSJLWzo1C5IuLv1vH8FLEx7jXifBuNlyAXh0qKGOMWNelGLW_Ywofav80O8Pi2gnZwOtnbhz-iELCsPFazCeFbcDYTmt/s400/GD6650174@Stonehenge-at-dawn-1583.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334902520356291698" border="0" /></a><br />There has been much talk and argument on who has the right to say who can attend ceremonies at Stonehenge lately. My view is that anyone can attend but with one proviso, and that is those that do should do so with respect. Drug use and getting p##### does not in my opinion show respect neither does using the temple as a urinal. Summer solstice although a time of rejoicing is more than just a common place party if that's all you think it is stay away. Certain people say that makes me elitist perhaps it does but then when I was a Christian did the fact I did not want drunks at midnight Mass at Christmas make me elitist?pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-23335633954290392202009-05-08T17:46:00.000-07:002009-05-08T17:50:13.831-07:00Love songsSo while were on the subject of love songs this is my all time favourite, "Who knows where the time goes" by Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention. Sandy had such a haunting voice and tragically died aged 31 from a brain haemorrhage.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n2xODjbfYw8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n2xODjbfYw8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-57419297656063523862009-05-08T17:28:00.000-07:002009-05-08T17:32:57.381-07:00MagicalI love it when I discover something new. I have known the song Thunder Road for what seems to be forever and consider it to be one of the great love songs. Then I found this version of the Boss and Melissa Etheridge (someone of who I know absolutely nothing) and magic is created.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HQpyxh3xpv8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HQpyxh3xpv8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-42682915300302505732009-05-03T04:37:00.000-07:002009-05-03T04:38:30.850-07:00Daily Om: Whale Medicine<span style="font-family:verdana, helvetica, arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Whale Medicine</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>Spirit Of The Sea</i></span> </span><p> <span style="font-family:verdana, helvetica, arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Native Americans teach us that the Great Spirit speaks to us through our animal brethren. The whale is one animal that we can learn from. Whales have existed for over 50 million years and are considered to be record-keepers who possess knowledge of the past.<br /><br />It is through the vibrations of their unique sound that they release this ancient wisdom to us. At the same time, their sound carries across such great distances that whales can enter the realm of the future where they can acquire knowledge of what is to come. Every whale sings a song, and they never repeat the same pattern when they sing their song. Since whales must be conscious at all times in order to breathe, they cannot afford to fall into an unconscious state for too long. Never completely asleep, their brain has constant access to the collective unconscious where all answers lie. Whales float peacefully, secure in the ocean environment that supports and sustains them.<br /><br />You can learn from the wisdom of whales by remembering to express what’s uniquely yours. Each of us has a unique "song" or gift to offer the world. Your song is meant to be sung by you and heard by others. No one else can sing this song but you, and your song is medicine for the healing of the planet. Like whales, you can choose to access information about the future when you go into a meditative state. Whales teach us to look at where we came from and where we are headed. Knowing that our past helps shape our future, we can remember to make positive choices regarding our lives, the environment, and our world. Like whales, we can remember to stay awake and actively engaged in a universe that supports and sustains us. When we express ourselves and share our unique gifts, we add our wisdom and vibration to the planet. </span></span></p>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-9650039116201776562009-04-28T04:17:00.000-07:002009-04-28T04:23:32.252-07:00Revelation time.I went outside at work last night and was taken aback. I was stuck by this overwhelming sense of completeness . The sky was full of stars and seemed to be infinite. Then there was the smell as if I could smell things growing on top of all this was a stillness as if everything was on hold. How long did this revelation last? All of two minutes, but those two minutes sum up being a Druid for me.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-66364043778746027392009-04-19T06:31:00.000-07:002009-04-19T06:33:18.147-07:00Info onMaiden Castle<h1 style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">Maiden Castle (Dorset)</h1> <table class="layout"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding-right: 20px;"><h2><br /></h2> </td> <td><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2>Introduction</h2> <p>Among the largest and most complex of Iron Age hillforts in Europe, Maiden Castle’s huge multiple ramparts, up to 6m high, enclose an area equivalent to 50 football pitches (18 ha), protecting several hundred residents. Excavations in the 1930s and 1980s revealed the site's 4,000-year history, reaching its apogee at a time of inter-tribal rivalry in the 2nd century BC. They also produced evidence of an extensive late Iron Age cemetery. Many of the burials had suffered horrific injuries in attacks or skirmishes, perhaps at the time of the Roman invasion. The name maiden was once believed to derive from the Brythonic mai dun, meaning great hill.</p> <p>The site is maintained by English Heritage, and information panels guide you around the hillfort and illustrate its long history.</p> <p>Open at all reasonable times of the day, all year round. </p> <h2>History to the present day</h2> <p>Hill Fort:</p> <p>Excavations at the site have dated construction of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure back to around 4000 BC. An extensive bank and ditch as well as a bank barrow burial mound are evident from this period at the eastern end.</p> <p>However most of the works at the site date from around 450 to 300 BC, when an earlier Iron Age hillfort dating to c. 600 BC was extended and enlarged with three new ditch-and-bank earthworks built creating the main fortifications in a set of three concentric rings with offset entrance points. The castle is very big.</p> <p>Centuries after its construction the fort was probably occupied by the Durotriges, a Celtic tribe at the time of the Roman invasion. The site may have been attacked and invested by the 2nd and the 8th legion under Vespasian in AD 43. Mortimer Wheeler created a vivid account of the fall of the hill fort in his report following the excavations of 1934-1937. Later examination of his records by Niall Sharples has largely discounted this interpretation and it is no longer thought that the fort was besieged or violently taken by the Romans.</p> <p>20th century English composer John Ireland (1879-1962) visited the area and later wrote Mai-Dun, a symphonic rhapsody evoking something of the prehistoric character of the fortifications, the people who lived there, and their lifestyle.</p> <p>Roman Temple:</p> <p>The Romans occupied the site but concentrated their efforts in the area around Durnovaria (now Dorchester) and the nearby Poundbury Hill. There was a large scale reconstruction of the site, just before AD 400. A small Romano-British temple was built in the eastern half of the hill fort during the late Roman pagan revival and the denfences were refurbished to form it temenos. The temple adjoined the site of an abandoned, but apparently remembered, circular Iron Age shrine and seems to have been used for the worship of a number of gods including Diana, Minerva and Taurus Trigaranus. It consisted of the usual sanctuary or cella surrounded by an ambulatory. A small rectangular structure, perhaps for the priest, stood alongside. The temple did not last long and the site was abandoned by the Romans soon afterwards. It was not re-occupied and remained deserted from then on.</p>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-62481199294532459982009-04-19T05:34:00.000-07:002009-04-19T05:43:47.486-07:00Maiden Castle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTLgkboVlyYFZGK1Qk6kFKbv0ASdnsI_WrU67Ed2wuIIHB67EeO_zTBSQwm6uplMiF4kyp2vGLr8EBZ3grATRhXRDaM5K-eGFKqeEqEV1M9ofNSo_8v3cVRJWw1EriPD5fhFY6G1jBSUR/s1600-h/maiden_castle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTLgkboVlyYFZGK1Qk6kFKbv0ASdnsI_WrU67Ed2wuIIHB67EeO_zTBSQwm6uplMiF4kyp2vGLr8EBZ3grATRhXRDaM5K-eGFKqeEqEV1M9ofNSo_8v3cVRJWw1EriPD5fhFY6G1jBSUR/s400/maiden_castle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326381699479208018" border="0" /></a><br />We went for a walk up<a href="http://www.maidencastle.com/"> Maiden Castle</a> yesterday. It's such an evocative place you can almost see the ancestors there. My spirit is always lifted by a visit there especially by the song and sight of Sky larks, Maiden castle being on of the places in Dorset where you are guaranteed to see and hear them. It is such a shame they are becoming such a rare sight today.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-90108639128970250972009-04-11T00:27:00.000-07:002009-04-11T00:28:46.904-07:00The Alder<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Alder:</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Ogham letter: F</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Ogham name: Fearn</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Celtic tree month: mar18th to ap14th.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Appearance:</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>The alder grows to a height of approximately sixty to seventy feet with a girth of twelve to fifteen feet. Juvenile trees are conical in shape rather like fir trees but as it matures its crown becomes more open and straggly. The leaves of the Alder are roughly round in shape, pointed where they meet the stem and slightly flattened at the other. In colour the leaves are a dark glossy green. There is no autumnal colour so to speak, the leaves just get darker and darker till they fall as, sometimes as late as December.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>The Alder has male and female catkins on the same tree, the female catkins look like small cones which stay on the tree all winter.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Medicine:</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>The leaves of the Alder make an excellent poultice for all sorts of swellings and inflammations. This could be because the Alder is reputed to be able to balance fire (inflammations) and water (swellings) it is said placing Alder leaves in work boots and socks helps tired and aching feet, I wonder about this as I would think this to be jolly uncomfortable. Alder bark made into pills was said to have been beneficial in the treatment of general digestive weakness and enteritis. A decoction of the bark was once used to try and stem internal bleeding. The same decoction could be used as a gargle.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Folklore:</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>There are several possible meanings to the name Alder. One being that it is derived from the Anglo-Saxon root Alor or Aler meaning reddish brown. This could be from the fact that the wood of the Alder which is a pale colour turns red when cut leading the wood cutters of old to think that the tree was bleeding.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Another possibility is that in Scandinavian myth the first women was created from the Alder, and in Irish myth the first man so possibly Alder simply means Elder.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>The Alder is closely associated in mythology with all forms of resurrection. The alder is closely associated with the yearly cycle of the Sun in fact the spring equinox falls within the month of Alder, a time when the power of the Sun is restored to us.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>The Alder is known as a tree which is the King of the Fairies and as such carried people of into the otherworld. This other world thought pattern is carried on in that the bird most associated with the Alder is the Raven. As white birds such as the Stork became synonymous with birth so the Raven was associated with death and the otherworld. It is interesting then to find that the Deities most thought of in respect of the Alder, such as Saturn, Chronos and Bran for the Gods, and the Morrigan for the Goddess are also Raven deities.</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><strong>Pangur-ban<br /></strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"> </span></strong></o:p></p><p> </p>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-25695757148039742042009-04-11T00:18:00.000-07:002009-04-11T00:19:26.632-07:00The Aspen<div> <div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">ASPEN</span></strong></div> <div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The Aspen, or Poplar, can grow to a height</span></strong></div> <div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Of 100 feet (30 m) in some parts , although</span></strong></div> <div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">It is more normally around 60 feet (20 m).</span></strong></div> <div align="center"><strong></strong> </div> <div align="left"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">It is also known as the Quaking or Shivering Aspen, from the way in which its branches and leaves will move in even the slightest breeze. In the Autumn the leaves turn a bright yellow. Separate trees bear the light-brown male, and the green female, catkins. Its bark contains salicin and populin, and is useful in the treatment of fever, as a tonic and to ease urinary problems.</span></div> <div align="left"> </div> <div align="left"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The Aspen is a tree of knowledge, particularly self-knowledge. It is also a symbol of achievement in combining physical and mental understanding, and of achieving personal humility. In the Celtic tradition the Aspen is linked to Scathach, the female warrior who trained Cuchulain and bore his son. The Celts used the wood of the Aspen for shield-making. It is said that to burn Aspen is to invite ill luck and sickness into the home. It was also thought that the tree could never be struck by lightning. An Aspen growing in the garden will protect the house against thieves. Use Aspen wood in anti-theft spells; keep a small piece of the wood in your car to protect it. The Aspen also has the power to increase eloquence, so place a leaf under the tongue to clarify the mind and facilitate communication. Add the buds or catkins to incense to attract money. Aspen used to be added to flying ointment, and such a mixture can facilitate astral projection and otherworld experiences.</span></div> <div align="left"> </div> <div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">"Stand up straight,</span></em></div> <div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">You've earned the right."</span></em></div> <div align="center"><em></em> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">~Kate West~</span></div></div>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-79284086965295912282009-04-11T00:05:00.000-07:002009-04-11T00:07:10.497-07:00Elders Meditation of the Day<b>Elders Meditation of the Day</b><br /><br />"Everything really is equal. The Creator doesn't look at me any better than He looks at the trees. We're all the same."<br /><br />--Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA<br /><br />Sometimes humans think we are the center of the Universe. Sometimes we think we are above or better than other people or things. The Great Spirit made a set of Laws and Principles by which all things should live. Everybody and everything lives by the same Laws. We are all made of atoms just like the trees. The life force in the middle of the atom is the life force of the Great Mystery. It is the same for everything. We are all equal in the eyes of the Creator.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-13013822681032682722009-04-09T04:48:00.001-07:002009-04-09T04:48:46.004-07:00Lullaby by W.H.AudenLay your sleeping head, my love,<br />Human on my faithless arm;<br />Time and fevers burn away<br />Individual beauty from<br />Thoughtful children, and the grave<br />Proves the child ephemeral:<br />But in my arms till break of day<br />Let the living creature lie,<br />Mortal, guilty, but to me<br />The entirely beautiful.<br /><br />Soul and body have no bounds:<br />To lovers as they lie upon<br />Her tolerant enchanted slope<br />In their ordinary swoon,<br />Grave the vision Venus sends<br />Of supernatural sympathy,<br />Universal love and hope;<br />While an abstract insight wakes<br />Among the glaciers and the rocks<br />The hermit's carnal ecstasy.<br /><br />Certainty, fidelity<br />On the stroke of midnight pass<br />Like vibrations of a bell<br />And fashionable madmen raise<br />Their pedantic boring cry:<br />Every farthing of the cost,<br />All the dreaded cards foretell,<br />Shall be paid, but from this night<br />Not a whisper, not a thought,<br />Not a kiss nor look be lost.<br /><br />Beauty, midnight, vision dies:<br />Let the winds of dawn that blow<br />Softly round your dreaming head<br />Such a day of welcome show<br />Eye and knocking heart may bless,<br />Find our mortal world enough;<br />Noons of dryness find you fed<br />By the involuntary powers,<br />Nights of insult let you pass<br />Watched by every human love.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-50160956523040305622009-04-09T04:41:00.000-07:002009-04-09T05:11:26.174-07:00Now This is How You Play the Bodhran<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u0Ujb7DCKkQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u0Ujb7DCKkQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-17155605173131659552009-04-09T00:39:00.000-07:002009-04-09T05:10:58.622-07:00Self WorthThis is hard for me to admit but I have issues about self worth, they are not as bad as they were when I was in my teens, age seems to have brought about some sense of freedom in this area. I am less likely to base my self worth on what people think of me than before, but I still catch myself thinking in the old way sometimes.<br /><br />A case in point is my poetry web page on witchvox. I look there and see that in the two years it has been in existence over 32,000 people have read something that I have written and I am chuffed to bits at this. But the old me creeps in and at the back of my mind I ask why. I don't want to sound as if I am blowing my own trumpet here but I know when I have written something that is good (we are always are own best critics) but accepting that others might agree with that assumption comes hard sometimes.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-39838493985653404062009-04-07T04:21:00.000-07:002009-04-09T09:17:24.070-07:00Lazy DaysJust for you MoonFrog.<br /><br />Lazy Days.<br /><br />Lazy hazy sunlit day,<br />Bees hovering over<br />Earth toned wallflowers<br />And purple lavender<br />Drunk with the scent<br />Of Summers colour.<br />While my cat slumbers<br />In the midday heat<br />Dreaming of birds that whirl<br />In the blue soaked sky.<br />Then at days dusky end<br />I sit listening to the drone<br />Of bees returning to<br />the hive sounding<br />like squadrons of planes<br />returning to their base.<br />Then my cat, charged with<br />Sun stored energy<br />Wakes, stretches,<br />And goes on the prowl.<br />While I sleepy<br />From the days heat<br />Sit and ponder.<br /><br />Pangur-ban 24/04/2008pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-67340415109569634282009-04-07T02:56:00.000-07:002009-04-07T04:09:25.912-07:00New NameI have changed the name of my blog, I have not been overly happy with Bakers and Bards but it has served a purpose till I could come up with a better one. So with out further ado welcome to "The Way Through The Forest" Much better for a Druids blog.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-56792786022224726632009-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:002009-04-07T02:50:33.502-07:00Gwers 5This is where for me it all starts to come together. To a great extent the previous teachings were almost like a history lesson, which of course is what they were meant to be. But how could I relate them to my circumstances at the beginning of the twenty first century and here in this Gwers we have the link between then and now and it is Mysticism.<br /><br />It is this mystical view of life that forges the link from the Proto Druids down through the millennia to the Druid of the 21st century. The phrase in Gwers5 “The world of spirit transcends time” says it all to me, when I enter my grove I enter a place that is outside of time where anything is possible. And that means that when I meet the Horned God there in one of his many guises it is a meeting that is outside of reality. To some this will be classed as fantasy or wishful thinking, but mysticism transcends reality.<br /><br />All the questions that the mind throws up such as do the Gods exist? Is there such a thing as a spiritual connection to the land? Can we communicate with trees? All these questions when viewed from the mystical viewpoint in my opinion are answerable in the affirmative. Again and it is only my opinion that mysticism transcends the laws of physics.pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-28503190075576960722009-04-02T04:12:00.000-07:002009-04-02T04:20:41.718-07:00Journal<span style="font-family: webdings;">I have been putting something off and that is starting my Journal for the Bardic grade. Well no more as I have started it today.<br /><br />The time honoured way is to do this is in a hand written book I suppose but my handwriting is appalling, even I have trouble reading it. So I have decided to do this in word and save it as a document. I must remember to back it up on a disc regularly though.<br /><br />Actually it will be quite therapeutic I feel to have somewhere to put down my thoughts, hopes and dreams in a place only I can see.<br /></span>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-14246564552614779752009-03-31T05:43:00.000-07:002009-03-31T05:45:16.499-07:00Eisteddfodd<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well here it is my entry for the short poem category in OBOD'S message board Eisteddfod.<br /><br /></span></span>Beltaine.<br /><br />Silently owls, nights phantoms hunt<br />Along hedgerows which lie as yet<br />Untouched by the suns effulgent rays,<br />All is shrouded in shades of grey.<br /><br />Hunting for scurrying mice foraging<br />Among the hedgerows undergrowth.<br />Lured out by natures burgeoning growth,<br />Unaware of the death that awaits them.<br /><br />Perched above in Hawthorn boughs<br />Pendulous with snow white blossom.<br />Bedewed with mornings tears<br />Shed by natures gentle heart.<br /><br />But this Beltaine morn the sun will return<br />And shine on Owl and Mouse alike.<br /><br />Pangur-ban Beltaine 2009pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-193357681248425702009-03-29T02:54:00.000-07:002009-03-29T02:58:19.627-07:00Mirabilia designs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlqS5Ry3J9BytdWuhkpCo9zLk3zuwAHh_764nJ5pu8Iuu1X3DdEOF5En99DIJyKI8lFunjzjCOyfYzGCU6jnKqI9_eGCzMZgf-vaRpSAhL25eRp83ky0uE0iGKWQcFvVFTZ9pEtCz4yUv/s1600-h/md42.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 339px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlqS5Ry3J9BytdWuhkpCo9zLk3zuwAHh_764nJ5pu8Iuu1X3DdEOF5En99DIJyKI8lFunjzjCOyfYzGCU6jnKqI9_eGCzMZgf-vaRpSAhL25eRp83ky0uE0iGKWQcFvVFTZ9pEtCz4yUv/s400/md42.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318546553835167154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here is a link to my favourite cross stitch design company, and guess what they have lots of mermaid designs.<br />http://www.mirabilia.com/<br /></span></span>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-207649343663231522009-03-27T03:47:00.000-07:002009-03-27T03:59:15.783-07:00Teachers.<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have just been listening to Dvorack's cello concerto and my mind went back to Mr Clayton.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />So thank you Mr Clayton, you did not waste your time.<br /></span></span>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-83664294095824778492009-03-25T05:26:00.001-07:002009-03-25T05:26:56.409-07:00The Seven Gifts of Druidry<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NccJ89BupI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NccJ89BupI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-25031073834460083522009-03-24T23:12:00.000-07:002009-03-24T23:14:26.380-07:00Philip Carr-GommThis is for Raspberry to show what a Druid spiritual leader is really like. His name is Philip Carr-Gomm the chosen chief of OBOD.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-xnLtHpt3I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-xnLtHpt3I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1032295780968805443.post-34766341905869833452009-03-23T22:50:00.000-07:002009-03-23T22:59:07.248-07:00A Druids Word is His Bond.<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /></span></span>pangur-banhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14314773327567907646noreply@blogger.com2