Author: Joanna van der Hoeven

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Willie and Mary (revisited)

Here is my “revised ending” to the traditional song/story of Willie and Mary, which, in its various guises, always bothered me how the woman just accepted being tested by her love after years and years of waiting. She never got upset about being tested after all that time. Me, I’d tell him where to go. So here’s my offering – the last two verses are my “revisited version”.   🙂

Willie and Mary (revisited)

As Willie and Mary met by the seaside

A long farewell for to take

Said Mary to Willie, “If you go away

I’m afraid my poor heart, it might break”

“Oh don’t be afraid, dearest Mary,” he said

As he clasped his fond maid to his side

“In my absence don’t mourn, for when I return

I will make you, sweet Mary, my bride”

 

Seven long years had passed and no word at last

Mary stood by her own cottage door

A beggar came by with a patch on his eye

Bedraggled and ragged and tore

“Your charity, fair maid, bestow upon me

Your fortune I’ll tell you beside

Your lad that you mourn will never return

To make little Mary his bride”

 

She slipped and she started, saying, “All that I have

It’s freely to you I will give

If you tell me true what I now ask of you

Is my Willie dead or alive?”

“He’s living,” said he, “though in sad poverty

And shipwrecked he has been beside

When he’d money untold and pockets of gold

He’d have made little Mary his bride”

 

“Then if he is dead, no other I’ll wed

No other I’ll have by my side

For in riches though rolled or covered with gold

He’d have made his own Mary his bride”

Then the patch off his eye the old beggar let fly

His old coat and crutches beside

And in sailor’s blue clothes and with cheeks like the rose

It was Willie who stood by her side

 

“Oh don’t be afraid, dearest Mary,” he said

“It was only your faith that I tried

To the church we’ll away by the break of the day

And I’ll make little Mary my bride”

 

With eyes afire did Mary face the liar

“My faith was not yours to be tried

I’ve kept my heart mired, I never did tire

And your test I’ll no longer abide

Through the longest of nights have I cried and I cried

Seven long years I stayed true

Though suitors have tried they lay not by my side

All for my sweet love in you

 

But now you’ve impressed, beggarly dressed

And lied to me, thinking you’re dead

Your love’s not the best if it requires a test

My own company I’ll keep instead”

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The Little Pagan Monastery Weekend

945363_640774059272919_940773617_nI don’t think any of us expected the deeply moving and transformative powers that awaited us on our weekend of the Little Pagan Monastery Retreat.

Held over the weekend of 11 – 13 April 2014, we stayed for two nights at Little St Michael’s, the Companions’ Retreat House for Chalice Well and Gardens. I knew that staying and sleeping in such a sacred spot would be the basis for challenging soul work. We had 24 hour access to the gardens, which was a special blessing after hours, when we had it all to ourselves. The chance to meditate, pray and create ritual at the Red Spring was truly unique. It opened our souls to the very special power of the Vale of Avalon, wherein the Goddess was present in everything.

We walked the spiral path up the Tor, feeling the strong energies push and pull us in every direction as the wind whipped around us. We climbed the Tor twice that weekend, the second time to watch the sunrise. The mists of Avalon swirled around us as we may our ascent in the hour before sunrise, and settled over the Somerset levels in thick, low banks of cloud that seemed to shine with their own inner light. The sun rose from behind the far hills, a red-orange disc of flame that filled the soul with such joy it felt like we would burst with it.

A private visit to the White Spring later that day resulted in a very moving ritual, wherein participants immersed themselves in the sacred waters of the large, dark mirror pool. Souls were awakened, energy bursting forth from the dark womb of the waters and new journeys began for everyone.

The days followed a routine of morning, noon and evening prayers and meditation. Together we created a group prayer to be recited at these times.

We give thanks for this day

May awen and peace flow our way

In honour of this land we pray

Some participants had powerful dreams, which was likely to happen in such a sacred power spot. The lodging itself was incredible – a 400 year old building filled with such peaceful energy. We had the meeting room as well, a beautiful open space filled with light where we gathered for discussions and group work. The kitchen and dining room were huge – how many kitchens have a vesica pisces symbol in the floor?

All in all, this weekend was one that I shall remember for the rest of my life. What we learned from this weekend we will take into our lives wherever we may be, and use the wisdom of Avalon to nourish, strengthen and sustain us in all that we do. We prayed that Avalon itself was blessed in return by our love and devotion to the sacred spirits, and we look forward to returning as soon as we can.

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OBOD 50th Anniversary Gala

As some of you may know, the Order of Bard, Ovates and Druids are celebrating their 50th anniversary this June, 6 – 9 in Glastonbury.  This is quite a momentous event, and I am very honoured to have been asked by Philip Carr-Gomm for an interview on the Friday night which will be available at a later date on the podcast. Many thanks to OBOD for thinking of me, and I hope to see many of you there! x

P.S. To read my review of the event, click HERE

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Friday Foodies – Awesome Spuds

You can do it with sweet potatoes too (just leave out the butter for vegan spuds) – mmmm…..

Friday foodies 2

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Reciprocity and Druidry

Getting something for nothing is always a nice surprise. However, it is not always honourable.

Our Celtic ancestors took the idea of reciprocity and made it into their worldview. They gave back for what they had. In the Brehon laws, crimes had a price that had to be paid to the victim or to the victim’s family. Personal responsibility and recompense were regarded very highly in society.

In today’s day and age, these ideas have lapsed somewhat, even in pagan society. With the internet offering so much information for free (apart from broadband and electricity fees) we can gain a huge amount of information in a relatively short time with no expense other than our time. We can take in huge amounts of information and give nothing in return. Why should we, if it is all there and waiting for us, for free?

Take for instance The Druid Network. This is the website that really inspired me a decade ago to take up the path of Druidry, for in its pages and articles I found a deep resonance from like-minded people who shared their visions of Druidry. Since then the website has expanded immensely, yet is still a veritable font of information. All the articles are available for viewing for free, there are free courses offered through various members, books and cd reviews – you name it. All there, ready and waiting, and all free.

You can become a member of The Druid Network for £10 a year. Many, many people’s first question is “Yes, that’s nice, but what’s in it for me?” to which all of the above may not seem enough. Indeed, it could be a growing trend within paganism – people offering to become involved only if there is some personal benefit to them in the bargain. It would sometimes appear that being a part of something, or doing work for the sake of doing work, or in service to your path, is not quite enough these days.

Becoming a member of TDN now allows you to not only be a part of this great organisation and help to fund its continuing presence on the web, but also allows you to join a Druid only social network site, as well as receiving quarterly newsletters with info and articles written by other members. When I joined TDN all those years ago, there was a fledgling forum where people could discuss ideas, where members could talk to each other and share in their life’s journey and experience. To see it evolve into what it is today is quite remarkable. Yet for many, it is not enough.

This is where it all falls down for me, where I cannot understand some people’s viewpoint in that sites like TDN don’t offer enough to warrant a £10 a year membership. I find it astonishing that people can download all the articles and find celebrants, rituals, etc for free yet still do not want to contribute in any way. Nevermind that TDN now offer a brilliant social network site – what I don’t understand is why people just don’t want to give back.

Sites like TDN are reliant on the contributions from the Druid community. This is not only in monetary forms, but also in the shape of articles, ritual ideas, essays, etc. After reading all the articles on the site many, many moons ago, I felt motivated to write my own articles from what I had learned and from my own personal application and experience of the same, thereby giving back to the site that had provided me with so much (and still does to this day). However, long periods of time go by (sometimes years) before new material is submitted by its members. The numbers of members in TDN has grown considerably since TDN’s successful work in receiving charitable status as a religious network was achieved. Yet the input from members is sadly not in line with the growing numbers. Why should this be?

Any organisation is only as good as its members are – input is necessary for any network, pagan or otherwise, to survive. The TDN website underwent a couple of years of stagnation before the charity status decision due to lack of input from its members. No new articles had been written, no rituals, no info. Since the decision, there still hasn’t been that much new input from the growing membership. Even now, getting information for the quarterly newsletter can be like pulling teeth.

With so many members it should be easy to keep a wonderful site like TDN vibrant, fresh and informative. I appreciate that some members may be incredibly busy – however I also am aware that apathy exists within the pagan community that needs to be addressed. My words may seem harsh, but they are somewhat intended to be. I think that we as a pagan community need to stop sitting back and being fed information and start contributing to the community. Perhaps it is a product of our society, where it is so easy to just sit down in front of passive screen entertainment every evening and soak up information. What I suggest is that we get off our butts and start contributing, start giving back for all that we have received. Whether this is by joining TDN, writing articles for them, volunteering to be one of the website co-ordinators – it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we take the idea of reciprocity seriously in our lives.

Organisations such as TDN are only as good as its members. TDN offers financial help for members who are looking for funding for Druid projects. Everything that they do is by volunteers – there is no paid staff, no hierarchies either. The number of people contributing and working for their Druidry and for TDN is severely disproportionate to the amount of people who are benefitting from this organisation. This isn’t right, in my opinion.

We cannot simply take and take without giving back. This is the reason why the world is in such a mess today. Our society and culture is one of greed, a greed that is not based out necessity. Ideas of reciprocity are left by the wayside. If we use TDN’s website, we should find a way to give back, whether that is financially, creatively or by volunteering. We apply the ideas of reciprocity in other aspects of our Druid lives – daily offerings and rituals, for instance. Why should we not apply that same idea to the teaching that we receive, the gifts that we are given for free in some cases? Why must we always feel that we need to acquire something in return?

It is our very act of giving that is the reward; it is the flow of awen. If we do not give, the awen cannot flow. It is that simple.

This article was written purely from my own personal viewpoint, and has had no input or sanction from TDN at the time of writing. All viewpoints are my own, and not necessarily those of TDN.

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Go slowly in the Springtime…

This morning I accidentally ran over a small, young rabbit.

Living where I do, accidents such as these are unavoidable at times. Springtime is the worst time, as youngsters are making their way further and further from their homes, unaware of the dangers of the road. Baby birds that are not yet fully proficient in flying, young badgers and even deer that haven’t seen a car in their life. I carry special gloves in my car to take those I find left on the road and bring them to a more respectful distance, to be taken by the ants and foxes, the crows and other creatures. I’ve picked up all manner of roadkill from other people where they have just left it – even putting my back out once dragging a dead deer stag from the middle of the road where it endangered drivers coming around a blind bend. How people could just leave animals that they have hit is beyond me. I’ve had to call the police to inform them of deer that had been hit on the highway and that was still alive, blocking a lane, thereby getting police and environment officials there to kill the deer humanely as quickly as possible, and see that no one else gets hurt. It infuriated me that no one else bothered to take responsibility – no one else had made that call before me.

It doesn’t make it any easier, no matter how much death you see. Picking up the warm, soft furry body, its entrails in my other hand I carried it to the side of the road and placed it gently beneath the hedgerow. I was struck for a moment at how some Druids of old, such as the famed Boudicca would have read the entrails of a sacrificed hare to foretell battle outcomes, if classical sources are correct. I thought about how gentle my Druidry is compared to that, and how I would not change it for the world. As I lay its body on the ground, the green grass and nettles growing up towards the sun, all I could think was “I’m so sorry”. I asked that the gods be kind, and that they may forgive as this little one goes back to the earth from whence it came. A crow directly overhead cawed as I finished my prayer.

I know it may seem odd, asking pagan gods for forgiveness – many would say that attitude is for another religion. However, at that moment it felt utterly right – it was the first step towards making amends for the taking of a life. It acknowledged responsibility as well as regret. Whether the gods accepted it or not I do not know – the crow cawed just at that moment, but he may have just been greeting his mates, or laughing at me, or genuinely speaking for the spirits of that area.

Accepting responsibility for the taking of a life is a concept that was well known to the Celtic ancestors in this country. Whether accidentally or not, reparation must be made and responsibility claimed for one’s own actions. Stopping and taking the little body to a better resting spot was just the first step towards reparation. Asking forgiveness and expressing sorrow and regret was the second. Making a donation to the Hare Trust upon reaching work the third, and tonight in a small ritual an offering will be made to the spirits of place for peace. None of this will bring that little life back. However, it is a constant reminder of my place in the cycle of life, in the grand web of all our lives, how we are all connected, and how each of us is responsible for our actions.

Why all this effort just for a rabbit, some may wonder? To me, all life is sacred – it is why I am a Druid and a vegan. Ideas of reciprocity and responsibility are at the forefront of my worldview. I take what I have learned from our Celtic ancestors and apply the wisdom found in their teachings into modern life. Ancient Celts may not have felt so sorrowful at killing a bunny – but I’m not an ancient Celt. I don’t eat the meat, I cannot make use of the body, and so it seems dishonourable not to do something to make amends for the taking of its life. I live in a different world to the ancient Celts, and thereby must apply their wisdom into my modern worldview in the best way that I can to ensure that my life is lived fully, aware and awake and with honour.

Driving home, I shall drive even slower than I usually do, no matter what the cars behind me think. I am a part of my environment, a part of a very special ecosystem and I will do all that I can to preserve it, to cherish it and to honour it with all that I am. For me, there is no other way.

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New website!

I now have a new website – have a look and tell me what you think! I tied the format in with this blog, keeping it very simple and with the same colour scheme. I’d appreciate your thoughts… x

www.joannavanderhoeven.com

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Reblog: Peace – Knowing When to Speak Out and When to Keep Silent

This is a reblog from my latest post at SageWoman Magazine’s channel, on Witches and Pagans: for the full article click HERE

This past week I have had to hold my tongue. Sometimes it felt like I was holding my tongue so hard all I could taste was blood.

A few people have told me that I should have spoken up, said my piece right there and then, never holding back. However, what I have learned in my own life experience and in my Druid path is that there is time to speak up, and a time to hold your tongue. It all relates to one word – peace.

It has often been said that the Druids were not only the political advisors and religious authority to the Celts, but that they were also the peacemakers within society. They had the power to walk between the battle lines without being harmed, such was their honouring of the notion of peace and their own personal authority and control. As a student of Zen Buddhism as well as Druidry, I have come to know the concept of peace from another worldview that blends in beautifully with what I hold to be true in my path.

Peace is when there is no need. Peace is when we are able to step outside of our ego and relate to the world with loving kindness. Peace is when we are able to find compassion, both for ourselves and for others.

Peace and truth are inexorably entwined within the Druid tradition. Only when we have discovered the nature of truth are we able to find peace. Truth is our natural place in the world, in its cycles and rhythms, the flow of life itself. It is in the riding of the currents of awen that we come to know truth in all its forms. When we know truth, we find peace…

Continued HERE

 

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Eating Vegan and Locally – the ethical debate

“Is it more ethical and sustainable to eat a vegan diet which relies on the oil industry or a vegetarian diet with small amounts of eggs and dairy products from locally produced organic sources where one can make a relationship with the creatures? Do you disagree that a balanced vegan diet relies on imported food and that I am just creating problems for myself?”

(Taken from the Meat Eaters, Vegetarians and Vegans Ethical Debate on The Druid Network’s Ethics Pages Here)

Some very good questions were raised during this ethical debate, which I have been pondering ever since I went vegan. With the world’s dwindling oil supplies and the other costs to food travel – ie. carbon emissions, it has played largely upon my mind. Is it more ethical for me personally to eat lentils and quinoa grown in a country far away and imported at the expense of the environment (and other factors) than it is to try and eat vegan locally? Is such a thing even possible where I live?

I live in a very small village. We do have a village shop, which stocks the basics. None of what it stocks is labelled organic. There is some local produce, but even the people who work there cannot tell me for sure which is and which isn’t. Some produce is labelled as ‘Heritage Farm – locally sourced’ but I cannot find out just who this company actually is. As far as I’m aware, the most local food I can honestly say I have eaten this winter has been the onions scrumped from the fields after the harvest was taken away and handfuls that had not been picked up by the machinery were left to rot or be eaten by the deer.

Now that Spring has sprung, and new foods are available in my very own garden (nettle, mint, spinach, dandelions – strawberry are already in flower!) I am thinking more and more about sourcing local food. There are a few farm shops in the area, but these seem low on actual produce over highly packaged goods such as cakes, cookies, biscuits, chocolates, etc. They’re not so much farm shops as they are ‘farm boutiques’.

It raises another question as well – how local is local? 1 mile? 5 miles? 10 miles? Food grown in Britain?

Take for example my work lunch today, brought in from home. I have some Munchy Seeds, a Suffolk company that does delicious seed mixes. I have scoured the packet and website and nowhere does it say whether they are sourced locally or not (I have sent them an email enquiry). My banana was not grown in the UK, and has many, many food miles behind it. My apple is from Italy. The Twinings tea I am drinking has cucumber, aloe and nettle. There is no information about sourcing of ingredients. I also have a bag of mixed nuts that I dip into – they say ‘produced in Germany’ but can you grow cashews in German soil, or is it that the end package was produced in Germany? My decaf coffee has lots of food miles behind it, and other ethical considerations; the workers pay, the rainforest, etc. The almonds in the almond milk that I drank with it were not grown in this country.

I am seriously going to have to rejig my eating habits if I am to reduce the food miles in my eating habits. Having already made the switch to vegan, it’s been difficult enough already – eating out is an especial challenge in the rural countryside around here. There is usually always a veggie option, but it always contains cheese. One cannot live on chips and salad alone (provided the chips are fried in oil separate to the fish that is usually served with them).

Living on the coast, you would expect that you could get valuable vegan goods like seaweed rather easily. Unless you wade into the ocean yourself though, they are not to be found on any supermarket or local shop shelf, nor even in the ‘health food’ stores. I can find samphire on the beaches around here, but that’s all the local coastal veg that I know of. I think a Food Safari is in order! I also need to look into mushroom foraging workshops – I’d like to eat more foraged food. I will always remember one canoe camping trip in Sweden, when we helped a lost local with his basket of chanterelles who stumbled across our campsite get back to the village via our canoe in the failing light. Europe are much more aware of foraging, of what can be eaten and what can’t. However, considering the huge population of Britain, not everyone could forage without a devastating effect on the local flora and fauna.

So many, many questions, so many answers that need to be sifted through in order to find out what works best, ethically, for me personally. This blog post is not a sweeping statement to all that “This is the Way It Should Be” but how I need to make it work for myself personally in accordance with my principles and worldview.

My own vegetables will be planted shortly in my garden – lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Beans will also be planted, as well as peas. This coming winter I’m looking at growing potatoes, onions and carrots in pots or bags right up against the house where they will be warmer and hopefully keep going all winter long. It’s far from sustainable, but I don’t have the time to operate a fully sustainable food garden right now in my life. If my working hours are reduced, and most definitely upon retirement, things will change (if the planet is not totally screwed up by then).

So, is it more ethical for me personally to support the oil industry in my vegan eating, or to eat more locally sourced food that may include eggs from the farm down the road? I’ve already had to adjust my diet with a vegan vitamin and mineral supplement for health reasons; these are from the Vegan Society. Yet when you break it down, what industry or industries is that really supporting? Are we getting into the pharmaceutical debate here? I still don’t have an answer to this question, but I am aware of my eating habits now, and will use that to make the final decision.

Am I creating problems for myself? I would say no. What I am doing is sacrificing ignorance in order to be aware as much as I can of what I eat, why I eat it and what the result to the world is in my consumer habits. As a Druid, I have to scrutinise my consumerism in order to see if my relationship with the environment is an honourable one. For me, there is no other option – I could not live with myself by being wilfully ignorant of the various choices I may have. This is not a problem, per se, but the way that I already live my life. It’s making me consider choices more and more – problems arise when there is no choice to be made. As long as I have options, I do not have a problem. It is up to me to address it correctly in accordance with my beliefs.

There is still much more thinking and research to do…