Awaken the bard within in this inspiring journey into your creative potential. Expanding upon the foundation of The Bardic Handbook, this volume explores the transformations the bardic initiate must go through to become a fully-fledged Bard. This originally took 12 years of study in the Bardic Colleges - but communities need bards right now, bringing healing and hope with their words and music and so the training process is accelerated over 12 months, echoing the 12 years of Taliesin's journey from Gwion Bach to the Shining Brow. Extracts from the author's notebooks and journals over 20 years illustrate his own journey - showing how this ancient wisdom has been gleaned and validated by powerful personal experience. The Way of Awen is a way of living creatively.
Druidry is a wonderful, spiritually fulfilling life path. Through the magic that is Druidry, we build deep and abiding relationships with the natural world around us, and through our connection to the natural environment we walk a path of truth, honour and service. We aim to immerse ourselves in the present moment, in the present environment, in order to share in the blessing that is the cycle of life. Throughout the ages, people have withdrawn from the world in order to connect more fully with it. This book is an introductory guide for those who wish to walk the Druid path alone, for however long a time. It is about exploration and connection with the natural world, and finding our place within it. It covers the basics of Druidry and how, when applied to the everyday life, enriches it with a sense of beauty, magic and mystery. This book is for those people who feel called to seek their own path, to use their wit and intelligence, compassion and honour to create their own tradition within Druidry.
Long after Arthur lay in a rain-washed grave, long after the legends faded from memory, a new generation defended an old border. White town in the breast of the wood, this forever is its wealth: blood on the face of the grass. In a dangerous era, an enigmatic poem portrayed a war fugitive wandering her ruined kingdom; an earthen wall transformed enemies into uneasy allies; and a man with a famous name wrote an ambiguous inscription on a memorial stone. All three survived twelve centuries as fragments of a nearly forgotten world. Awen imagines the origins of the ninth-century Welsh poetry cycle Canu Heledd and restores the breath of life to a brilliant poet in a dark time.
Delve into the depths of a magical current that spans over two thousand years. The Book of Celtic Magic provides the unsurpassed power of practical magic and the transformative forces of ancient Celtica. Druid priest Kristoffer Hughes invites you to explore the pantheon, myths, and magic of his native Wales. Discover the magical allies, the gods and goddesses, and the spirits of place that form the foundation of this vibrant tradition. Practice rituals that draw you closer to the divine energy of the trees, plants, and animals that surround you. Work with spells, conjurations, invocations, and magical tools that have been developed and refined from genuine Celtic sources. Complete with exercises and a glossary of terms, this step-by-step guide is a definitive source of authentic Celtic magic.
Contemplative Druidry is an evolving aspect of modern Druidry. Rather than talking in purely abstract terms, this book focuses first on the experience of people practicing contemplative Druidry now. Only then does it look at the bigger picture and draw conclusions for the developing spirituality of modern Druidry as a whole.'Contemplative Druidry' takes the five months of March-July 2014, and offers a snapshot of how 15 practitioners of Druidry in England today understand and practice contemplative Druidry, and why they value it. Responding to a set of questions either in live interviews or through written responses, they describe both what contemplative Druidry means to them personally, and how they see it fitting in to the context of Druidry as a modern pagan spirituality. In this way 'Contemplative Druidry' acts as a contemplative inquiry, with many voices offering perspectives on contemplative Druidry, its place within Druidry as a whole, and its wider contribution to the development of modern spirituality, particularly within pagan traditions. The contributors, in alphabetical order of first names, are: David Popely, Elaine Knight, Eve Adams, JJ Middleway, Joanna van der Hoeven, Julie Bond, Karen Webb, Katy Jordan, Mark Rosher, Nimue Brown, Penny Billington, Robert Kyle, Rosa Davis and Tom Brown. In his introduction, the author describes the experience which led him, already a practising Druid, onto a more contemplative path. He talks of how he turned outwards to his own community, as well as inwards to his personal practice, and brought together a group dedicated to developing a practice of contemplative Druidry in Gloucestershire, England. The book is in many respects a fruit of this work, and 11 of the 15 contributors are involved in the group. The other four are independently engaged with contemplative and meditative practice in Druidry, and agreed to be part of the book. The main section of the book is divided into three parts. The first is about the people involved - their childhood spirituality, their histories of questing for a spiritual practice and home that made sense, and their commitment to Druidry as an identity and set of values. The second is about practice - formal sitting meditations, ways of contemplative engagement with nature, forms of group practice, contemplative arts, and having a contemplative stance in every day life. The third is about potential - what the practice of contemplative Druidry can do for the individual and its benefits to the community as a whole. The book ends with a set of author's reflections and conclusions, including suggestions about how contemplative practices can become more widely adopted within the Druid community. There are eight appendices, which include models of group programmes and solo practices for contemplative Druidry, and also two threads from the Contemplative Druidry Facebook group, one about contemplation and mysticism and the other on pilgrimage. The book has a foreword by Philip Carr-Gomm, Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a significant contribution in its own right under the title: 'Deep Peace of the Quiet Earth: the Nature Mysticism of Druidry'. The foreword endorses the view that contemplative Druidry is an idea whose time has come. 'Contemplative Druidry' is an introduction in that it raises awareness of contemplative practice in Druidry, and potentially in pagan spirituality more widely. It provides documentary recognition of the approach. And it sets a note of contemplative inquiry and exploration, rather than offering a fixed set of teachings that people are invited to assimilate in a top-down kind of way. The book is therefore of interest both to people with a personal interest in contemplative Druidry, and to those with a more general interest in the life and development of modern Druidry, pagan paths more widely, and evolutionary spirituality as a whole.
Learn the ancient art of reading runes to jumpstart your journey to self-discovery and fulfillment with this fun, accessible guide featuring removable rune cards and a 30-day practice plan. A beginner-friendly introduction to the 24 Norse runes—from their ancient meanings and modern interpretations to their history and divinatory powers. Discover the wisdom of the runes—24 Norse symbols—to connect with your true self, master the art of being present, and fearlessly welcome your future’s unfolding. Like pulling an angel card, consulting a horoscope, or reading tarot, choosing runes with a question or intention in mind allows us to draw on the divinatory magic of these ancient symbols. We can make space for dialogue with our inner selves, convert intentions into actions, and open ourselves to being more aware and awake than we ever thought possible. This approachable, accessible, and empowering introduction to the runes shows you how. In 3 practical sections, Rune Reading Your Life provides an introduction to the 24 runic symbols and their history, explains their ancient meanings, and reveals their modern interpretations. It guides you on a 30-day transformational rune reading practice, showing you how to interpret and apply runic wisdom to everyday life. Also included are removable rune cards that readers can use to begin their practice immediately.
The Hedge Druid's Craft blends the traditions of Wicca, Witchcraft and Druidry into a spiritual path that uses the techniques of "hedge riding" to travel between the worlds, bringing back wisdom and enchantment into our everyday lives. It is about working with boundaries, with a foot in either world, living around the edges and working with liminal times and places. For those whose paths meander and often overlap, and those who would not be constrained nor confined by labels, yet who seek some definition, this book is for you. If you are interested in Witchcraft, Wicca or Druidry, this book will sing to your soul.
Druidry is currently exciting much interest but has an image that is not usually associated with urban life. In The Handbook of Urban Druidry, author Brendan Howlin presents Druidry in an easy-to-understand way, making the concepts open to everyone. ,
Taking both Zen and Druidry and embracing them into your life can be a wonderful and ongoing process of discovery, not only of the self but of the entire world around you. Looking at ourselves and at the natural world around us, we realise that everything is in constant change and flux - like waves on the ocean, they are all part of one thing that is made up of everything. Even after the wave has crashed upon the shore, the ocean is still there, the wave is still there - it has merely changed its form. The aim of this text is to show how Zen teachings and Druidry can combine to create a peaceful life path that is completely and utterly dedicated to the here and now, to the earth and her rhythms, and to the flow that is life itself. ,
How to inspire and enchant with magical words! Ever wanted to be a storyteller? To stand up and perform one of your own poems? To use magical words to bless, honour, heal or celebrate? The Bardic Handbook contains all you need to know to start you on the path of the Bard. An easy-to-follow, 12-month self-study program, with week-by-week exercises and mini-lessons about bardic lore, will lead you along the Way of Awen. The book is divided into 5 parts, corresponding to the elements of the Western Magical Tradition: Air, Fire, Water & Earth--with Spirit at the center. With an experienced bard as guide, you will learn * practical techniques and exercises * Bardic terminology * The Bardic Chair * on Being a 21st Century Bard * preparing for performance * how to run a Bardic Circle * also includes a Certificate of Initiation
