The journal of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids February 06
Issue 117
Druid Dance Spiralled up small in the atoms of love Infinite space-ways of nwyfre-rich light Spun into littleness, still, hard and tight The acorn, the oak-egg, the child of the Grove. See how it bustles with striving and strength, Puts out its white root the earth-milk to grow on, Throws forth its green leaf for sunlight to glow on Sugaring all of its luminous length.
See the first druid, the druid of druids all, Blaze forth in beauty from each bud and twig Knowing the tree-dance is Druid-dance, divining The mysteries of magic both mighty and small A tree is a druid, a druid a tree Of light, love and law we are woven, all three.
By Vyvyan Ogma Wyverne Picture by Alice Friend
TOUCHSTONE is published by OBOD/Oak Tree press. OBOD OFFICE ADDRESS: PO Box 1333 Lewes,E. Sussex, BN 7 1DX email: office@druidry.org Phone/fax: 01273-470888 ALL MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES please contact Damh Smith at the office address above. TOUCHSTONE SUBMISSIONS to the editor: Penny Billington, 18, Crompton St, Derby DE1 1NY email:touchstone@obod.co.uk Opinions/statements by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor, Order or publishers. SUBMISSIONS Submissions from members are welcome. Contributions may be edited without consultation unless a request is made to the contrary. It is not always possible to use everything offered for publication. Deadline for inclusion in events and Open Forum is 28th of the month before publication. Submissions may be printed on the OBOD website unless requested otherwise. TUTORS: for all enquiries about tutors please write direct to the TUTOR COORDINATOR, Susan Jones, PO Box 30, Grange Over Sands, LA11 7GS Email: susanjones@dowrysquare.demon.co.uk No attachments, please LISTINGS OF GROVES, SEEDGROUPS and contact addresses sent periodically with gwersu. All enquiries to the office address. NOBODGROVE to apply to join, email: NobodGrove-@yahoogroups.com
2
Welcome to the first Touchstone of the new year. As usual, our year ended in England with a wonderful gathering in Glastonbury - I heard the ritual at the Chalice Well described as the best ever. Certainly, after previous years of inclement weather, the hundred hardy OBOD members who braved the dark with their lanterns were rewarded with a brilliant star-filled sky and rising moon. To have the panorama of the skies explained by an Ancient after undergoing the tests of the totem animals was sheer joy. Earlier in the year I had interviewed Geoffrey Ashe, and we were delighted to see him and Pat at our afternoon talks. The first part of the interview Geoffrey’s thoughts on King Arthur - is in this edition. A further instalment on Glastonbury and the Abbey is to be timed for the issue just before we return to the Summer Country at Midsummer. The inspiration of Bride has touched many members, as these pages full of poetry testify. There’s also an article from poet Jay Ramsay, advice on winter health, a page rich with the scent of humus and earthy nourishment to delight the gardeners and news, news, news, to set us all up for the year ahead. Welcome back!
February 06
Touchstone
Issue 117
BARDIC PAGE WHAT’S IN A NAME? JJ OPEN FORUM WINTER HEALTH Melanie Cardwell THE POET IN YOU Jay Ramsay INTERVIEW WITH GEOFFREY ASHE OBOD NOTICES AND DATES THE HALLOWEEN HEAP Ruis BARDIC PAGE REVIEWS CAMP NEWS Chris Park OPEN FORUM/ GROVES & SEEDGROUPS 16 EVENTS 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15
Touchstone February ‘06
THE LADY OF THE LAKE
Beneath the soft and floating mist Beneath the water’s mirrored face The Lady of the Lake is queen Within her sacred dwelling place
Her hair is rippling sunlight And her glorious gown a shimmering Of every shade of blue the sky can hold Her jewels are ancient offerings Long cast into the waters Bright rings and bands of silver and of gold. As night is quietly gathering, Her spirit fills the valleys And flies on jet and sapphire wings A raven in the dark.
BARDIC AWAKENING
As an otter I stir the cauldron of Awen birth, As a badger I smell the sweet, sacred, silence of the circle of earth, You can see me in the air songs of the dawn birds, As wise as the fragrant shoot, too beutiful for words. As a passionate fox, I am chased by the Goddess’s' flame of love, As a seed I am filled with creativity, inspiration from above, High ground on which you cross between worlds am I, Engulfing darkness of her womb, rebirth, rebirth, I cry. Neill Sankey Catuvellauni Grove
She rains upon the mountainside And drops in torrents tumbling And foams and leaps in streams that sing Her voice enchantment whispering Her beauty brightly sparkling Each droplet shot with stars. At dawn she lifts her rain-dark veil And smiles upon the land She treads the path And drinks the dew Gathered in her jewelled hand. And light of foot she boards the craft Which steady at the shoreline waits And slips again between the worlds A swan upon the lake.
Lindsay Farley
IMBOLC
The swans are back, much to my delight to grace us with their wondrous sight. Bringing new life, all pure and white as the longed for sun returns the light.
The snow has melted and in it's place, the dainty snow drops show their face.
The wind does blow, the clouds do race. We begin to let go and quicken the pace. Time to turn once again to face our dreams, let the work begin. This year, I know will be, filled with hope, for you and me.
by Shirley Heyward
Touchstone February ‘06
3
The following appears as part of the history of Druidry on the OBOD website:
What’s in a name? by JJ
“In the 1940's and 50's …. the Ancient Druid Order attracted to it two figures who would act as catalysts for the explosion of interest in Paganism that is occurring today: Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols. Gardner became the seminal figure in the promotion of the religion of Wicca, or pagan witchcraft, while Nichols developed Druidism by focusing its concerns on Celtic lore and mythology. Gardner died in 1964 and so did the chief of the Ancient Druid Order.….. A new chief was elected, but Nichols decided he wanted to work with Druidism in a different way, and formed his own order, which has since grown to become the largest Druid group in the world”.
When he set up ‘The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids’ I wonder if Ross Nichols realised the full significance of the initials ‘OBOD’? The word Ob or Aub is said to be of major significance in the primal mystery cults of inner Africa. It is reckoned to derive from the Hottentot word Au meaning to flow or bleed. Gerald Massey, in ‘The Natural Genesis’, says “The witch of Endor was described as a woman with knowledge of Aub (Ob), because the witch, whether African, Assiyrian, Egyptian or European, is a pythoness, a serpent woman possessed of the knowledge and wisdom of the Obeah or Ophite Cult.’ Sir Richard Burton, in Dahome, notes the feminine origin of the priesthood… whose titles signify the “Mothers of the Serpent”. It is interesting to note that Obeah travelled across the ocean with the African slaves and is now one of the primitive Deities of the West Indies
Having indicated the feminine link to the initials OB, there is also an intriguing African link with the masculine. Obatala was one of the ancient names in Africa for the “King of whiteness and light”. He is the African logos
4
and it is his function to form the child in the womb of his feminine counterpart – called Odudua – “the chief goddess in the African pantheon”, according to Kenneth Grant (see below). In contrast to Obatala, the name Odudua means ‘The Black One’. An alternative name for Odudua is Iya Agba, meaning ‘the Mother who Receives’, which is an exact equivalent of the quabalistic Binah – the third Sephira of the Tree of Life. Meanwhile Obatala is associated with the second cosmic power zone on the Tree of Life, namely Chokmah. Odudua is still worshipped as the ‘Mother Creator’ in parts of West Africa; by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria for instance, as well as in Benin and Dahome. In their creation myth, Obatala and Odudua – the White and the Black – were locked together in a sealed bottle gourd, with Obatala in the lid (head) and Odudua in the bottom of the bottle. Obatala represents all things ‘above’ (the mind and sky) while Odudua represents all things ‘below’ (matter and earth).
Kenneth Grant goes on to say “The cosmic power zones Chokmah and Binah, that are assigned to Obatala and to Odudua respectively, typify the dual currents of magical energy known as the Ob and the Od”.
This inter-relationship is reflected in the symbolism of the Caduceus of Mercury (see diagram), where the twin currents of Ob and Od intertwine the winged staff or wand. Here Ob is the lunar vibration associated with the shadow or dark aspect of the Snake or serpent, whereas Od is associated with the vibration of the Magical Light and ‘energy tending to change’.
Touchstone February ‘06
One thing that strikes me as I research this, is that Ob is seemingly by turns feminine, then masculine and then feminine again, just as Od is feminine and then masculine.
This reflects the interweaving nature of the serpents in the Caduceus and might also be taken as a metaphor for the intertwining of the ideas of Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols.
In Tantric terms, Ob and Od are the left and right nerve currents in the body. Aour is the sushumna, the central column of the Tree of Life, or the spinal column in human terms. The globe at the tip of the wand then equates with bindu, which is the concentration in a single point or seed of cosmic creativity. There is much to suggest that African Gods and Goddesses were the origin of what eventually came to be carried through to Egyptian and Babylonian traditions, and thus on into Western streams of mystical and magical practise. What I find fascinating is that what are perhaps some of the most ancient of all the African deities should ‘resurface’ in such a natural way and after thousands of years, via four simple letters - O B O D. These are more than just letters however, reflecting as they do the original primal names of magical power.
As Kenneth Grant puts it “The secret of magnetism, as of Magick, consists in ruling the fatality of the serpent (Ob) by the intelligence and power of Od, in order to create the perfect equilibrium, which manifests as Aour, the Magick light, in balanced polarity, vibrating in readiness to create”.
Therein lies the great challenge for us as Druids: To work with the light and the dark, masculine and feminine, mind and matter. To synthesise all opposites, not by negating their existence, but by fully honouring each. Here’s to Ob and Od and their union in OBOD May we all create wisely.
For those who want to dig deeper, then the following books are the primary source for reference material: Kenneth Grant: Cults of the Shadow (long out of print but still available in ob- scure and od-d places) Gerald Massey: The Natural Genesis. Aleister Crowley: Magick
Request for contact..... I am Mai Hoberg Nielsen, a student of Ethnography and Social Anthropology at Aarhus University in Denmark. I am going to conduct a field research next autumn and winter: I am trying to specialize in faith and religion and would like to focus on old faith in modern society. I therefore came to think of the druidic tradition, which is a faith from old age that is still relevant today. My main research would be conducted within 1-3 groves or seed groups whose activities, rituals and social gatherings I would participate in. In addition to that I will talk with and perhaps interview members of these groups as well as some solitary practitioners. The research is part of my study and is in first instance aimed at teaching me how to conduct field research and collect empirical knowledge. I would greatly appreciate if groves, seed groups and solitary practitioners could then take contact with me if they were interested in being part of my study. I hope to hear from you soon, Mai Hoberg Nielsen
Linda's note about the Druid Tree Chess Set: Dear All, Please note that the capital letters which appear after the Ogham names used for the Druid Tree Chess Set in the last issue of Touchstone are NOT the Roman letters associated with each Ogham (unless by coincidence...). They are the characters which the computer put there instead of the Ogham symbols themselves - a font which I have, but which Touchstone obviously does not! (Many apologies for this oversight -Ed). So please ignore the letters - they really should be in Everson TrueType Ogham font.. In Roman letters, they would normally be associated as follows: Pine Ailm A; Oak Dair D (the “translated” font turned this symbol into L….) Yew Ioho I; Hazel Coll C; Rowan Luis L Ash Nuin N; Holly Tinne T (these last four were also “translated” into the wrong letters…) Sorry for any confusion caused! love Linda
Touchstone February ‘06
5
Winter complementary health by
Melanie Cardwell HNH,IR.,ITEC.MAMH
Let me introduce myself. My name is Melanie and I've been a member of the Order for 9 years now, currently an Ovate. I'm a qualified Herbalist & Healer, and was drawn to this profession by Spirit, after the death of my father from cancer, 14 years ago. Following my training, I began an apprenticeship with my herbal teacher, where I met a student from Bristol, who invited me to my first OBOD Camp - Samhain 1996. A whole new world opened up to me: having studied the medicinal properties of herbs and trees, I had now found my spiritual path - honouring Nature and the Seasons. Much has happened since then, and two years ago, I was invited to facilitate the Well Being Space on OBOD Camps, and now wish to share some of my knowledge with you all.
So with Winter almost over, the Festive Season behind us, and the promise of Imbolc and the return of Spring fast approaching, for many, our bodies are now feeling the cost of our over-indulgences on rich food and alcohol. Perhaps you're still finding it difficult to shake off that winter cold? Or feeling stressed out? Well, help is at hand. The simple suggestions below will help to boost the immune system, combat stress and encourage good health.
Remember, good nutrition is the first and most essential step.
Avoid sugar as it reduces immune system function by up to 40%! Avoid dairy products where possible as they 'clog up' the body. There are man y non-dairy alternatives available thes e days - rice, soya, and even nut milks. Limit caffeine intake as it can block absorption of vital immune boosting nutrients. Drink at least 2 litres of mineral or filtered water daily preferably with fresh lemon or lime juice.
6
Increase intake of the following, preferably through natural sources : 1.Vitamin A (anti-oxidants) - all red, yellow, orange fruit & vegetables, dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, spirulina algae 2. Vitamin B6 - brown rice, brewers yeast & green vegetables 3. Vitamin C - (perhaps the most important vitamin for a healthy immune system) all citrus fruits, papaya, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, garlic, horseradish 4. Magnesium - fish, soya beans, green vegetables, pumpkin seeds, whole grains 5. Calcium -almonds, walnuts, sesame and sunflower seeds, green vegetables, seaweeds, parsley, carrot juice 6. Selenium - shellfish, garlic, whole grains, sesame and pumpkin seeds 7. Iron - dried fruit, green veg, beetroot, kelp 8. Zinc - eggs, whole grains, pumpkin seeds, spirulina algae Helpful herbs are: Burdock, Garlic (nature's own anti-biotic), Astragalus, Pau d'Arco, Nettles, Raspberry leaf, Alfalfa, Hibiscus, Rosehips. Echinacea is also beneficial for short periods. For aches and fever, try Willow bark or Meadowsweet. An ideal winter herbal drink that helps prevent and relieve colds and warms the extremities - chop a few slices of fresh ginger root and place in a mug with the juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of honey. Top up with boiled water and sip slowly.
Invest in a juicer - there is nothing better than fresh fruit or vegetable juice for instant concentrated, highly digestible nutrition, especially when you don't have much of an appetite. Suggestion: Juice 3/4 carrots, 1/4 apples and 2 3 cloves of garlic, dilute with 50% spring water: add a pinch black pepper, cayenne or ginger to warm. Or make an immune-boosting juice by blending equal amounts of strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants together with 1/2 pt (300ml) soya milk and 1teasp sesame seeds. 'Prevention is better than cure'! By integrating the above suggestions into your daily life and keeping a positive attitude, your year ahead will be a Happy & Healthy one! For more serious conditions seek the advice of a qualified herbalist. For more info/catalogue, email me at www.naturespharmacy.org.uk
Touchstone February ‘06
From There is a poet in all of us. However unknown or neglected that part of us may be, it is there, often just waiting for the right conditions to present themselves.
Chrysalis to butterfly-
restore us to what we feel and therefore who we are. the poet in you The expression that comes as a result-through by Jay Ramsay drawing and group sharing as well as in writing - is fundamentally healing, and may also involve the naming of something long held and never spoken. Again Beyond writing poetry and being (and calling and again I have seen faces lit up from within myself) a poet, I have known this since I during and as a result of the writing that follows, realized that poetry is not just about literature and it is always a thread in the way I work in my and words on paper, it is alive in the living air private therapy practice as well. The Greeks all around us in any moment, and it is about our knew this as catharsis. For me - weird and attitude to and relationship with life (all of life, suspect as it is to the TLS mainstream - it is and so death and dying also). living poetry where poetry and healing are about the same thing: that spark that makes us Poetry is also about that primary voice in us know who we are, the relief and wonder of that we can also think of as the most radical part being back inside the skin of things. of who we are, belonging in our feelings and our individual authentic response to what happens to and around us. That primary voice As a result of this conviction I developed my is something we all get educated and socialized postal course, Chrysalis-the poet in you, which very much approaches the teaching of poetry out of to a greater or lesser degree - indeed from the point of view of feeling and society would be impossible without these imagination. If that comes first, technique can agreed terms of reference and description. follow, building on someone's actual experience However something is also lost in this process of their own voice in writing, raw as it may that Wordsworth referred to as 'shades of the initially be. All of it is set in an imaginative and prison house', which was why Miroslav Holub, spiritual context, connected also to my training the Czech poet, spoke of poetry as being in psychosynthesis psychotherapy, and also among'the first things'. We may think of this in spiritual healing. Personal development and terms of dreams too, as well as play with its positive critical feedback on language go side sense of expanse and experiment: in both the by side. You might call it 'poetry therapy', but stirrings of our creative unconscious are free in for me it is fundamentally to do with helping a way they may later seem not to be. people to awaken to the spark within them that is their authentic expression and being, that has Poetry is also about the imagination and not only to do with healing (in this sense) but gaining access to a different level of meaning. creating, and being vitally 'part of' of the real life Nothing means anything merely at the concrete of things, and the process of Creation itself as it level beyond its function. That is materialism. unfolds mysteriously all around us. For meaning, we have to get to another level which is also symbolic where things and events resonate with spirit. This is what the Romantics Chrysalis-the poet in you: 2 part correspondence knew as Imagination (with a capital I).Through it course by post (since 1990), we can open to our lives as intrinsically sessions in UKCP accredited psychospiritual therapy meaningful as journeys of experience and and spiritual healing. Enquiries/brochure to 01453development in time-that is, when we can find 759436.For information about the on-going poetry that primary voice, that basic experience of idengroups ring 01453-759436 (Gloucestershire, nr. tity in us again. This is where the work begins. Stroud), and 0207-794-8880 (TheLotus Foundation, London NW3: www.lotusfoundation.org.uk). If I don't know how I feel, I don't know who I For events, see ‘events’ page 16 Jay Ramsay is the author of over 25 books of poetry, am. What I have experienced working with groups and individuals again and again is the translation and non-fiction; latest available direct power of the imagination and the heart to from 01202-665432 (Orca).
Touchstone February ‘06
7
You’ve lived in Glastonbury Thoughts on King Arthur about a king. But then eventually he does come for how long now? from back and is remoulded in I’ve been here for 30 years..... Victorian terms by So your association with the Tennyson and so on, excavation at Cadbury casexpressing Victorian ideals tle predates your living in and finally in modern times Glastonbury? he comes back as a kind of It predates my living here, quasi-historical figure. He’s but of course my first book, interviewed by different every time, but ‘King Arthur’s Avalon’ came Penny Billington there’s always the golden out in ’57 and more or less age myth in the background. led on to the Cadbury excavation. I did mention The idea of the lost golden age as a theme: Cadbury in it and aroused the interest of there’s also a feeling, certainly in your fiction various people who took the view that it ought ‘The Finger and the Moon’, of a sense of personto be excavated. I asked the great British al loss, the feeling that we’re not as connected archaeologist of that period, Sir Raleigh as we should be. This seems to go hand in hand Radford, and he said it was too big, he wouldwith the Golden Age and the benevolent ruler.... n’t know where to start, so he preferred to stick Well one of the peculiar strengths of the Arthur to churches and places where he had an exact myth is the idea that Arthur isn’t dead. So the location but finally the pressure sort of built up; Golden Age is gone, but perhaps it isn’t really there was so much in getting Cadbury excavatgone and he’s in his cave or he’s on his island or ed and with the committee finally formed in ’65 whatever and in some way, Arthur will come we were fortunate enough to get Sir Mortimer back and that is a very potent thing too and was Wheeler as president, and he was a great exploited politically by the Tudor kings – they publicist, of course, and it went on from there. There’s an interesting idea that King Arthur is were the Welsh kings and claimed that they reinvented in the manner in which the age needs were restoring the true British monarchy: him….and it seems to me that that was the Edward VII called his son Arthur with the beginning of looking at the historical reality of thought that he would be Arthur II, I suppose, Arthur as a fifth century warlord…… but he died. Well, yes, actually this historical Arthur enquiry Yes, it was a bit of a mistake that..I think if I started a bit earlier. You’ll find it in the old was a monarch it would be a risk I wouldn’t Oxford English History of England in the want to take - a bit overweaning… section by Collingwood; he speculated about When one of this present Charles’ offspring was who a real Arthur might have been, but on the way there was a report in the paper that certainly Cadbury gave it an enormous push, a test had shown that it would be a male child and of course the novelists, mainly American, and I thought that they could call him Arthur, who’ve taken up this Dark Age story in their all ready to be called Arthur II; I think I wrote and made that suggestion and got a polite reply various ways have done a great deal too. The from a lady in waiting: a friend in America reinvention Arthur is something I’ve discussed made the same suggestion and of course they myself in my book ‘The discovery of King did – William Arthur, so he can be King Arthur Arthur’: the point there is that Arthur does keep if he wants to. coming and going; it’s very interesting. He starts off as a sort of military hero, then he Placing Arthur somewhere geographically in becomes an imaginary king on a big scale, then the country; there are many claims to the in mediaeval romance he becomes the overlord Arthur myth, certainly for Arthur’s last resting of – we’ll call it – the chivalric utopia: nobody place, aren’t there? imagined that it was real, but it expressed Well, actually, there aren’t. This is a common various ideals and hopes and so on, and then he misunderstanding. There are 160 Arthur goes into eclipse. Milton thought of writing an locations in Britain, I know because I put the Arthur epic and didn’t; I assume that Milton whole lot in a guide book once, but the really being a roundhead wouldn’t write an epic big fundamental ones are not duplicated.
Geoffrey Ashe
8
Touchstone February ‘06
but it doesn’t mean that Brendan actually went There’s only one birthplace; there’s only one there: it’s a fantasy based on knowledge of the grave; no one else ever claimed to have King Atlantic which has got attached to Brendan. Arthur’s grave but Glastonbury, you know, Brendan didn’t go there in his litlle curragh, but and, if you call it Camelot, there is only one somebody knew something and that is interestcandidate for it, and Cadbury is in fact unique. ing. There’s no evidence for norse settlement in At the time of the excavation a lot of the new world before about 1,000 AD and actuarchaeologists tried to debunk it and said, ‘Well, ally that has only turned up in the last few years when you’ve dug up a few more they’ll be like in Newfoundland, and certainly nothing earlier. that’, but they weren’t, and I remember Leslie So you came and settled in Glastonbury and Alcock telling the society of antiquaries that began to have to do wit h the Abbey…. there’d been all of these other excavations and nobody has ever found a hill fortified in that Well the starting point was the interest in way in the Dark Age or whatever you call it – Glastonbury; I wrote ‘King Arthur’s Avalon’ in with enormous resources of manpower, of the course of that. I wasn’t living here at the course, it would be a big job. Cadbury is time but I reckoned I would come and live here unique. So this idea that you have duplications eventually: I never really exerting myself, going of place, to a certain extent, yes. There are lots of around estate agents trying to find a house. I rock formations and caves and this and that’s, just reckoned it would come. Eventually it did – but the three big ones are unchallenged and that one of those weird, multiple coincidences I think is rather interesting. They’re all down in which made it quite clear I had to come here – this part of Britain. Of course, some historians there is an account of that in my one bit of autosay that Arthur belongs in the North – there is biography –in an American reference book early Arthurian poetry up there – but nothing of called ‘Contemporary Authors’…. Where did the instinct to pursue the legends of archaeological interest has ever been produced Arthur come from? It seems to have been a drivin the North; no important traditions of him ing force for you as a young man. ever having a home up there at all, which is Glastonbury came first. When I was about nine interesting… You often make the point that facts and folk or ten, somebody gave me one of those books of tales may not in themselves be accurate, but the legends for children, with a lot of pictures. And I liked the Greek and I liked the Norse, but fact that they are there at all is significant.. As I’ve often said, we must take legends Arthur left me completely cold at that age. He seriously, without taking them literally. It’s came later, through fascination with rather a fine distinction, because people either Glastonbury as a place of profound importance dismiss them or believe them too much, but and there was a prophecy that it would come take them seriously, as about back, rather like Arthur: Austin something, - one of the most Ringwood’s prediction that it interesting instances is the would be restored and rebuilt, so voyages of St Brendan - the legend I wrote ‘King Arthur’s Avalon’ and that did involve the two of him going over the sea to the chapters on Arthur, because he west to the earthly paradise. Now, was more or less unavoidable, he never did that. Undoubtedly he and I became more interested was called the navigator; he went there and found that when when around in the Hebrides and the book was reviewed, the thereabouts and he got a reviewers tended to pick up that reputation as a great seaman and part as something they knew so when the fantasy of the great about and the publishers voyage west developed, he was suggested I should do another the natural hero for it, and one on Arthur, which is called whoever wrote the voyage of St Geoffrey Ashe, as if crowned with ‘From Caesar to Arthur’ – it’s Brendan knew a lot about Atlantic our mistletoe. geography – the Faroe Islands, OBOD midwinter gathering 05 pretty well out of date now – but it comes and goes; I’ve been Iceland, Greenland, the Azores,
Touchstone February ‘06
9
invited to do guide books and take parties round here and given many lecture courses at American Universities, but I always tell interviewers , ‘Don’t think I’m an Arthur monomaniac! There are quite a few books on the shelves and quite a lot are about other things.’ Your later book, ‘ The mythology of the British Isles’ is a real over-arching book that takes in.. Oh, yes, anything and everything. That’s my second major seller; King Arthur’s Avalon has always been first; that goes on and on...It could probably be reprinted now and sell again, only I’d want to annotate it…but ‘Mythology’ may have caught up with it…..one thing I should say, a friend of mine said to me, ‘Well, if there wasn’t a mythology of the British Isles before, there is now!” It’s like the labyrinth on the Tor; I didn’t think of that, Geoffrey Russell thought of it, but I was the first person who worked it out and did that little booklet on it and soon after the booklet came out we saw out the window these people walking round with an orange booklet in their hands trying to figure out which way to go and my youngest son said much the same, ‘If there wasn’t a labyrinth on the Tor before, there is now.’ Because they’ve all trodden there. And one last thought on the appeal of Arthur? The idea that somewhere way back, there was this great ruler in this wonderful period, and even today we know perfectly well that there wasn’t a golden age, but we like the idea of a great figure who, for a time, held Britain together, kept out the barbarians, and so maintained Christianity and law and so forth: he’s still a credible hero. A nice way to end this section, Geoffrey; thank you very much. It is probably a rare OBOD member without even one Geoffrey Ashe book on the shelf! ‘The Discovery of King Arthur’ is now out in a new edition & ‘The Finger and the Moon’ is in a new edition, new prologue and annotation putting it in a new context. Geoffrey Ashe is an internationally known historian, author and lecturer writing extensively in the areas of British history and mythology. He has written more than 20 books and has contributed numerous articles to scholarly publications. He has held visiting professorships at 7 American universities and has been involved with television projects related to King Arthur and British mythology in the capacity of advisor, interviewee and commentator.
10
OBOD announcements, dates, info for the New Year
Druid gorsedd 3 - 5 March 2006
at Lower Shaw Farm, nr Swindon in Wiltshire. Druid grade members are invited to get together for a special weekend of ritual, discussion and partying. The inclusive cost is £70. Booking form with sae please from Lorraine: Station House, Neen Sollars, Kidderminster DY14 0A, or by email, for a booking form or to express interest: lorraineofnemeton@hotmail.com
OBOD workshop 15 & 16 April 2006
Meditation and ritual: Second Level with Kate & Barry Reilly at Chalice Well in Glastonbury this workshop has been designed to develop and use the skills acuired aon the Level One workshop, and is open to any OBOD member wo haas completed Level Onw. Note: the next Level One workshop will be at the Chalice Well in Glastonbury on Oct 21&22 2006. During the Level two weekend, we shall be working with the three worlds of the Druid cosmology, and in particular focusing on the subtle level of the Middle world and on Annwn, the Underworld. If you have not already received your invitation to level two and would like to attend, please telephone Kate & Barry Reilly on 01736 810112 Early booking for either workshop is advised, as places are strictly limited.
OBOD camp dates for 2006
Imbolc - Sat 28th Jan to Thur 2nd Feb Wildways. Beltaine - Friday 28th April to Sunday 7th New site - see article for details Lughnasadh - Fri 28th July to Sun 6th August Colleymore Farm Samhuin - Fri 27th Oct to Sun 5th November Watchfield
OBOD Midsummer gathering
At Glastonbury Town Hall and on the Tor 10 & 11 June
Touchstone February ‘06
The Halloween
January, I spread it across the waiting soil. This pile of death, rotting away, contains, paradoxically, teeming life. A multitude of organisms, bacteria and worms brought together by this feast of death, courtesy of fire - the sun, without which there would be no life; water - the rain which caused growth and out of which we came in the beginning. Earth - which supports us all in life and welcomes us back in death. And finally air - the essence fo life the essential oxygen which provides chemical reactions. The result is - dare I say it? Awen! This heap, this inspiration, this spirit of life and existence. It makes growth possible, a wonderful mix of fecundity, nourishment, celebration and hope. As I slice in to this gently steaming rich black cake of Samhain it is synonymous with the parting of the veil between the worlds. Life outside mixes with that within - that which has gone before. I can lean on my spade and looking in to its heart I can see the past, I can envisage the future and meditate on all that has passed and all that has been discarded. I can touch like in the midst of death and vice versa. I see creation and recreation in the making, feel close to the Earth Mother and m own mortality knowing that through death I will live on as has all that has gone before as the future built on the past. I can smell and feel this enigmatic, nourishing death - this Awen, inspiring me to plan future garden glories as a new cycle begins. The heap represents death and life, it contains death and life - but it is nether and it is both. It contains the past ears success an excess, triumphs and mistakes which is the fuel/hope/resolve for that to follow. Inside the heap was once chaos, leaf and grass, higgledy piggledy, weed upon flower and leaves with potato peel and manure. Death the leveller imposes order with the rules of chemistry and with life - reduced, redefined and reincarnated. Life in to death and rebirth a new begins. Swept away like fallen leaves. On the wings of the spirit of the wind. The Autumn gale that...Ah yes! Samhain turns us all in to Bards or gardeners!
Heap
Samhain - the ending of the year. A time that seems to touch the Bard in all of us. A time of year when the poets wax lyrical as evocative images present themselves so readily and the power of the season galvanises the imagination. The veil between the worlds so thing, so easily parted - like the ephemeral mists that drape the hollows by the silent flowing river. Autumn gales and storm lashed sea, shrieking winds that strip the trees, leaves all blowing, chaos, whirling, swirling. Twilight harkens to hooting owl, now the night, cloak of darkness. Samhain, so poignant, so enigmatic, so... So - consider Muck! Not just any old muck but compost, a well made, multi-ingredient compost heap. It’s usually called a compost heap, but what’s in a name? Let’s, for a while, call it ‘Samhain’. I am a gardener, both by nature and career and to me, my compost heap encapsulates all that is Samhain. Possibly there are other druid brothers and sisters of the soil out there who will connect with me on this. Samhain is a time of closure, a time to look inwards and back, a time too to think of the future for as one cycle ends, the wheel inexorably turns and a new year begins. All that I have discovered this year - plants, leaves, grass and that which some kind horses have discarded (that’s the manure bit!) has gone on to the heap. The last remnants of summer and autumn I’m putting right now on to the heap as I sort through the garden pruning out that which is not needed. As I work the therapeutics of gardening are such that I find myself keeping pace in my mind, sorting, rearranging, weighing up and discarding the thoughts and the memories, the hopes and the fears, and the failures. But nothing is wasted, not even mistakes or even invasive weeds! What can’t be composted is put aside to dry then burnt on the Samhain bonfire and returned to the soil and life cycle as ash - potash or potassium. Even ‘problems’ can be turned in to something useful! The heap is symbolic of death and decay but, there in, ties a promise for the future. The land will have nourishment, life and growth returned to it when, in the dark days of early
by Ruis
Touchstone February ‘06
11
SONNET
The glandular bending of a city street Leads round in lobes to a silent, secret place Surrounded by all house & factory heat The living land still shows her leafy face Deep rooted, storytelling spring of old Fountain, well spring of all that would arise; Diverse & secret growth that spread to hold The precious moment, eyes open wide in surprise! So we turn towards the Awen's beams & rays The shining fibre flash through turn of days. Barry Patterson
Bardic page GREAT SPIRIT
I am a dream in the heart of creation, a soul-spark kindled in the hearth of the land, a joy song for all our relations, star-dust formed in Great Mystery’s hand.
I am the watcher of all souls passing, foundation to the earthly door, breath bringer to reanimate each path’s return, to tread on the spirit road once more. I am potential bound within, the acorn that lies at the foot of the tree, a waking dreamer domed within, this great guardian’s next nativity.
I am the power courses down in the raindrops, to nourish old decaying bones, to rent new life, not cut asunder, wisdom old as standing stones.
Solstice tree: Natalie Green
FOR MY ANAM CARA
Did you see in the woods The lady reach out her arms to wrap around you? Did you hear in the rustle of leaves A soft spoken voice Reach out and welcome you? Did she fall silent then So you might be heard? Anam Cara who passes the gate With a silently speaking soul I hope it shall never be too late For me to take he role Just for a passing Of moon across sky Your friend of the forest In hope shall be I Lisa Jones
12
I am the reaper of all tides crashing, a din of music upon your shore, I sing my song from deep within the mysteries behind the hidden door.
Seek me out within the forest, dance to my song upon the great plains, kindle me within the hearth of your heart, and you shall reap in joy again, Of harvests seeded in the blackness by ancestors deep within the mound, bright wisdom handed down the ages, to cloak you now, a spirit found and boiled deep within the cauldron, help within the heart flame’s span, centuries yawns cannot deter the patterns of Great Mystery’s plan
Touchstone February ‘06
Alison Jones
IRISH TREES - MYTH, LEGEND AND FOLKLORE' by Niall MacCoitir (Collins Press)
THE ART OF CONVERSATION WITH THE GENIUS LOCI By Barry Patterson (Capall Bann, 2005)
Reading this book is like forging through uncharted teritory in the company of someone like Ernest Shackleton. Those who know the author’s previous offering (1991) will be pleased to know that this has now been expanded in to a book, and the message remains: “Hands-on, but take care!” This book is long on practical advice, stories and poetry, while pleasingly short on theo-philosophical disputation. Readers are directed for this sort of thing to the comprehensive bibliography and the footnotes. Barry sets out his stall right away in his introduction: “I am sitting on a sand dune as the tide comes in and looking out over the mud flats watching the wading birds...I don’t have any agenda...I’m open to the magic of the moment and the magic of the place, and everything seems complete. There is a presence much greater than I could ever put in to words in all of this...Somehow, just by being myself, being open, and patiently sitting here, I am deeply connected with my world. This is the art of conversation with the Genius Loci”. A word of warning: it’s quite easy to get lost in this book. Barry prefers to communicate through story, image and song; but if you need an experenced mentor whose paid his dues and Barry’s too busy to go walking just now, we recommend this book as the next best Review by S. Hawk thing. For further informationand to obtain copies of this book, the author’s website: www.redsandstonehill.net or the publishers http://www.capallbann.co.uk/popup.cfm?p _n=24992&p_i=24992
A friend introduced me to this prior to my beginning my Ovate studies. I had a quick flick through it initially but soon realised that it needed some serious attention and it has since proven to be an invaluable aid in the study of the beithluisnin or Ogham alphabet. This book is light is style but painstakingly researched and written with an obvious passion for both trees and celtic culture. The book is perfectly structured as a reference book or for a continuous read from beginning to end. It begins with a general overview on trees from a historical and spiritual perspective before giving an in-depth look at each tree of the ogham alphabet in order. A nice touch is that the myths, folklore and usage covers the whole celtic world and not just Ireland, which gives it a wider appeal. Following on from the trees is an explanation of the origins of ogham and an analysis of the meaning of the trees, the order of them, the use of ogham and the celtic tree calendar. MacCoitir gives a varient on the accepted medieval groupings of letter (e.g. from "The Scholars Primer") and also a slightly different tree calendar from that suggested by Robert Graves' "White Goddess". However, he goes to great length to justify this and his argument does seem to build a convincing case that the original tree list was slightly different from that most commonly used today (i.e. nin represented cherry, onn-ash, gort-gorse, nGéatal-broom and muin-buckthorn). Even if you don't agree with MacCoitir on these points this book is still a very worthwhile and comprehensive resource plus it has some lovely colour illustrations of the trees and their most prominent means of identifying them. Review by Luke Eastwood
Touchstone February ‘06
13
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BELTANE CAMP 2006 Announcement from Chris Parks......
BELTANE CAMP 2006. 28th April - 6th May This auspicious year that heralds a new moon of metatonic extremes also brings camp nearer to a horizon we have often looked upon and visited… this gold and silver year we will camp resplendently by an Iron Age Castle and a legendary White Horse to celebrate the Greening and the May! The O.B.O.D. Beltane Camp for 2006 will be set up at Britchcombe Farm, just below Dragon Hill and Uffington Wood. We have worked fertile magic at West Mill for 7 years…on the land, new mills of wind are to be erected… Root & Branch, the horticultural therapy centre, has been planted, deepening and flourishing… bees producing, fecund organic solutions, well rested ecological burials… and in our camps, many a maypole has been blessed and we have danced, cried and danced a Great Work. Our host and squire, Mr. Adam Twine, most hospitable bestower of spaces, has, over the years, granted us much freedom of expression, spiritual licence and kindness to our treasurer in not raising his prices for our camps on his land for the last 10 years… and granting us the use of sheds and barns… Three hundred and sixty four days of blessings be his this year! We will return there for Samhuinn. Our new Beltane home.... Britchcombe Farm…. Beneath the most ancient family of badgers and buzzards in Uffington Wood… being steeply strewn with Ash and Thorn… This means we now pay a contemporary price to the landowner, increasing everyone’s daily rate by three bright pounds… Imagine rites of initiation upon the Dragon Hill… well held hand-fastings within the age old Manger… Ecstatic Ovatic magic within the Neolithic cairn… Historic and folkloric finger magic upon the banks of the all seeing Celtic castle… we camp, betwixt the hills above and the musical springs below, with our sacred hearth fire, soul friends and gastric desires, bardic trends and druidic attire.
14
A verdant Queen and King beneath a chalken horse will sing… of a mythic Saxon forge and a drink with old St. Geroge… tales will be told by mystic seers new and old… of a dragonslayed Danish tump and the distant Wittenham Clumps… the steady Valley of the Thames, as all horizons hail new friends… a chalken path that leads us deeper to the heart… The shining sun, the green, green grass, a feast, a play, a smiling force… the children singing songs of peace, painting pictures of the horse… last years harvest held and melded, the new cycle lifting fast… of smiles that stand in newness with the wise roots of the past… Please join in to celebrate this new phase of the spiritual community camps with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids… May you be blessed with much Honey, Money and Nwyvre this year… For bookings and information please contact Briar at carolnoo@aol.com 01295 264914 PAGANS IN PRISON NOW ALLOWED TO USE RELIGIOUS ACCESSORIES <http://dragonkeypress.com/blog/?p=253>
From the Times of London: Wands and wine for imprisoned pagans.
‘Pagan priests will be allowed to use wine and wands during ceremonies in jails under instructions issued to prison governors. Inmates practising paganism will be allowed a hoodless robe, incense and a piece of religious jewellery among their personal possessions. They will also be allowed to have Tarot cards but are forbidden from using them to tell the fortunes of other prisoners. The guidance, issued by Michael Spurr, the director of operations of the Prison Service, makes it clear that Skyclad (naked pagan worship) will not be permitted. Prison staff have been told that pagan artefacts should be treated with respect. The formal guidance on paganism in prison is contained in a 14-page annexe to a Prison Service order on religion in jails. It was issued last month to governors, chaplains and race relations officers. Governors are given a complete guide to paganism, based on information supplied by the Pagan Federation.
Touchstone February ‘06
Hi, I have recently completed the bardic grade and have found the experience wonderful. I am pleased to say that the fruit of my bardic work - my book 'The Oracle' (Review next month, Ed) is now avaliable from Amazon. Here is the link, http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/AS IN/1905237391/qid%3D1132086577/0265630235-5822814 warmest wishes, Eaman Hi everyone, This year marks an especially important Imbolc event worth noting. The Flame of Brigid is to be relit in the Market Square of Kildare Ireland (original site of the "eternal flame" in preChristian times) for the first time ... rumor has it by the President of Ireland herself ... and will then be then maintained perpetually by the Bridigine Sisters of Solas Bhride. Apparently the order has maintained small symbolic flame within their chapels throughout the years, but for the first time in modern history it is to be publicly relit at its historical site. See link for information... should be quite a party. "In 1992 the Brigidine Sisters came to live in Kildare to re-connect with their roots, to reclaim Brigid in a new way for a new millennium. They founded a small Christian Centre for Celtic Spirituality in the spirit of Brigid of Kildare. An outreach community of women and men, who call themselves Cairde Bhride, (Friends of Brigid) has developed around the Solas Bhride Centre in association with the Brigidine Sisters." The actual lighting is scheduled to occur at 3:00PM on February 1st. I'd like to make a suggestion that OBOD members worldwide could figure out the time difference and, if practical, use that very same moment (plus or minus an hour for daylight savings where applicable? oi) to light candles in her honor and reflect on all that Brighid stands for. Please at least add it to the calendar. Comments? suggestions? Allen Howell, Ovate, The Boston Grove http://www.solasbhride.ie/feile-bhride/FeileBhride-2006.htm
The newly founded seedgroup in The Hague (Netherlands) is looking for members. Purpose of the seedgroup is to celebrate the eight main festivals with other obodies. We are looking for other bards, ovates and druids who wants to celebrate the festivals with kindred spirits at an inspiring location. Are you living in The Hague or environs and do you want to share you spiritual perceptions with others? Then maybe this is for you. Please contact Cath van Meurs (06-20158659 of carmax@planet.nl <mailto:carmax@planet.nl> ) or Mart Ottenheim(m.ottenheim@wanadoo.nl). Charlotte Seed Group For fellowship and study of Druidry. CSG will meet on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Charlotte Art League, downtown Charlotte off of Camden Road. Contact information is Stefan at 704-651-2032 or bward3@nc.rr.com And to finish; the joy of the season..................
Walking on a sunny winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day
The silent woods reverberate With my pure joy Bounding, Leaping through snowy blankets A dance of exuberance Celebrating life.
My tracks zigzag Curve, as graceful As a river And intertwine Like the dance of two water beetles Skimming the surface of a lake
The tracks blossom into oblivion As the wondrous dance of life Continues A heart leap Honouring life As beautiful Till you lean back To embrace the snowy blankets And relax Before you continue the dance. Leland Moore
Touchstone February â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;06
15
13th-18th January Druid Summer Camp: At The Woolshed, Pukerua Bay, New Zealand. Come and camp, play, attend wonderful workshops (craft, music, carving, etc.), sit around a nightly campfire for stories and song and just generally chill out. Please let me know if you would like to offer a workshop for children or adults or help with organising. I attended OBOD Summer Camp in the UK and I’m keen to start something which could become an annual event. Contact Pamela Meekings-Stewart pamela@thewoolshed.com 16-29 January The Australian Shamanic Spirit. A residential Summer School with Druid Dr Kennan Elkman and shamanic practitioner Dr Ralph Locke, in Western Australia. Details from elkman@healthquest.com.au 17 and 18 February 2006 'Celts in the Cotswolds' The 10th Annual Celtic Music Festival Norgren Hall, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire. Contact Keith or Sue Finley 01608 661157 Bands in the evening plus:- Story telling, Music and dance workshops 10-4 on saturday. 24-26 February The Sacred Space of the word. Jay Ramsay. Poetic writing in a stimulating, safe and nurturing space: workshop now in its eighteenth year. Hawkwood, Stroud 01453 759034 with its follow-up Keeping the Faith October 21-23rd 2005, and The Poet in You on Sat Nov. 5th 2005 (bookings 01453-759034). 3-5 March 2006 Druid Gorsedd, Wiltshire.For druid grade members. Booking form with sae please from Lorraine: Station House, Neen Sollars, Kidderminster DY14 0A, or by email: lorraineofnemeton@hotmail.com z 9-12 March Wanton Women - Loosing invisible chains. (Tircoch Magical weekends) An opportunity to locate, understand and deal with things that hinder us in the loveing, supportive, all-femail circle, and then celebrate our freedom! £150 pp all inclusive. ninahre@yahoo.com or ring 01275 542705 OBOD workshop 15 & 16 April 2006 Meditation and ritual: Second Level with Kate & Barry Reilly at Chalice Well in Glastonbury telephone Kate & Barry Reilly on 01736 810112 Early booking advised, as places are strictly limited. 22-28 April Walking the Stone Circle of Callanish. Join us for a week of spiritual discovery in the great stone circle of Callanish. Encounter the magnetism of this holy site. Embrace your spiritual journey in a workshop led by RoMa Johnson, Druid. For information go to www.awencom 10 & 11 June OBOD Glastonbury Midsummer gathering z 22.June - 26.June 2006 german speaking OBOD summercamp in Franken. For more details please contact: Anna Bluhm, albenhain@gmx.de
ONGOING EVENTS
ARTURIAN GROVE meets in Otley on the first Sunday of each month. Contact optimistichannah@yahoo.co.uk MOOT IN SHROPSHIRE, 2ND WEDS, Royal Hill Public House, nr Nesscliffe. Meet at 7.45pm: 01691 791597 ANDERIDA GORSEDD MOOT: SECOND MON The Schooner Inn, Southwick, nr Brighton. 8pm. anderida@bardicarts.com. PEAK SEEDGROUP MONTHLY MEETING, usually held between Chesterfield/Derby. FFI: 01332 380849 CLITHEROE: FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH contact Alan on 07787 825448 NEMETON GROVE THIRD SUN Oxon. rich-debs@leadbeatertowers.freeserve.co.uk or tel 07746 665320. EDEN VALE SEED GROUP, 2ND MON: nr Castlebridge, Co. Wexford, Ireland, 8.30. info@electricdesign.ie or ring 086-3119660.
O N T H E F U L L M O O N E V E RY M O N T H
Monthly Obod Meditations for Peace. By yourself, or with Grove or Seedgroup perform a Grove ceremony with the central theme and focus for world peace. Thurs Saturday 13 Februaryz
O B O D C A M P D AT E S F O R 2 0 0 6
Imbolc - Saturday 28th Jan to Thursday 2nd Feb Wildways. Beltaine - Friday 28th April to Sunday 7th Watchfield Lughnasadh - Friday 28th July to Sunday 6th August Colesmore Farm Samhuin - Friday 27th October to Sunday 5th November Watchfield
For bookings and information please contact Briar at carolnoo@aol.com 01295 264914
Touchstone February ‘06