On The Path

I walk sunwise
around standing stone,
well and sacred tree.
I walk sunwise
around mountain, lake
and wood.
I walk sunwise
on the path of the spiral
on the path of vision
on the path of truth.

~ Dennis King

Feeling Like Ulysses

The wheel turns, my life changes, and, as of late, I've been singing this song...


John Francis Dooley,
wipe the sleep from your eyes
and embrace the light
you have slept now for a thousand years
beneath starless nights
and now it's time for you to renounce the old ways
and to see a new dawn rise


In former days, the masks were raised
when the god came down from off the mountain
and a sacrifice was made
for they knew that the day of wrath was fast approaching
just like yesterday, before the war
John Francis Dooley,
the scapegoat has run
all our sins are disowned


and now it's time for you to take off your mask
and cross the Rubicon
if you and I were one within the eyes of our designs
it would still not change the fact of our leaving
for tonight we must leave with the first gentle breeze
for the Isles of Ken we are assailing


Just like Ulysses
on the open sea
on an odyssey of self-discovery...

Another Year

Even if you don't know what you should be doing or what your mission is, you need to practice creating that vision anyway. remind yourself that before long, the all-creating source will bring your vision into the physical life in ways greater than you could have imagined...

Solstice

It is certainly a blessing to live an aware life.

Most people go about their days without ever taking a single moment to witness the wonders that happen around them. Tiny bits of magic that go unnoticed. In the growing coldness of Winter, I suppose it is quite easy to dismiss the return journey of the Earth towards the Sun and the lengthening of days. It is important to see and understand things that are outside the realm of our perceived daily lives. The world turns with or without us, and whether we honour the changing of the seasons or not, they still change. It is up to us to recognize that truth. And I do. I welcome the the return of the Sun and all the promise it brings with it.

Shrine to Taranis

Whenever it storms, and the booming thunder echoes seemingly everywhere, I smile and my heart flutters a bit, for here is a manifestation of the Wheel, of my guide, my patron deity Taranis...

From windy hilltops and rolling glen,
In the lightning flash I have seen the wheel turn.
The sound of change echoes through the mist and rain,
and I can feel your thunder pulsing in my very spirit.
Taranis, it is to you that my path leads,
to ever receive your blessings.
May I always feel your strength in my body,
your presence in my head,your light in my soul.
So may it always be thus.

Passages in Summer

"Everything changes but change itself. Everything flows and nothing remains the same... You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters and yet others go flowing ever on."
~ Heraclitus

The Summer turns. Moving forward from the Solstice, I have seen changes occurring in my life. The most wondrous has come to pass, and subtler revelations have become known. With the latter, one was after I attended a Pagan festival in July. Though it was enjoyable, it occurred to me that there has been no real evolution within the Pagan community over the past, I don't know, decade. Having been "out of the loop" for a number of years, I felt getting back to that area of my roots would be a positive experience, and it was, albeit strictly in a nostalgic sense. I found myself comparing present to past experiences a little too much, but I think that was because I was basically in the same scenarios. For example, partying around a bonfire can only lend expansion to one's self only so much. Anyways, I feel I have gone full circle with the Pagan fest scene (as it is) in Ontario.

I still walk the Wheel everyday, and I celebrated a quaint Lughnasadh ritual in amongst the cedar, pine and birch trees down in the Nemeton. I adorned the stone shrine with large turkey feathers I had found and, as the main part of the ritual, I made a corn dolly from the freshly-cut hay and wild flowers. Offerings were also made, and I was quite pleased that I managed to cut an apple in half perfectly to reveal the star inside. The sacred space was beautiful and, in hindsight, I wished I had had a camera. But the ritual was not for me so the image will have to live in my memory.

Behold, my poor neglected blog...

The Wheel has turned and though I have flowed with it, I have failed to record the many ponderings, musing, thoughts and observations for the past while. With the festival of the High Summer nearly upon me, I have felt the urge to dig deep into my spiritual path and bring out (and back) those things that are important to me yet have not engaged in sometime. So, here I sit, typing this and this declaration of sorts has begun to sound more like an oath.
Uh oh.
As a Druid, I should know not to take such things too lightly. :)

A Fellow Pilgrim

I recently stumbled upon a BBC documentary (through another blog) and when I finished watching it, I was awestruck. Not only is it a wonderful story, but it so closely mirrors my own journey as an 'Earth Pilgrim'.



Pure wisdom!

Something More

Last week whilst meandering in the forest I happened upon the partial remains of a deer. I was fascinated by the find, and after looking at some of the bare skeleton, I found the skull. The hollows of its eyes stared back at me as turned it over in my hands. Nothing but bone, but as I placed it atop a broken tree stump and walked away, the feeling that there was "something more" crept into my mind. And so I journeyed out of the woods and back home.

Well, last night I dreamt of the deer skull. I was standing the Nemeton, holding it in my hands. It was the only image from the dream I could recall upon waking and I had no idea what to make of it. But after a while, I decided I should venture down to the forest and see if I could find where I had placed the skull. So off I went. I wasn't exactly sure where I had left, which tree stump in a myriad of tree stumps I had left it on, so I just followed the edge of the woods and let the spirit within guide me. In the damp cold, the land was still, yet electric. The feeling of being watched was very strong and I kept seeing movement out of the corner of my eye. A few times I would stop to hear the crunching of footsteps amongst the damp leaves and fallen branches. After 30 minutes of careful trodding, I sensed I was getting close, and sure enough, there in a small clearing, was the tree stump and sitting atop it, the deer skull. As I approached and lifted it with hand, there was a flourish of twig-snapping and sounds of movement amongst the shaded cedars and pines. I quickly turned to see the tell-tale flash of white darting off deeper into the woods. Deer. I had happened upon them, yet as I stood there, I wondered if they had been following or even guiding me from the beginning. I could not and still can't understand why (as that is very uncommon behavior for a deer) but nevertheless, they were there. I stood for a few minutes, listening to them in the distance, then moved on. I was surprised at how very close to the Nemeton I was, and as I entered, I found a spot just outside the ring of stones to place the deer skull. After some contemplation, I headed for home. It might seem strange to place the skeletal remains of an animal in a place of worship, but for me, I see it as a way of honouring that which is sacred to us. Something that is "without Spirit" helps me reflect on all things that are alive, reminding me that all things move in cycles and that there is a connection to turning wheel of life that we all should respect.

Samhain Turning

I just came in from an evening walk. The air was cool, which is fine since the weather we have been having has been unseasonably warm. The ground was crisp with dry leaves and the half moon shone overhead. The coyotes were howling down in the valley and as I walked back towards the house, I happened upon a family of deer grazing in the field. As I strolled along, I mused upon the turning of the year. Samhain came and we celebrated at the dying of the Sun in the forest-shroud Nemeton. Spirits walked amongst us as we chanted, made offerings to Ancestors and journeyed to the Otherworld and back again. We feasted, divined with Goddess amulets and made "blind collage"; our yearly tradition. The flames of the previous year were extinguished and new ones kindled. Samhain came and the Wheel turned.

I now look ahead to what is to come along my path. There are some things I am moving towards and some things I am sure to stumble upon and over, but I trust in the Source of All Things that all will come to pass and I shall flourish and grow.

Autumn and Peredur

Autumn has always carried a strong sense of change and turning for me, more so than any other season. As I sit here, I can see the forest of trees in the valley are well into their turning from green to a myriad of reds and oranges. I can see one tree spirit which has decided to bear two sides of itself at once; red and green. The image of the half and half tree reminds me of the story of Peredur as told in the "Mabinogion"...

"And he saw a tall tree by the side of the river, one half of which was in flames from the root to the top, and the other half was green and in full leaf..."

New Pathway

To all things, a new beginning.
This is a path I have walked for many Moons, but sometimes one must journey with new and different footsteps. Hence this journal, in which I will post my various spiritual experiences and musings as they relate to my Druidic path. Through luck and Awen, I hope to utilize this space as a way of helping me formulate and solidify my experiences (and various other things) as they come about. I do have another site devoted to my personal spiritual tradition (La Tradition de la Roue Sacrée) but I want to use this space for my more random and fluidic meanderings.

So there we go. Let's see where this pathway leads...