Today has been the shortest day of our year, and tonight will be our longest night. Here, we are in the very deep and dark depths of winter. The darkest point in our year. Darkness. Stillness. Cold. Quiet. How does that feel to you? What does it bring up? Can you handle it?

Today marks All Saints Day, Wszystkich Świętych, Fête de la Toussaint – and with Dia de los Muertos tomorrow – it offers a rich reminder of how this time of year is celebrated across the world, in many different cultures. Whatever we might call it, whichever tradition we’re from, the roots are connected, and the…

In the Druidic studies we often come across two terms that represent fundamental principles. They are respectively Kerantez and Nerz, Love/Compassion and Strength/Will. With this brief essay I intend to clarify them and render them understandable to a wider audience, more up to date , more actual and as a consequence to apply them as…

For me, Druidry is not a white-robed affair. Crawling under low scrub pines and getting inside secret places of gorse bushes where only the deer trod, or standing on the seashore in the howling rain, or in the heart of the forest with the badgers and mosquitos – it just doesn’t work…

Druidry can be summed up in three words – truth, honour and service. Yet these words can be very vague – what do they mean to the Druid?

Dear Friends on the Druid Path:Quite appropriately, I celebrated the first Imbolc of the Ovate grade while I was massively pregnant with my daughter. I remember lighting candles on a cold, silent night, creating a small circle of firelight, and thinking, ‘Obviously I’m not doing any part of this on the floor.’ I gave thanks…

In moving through the forest of the Ovates, one of the skills I felt particularly moved to develop were those of the healer. What follows is the result of that work, combined with experiences I brought with me to the Order. I present them here in the hopes that others may find them useful…

Here we are. Here she is! Autumn. All browns and auburns and yellows and golds. Wading in with her low sun, cooler mornings and shorter days. Equal day and equal night. As perfect a balance as the universe can offer. Waving goodbye to summer, equinox is a beautiful time for harvesting as we turn towards…

Many years have passed since I originally wrote ‘Time may Heal but Scars Remain’ following a transformational meditation during the Ovate grade. The many gateways journeyed through, as I progressed through the Bardic and Ovate course gave me strength, understanding, healing and acceptance. These were the foundation stones which led to the transformational meditation which…

The subject of this essay is the contribution that contemporary Druidry might play in promoting psychological wellbeing. I’ll begin by setting the scene for you, telling you a little bit about who I am, and about why I have chosen this theme, and then we’ll move into the specifics of the topic…

Some time ago, my therapist introduced me to a model called Internal Family Systems. As the name may suggest, this model treats the mind as plural, with different parts each having their own priorities and personalities. All the parts want to help, but because of trauma or incomplete information, they don’t always know how. Besides…

Is their any such person as a Hindu Druid? A question for which the answer no doubt to most people would be a negative, is it possible to be a member of a religion that reveres many Deities and also follow an Earth based Spirituality and way of life at the same time? To my…

What does it mean to be a Druid in this modern day and age? Being a Druid today does not mean trying to live in the same manner as our Celtic ancestors did in this land…

Talk given by Caitlin Matthews at the OBOD 50th Anniversary – 7th June 2014…

Druidry is a spiritual tradition that takes its ethics from the inspiration available in the natural world around us. It does not only listen to the language of humans, but also those of the trees and wind, the pack and the herd, the moss and the fungi. It looks to the wider web of interconnectedness…

A blog post about whether to call yourself “Druid” or not has been brewing in my mind for weeks – when do we think we can claim the title?

The Summer Solstice can be celebrated in a group or by yourself. This is a ritual to be performed solo & help welcome you into the summer season.

Awen is chanted out loud or intoned silently within the soul, and is made up of three sounds: Ah-oo-en. The Ah sound opens you to life, evokes joy and purpose, radiates power and creativity. The oo sound expands, continues, and disseminates the energy and power you have opened to, allowing it to blossom. The enn…

Druid ritual in many traditions usually begins with what is known as The Call for Peace.  It is an affirmation that there is peace between everyone involved and an aspiration that there be peace throughout the length and breadth of the world…

For a Couple or can be adapted as a Solo Ritual