Druid Musings

The day started out with an auspicious omen. As I was walking the dog I heard the caw of a crow. I saw it sitting there under the tree across the street. Morrigan was letting me know it was going to be a big day. I thanked her for the message. And got to it.

I knew I would be performing a ritual today to mark the autumnal equinox. I had already planned to affirm my decision to follow Cerridwen as well as following Morrigan. Little did I know…

I started the ritual. I lit incense. I got myself into the correct state of mind. I started all the steps I had already learned in performing a druid ritual. Then came the seeking omens phase.

I turned to my crystal ball. I started gazing. Soon enough an image appeared. It was me. I was very busy shuffling some wooden blocks. On the blocks were symbols. Runes and /|\.  As I shuffled the blocks I started stacking them one on top of the other. Higher and higher I stacked until I had to get on a ladder to continue. And then the vision faded out.

I took it to mean that as long as I kept shuffling my two spiritual paths of Asatru and Druidry I would continue to grow. Grow beyond this reality into the higher places of existence. Not a shabby vision to have!

Now came the time in the ritual when I made it apparent that I would be a follower of Cerridwen as well as Morrigan. I stated my intent. I got a vision of a dark haired woman busy over a mortar and pestle. She looked up at me and said “Welcome” then went back to her work. I felt her energy. It was supple and pliable. Very different from the hard steely energy I had sensed from Morrigan. As I was making mental note of the differences I sensed Morrigan’s energy start to push through. As that occurred the Cerridwen energy pushed back. Back and forth between the two like a tug of war. The two energies were overwhelming me. I said aloud that I would follow them both. Both would get my attention. Still the battle. I stated again my intention to not ignore either of them but to follow them both with equal devotion. Finally in a great snap the battle was over. I sensed both energies of the goddesses. In tandem. Neither pushing the other out. Coexisting in my ritual room.

The rest of the ritual was a blur. I finished off exhausted. I was going to have my hands full being a follower of these two!  But I was sure I was up to the task.

As if to get the last word in I heard a crow caw.

In my studies I’ve been learning about Awen. The force that connects all of the multiverse. In Norse tradition we have a similar concept in Ond. So I’m not unfamiliar with the idea.

The book I’ve been studying likens Awen to a river and sea. As those don’t really exist in my understanding of the world I decided air would substitute. So I decided to try an exercise to get in contact with Awen.

I went outside. I let myself become aware of the wind. As I stood there getting in touch with the air and wind I felt myself filling with a blue energy. The energy was coming up my legs and feet from the ground. That energy slowly filled me. So much so that it needed to be released. So I started blowing this energy out of my mouth. I saw the blue energy leaving my mouth and becoming a part of the wind. It joined the wind and blew away. But I had more energy to release. I stood there releasing more and more energy that became one with the wind.   There was no end to the amount of energy flowing up my legs from the ground. As I released some more would appear.

As I stood there aware of this blue energy being taken on the wind I had an image of the wind touching everything in the physical realm. Trees. Bodies of water. Other people. And with this realization came the image that all things were connected to the energy. Everything was doing just as I was doing. Expelling the blue energy from the earth into the wind were it blew and touched everything else. It was this huge cycle of blue energy touching and being created by all the forces of the world. It was never-ending.

I was allowed the time to make this realization before I was suddenly snapped back into ordinary consciousness. The exercise was over. I was allowed my first introduction to Awen. It was powerful. An energy so huge it touched everything in the multiverse. I stood there letting the lesson sink in. Then I thanked the Shining Ones for the vision. I went on with my day.

Since then I’ve been in touch with this feeling of connectedness. Not all the time of course but enough to keep me going. It’s good to know I am connected to all things. Makes my daily existence seem not quite so small. And I am grateful for that.

Three rays /|\.  A symbol of Druidry.   Seen on social media signatures. On the cover of many books. I first encountered this symbol in my readings on Druidry two months ago when I decided to follow this path. It’s cool and all.  But what did it mean?

The number three abounds in the druid world. Three realms. Three aspects of the Morrigan. Three sacred plants. And on and on. Which does help explain the three rays symbol. But I wanted to know more. There are a couple of the interpretations that stuck with me. Here’s my newbie take on the subject.

Nature, knowledge and devotion. Nature is a sacred concept in Druidry. The reverence for the land and water that sustains us and holds us firm. Trees and plants that provide beauty and oxygen. Rocks that remind us of our own stability and steadfastness. Rivers that provide water which is the essence of life. The list goes on.   Knowledge is studying all you can manage on the topic of Druidry. Acquiring knowledge to see life through sacred eyes. Knowledge of the lore and all the life lessons therein. Getting to know the world around you. Learning more about those you love. Druids should have a huge appetite for knowledge. It is a life long journey that never ends. I hope to pass to the Underworld reading a book!  Devotion is honoring the gods and goddesses. Keeping the major holidays. Engaging in personal ritual. Finding time each day to connect with the other realms. Honoring the many different spirits that inhabit the three realms. Building personal relationships with the deities.   All are ways to show our devotion.

Another interpretation that caught my eye was piety, virtue and study.   Piety fits nicely with devotion as discussed above. Virtue can be interpreted as living a life our ancestors would be proud of. Living a life in accordance with the lore. Proving to ourselves and the Shining Ones that we can exist in a state of balance with the spiritual realms. Study of course is the accumulating of knowledge as above. Read, read, read!  I would also say it’s not just gaining knowledge through study but applying it. There is no good in a book that is not being read and acted upon.

As you can see there was overlap in these two examples. Which just further points out the importance of the concepts. Repetition helps in learning and memory as well. Things repeated are remembered.

So that’s a quick personal take on the three rays. Definitely a newbie perspective but hopefully you may have gotten something out of it. Bright blessings to all!

I’ve been a heathen for twenty odd years. It is a practice that has held me in good stead all this time. When my father issued my call to Druidry two months ago I was a little surprised. But there’s one thing I’ve learned in my fifty two years is that I should never ignore the messages from my dad. He has never steered my wrong even since his death. So I was off on the new path.

At first I was concerned. Did this new calling mean I would have to give up heathenry?  After some meditation on the topic I realized I could practice both paths concurrently. There was no reason to abandon the Path of Asatru.   I could follow a new path while honoring my current path. This put me at rest. There was no reason to abandon the relationships I had carefully fostered with the gods I knew. I would just be building new relationships with a new set of gods. Whew!

My decades as a polytheist had taught me quite a bit. I was obviously going to use that experience in my new endeavour. I had a whole new path to learn about. I had no real exposure to Druidry. Where to start?

One of the tools I had picked up along the way is a level of skill at trance work. Soon I found that if I went into trance with the goal of connecting to the deities of Druidry I had success. I gained a druid spiritual ally. He introduced me to Morrigan who called me as a follower. I was making progress in the realms other than the one we live in. One thing that I found comforting about Druidry is the fact that there are three realms unlike the nine in Asatru. Less to conquer and get to know!  And more manageable.

Devotion to the gods is another skill I had under my belt. I find it relatively easy to garner relationships with those on other planes of existence.   Although I have only started building a relationship with Morrigan so far on the Druidry path it’s a start. I’m sure I’ll be introduced to new deities as time goes on.  I’m in no rush. I want things to develop organically.

Study is also not new to me in regards to spiritual practice. And boy did I have a lot of studying to do!  Luckily the gods of Druidry have been placing appropriate texts in my way to discover. That and a couple of crystal ball sittings have so far lead me to the right books at the right time.

And of course there’s the aspect of daily devotion. I spend some time each day in meditation or trance to build relationships with the divine. It helps that I’m not required to work. And we don’t have a TV!  So I have plenty of time for daily devotion. Lots of time for revelation.

So I’m sure that it’s no coincidence that I had years of preparation before introducing me to the Druidry path. I was ready to accept the call once I had it. These past two months have shown me that it’s a path worth journeying on. I hope to do it justice.

Last night at the full moon I did a ritual. I tried my hand at following the ADF formula for ritual. I used their ritual guidelines to provide a framework to build off of. It was successful. Here’s how.

I started the ritual with some breathing exercises to center and ground myself.  I lit candles and incense. I had water in my cauldron. My plant was there as the Tree.

I decided the incense would serve as my offering to all spirits. I called upon the Gatekeeper to open the gates. Then I called the Spirit of Mother Earth. As I felt her presence I offered incense to her. Then I called the Spirits of Nature. As I felt them arriving I said a thank you. Then I called upon the Spirits of the Ancestors. They too arrived. Last I called upon the Spirits of the Shining Ones. Once I felt them I was able to get down to work.   Everybody was here!  Almost.

The purpose of the ritual was to strengthen my bond to the Morrigan. As a last addition I called on her too. She took a while longer to make her appearance. But I was patient and full of resolve. Her presence was the strongest of all.

I asked for the blessings of all the assembled spirits. I lit more incense as an offering to them all. I thanked them for allowing me this time with them.

I went to my crystal ball. I asked the Morrigan to send me a sign that I was on the right track in following her. In the flickering candlelight I saw a clear image of myself. In the vision a crow flew by cawing. Then the image was gone.

I thanked the assembled spirits for attending. I  especially thanked the Morrigan for her image to me.  I called upon the Gatekeeper to close the gates. My ritual was done.

I cleaned everything up and went to bed feeling the ritual had served its purpose. I woke up this morning. As I was walking the dog a huge crow flew by me. It landed and looked at me. It cawed loudly. In that moment I knew the Morrigan was with me. I was definitely on the right path. I felt a serenity come over me. I was at peace. Blessings to the Morrigan!

As I’ve only been on the druid path a little over a month, much of the time dedicated to this path has been used for studying. And study I have!  I never realized the amount of information I was going to be dealing with. Here’s what I’ve studied so far…

Many books. I am reading and studying four books at a time. Right now it’s The Feast of the Morrighan, Celtic Golden Dawn, The Path of Druidry and also Our Own Druidry. I spend time with each book daily. Good thing I don’t have a TV!

I’m learning there is much more I need to learn. I have studied about the three rays symbol and it’s meaning. The one thing all of the books I’m reading  agree on is that one of the rays stand for knowledge. That I’m getting!

I’ve learned that the goddess who called me is really more like three goddesses. The Morrigan. What I’ve been able to ascertain in that regard through trance work is that I have been called specifically by Badb. She is assisting me in prophecy and magic in general. Two of my personal strengths and interests. Funny I had no idea that those were her realms when she first called me. I have only discovered her ties with those through my research. It never ceases to amaze me how things work out in the esoteric realms. But that was my experience in the past so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Nature. It’s all about nature in many ways. As I have MS walks and excursions in nature are pretty much off the plate for me. But I do have a large indoor garden that I tend to. I have been working to get to know the different energies of my plants. I even did a trance session where I became one of my plants and experienced life through its eyes.   Pretty powerful perspective!

And I’ve started using the crystal ball for divination. The Morrigan assists me there. I’ve had some good results so far. I’ll definitely keep at it.

Then there’s the three realms. I have had experience working in other worldly realms before so this I was mostly a matter of learning new labels to attach to my discoveries.

Whew!  Not bad for someone who’s only been dedicated to this path for a month and a half. I look forward to the next revelation. Keep studying!

This happened a month ago when my departed father first came to me in a dream and uttered the word “Druid”.  I had done no real research on the subject yet. But since I’m talented in trance work that is the first thing I turned to. I had the day before been introduced to my Druid spiritual ally Llewellyn. I decided to call upon him to try to reach the Druidry deities. Here’s how it went.

I got myself into a trance state. I called upon Llewellyn. He made his presence known. I asked him if there was a god or goddess I should be studying. He said “Morrigan”.  I then asked him if I could meet this deity.

It suddenly became foggy. Out of the fog three figures appeared. They came towards me. I soon saw that they were female. The one on the left was raven haired and dressed for battle. The one in the middle was white haired and dressed in a white gown. She carried a crystal ball. The one on the right had red hair and was dressed in green.

Which was Morrigan I wondered to myself. I didn’t understand. But I decided to let things play out.

The one on the left said “I am here to teach you to be a warrior”.  Perfect as I battle against MS every day. The one on the right said “I am here to teach you a love of nature”.  I needed that if I were to study Druidry. The one in the middle said “I am here to teach you prophecy and magic”.  They they disappeared into the fog.

I was suddenly snapped back into ordinary consciousness. Now I had more questions than answers. Time for some real time research.

I did an internet search on Morrigan. What I discovered of course is that that is the collective name given a group of three goddesses. Which explained my trance vision. I had been visited by three goddesses who were one. I had met the Morrigan.

Since then I’ve done more research. I still can’t say I understand in full. But I am hooked. I have pledged myself to her and her study. I will see where this path leads. Each day something new unfolds. And I am thankful she chose to speak to me.

I had anxiously been awaiting the solar eclipse. For a month the excitement had been building up inside me. I planned to do a ritual on this day when the energies were at historical levels. I planned ahead what to do. I was ready.

As the time arrived for the eclipse I started my ritual by lighting incense. Next I lit candles. I grounded and centered myself. I was ready to begin.

I called upon the Gatekeeper. I asked him to open the gates between the realms. Once I had felt the energy shift I raised my arms and called upon all the Shining Ones. I called upon the Nature Spirits. And I called upon the ancestors. They were to bear witness to my oaths.

When I felt the energy in the room raise again I made an oath to follow the path of Druidry. I asked the assembled spirits to assist me in this goal. I asked them to help me find the strength and motivation to follow this path. I asked them to guide me on this new journey.

I next turned my attention to my crystal ball. Placing my hands on it I asked the assembled spirits to cleanse it of any negative energy. I dedicated the ball to Morrigan the goddess of prophecy. I oathed that the ball would be used to positive purposes. As the energy of the ball was raised I thanked the assembled ones for their assistance in this special matter.

That being accomplished I sat there feeling the energy in the room. It was very high. I closed my eyes. As I sat there eyes closed I had a vision. I was standing before a huge oak tree. I knew it was an oak from all of the acorns littering the ground. I was overwhelmed by the urge to collect the acorns. I started picking them up and putting them into all of my pockets. I did this rapidly and with a sense of urgency. Then I heard a voice tell me I had collected enough for now. I could return another time to collect more. I thanked the oak for the gift. Then the vision faded away.

I opened my eyes. I thanked the assembled spirits for their being with me. I thanked them for hearing my oath.  I asked the Gatekeeper to close the gates. As the light began to return from the eclipse I felt the energy in the room return to normal. I blew out the candles.

I thought about the vision I’d had and what it could mean. Upon reflection I decided the acorns were pieces of knowledge that I was gathering on my trip down this new path. I was going to collect much wisdom. But I can always return to the tree to collect more. May this vision turn true!

 

I had an interesting dream last night. In my interpretation it has to deal with my newfound concurrent spiritual path of Druidry. Let me tell you about it and see what you think.

I dreamt I was a fashion designer for a reality TV contest show. Think Project Runway. Not an odd idea as I was a theatrical costume design minor in college. For this segment of the show, which was the finale, we were using authentic haute couture gowns designed by famous designers. These designer gowns had been chosen for us. I was fitting my model who had long, crazy, curly red hair into a gown.  She was a brand new model for me. The gown that had been chosen for her was deep green. The size was all wrong. It was too big. I asked if we could get the same gown in a size three for her. We could. I suddenly realized I had another model to fit. I chose a deep blue gown for her in size nine. She had beautiful blonde hair. So while they were getting the first gown in size three I finished the easier fitting with the size nine model.  This was an easy fit and we had her runway ready in no time. Now I turned my attention back to the first size three model and she looked stunning in her new fitting gown. She was ready to go.   The models got into their place in the runway parade looking wonderful. As they walked the runway I felt full of confidence I had a winner. As the results we about to be announced I was sure it would be one of my models. And surprise!  It was declared a tie between both of my two models!  They had both won!

That’s when the alarm clock woke me up. The dream still hung in my consciousness. That’s how I knew it was an important dream. The fact that I remembered it in full meant it had a message for me. Now my job was to figure out the message!

Upon reflection it seems a painfully obvious message from my subconscious. First the overview of the design show. Familiar ground for me. All of the last minute running around making everything perfect. No stranger to that idea.  This clearly is a symbol for spirituality. Something I’m very familiar with. The new model is Druidry — the red hair, the green gown, the sacred number three as her size. The other model is Asatru — size nine which is the Asatru sacred number, the blonde hair, the deep blue gown. Couldn’t be any more apparent.  The fact that the redhead was new to me also makes sense. I had to spend more time with the new model. The blonde was a snap to get ready. Also very true in regards to my concurrent paths. Druidry currently requires more energy on my part than Asatru. I need to learn the druid lore and pantheon.  I have work to do on that path. The other path is easy to get ready. Makes perfect sense.  The fact that the results were a tie means that both paths will bring rewards. Overall a pretty powerful and transparent dream. May l live up to the challenge!

I’m learning that divination is an important aspect with Druidry. Right up my alley!  I have experience in divination. But I wanted to do something authentic to the Druid Path. Time for some research!

I have 20 years experience using the runes for divination. I read Runes almost daily. They help provide me with structure in my otherwise unfocused life. I do not claim to foresee the future very well. It’s a shortcoming of my practice. I am able to foresee some future events though. So I need to build on that.

A quick internet search lead me to orgham. As I did more research on this avenue the more similar to runes it seemed. Not what I was looking for. I wanted a form of divination that was Druid in origin but different from the runes. Time for more research.

I was reading a book on Druidry and in that book’s section on divination the mention of crystal balls came up. I didn’t understand why because I had never thought of crystal ball gazing to be a particular skill of the Druids.   More research needed.

A quick search on the internet yielded several different sources citing the Druids and crystal balls. Going back into a time BCE the Druids were known to divine events using crystal balls. Good enough for me!  Crystal ball gazing it is!

So I finally found a unique means of divination that traced its history back to the Druids. I will definitely not give up my rune casting but will add the use of a crystal ball to the mix. My crystal ball has been ordered and I am greatly looking forward to adding this new to me Druid practice to my life. I’ll keep you posted how it all goes!