August 2020 – Temple of Why

Weary World Looks for Answers

Our weary world is rife with need, chaos reigns as people unleash the demons held back through centuries of oppression and pain. The pain is exploding from every pore, every bodily crevice and synapse worn from unseen strikes from unseen sources. Where do we go from here? Who do we look to for relief? We can not despair, life is suffering and joy, pleasure and pain.

I look to the moon at night and think of Nut (Noot) the Egyptian Goddess swallowing the sun at night only to give birth to it the following day. I think of Brigid keening in agony at the death of her son, her heartbreak so raw that she united warring tribes. Is that what we need? to follow the ebb and flow and then in some time retch and writhe in our suffering, birthing our centuries old pain carried lifetime to lifetime ancestor to ancestor?

There is no God to “bless” some and not others, there are lessons to learn from those who have heroically come before, including ourselves. The evolution of the collective soul being birthed in the messy continuum of time and space we now occupy.

The trees provide answers standing as models of energy flowing, shelter for some entities, pouring out energy as a natural cyclical occurrence. I sit with the trees basking in their glow, absorbing their essence and sharing mine. I feel calmer, until the next contraction.

Future Home: Temple of Why

I think our 100 year old barn will make a perfect Druid Temple of Why, eventually. Thoughts?

Learning about Druidry

There is no play book, dogma, doctrine that we can point to to learn Druidry. There were no written records and little actual historical documents other than those tainted by those in opposition to the Druids. So why study this path? What is authentic about it? We have the Celtic myths that give us some color, but I am a big fan of moving forward not backward, we can’t evolve backward nor can we live our lives today based on norms and standards from an ancient people.

I think that is what is great about being a Druid, you can learn about Celtic peoples and some about what Druids represented, but you have to internalize it for yourself and make it your own. Some things you can look deeper into to help along the way:

About ancient Druidry

Ancient sites in Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Sacred Wells

The Tuatha de Danann and the Sidhe

Land of the Living

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

The Triskele

The Dragons of Power: Earth, Sky and Sea

Seasonal Celebrations; Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain and Yule and see how they resemble “Christian” holidays

Moon Phases

Incorporate ritual and moon phases into your life. See what works for you.

Druidry and Despair — Druid Life

One of the things I really appreciate about Druidry is there’s nothing inherent in it that will kick me when I’m down. There’s no ‘like attracts like’ philosophy. There’s no sense that suffering and difficulty are a result of bad karma, past life activities or lack of spiritual effort. There are two places a Druid […]
Druidry and Despair — Druid Life

I loved this post so am sharing with permission.

A Druid’s Poem

A Druid I am from Ireland I came

In Sea, Earth and Air you will find me there

I gather the forces that come from within

From here and from there and now life begins

A Passion for Druidry

Druidry gets us past my God is better than your God and is a way to align with nature and find our place in nature’s continuum. We get back to our natural rhythms and away from driving ourselves to excess busy-ness for the sake of “accomplishment”. It will help us heal our planet and ourselves. Self-improvement at our own pace is one of the hallmarks of Druidry.

The Tuatha de Danann were the original inhabitants of Ireland, an ancient tribe or “tuatha” of people very connected to nature. They understood each person’s magic came from their own individual set of unique skills. The King would ask each member what they would do to help, what was their contribution to the community. He didn’t command them, he asked them what they did best that would add to the greater good. The people then committed their skill to the community.

Most skills are associated to magical acts, these acts being related to 3 key powers: Sea (water), Sky and Earth. One person could be good at gardening or building that would be associated with Earth, another with math or reading and speaking, that would associated with Sky or Air and someone could be good with chemistry or cooking which could be associated with Water.

The combined resources strengthen the whole of the 3 powers; Sea, Sky and Earth, the legs of the triskele and feed the center or whole community.

What are your skills that would benefit the community?

Dark Hedges Northern Ireland

I wonder if Druids once walked this path?

Why Druidry and Why now?

Druids were wiped out by the 2nd Century by Romans acting on behalf of the Church. All you need to do a google search to find the last of the Druid Priests on Anglsey Island were all murdered. What we have of their teachings mostly comes from Celtic myth stories and recorded history – but remember – history is recorded by the victors so likely isn’t so much the truth as what they wanted remembered.

So why Druidry? Because it is still in our DNA and we can remember.

We know they revered nature and considered all living things to have the spirit of life in them. We know they believed trees, ancient, strong and beautiful, were the keepers of wisdom with the oak tree being their most sacred.

We know they were astronomers and astrologers and mapped the skys.

We know they lived in step with nature, not against it and that is where we need to be. Following the cycles of the moon and acting in concert with her, marking the seasonal landmarks with celebrations, the solstices, equinoxes and add to those key Celtic festivals that marked seasonal changes in the year, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnassadh, Samhain and Yule. They keep us in touch with nature and flowing with her not against her. This is where we learn to work magic as well, magic for good purposes, for the betterment of you personally and for all.

Lastly, truth, to me the MOST important. Druids never lied. Integrity and honor were ingrained and the most important tenet of their teachings. Truth and integrity in all things with no exceptions.

The world is so in need of this shift now. The times of the religions of the sands are over.

Join me?

New Moon Dedication Ritual

Under the dark of the new moon emerges a path once laid dormant. It’s willows awakened by the winds of change, it’s branches stretching from their long slumber. She is ready to emerge from the cocoon of her hidden DNA, once oppressed but never erased. Fear once blanketed the seed, sleeping as in hibernation has been removed, the time has come to bloom! The new moon is the time to wake slowly, to stay in the soft darkness of her glow and start to shake off time.

New moon bring light to the path, align us with your rhythm.

Teach us the way of your cyclic nature moving now from being driven.

Unseen horses we were once with silent expectations as our whips.

Guide our comings, guide our goings in step now with your great shifts.

New Moon Druid Temple Dedication

The Temple of Why is now dedicated specifically to 21st Century Druidism. The mission of the Temple of Why will be to advance the knowledge of Druidry and to reawaken its practice as guiding beacon for those seeking a greater connection with flow of nature and incorporating it into our everyday experience. Secondly, to activate Druid magic that still exists in the DNA of those called to the path of Druidry.

May magic abound.