Showing posts with label Druids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Druids. Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2026

Beltane Celebrations




Beltane, May Day, Easter Celebrations

Neo-Pagans, Druids, Wiccans

Spirituality and Gardening


"Many Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Beltane.  It is one of eight solar Sabbats.  This holiday incorporates traditions from the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, but it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as May pole dancing).  Some traditions celebrate this holiday on May 1 or May day, whiles others begin their celebration the eve before or April 30th. Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. The name means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times. In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health."
-  Beltane by Herne 


The Green Man in our Sacred Circle Garden


Thursday, October 30, 2025

Preparing for Halloween

 


 
Here is how our front porch looked when decorated for Halloween Day.  
We decorated our home in Red Bluff, California, from 1998-2017.  
Notice the five spherical white spectral (ghostly) visitors coming to "trick or treat" at our front door.    

"To all the ancient ones from their houses, the Old Ones from above and below. In this time the Gods of the Earth touch our feet, bare upon the ground. Spirits of the Air whisper in our hair and chill our bodies,  and from the dark portions watch and wait the Faery Folk that they may join the circle and leave their track upon the ground. It is the time of the waning year. Winter is upon us. The corn is golden in the winnow heaps. Rains will soon wash sleep into the life-bringing Earth. We are not without fear, we are not without sorrow...Before us are all the signs of Death: the ear of corn is no more green and life is not in it. The Earth is cold and no more will grasses spring jubilant. The Sun but glances upon his sister, the earth..... It is so....Even now....But here also are the signs of life, the eternal promise given to our people. In the death of the corn there is the seed--which is both food for the season of Death and the Beacon which will signal green-growing time and life returning. In the cold of the Earth there is but sleep wherein She will awaken refreshed and renewed, her journey into the Dark Lands ended. And where the Sun journeys he gains new vigor and potency; that in the spring, his blessings shall come ever young!"
-  Two Samhain Rituals, Compost Coveners, 1980 
  


"Tonight as the barrier between the two realms grows thin,
Spirits walk amongst us, once again.
They be family friends and foes,
Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows.
But be we still mindful of the Wee Folke at play,
Elves, fey, brownies, and sidhe.
Some to trick, some to treat,

Some to purposely misguide our feet.
 
Stay we on the paths we know
 
As planting sacred apples we go.
This Feast I shall leave on my doorstep all night.
In my window one candle shall burn bright,
To help my loved ones find their way
As they travel this eve, and this night, until day.
Bless my offering, both Lady and Lord
Of breads and fruits, greens and gourd."
-  Akasha, Samhain Ritual  




 






  

The entrance to our front driveway in Red Bluff featured a seasonal display that Karen prepared from 1998-2017. 
Karen is petting our cat, King Tut, in the early morning hours. 

We now (2020) live in Vancouver, Washington.  


Monday, September 09, 2024

Autumn Equinox Celebration Preparations: Mabon

Repost from 2008:

We Druid/Taoists prepare for the upcoming Autumnal Equinox celebration, also called Mabon, Autumn Moon Festival, Alban Elfed, Harvest Home Festival, Apple Feast, etc.

“Mabon, or Autumn Equinox, is named for the Welsh God of the Harvest, Mabon ap Modron (“divine son of the divine mother).  As told in the Mabinogion, Mabon was stolen from his mother three nights after his birth, and swelt in Annwfn (the Underworld) until he was rescued by Culhwch.  Because of his time in the Underworld, Mabon stayed a young man forever, and was equated with the Roman Apollo.  He is the Green Man whose blood is an intoxicating beverage; Dionysos (wine), Osiris (beer), and John Barleycorn (whiskey).  The bay tree is sacred to Mabon as its magickal action is preservation, a time-honored harvest occupation.  Also known as the Harvest Home, Kirn Feast, Mell Day, Ingathering, and Harvest’s Height, this festival commemorates the ritual sacrifice of the God and his descent into the Underworld, and the brewer’s art that produces the sacrament of this season.  In California Wine Country, where we live, it is the festival of the Grape Harvest.  Whiskey, the spirit of the barley, is also readily consumed during this festival.”
-  Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravencraft, Creating Circles and Ceremonies, p. 227

“Your altar is a great place for fruits, such as squash and apples set in an old wooden bowl.  You will also want to add pomegranate, in association with Peresphone.  Decorate your altar with orange, brown and yellow altar cloths and candles.  Arrange colorful autumn leaves and small gourds, nuts, dried corn, seed, acorns, pine cones, etc.  You also might want to add a bowl of water, since autumn is associated with water, emotion, and relationships.”
-  Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravencraft, Creating Circles and Ceremonies, p. 228


Ask yourself these questions in the month of September:
What is your personal harvest from self-improvement resolutions planted last spring?
In what specific and creative ways can you honor the productivity of Mother Earth? 
What is something new that you produced in the last six months?
How can you best celebrate your productive efforts during the year?
How have others helped you to be more creative?
How can you best celebrate the autumnal equinox holiday? 


September: Poems and Quotes

Autumn Equinox, Mabon, Harvest Festival, NeoPagan High Day




 

The Moon Festival, Zhong Qiu Jie, a very popular Chinese autumn festival, occurs when the moon is full in September. 


"Equal dark, equal light
Flow in Circle, deep insight
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!
So it flows, out it goes
Three-fold back it shall be
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!"
-   Night An'Fey, Transformation of Energy




   
"The last of Summer is Delight --
Deterred by Retrospect.
'Tis Ecstasy's revealed Review --
Enchantment's Syndicate.

To meet it -- nameless as it is --
Without celestial Mail --
Audacious as without a Knock
To walk within the Veil."
-   Emily Dickinson, The Last of Summer is Delight 
  
September: Quotes, Poems, Lore


"Great Goddess, Mistress of cats,
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
Fulfill my greatest needs, O glorious one.
Teach me the magic I need.
Give me a glimpse of your deep wisdom.
Teach me in dreams. Enrich my life.
O Lady, you are Golden-Tears of Asgard
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
You are the Shape-shifter, the Sayer,
The Independent One.
Give me the strength and the magic I need."
Prayers to Freyja   


General Preparations for Mabon 

We gather dry corn stalks and make background arrangements and corn dollys; collect, dry and display all kinds of gourds and squash; we cut long grape vines and tie into circular forms for wheel symbols; we cut fire wood for a outdoor pre-dawn campfire in our sacred circle garden; we do reading in literature relevant to the Mabon seasonal theme; we make special meals with the vegetables and fruits of the season; we make moon cakes with rice.  We tend to do pre-dawn fireplace celebrations in the summer because it is too hot in the evening. 
 

Saturday, October 15, 2022

October Lore

 "Leaves fall,
the days grow cold.
The Goddess pulls her mantle of Earth around Her
as You, O Great Sun God, sail toward the West
to the land of eternal enchantment,
wrapped in the coolness of night.

Fruits ripen,
seeds drip,
the hours of day and night are balanced."
-   Mabon Sabbat and Lore    


"A year of beauty. A year of plenty.
A year of planting. A year of harvest.
A year of forests. A year of healing.
A year of vision. A year of passion.
A year of rebirth.

This year may we renew the earth.
This year may we renew the earth.

Let it begin with each step we take.
And let it begin with each change we make.
And let it begin with each chain we break.
And let it begin every time we awake."
-  Starhwak, Reclaiming Samhain


Halloween (Samhain): Bibliography, Quotes, Poems, Links, Lore
October 31, 2020







Friday, September 23, 2022

Autumn Equinox Celebration

Repost from 9/23/2011!

The Autumn Equinox occurs today, Friday, September 23, at 2:05 am (PDT).  Today is the first day of the Fall season.  In Red Bluff, California we are expecting a low today of 63F and a high of 102F.  

Today is one of the Eight High Days for celebration or feasting by Neopagans around the world, and the day is variously named: Welsh Mabon, Late Summer Harvest Feast, Autumnal Equinox, Alban Elfed, Harvest Home, Second Harvest Festival, Cornucopia, Feast of Avalon, Festival of Dionysus, Harvest Tide, Witch's Thanksgiving, Night of the Hunter, Apple Festival, High Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, September 21st - 23rd, September Celebrations, NeoPagan Thanksgiving, Winter Finding (Teutonic), Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Wine Festival, Winter Nights, Zhong Qiu Jie (Moon Festival).  Check out my webpage on the subject of Mabon.  

Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon.   By Ellen Dugan.  Woodbury, Minnesota, Llewellyn Pubs., 2005.  Bibliography, index, 208 pages.  ISBN: 0738706248.  VSCL.  A very informative book on the subject.  




This morning, at 5:30 am, I lit a fire our Sacred Circle Garden.  I sipped Irish coffee (a tip of the hat to John Barleycorn's gift to us).  I meditated.  I opened the Circle and called the Quarters, made some offerings, and called on spirits for healing support.  The element of Water, Autumn, aging, intuition, Demeter, waning of the year, the Crone, feelings and emotions were the themes.  After sunrise, I read Druid and Taoist books and scriptures, and made some notes.  I did my daily Tarot reading.  I enjoyed playing Taijiquan and Qigong.  I listened to an MP3 recording from the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids during the day.  

I am a NeoPagan and borrow from modern Druid and ancient Taoist practices, legends and ideas to acknowledge and celebrate our many gifts from the Tao, Mother Earth, the Goddesses/Gods, our Ancestors, and the Nature Spirits.  I am mostly a solitary Druid/Taoist.  My temple is my home garden.  I have ample reasons for gratitude, respect, reverence, awe, and inspiration.  What I believe has more to do with mysticism, creativity, vitality, and beauty than any fixed set of religious doctrines or dogmas. 




Our Gushen Grove Sacred Circle Garden is used for outdoor fireplace activities, relaxing during the cooler hours of the day, and for meditation and rituals.  The blue pole, set in the west side of the garden, was the place for a Mabon altar.  The blue ceramic pot in front of the blue pole is filled to the brim with water.




Thursday, April 15, 2021

Pan and the Green Man



"There lies within
A hidden glen
An altar made of stone.
Creeping vine
And moss entwine
To hide this ancient throne.
Tangled thorn
Grows thick to scorn
Those who seek to enter.
For though they strive
No man alive
Shall ever reach its center.
Known as Pan,
To some Green Man,
This glen is his sacred place.
He dons his hood
Of wildwood
To hide his leafy face.
The roving clans
That raped the lands,
Cut down his beloved trees.
And so, alas
As time did pass
The Green God fell to his knees. ..."

- Kristina Peters Moone, The Green Man



"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.

The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks."

-   Dylan Thomas, The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower




Lore, Legends, Tales, Celebrations, Springtime Symbols, Folk Stories and Plays
From the hypertext research notebooks of Mike Garofalo



This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes,
these onions ... will soon become me.
Such a tasty fact!
- Mike Garofalo, Cuttings



Portrait of the Emperor Rudolph II as Autumn.By Arcimboldo, 1591, Held at the Museo Civico, Brescia. 













Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Welcome this New Day



"I welcome this new day.
It is a gift to me, a new creation, a promise of resurrection.
Greetings to the Four Realms, the Goddesses and Gods, and the Kindred of Yore.
I salute the Sun, the Earth, the Seas, and the Sky.
I am thankful for being alive this morning.
Thankful for the sleep that has refreshed me.
May my hands do the good work.
May my eyes see the truth.
May I speak compassionately.
May I make the world a better place this day.
Awen."
- Ceisiwr Serith, Book of Pagan Prayer




Friday, November 08, 2019

Trying to Remember That

     I made this post back in 2015.  I think the old photo of my home Neo-Pagan altar display reflects my readings and studies from around 2005.  I do seasonal, holiday, and personal interest displays in my current home office room [my study, library, computer den, hang out space, man cave, sunny room, yoga space.]  In 2019, I am now reading Meister Eckart from 1305 CE., and his metaphysical poetry.  Oneness, Beauty and Beings ... the wonder of it all.      


"Straight up from this road
Away from the fitted particles of frost
Coating the hull of each chick pea,
And the stiff archer bug making its way
In the morning dark, toe hair by toe hair,
Up the stem of the trillium,
Straight up through the sky above this road right now,
The galaxies of the Cygnus A cluster
Are colliding with each other in a massive swarm
Of interpenetrating and exploding catastrophes.
I try to remember that."
-  Pattiann Rogers, Firekeeper



"God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, "Ah!""
-  Joseph Campbell  



“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
-  William Butler Yeats



Awe, Wonder, Amazement: Quotations, Sayings, Poems









Monday, November 14, 2016

Express Spirit in Action

Seven Perennial Spiritual Practices:

"1.  Transform your motivation: reduce craving and find your soul's desire.
2.  Cultivate emotional wisdom: heal your heart and learn to love. 
3.  Live ethically: feel good by doing good. 
4.  Concentrate and calm your mind. 
5.  Awaken your spiritual vision: see clearly and recognize the sacred in all things. 
6.  Cultivate spiritual intelligence: develop wisdom and understand life. 
7.  Express spirit in action: embrace generosity and the joy of service." 

-   Roger Walsh, Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind, 1999

Nine Pagan Virtues
"1.  Wisdom - Good judgment, the ability to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and decide on the correct response. 
2.  Piety - Correct observance of ritual and social traditions; the maintenance of the agreements (both personal and societal),
we humans have with the Gods and Spirits.  Keep the Old Ways, through ceremony and duty. 
3.  Vision - The ability to broaden one's perspective to have a greater understanding of our place and role in the cosmos,
relating to the past, present and future. 
4.  Courage - The ability to act appropriately in the face of danger. 
5.  Integrity - Honor; being trustworthy to oneself and to others, involving oath-keeping, honesty, fairness, respect, self-confidence.
6.  Perseverance - Drive; the motivation to pursue goals even when that pursuit becomes difficult.
7.  Hospitality - Acting as both a gracious host and an appreciative guest, involving benevolence, friendliness, humor, and the
honoring of "a gift for a gift."
8.  Moderation - Cultivating one's appetites so that one is neither a slave to them nor driven to ill health (mental or physical),
through excess or deficiency. 
9.  Fertility - Bounty of mind, body and spirit, involving creativity, production of objects, food, works of art, etc., an
appreciation of the physical, sensual and nurturing." 

-  The Ar nDraíocht Feín Dedicant Program, 2005.
  


Virtues and a Good Life 

Epicureanism

Fitness and Well Being

Aging Well and Values

The Ten Paramitas of Buddhism

Dharmapada Sutra of the Buddha

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Stoicism

Saturday, July 04, 2015

What Will Remain of You

"When you die, only three things will remain of you, since you will abandon all material things on the threshold of the Otherworld: what you have taught to others, what you have created with your hands, and how much love you have spread. So learn more and more in order to teach wise, long-lasting values. Work more and more to leave the world things of great beauty. And love people around you for the Light of Love heals everything."
- François Bourillon

Triads: Wisdom Sayings of the Celts, Druids, and Neopagans


Seven Precepts of Merlin:
"First:  Labor Diligently to acquire knowledge, for it is power. 
Second:  When in authority, decide reasonably, for thine authority may cease. 
Third:  Bear with fortitude the ills of life, remembering that no mortal sorrow is perpetual. 
Fourth:  Love virtue - for it bringeth peace. 
Fifth:  Abhor vice - for it bringeth evil upon all. 
Sixth:  Obey those in authority in all just things, that virtue may be exalted. 
Seventh:  Cultivate the social virtues, so shalt thou be beloved by all men. 
The motto of the Druids the world over is “United to Assist.”
The aim of the Druids is Unity, Peace and Concord.”"

-  Isaac Bonewits, Bonewit's Essential Guide to Druidism, 2006, p.162.



How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Only Three Things Remain

"When you die, only three things will remain of you, since you will abandon all material things on the threshold of the Otherworld: what you have taught to others, what you have created with your hands, and how much love you have spread. So learn more and more in order to teach wise, long-lasting values. Work more and more to leave the world things of great beauty. And love people around you for the Light of Love heals everything."
- François Bourillon

Triads: Wisdom Sayings of the Celts, Druids, and Neopagans



Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sacred Circle Garden

The four-quartered Circle of Magick is a central element in most Western magickal rituals. It is called the "portal between the worlds," a means of connecting with the Deities, Spirits, and Elemental Powers of a realm beyond the material universe. It is envisioned as a vortex with which we focus on our own innate psychic powers, called forth by ritual actions from the subliminal depths of the mind and soul. It is a "sacred space," a sanctuary for communion with the old ones, the deities of our faith.
Many levels of symbolism are intrinsic to the Magick Circle. Among these metaphors are metaphysical and mystical concepts that describe the greater reality within which our lives are experienced. The four "corners" of the Circle of Magick correspond with the compass directions and their associated Elements (Earth, Air, Fire or Water). A fifth Element, Spirit, is often associated with the center of the Circle or with the Circle as a whole."
- Bran the Blessed, Circle Symbolism

Valley Spirit Sacred Circle

Karen stands near in the center of the Valley Spirit Sacred Circle. Behind Karen is the yellow post which marks the Eastern direction, and the Element of Air, Mind, Consciousness, or Intellect; and the Eastern Quadrant is planted with five olive trees, the sacred plant of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Further behind Karen, 26 feet from the center, are some of the seventeen posts marking the boundary of the outer fifth circle. This photo was taken on February 4, 2007.

Sacred Circles
Bibliography, Resources, Links, Quotations, Notes
Researched by Mike Garofalo


One Old Druid's Final Journey

Monday, May 14, 2012

Awakening the Dragon

    "Love is the power to feel through the feet in Earth and through the spine into heaven to mingle into motion the inner wheels, to awaken the sleeping Serpent. 
- Dei Hughes, "Sacred Loyalties"
    
"As the glory of May-time unfurls in every leaf and flower, we begin to feel a new well-being in our bodies, a sense of vigor and energy that we have lacked over the cold months of winter.  In terms of Celtic understanding, we are experiencing the nwyfre (NWIVE'ry) of the earth in our own bodies.  Nwyfre is a Welsh word that means the subtle energy field of the earth; it is often used poetically for the sky or heavens.
    Every sentient being has its own energy field or nwyfre as well.  The symbolic representation of nwyfre is the dragon, which is a very important emblem in Britain (the red dragon being the guardian beast of Wales and appearing upon its flag).  The awakening of the dragons of the land traditionally happens about the time of Beltane.  The nwyfre of the land rise up at summer's approach, and the dormant dragons, emblems of the land's power, rise from their dark earth caverns upon powerful wings.
    To experience the awakening of the dragons of nwyfre in our bodies, we need to take ourselves out into the open air, to stand without concrete between our bare feet and earth, to experience the daily miracle of life within our bodies.  If we make this our practice, our nwyfre will not be lacking. 
    Stand on the green earth and close your eyes, soaking up the light of the sun and the warmth of the earth at the same time.  Be aware of the nwyfre of the earth.  Now become aware of your own.  As you breathe in, experience drawing up the subtle energy of the earth.  Give thanks for renewed energy and life."
-  Caitlin Matthews, The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year,  1999, p. 207






  

Friday, June 04, 2010

Three Things

"When you die, only three things will remain of you, since you will abandon all material things on the threshold of the Otherworld: what you have taught to others, what you have created with your hands, and how much love you have spread. So learn more and more in order to teach wise, long-lasting values. Work more and more to leave the world things of great beauty. And love people around you for the Light of Love heals everything."
- François Bourillon

Triads: Wisdom Sayings of the Celts, Druids, and Neopagans

Friday, March 26, 2010

Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan Short 18 Form

Thanks to three readers who made comments and suggestions regarding my new webpage on the Chen Style Taijiquan Short 18 Form of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei.

I do intend to complete that webpage, someday. For now, it is still useful for Taiji players wanting to begin learning the form.

I have regularly used the instructional DVD and book that I recommended for the study of this short Chen form. Those resources are excellent tools for self-instruction and home practice.

Since I still work for a school district, teach yoga and taijiquan, and am an active gardener, my progress on new webpages is often quite slow. That's OK by me: slowing down, steady progress, absorbing, quietly flowing ....

Actually, I'm quite active with my studies in Druidry and Tarot Ceremonial Magick. As a member of the ADF Feather River Druid Grove and the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, I've been active in online discussion groups, High Days Celebrations, and studying books and their formal initiatory studies programs. I often listen to OBOD lectures on my MP3 player as I walk in the early morning.

I will be updating and improving my Months webpages each month, starting with April.

Warmer Spring weather and more sunshine has spurred growth again. Beauty everywhere.


Monday, February 22, 2010

Introduction to Mindfulness Workshop

I will be attending the two day workshop titled "Introduction to Mindfulness" at the Spirit Rock Center on March 20th and March 21st, 2010. The Spirit Rock Center is in Woodacre, California, north of San Francisco.

Day 1 will feature the speaker Mark Coleman. I am currently reading Mark's book "Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery." Day 2 will feature the speaker Howard Kohn.

I am already somewhat familiar with Mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation and awareness methods, and I look forward to learning more and also visiting the Spirit Rock Center and surrounding areas.

I hope to camp at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. In the early morning on Saturday, 3/20, I plan to light a campfire and celebrate the Spring Equinox (Ostara) with a simple Druidic (ADF - Hellenic) ritual. Also, I might drive west to Pt. Reyes Station and then out to the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Spring Months: Poems, Quotes, Sayings



Monday, August 18, 2008

Walking with the Druids

"Many of the Anglican meditation manuals used by Druids in the early years of the Revival gave special instructions for meditating while walking in a garden or some other quiet area. To meditate while walking, choose a route over level ground where you won't have to bend, climb stairs, duck around trees, or do anything else that will interrupt your thoughts. A paved or gravel path in a garden is ideal. It should lead in a circle, so that you can keep walking as long as necessary. Walk slowly and smoothly, taking relatively small steps at a steady rhythm. As with the seated posture, you spine should be straight without being stiff, the crown of your head level, and your eyes lowered. Let your arms move easily and naturally at your sides."

- John Michael Greer. "The Gruidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth."

The Ways of Walking: Quotes, Poems