Living the life, not just writing about it

It's only a few weeks since I started my Bardic course with the British Druid Order and I feel that I have learnt so much already.  I love the studies and exercises but I want to actually live the life and not just do a distance learning package in order to call myself a Bard. 

I recently went to the wonderful Wildways in Shropshire which was mentioned in my previous post and enjoyed a magical morning learning how to wattle.  It may be easy to some but there is still an art to it. You have to pick the best material - hazel or willow, you have to be mindful of birds and other creatures when you take some to use and how flexible it is at certain times of the year. All of these things count.

I was also shown how to light the best fire.  I have been used to lighting fires all of my life but I still learnt new things that can help to get a great fire going when out in the open.

All these magical forestry skills are so important.  It's not just about keeping the poetry and stories alive, it's about keeping the ancient crafts alive too, after all that is how people lived centuries ago, they needed all of the basic skills to build and make places for worship or just to live and celebrate life, telling the stories of old in their roundhouses or just sitting out in the woods around a fire.

I have been experimenting with outdoor cooking and my fire pit and tripod work well. In fact the other day I boiled this 'potion' quicker than my kitchen kettle boils.  Soon I want to buy a proper cooking pot and make food over an open fire but better get a nice clean cooking pot first as this one belongs to the chickens and they are not pleased that I have pinched their corn pot to experiment with!

Druid Hedge School

                                                                                         The roundhouse



I have had the most incredible few days that have filled me with inspiration. Following on from the World Drum events, I went to Wildways on the Borle in Shropshire on Wednesday for a women's drum session.

Around twenty of us walked through the beautiful woodland before we reached the roundhouse, an exact replica of what our ancient ancestors would have lived in.


Once we closed the door it was as though we were shutting the 21st century out and following the footsteps of our ancestors. It was such a beautiful atmosphere with the fire crackling in the centre, giving the only light and it was all the light we needed as we sat in a circe and chatted before playing. I didn't have a drum but within minutes a lady gave me a huge Djembe drum to play all night. It was an incredible experience, I don't know where it came from but I lost all my inhibitions, I have never played anything like that on my own and not in front of other people who had been doing it for years but I found myself making my own rhythm which magically seemed to fit with everyone else's.







As I walked around the fire which was then glowing in the centre, I became a different person, it was an incredible experience. I can almost understand how the Shamans can go so deeply into a trance and take on other forms, I felt like I was on the cusp myself.




              Inside the Yurt at Wildways with the famous World Drum
Saturday I attended the Druid Hedge School event, also at Wildways. It was a wonderful day with fascinating talks and meditations. Greywolf, Chief of the British Druid Order did a meditation called The Three Cauldrons. It actually made me cry for some reason, not out of sadness, it was just such a powerful experience that left me feeling so inspired. It was though I was actually drawing up creativity through my body and into my head which was bursting with ideas to create something.

It has given me the final push for something I have been considering for a while. Next month I will be enrolling on the full Bardic training with the British Druid Order. I thirst to learn and feel that I have to do it, even though it's a big commitment of one years study, it feels right for me.

The World Drum

(Me with the World Drum)

The World Drum returned to the UK at the beginning of March and the other day I got to hold it and beat it on top of Titterstone Clee.  The British Druid Order climbed the hill with the drum and people came from every direction to take part in this very special ceremony. Young and old, two legs and even four, we all joined together to listen to the rhythm of the drum.

We gathered in a circle and very soon the drum was beating.  I imagined it being the heartbeat of the earth and as we passed it around the circle, everyone got to play this amazing drum.  I could  feel the vibration of that and the other drums that were being played and at times it matched my own heartbeat. An incredible feeling and one that I will never forget. It's so primeval, just a simple drum beat but to me it actually meant the earth.

The World Drum is a traditional Shaman drum made in Norway by the indigenous Sami people.  It was created to take part in rituals around the world and celebrate the rhythm of Mother Earth.  It travels from one country to another and joins people from every walk of life so that everyone can share equally the need to appreciate the cycle of life.

After Five years, the drum came back to the UK where the British Druid order hosted the ceremonies around the country. It visited many famous landmarks such as Avebury Henge, Stonehenge, Glastonbury Tor, Ironbridge and then the other day, my very own Clee hill where I walk over the craggy rocks to hear only the sound of a buzzard or the sheep down below.  Now I shall  always imagine the sound of that drum as the beats carried on the wind. I was so moved by the experience that I immediately wanted to come back and drum on something. It left me wanting more.  It left me wanting to do more and celebrate just how lucky we are to live on such a beautiful planet that needs our help to survive.

                                                    The British Druid Order and other drummers 

Hop, skip and a jump with the Ostara Hares

Today is Ostara, the Spring Equinox and a perfect time to get the balance right in everything you are doing.

Ostara is an ancient pagan celebration of welcoming new life, the start of Spring and shaking off the long hard months of winter. Today is a  time when everything is in balance, the day is just as long as the night but from now on we will have longer days as the sun grows and warms the earth and the days of light become longer.  Although it may not seem like it at the moment when we are still having snow in some areas, it will change.

I spent a magical morning making salt dough ornaments to celebrate this turn of the wheel which has strong connections with the hare, spring flowers and the egg to symbolise new life.

I wanted my Ostara decorations to actualy be a part of nature so I collected some water from the spring that constantly flows  in our village.  It doesn't matter how severe the weather is, that spring continues to flow.

I used two cups of  plain flour, one cup of salt and one cup of water.  Mixed together, rolled out and cut my shapes.  After baking them in an oven for 45 minutes, I had two magical hares, ready for painting and once that was done they were ready to hop, skip and jump into Spring and banish winter for another year.

The besom has a home

We have been working on my 'Den' today.  Although snow covered the ground this morning, after a few hours it had melted so we made a lot of progress.

I love this area.  For so long it has been neglected and used as a dumping ground for things we wanted to burn, hide or take to the tip, which now I feel was very wrong as it's such a beautiful place. 

The besom has brought much laughter and many jokes from my friends and family but this broomstick is there for a practical use, not to fly about the garden on.  Much as I would love to do that, I use it to sweep the area clean. I didn't want to use my hard yard broom in this area. It's big and has a very hard brush, it simply wasn't practical. It didn't feel right so that is why I got a traditional Besom instead. 

Saying that, my beautiful natural besom can also be used in a ritual to sweep away negativity and cleanse an area from bad feeling. Luckily I have not had to use it for that purpose yet.

I feel so close to nature when I am in this space. Birds nest above and I can see all kinds of life around me. I still can't believe at times that this is not actually a tree but just ivy growing from something man made. Another reminder of how we all seem to be connected, we are meant to be here together with our animals and plants and beautiful landscapes, it's just working out how best to get along and so all of us can thrive.

This is from the other side. We are trying to clear a path so that it will be possible to walk all the way around it.  We have a raised area here which is from years of piling more and more soil and making a compost area. I want to turn it into a miniture hill where we can sit and gaze down on the firepit below.

The 'Den' may take months to create but even now it has become a magical area where I can meditate. I love to just sit or stand here. It's amazing how much you see anywhere if you just stop what you are doing, stand still and observe nature

I have a few guests that seem to like my den. A male pheasant has taken a shine to being in this place.  On several occasions I have surprised him when entering only to have him squalking at me and flying off in a huff as though he objects to me being there!

So, the work continues, I wonder who will visit next?

 

 

A Clootie Tree in the back garden

We spent some time clearing the garden this weekend and focussed on the areas that we have neglected for years.  Some things that are right under your nose go un-noticed but then today this magcial site became open to me again.  After years of storing rubbish and things I wanted to burn, I had forgotten how magical this part of my garden is. 

I think it looks like an ancient tree with all  those clinging roots but in fact it is just a covering of ivy over an old structure that I have in my garden.

This was an old stone crusher from the times of mining around the Clee hills.  My garden is part of the old railway that went up to the Titterstone Clee. The stones were brought back down here for crushing. It must have been a hive of industry in those times with constant activity from the mining but now I find it so magical that after more than a 100 years, nature has claimed it back. 

Many birds enjoy the cover and countless creatures of all kinds love to dwell here.  This is why I have adopted it as my own 'Clootie Tree'. Although most Clootie trees are ancient and grow by the holy wells, this will serve me just as well.  I feel it is still a special place, it has history, it has nature and now it has me to look after it and enjoy all the magic that grows with it.

I will certainlly follow the tradtion of some of the Celtic ways of using a Clootie Tree.
The tradition is that you dip a ribbon or piece of cloth from a person that may need help or healing into a spring or well.  You then hang the ribbon onto the tree and when the ribbon finally rots away, the individual will recover.

Apart from that I feel that it is a lovely place to sit and meditate about my own life and feelings. After hearing the news of a family bereavement the other day, I felt comfort by placing something there.  I knew it would not bring him back but it felt good to think about him and acknowledge a life that had been and gone.

There are many ancient Clootie trees and wells all over the country and they are well worth a visit but at the moment I feel lucky that I do not have to go  any further than my own garden to feel the same emotions and appreciate what is out there.  

Happy Imbolc

                                      My own home made St Brigid Cross ( although rushes or straw are the traditional  material you can use anything.  I used old wrapping paper)

I love this time of year, it really does feel like the awakening of the land from the harsh cold of winter.

Imbolc celebrates the coming of Spring and although we are not there yet, it gives hope of the sun returning after months of darkness.

Imbolc or Candlemass also celebrates St Brigid's day.  St Brigid has strong links with poetry and story telling and all creative things which is why she is one of my favourite Goddesses.  The moment I woke up, I felt creative and wanted to do some form of writing as well as enjoying the outdoors and feeling the sun on my face again.

I went for a long walk and took pleasure in watching the birds and seeing the snowdrops peeping from the frozen ground as if they know what day it is too.  

The story of St Brigid is very special, it is believed that she found a dying pagan and wove a cross before telling him of the Christian faith.  The cross signifies the pagan wheel of the year but St Brigid was thought to be the bridge between the old pagan ways and Christianity which is still as strong today. I love to think that some religions can come together without violence and aggression.

Today is about celebrating another turn of the pagan wheel of the year and honouring this special Celtic Goddess who is thought to bring back the warmth of the sun as the earth shakes off its winter cloak.  

I will be celebrating this day with a feast in honour of the sun returning and of St Brigid who many centuries ago bridged a gap yet still allowed people to keep the old ways as I do.  

Anyone can celebrate a feast day like this, it's just thinking about foods that honour the sun such as spicy warm foods or dairy products that also have a strong connection with Imbolc which translates roughly as milk of the Ewe.

I am having a spicy chicken casserole with Mediterranean bread followed by a piece of cheesecake.  So see, it's simple anyone can celebrate these special occasions without going to much trouble in the kitchen!

However you choose to celebrate today it doesn't matter - just celebrate!