Miscellaneous

by Maria Ede-Weaving If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you;it will be enough.~ Meister Eckhart ~ Today has been glorious. Here in Scotland the spring has come late – the winter relentlessly long. I sat with a coffee in the garden, the sun’s...

by Angeles Moreno by Maria Ede-Weaving One of the joys of Druidry, particularly the kind that is practiced within OBOD, is that it allows room to explore the approaches of other paths. Many within OBOD blend their Druidry with other practices; Christians and Wiccans have found a home here and...

by Joanna Van Der Hoeven As Pagans I feel that we naturally tend towards a worldview that is less anthropocentric, especially if we follow an animistic path. Our love of nature, whether it is the world around us, or human nature, or both leads us on a journey that can...

by Andrew Peers Seated at a heavy wooden table in front of the old presbytery window, I can look away from the village onto green fields and stately mature oak trees. It is autumn and their leaves are turning yellow and orange. This village in Gelderland lies in an area...

by Erica McGilp In July, 2001, I wrote a small article for Touchstone called, “A Personal Space – An Idea on how to achieve it!” Now, nearly 2 years later, I find myself still enjoying that small shed at the bottom of my garden. Initially, the idea was just to...

The Summer Solstice is here! At the noon of the year, I perceive the Goddess as Lady of life’s abundant blessings. Here, in her local expression, she is the rich red earth, the fertile ground of my being; the explosion of life, colour and joy that enraptures my senses and...

by Maria Ede-Weaving The festivals of the Wheel of the Year are the foundation of spiritual practice for many Pagans. After almost twelve years of the turning of that Wheel in my own life, I am still discovering fresh perspective on each of these seasonal celebrations. We can initially favour...

by Em Metz Love has always been my foremost inspiration in the beautiful journey of my life, deepening my understanding of what I truly am with every passing season. As I near the end my life’s spring, the uplifting sunlight of my summer has already begun shining into this gentle...

by Maria Ede-Weaving I am often struck how in the depths of winter there is a point when the trees have been bare so long it’s hard to imagine them with leaves. Equally, in the midst of summer, it becomes difficult to imagine them ever being naked again. We adapt...

by Grymalkyn 08.00 … Wednesday morning, 30th April, on the trek from Hereford to Padstow. We stopped for lunch at a 14th century pub – The George at Hatherleigh – which was a monastery before it was a pub. From there we took across country to Holsworthy and Bude, on...

by Maria Ede-Weaving As the seasonal wheel moves towards the Spring Equinox, there are fulmars nesting in Red Cliff. Along its upper reaches, the sandstone is pocked with holes just large enough for two snuggling fulmars and a bed of twigs. Each cavity houses a pair, five or six in...

by Caroline Holmes   Song to Mead   Book of Taliesin XIX   I will adore the Ruler, chief of every place, Him, that supports the heaven: Lord of everything. Him, that made the water for every one good, Him, that made every gift, and prospers it. May Maelgwn of...

by Lia Opstal-Dees Just as in nature there is a cycle of construction, flowering, decay and death, so the Moon also has a cycle with the four most famous lunar phases. The Dark Moon is the Moon that is not visible to us. With the New and Waxing (increasing) Moon,...

  by Maria Ede-Weaving It’s been a while since I have seriously and consistently celebrated the festivals of the Wheel of the Year. For almost twenty years, these seasonal festivals have been the foundation of my spiritual practice but this recent period, with all its attending difficulties, has found me...

Damh the Bard · On Midwinter’s Day from The Cauldron Born   On Midwinter’s Day Now that Samhain is over, And the Sidhe have returned to their home, The dead have followed the Raven’s song, And no longer among us they roam. The wisdom of our ancient past, Shows us...

  by Maria Ede-Weaving I find myself stood alone on moorland in the depths of winter. The sky is bright with countless stars and the ground glistens with frost. The air is crisp and sharp against my skin. Above me, on a rocky crag I see the glow of a...

by Maria Ede-Weaving The Winter Solstice is once more upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere and we ponder on how in the darkest of times, the spark of light burns brightly still; nature reminding us that hope and renewal are always a possibility, no matter how harsh the winter,...

by Maria Ede-Weaving I sorrow not though the world is wrapped in sleep I sorrow not though the icy winds blast I sorrow not though the snow falls hard and deep I sorrow not this too shall soon be past~Scott Cunningham The most poignant quality of the Winter Solstice festival...

by Corby Ingold The idea of shamanism as a part of Celtic tradition has become very popular in recent years. Various authors and workshop presenters have promulgated the idea of a Celtic shamanism. What validity is there to the claim of these authors that Celtic peoples posessed an indigenous shamanism,...

ss through learning and ritual is at the heart of my Druidical studies – an alchemical process. While Druidry has a magical base for me, the magic in this world is not confined to personal alchemy and changes in consciousness are not confined to spiritual and self development. Magic pervades...

The autumn equinox brought that moment when the light and dark hours of the day, for just a brief moment, were perfectly equal. That moment is like the silent, still gap between breathing in and out; sometimes we catch ourselves noticing it, frozen in our observance of its stillness but...

Hiraeth is a longing, a longing for my spiritual home. That home is in the mountains where the wind speaks to me, calls my name, drawing me nearer and nearer. The wind calls me to the stream. The stream that shows me clarity and energy. It teaches me about travelling...

by Matthew Finnemore     The deaf community is as wide and highly diverse as the hearing community. In fact, most deaf people (as with many sub-cultures and minority groups) view themselves as members of one large deaf family. Members of the deaf community often write Deaf with a capital...

by James D. HowellBorrowing from Patrick Henry’s comments in 1775, “Gentlemen may cry peace, peace – but there is no peace.” 1 Why is that so true today? If asked whether they wanted war or peace, almost every human alive would express a preference for peace; but war is a...