In case you’re wondering why it’s been so quiet here, it’s because I’ve been cruising down the Rhine River! See photos on my public Facebook page here:
Author: Joanna van der Hoeven
A little taster from our show…
Here’s a little taster from our recent belly dance big charity fundraiser show that we put on the other weekend – it’s my professional dance troupe, Lilith Dreaming performing Opa Cupa, and a little solo by me. Enjoy! www.eastanglianbellydancesuperstars.co.uk
Reblog: Awen and Despair
From my blog channel at SageWoman: http://www.witchesandpagans.com/SageWoman-Blogs/awen-and-despair.html
Sometimes being a Druid in today’s society can seem so futile, so pointless. When people are driving their SUV’s and other gas guzzlers to the corner store, or changing the goalposts on the UK badger cull to suit the targets that they set out in an insane attempt to murder as many of the creatures as possible; when people are leaving lights on in their home or their computers on all day because they are too lazy to turn them off, when we keep using plastic bags because we’re too lazy to carry our own into a shop, when we buy cosmetics that have been tested on animals and judge homeless people on the street as ‘good for nothing’ – how on this earth can one go on? And in the name of Druidry, no less – how can we still follow the paths our hearts take us on, when everything around us seems to be crumbling under the weight of the ills of the so called “modern world”?
We may often feel like a tiny drop of water in a vast ocean of futility. But what we do, matters, even on the most basic level. It can be horrendously despairing when we hear news of our beloved planet being raped, and we may feel powerless to stop it. I ask myself so often – what can I do?
Oftentimes, there isn’t an obvious answer. The rage and helplessness have nowhere to go. It builds up inside, until we are cynical of absolutely everything. How can we avoid this, how can we continue to walk the earth’s paths with awe and wonder when around us everything that we hold dear is being destroyed?
When this feeling hits me, and it often hits me hard, the answer is to go out. Go outside, go out in nature and find the wonder again. News from around the world can bombard us with the negative, and we can redress the balance by finding the wonder again in the natural world. It isn’t enough, however – we must still write to our MP’s about hare coursing, we must still sign petitions and protest when and where we can, we must still stand strong in our love for this planet and not merely let it all fall to pieces. But the inspiration to continue can be found by taking that time out, by watching the moonrise, by listening to the owls in the growing twilight.
Awen, that beloved Welsh word so popular in Druidry, is what it is all about. Gathering the threads of inspiration we weave into our world a better outcome, a better solution, a more harmonious approach. We take that inspiration like a person dying of thirst drinks in a glass of water – it feeds us, nourishes us and sustains us so that we may continue.
It has often been said in Druidry that we do not submit to the gods, for to do so would be suicidal. Just so, we should not submit to the negativity in the world, for again that only has one outcome. We must reach for the awen in order to hear the song again, and in hearing the song to be able to sing it, and by singing it hear others as they join in the chorus, eventually coming together with wonder and awe and beauty. For me, there is no other way.
Though I occasionally fall into despair, I reach for the awen to help me climb back out again and face the world, head on.
Reblog: The Pulse of Autumn
A beautiful piece, by Alison Leigh Lilly: http://networkedblogs.com/PyiDv
Baby steps to saving the world
A world of yes…
With the latest reports on climate change making it clear that we are in trouble and it is the fault of our species, there’s a lot of misery and powerlessness floating about online. Other People aren’t going to listen. Other People won’t act. Governments won’t do anything and too many Other People don’t care, or disbelieve or refuse to live differently. You know who the Other People are – they’re the ones with the real power, whose actions make a genuine difference.
What this does, between the gloom and doom and the idea that only someone else can fix it, is keep us in that most dangerous of mind sets: Keeping calm and carrying on. That is suicide.
So let’s take a case in point. Disposable plastic shopping bags are not necessary, we know this because for most of history, people managed perfectly well without them. That’s a huge resource…
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Why should the Gods care?
Do the Gods care? I’m not so sure.
In my own experience, I know that the wild gods especially, those of heath and forest, of the seas and wind, of storm and sunshine, do not care about what happens to humanity. They simply follow their nature, their path. In my perception, the universe does not care. I remember in Pirates of the Caribbean, when the goddess of the sea, Calypso, was asked why she had a change of heart about a man that she once loved, simply stated in that slow, West Indes drawl: “It is my nature”. They may interact with us, but do they have our best interests at heart? Some may, but some may not. Some may not even acknowledge us – the hurricane passes through despite our pleas, following its own song of wind and water, doing what is in its nature to do. The sun shines down relentlessly on the crops, burning the fields or ripening the wheat dependent upon other weather conditions during the season. Our best interests are not on their agenda.
And why should they be? It is the human fallacy, that mindset of us being the centre of the universe? Why should we be the recipients of all that we perceive to be good in the world, and why do we rail against the perceived tragedy? Yes, an earthquake is devastating, and can kill thousands of people, causing pain and anguish among humanity, and all other creatures that suffer from its effects. But the earthquake is not at fault (pardon the pun) – that is the nature of the earthquake. It will not seek out a place where it can cause the least destruction, nor vice versa – it happens where it needs to happen, where the elements dictate it should be, where the song takes it. It does not consider the repercussions it will have on anything.
These wild gods are of a totally different consciousness to us, and it can be damned hard to relate to. That is why we often anthropomorphise them, in order to be able to relate. It is easier to talk to a god of thunder, who struts around wielding a great hammer against giants than it is to talk to a thundercloud, or the lightning. These gods, who we have given human form – do they care for us?
By giving them some sort of humanity, we automatically assume that they should. After all, they look like us, talk like us, have adventures that we can relate to. We have created these wonderful stories about them. We care for them, we devote ourselves to them – should they not do the same?
This can often be the falling down point in relationships with the gods for many people. I have known people who have abandoned the gods, because they have lost loved ones, or had other trauma in their lives that the gods did not intercede in. My question would be – why should they intercede? At the moment, I have a very ill cat, who is not responding to medication. I have prayed to Bridget for healing strength to help her get over the illness, and to give us all strength and knowledge of the illness so that we may better cope with it. So far the results of the prayers have not been successful – should I therefore abandon all relationship with Bridget? It I did, then I would be assuming that the gods are “on call” for us, for our whims and demands and pleas for help.
They are not.
I have relationships with several gods, to help me understand them, and the ways of the world a little better, but I know that I am not special; that should I receive healing energy from Bridget it would not be because she is granting me a favour, or a gift. What I hope to achieve through my relationship with her is a better understanding of the bigger picture in life, beyond my own mortal limitations in order to better my own situation.
I don’t think Bridget really cares whether or not my cat lives or dies. She may, however, help me to understand the illness better, to help me find the inspiration and strength to continue through my relationship with her. Sometimes just talking to someone about it helps, even if you cannot see them. Like the Catholic confession, simply talking to someone can sometimes clarify things in your own mind. The priest taking the confession will give advice, tell you how many Hail Marys or acts of contrition you must do to absolve you of the sin that you committed – but the priest does not care, per se – they are simply acting on behalf of what they believe their god would like their followers to do.
Does this leave me feeling a bit lonely, a bit unwanted and left out because my gods do not care about me? Not really. My gods teach me how to cope with the world – Nemetona teaches me about sanctuary and sacred space, where I can in myself learn about finding those places where I can be free. She does not grant them to me, but shows me how to find them through her and through my own practice. Similarly, Frigge does not care for me in any motherly or matronly sort of way, nor Freya – what they do is provide me with inspiration to keep my household in good order, or to talk through relationship issues. They are not Dial-A-Gods with whom to pray to for help with this or that; through our ongoing relationship with them we begin to see how we can find the awen in their stories and weave that into our own lives.
Sometimes it may feel like our pleas are heard – that someone receives a miraculous recovery, or the tidal wave does not reach the shore. However, I would posit that this has nothing to do with us personally. The infection may go away because of the mindset and resulting physiological effects this has on a person who knows that others are praying for them, or who have made them a special amulet. Does this have anything to do with directed energy from the gods themselves? I’m not so sure – I think it has more to do with the inspiration these gods have given humanity to fix it, or try to fix it, themselves. I could, of course, be totally wrong.
The fact that the gods don’t care does not affect my relationship with them. The tree at the bottom of my garden does not care whether I live or die, neither do the horses in the field, the frogs in the pond, the throngs of humanity who have no knowledge that I even exist. Does this mean that I should not love them? I don’t think so.
So, here’s a little taster of what I’ve been up to lately – we had our big charity belly dance show this weekend, and these are my two favourite dances from our troupe, Gypsy Dreams Belly Dance…
Lilith Dreaming, Opa Cupa, East Anglian Belly Dance Superstars 2013
Naia (Jo’s) solo for East Anglian Belly Dance Superstars 2013
Right Livelihood
During the time around the autumn equinox, in my particular path of blending Zen and Druidry I focus on the Buddhist aspects of Right Livelihood within a Druid context. I do this throughout the year, blending the Buddhist Eightfold Path into the eight seasons of modern Paganism, and have found it spiritually inspiring and enlightening. (For further reading into Zen Druidry, please see my latest book, Zen Druidry, available on Amazon and through Moon Books).
Right Livelihood, in essence, means taking on a way of living and working that does not compromise the other principles within the eightfold path, or indeed any of the Dharma Principles. However, it is much more than ensuring that your occupation is not harmful to others – for me, this accords to everything I do, my entire life. My livelihood is not just my office job, or my dance company, my writing or my work as a Druid priest. My livelihood is the way in which I live my life – my whole Druidry as a way of living, not just as a practice.
I have ensured that the traditional view of Right Livelihood is upheld in my life – all my jobs do not create harm in others, abuse others or the environment inasmuch as is humanly possible. Yes, three out of my four jobs require that I drive a car, and that is a compromise that I have to make, which I try to offset in other areas of my life. I used to work as a legal secretary, but was slowly having my soul destroyed by helping the rich dodge inheritance taxes. It took the universe to give me a great kick up the bum to get out of that job and dive into something more meaningful for my own self – other similar legal jobs may work for some people, it just wasn’t in accordance with Right Livelihood for me personally. I quit, went back to university and got a job straight away working for a music company and charity, got writing again, started a dance company and began in my priest work. I felt much more at ease with myself, knowing that I was partaking in Right Livelihood (or Livelihoods!).
Some of us may feel trapped in jobs that we do not like, but we need the money to support our families, or ourselves. However, that doesn’t mean that we cannot be on the lookout for something that would sit better within our hearts and souls, and it also doesn’t mean that we can’t offshoot this, say perhaps by doing some volunteer work, donating to charity, etc. I personally don’t have much spare time, but the time that I do have I try to use wisely – though this year I haven’t succeeded as well as I may have, having run myself a little too ragged. Organising charity events, performing wedding ceremonies, on top of my other jobs left too little time for me and my husband, and in that regard I failed at Right Livelihood, as there was harm and neglect on that front. I have worked too hard, and now physically and emotionally see the repercussions. Now, in the autumn of the year, when I can see the results of what I have sown in the springtime of the year, I can also reflect on how to do better next year.
Right Livelihood means living right – it’s not just your job. For me, within Druidry, it means establishing a life that has as little impact ecologically as is possible at the time for me and my family. It means investing our savings in solar panels, recycling and composting everything, using cruelty and chemical-free toiletries, working towards creating peace and inspiring others. It means walking the walk instead of just talking the talk. It’s bloody hard to do. It means being aware of everything around you, of the impact that you have on the world, from the interaction I have with my co-workers to how many kilowatt hours our household has consumed in the last year. It means sacrificing ignorance for knowledge, and the practical application of such.
Druidry teaches us about creating honourable relationships with the world around us, with all things if you are an animist like myself. Seeing the inherent value in all things means that no single thing can be taken for granted. Incorporating Zen means bringing awareness of my own self and how my brain works, as well as working on an awareness of the world at large by living as mindfully as is possible. Sometimes I am hugely successful at both – other times I fail spectacularly. At any rate, it’s a learning curve.
Throughout the darkening days until Samhain, my focus on Right Livelihood is a constant reminder to live well. Taking inspiration from nature, I learn not to take more than is necessary, or at least I am inspired not to – succeeding in this regard is damned hard in a fairly affluent Western society. I breathe into the growing twilight, the longer nights and learn how to simply be in the world, leaving behind barriers of separation as much as I can, within myself and nature, humanity and the universe. The rich scents of autumn tingle in my nose, the decaying leaf mould and woodsmoke, the chill winds and starry skies above inspiring me to continue. It is Inspiring me to create a life that is worthwhile, and in doing so, following a path of Right Livelihood.
Reblog – How Druidry Relates to the Environment
This is a reblog from my latest offering for this month’s Moon Books’ Blog – please note that in my opening sentence, I say “perhaps” with regard to Druidry taking the environment into deep consideration in the spirituality. I am aware that those of other faiths hold it as dear as I do, but I am speaking from what I have seen and experienced within the pagan community in general… For me as it is for many, many Druids, the environment is at the heart of everything that we do.
This article first appeared on The Druid Network’s website which I submitted few years ago. The website is currently undergoing an overhaul, but there are still many articles on there to inspire! http://druidnetwork.org/what-is-druidry/ethical-living/environmental-awareness/environmental-articles/
Awen blessings!
Druidry, perhaps more than any other strand of Paganism in the wide weave of spiritual traditions, takes the environment into consideration on so many levels. Druidry – most commonly believed to be from the old Irish words dru and wid meaning “oak knower”, or even the Proto-European deru and weid “oak-seeker” acknowledges this communion with nature in the very roots (pardon the pun) of the word. Heathenry – one from the heaths, or Wicca (most commonly believed to be from the Saxon wicce, to bend or shape, as a willow branch can be bent or shaped into something quite beautiful) have similar nature-orientated origins, however, the communication between the natural environment and the Druid of utmost importance in the path.
How do Druids view their environment? Many, if not most Druids are animistic, believing in the essential spirit of everything, whether it be rock or tree, raindrop, beetle, horse or the sea. There is a sense of consciousness in everything. When I use the word consciousness, I don’t mean in the scientific sense of the last two centuries, where it was used to differentiate between humans and other animals and also “non-sentient” beings. Consciousness, to me, is a part of the greater whole web of life, where threads are woven together, separate but still connected. It is what makes something what it is – whether it is the rose, a cloud or the moon. It is its own inherent identity, or, more poetically, its own song that makes it what it is.
With that sense of consciousness in all things, it is much harder for the Druid to disregard any aspect of the environment. No longer are wildflowers plucked for their beauty, to die within days on our dining room table. No longer is it an option to squash the spider in the living room who seeking warmth from the coming winter. Our entire perception is changed once we view the environment both as having its own consciousness and as we do so conscientiously. We gain both a greater and broader view of the web of existence, at the same time as finding our own place within it. How wonderful is that?
That world view brings with it a responsibility. No longer are we allowed to remain ignorant in the ways of our own environment. If we are to view it as a whole, then we must truly see every part that we also play within it. If the whole of nature has a spirit, then issues arise such as the taking of a life for food. Many within Druidry are vegetarian, if not vegan, and yet there are still many others who eat the flesh of an animal. Some do so, claiming that ethically raised and slaughtered animals for food are perfectly acceptable to put on our plates. In my own vision of Druidry, the damage caused to the environment by the raising of animals for food does not allow that luxury of thinking. It takes much more energy and resources to raise animals for food than it does to plant in the same amount of land a sustainable, organic crop for food. In giving up animal meat and animal products for both food and other commodities, we are caring more for our environment and also, at the same time, sacrificing our ignorance of the weighty issues behind such matters to become fully aware. We must accept responsibility for our part.
The word environment has many meanings, however. Our immediate response to the word is the natural environment – nature. There are many other environments, however – little worlds created by human consciousness. We have our work environment, our home environment, our villages, communities and cities. There is the issue of human to human interaction as well as interaction with nature (though as humans are a part of nature, I realise that I am contradicting myself in some ways, but please bear with me). Our own sense of self, or self-awareness, creates a thorny path through which we must navigate carefully, in order not to injure ourselves or others. Unless one lives as a hermit, the Druid will have interaction with other human beings, some Druids, some not. As with the Druid relationship with nature, sensing the inherent consciousness within it, Druidry teaches us that same sense of consciousness in human interactions. I admit – it is a lot easier for some people to respect an old oak tree than most human beings, however to be fully aware of our relationship with others we must act with a certain sense of honour, that same sense of honour, in fact, that we give to nature. We may not like some human beings, much in the same way we may not like broccoli, but we still acknowledge and respect their place in the wider web.
So how do we relate to our environment? Within Druidry, there is a beautiful Welsh word, awen. Various meanings range from flowing water to divine inspiration. I prefer the inspirational route, however, this is not an “out of the blue” inspirational experience, but one that is crafted through time and dedication to one’s environment to develop a rapport with both nature and inspiration itself, until they both work hand in hand. To the Druid, inspiration lies all around us in the environment, whichever environment that may be.
The word – inspiration – to inspire, breathe in. Breathing in must, of course, be followed by breathing out – exhalation. Breathing is the most primitive and simplest way we relate to our environment, and the most effective way of remembering that we are a part of it. The air that we breathe is also the air our ancestors breathed 50, 100, 1000 years ago. It is also the air that the willow, alders and yew trees exhaled 50, 100 or 1000 years ago. The wasp breathes in the same air, the grasses and wildflowers exhaling into the deepening twilight. We can relate to our environment by simply remembering how to breathe, what we breathe and how it is all connected. From that, we literally gain inspiration, as well as being inspired by it. The inspired Druid then exhales that inspiration, whether it be a song to the darkening skies before a thunderstorm, giving thanks before partaking in a meal, writing a symphony, throwing paint at a wall or dancing in the light of the moon. This establishes a communication between the Druid and the environment – speaking to each other, even if it is without words.
We relate to our environment though inspiration, and we are all related, as the Native American proverb says. It isn’t simply communication with our environment, but a soul-deep sense of relativity – we are all related. By being related, this instills within us a sense of responsibility, of caring for the environment, whichever one it may be. If we see that we are related to the badgers living in the brown-land area soon to be re-developed, then we also see that we must take action to ensure that they are safe. If we see that we are related to the food that we eat, we will ensure that we eat organically and, if possible, grow our own food as much as we can to develop that relationship even further. If we see that we are related to our neighbour next door, we are more likely to establish an honourable connection to them and the rest of the community. It creates a sense of caring for the environment and all within it, and it is no easy task.
The challenge that faces the Druid is to see clearly these relationships, and to act honourably in all regards. If this challenge is accepted, then the worldview is broadened considerably, as is the environment. The web of life will shimmer with inspiration along every thread. May it do so for you, all my relations.
http://moon-books.net/blogs/moonbooks/druidry-and-the-environment/
Reblog: Authenticity vs Validity
Here is my blog for Moon Books’ blog page – I write the monthly essay. Check out some of their other blogs as well – really good stuff there!
I remember, quite a few years ago now, reading Ronald Hutton’s Triumph of the Moon. I had always known, vaguely, that modern paganism was just that – modern. After reading that book, and finding out just how modern most of our rituals and celebrations are, I had a bit of a religious crisis. I was having a really hard time coming to terms with the fact that the spiritual path I was following was essentially made up by two guys in the 1950’s and 60’s.
For a couple of weeks I toiled with this issue, until it finally dawned on me that all religions, at some point, were made up by some people. Simply because someone made it up 200, 2,000 or 20,000 years ago didn’t make it any more valid. I realised that authenticity did not equal validity.
There was no way of tracing pagan roots back to what we would imagine to be a more “pagan time” – ie. for most this would be before Christianity. Paganism didn’t write or record much down in words, though we can catch remnant in snatches of old folk songs, rhymes and the like. If our paganism is inspired by an even older spirituality, such as our Neolithic ancestors, then certainly we have no written records – a few artefacts, burial mounds and sacred sites to draw inspiration on, but nothing of their words to live by. We still do not know, and can never be certain, what they actually believed, how they lived their lives and how they communed with their gods, if any. We can only speculate.
And so, two men, Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols pieced together a spirituality as best they could, after looking into folk traditions and seeking inspiration from the natural world itself. This evolved into what is recognised as Wicca and Druidry today. These paths are not hundreds of years old, though they have been inspired by older traditions. This does not invalidate them in any way.
I would personally have a harder time believing in the validity of someone’s path who told me that they were following a “thousands year old British tradition” than someone who told me that they made up their own spiritual path. Why? Because the need for justification of a tradition bothers me – why do we need to justify our paths? Our good Druid friend, Iolo Morganwg, made up a lot of stuff when he couldn’t find any reference to it a couple of hundred years ago, and yet the stuff that he made up has great resonance and beauty for some druids. Yes, he passed it on as “real”, and was only caught out fairly recently in his forgeries, however they still remain beautiful and meaningful forgeries nonetheless for many. It bothers me that he felt the need to forge these documents, but it doesn’t make his tradition any less valid for himself and others with whom it inspires. The question of lying about the authenticity of a tradition is what invalidates it for many.
Why do we feel the need to authenticate a religion or spiritual path before we embark upon it? Does this have anything to do with the Age of Enlightenment vs the Age of Reason? Why should one be more valid than the other, simply because it has hard facts that it can draw upon?
A religious and spiritual path is such a personal thing, that I find it hard to believe that any one path is good for more than one person. We can certainly be inspired by it, but the path must be walked by us, and us alone – no one else can do it for us. Buddha said “Be a light unto thyself”. We have to find our own ways of communing, our own relationship with the world in order for it to make full sense to our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. Oftentimes the words and teachings of others can come close, and yet they are still not quite as personal as a one to one relationship.
Protestants have a more personal relationship with God, for the most part, than Catholics when it comes down to it. That in an inherent part of Protestantism, one that is explored and made quite poignant in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Protestantism placed a great emphasis on personal, individual reading of the Bible, thereby increasing the personal relationship with God – no other could really do that for you. Sadly, within history and especially after the birth of Calvinism, fundamentalism became de rigeur.
How much of our paganism today is influenced by this Protestant way of thinking? It’s hard to tell, but it’s not something I have a problem with. I like the idea of everyone having to find their own personal relationship with God, or a god, or goddess, or the spirits of place, their ancestors or the three worlds of land, sea and sky. This idea is, of course, not solely attributed to Protestantism (remember Buddha’s quote?) but it is one of the more recent religious institutions in the UK, of which we are currently exploring the legacy.
How far back the tradition of personal relationship with deity goes is, to me, of no consequence. It’s nice to have historical authenticity, but it does not a spirituality make. It is within the personal relationship with whatever it is that you are communing with, and which changes you, inspires you or moves you that is really what matters in this life. Whether you pray using a prayer that is a thousand years old, or one that you made up on the spot, it is in the feeling and intent behind it that matters most, not in the words themselves. It must connect you with what it is you are trying to reach, else what is the point?
So, to all those out there who are making it up as they go along, who find spiritual validity in what they do, I give a hearty hail! To those whose find the words of others resonate deeply within their soul, and blend their historic traditions with personal experience, again I give a hearty hail! Life is too short to follow a path simply because others have trodden it – we can learn from that path, but ultimately it is we who are doing the walking, no one else, and in that is our own validity and personal experience found and blessing us along the way.
http://moon-books.net/blogs/moonbooks/authenticity-v-validity/
Down the Forest Path 