Discovering my Path

 

Well my friends, finding that fork in the road was probably the best thing I could have done, not only did it start me on my path of Druidry but it lead me on to a whole new way of life. Well I say whole new way of life it was more a reshuffle of what I had already been doing but with a few additions.

I discovered my love of Morris Dancing, what has this got to do with Druidry? Bear with me it all falls into place I promise.

My wife and I had our first taste of freedom one weekend many many years after having our wonderful son, it came about after he was invited away for a concert, we were at home, no child, no stress and this eerie silence, what were we going to do, we hadn't had time to ourselves for ages, as we were both keen walkers and birdwatchers we decided to go out for the day to a local country park type place and do a spot of ornotholigical observation (bird-watching lol). It was a hot day in July, the shade from the trees provided a much needed respite from the hot sun, although we didn't see anything unusual we had a great time, we wandered back to the car to put our stuff away before indulging in a spot of afternoon tea and cake when we heard these bells, we looked at each other wondering what it was all about and so, being of inquisitive minds we followed them. On the green in front of the Cafe we saw a group of morris dancers doing their thing with sticks, hankies and bells, we watched for a while, then from nowhere my wife said we should look at taking this up as a hobby, you can imagine my thoughts on that, walking around in public, jingling and waving hankies, I somehow think not. I previously said I was slightly mischievous and unfortunately for anyone who knows me this is something I havent really grown out of. I decided to call her bluff and arrange for us to learn this noble ancient art form.

Cut forward a few years, we went to a couple of practices with the morris side, my wife decided it wasn't her thing, me....... well I loved it and kept going. I eventually joined another side after several years and now I am proud to say I am squire of the lovliest, craziest group of people in Ivinghoe.

I can still hear you asking, "yes. but what has this got to do with my Druid journey?" well, I was dancing with the first side I joined at a wassail early one January in a place called Croxley Green, I had known the pagan link to wassailing so was always happy to dance for these occasions, it was at this one particular event that I met a man, who not only had Buddhist beliefs but also was a Druid. I chatted to him for a while eventually joining the Grove he belonged to on Facebook.

I started studying more, and although I was part of a grove, I considered myself more a Hedge Druid as most of my studying was done alone (the way I like it). I read books and checked out the internet for practice methods and basically anything druidry to better my knowledge, I was learning but it was all over the place with no real substance as such so I decided to seek more formal training, I consulted my new best friend, you may know her as Google, and she pointed me towards a group called the British Druid Order. I signed up and started my journey proper, I was now a Bard.

For those that dont know, the path of druidry follows three main stages, Bard, Ovate and Druid, although all of these are Druids in their own right they form the fundemntals of the whole Druid package. The three stages follow each other giving you the knowledge and understanding of the Druid Path.

THE BARD - This is the first official stage of the Druid Path. The Bard was seen as the storyteller, the historian, the keeper of the lore, the musician, the poet, the travelling minstral. His role was to pass on the ways by means of verse or story, he would entertain. The Greatest Bard of them all was Taliesin, I will pass on his story later.

THE OVATE - This is the second stage of the Druid Path. The Ovate was seen as the Healer, the diviner, the seer. He would work with herbs and animals in a healing capacity, his main role was as a Seer seeking to understand the events as they flow through past, present and future.

THE DRUID - This is the Final stage of the Druid Path. If the Bard speaks or sings about the spiritual Realms, and the Ovate as the Seer is to See the Spiritual Realms then it is the Druid who crosses over and enters into these Spiritual Realms, the Druid is the Shaman, priest, teacher, the walker between the worlds.

When I started taking my journey as a Druid, I didn't realise how different a simple walk in the woods would become, it's more like going to a social gathering now, I have trees to talk to, animals to talk to and not forgetting the amazing connection by standing outside with bare feet you have with Mother earth.

The easiest thing in the world to do to get your initial connection is to stand barefoot in the woods or your garden and just feel and listen, it is so magical and the one thing I do everyday no matter what the weather is or what sort of a day I have had, I stand there for a few minutes in silence, listening to the sounds of nature, my toes squeezing against the grass, feeling the energy rising up trough my feet into my body, give it a go I swear you will never want to stop doing it.

Thank you again for staying with me on this journey of mine, I hope we can start to share more now as we get more involved with how I work my Druid lifestyle and the things I get up to.

Everything on my Blog is my own personal views, there are other groups, societies etc. I also undertook my Bardic journey with OBOD (The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) my own choice was to continue my journey with the British Druid Order as this resonated more with the way I felt and the way my practice felt to me. The journey itself is a very personal one to each and everyone of us and although I will be going into Rituals, Tools, Meditation etc. these are how I do it, feel free to use what I do but remember the format is that of the Gods/Goddesses and the Old ways how you work around them is what makes it yours.

Now as usual I will end on one of my poems this one is called The Senses

 

THE SENSES

I hear the birds in chorus sing

Awakening the dawn

The sun does rise and starts to bring

Its light upon the morn

I see the flowers raise their heads

And open one by one

And creatures rise up from their beds

To greet the warming sun

I smell the freshness of the air

As I begin to rise

The foxes seeking out their lair

To hide from morning skies

I taste the early morning dew

As upon my lips it falls

My eyes take in the wonderous view

Not hidden by the walls

I feel the warming summer sun

That comes from up on high

And then I know the days begun

How blue the morning sky

I stand alone with arms aloft

My eyes begin to close

I feel the wind so warm and soft

And the grass between my toes

I first give thanks to all I hear

That fill my day with song

The birds that sing in trees so near

That last the morning long

I then give thanks to all I see

The flowers, sun and sky

The squirrels that run round a tree

And clouds that float on high

I thank the earth for all I smell

As I stand amongst the dew

The woodsmoke that I know so well

And the scent of flowers new

I offer thanks for all I taste

That nature gives to me

The sweetness of the growing fruit

And honey from the bee

I give thanks for all I feel today

The warming summer breeze

The grass so soft on which I lay

The roughness of the trees

So to mother earth these thanks I give

Each morning when I wake

To thank her for the life I live

And the memories I make.

 

Take care my friends see you all again soon

Blessed Be /|\