Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 1

AontachtVolume 3 Issue 3 | Winter /Summer Solstice 2010 creating unity in community

Brought to you by Druidic Dawn (www.druidicdawn.org)

Aontacht   ISSN 2044-1339

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 2

O

Zaontachtcreating unity in community

10 Graeme Talboys Featured interview

Druidic Dawn community

20 Celtic CalendarJohn Bonsing, PhD and Scott Rhys

34 The Fifth Direction Sacred centres in Ireland Bob Trubshall46 Wassailing

Holger Burkhardt (Oak King)

29 A Wildcrafted SpiritualityFinal part of:In the bush of GhostsDr. Kenneth Proefrock

43 14th Century Hungary WaterCaryl Dailey

44 Heather MeadDafydd/Calon Ddraig

45 May Blossom WineHolgar/Oak King

4 0 G o d d e s s i s o n m y M i n d

Richard Fox (Renard)4 1 B e t w e e n t h e s h o r e a n d t h e s e a .

Nigel Dailey (Astrocelt)4 2 T h e B a t t l e T h i c k e n s

Richard Fox (Renard)

48 The Way of a DruidMaya St. Clair (Cuardai)

49 Passing Faye (CD)Paul Mitchell

50 Understanding the Universe in Seventh-Century Ireland

Nigel Dailey

3 Aontacht ContributorsFrom the community

6 From the Desk ...letter from the Aontacht Production Team

8 Keeping Up With theManagement Teamlatest news & updates at Druidic Dawn

51 Community Events Calendarfind gatherings and rituals near you

54 Coming Nexta peek at the succeeding issue & oursubmission guidelinesCover photo: Jerry Segraves: Juvenile bald eagle in flight.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 3

O

Contributorsaontachtcreating unity in community

Environmental BenefitsStatement

Aontacht magazine is onlyavailable online as a free .pdfdownload; thereby savingtrees, water, solid waste andgreenhouse gases. It is de-signed on an Energy Star ratedcomputer.

Aontacht is published four timesa year by Druidic Dawn, CIC.Aontacht, Volume 3, Issue 3 ©2010 Druidic Dawn, all rights re-served. All contained content iscopyright to its respective own-ers, including art and photos. Thecontents of this publication maynot be reproduced in whole or inpart without the consent of thecopyright owner.

EditorJenn MacCormack

Co-EditorRichard Fox

Druidic Dawn Rep.Nigel Dailey

Graphic DesignerDonald Drake

Feature Editor - FormularyFaye Boyd

Feature Editor - PoetryVacant

PublisherDruidic Dawn, CIC

Original Layout DesignAestas Designs

( aestas.dieromantic.com )

Opinions and views expressedare not necessarily those of

the editors, publisher or staff.

Graeme K. Talboys has been Druid for a longtime. He was a teacher in schools and muse-ums but now works as a writer. His teachingcontinues through the written word with fic-tion and non-fiction. Since 2001 Graeme has,with his writing partner and fellow Druid Jul-ie White, administered the Hedge Druid Net-

work - a loose association of lone Druids. He also runs the smallpublishing house Grey House in the Woods.

Caer Australis presents an explorationand celebration of traditions born in theHeroic age and recorded for centuriessince throughout the Celtic world. Tounderstand the past so that we may meetthe future with knowledge and wisdomis a worthy challenge, and it is worth seeking with honesty, passionand integrity.

Robert Trubshaw since childhood I have been in-terested in photography and all aspects of land-scape, especially geology and archaeology. Igraduated as an industrial designer and worked invarious aspects of the plastics industry from themid-1970s until 2001. In 1986 I returned to Leices-tershire and became deeply involved in variousaspects of local history and folklore. At the end of2010 I moved to Avebury.

Kenneth Proefrock has been a practicing Natur-opathic Physician since 1996 and currently servesas Vice-President for the North American Boardof Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) and chair-person for the biochemistry portion of the Natur-opathic Physician's Licensing Exam (NPLEX). Heis a member of the Council of Elders and currentPresident of the Order of WhiteOak, a Celtic Re-constructionist Druid Order. He has been a mem-ber of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids since1994 and achieved the rank of Ovate in 2001. He isalso a member of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA).He is happily married, living in the rural desert of the SouthwestUnited States with with five children.

General InquiriesAll questions, comments andetcetera can be sent to the fol-lowing address:

aontacht@druidicdawn.orgAdvertising

At the moment we are notoffering ad space. However,this is subject to change.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 4

v

Editorial Notes

You do not have to be a mem-ber of the Druidic Dawn com-

munity to submit to thenewsletter.

Please submit contributionsdirectly to the editorial staff

via email to:aontacht@druidicdawn.org

Refer to the last page of thisissue for writer’s guidelinesand even more information,before you submit inquiries

or contributions.

Below are our upcomingissues. Be sure to specify towhich you are submitting.

Volume 3, Issue 4“Hiraeth”

Deadline Feb 15, 2011The Celts experienced long-ing as the desire for home-land, re-union, andbelonging; how do we relateto and express our own long-ings? And for those of us notliving in Celtic lands, howdoes hiraeth play a part inour spirituality?.

Production TeamPositions Available:

Aontacht Editor

The Aontacht team is lookingfor a new editor, to collect andedit material for the magazine,help with issue production andhelp lead the dynamic team thatbrings Aontacht to the internetDruid and Pagan community.

If you feel that you can sparesome time to help us, or if youwould like more information,please

Email:admin@druidicdawn.org

Paul Mitchell is a satirical pagan folk musician. Forseveral years he's been playing his stuff aroundcampfires and conferences here or there. He alsoplays with the Folk group Mad Magdalen, runs theOverton Folk Club in Hampshire and produced therecent Pagan Folk Against Fascism CD. He is a Druidin the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

Maya St. Clair (Cuardai) resides in Kuwait, is anIrish Polytheist, and a mechanical engineer witha love of history, mythology and culture. She iseditor of the Oran Mor, the official newsletter ofthe New Order of Druids. She also serves on theirCouncil. Maya is an Irish Gaelic student and reg-

ularly writes a wide variety of articles and book reviews on Celtic andreligious topics.

Dafydd Monks (CalonDdraig). Dafydd lives inGwynedd, North Wales. He is a student of HerbalMedicine and has a strong interest in the Welshlanguage, the Welsh tradition of Druidry, and theirplace in the 21st century.

Caryl Dailey lives in the Welsh mountains and isan associate druid companion of OBOD and druid-ic tutor. She is also a belly-dancer, wand maker andbookworm. A lover of life, cakes and Astrocelt!

Contributors

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 5

r

Holger originally lived in Germany where heworked as a meteorologist before moving toNorth Wales at the end of 1994. He now residesand works in the Nantlle Valley and several yearsago began his journey on the Druid path. His spe-cial interests are the rich history, mythology andfolk traditions of Wales, particularly of Eryri(Snowdonia), the Lleŷn peninsula and Ynys Môn

(Anglesey). To this end he has been learning Welsh for over threeyears now, an undertaking proving to be challenging and yet re-warding.

Richard Fox (Renard) is an earth magick practitioner,fire mage and a warrior poet who lived mostly outdoors in the forests of the U.S. for more than 18 years.During that time he planted more than 700,000 treesand supervised the planting of more than 26,000,000additional trees. Today he works with Native Ameri-cans from 14 tribes on major renewable energyprojects, including solar heating, electric and windturbines with a base among the Lakota on the Pine Ridge and Rose-bud reservations in South Dakota.

Nigel Dailey (Astrocelt) resides in North Walesand has a variety of interests ranging from Archae-ology, Anthropology, Archaeoastronomy, Astrol-ogy, Druidry, History, Mythology andSmallholding. All has been gained while travellingthrough the journey human beings call "life."

ContributorsProduction TeamPositions Available:

"Wild Earth"Feature Editor

The "Wild Earth" Feature Editorwill manage our newest forth-coming feature on "Wild Earth".This position would entail writ-ing a short, succinct and relevantpiece on any number of topicsrelated to the Earth for each issue.We are looking for diversity ofexperience and understanding, aswell as a clear writing style that isboth intelligent and practical. It ispossible that if the individual isunable or uncomfortable withwriting regularly, instead he orshe may procure an appropriatesubmission on an eco-relatedtheme each issue. The ProductionTeam is flexible and interested inworking with the Feature Editorin developing the "Wild Earth"feature into something fresh andunique. For more details on the"Wild Earth" Feature Editor posi-tion and what it involves, pleasecontact us at the email below.

"Bardic Whispers"Feature Editor

A volunteer position as "BardicWhispers" Feature Editor is nowavailable. This role is as editor forour poetry feature "Bardic Whis-pers". Do you enjoy poetry andthe written word? Do you writepoetry yourself? Are you interest-ed in the Bardic Arts? Are youinterested in contributing to thefuture of Celtic creativity? If in-terested in applying or wouldlike more details, please contactus at the email below.

aontacht@druidicdawn.orgOr

DDaontacht@gmail.com

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 6

Letter from the Aontacht Production Team

Last year around this time when I tookon the role of Editor for Aontacht, it wasas a favor to the DD Community out offriendship and solidarity after the previ-ous Editor left so suddenly. Taking onthe Editor’s responsibilities was mean-ingful to me, not only because of mycommitment to diversity and “freespeech” in the Druid and wider com-munities, but also because I had thespace and time to afford such responsi-bilities.

I take Aontacht seriously, and have astrong idealistic sense of what such re-sponsibilities require of me. I see myrole as Editor as a commitment to nur-ture the Magazine and the Team intobeing the best it and they can be, and indeveloping the Magazine along thelines of its aims, particularly in regardsto “creating unity in community.”

As I’ve worked with the Magazine forover a year now as Editor, and well overa year (almost since the very first issue)before that, I feel I have a clear vision, astrong vision for Aontacht’s place in thecommunity in alignment with the spiritof this publication, and feel that theleading Editor for Aontacht must in facthave such a vision--and envisioningpowers.

My own vision would like to see morebeing done towards integrating othervoices into the Magazine. Right now,we are predominantly Neo-Druid

based, and not surprising. Such partici-pation as we receive is wonderful, trulywonderful--and we need more! At thesame time, I feel the Editor should keepin mind the ideal of opening the floor toother voices in the Druid and CelticSpiritual communities, besides justsome of us; in fact, I see the Editor’smost important responsibility, besidesensuring publication each issue, as ac-tively pursuing the involvement of oth-er traditions. Inter-faith, or rather,inter-tradition dialogue. In order to pur-sue such though, the Editor needs tocultivate contacts in other traditions,gain their trust, seek out their contribu-tions and submissions, and build bridg-es.

I see this as an important need at thistime in the Celtic Spiritual Community,and something that Druidic Dawncould take a leading role in doing. TheEditor for Aontacht thus must have theenergy and time to pursue such a road.

More and more, since starting my un-dergraduate degree, working a parttime job, and becoming involved in im-portant extracurricular activities rele-vant to my Psychology andAnthropology degree (which includesan internship and research position), Ifeel that despite my ideals, desires andheart’s wishes, I am unable to serveAontacht in the way necessary.

This frustrates me to no end. I have

by Jenn MacCormack

From the Desk ...

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 7

watched the production team work hardtogether, through challenges, throughthe creative process, through pressureand through pleasure. It is and has beenmeaningful, satisfying and growth-in-ducing. The stubborn Capricorn insideme doesn’t want to “let go” after all thiseffort and striving.

But I’m selling Aontacht short. I barelyeven have enough time to oversee andlead issue production, let alone to pursuethe much needed team developmentsand discussions integral to a magazine’svitality. We are a growing team and agrowing publication, which requiresdedicated time to ensuring each newteam member oriented and each newfeature fully initiated. I find I’m havingto sacrifice important interior, quiet timefor myself (amidst an already hecticschedule) and at times, resenting my re-sponsibilities to Aontacht when in fact, Iam 100% behind what the Magazine is allabout. This won’t do anymore.

As such, it is time for me to step aside.Aontacht needs an Editor who can com-mit the time and energy to productionpracticalities, as well as making the “uni-ty in community” vision a reality. I amhumbly grateful for the enormous effortthe Management Team has put into mak-ing Aontacht possible. The Workspace isa gift, as is the new website. And of

course my deepest admiration goes to-wards the Production Team--from theoldest team member to the newest. Ihave learned that there is nothing so sat-isfying as team work done well. My sin-cere, soul-felt thanks to all who makeAontacht the relevant, professional andcommunity-based publication that it is--from the Management Team, the Produc-tion Team, as well as our many contribu-tors, volunteers and readers.

In closing, I'd like to emphasize that myresignation from Aontacht is not a with-drawal from DD or the wider Celtic Spir-itual community, but rather a shift.Druidry and Celtic Spirituality have agreat deal to offer our species today, andI look forward to seeing how the maga-zine evolves in issues to come. In turn,it's time for someone else to step up whohas the vision and time necessary to car-ry such a relevant project as Aontachtforward into 2011 and beyond. Perhapsthat person is you?

Blessings of change and communitythis Solstice and in the New Year!

Jenn

bendithion y ddaer!

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 8

rOn Site:

We would also like to extend our congratulations toThe Druid Network on the successful application forobtaining charitable status.

celticgatherings@druidicdawn.org

Keeping Up With the Management Team

Welcome to Winter & Summer of 2010. A lot has been happening at Druidic Dawn, and we like to keep our readersupdated on what's going on.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 9

Annual Management Team Meeting

The annual management team meeting was held on the29th September 2010, its purpose to ascertain the websitehealth and ensure items not previously completed in thepast year period continue into fruition. Additionally andmost importantly to discuss the items raised from the com-munity via the on going annual general meeting thread.

Druidic Dawn CIC has now officially been operating as anon profit community interest company for just over ayear. The funds raised from within the community viadonations and subscribers to services offered have beendwarfed by the outgoings, no remuneration has been re-ceived by any member of the management team who con-tinue to volunteer their services and time to Druidic DawnCIC and the community.

The operating platform remains stable and has achievedbeing available for 99.99% of the year period. This is despitevarious attempts of unauthorised access (spam) havingbeen attempted; it too has remained secure and safe for allcommunity members under the due diligence and watchfuleye of the computer technicians’.

Last year achievements exceeded our expectations from theprevious meeting. It served to illustrate how dedicated theteam is with the assistance of Druidic Dawn Communityvolunteers are, not only towards this community and Dru-idry in generally. The achievements are correct on 29thSeptember 2010 and are as follows:-

Image attachments facility added to ForumsImplemented 13.09.2009

Forum thread post length reduced to30 posts per pageImplemented 13.09.2009

Fiction section added to Book ReviewImplemented 17.11.2009

Celtic & Druid Archive added to NavigationImplemented 03.12.2009

Roll of Honour added to NavigationImplemented 20.12.2009

Druidic Dawn Yahoo group mailing ListImplemented 20.12.2009

Q&A Interviews sub menu added toCeltic and Druid ArchiveImplemented 30.01.2010

Meet and Greet upgradeImplemented 20.03.2010

Fraternal Druid Lodge Index added to theCeltic & Druid Archive/Fraternal DruidsImplemented 16.05.2010

Archive Service for Druid and Celtic relatedwebsiteImplemented 20. 06.2010

New Landing page updated for My PathwayImplemented 20.06.2010

Release of Druid PathwaysImplemented 11.07.2010

New Front PageImplemented 18.7.2010

Release of Aontacht Public DomainImplemented 8.8.2010

Open Druidic Community LearningImplemented 21.09.2010

The teams’ non achievement relates to several items, whichis being brought into fruition, prior to any new develop-ments occurring.

We are continuing to bring a new Celtic and Druidic relat-ed project to the community, which has been suggested bya community member, and Druidic Dawn is more thanobliged to support, having accessed its community value.An announcement will be forthcoming very shortly on thewebsite.

An additional project continues to be assessed for its feasi-bility, once the management team is in a position to makean announcement it will do so. These having been priori-tized relative to 2010/11, in regards to contributing back tothe Druid Community, and what is considered importantto Druids.

In recognition to the volunteers assisting Druidic Dawnand all its membership are accordingly invited to attend apre 2011 online AGM, where criticisms, ideas and sugges-tions can be heard, and more importantly be included at thenext annual management team meeting in September 2011for possible discussion and consideration.

On behalf of the Management TeamAdmin

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 10 K

The D. D. Q &A : Graeme Talboys

A Featured Interview

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 11

tGraeme K Talboys has been Druid for a long time. An encounter with a spirit in a beech grove fiftyyears ago convinced him that the eye rarely sees all there is to see. A few years later he was introducedto 'The Once and Future King' and saw that there was a way to discover more about that other world.The word Druid, didn't drift into his consciousness until he was a teenager, but by then he was alreadyexploring the Forest and fascinated by the history and archaeology of ancestral Celts.Graeme has been a teacher in schools and museums and is now a writer. The teaching continuesthrough the written word with non-fiction and fiction. He spent some time in an Order, completingtheir formal training, but is much more comfortable exploring and working on his own. Since 2001 hehas, with his writing partner and fellow Druid Julie White, administered the Hedge Druid Network - aloose association of solitary Druids. He also runs the small publishing house - Grey House in the Woods.

DD: Thank you very much Graeme for acceptingthe interview by the community here at DruidicDawn. How did you become interested inDruidry? Who are the people that most influencedyou on your path?

Graeme: My path into the Forest began, appropri-ately enough, in a forest. Rather, a piece of wood-land that snakes for about 5 miles through theGloucestershire countryside, passing the back gar-den of the house of my paternal grandparents. Iwas about seven and we were staying there for thesummer. Along with my siblings and a whole tribeof cousins and friends, we would head for the treesin fine weather, racing along pathways, swingingfrom ropes, exploring the undergrowth.

Even at that age, I was happy with just myself forcompany, so it wasn’t unusual for me to wanderoff. I had climbed a steep bank up from one of thepaths and at the top I found myself looking downonto a grove of beech trees. The clearing was se-rene and bright, although there was no direct sun-light as most of the woods are on a north facingslope. There was no wind.

As I watched, a vague figure of amber colouredlight coalesced in the air just above the ground andmoved around the clearing. Although there wereno limbs and although the figure floated, I got thedistinct impression that she was dancing. How Icould tell it was female, I do not know. At seven,you don’t analyse. I was, however, conscious of

something there that was intelligent, somethingthat was other, and something that was aware ofmy presence on the edge of the grove.

It didn’t scare me, but it certainly gave me goose-bumps and when I got back home  my parentsasked if I had seen a ghost; so something musthave shown in my face. I didn’t share my experi-ence with anyone. It didn’t seem appropriate. Thathad been for me and for me alone to make what Iwould of it.

That was, perhaps, an awakening. My early yearsin London had been lived right next to RichmondPark and some of my earliest memories are of thered deer calling, of picnics beneath the oak tress, ofthe spectacular lightning storms we had severalyears running in the mid-50s. These were potentsounds and images from the natural world thatwere already there in my head. Basic ingredients.The lady of the forest stirred them up, made meaware that there is an otherness to the world,things that we rarely get to see head on.

I didn’t rush out and start reading about ancestralCelts and Druids. I didn’t even think of things likereligion or spirit. At seven you want to climb trees,scrape your knees, and read comics. But I do thinkI was alive to certain things from that point on. TheMatter of Britain became a passion that has neverfaded. My love of trees and woodland grew (andwhen I couldn’t be near trees I wanted to be out-side). Old things drew me. The shape of the land.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 12

It wasn’t until I was twelve that I started to beaware of a framework that lay beneath these inter-ests. Toward the end of my second year in second-ary school, we moved. Although it was unsettlingin some ways, I was glad to get away from theschool I had first been in. It was stuffy, rigid, andbuilt on traditions that seemed to me to exist solelyfor the purpose of allowing younger kids to bebullied by everyone else. My new school was, bycomparison, a real haven. Not perfect, but I wasmuch happier. And during my first weeks there,my English lessons had a profound effect on me.

The English teacher, Bill Euston, was retiring. Sohe read to us. The whole of The Sword in the Stone.And he recommended we read the rest of T. H.White’s Once and Future King. Which I did. Severaltimes that year. It was a revelation in so many ways.

I was already familiar with the story of Arthur, butthis retelling is so full of life, so in accord with myelemental experiences. If the experience in thewoodland had been the awakening, this was theopening of the bedroom door. In particular I wasdrawn to Merlin and the way in which he teachesthe young Arthur. It seemed such a perfect way tolearn all that was important and necessary, itmade the classroom seem dull.

But I was in a good school that valued all its pupilsand allowed them the time and space to developtheir particular talents. And I had a definite direc-tion. Because Merlin was, and has been ever since,my guide into the Forest. My studies into Arthur,into history, into archaeology, into the arts, alongwith a nurturing atmosphere set against a back-ground of the 60s with friends into folk culture…You can imagine how potent that was.

My parents were supportive in a hands off way,although there were journeys I think they neverknew about (but you can never tell with parents) -mostly up to London, but also the Isle of Wightand other festivals when I was, ostensibly, at afriend’s house. If they did know they never com-

plained or admonished because they knew myinterest was in the arts not the drugs. As for myspiritual growth, that was my journey to make. Myfather and I sometimes discussed the beauty andimportance of trees (he, like my late brother, was amaster pattern maker and could work wood withconsummate ease), but that was about all.

Once I knew what my spiritual direction was, thejourney was pretty much made on my own. Alongwith exploring the Forest I was training to be ateacher of drama, I was writing (which I had sinceI was seven), I was working. I do not think therewere people who specifically influenced my spirit-ual journey; I did not know there were other peo-ple out there. But my general journey was of apiece. I was drawn to drama, for example, becauseit was a way for young people to explore theirinner lives without imposing any particular viewson them. But if I had to name anyone, it would beMyrddin and his twin sister Gwendydd (perhapsthe lady of the forest?). Their story has been withme for so long and it is to them I return in mystudies and meditations.

DD: How do you know you are a Druid comparedto any other land loving, peace keeping humanbeing?

Graeme: My beliefs, my spiritual path, are derivedfrom an understanding of ancestral Celtic thoughtthat I have gleaned from my studies. Our Celticancestors did not have a name for their religion; infact it isn’t strictly correct to call their beliefs ‘areligion’. They were a religious/spiritual people,but their beliefs were variations of a theme thathad a common core (like much of the rest of Celticculture). The term Druid is something I use as ashorthand to say that my beliefs are those of myCeltic ancestors (in as far as I understand them).

DD: Could you explain more about the work ofthe Hedge Druid Network, its purpose and functionfor instance within 21st century Druidry context tothe readers of Aontacht?

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 13

Graeme: I started the Hedge Druid Network withmy good friend Julie White. We had both beensolitary workers for many years; both beenthrough an Order and graduated at Druid grade;both decided we preferred being solitary workers.During the time we were writing our two books,we had discussed the pitfalls of working aloneand thought it would be useful to offer somethingfor those people we knew who were in the sameposition - because they chose not to belong orbecause for various reasons they could not belong.

We are an organisation (very small at present) thatexists to facilitate the exchange of ideas and usefulinformation. This is done through a small quarter-ly magazine called GreenWay. It is a way for soli-tary Druids to keep in touch with a Druidcommunity without the need to join a Grove orOrder. We do not meet (although some membershave become pen pals), we do not offer formalteaching (although the articles we circulate in themagazine are informative), and we do not enterinto debates. On that last point, the forum of themagazine is open to all members to present whatthey have learned in an open spirit. Members aremature enough and wise enough to read articlesand decide for themselves how they work with (orreject) those ideas and that information.

DD: You have stated that a Hedge Druid's solitar-iness enables them to form an outward lookingand intimate bond with the Land, practicing forthe Goddess and for Truth, rather than for theGrove. Can you give examples?

Graeme: In the end, this comes down to personal-ity. Some people enjoy, even thrive, on belongingto a group. They enjoy the social side of things, allthe organising, the group dynamics, sorting outrituals and places to meet, all the chit-chat, and soon. Others, like me, find this chaotic and distract-ing. I have always stood to the edge of things,happy in the borderlands. So, rather than belongto a group and get irritated with people for beingwhat they are, it is better for people like me to goout and do what they love best. Be with trees, getinvolved with specific practical work (beach

cleaning, pond dredging, tree planting, and so on),study, and use what forums they prefer to sharewhat they have learned and experienced.

This is not to say that Groves do not do this kind ofthing. Far from it. But it is important to recognisethat we are not all naturally sociable creatures atthis level. For me, my journey is my own. I sharethrough my writing and through editing the mag-azine. That is my Grove.

DD: You appear to be not very fond of hierarchiesand have stated that maintenance of the structurecan, for some people, become more important thanthat which the structure serves. As a solitary Dru-id, do you find that you've had to contend withany sort of hostility or other negativity from thoseaffiliated with groves?

Graeme: I am an anarchist and have been since myteenage years. It appeals to me politically, spiritu-ally and artistically. It is about being responsiblefor what we think and do. Some hierarchies work.If they exist for specific functions and if thosewithin them are treated as equals exercising theirspecialist expertise for the good of the common-wealth, I have no problem with them.

Unfortunately, hierarchies will always attractthose who believe the hierarchy is a ladder. Forsome people, the structure is more important thanthat which it serves. Your place in structure con-veys kudos. It depends, of course, on your defini-tion of authority. No authority is absolute. Being aphilosopher does not make you better or moreimportant than the person who sweeps the floorany more than being a Chief Druid makes youmore important than someone who has just hand-ed over their subscription for the first time. Thatsimply makes you different and each has much tolearn from the other.

When I left the Order I had been in for a number ofyears, people with whom I had corresponded on aregular basis would have nothing more to do withme. I was simply moving on in a direction thatseemed best for me. Why they felt the need to cut

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 14

o

off contact I do not know and have never under-stood. I am an autonomous being with the right tofollow my own spiritual path as I see fit.

There has also been criticism about the use of theterm Hedge Druid, but I stay away from that kindof debate. It serves no purpose. I have stated whatthe term means and why I use it. I have never triedto impose that on others.

DD: There is a tendency for many communities ofseekers on the Druid Path to fall into discord overthe (perceived) divide between the notion of Dru-idry as a religion, versus Druidry as a philosophy.This is something that you explore in the VoiceWithin the Wind. Do you find that there are thesesame issues within the Hedge Druid Network - orhas the HDN managed to work around these (andother) often acrimonious debates?

Graeme: It seems to me that many of the heateddiscussions that brew up and spill over in variousforums occur because participants have yet to real-ise there is no canonical thought on the Druid Way.We don’t have a holy book (and when did that everstop argument?); we don’t have prophets; worddoes not come down from on high. Being Druid isabout developing a relationship with the worldthrough a Celtic focus. Relationships are dynamic.

Definitions are also dynamic. The minute you tryto pin them down, like any butterfly pinned to aboard, they will die. The point of discussing thingsis not to arrive at a definitive answer or persuadeothers that your viewpoint is the ‘correct’ one; it isto learn and broaden one’s view of the world bysharing in perceptions one could not hope to en-compass for one’s self.

That is what the HDN is all about. Sharing experi-ence. Not everything that goes into the magazinewill chime with everybody who reads it, but up tonow everyone who has expressed an opinion hasappreciated the fact they are being given glimpsesof parts of the Forest they didn’t know existed orwould not have thought of exploring. People jointhe HDN and people leave. Some people go awayand come back. Others recommend it to friends.

Unless they are all scrapping on the other side ofthe hedge out of earshot, we have never wanderedinto that kind of debate.

Perhaps we have been lucky.

And from a personal perspective, being Druid isboth. It is a religion and a philosophy, each in-forming the other. That is why I so often refer tothe Celtic Metaphysic. The way of looking at theworld may simply be a philosophy, but it is aphilosophy that accepts the existence of spirit asintegral to the whole world.

DD: Can you elaborate on how you can cultivatea relationship with those aspects of deity that aremanifest in the world about you?

Graeme: You do it in exactly the same way you dowith people. Work with them. Perform a servicethat enhances their being. Learn about them (butkeep those books for the long winter evenings andlearn by touching). Maintain a conversation withthem. Love them.

These don’t have to be grand things. In fact, Iwould argue that the small things are of greaterimportance. The big ceremonies and mystical ex-periences are fine every now and then, but youcannot maintain an existence on that. We are ma-terial beings with very immediate and simple ma-terial needs. If these are satisfied simply, we oftenfind that the spirit is satisfied as well.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden and tendthat garden, you are developing a relationshipwith it. And through it you develop a relationshipwith deity. Everything is connected. Caring forplants, leaving places for insects, feeding thebirds, growing some vegetables. These are satisfy-ing and they are steps to a connection with theworld. If you don’t have a garden, there are manyother ways. Befriend a tree: sit with it, observe it,watch the life that depends upon it. Take care overyour shopping: try to buy items that comply withethical standards and which do least harm to theworld. It’s not always easy, especially on a tightbudget, but each thought and each act is part of

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 15

the relationship.

The more you put into such a relationship, themore you think about it and all the connectionsyou have with the world, the more that comes backto you. At the same time you explore these com-plexities, you will find yourself stripping away thecomplications. As an example, people who have agarden or allotment and grow their own vegeta-bles don’t need to go to the gym to stay healthy orwork overtime to afford food. At the same time,they are taking responsibility for their lives anddeveloping a relationship with the world.

DD: What is the future of Druidry - is Druidry anexpanding contemporary force using ancient wis-doms and ideas in a new way for the current timesor will everything remain relying on the past?

Graeme: I wish I knew the answer to that. I certain-ly think people are looking for philosophical, spir-itual, and religious answers and paths that are notoffered by the Abrahamic tradition. Where peopleused to turn East to find answers (and many stilldo), there are those who realise that we have astrong spiritual tradition right at home. On ourvery doorsteps.Those that come to the Druid Way, do so frommany different backgrounds and for many differ-ent reasons. Most, I believe, are already on a Forestpath before they put a name to it. They are practis-ing in the here and now, living by a metaphysicthat influences everything they do on a day-to-daybasis.

To me, that is where it should be. The past isextremely important - we need to know it andunderstand as best we can with open minds. Itprovides the fertile ground in which we have ourroots, but we cannot treat being Druid as if it weresome weekend LARP outing or a re-enactment forspectators. It is a way of thinking and behaving; away of viewing and treating the world about us.The future is also important - we need a directionin our lives, goals to aim for. It is the sun to whichour branches reach, but that is for the developmentof fruit and seed. Our children must live their ownlives as they grow. The future is theirs and we have

no right to dictate what it might be. All we can dois grow straight and strong in the here and nowand pass on our values by example.

DD: Many Druids and earth-based people havecontact experiences with nature spirits, but areoften frightened by it. Can you speak of the signif-icance of such especially in regards to your ownpersonal experiences?

Graeme: Fear is not altogether a bad thing. Itmakes us cautious. Our relationship with theworld of spirit, with faerie, and with our ances-tors, should be treated with caution. These otherworlds are not our playground and the denizensare not there at our beck and call (as some folkwould have us believe).

We may open ourselves to these other worlds andthose that live there; we may invite them into ourown (although getting rid of them again is notalways easy); we may certainly learn from them ifthey are willing to teach. But that is all. To goseeking for them is, as far as I’m concerned, rudeand arrogant. After all, you wouldn’t knock on aneighbour’s door and demand they come out andteach you a skill.

However, if you are respectful, if you develop arelationship with the world around you, thesespirits will cross your path. They may even wishto interact, like an ancient gardener passing byand leaning over your fence to offer a useful tipon growing potatoes. Be thankful and take heed.

DD: You utilize music to key a mood or emotionalatmosphere when writing.  What does the musicprovide for you and is there specific music youprefer?

Graeme: Music, like writing, is magic. That is nothyperbole. Like magic, both are disciplines thatare partly craft and partly art. When you havebecome proficient in them, you are able to changethe world. Both stir the intellect and the emotions.Both have the power to heal. Both can make peo-ple change. And through people they can changethe world.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 16

Some writers rely solely on silence to tap theirinner voice. But my writing, whether it is fiction ornon-fiction, is born out of my direct experience ofthe world. And ever since I can remember, musichas been integral to that. My mother loved classicalmusic and my siblings (seven years older than me)introduced me to popular music long before mostkids would notice it for themselves.

And I grew up in the ‘60s when popular musicburst out of its chrysalis on psychedelic wings.Pictures of me from that period are a bit of a give-away to my tastes:

And they are somewhat stuck in that period.

What I listen to and when really does depend onwhat is being written and at what stage I am in theprocess. For a first draft, I generally have the head-phones on so that I can focus. And I use the musicto drive the work. There is a tendency to playsomething classical (usually symphonic) when Iwrite non-fiction: Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahl-er, Rachmaninov, Bach, something of that nature. Ido not know if it is the formality of the structure,the sustained variations on a theme, or some otherforce, but these do seem to work best when I amstructuring arguments and marshalling facts.

I also listen to classical work when writing fiction,but not to the same extent and the repertoire isdifferent. Sibelius is a particular favourite as hiswork resonates with the very broad melancholystreak that runs through me. I also like film scores.

Mostly, I listen to contemporary music. Indeed,much of my fiction is inextricably linked with it.The actual music depends on the subject and theparticular mood of a chapter or section. Just as Iuse pictures to storyboard the plot, I use specificsongs or albums to pinpoint a mood and couldprobably put together a soundtrack for each bookI have written. Wealden Hill has a strong elementof Sandy Denny running through it. Stealing IntoWinter, a recent fantasy, was written mostly to abackdrop of Ozric Tentacles.

My current mainstream project is a four-novelcycle (along with a volume of short stories). Thestory is seeded in a song by Roy Harper (who hasallowed me to use parts of the lyrics as titles forthe books). Combined with other influences, thesoundtrack to the work comes mostly from MrHarper, Hawkwind (and associated family andfriends), Edgar Broughton, and a collection of themore edgy contemporaneous progressive bands.

DD: There is tantalizing evidence that Druidsused ogham for divination. Can you speak aboutthis in terms of using a pattern known as Fionn'sWindow?

Graeme: Whilst there are hints that Druids usedogham for divination, there is no reliable descrip-tion of whether this was really the case or, if itwas, of how this was done. It is possible that onemethod was to use a pattern known as 'Fionn'sWindow'. This figure is to be found in the Aurai-cept na n-Éces, one of the texts collected into theBook of Ballymote. The Auraicept na n-Éces datesoriginally from the 7th century AD and containsmaterial that predates that time by a number ofcenturies.

Fionn’sWindow

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 17

Whilst the text in question does not suggest the‘window’ was used for divination, the notion thatone can use ogham to see is implicit in the name.Adjacent to one drawing of Fionn's Window isanother circle that is quartered with elongatedcuneiform shapes. These resemble metal rodsfound in the grave of what is thought to have beena Druid, at Stanway just outside Colchester.

My own surmise is that to make a reading, the'window' would be marked on the ground or on acloth. Objects might then be thrown onto the pat-tern and readings taken from how and where theyfell. What those readings were (if such a systemexisted at all) are not known to us. Ogham was acomplex set of symbols – not a simple tree alpha-bet. There were many types of ogham and it ispossible that the choice of ogham played a part inthe divinatory aspect.

Any systems of divination that use ogham todayare modern inventions. This does not mean theydo not work. Some have been developed afteryears of study. But they should never be taken as'ancient wisdom'. The cards, rods, sticks, or what-ever else is used are merely aids. They act as keysto unlock what lies within the mind of the personasking for a divination rather than being inherent-ly able to divine the future. To use ogham effica-ciously requires long study as well as a deepunderstanding of and sympathy with the Celticpsyche.asking for a divination rather than beinginherently able to divine the future. To use oghamefficaciously requires long study as well as a deepunderstanding of and sympathy with the Celticpsyche.

DD: You are the Publisher of the Grey House in theWoods. Why did you start this effort and where doyou see it developing in the next five years?

Graeme: I started for selfish reasons. The first bookwe put out was the Voice within the Wind. This is acollection of essays that had previously been pub-lished in Druid journals and which I had re-writtento make into a more coherent whole. At the time ofre-writing, I approached several publishers withthe idea. One, in particular, was extremely keen,

kept asking for updates, saw an early draft, andwhen they received the finished draft said theyweren’t interested. This is not unknown in pub-lishing, even amongst those who you would thinkmight be a touch more enlightened.

Other publishers made vague noises, but I decid-ed to print it myself. It sold well and has contin-ued to sell steadily ever since. On the back of thatsuccess, Julie and I went ahead with the two bookswe had been thinking of for some time. These alsosell well and steadily, despite the fact I have abso-lutely no marketing or advertising budget.

A few other books have followed and there areseveral in development. Where we go from heredepends on whether sales hold up and whether Ican get Grey House books into the US market.They are readily available through The Book De-pository (who make no postage charge), andthrough a Canadian bookstore called Little Mys-teries (http://www.littlemysteries.com/) but itwould be good for them to be distributed properlyin the US. I have tried a number of avenues (in-cluding the main distributors), so far without suc-cess. If any readers have any ideas I’d love to hearthem.

DD: How does Grey House in the Woods contrib-ute to offset its paper use?

Graeme: We do this in a number of ways. Recy-cled paper is used for newsletters, catalogues, andcorrespondence. A lot of what we do is electronic,which helps cut down on paper (although, ofcourse there are other issues involved with this). Itake no royalties from my own work put out un-der the Grey House and Monkey Business im-prints. I leave that to help keep both imprintsafloat (there is very little money in publishing –we are just now beginning to break even after tenyears in business), but some of it does go to treeplanting. Finally, we use print-on-demand tech-nology. That means we only print books as andwhen they are wanted by customers.

DD: Is there still residual power in the old Druidplaces like present day Jarrow which once was

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 18

once a Celtic centre of worship for the MotherGoddess and the possible site of a Bardic Chair?

Graeme: I believe so. It certainly seemed to be thecase at Jarrow where I worked for a number ofyears. Bede seems to have been an inspired Bard ofhis own people, and I certainly drew inspirationwhilst working there.

Many ancient sites, whether they were specificallyused by the Druids or not, have a power to fasci-nate if nothing else. And most have more than that.One of the reasons I wanted to reprint TomGraves’ two books was because they were exami-nations of this.

Our connection with the land goes deep into ourpast and deep into our psyche. As living creatureswe evolved in intimate connection with the placeswe lived. Settled, urban living is a last minutephenomenon in terms of our evolution. Our magi-cal apprehension of the land is still with us and ifwe allow ourselves to develop a relationship withour surroundings, we can pick out those spots thatthrough nature or ancestral nurture have becomeplaces of power.

What we do with them, if anything, is a vexedquestion. I always feel sorry for places like Stone-henge after the solstices. Their metaphorical headsmust be spinning in that space between intoxica-tion and hangover. And whilst I can appreciate theattraction (we used to picnic by the stones in the‘50s), I hope that as much energy is expended oncelebrating the rest of the land throughout the year.

Special sites for special events; but as I said before,it is in the everyday and the ordinary that we liveand which we should tend.

DD: You express your love and respect for treesoften, especially oaks. You have stated that Druidswere the oaks of human society. They appearedwhen the 'forest' was sufficiently mature and sta-ble to support them. Is it our time again today?

Graeme: No. I don’t believe so. I’m not sure it everwill be in the way it once was, or that it would be

desirable. The role of Druids today is the reverseof what it once was. Rather than the pillars ofsociety, the culmination of a great civilization, theforce that binds and protects, I tend to see Druidsas being subversive. We are, by and large, outsidesociety. And that is the best place from which tohold up a mirror to the world that it may see whatit has become. That is also the best place to workat healing.

DD: You have stated that trees and the forest areliving creatures who have given to us withoutcease and without question for millennium - feed-ing us, clothing and sheltering us. That they de-serve in return our respect and our protection.There are efforts developing to restore some of theold sacred oak groves. How important might sucha project be to Druids worldwide and what mightbe the impact of the return of the sacred oakgroves?

Graeme: Tree planting and reforestation are abso-lutely essential for many reasons. Our ancestorsup until very recently knew that trees were impor-tant. They cared for them. Most of the woodlandin the UK was managed for millennia on a sustain-able basis, providing all our material and spiritualneeds.

Establishing new woodland and tending existingforests is a great act of Service. It is a process ofhealing and we know the world needs that. But sodo we. Walking in the woods, watching wildlife,having the opportunity to sit quietly, developingforest gardens, all these are essential steps towarda world that is safer for our children.

On a practical level, this also provides food securi-ty, employment, healthy activity, and an outlet forenergies otherwise wasted elsewhere. We cannotmake huge changes overnight, but if there is onething that Druids can and should become in-volved with, it is the protection of existing wood-land and the planting of new trees. That is by farthe best way we can hold that mirror up to theworld; show them that a wonderland does exist;one that is both practical and sustainable.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 19

DD: You are an avid and vigorous reader, devour-ing more than 100 books a year. Amidst all thesepossibilities, are there five books that you can rec-ommend?

Graeme: Whether these are ‘recommendations’ ornot, they are certainly five that I would want withme if I were to be cast away on a desert island.

The Once and Future King – T. H. WhiteThe Mabinogion – The Lady Charlotte Guesttranslation illustrated by Alan LeeTrioedd Ynys Prydein – ed Rachel BromwichThe History of the Kings of Britain – Geoffreyof MonmouthVita Merlini – Geoffrey of Monmouth

You’ll notice a theme there, I’m sure.

DD: What are your other interests besides the spir-itual side of your life? What do you like to do tohave fun or enjoy yourself?

 Graeme: I used to enjoy walking, visiting muse-ums, theatre (watching and performing). Now thatmy options are limited by ill-health I focus on myother great loves: reading and writing. Aside fromworks of and about the Matter of Britain, I read alot of fiction. Favourite authors include: Alain-Fournier; Margery Allingham; J G Ballard; SamuelBeckett; Angela Carter; Robert Frost; Thomas Har-dy; M John Harrison; Diana Wynne Jones; John leCarré; Ursula le Guin; Michael de Larrabeiti; FritzLeiber; Doris Lessing; Michael Moorcock; MervynPeake; Alain Robbe-Grillet; Joanna Russ; WilliamShakespeare; G B Shaw; Jack Trevor Story; EmmaTennant; P L Travers; Sylvia Townsend Warner; HG Wells; T H White; and Virginia Woolf.

DD: Do you have any upcoming books on Druidryin the pipeline for publication?  Do you have awebsite and/or blog where readers could keep intouch with your journey?

Graeme: There’s just one at the moment. O Booksare launching a series of short introductions tovarious subjects. I wrote the one on the Druid Way.The title is The Druid Way Made Easy and the ISBN

is 9781846945458. I don’t have a publication dateyet, but I think it is toward the middle of next year.

For anyone thinking of buying it, I should pointout that it is simply a heavily condensed versionof Way of the Druid. There is unlikely to be any-thing else new in the immediate future, but therewill be two more Greywind volumes and I haveresearch underway on books on Gwyddbwyll,Ogham, and the spiritual aspects of Arthurianmyth.

I am an infrequent blogger, mostly because I putmy writing energy into books and the magazine.However, if anyone is patient enough to wait forwhatever comes along they can find me at thefollowing: Clas Myrddin is my Druid blog:http://clasmyrddin.blogspot.com grumblog iswhere I give voice to the occasional rant aboutwriting: http://grumsworld.blogspot.com/grumbooks is where I post short reports of booksI have read: http://grumbooks.blogspot.com/Charlie Cornelius is where you will find the oddpiece of poetry or fiction:http://charliecornelius.blogspot.com/

DD: Do you have any closing words or advice youwould like to leave with us?

Graeme: None of my own, but I am rather fond ofsomething that Mike Moorcock wrote as it is anexcellent thought on which to ponder.  “By meansof our myths and legends we maintain a sense ofwhat we are worth and who we are. Without themwe should undoubtedly go mad.”Michael Moorcock – Mother London

DD: Thank you Graeme for accepting this inter-view from Aontacht and the Druidic Dawn Com-munity.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 20

The Celtic calendar is a symbol of the culturalmaturity of the Celtic Heroic Age, a timekeepingmasterpiece relating lunar, solar and planetarycycles that is both practical for day to day usewhile describing a kind of model of the universe.It can even be argued that the calendar was theenvy of Rome, because Caesar called for calendarreform following his many years of exposure toGallic culture during the conquest of Gaul; whileprohibitions against the Druids decreed by Au-gustus from 27BC-AD14, Tiberius after AD14 andClaudius from AD41-54 (outlined below) show itssuppression and provide a limiting date for thetablet's crafting.

The bronze calendar inscription was discovered atColigny in 1897 and is displayed at the muséegallo-romain de Lyon (see also: presentation bythe museum). The bronze tablet inscribes five con-secutive years each of twelve months that are 30 or29 days in length plus two intercalary months of30 days each, spanning a total of five solar years.

References to Celtic timekeeping are found in thefollowing ancient and medieval sources: JuliusCaesar (Bellum Gallium, 6.18; 53BC), Diodorus Sic-ulus (80-20BC) (Library of History 2,47), Plutarch(De Facie, Loeb p.185; about AD75), Pliny the Elder(Natural History, 17.95; written AD52-79), the Lifeof Patrick's description of the usurping of Beltaineby the Pascal fires in AD433, the Sanas Cormaicand other Early Irish Glossaries, the eleventh cen-tury Tochmarc Emer and the sixteenth centuryTóraigheacht an Ghiolla Dheacair.

The two-fold Celtic YearThe months Mids Samon and Mids Giamon head thetwo halves of the year on the calendar, and inCeltic language they unambiguously resolve as'Summer' and 'Winter' - compare the two Gaulishmonth names with samrad/samhradh andgaimred/geamhreadh in Irish, and haf andgaem/gaeaf in Welsh. Given the clarity of thesecorrespondences, any other explanation must ac-count for both months with equal satisfaction.Clear correspondences between the Gaulishmonths Samon and Giamon to the respective Irishnames for May and November are found in theEarly Irish Glossaries:

Article by John Bonsing, PhD and Scott Rhys

In Sanas Cormaic, Cor-mack's Glossary, themonth of May, nowcalled Bealtaine, iscalled Céitemain andexplained in B 210thus: 'cetsoman .i. cet-sámsin .i. cétlúd sínesamraid', which is'May(day), ie compan-ionship of summer ofantiquity'. Variantspellings are: cetso-man, cetsamun, cetsa-main, cetshamuin,(Early Irish Glossariesdatabase: 'cetsoman').The entry for céitemainin eDIL - Electronic Dic

SAMON DUMAN RIVROS ANAGANTIOS OGRON CVTIOS || GIAMON SEMIVISONNA EQVOS ELEMIVIOS EDRINICANTLOS

"Samrad didiu ríad reites grian, is and is mo doatne a soillsi;Cetsoman .i. cetsámsin .i. cétlúd síne samraid;.

Gam quasi gamos isin greic, nouimber. .i. in mí gaim iar samuin"- Sanas Cormaic

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 21

tionary of the Irish Language (use search word:céitemain) provides other references to May andMaytime of the same form. Thus in the Irish lan-guage the compound cet+soman is used to de-scribe the Maytime, the first component revealingthat by the time of the Sanas Cormaic, the Beltainecelebration was being considered ancient, cétlúd,seeing as it had been usurped by Patrick in favourof Easter several centuries earlier (in AD433). May-time's word in Irish 'soman' corresponds to Gaul-ish 'samon', showing Mids Samon to be not only themonth referring to summer, but specifically theMaytime lunation.

The month of November, now called Mí na Samhnaor Samhain in Ireland, is referred to in the form MíGam in Sanas Cormaic, and this corresponds to theGaulish Mids Giamon. In Y 673 it is specificallydescribed as corresponding to November: 'Gamquasi gamos isin greic, nouimber', which is 'Gam,as though in Greek gamos, November' (Early IrishGlossaries database: 'gam'); at this time Greek wasused as the language of trade (Stokes, G. (1892),The Knowledge of Greek in Ireland betweenAD500 - 900). In Y 688, the month is described asfollowing the summer-end festival: 'Gamain .i. inmí gaim iar samuin, unde dicitur gamnach .i. gam-sinech .i. arinni is mblicht i mmi gaim .i. i ngaim-reth', which is 'Gamain (a year-old calf), that is, inthe month of Gam (November), after Samuin (Hal-lowtide), and so to affirm, a milking-cow with ayear-old calf because there is milk in Mí Gam, thatis in the winter' (Early Irish Glossaries database:'gamain'); and in Y 674 and B 391 the month isfound as 'mí gamh' and 'mí gaim' in a lament(Early Irish Glossaries database: 'gaimrith'). Withregard to this lament, O'Donovan remarks 'MíGam here certainly means the month of Novem-ber, for S. Cumine Fota died on the 12th Novem-ber, AD661: O'D.' (Cormack's Glossary (1868)translated and annotated by the late JohnO'Donovan; edited by Whitley Stokes).

This was the arrangement of the Irish year that CúChulaind explains to Loeg in Tochmarc Emer, anIrish hero-tale of the eleventh century: "For two

divisions were formerly on the year, namely, summerfrom Beltaine the first of May, and winter from Samuinto Beltaine.", and of the year's division by the Fenaas described in Tóraigheacht an Ghiolla Dheacair,a sixteenth century Irish manuscript, which reads,"For this was the manner in which the Fena used tospend their time. They divided the year into two parts.During the first half, namely, from Bealtaine to Sam-hain, they hunted each day with their dogs; and duringthe second half, namely from Samhain to Bealtaine,there was not a chief or a great lord or a keeper of a houseof hospitality in the whole country that had not nine ofthe Fena quartered on him during the winter half of theyear."

The Celtic calendar clearly demonstrates the cul-tural link of language of northwestern Europethrough the Celtic words and the concepts theydefine inscribed on the tablet - so that concepts oftime held by the touta of Gaul may be usefullycompared with those of the tuatha of Ireland. It islegitimate to ask whether Gaul, Britain and Irelandconducted timekeeping systems that functioned inlike manner, such that Celtic culture extended in aconsistent manner throughout the north-west.

Interpretation of the Calendar and its relation tothe seasons is an on-going effort. Two books rele-vant and accessible illustrate this point. Stephen CMcCloskey's "Astronomies and cultures in earlymedieval Europe" (2000) describes the Colignycalendar month of Samon being ascribed to thesummer, but leaves open the possibilities that itincludes the summer solstice or Samhain (p.58).Similarly, John T Koch's Celtic culture - a histrori-cal encyclopedia (2006) states there is compellingevidence to attach either Samhain or Beltaine asthe Celtic new year.

Reconstructions of the Celtic calendar have beenproduced that vary in the relative seasonal ar-rangement. The reconstruction of Mac Neill placesSamon, the first month of the year, such that itincludes the summer solstice. This reconstructionis available to view at University of Berkeleywhich includes the accompanying paper 'On the

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 22

SAMHRADH - SAMON - SUMMER GEIMHREADH - GIAMON - WINTER

SAMON 30 days "Summer" GIAMON 29 days "Winter"

Apr --> MayBeltaine

(*samo-, samrad) Oct --> NovSamhain

(*gaimo-, gaimred)

DVMAN 29 daysMay --> Jun

early summer

"The World"(dumno-, domhan)

SIMIVIS 30 daysNov --> Decearly winter

"The Source"(sem + uis)

RIVROS 30 daysJun --> Jul

summer solstice

"The New King"(rix, ri + úr)

EQVOS 29/30 daysDec --> Jan

winter solstice

"Horse"(*ekvos, echu)

ANAGAN 29 daysJul --> AugLughnasa

"Unwonted"(an + gant, ingan-

tach)

ELEMBIV 29 daysJan --> Feb

Imbolg

"Nurturing Life"(ailim + *bivo-s)

OGRON 30 daysAug -->Seplate summer

"Colder"(*ogro-, oer, fuar)

EDRINI 30 daysFeb -->Marlate winter

"Warmer"(aedh)

CVTIOS 30 daysSep --> Oct

autumnal equinox

"Cover"(cuddio)

CANTLOS 29 daysMar --> Apr

vernal equinox

"Songs"(cantla, canu)

Notation and Chronography of the Calendar ofColigny, by Eóin Mac Neill © 1926 Royal IrishAcademy', read before the Royal Irish Academy,April 28, 1924 (also available at JSTOR for thosewith access). Alternatively, Samon has been inter-preted as being the equivalent of the Irish festivalof Samhain (ie November eve), ultimately basedon the arguments of Rhys in 1886 that Samhain atNovember eve commenced the Irish year (seeHibbert Lectures, 1886). This is the most popularview (see: Wikipedia for outline and references)and a reconstruction in this arrangement is pre-sented at Marc Carlson - Samon half and MarcCarlson - Giamon half.

Nineteenth and twentieth century enquiries intothe structure of the Irish year are examined else-where (see: Fire feasts section article.) That exami-nation demonstrates the idea that Samhaincommences the Irish and more generally Celticyear originated at a very late date with the 1886Hibbert Lectures presented by Sir John Rhys, andthat this view is fallacious (also see below for the

rationale of this conclusion); The same conclusionis also provided by Ronald Hutton (see: Stations ofthe Sun, 1996; Samhain section).

The Celtic calendar presented here, originally re-searched by Caer Australis, is a development ofthe understanding that Samon as a 'summer'month, and demonstrates the beginning of thetraditional Celtic year as being based on a singleand practical defining rule: The first year of eachFive year cycle begins in Maytime, with the firstfull lunation following the spring equinox, suchthat what we know today as Beltaine is the feastfor the Celtic new year.

This presentation therefore declares the Gaulishname Mids Samon to be equivalent to the Old Irishname cetsoman for the month of May, and thename Mids Giamon equivalent to the Old Irishname mí Gam, used as either the actual monthname or at least as a reference to the month ofNovember. The Welsh refers very straightfor-wardly the the two seasonal feasts as being the

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 23

Calends of Mai and Gaeaf, respectively, thus beingconsistent with the Irish, since May begins the haf,summer, whereas November begins the gaeaf, win-ter. And importantly, it is noted that that what wasdestroyed in Gaul by Roman decree in the seconddecade AD (Tiberius) remained intact in Irelanduntil destroyed by Roman religion in the forty-fourth decade AD ('Patrick').

Two-fold Days, Months, Years, Cycles and a 30 year Age

The Celtic calendar marks off many time periods,known either from the inscription itself or theancient sources from the period of its known use.The way that the astronomical cycles embedded inthe calendar maintain accuracy over time is quitesimilar to the way Celtic knotwork resolves itselfinto a satisfying whole. There is a diurnal cyclewith the daily period commencing at sunset; thereare monthly cycles, divided into light and darkhalves, commencing on the first-quarter phase ofthe moon, and every month is a lunation, which isin essence the beauty of this calendar following asit does the natural phenomenon of the waxing andwaning moon; twelve months mark a year, whichfalls short of the solar year by about ten days, andto account for this there are cycles of five years, theperiod inscribed onto the bronze tablet as discov-ered at Coligny, which introduce at the very startand very middle of the five year cycle an extramonth to align the calendar with the sun; andthere is a thirty year age providing further align-ment of the lunar and solar cycles and marked bythe passage of Saturn, the outermost visible planet.Thirty years is the period Pliny assigns as thelargest unit of Celtic time-keeping. He tells us thatfor the Druids of Gaul, "the fifth day of the moon[is] the day which is the beginning of their monthsand years, as also of their ages, which, with them,are but thirty years. This day they select becausethe moon, though not yet in the middle of hercourse, has already considerable power and influ-ence; and they call Her by a name which signifies,in their language omnia sanantem the all-healing"(Pliny, Natural History, 17.95).

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 24

The Celtic concept of the month as reported byPliny the Elder, commencing at the first quartermoon such that each month corresponds to a luna-tion, is verified on the Celtic calendar because thelengths of the months (29 or 30) and the number ofmonths in each year (12 or 13) show that themonths correspond to lunations (29.5 days); thatthe month starts at the first quarter moon is alsosupported, since the structure of each month onthe calendar is such that it displays a two-foldstructure: its 'name' half and a second half of everymonth headed by a label 'ATENOVX', whichtranslates to 'returning dark'. Commencing at thefirst quarter, the evenings of the first 15 days of themonth are brightly lit by the moon: it waxes to fullmoon and still rises early enough to light the lateevening as it begins to wane. After the last quarter,during the atenoux half of the month, the moonrises after midnight and even as it passes newmoon, it sets during twilight leaving the eveningsky moonless, so this is the 'dark' half of the month.

Each month has a light first half followed by a darksecond half, just as the year itself has a light firsthalf (summer) and a second dark half (winter).

Caesar during his conquest of Gaul (53BC) re-ported the sunset beginning to the Celtic dailyperiod: "they compute periods of time, not by thenumber of days, but of nights; they keep birth-days and the beginnings of months and years insuch an order that the day follows the night"(Caesar, Bellum Gallium, 6.18). This sunset start tothe daily period, and therefore the start of a birth-day, a month or a year is readily understood ascommencing, as Pliny reported, at the first quar-ter, because it is a clearly observable event: at itszenith the moon is clearly split into light and darkhalves. This is far superior to observing a newmoon, or determining which day is the full moon,since these periods are extended and difficult toprecisely note. The split quarter moon also re-flects a running theme of two-foldness in theCeltic calendar.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 25

The structure of the year also displays patterns ofsymmetry: the semi-alternating month lengths ofmatus 30 day (M) and anmatus 29 day (A) monthsis a means to keep time with the lunations, 29.5days, and in the arrangement is displayed a two-fold complementarity regards the month lengths.This has its point of reflection at the winter cross-quarter, specifically the Giamon (A) | Simivisonna(M) boundary, resulting in a symmetryAMAMMA|MAAMAM. This is located sixmonths after the trinox samoni in Samon (and ofcourse the reflection may be regarded as at theSamon (M) | Duman (A) boundary). Nevertheless,the structural symmetry seems to reflect or antici-pate the concept of the Samhain feast being locatedwhere 'the boundary between the worlds' is thin-nest. It also underscores an importance and signif-icance of the winter cross-quarter as ancient as theopening of the year at the summer.

Due the the arrangement of the months reflectingcomplementarity of length about the winter crossquarter, two consequent and quite possibly fortui-tous and insignificant patterns can be detected: apattern of reflection about the Rivros (M)| Anagan(A) boundary results in a mixed symmetry ofAMAM:AM|AM:MAMA where the outer fourmonths are like-lengths and the central two arecomplements. Another pattern has two foci aboutRiuros and Eqvos , resulting in the pattern com-mencing at Samon, MA:M:AM MAM:A:AMA,where like-length and complementarity of lengthis displayed in the months about the focal months,which are themselves complements.

Two series of annotations that span a period ofabout a solar year are inscribed upon the calen-dar; full details are unavailable due to missingportions of the inscription, and therefore only at-tested dates are noted (for some cases, it is almostcertain all years mark the day, for others this canbe problematical). PRINNI LAG commences atthe winter cross-quarter, commencing at Simivis1 (Y1,3,4) and proceeds step-wise over the follow-ing two months at one day advanced, namelyEqvos 2 (Y1,2,3,4,5), Elembivos 3 (Y2), then every

other month at one day advanced, namely Cant-los 4 (Y1,2,3,4,5), Dvman 5

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 26

Y1,2,3,4), Anagan 6 (Y1,3,4,5) and preceded twodays earlier by the annotation OCIVM (Y3,4,5),Cvtios 7 (Y2 and not Y5)/Giamon 7 (Y5 and not Y3where TIOCOBR[extio] occurs) and finally Simivis8 (Y1, 3 and not Y4 where TIOCOBREXTIO (Simi7)/SINDIV (Simi 9) occurs) - a total of 362 daysfrom Simi 1 to Simi 8. PRINNI LOVD also spansthe same period, commencing after the trinox sa-moni and therefore six months off-set, at Dvman 1(Y2,3,4), proceeding as follows: Rivros 2 (Y2,3,5),Ogron 3 (Y5), Cvtios 4 (Y2,5), disappearing in thewinter half of the year apart from Cantlos 7 (Y3)and reappearing at Samon 7 (Y2,3 and not Y1where EXINGI (Sam 3) occurs) and finally at Riv-ros 8 (Y2,3 and not Y1 where DEVORLUG (Riv 12)occurs, and in addition, BRIG (Riv 4, Y3,4) occurs).

TIOCOBREXTIO (cf tocht coming/going and bre-cc speckled/mixed) days culminate at the springequinox: in all years this day is marked on day 15of Cantlos, the last day of the named light half ofthat month: it may denote the religious/officialequinox.

Observations that may be made of these PRINNIseries include the term itself, that appears to berelated to 'tree' (W pren, I crann; 'The rise of theCelts' Hubert et al. 1934, p.234) and byextension/speculation to 'constellations'; thereare hints here of some sort of 'tree calendar' dueto a day progression to completion about a solaryear hence. PRINNI LAG is associated with theAnmatus months, either directly or by virtue offurther annotations on the Matus occurrences thatrefer to an Anmatus month (eg Sim 1 is annotatedas a 'Giamon' day); the opposite is true for PRIN-NI LOVD in that it is likewise associated withMatus months. Both series are associated with thetwo-fold complementarity about the winter cross-quarter and its own complement after the trinoxsamoni.The five years shown on the bronze inscriptiondescribe a moon-and-sun cycle. At this level ofstructure, the mathematical genius of the Celticculture comes to light. Since twelve months of theCeltic year last for twelve lunations, namely (12 x

29.5 =) 354 days, the total number of days in theyear do not match the solar year of 365 lunations,29.5 days, and in the arrangement is displayed atwo-fold complementarity regards the monthlengths. This has its point of reflection at the win-ter cross-quarter, specifically the Giamon (A) |Simivisonna (M) boundary, resulting in a symme-try AMAMMA|MAAMAM. This is located sixmonths after the trinox samoni in Samon (and ofcourse the reflection may be regarded as at theSamon (M) | Duman (A) boundary). Nevertheless,the structural symmetry seems to reflect or antici-pate the concept of the Samhain feast being locatedwhere 'the boundary between the worlds' is thin-nest. It also underscores an importance and signif-icance of the winter cross-quarter as ancient as theopening of the year at the summer.

Due the the arrangement of the months reflectingcomplementarity of length about the winter crossquarter, two consequent and quite possibly fortui-tous and insignificant patterns can be detected: apattern of reflection about the Rivros (M)| Anagan(A) boundary results in a mixed symmetry ofAMAM:AM|AM:MAMA where the outer fourmonths are like-lengths and the central two arecomplements. Another pattern has two foci aboutRiuros and Eqvos , resulting in the pattern com-mencing at Samon, MA:M:AM MAM:A:AMA,where like-length and complementarity of lengthis displayed in the months about the focal months,which are themselves complements.

Two series of annotations that span a period ofabout a solar year are inscribed upon the calen-dar; full details are unavailable due to missingportions of the inscription, and therefore only at-tested dates are noted (for some cases, it is almostcertain all years mark the day, for others this canbe problematical). PRINNI LAG commences atthe winter cross-quarter, commencing at Simivis1 (Y1,3,4) and proceeds step-wise over the follow-ing two months at one day advanced, namelyEqvos 2 (Y1,2,3,4,5), Elembivos 3 (Y2), then everyother month at one day advanced, namely Cant-los 4 (Y1,2,3,4,5), Dvman 5 (Y1,2,3,4), Anagan 6

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 27

(Y1,3,4,5) and preceded two days earlier by theannotation OCIVM (Y3,4,5), Cvtios 7 (Y2 and notY5)/Giamon 7 (Y5 and not Y3 whereTIOCOBR[extio] occurs) and finally Simivis 8 (Y1,3 and not Y4 where TIOCOBREXTIO (Simi7)/SINDIV (Simi 9) occurs) - a total of 362 daysfrom Simi 1 to Simi 8. PRINNI LOVD also spansthe same period, commencing after the trinox sa-moni and therefore six months off-set, at Dvman 1(Y2,3,4), proceeding as follows: Rivros 2 (Y2,3,5),Ogron 3 (Y5), Cvtios 4 (Y2,5), disappearing in thewinter half of the year apart from Cantlos 7 (Y3)and reappearing at Samon 7 (Y2,3 and not Y1where EXINGI (Sam 3) occurs) and finally at Riv-ros 8 (Y2,3 and not Y1 where DEVORLUG (Riv 12)occurs, and in addition, BRIG (Riv 4, Y3,4) occurs).

TIOCOBREXTIO (cf tocht coming/going and bre-cc speckled/mixed) days culminate at the springequinox: in all years this day is marked on day 15of Cantlos, the last day of the named light half ofthat month: it may denote the religious/officialequinox.

Observations that may be made of these PRINNIseries include the term itself, that appears to berelated to 'tree' (W pren, I crann; 'The rise of theCelts' Hubert et al. 1934, p.234) and byextension/speculation to 'constellations'; there arehints here of some sort of 'tree calendar' due to aday progression to completion about a solar yearhence. PRINNI LAG is associated with the Anma-tus months, either directly or by virtue of furtherannotations on the Matus occurrences that refer toan Anmatus month (eg Sim 1 is annotated as a'Giamon' day); the opposite is true for PRINNILOVD in that it is likewise associated with Matusmonths. Both series are associated with the two-fold complementarity about the winter cross-quar-ter and its own complement after the trinox samo-ni.

The five years shown on the bronze inscriptiondescribe a moon-and-sun cycle. At this level ofstructure, the mathematical genius of the Celticculture comes to light. Since twelve months of the

Celtic year last for twelve lunations, namely (12 x29.5 =) 354 days, the total number of days in theyear do not match the solar year of 365 days. TheCeltic calendar solves the problem by using theFive Year cycle, and adding an extra month of 30days at the beginning of the first year of each cycleand in the middle of the third year of each cycle.So in Year One, an extra month occurs beforeSamon, and in Year Three, an extra month occursbefore Giamon.

Therefore the Five Year cycle is divided into two2.5-year halves, the two half cycles beginning withthe extra months and each followed by 30 regularlunar months. In this way, the two-fold nature of afive year cycle may be appreciated. Therefore two-foldness is evident in each level of structure: days,months, years and five year cycles.

This Five Year cycle is very efficient in keeping thesolar and lunar alignments. However, over thecourse of every Five Year cycle, the calendar ad-vances by five or six days compared to 5 solaryears. The thirty year age comprises six Five yearcycles, leading to an advance of about thirty daysaver the age. The ancient Celtic astronomers andtimekeepers solved this drift by omitting the extraintercalary month prior to Samon at the start of thefirst cycle of the thirty year age, since the advance indays each cycle already brings the days to theircorrect position.

Here we see the significance of the Thirty year age,as reported by Pliny the Elder. Plutarch aroundAD75 described a tradition known fromDemetrius of Tarsus, who had then recently re-turned from Britain, that "at intervals of thirtyyears the star of Cronus, which we call 'Splendent'but they, our author said, call 'Night-watchman',enters the sign of the Bull, they, having spent along time in preparation for the sacrifice and theexpedition, choose by lot and send forth a suffi-cient number of envoys in a correspondingly suffi-cient number of ships ... while those who haveserved the god together for the stint of thirty yearsare allowed to sail off home" (Plutarch, De Facie,

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 28

Loeb p.185). Diadorus also refers to a Hyperbo-rean festival, that lasted "from the vernal equinoxuntil the rising of the Pleiades" (Diodorus, Libraryof History 2,47), and the context is consistent withthe year being complete at the heliacal rise of Tau-rus.Year 1: An extra month prior to Samon(except firstyear of age), then 12 months (384 days)Year 2: 12 months (354 days)Year 3: 6 months, an extra month prior to Giam-mon, then 6 months (384 days)Year 4: 12 months (354 days)Year 5: 12 months (354 days)A lunation averages at 29.53 days, and over aCeltic age of six five-year cycles, there occur(6x62)-1 lunations, a total of 10,956 days. In thirtysolar years, measured as 365.24 days each, thereare a total of 10,957 days. That is a mere 1.6 daysout of alignment. The calendar configuration itselfmarked out whole days, months, years and ages,according to a practical and most likely religiousfunction. Certain months will not match the exactquarter moon, for there are periods of three 30 daymonths in a row. Therefore the specifics of thecalendar become points of minute research. Forexample, the month Equos is named 'anmatus',associated with 29 day months yet inscribed with30 days. The overall guiding principals for under-standing the calendar still allow for the prepara-tion of a working calendar of correspondences tothe Gregorian calendar of the present year.

Incorporating the ancient sources with the Irishglossary and manuscript information, the follow-ing system is advanced: The month Samon com-mences with the lunation of 'Maytime' (GregorianApril/May, including the festival of Beltaine),commencing at the first quarter moon, and isnamed for the season that opens at this time,which is Samrad the summer. The name Samon isdirectly related to Irish Cétemain, that is themonth of May on the Julian/Gregorian calendarand includes the trinox samoni that is probablythe antecedant to Beltaine. The largest scale peri-od described by the calendar, a thirty year age, isset as commencing in the year when the heliacal

rise of Saturn is in Taurus, which occurred inMay in ancient times. By this reckoning, the sev-enth month Giamon marks the lunation thatopens Gaimred the winter, for which it is named,and corresponds to GregorianOctober/November, including the festival ofSamhain. Each of the ancient and medieval sourc-es that refer to aspects of Celtic timekeeping areheld in concordance with this interpreation, asexplained within this presentation; all are consist-ent with Samon corresponding to Samrad thesummer, and Giamon corresponding to Gaimredthe winter.

© John Bonsing PhD and Scott Rhys Jones.

About Caer Australis

Since 1995 Caer Australis has enjoined with othersin this challenge in our celebration Celtic tradi-tions and our reasoned analyses of some popularmodern ideas. We present an ancient history fromBrennus to Boudicca, and explore to meet KingArthur. Being based in Sydney, Australia, we ad-dress southern hemisphere perspectives of theFeasts, the Calendar and link to Australian Celticwebsites and cultural festivals. In exploring thesong, myths and history of the Celts, we join thosewho strive to find the magic and meaning of thepowerful literature of an enduring culture. In ourundertakings, we follow as best we can the preceptexpressed by Gwydion, 'Grows an oak upon asteep, the sanctuary of a fair lord; If I speak notfalsely, Lleu will come into my lap.'

For additional information on other aspects relat-ing to the Celtic Calendar please feel free to visitCaer Australis.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 29

Article by Dr. Kenneth Proefrock

A Wildcrafted SpiritualityIn the Bush of Ghosts

Final PartOver Beltaine weekend of 2009, I spent three daysin a row devoted to walking in the wilderness. Iaveraged 20 or so miles each day, and didn'tcome across another person the entire time.

These particular trips were to set the stage for theremaining trips through that summer and to dowhat I could to re-kindle and re-invigorate a rela-tionship between myself and the Council. Itwould prove to be the beginning of my reconnec-tion with something archaic and very real. Thefirst day I took the first liter of the Beltaine sun-rise water catch from our well, along with someoats, cornmeal, lavender flowers, and tobacco togive as offerings to the Council of Elders. Thiswas to be my starting point on these forays; Iwould perform my ritual and then I would juststart walking. I find that hours of walking in thedry heat allows my incessant mind chatter to be-gin to let up and promotes a peaceful quietnesswithin me. In an attitude of radiant acquiescence,it becomes possible to begin to experience thedeeper desolate beauty of this place, to hear itsvoice and see its signs, in a more profound waythan usual. It reminded me of how wonderful it is

to be a polytheist in a modern world--it has re-in-vigorated that aspect of my spiritual identity. Ifound myself in mines, with more conversationsabout exploitation and greed, I made offeringsand I made apologies. I made pacts, I made alli-ances, I tasted every plant along the way andstood on every peak that I could access. I took on-ly three litres of water, an apple and a granola bareach day. I also had a gps unit and offerings forwhomever I met along the way. At the end ofeach day, I felt cleansed, but tired, re-created butsimilarly wired with that sense of accomplish-ment that comes from losing one's self to findone's Self.

Each day I ranged further and further into thewilderness, having covered all of the official trailsin the park, I was walking game trails, the pathsof least resistance. Each one potentially ancientsimply because they are the paths of least resis-tance—in the shifting terrain of my thought-fieldunder the influence of immersion in nature, thetrails speak volumes—as one accustoms them-selves to their signs, you start to pick out the lay-ers of history, and I found myself amidst the

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 30

remnants of ruins. There were 11 villages in thesemountains 900 years ago, the largest of thesespanned an area of 850 acres. The Hohokam occu-pied this entire area; a millennia ago it would havebeen an oasis, a constant source of fresh water in adesert landscape. These were people who builttheir houses of mud and wood on stone founda-tions. Now only the foundations remain, somecrumbled stone community ovens are still visible,and, of course, the tell-tale signs of Hohokam pres-ence are the occasional petroglyph panel and thecrumbled are the occasional petroglyph panel andthe crumbledremains of canals and retaining wallssurrounding village complexes leading from thenow dry waterways. I could almost imagine howsome of these villages might have looked; I triedto envision how this environment might have ap-peared when water was more abundant. Deserttrees and cacti are extremely long-lived, I couldn'tvouch for 900 year old specimens, but, I do knowthat 150-200 years is not uncommon for Saguarocacti, and chapparal, or greasewood, (Larrea tri-dentata) is presumed to be a single organism andseveral thousand years old.

Picture of Saguaro cactus, other cacti and Santa Catalinamountains along Bear Canyon Trail in the Sabino CanyonRecreation Area, near Tucson, Arizona.

Photo Jon Abbott 2007

Perhaps the vegetation was only a little differentthan it is now, even so, this is wild terrain, hostileand enduring, but easily scarred, its fragility inthis regard rivaling its ferocity. A single strollthrough wild desert will disrupt a delicate web offungal “mucus” that allows the dry soil to adhereto itself, the disruption guarantees that the top-soilwill erode away in the wind almost immediately.It is imperative that one stay on some kind of trailin order to minimize the damage from one's pres-ence and following game trails provides the illu-sion of following in the footsteps of the Hohokamelders, and, in this easily scarred landscape, thatmay well be the truth of it.

I didn't find the Bursera trees that Beltaine week-end, but once again, I knew where they weren't.Using satellite photos superimposed over topomaps, I traced game trails from one end of themountain range to the other. Identifying the loca-tions of the eleven villages on the maps allowedme to emphasize those  systems of trails thatseemed most likely to have been used by previoushuman inhabitants. My rationale being that, ifpurposely cultivated, the Bursera trees would like-ly be somewhere in the vicinity of one of thosevillages. I spent the next six weekends exploringthese trail systems, all to no avail. I experienced aninternal transformation through this process thatrivaled my externally visible loss in weight andextremely tanned skin. I began to understandwhat it means to be deeply attached to the landthat one lives with, I have become obsessed withits history and the people who lived here beforeme. I believe that the spirits of this place led me todiscover who I was in the present and who myancestors were from the past. They led me to mycurrent path of Celtic Reconstructionism whenthey were clear that I was welcome here in thisdesert and that I would be guided, but, I needed tofind out what my ancestral orientation was be-cause they would no longer allow their continuedexploitation by people with no roots. Roots, ances-tral connection, provides immediate and enduringaccountability for one's actions. They were pro-foundly clear that I had to come to the table with a

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 31

better understanding of whom I was and that ourrelationship was going to be a mutually beneficialgive and take or nothing at all. I believe that Ialmost died in the bottom of that mine shaft 10years ago, the experience that I had then has nowbecome as vivid in my mind as it was a decadeago, no doubt thanks to a healthy imaginationplaying off of my fervent journaling from the time;my current spiritual path is a wildcrafted continu-al expression of my attempt to carry out the agree-ments that I made with those spirits of this placewhom, I believe, were integral to my survival andcontinue to be integral to my spiritual develop-ment.

Eventually, I did meet with a different form ofsuccess. It was an excessively hot and dry Julyweekend, I had decided to take a short hike upwhat looked like an extremely steep series of wa-terfalls on the topo map. Only 11 miles from myhouse, and on my side of Ford Canyon, I could getwithin two miles of the waterfall complex on amountain bike. From there it would be an arduoustrek in extreme heat to the base of the waterfalls. Imade it in fantastic time and was feeling great as Istarted to scale the first of the dry waterfalls. Thearea was covered in mineral deposits that lookedsuspiciously like the water source here had been amineral spring, not an uncommon occurrence inthis part of the country. As the urban sprawl of themetropolitan Phoenix area has sucked up an un-precedented amount of water from these aquifersover the past fifty years, these higher regions havebecome chronically dry. I even remember seasonalwater in several springs and mineral wells justtwenty five years ago that haven't made anothershowing in the past ten years. These were thethoughts going through my head that morning asI was scaling the waterfall and came to one ofthose climbing impasses where you realize thatyou can't go up any more on the route that youhave chosen, looking down makes it clear that thatisn't an option either. I eased myself over to the leftside of the ledge that I was perched on and huggedmy way around the far corner of the dry waterfall.As soon as I was able to see around the corner, to

my astonishment sat the shortest, fattest littleBursera tree that I had ever seen. I couldn't helpbut laugh out loud, my heart sang as I jumped offthe rock I had been hugging and onto the hillside.I ran over to the tree with a smile that must havebeen as wide as my face, which I was then using tosmell the incredible aroma of wild frankincenseemanating from its leaves. I sat there in the pres-ence of this Holy Manifestation for at least an hour,making offerings and songs of thanksgiving, gid-dy as a school girl. It wasn't until I started explor-ing the surrounding area for signs of other Burseratrees that I noticed the incredible petroglyph panelnot 15 feet up the hill from the tree. This was noordinary tree, and this was no ordinary place—there was a palpable presence here.I found two more Bursera trees that day, and fromthat point onward, it was like something funda-mental had changed in my relationship with thiswilderness. Bursera trees started appearing in ev-ery small, hidden canyon that I visited, I followedmy intuition and some etheric lead from the treesthat I had already discovered and kept findingmore. I followed an inclination one weekend thatled me to a hidden canyon on the south-westernedge of the Council of Elders' amphitheatre, andthere I found a grove of 14 Elephant trees—noteven a quarter mile from where my original mineshaft experience had taken place ten years ago. Iwas shocked and amused that I had literallywalked hundreds of miles in this wilderness over

Bursera tree photo by Toedrifter 2010

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 32

a four month period of time only to find what Iwas looking for so close to where that profoundexperience had taken place. It also meant thatthese trees were part of the original complex ofplants that comprised the Council of Elders that Ihad been introduced to a decade ago!

I stood before the largest and oldest of the Burseratrees and performed a short Sacred Center medita-tion. Identification with the Sacred Center is amethod that I have found very effective at remind-ing me to be mindful of the present moment. It isa reminder that I am in the World and that theWorld is within me, and, that I am not separatefrom the natural world around me. The SacredCenter can be seen as the point of creation if we seethe act of Creation as a passage from the non-man-ifest to the manifest, and as we might see ourselvesas a creative force in the universe. It is also recog-nition that all space has the potential to be sacredspace, when we allow ourselves to become awareof it as such. As I stood quietly and relaxed withhands resting at my sides. Clearing my mindand bringing my awareness to my breath.

“I am at the Centre of the World.”On exhalation and kneeling with palmstouching the ground:“I stand upon the Sacred Land.”On inhalation and while rising:“The Nine Waves of the Sea surroundme.”Looking upward with next inhalation:“The Eternal Sky spreads itself aboveme.”Purposely aware of the surrounding envi-ronment:“I am at the center of the Three Realms.”

Towards the Tree: "Bile, a World Tree, here per-sonified by this ancient Bursera, connects me tothe three realms. Known as 'Xoop' by the Seri

people, Bursera, You were the very first thingcreated when this world came into existence. Be-ing in Your presence is a reminder of where wecome from, who we are and to never forget thesethings as we continue to become.”Speaking the words out loud had a profound ef-fect on my psyche as well as a perceptible effect onthe world around. I was overwhelmed with grati-tude that I was able to participate in such a placeof solitude and peace with these amazing trees,this relationship has shifted my Spirituality inprofound ways--it has given me a compulsion togo often into the wilderness and to this grove, anda strong passion for a particular tree that I havenever before experienced. As of October 10, 2009,I have documented and mapped the presence offorty Bursera microphylla trees in the most north-ern reaches of their range.

The archaeology of medicinal plant usage showsthat those plants that have been used in the pastand are currently in use for treating illness havenot been haphazardly chosen, but enjoy long his-tories of use. There are some estimates of over750,000 distinct plants in existence today, if weadd those plants that have had a history withearlier humans but are now extinct, we may wellraise that estimate to over a million different kindsof plants. The diversity of Nature is truly a won-der, yet, only a small fraction of this milieu havebeen included in the healing pharmacopeias ofvarious societies. Perhaps, even more interesting,though each cultural group is dependent on thoseplants that are available to them, we often see thesame genera of plants represented in the medi-cines of people living in widely separated areas ofthe world. Why such a small fraction of the totalnumber of possible plants, and these being thesame or closely related plants, seem to be the mostfrequently employed therapeutically is a provoca-tive question.

Certainly, people were sharing knowledge of heal-ing plants with one another long before anyonewrote anything down, especially as people would

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 33

der if there is some primal connection betweenhumans and certain families of plants, such that acertain intimate level of communication is moreapt to occur. What

I see not being addressed, except maybe by a smallnumber of modern writers like Matthew Woodand Paul Bergner, is the empirical, first hand expe-rience of the individual with the plant--how doesit taste, smell, where does it grow in relation towhere one may live, what sorts of cultural andhistorical metaphors can be applied to the plant'sactivity, the more fully we can fill in these relevantdetails, the more likely we are to create a betterunderstanding of how this organism helps to cre-ate essential meaning with our own complexselves. Almost any plant can be justified for anydisease if we simply look for relevant constituents.When we introduce someone to the full richness ofwhat a plant has to offer, and we facilitate a con-nection between these two organisms, we arehelping that person realize a deeper connection

with the natural world. If I can get someone toactually go out and find the plant on its own termsin the wild, I consider that a true therapeutic suc-cess! Necessarily, I find myself preferring thoseplants that grow in abundance in my immediatearea. This is why I am so excited about finding theBursera trees here, they are truly a treasure.

Authentically transformative practices, by defini-tion, allow us the opportunity to dis-identify withour temporal physical shell and re-identify withthat universal and constant aspect of ourselvesthat transcends this place and this time. I think thatwe lose something when we allow such practicesto remain passive. Actively participating in theexploration of a wilderness environment has pro-vided me with just such an opportunity for dis-identification, I am transformed by this Wildcraft-ed Spirituality.

Dr. Kenneth Proefrock.

An opportunity for fellowship with like minded people, in a magnificent three hundred acre mixed forest,North of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The weekend includes:-

Presentations on aspects of Celtic and Druidic CultureMusic: StorytellingWorkshops, including esoteric and on magical themesRituals associated with the time of yearCelts and Druids welcome from around the world

All meals are included, with your choice of shared accommodation or camping. Attendance must bepre-booked and paid through the web site of Druidic Dawn, prior to the event. Are you interested inpresenting a talk, lecture or workshop on a Celtic or Druidic theme?

Spaces are still available, please contact the organising team with your proposal. This is a non profit eventsponsored by Druidic Dawn with the organisers volunteering their time and efforts. Register your interest bycontacting the organising team at celticgatherings@druidicdawn.org.Registration forms will be available in the near future on the web site.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 34

The Fifth Direction Sacred centres in Ireland

Anyone who starts to take an interest in the medi-eval texts relating to Ireland quickly picks up theidea that the country was divided into ‘fifths’.Indeed, the Gaelic word cuigeadh still means‘fifths’ (singular coiced) and the modern-day Gael-ic expression which translates literally as ‘the fivefifths of Ireland’ refers to the political divisions ofUlster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster. Yes, youhave counted correctly. There are only four ‘fifths’in Ireland. The early legends subdivided Munsterinto east and west, but this is an artificial adjust-ment. The earliest clearly datable references to thecuigeadh relate to the kingdoms which emerged inthe fifth and sixth centuries. At this date Ireland isconsidered to be divided into fifths but only fourfunctional divisions are recognisable.

A region known as Midhe (perhaps meaning ‘mid-dle’ or ‘neck’), which incorporated the royal centreat Tara, was regarded as having pre-eminent sta-tus and has for many centuries been popularlyconsidered to be the fifth coiced. Yet, politically,from the iron age onwards, Midhe was under thedomination of one or other adjoining kingdoms.

Tara, with its impressive group of ditched earth-works and the Lia Fail (Stone of Density, used forthe coronation of the High Kings of Ireland), in-deed had enourmous prestige in the medievalliterature yet, when the kings met annually (atBeltain), they did so at a natural outcrop known inrecent years as Aill na Mireann, but probably tra-ditionally as Carraig Choithrigi (the Stone of Divi-sions), which is situated near the less-impressiveearthworks on the Hill of Uisnech. Furthermore, itis Uisnech, not Tara, which is the geographicalmid-point of Ireland. For instance, it is claimedthat a beacon fire on Uisnech can be seen over aquarter of Ireland [1].

Ireland divided into four 'fifths'(adapted from Rees and Ress).

Sunset on the Hill of Tara, Co.Meath, Ireland. Photo Neil Forrester 2007

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 35

Midhe is not the missing fifth coiced. Neverthe-less, the earliest literary sources suggest that thisfive-fold division is of immemorial antiquity, asuggestion generally accepted by historians andarchaeologists. What we are looking at is less afive-fold division which had pragmatic functionsfor politics and government than at a mythologi-cal concept which forms a fundamental level ofsymbolism within Irish tradition. In a book ofCeltic mythology published in 1961 [2] (which hassurvived the ravages of academic debates anddevelopments much better than many laterworks) Alwyn and Brinley Rees develop a de-tailed appreciation of this cosmological symbol-ism.

In essence, it requires us to think of five directions.Modern western thinking counts four cardinalpoints (north, south, east and west) but the Irish,along with several other traditional Indo-Europe-an cultures and the Chinese, think of five direc-tions - the fifth being ‘here’ or ‘centre’.

Mahjong tile for 'centre'

The logic of this is impeccable. ‘North’, ‘south’and such like are all essentially relative terms -what is north of me at this moment might well besouth of you or vica versa. Everything is relativeto ‘here’ This fifth direction is also the axis mundi,the Cosmic Axis, which manifests worldwide asthe World Tree and its derivatives, such as themaypole. For each of us, the centre is ‘here’.

Yggdrassil, the World Treeof northern traditions.

This cosmological symbolism begins to explainthe sanctity given to crossroads. Although moredifficult for the modern mind to comprehend,crossroads were once considered to be the mostmagical places, credited with powers of protectionand healing, and favoured places for magicalspells and love auguries. Crossroads were alsodangerous places - penal courts often met there,the pillory or stocks and, traditionally, the gallowswere so sited. Suicides, gypsies, witches, outlawsand other reprobates were buried there - as innu-merable labourers repairing roads have discov-ered [3].

Nine Mens Morris board.Traditional north European board games stronglyreflect this same ‘four-sides-and-centre’ form.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 36

‘Nine Men’s Morris’ was a common persuitthroughout the medieval period and crudely-scratched ‘boards’ survive on the stone seats of anumber of medieval church porches and the like.This game has survived today in the similar, butless-interesting, ‘Noughts and Crosses’. Of at leastequal antiquity are a different family of relatedgames which the Irish knew as Brandubh and theVikings as Hnefatafl (‘King’s table’). One contest-ant defends the King, who starts play at the centre,from the other contestant, whose pieces start fromthe four sides.

Hnefatafl board with pieces shownat starting positions.

An old Irish baldic poem draws a direct analogybetween Brandubh and the position of the HighKing at Tara, with the men of the four cuigeadharrayed in the appropriate directions [4].

The history of Tara is complex. The most visibleremains today are two conjoined iron age hillforts(see illustration p18), in one of which now standsthe Lia Fail. The ritual importance of the site ex-tends much further back, however, as the so-called‘Mound of the Hostages’ (all these names are sim-ply high Victorian myth-making derived frommistaken readings of medieval literary sources)proved, on excavation to be a neolitihic passagetomb. Aligned to the ‘Mound of the Hostages’ isthe ‘Banqueting Hall’ which is probably neolithicand a cursus-like feature on which all the major

roads of ancient Ireland converged. Aerial photo-graphs reveal a number of otherwise-invisible cir-cles and mounds in the vicinity [5].

The surviving earthworks at Tara.

The literature relating to Tara reveals a more com-plex cosmological mythology. To develop brieflyjust one aspect, the Ulster Cycle of the medievalliterature describes how the trouble-maker Bricriuerected a banqueting hall at Tara and arranged afeast which led to three of the legendary heroes ofUlster contesting the Champion’s Portion (seeboxed text on ritual dismemberment). Accordingto the Rees’: ‘The account of the construction ofBricriu’s Hall certainly embodies a calendricalsymbolism. It took seven of the Ulster championsto carry every single lath, and thirty of the chiefartificers of Ireland were employed in constructingand arranging the building. The hall contained thecouches of the twelve heroes and it was built in thecourse of one year.’ [10]

The King who, myths say, brought about the con-struction of Tara had 365 people in his household,became king at the end of his seventh year, andprovided a feast at Samhain which lasted sevendays. To emphasise the calendrical connections,we are told that he had twelve foster-fathers and

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 37

was given a nominal kingship which would elapseat the end of one year.

This symbolism links into wider cosmological concerns,as John Matthews has recognised: ‘the story of the greatIrish hero Cuchulainn describes how, when his last andgreatest battle was going badly, Cuchulainn strappedhimself to a stone monolith, which represented thecentral backbone of creation, and drew strength andsupport from it.’ [11] Both Tara and Uisnech, two axismundi of Ireland, are associated with stones of a sizewhich would readily brace a fading hero.

Cu Chulainn statue

Bronze sculpture of Cu Chulainn tied to a monolith,with the raven-goddess of death on his shoulder.Drawing by David Taylor of a statue cast in 1916 byOliver Shepherd which stands in Dublin's main PostOffice.

If this seems all too androcentric, perhaps it worthmentioning that Janet McCrickard [12] has noted that atTara there was a grianan (literally ‘the abode of the sun’but known from the legends to be an elevated andwell-lit room from which men were excluded). Shesuggests this could have been an ‘observatory’ for a solarcult among the women, maybe a tantalising clue to anarea of ritual unknown, or intentionally ignored, by themale storytellers and scribes.

Tara may be cosmologically the centre of Ireland, butthe geographical centre is over thirty miles to the west.Between the modern towns of Mullingar and Athlone isthe Hill of Uisnech. On the slopes of the hill is thenatural outcrop known as the Stone of Divisions. How-ever, while Tara is in fertile and accessible terrain, thegeographical centre at Uisnech is less hospitable. To thesouth and east are lakes and bogs, to the west and northare rivers and Lough Ree. Nevertheless, legends suggestthat Uisnech was the symbolic focus of Ireland longbefore Tara [13]; early Christian activity was quick toestablish a major monastic site nearby, at Clonmacnoise,on the banks of the Shannon.

Reinforcement of the five-fold cosmological concept ofIreland comes from the clearly-recognisable presence ofsacred centres in each of the four cuigeadh. In Ulster,Navan Fort near Armagh appears to be one of severalsites which make up the remains of a complex of royalcentres. The much-criticised visitors’ centre explores

the idea that Navan Fort fits neatly with the epic litera-ture relating to Eamhain Mhacha, but nothing could befurther from the truth. This is not to say that the sitesnear Armagh were not important - the skull of a Barbaryape, found at Navan Fort and dated to the fifth centuryBC, may be taken as evidence for exotic gifts ‘fit for aking’. The nearby artificial pool, known today as theKing’s Stables, has produced a number of iron age votiveofferings including large ceremonial trumpets. But theseall substantially predate the medieval legends of Eam-hain Mhacha.

The Channel Four programme this February, whichreported on the Time Team ‘visit’ to Navan Fort, madeclear that the iron age sites are strung out over severalmiles and local archaeologists have yet to form a detailedunderstanding of the relationships between the variousearthworks. The most recent excavations at Navan Fortrevealed a vast round iron age temple which was delib-erately burnt to the ground and covered over with astone cairn. The excavators noted that the stones hadbeen placed in ‘wheel-like’ segments and suggested thatthis was a deliberate intention to symbolise a ‘navel’ orritual axis mundi. The excavated remains include thebase of the central wooden post, the centre of the‘wheel’ [14]. Excavations at Haughey’s Fort, overlookingthe King’s Stables pool, have revealed another major site,a possible precursor to Navan Fort itself [15].

Tara, Navan Fort and Dun Ailline (The Hill of Allen inthe sunrise-facing front, Leinster) are all recognised asso-called ‘royal centres’ in the Celtic iron age. However,they share a distinctive feature with a specific type ofneolithic ritual site - henges. They all have banks withinternal ditches. This makes them unsuitable for defence.

Raffin Fort is another major (although smaller) ‘royalcentre’ which, when recently excavated, revealed cul-tural continuity from the late bronze age into the ironage; again a neolithic site was found underlying all thelater earthworks. Quite what these so-called ‘royal cen-tres’ really were used for is subject to intense debate. Weshould not think of them primarily ‘residential’ bases forroyalty but rather as the focus of seasonal gatherings,inaugurations, law courts, and other social and politicalactivities. According to Conor Newman, Director of theTara Survey project, ‘more importantly, they provided asymbolic tribal focus’ [16]. The axis mundi/World Treesymbolism is clear as an other feature of early Irish ‘royalcentres’ is the bile or inauguration tree. At least foursuch sites have a bile at the focal point; a sacred ash alsostood at Uisnech [17]

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 38

Further back, to use the traditional Irish directions, anow-eroded earthwork known as Rathcrogan Mound, atCruchain on the plains of Roscommon, was the centreof Connachta power and took its place in importancealongside Tara, Uisnech, Navan Fort and Dun Ailinne.In more recent centuries it was regarded as one ofIreland’s most important cemeteries - and was the loca-tion of one of the great fairs of ancient Ireland [18].Although things might not be as simple as they look -recent geophysical surveys suggest that RathcroganMound is just part of a scatter of monuments coveringsome four square miles [19].

This is a far from exhaustive list of medieval Irish ‘royalcentres’. Indeed, much remains to be discovered and,above all, understood about these ‘royal centres’. Forinstance, one avenue of approach is to look at place-names with the element riogh (‘royal’). In Leinster alonethis suggests that more investigation is needed at DinnRíogh and Nás na Ríogh. And it is not only the centresthemselves which are of interest, but also the ‘gaps’ inbetween. Excavations in the peat deposits near Colearevealed a prehistoric roadway made from timber. Thiswas no ‘brushwood path’ but built for wheeled trafficand had a ‘monumental character indicative of power,prestige and authority’. It seems never to have beenused; indeed, a short section may never have beenfinished. One explanation of its intended purpose is as aritual route linking Uisnech and Cruchain [20].

One almost consistent feature of these chief ‘royal cen-tres’ is that they acquire a major early Christian neigh-bour. Tara alone seems to be the exception, perhapsbecause of its proximity to Dublin. Uisnech may be whySt Ciaran was attracted to Clonmacnoise around AD545. Navan Fort seems certainly to be been why StPatrick founded the cathdral at Armagh. Well, historicalevidence indicates that it seems most unlikely that StPatrick had anything to do with the origins of Armagh,but long-standing rivalry between the ecclesiastics ofArmagh and Kildare for authority over all Ireland’schurches meant that it was imperative that history wasrewritten to give St Patrick a starring role at Armagh.

More than hagiographical symbolism was invoked inthese ruthless arguments. The whole layout of the medi-eval city of Armagh seems to have been laid out as afive-fold cosmological model, further asserting the rightto be the spiritual centre of the country. The evidencefor this is difficult to summarise but has been ap-proached in Aitchison's book-length work, Armagh and

the Royal Centres in Early Medieval Ireland. He exam-ines many of the ideas and discoveries presented in thisarticle [21].

Indeed, the stimulus to get to grips with this wide-ranging material was provided by Aitchison’s impressiveintegration of myth and archaeology. Michael Dames’Mythic Ireland covers many of the same ideas in a moreaccessible manner, introducing many additional sugges-tions. Several of Dames’ ideas and observations havecrept into this article without overt reference; my apol-ogies and thanks. The pioneering work of the Reesesremains as solid foundations for both these later authors.All these three books provide profound insights into theinterlocked relationship between mythology and physi-cal places which makes the Irish literature and landscapeso special. In this article I have skipped all too capri-ciously across the surface.

© Bob Trubshaw

Originally published in At the Edge No.2 1996.

.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 39

1: Michael Dames, Mythic Ireland, Thames and Hud-son, 1992 [recently reissued as a paperback; see reviewssection of this issue], citing R.A.S. Macalister. Macal-ister’s excavation of the summit of Uisnech in 1927 re-vealed a substantial layer of ash, with vast quantities ofanimal bones suggesting ritual feasting, probably onMay Eve. Dames argues that only two concentric ringsof beacons (one on the coast), with the centre at Uis-nech, could provide a country-wide system of com-munication.

2: Alwyn and Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage: AncientTradition in Ireland and Wales, Thames and Hudson,1961.

3: A more detailed discussion of crossroads and related‘liminal’ sites appeared in my article ‘The metaphorsand rituals of place and time: an introduction to limi-nality’ in Mercian Mysteries No.22 February 1995.

4: Nigel Pennick, Games of the Gods: the Origin ofBoard Games in Magic and Divination, Rider, 1988.

5: Peter Harbison, Pre-Christian Ireland: From the FirstSettlers to the Early Celts, Thames and Hudson, 1988(revised paperback edition 1994).

6: N.B. Aitchison, Armagh and the Royal Centres inEarly Medieval Ireland, Cruithne Press/Boydell andBrewer, 1994. It is no coincidence that the modernterm ‘wasteland’ is derived from ‘west land’. The con-trast with a ‘civilised east’ is graphically demonstratedin the romantic mythology concerning nineteenth cen-tury attempts to tame the ‘Wild West’ of America.More recently, the ‘hippy era’ awoke an interest in thereligions of the east, claiming for them a spiritual mys-ticism which was considered to be lacking from thematerialist emphasis of western religious institutions.The structuralism of the iron age seems to be alive andwell over 2,000 years on!

7: Alby Stone, The Questing Beast and other CosmicDismemberments, Heart of Albion Press, 1993.

8: Alby Stone, Ymir’s Flesh: North European CreationMythologies, Heart of Albion Press, 1997.

9: Stone, The Questing Beast, op. cit.

10: Rees and Rees, op.cit.

11: John Matthews, The Celtic Shaman - a Handbook,Element, 1991.

12: Janet McCrickard, The Eclipse of the Sun: an Inves-tigation into Sun and Moon Myths, Gothic Image,1990.

13: John Michell, At the Centre of the World, Thamesand Hudson, 1994.

14: Current Archaeology No.134 (1993) p44-49.

15: Archaeology Ireland No.31 (1995) p28-30.

16: Archaeology Ireland No.31 (1995) p38-40.

17: Raftery, op. cit. A summary of Celtic tree lore asso-ciated with sacred sites is provided in John Matthews,Taliesin: Shamanism and the Bardic Mysteries in Britainand Ireland, Aquarian, 1991.

18: Harbison op.cit.

19: Archaeology Ireland No.25 (1993) p20-3.

20: Barry Raftery, Pagan Celtic Ireland: the Enigma ofthe Irish Iron Age, Thames and Hudson, 1994.

21: Aitchison, op. Cit.

The world tree Yggdrasil. At the foot of the tree is a well, which ispresumably Urðarbrunnr. No caption or title provided in thework, but the illustration appears in a section of ''Grímnismál'' la-beled "Om Yggdrasil" (Danis)

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 40

Poem by Richard Fox 2/22/82

I am Renard – the Druid, the Man of the Trees,The networker, student and teacher.The great Mountains are my temple.

The Wind my friend – the cold night my consort.

I plant trees across the nation.Following Spring – Planting – Planting.I wallow in the trough of conception.

Birth – Growth – Plant – PlantI watch the flowers erupt, the wind blow warm, the birds sing.

Goddess is on my Mind.

I sleep upon the ground to her caress.I smell her Lordly perfume, hear her orchestra, see her many moods.

Her colors stagger me – the depth of Her, unimaginable.I wander, drunk from her ambrosia.

Goddess is on my mind.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 41

Between the shore and the sea,Rounded Pebbles of many sizes,Amongst the fine grains of sand,Two worlds meet,Governed by the rhythms,From the lady above

The Land stands firm,But it too crumbles in places,As it gives from one to the other,More stones are exposed,Ready for re-shaping back to dust,By the ebbs and flows of the tides.

A rippling sound, carried from the distant hills,Fresh water runs its course, completes its cycle and returns,To the sea, where upon the stones do rest,Two black shags, with feathery crests,Upon their heads, Sun themselves,Watching the third ride the waves.

The sound octave of the sea it changes,As it responds to an inner call,Now turns itself around,Out of the sea five heads appear,With great big round eyes,Seals are basking, on the turning of the tide,

Moving closer to the edge,As the waters retreat back to its centre,Eighteen eyes meet, in the Northwest,Held in time and space, for eternity,

One musical note, seven octaves,Vibrate and resonate in harmony.Such is the power of Creation,Why not, stop, and listen,First with one ear,Then the other,Then with two togetherListen and feel its contents,To read any book,One opens its decorative cover.

Poem by Nigel Dailey 16/5/1998

Between the shore and the sea.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 42

Poem By Richard Fox 12/26/1994

The Battle Thickens

For forty-five years I have lived.And for most of them, I have fought for the forests,

the wild places and the places of power.

There was a time when my blood roared with the fierce fire within,and my veins were filled with the flow of life.

Now my blood moves slower, and the anger is more diffuse.

With my desire to make changes,I sought out opportunity to make a difference.

I reached out to those that make rules.I sought to reason with those who knew

not of the soul in the deep woods.

I have fought many battles and have had many victories...some were small, if touching only one soul at a time is "small",

but gradually I have reached the present.

I now can reach to many other countries,where greater needs prevail, and yet I suffer from the cost.

I meet with foreign ministers, vice presidents, senators and mayors.I wear ties that slowly strangle me,

while the number of people grows exponentially,and the planet loses species by the hour.

Since I cannot easily work more than I already do,I work to best affect the many,

so that they might take on the challenge.

The challenge to reach fools,who would destroy forever, for the profits of the moment.

I work to stop the powerful from using that power for only theirpetty needs.

I seek to bring forth an army who will outlast me,like the millions of trees I have planted.

Each a green warrior with blood that roars from a fierce fire within.Each hearing within their own skulls their own battle cry

"No more retreat...Earth First"

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 43

14th Century Hungary WaterMassage Oil

Liquids

8 oz Vodka1 oz Orange Blossom Water1 oz Rose Water1 oz Infused Vervain Water

Oils

5 drops Rosemary2 drops Chamomile2 drops Spearmint1 drop Neroli

Preparation of Massage Oil

Blend the vodka and watersAdd the oils and seal in air tight bottle Ideally leavefor six months before use.

Use for a vigorously daily body massage.The body will be renewed

DO NOT TAKE INTERNALLY

FormularyRecipe Submitted by Caryl Dailey

thePhoto: Hannes Grobe 2006

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 44

DIRECTIONS

Heat water to 170 F and add 6 cups of heather blossoms. Allowto stand over night . In the morning, strain liquid and boil, thenremove from heat and add honey. Stir in until dissolved. Allowto cool then add brewer’s yeast (5 grams roughly) and fermentuntil fermentation slows down noticeably. Then remove 1/2gallon, add 2 cups of heather flowers and heat to 158 F. Coverand steep for 15 minutes, then return to ferment. When fer-mentation is complete, bottle and store for up to two years foraging.

Note that heather can be rather astringent so sometimes moresugar (in this case, honey) than less is a good thing! The firstbatch I made got left too long and it was like eating sour sloes…. the best thing is to use plenty of honey and make sure youbottle it as SOON as it stops bubbling, or else the heather flow-ers leach bitterness back into the mead. bubbling, or else theheather flowers leach bitterness back into the mead.

Recipe Submitted by Dafydd/CalonDdraig

Heather MeadINGREDIENTS

6 lb heather honey10 cups lightly pressed (unwashed if you wish–as washing removes the slightly psychotropic powdersin the flowers) flowering heather tops4 gallons water

Photo: Liz Burke 2006

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 45

Equipment: All you need is a fermentation bin (availa-ble from shops selling home brew stuff), a sieve, agrater and a lemon squeezer. Clean glass bottles – corksare fine but screw tops are better, a length of syphonpipe.

Ingredients: May blossom, sugar, lemons and oranges,wine yeast (for amounts see below!).

Collecting the blossom: Ideally, you should be pickingyour blossom on a dry, sunny day; this brings out thebest aroma. Although is is supposed to be a flowerwine it is almost impossible to avoid a proportion ofstalks (and even leaves) getting into you receptaclewhich I wouldn’t worry too much about. As far as theamount is concerned, for any kind of blossom andleave wine I use a one pint measuring jug which I filltwice fairly tightly to make one gallon of wine. Anysurplus can only enhance the flavour but do try not touse any less!

Processing: This is done in two stages.

1.) When you get home with your blossom, place themin a clean fermenting bin, boil plenty of water and pourover them. All blossom should be well covered and thebin approximately ¾ full. Press the lid firmly down inorder to keep the aroma in the bin. Let your bin standout of direct sunlight for about three days, duringwhich the water will absorb the flavour and colour ofyour blossom.

2.) After three days put sugar into your biggest panand strain your ‘must’ through a sieve over it. For onegallon of wine you will need about 2½ lbs of sugar. Stirreally well until all sugar is dissolved and add the peelof one lemon and one orange per gallon to it. Bring tothe boil and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefullypour the hot liquid back into your fermentation bin(which you will have rinsed out by then!) and, if neces-sary, fill up with just boiling water to make up to theamount required. Put the lid back on but this time leavea small section slightly open for the hot air to escape.Wait until liquid is hand warm and then stir in the juice

of your lemon(s) and orange(s). Finally, add a sachet ofwine yeast according to the manufacturer’s instruc-tions. That’s it!!!

Fermenting: Leave your bin in a safe place out of thesun and not too cold (at least to begin with). Make surethe lid is still slightly open for the carbon dioxide toescape once fermentation has started. This should be-gin after about 24 hours and is indicated by a layer ofbubbly foam on top of your liquid plus a lively fizzingsound. After three to four weeks fermentation will beslowing down and the bin can now be moved intosomewhat cooler conditions. Altogether your wine willtake at least four months to be ready to drink but it isadvisable to wait another three to four months for thewine to clear, mature and develop its full aroma. Onceyou get into the habit of wine making, best thing is towork in a one-year-rhythm, meaning you syphon yourwine into bottles at roughly the same time that you aremaking next year’s lot!

Syphoning: This can be a bit tricky if you have to moveyour bin! The sediment in the bottom is easily dis-turbed and can cloud your wine which will take daysif not weeks to clear again. If at all possible, for thewhole length of fermentation place your bin on a raisedsurface about twice the height of your bottles. Syphon-ing is much easier done by two people, one actuallyfilling the bottles and the other keeping the end of thepipe just below the gradually lowering surface of thewine. The odd piece of lemon peel might still get intoyour bottles but, by and large, the wine should be clear.If there is some cloudiness, don’t worry! The last bottleto be filled is almost guaranteed to suck up some‘dregs’ from the bottom of the bin; mark it and use forcooking! Otherwise, most wines should clear of theirown accord. The rule is that the longer you leave yourwine – either in the fermenting bin or in the bottles, theclearer it will be. Some wines might never quite clear,while others might come out sparkingly clear straightaway – that’s home brewing for you! There are addi-tives available to help clear wines, but I personally aminclined to tolerate a bit of cloudiness rather than risk-ing a funny aftertaste in my wine. It’s worth it!

Recipe Submitted by Holger/Oak King

Photo: Stanley Howe 2006

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 46

The ancient custom of wassailing is in our daysusually seen as part of the Christmas festivities butmany argue that it is much older than that. Thiscan easily be believed for there can be no doubtthat the word itself is of anglo-saxon origin, deriv-ing from /waes hael/, which means be hale or bewhole, in other words be healthy or good health.Geoffrey of Monmouth, writing in 1135, takes usback to the banquet thrown by Hengist where hisbeautiful daughter Rowena salutes the futureKing of Britain Vortigern wit the words /'Waeshael!/' The Norsemen used to cheer a similar/'Veis heill'/! As both the Anglo-Saxons andNorse used to welcome guests by presenting themwith a horn or goblet of ale or mead, the termevolved into a toast and when the Normans ar-rived on British shores they saw it as a blessing ofthe inhabitants of Britain in general.

What remains today is largely memories of youngfolks going from house to house on Twelfth Night,singing Wassail songs while holding out for foodand drink and, when offered, would then bless thehousehold and move on. This is referred to associal wassailing whilst in the far distant past itwas almost certainly more relevant to people tobless their crops and livestock in order to ensure agood harvest in the newly beginning year and thiswas done by wassailing them. Even today, wherethere are pockets of the tradition survive(Whimple/Devon and Carhampton/Somerset forinstance), people still salute for instance their ap-ple trees, which shows just what a major roleapples still play in the economy of the West Coun-try for example.

So, how and when was/is it done? Although

sometimes wassailing is done on the presentTwelfth Night on the 5th January, traditionalistsstill adhere to 'Old Twelfey Night' on the 17thJanuary. In the case of apple tree wassailing theceremony usually begins just before or after darkby choosing the oldest or most venerable tree andpraising it with chants and rhymes for its fruitful-ness in previous years with the hope that it may doeven better in the coming harvest. Then the treespirits are awakened by sounding horns, beatingkettles and saucepans or firing guns. Sometimesthe tree is even gently beaten with sticks. From thewassail bowl the liquid, plain or spiced cider, ispoured all over the roots and either a wassail cakeor toast soaked in cider placed in the forks of thebranches. There used to be the belief that the treespirits were incarnated in robins and other smallbirds and sometimes young boys were lifted ontothe trees representing them and who would thenreceive gifts of bread or cheese. Finally Wassailsongs are sung to the tree and dancing round itcommences. An interesting end to the proceedingsis known from Devon where after the celebrationthe menfolk would not be let into the house untilthey had guessed the kind of roast that's beingprepared on the spit inside. Isn't this a wonderfulexample of women being the guardians of athreshold (easily imaginable as between thisworld and another world) whose permission mustbe sought and gained in order to cross it?

Needless to say that there are many local varia-tions to the ceremony and manifold too are therhymes that are chanted. To illustrate this, thefollowing is a rhyme that has come down to usfrom Devon:

Article by Holger Burkhardt (Oak King)

Photo: Glyn Baker 2006

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 47

Here's to thee, old apple tree,Whence thou mayst budAnd whence thou mayst blow!And whence thou mayst bear apples enow!Hats full! Caps full!Bushel--bushel--sacks full,And my pockets full too! Huzza!

And this one stems from Gloucestershire:

Blowe, blowe, bear well,Spring well in April,Every sprig and every sprayBear a bushel of apples againstNext new year's day.

Of all the rhymes I came across, it is this one fromDevon which is my personal favourite and obvi-ously of great antiquity:

"Wassaile the treesThat they may beareYou many a plum, and many a peare;For more or less fruits they will bring,As you do give them wassailing."(1647)

Again, from Devon hails this powerful blessingof crops and beasts:

Good luck to the hoof and hornGood luck to the flock and fleeceGood luck to the growers of cornWith blessings of plenty and peace.

Being still part of a well known folk song knownas the Somerset Wassail, this rhyme was widelyused in social wassailing:

Wassail, oh wassail all over the townThe cup it is white, the ale it is brownThe cup it is made of the good ashen treeAnd so is the beer of the best barley.This social variant of wassailing may well haveits roots in the Saxon custom of the Lord of themanor at the beginning of the year shouting,"Waes hael!" to which the assembled crowd re-

plies, "Drinc hael!", meaning drink and behealthy.

Stripped from the later Christian embroidery andtaken back to its true roots, wassailing offers itselfeasily as a ritual activity for which this time ofImbolc is suited like no other. Now that we beginto prepare the ground and put first seeds into soilwe might as well combine this with a simple ritu-al, based on the ancient tradition of wassailing, tohonour the earth and invoke the spirits inherentin the seeds, plants and trees around us. Thischimes in well with the earliest recorded practiceof pouring sanctified liquid onto dormant cropsand orchards after the harvest to bless the groundfor the coming of spring, a practice which thenevolved into apple tree wassailing. Some of usmight keep chickens, goats or other livestock sowhy not show them reverence that way too? Andif we have a chance to get together with like-minded people we may even go as far as wassail-ing our own life, and/or that of others, to invokefruitfulness in our personal and spiritual develop-ment through the coming year.

In the hope that this might fire your imaginationto create an even more meaningful start into thenew year, I'll drink to thee and wish thee:

*WASSAIL!!! *

Holger Burkhardt (Oak King)

Talysarn / North Wales

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 48

Way of the DruidGraeme K. Talboys

ISBN: 9781905047239

Reviewed by: cuardai

The way he organized his book really appealed tome. The first thing that really caught my eyes wasthe table of contents. He began with history, thenculture then religion. He then goes into the Dru-ids, Celtic metaphysics, the survival and revival ofdruidry, and whether or not the “Druid Way” wasa religion. Next come the teachings, followed bythe deities, cosmology, trees, and the structure ofthe “Druid Way”, the ceremonies and rituals ofdruidry and what it means to be a druid in thisworld. The table of contents seems to have it all.That was encouraging.

The introduction was his hopes for the book. Hewanted to write a book to give the layman someidea on what the druids generally believed in. Healso says he knows how hard that was going to beconsidering that the druid organizations now adays seem as different from each other as nightand day. He hopes that his book combines history,theology, philosophy, and practices of what hecalls the “Druid Way”. As it is with me these daysI went into the book with a bit of skepticism be-cause of just those two words “Druid Way”.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has many ideasthat can be included in personal practices that arenot necessarily Druid. The teachings part of thebook is so general that as an Irish traditional poly-theist I see no problem in incorporating it into myown practice. The book is balanced and very wellorganized and there is something in there for eve-ryone, and you really don’t have to be a druid toread it.

ReviewsJ

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 49

Passing Fayre – Paul Newman

Review by Paul Mitchell for Earthy Folk.

Paul Newman offers us a collection of songs with-in a theme of “death” or “endings”. The digitaldownload album hosts 12 tracks that see Pauladopting a significantly more “folk rock” style tomany songs than is apparent on his previous offer-ing “Summerama!”.

The traditional song “The New York Trader”opens the collection. The sleeve notes sent with thetracks for review note that “The crossing over thesea has long been a metaphor for death” . Howev-er the album does not dwell on the negativity soobviously suggested by the overriding themes.

There are some gems in here as tunes. I suspect“Portico” will be utilised by the growing bellydancing community with relish. It’s got that feel toit as it spirals onwards. “Winters End” will almostcertainly end up on my “Chillax” mix for relief onstressful days.

In places the songs are demanding of the listener.“Providence” offers the story of a lady Paul metduring the recording of this album. It tells of illegal

immigration fuelled by the need to escape oppres-sion, and the oppression of different kinds thatbefalls the central character. Whilst other trackspass swiftly, “Shore of Dreams” for example.

“It’s Just A Matter of Time”, a track which featureson the compilation CD “Pagan Folk Against Fas-cism”, is an upbeat song that has already beennoted as a crowd pleaser.

Paul’s style of song writing is clearly based upon aman, a voice and a guitar. At the heart of all on thealbum can be heard this simple relationship and inseveral songs we can hear how these offeringmight sound in a village folk club. The artist haslisted the collection as “Folk Rock” and the track“IAMBRYLCRN” is as clear a stamp for this genreas any.

Many who seek out this album will be establishedfans of Mr Newman. His performances aroundcamp fires are an established tradition for some,and others will have heard him at conferences andother events. It’s great that he has taken the oppor-tunity to offer us some more of his own material.Many may recognise the song “Haunted” fromsuch settings. The opportunity to layer and pro-duce material to make available to the public isone that Paul has readily taken, offering an alter-native to the stripped down performances he ismore readily known for.

Fans and supporters of Paul are already seekingthis album out, needing no encouragement. Theywill like what they hear and, hopefully, demandmore. Those less familiar should check the albumout to hear honest songs and tunes from a keystone of the pagan music scene.

Passing Fayre is available to pre-order and down-load digitally from www.storyfolksinger.co.uk .He also features on the “Pagan Folk Against Fas-cism” cd, which is available fromwww.earthyfolk.org/paganfolk

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 50

Understanding the Universein Seventh-Century Ireland

Marina SmythBoydell Press 1996

ISBN 978-0851153131Reviewed by AstroceltThis is a revised version of a 1984 PhD dissertationundertaken by Marina Smyth for the ‘Studies inCeltic History’ series, originally submitted to theUniversity of Notre Dame, Paris.

The contents of the book concentrates on the con-cepts and perceptions, of how the universe within

7th century Ireland was viewed, imagined orthought about from a philosophical and theologi-cal level. Extracted from various prime Latin textsthese being, De mirabilibus sacre scripture, pro-duced by the Irish Augustine c.654-655 AD/CE;Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, Anony-mous prior to 708 AD/CE; Libra de Ordine Creat-urarum, where a native origin is suggested priorto 700 AD/CE; Egloga Moralium in lob by Lathcenmac Baith c.595 AD/CE; the Hisperica Faminacredited to being influenced by Isidore of Sevillec.650 AD/CE, and finally Altus Prosator attribut-ed to ColmCille.

Well written and presented, readable even with itsextensive references for future study and collabo-rations to the authors findings. Those of greatestinterest are the scholarly tweaking out of insularand native views of the cosmos, some of whichcovers its many working parts, from the base ele-ments to the later and more favourable concepts,of earth, sea and sky.

I would highly recommend this book; it might bea little pricey (print on demand), but the insightand knowledge which can be gleaned from Mari-na Smyth work, is well worth it. It also bringsabout a new understanding of how we might viewthe inhabitants of Ireland during this period witha new light.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 51

Community Events CalendarListing your event is free and you can submit up to five entries at a time. Note: We reserve theright to edit or omit entries. To submit, please send an e-mail to admin@druidicdawn.org with ‘DDEvent Listing’ in the subject line. Include the date, title of event, location (including country), ashort description and any contact details.

Note: Inclusion of events here does not imply endorsement from Druidic Dawn, Aontacht magazine

General on going events for 2010

Anam Cara - Weekly Meditation Group

'A Weekly Meditation Group to be held in Os-westry, (UK) to explore everything from theBreath technique; mantra/ chanting’ to hopeful-ly movement and shamanic journeying.' To par-ticipate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1070

NEW MOON MEDITATIONS every newmoon, Denmark; ring 004575757131 for nextmeditation:

We’ll make a circle and connect with the powersof Earth and Sky, I will then play channelled harpmusic from a time past, and the participants willbe guided into some deep mediation to the HolyGrail within our hearts. Go beyond time andspace to previous incidents/ present problems/diseases. See them, solve them, let go. After-wards we’ll discuss what happened, and I willaid with my clairvoyance. To participate and forfurther details, seehttp://www.sosha.dk/kurserUK.html

NYMÅNEMEDITATIONER I BRYRUP: Ring fortilmelding og nærmere tidspunktVi vil danne en cirkel, forbinde os med Himlensog Jordens kræfter og jeg vil spille kanaliseretmusik fra en svunden tid på min harpe, under

det første nummer vil mine hjælpere fortælle migom den første meditation, derefter vil jeg vide-regive den til cirklen som en guidet meditation,med den forskel, at meditationen først påbeg-yndes når jeg atter begynder at spille på minharpe og undervejs vil mine hjælpere følge alledeltagerne og støtte dem. Jeg vil spille mensdeltagerne rejser til deres destination i den andenvirkelighed, derefter vil jeg bede deltagernevende tilbage samme vej som de kom fra, takkederes hjælpere og vende tilbage til cirklen. Hervil hver enkelt deltager have mulighed for atfortælle om sine oplevelser, hvis nødvendigt, viljeg gå ind og hjælpe med mine clairvoyante evn-er. Dernæst holder vi en pause, hvor vi får nogette og noget godt at spise. Så fortsætter vi medendnu en meditation.http://www.sosha.dk/kurser.html

Pathways

A named Pathways, in Ellesmere, Shropshire, onthe Welsh borders.  The time together will beused to discuss anything that anyone wants toabout spiritual pathways.  All are invited, fromthose who have a clear idea about where they aregoing, to those who are just curious, and allexplorers in between. Come to raise questions,talk about books you are reading, workshopsyou have attended, stuff that is coming up, etc.Self-advertising is allowed/encouraged, if rele-vant to the spiritual pathways subject. Meetingsare held on the third Thursday of each month in

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 52

the Function room of the Ellesmere Hotel. Parkingis plentiful very nearby. Meet in the bar from7.30pm; go to the room from 8pm. If you are late,come in anyway! There is no charge, and thedrinks are cheap.

Ellesmere is part of what is locally known as theShropshire Lake District. The energy of the town isgiven by the fabulous Mere in the edge oftown. Future meetings might include a walk downto the Mere and through the public gardens. Thisis the beginning of something new, and the direc-tion will evolve with time.

If you need any more details, you can contact Johnand Rachel on jrpathways@hotmail.co.ukOr see http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1698

December 2010

21st December: Public Solstice Rite with the Sasa-fras Grove, Pittsburgh, USA. To participate andfor further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/187 orhttp://www.sassafrasgrove.org/cgi-bin/webcal/webcal.pl

Event Notices for 2011

Spirit of Scotland: Mystical Islands and Highlandsa tour being offered in 2011 via Avalon MysterySchool, for more information seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/109  orhttp://www.celticspiritjourneys.com/scotland.php

January

13th January: Walking the Dedicant Path: DruidicStudy with the Three Cranes Grove, ColumbusOhio, USA. To participate and for further details,see http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/186 orhttp://www.threecranes.org/calendars

20th -25th January: Lughnasadh Camp with theGrove of the Southern Stars, New Zealand. Toparticipate and for further details, see

http://druidicdawn.org/node/2248 orhttp://www.thewoolshed.com23rd January: Lughnasadh /Te Waru/FirstFruits/Lean Time, celebrating The Southern Sea-sons with Grove of the Southern Stars, New Zea-land. To participate and for further details, seehttp://druidicdawn.org/node/2249 orhttp://www.thewoolshed.com

30th January: Imbolc Ritual with the Three CranesGrove, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, USA. To participateand for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/186 orhttp://www.threecranes.org/calendars

February

10th February: Walking the Dedicant Path: Druid-ic Study with the Three Cranes Grove, ColumbusOhio, USA. To participate and for further details,see http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/186 orhttp://www.threecranes.org/calendars

21st - 24th February: Landscapes of the Soul, withCaitlin Matthews and Felcility Wombwell, Bir-mingham, UK. To participate and for further de-tails, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/211orhttp://www.hallowquest.org.uk/index.html

March

10th March: Walking the Dedicant Path: DruidicStudy with the Three Cranes Grove, ColumbusOhio, USA. To participate and for further details,see http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/186 orhttp://www.threecranes.org/calendars

12th -13th March: The Inner Mysteries of Avalonwith RJ Stewart, Vancouver Island, Canada. Toparticipate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/197 orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/calendar.html

19th – 20th March: The Inner Mysteries of Avalonwith RJ Stewart, Dexter, Oregon, USA. To partic-ipate and for further details, see

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 53

http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/197 orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/calendar.html

19th - 20th March: Walkers Between the Worldwith John Matthews and Wil Kinghan. NorthMoreton, Oxon, UK. To participate and for fur-ther details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/211or http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/index.html

20th March: Spring Equinox Ritual with theThree Cranes Grove, Columbus, Ohio, USA. Toparticipate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/186 orhttp://www.threecranes.org/calendars

26th -27th March: The Inner Mysteries of Avalonwith RJ Stewart, Santa Rosa, California, USA. Toparticipate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/197 orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/calendar.html

Advance Event Notices for 2011

1st - 11th April: A Free Lecture to the Public; Introto Celtic Shamanism and Bardic Initiation andmuch mor; with Bishop Alistair of the TrinityGrove Edinburugh who will be in Tempe, Arizo-na, USA ! For more information seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/2077 orhttp://trinitygrove.weebly.com/events.html

2nd – 3rd April: The Magic of Three sticks andthe Second Sight, with RJ Stewart, Santa Cruz,California, USA. To participate and for furtherdetails, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/197 orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/calendar.html

2nd - 3rd April: Tending the Hearth: HouseClearing Traditions in Celtic Countries with CaitBranigan, North Moreton, Oxon, UK. To partici-pate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/211or http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/index.html

2nd Celtic Gathering, Ontario Canada, Date andVenue to be announced later, for details as theybecome available seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1381.

1st – 5th June: 'Dragons, Dryads & Druids', 1stinternational obod camp, Netherlands. To partic-ipate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/172 orhttp://druidry.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=2&page_id=146 or http://www.obod.nl/dryade/camp

17th - 19th June: 'Spirit of the West' Druid Gath-ering at Pigeon Lake, near Edmonton, Alberta,Western Canada. To participate and for furtherdetails, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1365 orhttp://www.philipcarrgomm.druidry.org/events.htm

5th – 7th July: Discovering the Inner Temples,with RJ Stewart at Hawkwood College, Stroud,Glos, UK. To participate and for further details,seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1365 orhttp://www.philipcarrgomm.druidry.org/events.htm orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/images/Inner-Tem-ples-Hawkwood2001.pdf

7-10th July: The Magic of Three Sticks with RJStewart at Hawkwood College, Stroud, Glos,UK. To participate and for further details, seehttp://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1365 orhttp://www.philipcarrgomm.druidry.org/events.htm orhttp://www.rjstewart.org/images/Magic-of-Three-Sticks.pdf

Volume 3, Issue 3

Aontacht • 54

Aontacht – Spring /Autumn Equinox 2011You do not have to be a memberof the Druidic Dawn communityto submit to the newsletter.

Please submit contributions di-rectly to the editorial staff viaemail to:

aontacht@druidicdawn.org

Refer to the writer’s guidelines,before you submit contributionsor inquiries. Below are our up-coming issues in case you'd like toget ahead on submissions. Be sureto specify which issue you aresubmitting to.

Volume 3, Issue 4“Hiraeth”

Deadline Feb 15, 2011

The Celts experienced longing asthe desire for homeland, re-union,and belonging; how do we relate toand express our own longings?And for those of us not living inCeltic lands, how does hiraeth playa part in our spirituality?.

DRUIDIC DAWN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Shakti is a trained artist, Psychosynthesis therapist and OBOD Druid. OriginallySwiss, she has been living in Spain for the last 25 years. In 1998 she bought a 108acre mountain woodland property in Catalonia, Spain, and in 2005 put it at the dis-posal of an OBOD Seed-group. They are now the Lothlorien-Nemeton Grove. TheirProject has a Druidic basis in the sense that the core group is formed by three OBODpeople: two Druids and one Ovate.

The Project is mainly dedicated to Ecopsychology and Applied Psychosynthesis andthey are creating and sustaining a powerful and diverse ecosystem. Her work onthe Internet (as Anam Cara) leaves her time to do her unique art and explore thewonders of their community landscape.

Next issue - come read about this incredibly talented druid and her associates andthe community they have evolved and see how they are preparing for life after thepeak oil crisis.

Basic Guidelines:i Submit original work only. Essays & articles should be between 1,000-2,000 words

(footnotes and bibliography included). There is not a word limit for poetry, howev-er, please do not submit epic verse.

ii You may submit multiple pieces. Only electronic submissions are accepted andshould be either compressed (.zip/.rar) and attached (preferred for photos &artwork), or pasted into the email body. Document submissions should be in PlainText (.txt) or Rich Text (.rtf) formats only; Photos/artwork as .jpg or .png.

Please cite your sources and clearly mark when using UPG [Unverified Personal Gnosis] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unverified_Personal_Gnosis)iii Articles should be relevant to the Celtic/Druidic communities (refer to Subject

Areas below) and must match the theme of the issue (if the issue is themed).iv Run a grammar/spell check on your work before submittal.v Keep work in a friendly manner. No racism, bigotry, violence or hated.

Subject Areas:· Pre-Christian: Discussion of history, anthropology, archeology and more, but also

of the current Reconstructionist or Traditional movements happening today.· Modern Druidry: Discussion of Druidism within the last 300 years; includes

Revivalist and Neo-Druid.· Modern Celtic: Talk on surviving beliefs, folklore and superstitions still alive today

on the Celtic isles, i.e., Fairy Faith.· Celtic Christianity: Looks into this truly beautiful and unique branch of Christianity.· Inter-Faith: How people incorporate other cultures into their Celtic/Druidic prac-

tice, or getting along with those of other faiths.

The deadline for ALL submissions will be 15 February 2011, as we are looking tohave distribution by 20 March 2011. Submissions can be sent toaontacht@druidicdawn.org or DDaontacht@gmail.com

Note: International copyright law will protect all materials published. However, submittingyour work will not guarantee its publication. Also note that as Aontacht is a free publication,which generates no profit, you will not be paid for your contributions.