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Post by Sencha on Nov 4, 2014 10:40:02 GMT -5
Sweetkitty //Three years ago I couldn't answer that question because I didn't have an outdoor place. Now that's changed. My backyard is my favorite outdoor place. And the reason for this is that I've never had a piece of land that I can call my own. Just knowing that I can step outside and be where I love to be at is just wonderful.// There's something about ownership of the land that makes it more special and inspiring. Our Order is working towards getting our own piece of land. Maybe one day. //What I see makes me want to take up the brush and paint. I would really love to paint and photograph in areas that hold meaning to me and to publish them.// If you ever do, and can scan them in, we'd love to publish them in the newsletter. I like the cycle you've described. Nature inspires you to paint...and then your paintings will inspire others to experience nature.
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Post by Sencha on Nov 4, 2014 10:45:15 GMT -5
trockipixie He will cherish those memories forever. My children are all grown and on their own now, but I've been pleasantly surprised that they take their friends to the 'secret' places we went when they were children. Those special times are when the Awen is at work, weaving magic and inspiration into the fabric of the world. We've often discussed the idea of a sustainable community for Druids. Unfortunately, those who are willing don't have the money, and those who have the money aren't willing. But as you say...miles to go...who knows what the future might bring.
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Post by rlt123 on Nov 4, 2014 15:41:59 GMT -5
Month 3 week 1: I intend to go back to college someday to become a librarian, but I have been having trouble finding a job. I love to read. So I chose Brigit and I have a great relationship with my Dad, so I chose Brigit as my matron goddess and the Dagda as my patron god. I also chose Lugh for prosperity because he is multi-talented. I have always been fascinated with the Tuatha de Danaan.
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Post by rlt123 on Nov 4, 2014 15:54:10 GMT -5
Month 3 week 2: Your bit on druid celebrations was very helpful because when you list the druid tools, you tell why it is used. For my rituals I use candles, water, and herbs. For offerings I usually give beer, bread, and chocolate (for Halloween). The is thing about offerings is I never know if I have given enough or if I'm doing it right. When I'm offering beer, am I supposed to drink it on behalf of the gods, goddesses, and nature spirits, or do I leave it outside? Because I pour it into my yard. I'm afraid to leave food outside for fear of attracting animals (I live in a neighborhood). I do not use incense anymore, I use flowers. I live in a neighborhood, and I'm afraid of what the neighbors would think. I perform my rituals indoors and my mother and father do not like the smell of incense.
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Post by rlt123 on Nov 4, 2014 16:07:36 GMT -5
Month 3 week 3 I don't know if the gods and goddess I picked chose me, but I chose them for the reasons I gave from the previous answers. I have been having a lot of dreams about insects recently, three halloween night. One involved a spider biting my left foot, another involved me trying to kill a hornet the size of a cat (I don't like hornets), and the last one was about me looking at either a bee's or hornet's nest. I also have dreams about traveling to other places. So if you know of any celtic gods that are associated with insects or traveling, I'm all ears.
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Post by rlt123 on Nov 4, 2014 16:13:31 GMT -5
Month 3 week 4 This is not my first high day celebration. I have been performing rituals on high days for about a year. But i have not attended any pagan celebrations, due to my location. I live in a small town in Ohio (Washington Court House). The night I performed a halloween ritual, was when I had all the insect dreams, so I don't know if I had somehow offended a god/goddess or not. This is the first time I dreamt of anything like this after performing a ritual.
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Post by backofbeyond on Nov 5, 2014 8:52:27 GMT -5
This is my first post so I will give a quick introduction. I am James I live in Southern Utah. I am an Outdoor Recreation major who is always seeking to learn more about the natural world I live in. I am an adventure guide in the Zion National Park area and enjoy learning about and teaching people about the area's I enjoy.
1. What places in nature inspire you? I am inspired by every natural setting I have been in. There is nothing in the world that is better than just sitting and enjoying what is happening around you and listening to the songs the flora and fauna make.
2. Do you have a favorite outdoor place? Why? My favorite outdoor place is the Wind River Wilderness in Wyoming. I get a sense of solitude and a better connection with the earth when I spend time there.
3. How does nature inspire you? Nature inspires me to spend time with my children and teach them about the sacredness of the earth and how to take care of plants and animals. I enjoy teaching them and learning about the flora and fauna we see while camping and hiking in different area’s. I find a deep sense of relaxation and peace while engaging with the earth and I always come home re-charged.
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Post by Sencha on Nov 5, 2014 9:25:19 GMT -5
rlt23 Brigit is the Matron Goddess of the Druids. Good choice! Lugh is another poet and creator. I bet you have a creative spirit. The Dagda, being the allfather, is usually associated with being able to see the big picture. Libations are usually poured onto the ground, and food offerings are usually left outside as well. You can leave offerings of birdseed, etc. that will attract benevolent animals. How much you leave is up to you. The offerings/sacrifices are largely symbolic for what is going on in your heart. So whatever you feel is appropriate is the right amount. Cernunnos is the embodiment of all nature, so that would probably include insects. Rhiannon is the Goddess of all flying things, so that would include flying insects. Arianhrod is the Goddess who spins the web of life, and she is therefore often associated with spiders. Rhiannon is also associated with horses, and therefore with travel. Maybe she's calling you? You can have more than one God/Goddess. Or maybe you opened a door, and they're trying to tell you something.
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Post by Sencha on Nov 5, 2014 9:46:29 GMT -5
backofbeyond
Hail and welcome, James! You'll find all sorts of outdoor activities to engage in as you progress along the Dedicant Path.
Sounds like you have a lot of opportunities to experience nature. In our Order, we recognize nature as metaphor, nature as teacher, and nature as nurture. Some things to think about when outdoors: How each of these roles plays out as you are in nature.
When you get to the section on Sacred Space and Sacred Place, you'll find ways in which this special place can help you as you walk the Druid path.
Spending time with your children in nature, unplugged from the constant media stream, teaches them about their true place in the world. You're helping to create the next generation, and the lessons they learn will shape the future!
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Post by deanna on Nov 5, 2014 14:13:18 GMT -5
Week 3 Moon Path Reflection: Seeking Awen What does the Awen mean to you? What are the forces in your life that are seeking balance? How have you/can you seek the Awen and attain balance?
The symbol used to represent Awen /|\ is dark and light, it is life and death, it is black and white, and it is everything in between. It is the trilathon of the henge, the Sun the Moon and the Earth. It is the Land, Sea, and Sky. It is the Fuel, oxygen, and heat of the fire. The concept of Awen is the awe in awesome; the breathtaking beauty of a snow shrouded mountain; the quiet peace of a burbling spring; the joy of tadpoles and minnows in a shallow pond; the sharp intake of breath on a cold, clear winter day; it is the draw of the dark, wooded path. Awen is the pull of the natural world, and the need to be more, to reach beyond the day to day survival to find spirit in everything. It is the need to learn, and grow, and evolve, and it is felt deep inside. Sometimes it is a feeling in my stomach, while other times it is an intense itch in my mind, and occasionally in my fingers when the need to create presents itself strongly.
The two forces I most need to balance are my Adult self and my Child self; my independent nature and my desire to be taken care of; and my desire for confidence and lack of confidence. As an adult I have an idea, or vision, of what it means to be confident, powerful, and independent. This vision does not take into account my upbringing and is at total odds to the reality of Me. AS such, I struggle internally to reconcile the real me with the ideal vision of me. It usually results in a great deal of self hatred and self condemnation.
I have tried to bring myself into balance with meditation and exploring different religious beliefs, looking for a way to balance myself. More recently I have started talk therapy and one of the things we are working on is reconciling my ideal vision of myself with the real version of myself. It is largely due to this outside assistance that I have once again taken up my spiritual leanings and started striving for a positive spiritual practice.
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Post by Sencha on Nov 6, 2014 10:10:36 GMT -5
Deanna
Sounds like you already have a pretty deep understanding of the Awen/Imbas. To me, Awen is how we recognize the life force (nwyfre) in our lives. It calls us to be our higher selves.
That's the balance between True Self and Perceived Self. There are two ways to achieve that balance: One is to change the True Self concept. The other is to work to bring the Perceived Self more closely into alignment with your vision of your True Self. Awen can help you to achieve both by helping you to challenge your assumptions and perceptions about how the world works, and your place in it.
Carl Rogers was a humanist therapist who worked with the idea of Ideal Self. His theory was that the greater the distance between where we are (real self) and where we want to be (ideal self), the more anxiety we have. Sounds like you've already taken positive strides to find balance. I wish you well on your journey!
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Post by sweetkitty12 on Nov 13, 2014 17:53:45 GMT -5
No problem. I had a chance to go on a Riverboat but I wasn't able to make it. But I will do that when I finally get everything that I need. Money is really tight right now.
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Post by sweetkitty12 on Nov 13, 2014 17:58:38 GMT -5
Month 1, Week 2 Sun Path Reflection: Celebrating Awen
Not all the High Days in the Wheel of the Year give me inspiration. I don’t know why, as all eight are supposed to help you connect to the Wheel and the Nature, but I’m finding that only a few of them really inspire me and leave me excited to celebrate. Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Summer Solstice, and Mabon are the only High days that inspire me. Beltane and Lammas do not inspire me at all and I really can’t connect to them. Samhain and Yule are my two favorite High Days.
If you’re talking only about the two Sabbaths that are my favorite then Samhain helps me to connect to my ancestors, to those that have passed. They inspire me to take better care of my body so that I don’t join them early and they help me to feel a connection to the Earth as the ground goes to sleep for the winter to come. Yule makes me giddy and helps me to connect to an Earth that will be waking up soon. When I go outside during Samhain and Yule, I feel the energy of nature during Samhain, but I experience very little during Yule. The rising of the sun on the Winter Solstice tells me that the warmth will be returning and the sun marks that for me.
If you’re talking about the Sabbaths that I connect to then Imbolc allows me to connect to the waking earth. The buds on the trees tell me that winter is losing its grip on the planet. During Imbolc I celebrate the returning powers of the earth and I honor that. During Ostara I go out and I honor nature in several ways. I do some backyard cleaning, I pick up trash from the property, and I thank the Earth for her rest and for the bounty that she’ll be offering. The Summer Solstice is very different for me.
For me the Summer Solstice is a way of thanking nature for what I’ve decided to grow. I plant a garden and do a small ritual, asking the gods that I honor to allow it to grow nice and strong. During the Summer Solstice I thank that gods that I’ve prayed to when I did the ritual during Ostara for granting me what I asked for. During Mabon I celebrate the beginning of the earth going to sleep and do a ritual of thanks for what I’ve grown and what I’ll be able to harvest and store for the winter.
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Post by deanna on Nov 14, 2014 12:44:44 GMT -5
Month 1 Week 4 Reflections on Awen The Awen is the divine inspiration that brings balance. Have you learned any new ways to seek divine inspiration? What does 'divine inspiration' mean to you? What does the Awen add to your life/spiritual practice?
At this stage I am still trying to access the Awen. I understand the words, I understand the concept, but accessing it seems much harder. I am actively working on meditation. I use the guided meditation from week 3 as often as possible, trying to use it every day during the day. At night, I meditate before going to bed, in an attempt to awaken my subconscious to messages and information I do not have a access to otherwise.
I consider divine inspiration to be the information, ideas, thoughts, images in my subconscious and the same from the Otherworld and Underworld (i.e. The Gods, My Ancestors, and The Spirits). Seeking Awen, right now, seems to be the core of my spiritual practice. I can't help but feel that if I can make that connection, permanently, that many things I have been trying to understand will fall into place. If that happens I expect to make a large leap forward in my spiritual practices and understanding.
My birth tree is the Alder. The information about the personalities of the Alder born seems to fit me very well though there are others in the tree calendar that also fit my personality somewhat. Unfortunately, the leaves have fallen from the trees and it makes it difficult to identify them accurately. I do plan on continuing my search for an Alder tree once the leaves come back and the trees blossom.
Until then I have several trees in my backyard that I already have a relationship with. Those trees are an old Apple tree, so old that she only bears fruit every other year or so. A Horse Chestnut tree, affectionately called our umbrella tree as her leaves are so thick in summer that we can stand outside under her during a rainstorm with very little water reaching us. And finally a tree that I have been trying hard to identify for years. It is either a Basswood, an Elm, or possibly a Manitoba Maple. There are many other trees in the yard but these three are the ones I feel closest to.
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Post by Sencha on Nov 14, 2014 13:15:07 GMT -5
Different High Days connect with people on different levels. They all have different Gods and Goddesses, and different plants of the Ogham associated with them. One purpose of this exercise is to help you identify which holidays and therefore which Gods and Goddesses might resonate with you. Sounds like you already have some good energies to work with! Our practice in the Black Mountain Druid Order's Mother Grove has slowly evolved over the years to focus more on the Ancestors and less on the Gods and Goddesses. Or maybe they're the same thing. At any rate, sounds like you have a strong connection to the Ancestors. Samhain is a good time to make that connection, as the veil is the thinnest on this High Day. Have you ever had any experiences with Brighid? She is the Queen of Imbolc, and the Matron Goddess of all Druids (although our Order's Goddess is the Morrigan, but we still hold Brighid in high regard). Brighid is, among other things, a Goddess of new beginnings. Sounds like you're well on your way to honoring the Wheel of the Year in all of its manifestations!
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