Volume 7, Issue 2

Spring/Fall Solstice 2015

 Aontacht
WHAT’S NEW AT DRUIDIC THE MIND OF THE MUSE
DAWN
27 Poems by
7 by Renard Airabella Eris Altair
Renard
FEATURED ARTICLES
REFLECTIONS
9 “The Inevitability of Ritual”
by Lisa Crandall 29 “The Witchlets of Witchs Brew:
A Collection of Tales ”
16 “Invocation of Brighid” by Edain Duguay
by Ellen Evert Hopman Book Review by Lisa Crandall

SACRED GEOMETRY THE WOODEN

11 “The Magick Circle - CUPBOARD
The ALLSPACE” Recipes
by David Rankine 32 by Ellen Evert Hopman
33 by Lisa Crandall
THE TURNING OF THE
WHEEL
14 by Druidic Dawn FROM THE DESK
35 by Renard
MEANDERS, CIRCLES,
AND PATHS EARTH MYSTERIES
15 “Following Where Ritual Leads”
by Dr. Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne 38 “Three Herbs Used In Rituals”
by David C. (TheDruid-3X3) Corrin
INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP
CARR-GOMM WONDROUS WANDERINGS
17 by Renard
62 “The Escapades of the
THE FOX’S TALE Druidic Dawn Bears”
by Renard for this issue
26 by Lisa Du Fresne

Aontacht • 2
 Aontacht
Spring/Fall Solstice 2015

Editor-in-Chief
is a Fire
Richard Fox Druid, the Editor-in-Chief of
Assistant Editor Magazine and a
Dr. Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne warrior poet who lived mostly
Production Editor outdoors in the forests of the
harmonyeris fox
U.S. for over 18 years. During
Acquisition Editor
Lisa Du Fresne that time, he planted more than
Publisher 700,000 trees while he lived and
Druidic Dawn developed his Nature Magick
in the deep forests.

General Inquiries Today, Renard manages

All general inquiries
can be sent to the conservation projects in seven countries and develops
following address:
DruidicDawn@EarthLink.net renewable energy projects with 32 Native
Comments
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comments to us right NOW
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Please email
DruidicDawn@EarthLink.net A cultural anthropologist, she has
.
focused on the links between the
symbolic and the lived in people’s
is published four times
a year by Druidic Dawn. , lives. This has led her to
Volume 7, Issue 2 © 2015 Druidic
Dawn, all rights reserved. All contribute to the development of
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and photos. The contents of this
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in whole or in part without the
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facilitate 10 years of Cultural Awareness Training to members of
Environmental Benefits
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magazine is only
available online as a free PDF
she teaches university courses in Shamanic Traditions, Native
download; thereby saving trees,
water, solid waste, and
Spiritualities, Western Occult Traditions, Religion and Sexuality,
greenhouse gases. and Religion and Art. She is currently participating in bringing the
installation to Ottawa, Canada for the
Fall of 2015. She has been an active member of the Canadian Pagan
Original Banner Collagues
by Airabella Eris Altair Community since the early 1980's.

Opinions and views expressed

are not necessarily those of the
editors, publisher, nor staff.

Aontacht • 3
 an urban Metis artist, she
has been a Canada Council and Ontario Arts
Council grant recipient. Her exhibition
Volume 7, Issue 3
at Moon Rain (Event of the Year & Prize for “Views of the Inner
Planes”
Distinction, info@moonrain.ca) was featured
in fiberQUARTERLY e-zine. What is the veil between this
world and the next? Are there
many and how do we
She is a professional Animal Communicator communicate with these
and a Reiki master teacher. realms? Open your mind to
the dimensions beyond the
veil.
As s she is on Deadline April 15th, 2015
the hunt for the de-light-ful and the quirky. If
Life is a Collage, she is looking for Artists. If Life is a mirage, she is looking
Volume 7, Issue 4
for Magick Dancers. She is looking for YOU. Contact her here! “Healing the Body, Mind,
and Soul”
is a
Exploring the Nature of
flurry of opposite energies accreting together healing at many levels.
to form a gravity of electrical energy. From Practically, emotionally and
growing up mostly outdoors where her first spiritually.
memory is helping her parents plant thousands Deadline July 15th, 2015
of trees, to a degree from the National
Geospatial Intelligence School of the Army,
and then a degree in Creative Writing and Volume 8, Issue 1
To be announced
Economics from The University of Denver, she
strives to find balance through her work with Deadline October 15th, 2015
as a modern Druid. The balance of
life and modernity is constantly a new frontier
as time develops, yet she believes that the
You do not have to be a
necessity in our relationship with the Earth and member of the Druidic
all the Elements remains vital throughout the Dawn community to
submit to the newsletter,
ages. but we strongly recommend
becoming a member to gain
full access to the greatest
online source of Druid
knowledge @
the Chosen Chief of the www.DruidicDawn.org
Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD).
When Philip was 11 years old he met Ross
Nichols, the founder of OBOD. As a teenager
he then studied with Nichols and was initiated
into the Order at age 18. In 1988, Philip became
the leader of the Order and as he organized the
Order’s teachings into a distance-learning
course, he led OBOD to become the largest
Druid teaching order in the world.

Aontacht • 4
 is the author of Celtic and
Druid books. She has been a teacher of Herbalism
since 1983 and of Druidism since 1990. Ellen has
presented on Druidism, herbal lore, tree lore,
Paganism and magic at conferences, festivals, and
events in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland,
Canada, and across the United States. Be taken to
her website now, click here!

is an English author and psychiatrist

based in Australia. He is active on several druid Face-
book pages including ADF (Ár nDraíocht Féin), Druid,
How to be a Druid, as well as catching up on all things
druid through

Raised in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming

a writer, he has written every day since he was nine
years old. After reading medicine in London and psy-
chiatry in Manchester, he moved to Australia in 1999.
He is an Associate Professor at Monash University
and has written widely on youth mental health. He
lives with his wife, Katrina, and their children, Sebastian and Violette . They share their garden with a mob of
kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras. Brendan
is contracted to Assent Publishing for his six-book Celtic mythological fantasy series,
. The first adventure, was published in 2014. The sequel, ,
will be published in October 2015. He is also an author ambassador for , a New York based
non-profit organisation committed to providing digital books to children in the developing world. Click here
for his website, and his second website here. To find his blog click here. If you are interested in his book please
click here. Find him on Twitter by clicking here and on FaceBook here!

Aontacht • 5
 MA, is a Canadian religious studies scholar
whose interests include textual analysis within the areas of
contemporary paganism, First Nations and world mythology
(especially fairy tales and childhood literature). She is an avid
gardener who counts on her experiments in the dirt to keep
her grounded.

brings over 30 years as an artist, musician, healer

and educator to a new understanding of Sacred Expression through
Art, Music and Geometry. As a university lecturer and workshop
leader, he facilitate experiential workshops focused on Sacred Art,
Sacred Geometry and Community Building at Retreats and
national and international Festivals and Events. David has 10
original CD recordings to his credit.

He writes for and performs in three bands. David lives and works
and plays music in rural Huron County, Ontario, Canada. Visit
his website by clicking here!

is a student of Druiditic
Arts studying the Philosophies of our Ancient Celtic
Ancestors. His Patron Deity is the sacred Hiroshima Survivor
Kuroganemochi Tree which is in the courtyard of the
Hiroshima's Rai Sanyo Shizeki. He likes studying and writing
about Herbalism, Tarot Card Divinations and Paganistic
Philosophy. He works in Landscape Gardening and is a
devotee of Emma (Bobcat) Restall-Orr. He is a member of
The Druid Network and the Druids of Albion, as well as a
member of Druidic Dawn. Articles on Herbology and copies
of his 3X3 Triads of Wisdoms have been published in .

Aontacht • 6
It is a profound time to be a Druid in the world
and we are blessed to be part of this dramatic
resurgence. As for , we slowly are
developing a new path forward for the
organization, one that is a
A way forward that is based on our
past, but is also on the cutting edge of today's
evolution within Druidry.
Here at , we have developed
new Feature sections and have developed a
variety of new writers, poets and artists. Within
, we have created new banners for each
Feature section and are developing a variety of
new art. Working on restructuring the website
is a slow process, but we are making progress
there also as we test out updating and replacing
our software.
Oddly, the path forward can have many
aspects, but sometimes they are like a higher loop
on the spiral of time bringing the past back, just
at a higher and later level.
Part of the restructured expansion
is to embrace all those within the greater pagan
community. While we ourselves will maintain
our Druid Paths, customs and connections within
the global Druid community, we also are looking
to hear the voices of other Earth Based people,
Aontacht • 7
who feel the calling of nature and who choose to
serve GAIA by her many different names.
This too in some ways is a return to our roots, or
at least to of our roots, for the Druids are
of the trees, but there are many species of trees
that make up our mighty global forest of Druid
practitioners.
Modern Druidry has had a fair number of
powerful birthing impulses over the last hundred
years, where something new and very special
came into the world. The founding of an Order,
the establishment of a community, a new and
powerful bard to express our thoughts and tales,
even an occasional Fire Druid who is woven deep
into the old Elemental world.
such new beginning was certainly the life
and accomplishments of OBOD's Ross Nichols.
Few realize though that Nichols had a long and
deep friendship with Gerald Gardner, who was
concurrently instrumental to the reemergence of
Witchcraft. These two powerful agents of
change in modern spirituality and paganism
certainly spent much time together and shared
many ideas and activities. For instance, after the
Witchcraft Act was repealed in Britain in 1951,
Gardner published his book "Witchcraft Today”
in 1954, and it was edited by Nichols. This book
was widely received and was instrumental in
witchcraft's resurgence and popularization.
While these two friends were instrumental in the
reestablishment of a spirituality based not on fear,
but upon a love of the Earth and her Seasons, they
were also very different people who ultimately
chose two different paths forward.
Perhaps their differences can be best expressed in
the words of Philip Carr-Gomm in his
presentation on
a talk given at a conference on Wicca & Druidry,
Biela, Italy, 2009:
Indeed, many of the underlying concepts of both
modern Druidry and Witchcraft can be traced
back to this friendship - and the resulting
Aontacht • 8
structural similarities is what in many cases
allows our two communities to so easily co-mingle
as friends and readily participate in each other's
ceremonies and events. Each generally for
instance, make use of the magick circle, the
elements and the four directions. Each generally
celebrate the 8-fold seasonal cycle of the
and use a threefold initiation system.
As Philip says in this issue's Interview -
As for me, I have to agree that there is indeed
much that we have in common with witchcraft
and with other pagan approaches and
communities. And I believe that we all can learn
from each other and become stronger as we
express our ideas and perspectives.
I know for certain that those who would be
protectors and friends of all life on this living
planet are sorely outnumbered and outfinanced
and we need to find new and creative ways to
cooperate within a greater sphere. We need to
grow beyond emphasizing our differences and
learn to better support our mutual interests with
our depth of wisdom, our boundless energy and
with our many diverse resources and talents.
If we are to be successful at protecting this planet
and all that live here, we must learn to value
those with different voices and approaches. So
your pagan background, consider this
an invitation to join us in our service and our
appreciation and expression of the
for the
age that are living through

The Inevitability of Ritual
by Lisa Crandall
As I sit down to write this we are in the long
cold days of January and the first rituals of the
new year (according to the Julian calendar) are
fast approaching. Soon the local Druid grove
will hold their all-night vigil and bonfire in
defiance of the frost giants who would keep us
in the dungeon of winter all year if they could.
At about the same time various local pagan
groups will hold Imbolc rituals to celebrate the
returning of the light as the wheel of the year
turns and the days begin to be measurably
longer and brighter.
Rituals are ubiquitous to the human
community, whether performed in public or in
private. They can be positioned along a
continuum that stretches from very public to
extremely private. At the community end of
the scale rituals take the form of annual
parades, of weddings, funerals, and
graduations. At the other end of the
continuum, the very private end, they find
expression as Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder. In both scenarios rituals are
essentially regular repetitive behaviours that
are meant to be self-soothing. Sometimes
rituals are labelled as superstitious (wearing
the lucky shirt, growing a beard during the
playoff season). Oftentimes they are
identified as traditions (turkey for
Thanksgiving and champagne for New Year’s
Eve). They take many forms, and they are
common because they are important.
Aontacht • 9
The characteristics of a ritual include –
performance of special gestures and words,
recitation of fixed texts, performance of
special music, songs or dances, processions,
manipulation of certain objects, wearing
special garments, eating special food, drink,
or even drugs. Just pause for a moment and
consider how many elements of your daily
routine could be identified as ritualistic.
Savoring that first cigarette or that first cup
of coffee as the day begins, the routine of
getting the kids into bed at the end of the
day. Such events brings calm and comfort,
and we feel their absence when the pattern
is disturbed.
Ritual is often linked to religion but clearly
it is much more wide spread. Every segment
of life involves repetitive behaviour. Each
day is broken into routines. Every month,
especially for women, involves ritualized
patterns. The twelve months of the year
include a parade of birthdays, anniversaries,
household maintenance, even garden and
yard work, and the inevitable rotation of
social rituals, all providing the comfort of
repetitive patterns. Even life itself, viewed
from afar evolves in a discernable pattern –
birth, maturity, marriage, procreation, death.
Each life follows the same pattern, more or
less, over the generations past and future.
Ritual behaviour has long been a field of
academic study. The breadth of the field is
so broad that it can even be described as an
interdisciplinary quagmire. Rituals are of
interest to theologians, anthropologists,
psychiatrists, neuroscientists, historians,
sociologists and many others. The ways to
categorize, define and explain the human habit of
ritual are wide ranging.
Interestingly most of the researchers/writers focus
on observing and documenting rituals. There are
relatively few theories about why humans create
ritual and yet there is clear evidence that ritual has
probably existed as long has humanity has lived
in communities. Consider that flowers have been
found left in graves from Cro-Magnon and
Neolithic times [1] (more than 60,000 years in the
past). You need only look at your own life to
recognize the pervasive nature of ritual behaviour
(whether you call it habit or routine). There are
not, however, a lot of theories about why people do
ritual.
Harvey Whitehouse, a British social
anthropologist, currently heads up a special project
in the UK which is examining modes of religiosity.
He is exploring ways to bring neuroscience and
recent discoveries about the brain and religion into
the conversation about ritual behaviour.
Whitehouse views ritual as the glue that holds
social groups together. He divides rituals into two
types – imagistic and doctrinal. According to
Whitehouse doctrinal rituals are experiences such
as prayers at church, mosque or synagogue, or the
daily pledge of allegiance recited in many US
elementary schools. (I have a childhood memory of
having to stand at attention when O Canada was
played at the beginning of movies shown at the
movie theatre on the local military base.) Imagistic
rituals are more dramatic. They often involve
traumatic, stressful moments for the participants,
experiences that can be linked to life events such
as a rite of passage. The most familiar
contemporary versions of this concept come to us
Aontacht • 10
as hazing rituals such as those used to create
cohesiveness in military units or gangs.
Part of Whitehouse’s interpretation of imagistic
ritual can be traced to Victor Turner (1920-1983)
who created the concept of ‘liminal space’ which
refers to that special place created by ritual when
the participants are ‘between states’. This
expression is commonly applied to contemporary
pagan rituals.
Whitehouse is a prolific writer and has published
several books on his theories about ritual. You
can google his name for the complete list of them.
If you are interested in learning more about the
wide range of theories about ritual behaviour
check out the writings of Ronald L. Grimes
co-editor of the Oxford Ritual Studies Series,
Director of Ritual Studies International and
Professor Emeritus of Religion and Culture at
Wilfrid Laurier University. His books are widely
used as textbooks in courses on ritual behaviour
and offer a broad sampling of the theories
associated with this field of study.
enact and then
re-enact behaviours on a daily, weekly, seasonal
basis – routines that have become automatic and
instinctive, rituals that are as natural as
breathing. These small gestures are just the
slightest hint that human need for the larger
rituals we use to celebrate the turning of the
wheel, of seasonal celebrations like Imbolc.
Ritual focuses our minds and our lives and brings
us order, structure and welcome comfort. For me,
that begins with enjoying hot chocolate on a cold
winter’s day.
The creation of the circle IS the opening of ritual
space. It is the ALL SPACE. We could say that
or
. What we are really
speaking of is the limitless POTENTIAL not
only contained within the circle but the
potentiality unleashed by the OPENING of the
circle, for the true power of the circle lies in the act
of its opening.
Perhaps we need to define space in the context
of Magick or energy bending. To many people a
“space” is a delineated or contained area. We
easily become focused on the line that separates
one space from another. That is to say, we
actually objectify the line, in this case a circle- and
forget the content of that space. The content or
THAT WHICH IS CONTAINED is in a
Aontacht • 11
state of organic CREATION. It is a process
and it is in process.
At the same time, we must remember our part
in this creative process. We are the catalysts
that open that space – that play within that
space – that bend the energies writhing within.
We are co-creators with that energy and we can
never forget or step away from our responsibility
as CREATORS.
Speaking in geometric terms, the circle is
composed of two points- one revolving around
the other (which is stationary). The point at the
centre, represents SELF (the BINDU or the
ALLPOINT) and the second point represents
OBSERVER SELF. The act of creating the
thought/form of the circle places us at the centre
of a process of self observation that we control.
We ARE the ALLPOINT, the BINDU, the
place from which all creativity flows and to which
all creativity returns. And we are also the
ALLSPACE.

Ritual Space with ALLPOINT

Once the Circle has been opened, we stand
at the centre of a pulsing, organic process. We
are the process…catalyst, initiator, observer,
co-creator and product of the process, ever-
changing and changer of all.
But what is it that opens the Magick Space?
We could say that it is the first spark of
creativity or even the pre-thought (of the
creative urge) that opens the space for
creativity to occur within. That is the true
opener of the space.
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The manifesting of realities within the Ritual Space.
Colour diagram: ”
This “pre-thought” or urge to create is more
like an acknowledgement of the Void, -an
acknowledgement of the latent
undifferentiated possibility of the All
THAT IS – a female state of being- the
pregnant potential. The creative thought can
be seen as the male energy -the action or
force that when applied to the space of the
pregnant potential, coalesces limitless
realities. So in many ways, the Opening of
Ritual Space in the form of the Circle, is the
acknowledgement or even remembering of
THAT WHICH IS -THE WOMB OF
CREATION.
(Please see the next page for printable sacred geometry
art from David Rankine)

Aontacht • 12
Mandala:

Aontacht • 13
 by Airabella Eris Altair
- For the Northern hemisphere this falls on or around October 31st and May 1st for the Southern
hemisphere. This is the celebration of the dead, a time for remembering and honouring those that have
made the journey into death. During Samhain is when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest. All
Faeirie, human, animal, and the dead are brought into the most direct contact as the veil thins.

During this time Cailleach (the Crone) comes forth and takes the leaves from the trees so that the old
life of the past year will hasten away and in its place new life may thus come. Though this time of year
harkens the ultimate of all mortal beings it is not without the distant cries of new life being born. With
the Winter solstice not far away the wheel will turn.

- For the Northern hemisphere this falls on or around February 1st and August 1st for the Southern
hemisphere. Though Winter’s breath still clings to the grass, if you look the shoots of Spring are rising.
The Sun’s light rays begin to warm the mornings and life starts to stir within the Earth. Celebration of
Imbolc can be on the 1st or 2nd of the month, or also when the gentle Snowdrops cover the ground.

For the Northern hemisphere this falls on or around May 1st and November 1st for the Southern
hemisphere. This festival is alive with the fiery heartbeat of life. As the flower blooms open and the Earth
is warm and rich with fertility the trees reach forth and new leaves cover the canopies of the forest as the
shaking of their bushy heads. It is now that the Lady of the Lake takes the hand of the Horned God and
life is aglow. This festival is often celebrated on the days mentioned, but can also be celebrated with the
flowers of the May tree.

For the Northern hemisphere this falls on or around August 1st and February 1st for the
Southern hemisphere. In the fields John Barleycorn, who laid with the Lady in the woods at Beltane, has
grown old, and now stands bent and bearded with a crooked cane. He looks to the Sun as he has changed
from green to gold, and he knows that his time has come. His life will feed the people, and it is this sacrifice
that we honour at Lughnasadh.
Aontacht • 14
Following Where
Ritual Leads
In this new feature, we will collectively
explore the technologies and experiences
of ritual. We will challenge each other to
discover what is specific to the rituals of
our Druid and Earth-Based spiritualities.
We will discuss what 'works' and what
doesn't, what feeds us and what leaves us
cold, what brings us together and what
makes us stronger as individuals. I (Lucie)
will edit this column and will bring to it
all my experience as a cultural
anthropologist and longtime ritual leader.
You (all of you, I hope) will contribute
texts, rituals, experiences, comments,
Aontacht • 15
discussions, questions, and anything else
you feel is useful and helpful to our
collective quest.
Aontacht's theme for this issue is Rituals
and the Magick Circle.
To start us off, here is a quote from Victor
Turner. Let’s use it to start off the
discussion:
"A ritual is a stereotyped sequence of
activities involving gestures, words and
objects, performed in a sequestered place,
and designed to influence preternatural
entities or forces on behalf of the actors'
goals and interests."
Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne
INVOCATION OF
BRIGHID
Here is a that I use in my
( ). It is published in the
third Druid novel of the Priestess of the
Forest trilogy; "Priestess of the Fire Temple -
A Druid's Tale". When we do ceremony we
first purify ourselves with the smoke of cedar
or juniper and sage. Then we process to our
"Holy Well" which is a stream lined with
rocks. We sing a song to Brighid, make
offerings of silver coins, flowers and fruits,
and then recite this prayer:
(translation from English to Old Irish by
Alexei Kondratiev)
Aontacht • 16
Then we anoint ourselves with the water and
dip our cloots (strips of cloth) into the Well,
touch them on any part of our body which is
ailing, and hang them on a tree over-arching
the well.
Next we sing and make offerings to an Oak
Tree of herbs and flowers. Lastly we process
to the Fire Altar. We give the Fire things that
it likes such as whiskey, butter, oil, ghee, or
dried herbs and sing to it. Finally we invoke
the Goddesses and Gods and do whatever is
seasonally appropriate.
We do a divination to see if the rite was
accepted and to discern if there are any
messages from the Goddesses and Gods. (If
the omens are not good we make more offerings
and do another divination).
Lastly we reverse the process, give thanks to
the Fire, Tree and Well, and process home,
singing. Then we feast.
Tribe of the Oak
Aontacht • 17

Thank you Philip for agreeing to spend
some time with the Druidic Dawn community.
It’s a pleasure – and I can see from your
questions you’ve been doing some background
research!
Your father, Francis Eardley Carr-Gomm
was a highly creative and original writer and
publisher. He inspired you from an early age to
develop your own writing and publishing skills
and at 11, he arranged for you to interview his
literary associate and friend Ross Nichols, who
was the Founder and First Chief of OBOD at
that time. Do you remember your early
impressions of Ross and what it was that led
you to becoming a member of OBOD later on
when you were 18?
I remember a kindly old man (although
of course now I’m the age he would have been
then and I don’t think of myself as an old man!)
who was happy to spend time with two young
lads talking about the druids and Stonehenge
for their magazine. My fellow interviewer went
on to become a journalist for the Times – so even
though we were only 11 or 12 years old, that time
we spent with Ross was seminal and auspicious
for both of us. I remember meeting him in his
study - it was
It felt the most natural obvious
a Winter
afternoon, so
it was dark,
and the image
I have is of the
thing in the world
brown of a
desk and bookcases with dark Persian carpets
on the floor. At that time he was Maenarch
(Chairman) of the Ancient Druid Order. The
Aontacht • 18
following year his Chief Druid, Robert
MacGregor-Reid died, and he decided to form
his own order, OBOD.
What was it that led me to join OBOD? It was
instinctive, intuitive perhaps – I just wanted to
be part of this tradition, this community. It felt
the most natural obvious thing in the world to
do, even though my parents and friends didn’t
think it was! Another reason was following a
vision, not in the psychic sense, but in the sense
of having a ‘flash’ of an image of hundreds of
people celebrating in a Druid ceremony on
Glastonbury Tor – a sense of Druidry and the
Order flowering and flourishing in the future.
: The sixties were a major global time of
change and provided the impetus and social
framework for many spiritual and political
experiments, and new ways of thinking. In
you talk
about how these two friends would open up a
new era for Wiccans and Druids, but that
". Can you comment on the world's
need to meet the old Goddess based
spirituality at a higher ring in the historical
spiral?
There’s a way in which we could say
that the core ideas of all spiritual teachings and
religions are
the same: that
there is Deity,
that we have a
Soul, that there
is Meaning
and Purpose to
life, and so on. This idea that there is a
‘Perennial Wisdom Tradition’ – an inner
current of universal truth that flows within all
traditions regardless of their outer appearance
– is one that I find very appealing, and OBOD
and the ADO, out of which it grew, both favour
this Universalist perspective. Imagine then that
this current or core needs ‘translating’ or
‘clothing’ – with different emphases, different
explanations, different practices – all that match
the context in which people are living at the
time. And so, what I was referring to in the
essay you cite, was my belief that the emphasis,
the approach, that Nichols and Gardner sensed
the world needed at that time, was one which
emphasized the Earth-based beauty of the Old
Ways, but re-expressed for the age they were
living through.
existing: the results of its combination,
whether that lies in creative enterprises or in
bringing children into the world.
Of course nowadays, many Wiccans would - I
imagine - also see things in this way – I am just
stressing the difference between the original
versions of these two streams. Now I think
these streams often converge, which is why I
wrote and why Stephanie and I
worked on . So what
did this key difference mean in practice, back
in Nichols’ and Gardner’s time? While Gerald

Given their overlapping genesis, Druidry

and Wicca have structural similarities that still
allow the two communities to co-mingle as
friends and readily participate in each other's
ceremonies and events. Each generally use a
threefold initiation system, make use of the
circle, the directions and the elements, and
celebrate the 8-fold seasonal cycle of the
. Can you explain some of the
between the two related, but
different Paths?

Wicca has become a very broad church

now, with many different types of Wicca being
practiced. So let me compare just Gardnerian or
‘Traditional British Wicca’ as it’s sometimes
called in the States. The key difference, as I see
it, is that in Gardnerian Wicca polarity is
considered central, with a duo-theistic theology
to support this, and a central rite (the Great
Rite) which celebrates and works with this
polarity. In Druidry, while of course we accept
and work with polarity as one of the dynamics
that exists in life, we also place equal emphasis
on what lies before it and behind it: the Oneness
out of which it emerges, and the purpose for its
was dancing skyclad in a circle or kneeling
before his HPS to be lightly flailed, Ross was
writing poems or sitting in a circle
contemplating eight candles with fellow
Druids in a rite of Imbolc. One was working
with the energies of Masculine and Feminine
being ‘cranked’ up through ritual, while the
other was working with creativity, with Awen.
Another difference is that Wicca is often seen
by its practitioners as a religion, whereas only
one portion of the Druid community sense
Druidry as a religion. Others see it as a

Aontacht • 19
philosophy, a way of life, a magical practice, or a
spirituality.
The last difference I can think of is that Druidry
tends to be more miscible – which means it mixes
well with a whole range of approaches from
Buddhism, to Paganism, to Christianity. Wicca,
as a religion, tends not to get mixed with other
approaches – although everything is changing,
and there are always exceptions: like ‘Eclectic
Christo-Wicca’ which you can find online – and
of course DruidCraft!
During the late 1970's, you spent a lot of
time in Bulgaria, working with
and studying the work of his teacher,
. Can you tell us some about that
time of your life and your efforts teaching
dance in England, and at
communities like in Scotland?
That period of my life seems like another
life now, it was so long ago, but in fact it was a
very powerful time for me. I went to Sofia every
year for fourteen years. I fell in love with the
people and the country and even wanted to live
in Sofia – despite the fact that it was still
communist and ruled by a dictator. With my first
wife Danielle, we smuggled spiritual books into
the country and these were clandestinely
translated and circulated. And each time we left,
we took out manuscripts, films, and photographs
from the ‘White Brotherhood’ as Peter Deunov’s
movement was called. In the end I found the
teachings of Deunov, and of Mikhael Aivanhov,
no longer suited me, but I still have a great
fondness for Deunov’s music and the spiritual
movement-meditation dance he created:
Paneurhythmy
Danielle and I taught it at various locations.
Ardella Nathanael and David Lorimer have both
published books which give the exercises and
Aontacht • 20
music (‘Dance of the Soul’ and ‘The Circle of
Sacred Dance’ respectively) and of course you
can see films of it online, but nothing replaces
actually experiencing something like this in
person. Looking back, I can see how I have
always worked with some form of spiritual
movement discipline. First it was yoga in my
teens and twenties, then Paneurhythmy and a
set of associated physical exercises, then I was
drawn to Qi Gong, which I have been doing
every day for the last ten years or so. Currently
I am training in Sophrology, which works in a
mindful way with the body, consciousness and
breath.
OBOD uses a “student-centered’
learning approach where a usually distant tutor
acts as a rather than a traditional
as the student seeks their own understanding of
the traditional lore and other materials and
questions provided by OBOD. The tutor
appears to be more of a mentor, who provides
guidance, structure and evaluation of progress
and this approach appears aimed in part at
preventing a guru-chela relationship from
occurring. Is this accurate and can you explain
this approach in more detail?
Yes you’ve got it! A big learning for me
was watching the projections, distortions and
in the end damage that occurs when a person is
put on a pedestal. This happened when I was a
follower of Omarram Mikhael Aivanhov. He
was our guru, and all of us followers were in love
with him. It gave you a great ‘high’ when you
were in his presence, but I started to sense that
it was not at all healthy. He was the ‘Top Dog’
and so we were all ‘Under Dogs’ as a result, and
there was a tremendous current of jealousy and
jockeying for the guru’s (Big Daddy’s) attention.
This was all happening unconsciously, because
we were all supposed to be ‘loving’ and
‘spiritual’ and ‘aware’ – and when dynamics like
this go underground, the result is toxic.
Then when I had psychoanalysis, and trained in
psychotherapy, I began to understand the mech-
anisms involved. Finally, when I trained in
Montessori education I understood how this
understanding should be applied in teaching.
The good teacher, and the good therapist, gets
‘out of the way’ to let the child or pupil or client
grow. When I developed the
training programme of
OBOD I was determined
that we would learn from
these approaches.
In the
, you talk
about "
Can
you speak on the need for
less consumption and the
value of
" your life? Everything changes from that
The way I got to that thought – relating
the idea of letting go to ideas of sustainability,
was by trying to find, in my own awareness, the
source of the desire for acquisition and consump-
tion. I find that if I go as deep as I can into my
awareness, if I connect as much as I can with my
sense of ‘Source’ or ‘Soul’, I come to a state of
awareness in which I feel I need nothing, I want
nothing, I expect nothing. It feels very good. It
feels as close as I can get to my True Nature. I
Aontacht • 21
feel completely energized and centered. Al-
though it is linguistically stated in the negative
(nothing), energetically it feels very complete
and full. So my feeling is that if we could all
bask in this state more often, we might feel less
inclined to reach for that yacht or that choco-
late bar. And this – in a nutshell – is why
helping to provide spirituality is valuable – it
can help us satisfy a hunger that is often mis-
placed as material, when it is actually spiritual.
In 1984, your old Druid
teacher, Ross Nichols, who had
died nine years before, appeared
to you and asked you to lead the
Order he had founded 20 years
earlier. Can you give some
insight into his direction to
How was this received by other
OBOD members at the time
and can you speak on the seven
year effort to create the course
and what led up to your being
asked to become Chosen Chief
of OBOD?
You know the way
certain events become pivotal in
moment. I have written about this in the
foreword to Ross Nichols’ ‘The Book of
Druidry’.
Ross had died in 1975 and the Order (which only
ever had a handful of members) had died with
him – or so it seemed. I followed Mikhael
Aivanhov, had a young family, and then when
I left the ‘White Brotherhood’, began having
psychoanalysis, then training in
Psychosynthesis and taking a degree in
psychology. I was also travelling to Bulgaria asked first in the inner world, and now in the
every year too. So I was very busy! Nine years outer world.
went by, and I had so many other preoccupations
I hardly ever thought of Ross or the Order. It took seven years to complete the work of
creating the course in all three grades. I started
One morning I was meditating before a busy day work on the first lessons in a little hut on a
ahead of me, and he was suddenly with me in the snow-covered mountain in Bulgaria, and when
room. I was very surprised because he hadn’t been I finished with the last lesson of the Druid
on my mind at all – for years. He told me a grade, I had a strange feeling it was a significant
number of things, and then he asked me to find date. I looked in my passport for the entry stamp
the manuscript of his last book and have it into Sofia and saw it was the exact same date,
published, and that I should take everything he seven years later.
taught me and put it in the form of a distance
learning course. He finished by saying that he In , you talk
wanted me to re-open and lead the Order, but not about the core Druidic value of
to worry about that. “It will
all become clear,” were his why we need a sense of
parting words. In the days
that followed, a series of purpose and meaning
synchronistic events
occurred which resulted in
me finding his manuscript, meeting a publisher Can
and getting his book published, and the entire you address how this is expressed by many
archive of the Order arriving on my doorstep. It Druids today as opposition to globalization
was so extraordinary that any thought I had and the unsustainable use of the earth’s re-
imagined the encounter vanished, and I sources?
surrendered to my fate. I spent the next four years
preparing the material, and Ross would appear
vividly in my dreams and speak to me. If you love something, you want to
protect and nurture it, and so most Druids to-
Then, in 1988, I was visited by three men – one day are interested not only in their own spiritu-
being an old friend of Ross (Douglas Lyne, whose al progress or development, but in the welfare of
obituary I have written and placed in the essays the planet and its inhabitants. This is such an
section on my website). This was the second obvious idea it is easy for us to miss a signifi-
pivotal moment. They turned up on February 14th cant point here, which is that the spiritual quest
1988 and – without knowing anything about my - while including an emphasis on care and char-
experience four years earlier – asked me to re-open ity, in the Christian world, and compassion
the Order and become its Chief. It was so very and seva (service) in the Dharmic world - has
unexpected (I hadn’t seen Douglas for many always been primarily about gaining salvation
years, and I didn’t know the other two men, so or enlightenment for oneself. Now I believe
this encounter was completely out of the blue). I there has been a shift in the Collective Mind,
agreed to their request, feeling that I had been and that many people are as motivated by the
desire to be of service to the world as they are
Aontacht • 22
by the idea of gaining personal enlightenment.
Now both goals are seen as equally important,
both are primary - that's the shift, or the evolu-
tion, I believe that has taken place over the last
decade or two.
You also state how Druids
Can
you help us define the line between wealth repre-
sented by an abundance of health and happi-
ness, as opposed to the accumulation of
possessions or money?
Scientific studies of happiness have
shown that we achieve this state when three
experiences are present: pleasure, a sense of
meaning, and a feeling of engagement. This
understanding is very helpful: it explains why
however much pleasure we experience (sun, sea,
sand and sex - I won’t say sex, drugs and
rock’n’roll!) It’s never enough. It explains why
we need a sense of purpose and meaning. If we
think life is meaningless, no amount of sea and
sand is going to give us a lasting sense of happi-
ness. And then, even if we have a belief that life
is meaningful, that we are held in a wider con-
text, and we are lying on a beach, if we don’t
have that third ingredient – engagement – then
we feel isolated, lonely, somehow disassociated
or detached from the world.
Conversely, if we are fully engaged with plenty
of warm, close relationships, commitment to our
community and causes, and yet believe deep
down that life is meaningless or we have no
pleasurable experiences, then again we can’t
achieve happiness. It’s like a stool with three
legs – take one away and we fall over. To make
a triad out of this understanding we could say:
“Three ingredients essential for happiness: plea-
Aontacht • 23
sure of body, mind and heart; faith in the ulti-
mate good of Creation; deep relationship –
with Self, with Others, with the Land.”
With this understanding in place, I think it is
easier for each of us to – as you put it – ‘define
the line between wealth represented by an
abundance of health and happiness, as opposed
to the accumulation of possessions or money.’
In your work with Olivia Durdin-
Robertson (Fellowship of Isis), you speak about
her assisting you voyage into the Otherworld
through "guided meditations," where you were
able to non-verbally communicate with entities
some might call elementals, elves and faeries.
To expand our communications with these
entities, you state we must
. and
.. Can you
elaborate on this?
My experience with Olivia was quite
extraordinary. I had sat in guided meditations
with Nuinn (Ross Nichols) and found it hard
to experience much change in consciousness,
but Olivia had developed a method that
triggered incredible change – it enabled me to
enter the Otherworld. Her technique involved
two people working together: one she called the
‘Percipient’, the other the ‘Operator’. Using
ritual, which included the Operator blessing
and ‘charging up’ the Percipient with energy,
the Percipient lay down and was sent into a
trance state, while the Operator sat beside
them, rather like a psychoanalyst with his
patient, notebook or recorder in hand. Olivia
sent me on many of these voyages, and then she
taught me the technique, and later authorized
me to teach it, and one day I hope to do this. I
did in fact work on a doctoral thesis on it at
UCL after finishing my psychology degree there,
but marriage and children meant I never finished
it.
What I found in the experiences I had using this
method, was that everything is in communication
whether we are aware of it or not. By altering our
state of consciousness we are able to sense
messages and signals which in our normal state
of mind wouldn’t reach our conscious awareness.
When I wrote that we do this by ‘using the web
of life’, I meant that – in my experience (and
Olivia’s) - when we enter these deep states in
which we seem to be in the Otherworld, we find
we can communicate with beings and ‘travel’ in
defiance of the usual constraints of time and
space.
I found I could go forward or backwards in time
and go to far away places in moments. I was
having these experiences before the days of
personal computers and the world-wide-web, and
one of the things that struck me when these did
come along, was how ‘travelling’ on the web was
so similar – in
particular the way
(on a Mac at
least) you double-
click on an icon
and that zooms
you into a sometimes
document or
application. That
was the way that
we travelled in the
Otherworld: we
would stare at an
object in the
Otherworld, and
suddenly – zoom – you would travel through it
and you’d find yourself somewhere else or in a
different era.
Aontacht • 24
In , you
state that to "
Can you comment on the power in recognizing,
understanding and living as immortal spiritual
beings? And how this opens up our ability to
better function in and more greatly influence the
apparent world?
I think this awareness is a double-edged
sword – capable of being both helpful and
hindering. If you believe you are an immortal
spiritual being, on the one hand this gives you
tremendous hope, and the mindset to tackle
really difficult and disheartening situations.
However, the downside is it can lead to a denial
of the painfulness of life, of one’s own
weaknesses and failings. I think that most
‘spiritual’ advice needs to embrace its opposite,
so for instance the injunction to be self-
remembering, self-aware, needs also to include
an injunction to do the opposite: to be self-
forgetting, not
always caught
up in a sense
of who you are
as a conscious
being, but
t o t a l l y
immersed in
the Other. So
likewise, the
injunction to
identify
yourself as an
immortal
spiritual being needs tempering with an
awareness that you are also as transient and as
fragile as any other creature on Earth. The
question of whether you really are immortal, and
how can you know that, is not so interesting for
me. I simply think this idea is helpful in a very
down-to-earth pragmatic way. If you hold that
belief, it gives you the motivation and the hope
to keep going.
Are you aware of any Communities of
Druids in the world, or plans for such?
There is, of course, already a ‘druid
community’ which exists all over the world, but
I presume you mean a community of Druids living
together. The only such group I know of, is a
group of seven men and women who are
Christian Druids, and who live at the monastery
of the Celtic Orthodox Church in Brittany. They
are off the grid, and serve a wider community
around them. The atmosphere among them is
wonderful, and it gives me hope that such ways
of living might become more prevalent. Their
Druidry, however, is secondary to their primary
identification with Christianity.
While you have surely read many books
over the years, which books would you
recommend to our readers?
Reading the right book for you at the
right time is so individual. The same book for
someone else, or at a different time in your life,
might have nothing to say, so rather than
recommending books, perhaps I could just
mention those books which have made the most
impression on me? When 11/12 it was ‘The Life of
the Buddha’ by L. Adams Beck and Tolkien’s
‘The Lord of the Rings.’ Then, in my teens and
twenties it was ‘Siddhartha’ by Hermann Hesse
and ‘The Mysteries of Britain’ by Lewis Spence;
in my thirties and onwards: ‘The Denial of
Death’ by Ernest Becker, ‘Dibs: In Search of Self’
Aontacht • 25
by Virginia Axline, and ‘The White Hotel’ by
D.M. Thomas.
Are there are new projects you have
coming up that you want to tell our readers
about?
: I have just finished a book, a novel based
on the biographies of a modern-day
Nostradamus who was known as the Druidess
of Brocéliande, and a Catholic priest who lived
near to her, who started building a grail church
during the Second World War. I hope it will be
published later this year. The current title for it
is ‘The Church of the Holy Grail’. And I am
now starting work on the book for a new tarot
deck called ‘The Opera Tarot’, with beautiful
artwork created by the artist Linda Sutton.
: How can we best keep in touch with what
you are doing and your new activities and
courses?
I try to keep my website and Facebook
pages up to date. You can visit my website by
clicking here and my Facebook site here!
: Thank you Philip for the precious time you
have given us. We greatly appreciate you
sharing your perspective and life lessons with
us.
A pleasure Renard!
Simply said, a ritual is something that town’s river banks, where we both greet
is an action that is repeatable, and meet every tree.
meaningful, organized, internal (ex
prayer) and/or external (ex circle dance). There, my dog brings me to his world.
We walk in beauty. Each step is a
How many daily, domestic rituals am I pilgrimage, a leitmotiv, an incantation,
involved with, from brushing teeth to a meditation, a prayer for all that is in
“walking the dog”? need and for all that has not been
thanked.
Walking with my rescued German Spitz,
my white dog, my Sun&Lune, every day, These walks, sacred communion,
every night for miles and miles is a shared celebration, are powerful
cherished ritual. day/night rituals with my beloved
canine Druid, my precious Sun&Lune,
Because of a dog-leash by-law I must my rescue dog who indubitably and
bring my dog companion to my outer magickally rescued me one walk at a
world, my neibourhood, my “secret” time.
urban wild patches tucked away, hither
and won, in the naturalized parks at the Lisa Du Fresne

Aontacht • 26
I am more than just your
perspective of me!
My energy and spirit direct me,
I am not an object in your agenda,
I have likes, people whom I wish to
see, I like being with me,
I am masterful at being me,
though I do not presume perfect
control of me,
I am spontaneous with fluid
motion, like the wind,
which may not always flow, like
the silent sea,
Nevertheless energetic energy
guides me,
I am instant gratification and long
desperate patience’s,
Conflicting interest but never
values,
Aontacht • 27
Sacrificing materials for un-
substance,
Befriending people not monetary
value,
Sporadic inspiration, constant
evaluation,
Sudden stops and cacophonous
sounds,
Simple melodies and desirous
sensations,
Verbose verbalizations, direct
implications,
Stop and listen to my happiness,
Appreciate the honesty,
The deep seeded unique
opportunity to know someone, to
know me,
And feel serene.
Spring is just around the corner.
Yet this Winter that is upon us is not done.
The cold wind blasted the senses and seared the
flesh.
We are humbled and made fearful by its
onslaught.
We move through the frigidness in wrapped
silence.
Our stomachs ache and our blood is thinned
despite the cold.
It goes on and on in a blur, our brain in a strange fog. And the ice storms become the more gentle rains
The pain and fear causes systems to retreat before
this winter's hard cutting edge.
Yet....this too will pass.
Though it may not happen all in a day.
Spring comes slowly most years.
The Sun hits its mid point, and then builds on that
Equinox tide.
The wheel turns, the year renews, a new life begins
at a higher turning of the spiral.
But, it is not always easy to embrace a returning
Spring.
We survive long winter's embrace by closing up
and covering up.
So that winter's tendrils cannot reach us, cannot
claim more of what it would devour.
Spring comes slowly and in spurts and it is not easy
to give up…
Aontacht • 28
What limited protection we have achieved in our
inward turning of body and mind.
But the light grows and will not be held back.
And the warmth will again be offered and
spread throughout your body and mind.
Your spirit still shines beneath those muffled
limbs and thoughts.
And you still have much to do.
You that new life offered and you will see that
as the fog lifts...
that nurture and bring forth new destinies.
Another phase of life awaits you in the endless
cycle of time.
It will not be as it was before as much changed.
But much has also and on that strong
foundation you will build again.
So ready the mind and know your roots already
are awakening.
While others cannot see, and the ground still
covers their activity...
Roots begin to grow tired of their long sleep and
wish to do as their long genetic history requires.
They stretch, though gently, for there is much that
holds them in place.
But Spring eternal and irresistible and you are
called to awaken and return to the World.
So mote it be, for Lucie
Renard the Fire Druid

Set in the idyllic village of Witches Brew
(Brew for short) the author focuses a series
of short stories on the trials and tribulations
of a handful of preteen girls. The village is
unique in that it is devoted to the Pagan
lifestyle of gentle kindnesses and inter-
generational interaction. The community
celebrations are linked to the Pagan calendar
and rituals are held at the heart of the village
atop a green mound complete with a circle
of standing stones. Each tale is associated
with a Pagan event and this moves the book
through the cycle of the year.
Each story stands alone though the girls are
all friends and their friendships bind the
stories together. Every tale highlights one
Aontacht • 29
girl and her unique challenge as a kind of
morality tale that offers a life lesson or
virtue gracefully mastered. The struggles
highlighted include learning to take on
more responsibility around the house,
paying attention to what’s going on around
you, exploring the experience of bullying
and being bullied, encountering poverty for
the first time, coping with being a child
with gay parents as well as other struggles,
all of them emotional and personal
dilemmas that are both contemporary and
timeless.
The stories are short and written in a very
easy to ready style. The life lessons will
resonate with grownups and young adults.
The girls, mostly aged 11 and 12, are
poignantly real and leave the reader
wishing them well as they mature and move
forward with their lives. I find myself
wanting to check in on them in a couple years.
A flaw in this collection, in the tale about
bullying there is no reference to the cyber side
of this situation. Social media is such an
important element of young people’s reality
in the 21st century that this missing element
stands out and makes this story seem out of
sync with the rest of the stories which have a
sense of being real because they are the
timeless issues with which all young people
must deal.
The text itself suffers from some minor typos
and the occasional grammatical error.
All the rituals are public events. They take
place at “the village mound” in the center of
the village, where there is usually a great
fire. The villagers gather outside the stone
circle and the elders gather in the center.
The local band provides the music, which
includes lively drumming.
The nicest part of these events is that they
are inter-generational. The youngest mem-
bers of the community are always part of
the activity. This is a natural way to pass
along knowledge and inculcate them with
the beliefs of their community. It is also a
way of training young people who will even-
tually become elders themselves.

The promotional material for the book links

a virtue to each chapter and I wish that
information was also shown in the Table of
Contents. The absence is noticeable because
each story includes a brief preface explaining
the meaning of words and symbolic references
used in the story. A nice touch which seems
intended to offer a boost of confidence to
young readers and perhaps provides
additional information to non-Pagan readers.

It is a charming, pleasant read and may offer

a sense of fellowship to young readers at the
same time as a trip down memory lane for
adult readers. I can imagine it being a
stepping stone to dialogue between parents Author Edain Duguay
and their tweens.
In 2008 Edain Duguay relocated from
Lincolnshire in the UK to Ontario with her
The Rituals Canadian husband.
There is a ritual at the heart of each of the The author of three different ongoing series
tales; the book involves a full circle of the – ,
year (eight rituals + one blue moon).
Aontacht • 30
 and
she has also edited a book of pagan poetry
and a campfire cookbook suited for pagan
festivals. She specializes in the historical,
supernatural and paranormal genres.
and
are written with an eye to the
young adult reader but she describes her
other works as “all ages.”
Edain has a website devoted to her various
writing projects and a YouTube channel
that features videos promoting her books.
The videos are fun and as provocative and
creative a way to promote her books as
anything I’ve ever encountered.
, Her books are published by
a small Canadian Publishing
house that specializes in Pagan and
Heathen books. It started in the UK in
2008 and in 2012 relocated to Canada.
Unique to is their ‘Green
Leaves Program’. As part of this program
when any of several of their titles are
purchased a portion of the sales are
dedicated to planting trees in deforested
parts of the world.
I created this bio from Amazon.ca's author
page, the WyrdWood website, her FB page,
the YouTube page and my conversation
with her through FB messages.

Aontacht • 31
by Ellen Evert Hopman

From her forthcoming herbal then fry in butter. A classic way to cook
(Not yet Dandelion greens is to sauté them with
published but hopefully will be out later this year). onion and bacon.

(Taraxacum officinale) The . Add the petals (but the

are at their best in the early spring when green sepals which are too bitter) to salads
they first appear. for a calcium boost.

Soak them in cold water with a few
tablespoons of sea salt or vinegar added to
remove parasites, for about 20 minutes.
Then rinse the leaves and eat them mixed
into a salad, or cook them like spinach
with a little butter, sea salt and lemon
juice. You can also dust them with flour,
salt and pepper and
is used for acne and
eczema and for liver issues.
To make the tea: simmer 2 tsp. root per ½
cup water (be sure to soak the roots in
water with vinegar or salt added
beforehand to remove parasites) for about
15 minutes. Take up to 1 cup a day in ¼ cup
dose

Aontacht • 32
Dandelion Cordial
Dandelion Wine
No fancy equipment needed here. Makes ½ gallon.
I worked with a couple of those big glass bottles that
salad dressing and pickles come in at school
cafeterias.
Gather these fresh the morning you start from a field
where you know there have been no pesticides used
and well away from the side of the road to avoid any
salt or traffic pollutants. Give preference to the
recently opened heads. Let them sit on a shaded
picnic table or other sheltered outdoor spot for a
couple of hours to allow any tiny inhabitants to
relocate. Rinse them if you are so inclined, being
careful not to crush or damage the flower heads.
Remove as much of the green bits at the base of each
flower head as you can. The more green you leave the
more bitter will be the final flavour. Use scissors or
be prepared for your finger tips and nails to get
stained. No harm done if you just clip the whole
bottom off and end up with a bowl of loose yellow
petals.
Use spring water or well water or filtered water.
Pour boiling water over the flower petals and cover
loosely with a cloth so the mixture can breathe.
Let the dandelion flowers steep for
Strain the flowers out, use cheese cloth or a jelly bag
so you can squeeze hard. You want to extract as much
of the liquid as possible. Compose the used flower
heads.
Wash the citrus fruit and cut it into the thinnest slices
you can manage. Add to the dandelion liquid. You
can use organic fruit or just wash the grocery store
Aontacht • 33
variety really well to remove whatever you can from
the outside.
Measure and add the sugar. I use ordinary white
kitchen sugar.
Decant into large glass containers with wide mouths.
Place a slice or partial slice on the top of the liquid so
it floats. That’s why you need day old bread, it is
stiffer and easier to float. At a small pinch of bread
yeast on top of the bread in each container.
Cover the containers with a clean cloth secured with
string or elastic. This allows the mixture to breath
but keeps other possible contaminants out.
Stir the brew several times each day to help the sugar
dissolve. After about a week it should be starting to
bubble and ferment. After about two weeks the
bubbling should have slowed down or stopped and
now it’s time to bottle it. Strain and bottle using
sterile equipment and bottles. (To be honest at this
point, I just moved it into clean containers with a
screw on lid, rather than moving it into recycled wine
bottles).
Set it in cool dark place for at least 6 months and then
you are ready to pour it out and share your liquid
sunshine. I did not much care for the flavour after 6
months but friends who were familiar with it said it
tasted fine. I found it much more palatable after
but that’s just a matter of personal preference
I think.
Fresh Cornbread & Cranberries
“Imbolc is underway at my house. (I always
celebrate the night of the 1st into the dawn of the
2nd of February). I burned an old magical object
this afternoon, using a fire of Oak and Yew, and
made a new Bride Doll out of heirloom wheat. I
have a candle to light Brighid's way to my door,
a bowl of oats for Her donkey and a basket of
clooties (rags) for healing work all year, waiting
by the entrance way. This evening I am baking
and a chicken.
The sun is out today and it is relatively warm
(ish). Tonight the snows return and then below 0
temps next week. Brighid is here now, I can feel
Her in the warm (ish) sunlight!”
Aontacht • 34
Pre heat the oven to
Mix everything together.
Prepare a cast iron skillet or glass baking dish by
spraying it with shortening (or smear with butter)
and then dusting lightly with flour (tap off any
extra flour).
Pour in the batter and cook for about
or until the top is golden brown and a knife
inserted into the middle of the bread comes out
clean.
Serve warm with fresh butter slathered on top.
Makes a lovely toast, too.
This issue’s theme is on time they began to feel and understand this
and while this is a very broad
subject, when you combine Ritual, Circle and . That
Druids, you are often directed to this was an important part in people moving
. I have often wondered about this. beyond just the realm of their five senses, to
What is it that originally linked historical a sense of reality that included the abstract.
Druids with large standing stones?
Over time some of the early mystics learned
There are probably possible explanations an appreciation of the collective power that
and I would not be foolish enough to state I was being harnessed and learned to store the
knew the definitive reasons why. But there is energy created in trees, especially the oaks.
some fascinating thoughts on this very subject And then they learned to store the energy in
presented by Ross Nichols in his seminal stones. Over time, they realized that stones
work, . As Ross was the were more permanent and steadfast and they
Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates began to stones to the places where the
and Druids (OBOD) at the time and our dancing was going on.
Feature Interview this issue of Aontacht is
with Philip Carr-Gomm, the Chosen This was quite the accomplishment as it
Chief of OBOD, it seems fitting to present created a reciprocating charged loop that not
some of thoughts on the subject. only received and stored energy, but this
energy was also released to the dancers and
Early in the book, Ross talks about the connected them to all the past times when the
evolution of primitive people and their thinking stones were used and all the earlier dancers.
processes. How people began to move their In this way, the stones became a charging
body and dance. And how dancing people with station that charged the dancers and linked
elevated emotion energy and powerful them to those who came before, but the stones
repeating thought forms naturally create a cone were also further charged by each new session
of energy and power. He talks about how over of dancers.
Aontacht • 35
 Renard, Dancing to the Stones at Lough Gur

So the stone circles became a source of power charged stones and come to realize the power
and a bridge with both the ancestors and the that was stored within them?
future celebrants.
As a final note on the Druids use of standing
Over time, the evolving mystics saw that stones, Ross talks about when Christianity
certain shaped hills and mounds also was in ascendency and the time of the Druid
represented the upward vortex and they too as a dominant social force was receding. He
were used to store energy, though storing in presents this time as the
earth is different than storing in stone. .

Did those original mystics evolve into the It was a time when magick stopped being
Druids? Or did the Druids the upright part of everyday life and the impact was not
only to humans, but also all other forms of
life. At one point Ross waxes poetically and
writes -

Aontacht • 36
 Some even say that these fairy kings and
queens are the old pagan gods and goddesses
still alive, but .

And with the spreading of the cross came the

steel blades of their priests and knights and
And so the spirits of the natural world, the all trembled and sought refuge until times
elementals that were our friends, moved into changed and they were wanted and needed
the mounds and hillsides, where they were once again.
accessible but hidden, retreating to a different Today the standing stones and sacred sites
dimension of time and space than our own, to of yore retain their power and the direct
live under mounds, cairns and fairy raths. connection to our Druid ancestors, awaiting
The stone circle of Lough Gur in Ireland's those who will one day return and seek them
Limerick County is one example of a very out and continue the Sacred Dance.
special magical place where legend has it you
can meet many of the sidhe kings and queens Renard, the Guardian of Fire
of Ireland.

Aontacht • 37
 Three Herbs Used In Rituals
Herbs are most commonly used in Rituals
being Burnt as Incense to do Space
Purification Rituals in order to create the
Sacred Circle and the Smoke thereof
represents the Sacred Element of Air. First,
the Incense is usually used to Purify the
Circle by going about the Circle in a Counter
Clockwise Direction making an Incantation
of Purification and once that is done up to
Three Times, then the Incense is waved
about the Sacred Circle in a Clockwise
Direction in order to Consecrate the Sacred
Circle. Once this is done, then the Sacred
Circle is Created, Cleansed and
Consecrated for the Magical Ritual or
Ceremony that is about to be done.
There are a Herbs that can be used for
such Magical Workings and I have selected
Three Herbs that are used in such ways that
have Medicinal Health Benefits as well as
Aontacht • 38
Ritualistic Magical Benefits as well. They
are Sage, Frankincense and Cedar.
(Salvia Officinalis):
Common or Garden
Sage is an Aromatic,
Perennial Herb of the
Family Lamiaceae and
is Native to the
Mediterranean Region.
Sage is Cultivated for
its Leaves, which are
often used either Fresh or Dried as a
Culinary Herb to Flavour Poultry and Pork.
Sage Bushes commonly grow to about 60 cm
(2 feet) and are characterised by their
Wrinkled, Downy, Grey-Green/Whitish-
Green Oval Leaves. Sage has also been
used as a source for Essential-Oils and for
its Stimulating Properties. In medieval
Europe, Sage was thought to strengthen the
Memory, Quickens the Senses, and
Promotes Wisdom. Apart from Salvia
Officinalis , there are many other species of
Salvia that are also commonly referred to as
Sage. It is a Stimulant, an Astringent, a
Tonic and a arminative. Has been used to
Treat Breathing Disorders, but is now
mostly employed as a Condiment.
Fever and Liver Complaints, Kidney
Troubles, Haemorrhage from the Lungs, for
Colds in the Head as well as Sore Throat,
Quinsy and Measles, for Rheumatismains,
Lethargy and Palsy. It will check Excessive
Perspiration, and is useful as an
Emmenagogue.

It is Good for the Liver and helps the Body's Body and Mouthwashes made with Sage,
Bone Marrow to create Strong New Blood Rosemary, Honey-Suckles, and Plantain,
Cells. Sage is a Good Diuretic and Helps Boiled in Wine or Water, with some Honey
with Women's Periods. Sage helps to keep or Allum. Helps Cure Sore Throats,
the Hair from turning Grey during Old Mouth Cankers, and for the Groin Area of
Age. Its Bruised Leaves Good for applying both Men or Women. It is a Cure of
to Bleeding Wounds and Cleansing Infections of the Mouth and as a Gargle in
Infected Soars. Inflamed Sore Throat, being excellent for
Relaxed Throat and Tonsils, and also for
Pills made from a Toasted Seeds of Sage, Ulcerated Throat. The Fresh Leaves,
Plant called Spikenard, Ginger, some Long rubbed on the Teeth, will Cleanse them
Pepper. All this is made into a Powder and Strengthen the Gums. Sage is a Common
then mixed with Sage Juice making the Pills Ingredient in Tooth-Pastes and Tooth-
stick together. Taking One Pill in the Powders. Fresh Leaves will also provide
Morning and One at Night with Water is Relief from Itching and Swelling
good for All Pains. They are good for accompanying Insect Bites, a few Fresh
Headaches from Head Colds and good for Sage Leaves can be Plucked, and then
Rheumatism. It also helps with the Falling Crushed or even Chewed.
Sickness. The Pills are also good for
Lethargy and for Diseases of the Chest or Sage Leaves, soaked in Wine, is good for
Breast. Palsy when applied to a Paralyzed Limb
that has Lost Its Feeling. It helps for
An Infusion of Sage is Cooling in Fevers, Treating Snake Bites and its Juice is Good
and also a Cleanser and Purifier of the for getting rid of Worms that are in the Ears.
Blood. The Infusion of Sage Stimulant
Tonic that helps the Stomach and Nervous Juice of Sage, taken with Warm Water
System and Weakness of Digestion. It was
for this reason that the Chinese valued it,
giving it the preference to their own Tea. It
is considered a useful Medicine in Typhoid

Aontacht • 39
helps with Sore Hoarse Throats. Also, it Along with wisdom, sage is often used to
was taken with Vinegar as a Remedy for the promote health, abundance and protection.
Plague. It is also Good for Painfull Stitches
in the Side of the Trunk. The Dried Leaves
have been Smoked in Pipes as a remedy for
Asthma.

Of Sage, Nicholas Culpeper wrote:

Traditional Uses:

1) Steep Sage in boiling water. Sprinkle

throughout house to increase wisdom of
occupants. Add to bath for clarity and
wisdom as well.

2) Crush the leaves between your fingers

while visualizing money coming into your
life.

3) Sew into white pouch and wear to dispell

negativity and promote health.

4) Sew into a purple pouch and carry to

obtain wisdom about a particular matter.

Also, Sage is commonly used in Ritual

Smudge Sticks.

(Boswellia Thurifera):

Obtained from the

Leafy Forest Tree
Boswellia Thurifera,
Sage has long been considered an herb of with Deciduous
wisdom (hence the phrase, "sage advice"). Leaves alternating

Aontacht • 40
towards the tops of Branches. To obtain
the Frankincense, a Deep, Longitudinal
Incision is made in the Trunk of the Tree and
below it a Narrow Strip of Bark 5 Inches in
Length is Peeled Off. When the Milk-Like
Juice which Exudes has Hardened by
Exposure to the Air, the Incision is
Deepened. In about Three Months the Resin
has attained the Required Degree of
Consistency, Hardening into Yellowish
'Tears'. The Large Clear Globules are
Scraped Off into Baskets and the Inferior
Quality that has run down the Tree is
collected separately. The Season for
gathering lasts from May till the Middle of
September, when the First Shower of Rain
puts a close to the gathering for that Year.
Frankincense is Stimulant, but seldom used
now Internally, though formerly was in
Great Repute. Pliny mentions it as an
Antidote to Hemlock. The Islamic Botanist
Avicenna Recommended it for Tumours,
Ulcers, Vomiting, Dysentery and Fevers.
In China it is used to Treat Leprosy. Its
Principal Use now is in the Manufacture of
Incense and Pastilles. It is also used in
Plasters and might be substituted
for Balsam of Peru or Balsam or
Tolu. The Inhalation of Steam
Laden with the Volatile Portion
of the Drug is said to Relieve
Bronchitis and Laryngitis.
Frankincense Resin is Edible and
often used in Various Traditional
Medicines in Asia for Digestion
and Healthy Skin. Edible
Frankincense must be pure for
Aontacht • 41
Internal Consumption, meaning it should be
Translucent, with No Black or Brown
Impurities.
The Essential Oil of Frankincense is
produced by Steam Distillation of the Tree
Resin. It has a Good Balsamic and Sweet
Fragrance, while the East Indian
Frankincense Oil has a Very Fresh Smell
and is used in Perfumery as well as
Cosmetics. The Kohl, or Black Powder with
which the Egyptian Women used to Paint
their Eyelids, is made of Charred
Frankincense, or other Odoriferous Resin
mixed with Frankincense.
The word 'Incense', meaning originally the
Aroma given off with the Smoke of any
Odoriferous Substance when Burnt, has
been Gradually Restricted almost
exclusively to Frankincense, which has
always been obtainable in Europe in Greater
Quantity than any other of the Aromatics
Imported from the East. Burning
Frankincense helps to Repel Mosquitos and
thus helps Protect People and Animals from
Mosquito-Borne Illnesses. Also, Incense
using Frankincense has also been used for
many Ceremonial, Religious and
Paganistic Rituals in all sorts
of Pantheons.
(Juniperus Virginiana):
Pencil Cedar Leaves were much
used Medicinally by the North
American Aboriginal, and also in
Folk Medicine by the White
Settlers, especially to Treat Chest
Complaints and Skin Problems. An
Injection of the Tincture into Venereal Warts Contraindications as its Essential Oil from
is said to cause them to Disappear. For the Wood causes Abortions, and in some
Violent Pains the Canadians have used the cases it has caused Vomiting, Convulsions,
Cones, Powdered, with four-fifths of Coma and Death.

Polypody, made into a Poultice and applied Not only are Herbs such as these used in
with a Cloth over the Skin. Rituals but also in Aromatherapy which is
used in Alternative Medicine and is used for
The Leaves and Small Branches are an a variety of Applications including Pain
Anthelmintic, Diuretic, Rubefacient and a Relief, Mood Enhancement and Increased
Stimulant. A Decoction has been used in the Cognitive Function and also helps to enhance
Treatment of Coughs and Colds, General Psychological and Physical Well-Being.
Weakness and as a Medicine for
Convalescents. The Leaves are used as an Of course, there are some Safety Issues
Incense and are also either Burnt or Crushed involved when Burning Incense as part of a
and then Scattered around as an Insect Ritual or Aromatherapy as it should be done
Repellent. in a Well Ventilated Area and care must be
taken to make sure that the Incense does not
The Coniferous Berries Fresh Young Twigs get left Unattended as it can Burn Down and
are used as an Anthelmintic, Diaphoretic, catch Furniture, Mattresses and even Wood
Diuretic, an Emmenagogue and a Mildly Frame Buildings on Fire.
Antiseptic. They have been Chewed as a
Treatment for Mouth Cold Sores or made But when used Safely, Herbs can be a
into a Tea to Treat Common Colds, Very Beneficial Part of any Ritual. So Enjoy
Rheumatism, and expelling Worms. Your Incense Burning during your Rituals,
which promotes doing what
An Infusion has been used both Internally .
and as a Steam Bath in the Treatment of
Rheumatism. David C. (TheDruid-3X3) Corrin

The Essential Oil of the Berries is used in (Editor's Note: Use of extensive capitalization throughout
Aromatherapy. The Essential Oil is this article has been included at the writer's request)

composed of Cedar Camphor or Cedrol, it is

used in Soaps, as an Insecticide and Moth We LOVE bringing all these
Repellent, as well as Deodorants, Polishes, original articles and features, but we sure
and for Perfumery. could use your help to keep it going!
Please click the button below to Donate
The Bark has also been cut into Strips and through PayPal and help Druidic Dawn
used to make Mats. grow!
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The Cedar Tree does have some

Aontacht • 42
Reflection On Ceremonies
handed down by ancestors, enshrined and
encoded in my Celtic DNA. Druidism.
From being a child, the idea that animals,
nature and the universe were not central to It was the longest, shortest journey home.
what humans lauded appeared Here was something that actively
fundamentally encouraged the
wrong. I was raised worship of animals
in the Catholic and nature, of rocks
Church, a typical and water, of all the
Irish orthodox physical elements of
upbringing, where the universe as well
religion is more as the elemental
cultural tapestry forces of the
than fanatical Otherworld. I found
worship. I did not it fascinating that it
separate from the progressed the
Church on bad concept of a
terms–after all the pantheon of gods,
local version had, many with their own
albeit begrudgingly, ungovernable
incorporated many impulses and
of the ancient mores failings, gods that
of this decidedly let humans get on
superstitious local with it rather than
tribe of Celts–it was an infallible, all-
on strict theological seeing, all-powerful
grounds; it simply god who watches
withered beneath the idly as the misery of
searing scrutiny of humanity unfolds.
my unforgiving And one of the
adolescent mind. As did all the other gorgeous things about Druidism is its
mainstream religions. Buddhism definitely inclusiveness, how it allows the
piqued my interest, but I discovered incorporation of one’s own gnostic beliefs;
something much closer, within in fact, such shared individuality is a sacred tenet,
paradoxically uniting rather than dividing.
Aontacht • 43
Which brings me to rituals. One does not
shared rituals–what they seek to celebrate and
contact is forever within touching distance of
individuals–but nothing quite brings us
together. Druidic rituals are a hallowed,
joyous, experience, a respectful uniting of a
tribe of animals blessed in this life with
cerebral abilities denied their brothers and
sisters; abilities that not only allow us to
celebrate the many glorious facets of nature,
but to commune with the Otherworld through
the collective efforts of our spiritual and
physical energy. Now that’s magic!
An excerpt from
of a Druidic ceremony.
When they returned there was a small
throng around the copper dish. King Morpheus
and Queen Ismania were there as were Sir
Petipace and Niniana, Quilliog and Conomor,
Crimthann and Blodwyn, Iolo and Seraphe, and
Conall, all in white robes and garlands. As
Sebastian and Roisin entered the clearing,
Tugdal appeared from behind a tree. He was
dressed in speckled blue robes and held a yew
staff with a twisted serpent’s head.
Welcome, Sebastian,’ he said, his cloudy
eyes directed skywards, ‘this ceremony is a
welcoming ritual to thank the gods for your
presence. They will require a sacrifice,’ he added,
drawing a sickle from his robes. ‘Gold for gold,’
he chanted, reaching for Sebastian’s head.
Aontacht • 44
Sebastian stood his ground as Tugdal
snipped a lock of hair. The druid crossed to the
flaming copper dish and turned to face
everyone, arms aloft.
‘We connect with the five elements in
turn,’ he said, ‘earth, water, air, fire and the
Otherworld. To do so we must imbue ourselves
with the spirit of the trees.’
Iolo stepped forward. He held up two
metal balls by the string that connected them
and shook. The agreeable ring prompted
everyone to form a circle.
‘Plant your feet firmly, close your eyes,
empty your mind of all reflection and try to
contact your inner being,’ said Tugdal.
‘Concentrate the power of your spirit into your
chest then channel it down to the tips of your
toes. Use the power to grow roots like a tree.
Feel them spread into the ground, down and
around, connecting you to all in Hibercadia.’
Sebastian experienced a vague,
amorphous swirl in his chest, which he failed to
push down his legs, and try as he might to
sprout roots, he could feel no further than his
sandals. As Tugdal went on, he was equally
unable to turn his arms into branches or to feel
the ‘pale glow of the earth and the generous
distant stars’. He had just opened his eyes to
squint at the others when they were ordered to
join hands.
‘Feel your branches and roots intertwine,
nourished by the same elements,’ Tugdal cried,
as Roisin took Sebastian’s left hand and a meaty
hand grabbed his right. ‘Become one being and
let the power surge amongst you. Allow it to run
freely before steadying it and bringing it before
you, ready to make contact with the Otherworld.’
 Sebastian felt his hands tugged and ‘Does this sacrifice please the gods?’
peeked again. Everyone else was swaying, some cried the druid, his eyelids at half-mast.
more energetically than others. He did well to
convert his snort to a cough. To Sebastian’s surprise, the fire in the
copper dish sprang higher, a solitary flame
‘Dormath,’ said Tugdal when the swaying leaping briefly to the chalice. Tugdal then
had ceased, ‘we thank you for opening the moved from one person to another, holding the
gateway to the Otherworld. Tavra, you who chalice to their lips. They dipped their heads
made all things possible, you who have brought and sipped politely, an action Sebastian
Sebastian to us, your daughters and your sons mimicked when it was his turn. No sooner had
venerate you. Welcome him to Hibercadia and he swallowed than a wave of energy rushed
keep him safe. We also ask that you guide through him, throwing him backwards several
Porrig to the longhome, for he has learnt the steps. The scene dissolved and he found himself
lessons of this life and is one step closer to in a (…)
becoming your eternal son. Kawr, we are
humbled by your strength and seek your Synopsis for Beyond The Gloaming:It is
blessing in overcoming evil. Damona, fair and Easter, 1973 and twelve year old Sebastian
bountiful goddess of plenty, we raise our hopes Duffy has some serious self-esteem issues.
to you in search of prosperity, that Sebastian He is beaten by his parents, bullied at school,
may never want for anything on his perilous steals from his friends and still mourning the
undertaking. Arianrhod, mother of the Son of death of his brother. To cap it all, strange
the Wave and the Son of the Sea, we ask that things have begun happening around him and
your love guide this child and deliver him from he is finding it hard to distinguish dreams
danger. You may open your eyes now,’ he from reality. After a nightmarish assault, he
added, raising his staff and striking it thrice wakes in the Gloaming, a shadow world
against the ground. inhabited by ghosts. There to greet him is
Porrig, a creature from Hibercadia, a magical
The others began chanting in a strange realm crafted from Celtic dreams (…)
tongue Sebastian took to be ancient Hiberni. Sebastian discovers that he alone can save
They kept repeating the same phrase and after Hibercadia by finding an enchanted spear.
an encouraging squeeze from Roisin he began Teaming up with the Hibernauts–a mercurial
to chant what he thought they were saying. sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn
Tugdal picked up a silver chalice filled with warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a
water. He held the lock over it, muttered lovelorn poet–he embarks on a fantastical
something and dropped it in. The others fell quest, but can he succeed when he is yet to
silent and moved forward several paces, find his magical potential or even his courage,
hauling Sebastian with them.
and half the realm is bent on his destruction?

Aontacht • 45
 The Wondrous Wanderings
of Three Very Small and
Delightful Druidic Bears
With the mission of discovering their lost sister,
Avalon, well under way, the studious Ginger and the
curious Marmalade find themselves scaling the ledge
of a treacherous mountain as the morning sun breaches
the skyline.

Even in light of such dangers, the Druidic bears pause

to take in the dawn. Marmalade turns to Ginger as
he reaches into his pouch of sweet delights that dangle
from his robes. “What if we never find her?” He frets.

As Ginger looks around, she feels a calm envelope her.

A calm that seems to come from the very rocks of the
mountain they so precariously cling to. Growing
silent, she allows the energy to inspire her senses.
Then she realizes something she did not before. The
energy she was feeling was the rocks, or at least was
emanating from the rocks. Energy as old as the
ancestors. Energy whispering to her. Looking up to
meet Marmalade’s frazzled furry frown, Ginger says
“Somehow, I think we are closer to finding Avalon
than we know.” Just then a wind blew and for a
moment Ginger thought she heard her sister’s
mischievous giggle aloft on the wind.

Meanwhile on a ledge not too far away…

Avalon crawls and wiggles herself towards the cliff’s
ledge to spy on her traveling siblings below. “Those
silly bears,” she thinks to herself, “I cannot stay just
to study the muses of music or the healing power of
herb. I need to travel! I must find the sacred sites of
Follow the escapades of the
the old Druids and bask in the glorious glow of a wine-sweetened Druidic Dawn bears
moon-lite night with forest friends, and dance the ceremonies of
Better yet, buy your own and submit
the sacred stones.”Gathering in the energy stored within the
rocks and returning to them some of her own, for a moment pictures as they travel in life with you!
Avalon thought she felt the gentle touch of Ginger’s energy flow
through her. Looking up she giggles to herself and continues forth Click here
on her own mission, with a grin…(to be continued)

Aontacht • 46
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Th S rs es
ank outh wand hows
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Bea to se otos ario d
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The adoption will be recorded in
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of your DD Bear(s) at
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Aontacht • 47
continues and we might publish it! (There is NO
limit to how MANY different sacred places or how
many photos you can submit) OR just send your
photo and an idea and let our DD authors fill in the
details!
Will YOUR DD Bear(s) be the NEXT featured in
upcoming issues of ?
The DD Bard Bear is Blue, Ovate is Green and the
Druid Bear is White & Gold. So take a moment
and Adopt a DD Bear for a friend, a child, or
yourself. They'll remind you of your Path, be a
companion, while bringing you some cuteness and
happiness along the way!
One DD Bear $25.00, two for $50.00, and three for
$70.00. (Shipping based on location)
 Join and Expand the You do not have to be a
member of the Druidic
Conversation Dawn community to submit
to the newsletter, but we
strongly recommend
Our next issue of Aontacht will have the theme “Views of the Inner Planes”. What is the veil
becoming a member to gain
between this world and the next? Are there many inner plans and how can we communicate with
these realms? For you, is this the Astral Plane? The Dream World? Something else? Tell us how full access to the greatest
you see these unseen worlds that surround and interpenetrate our reality. online source of Druid
knowledge in the world.
It will include a Feature Interview with Joanna van der Hoeven, who along with Robin Herne,
established the Druid College in the UK earlier this year in the Maldon District of Essex, just about www.DruidicDawn.org
40 miles from London. The College's goal is to prepare Priests of Nature.
Being a priest of nature does not mean being an intermediary, but instead living a life in service,
crafting a sacred relationship with the land, the ancestors and the gods.

This is a unique opportunity for you to become part of this interview. All questions YOU submit
to us at druidicdawn@earthlink.net by April 15th, 2015, will be considered for inclusion.

We also hope you become part of the Aontacht family by sending your original News, Events,
Reviews, Poems, Articles, Essays, Stories, Rituals, Recipes, Devotional Pieces, Photos and Art and Volume 7, Issue 3,
“Views of the Inner Planes”
also your comments and suggestions to druidicdawn@earthlink.net.
What is the veil between this
Please submit original work only. Essays & articles should be between 1,000-2,000 words. There world and the next? Are there
is not a word limit for poetry, however, please do not submit epic verse. Only electronic submissions many and how do we
communicate with these realms.
are accepted. You will have the pleasant experience of working with our talented and enthusiastic Open your mind to the
Acquisition Editor, Lisa Du Fresne, who will help answer questions you might have and help you dimesions beyound the veil.
to prepare your submission, including any accompanying pictures, artwork and graphics. Click Deadline April 15th, 2015
here to contact her. Photos and artwork should be submitted as .jpg or .pngs and be at least 300
dpi. You will also need to submit a short bio, maximum 50 words and a photo of yourself.
Volume 7, Issue 4
As always, all submissions should be of interest to the global Druid community. This does not “Healing the Body, Mind,
mean you need to BE a Druid. Aontacht encourages submissions from everyone in the greater and Soul”
Earth-Based community - from all of you committed to serving and protecting our planet and all
living beings who call this their home. Exploring the Nature of
healing at many levels.
Most articles are selected because they relate to the theme of the Issue. Aontacht posts in every Practically, emotionally and
issue the themes for the following three issues (See side bar). spiritually.
While we sometimes edit the content of accepted submissions in minor ways, we will expect correct Deadline July 15th, 2015
spelling and coherent thoughts, so please run a grammar and spell check before submittal and take
the time to present something new and exciting to a very diverse, educated and experienced
readership. Volume 8, Issue 1
To be announced
As Aontacht is a free publication, we are unable to pay you for your submissions nor for your time
in preparing your submission. No racism, bigotry or hatred will be allowed or accepted. We do
Deadline October 15th, 2015
though encourage submissions from different cultural perspectives and with different styles of
thinking, writing and expression.

The Druidic Dawn is based on building Unity in the Community. We do not promote any particular
Path or approach to Druidry, nor believe any one Path or approach has all the answers or provides
for everyone's needs. Druidry is in its second Ascendency, growing from what it once was into
something new and exciting. Our goal is to provide a global platform for many of the different and
diverse faces and voices of Druidry. We hope you will join and help us expand the conversation
of what Druidry is and who we are as 21st century Druids.
Click here

Aontacht • 48