Notes from an Urban Druid

Gleanings from all my wanderings--Christian, Buddhist, Druid, Wiccan, Pagan thoughts.


Ask me anything  


“ Compassion has no religion. Silence is not always indifference. O great, listening, witnessing world, you too have something to say, something you always are saying, without words. What comfort we can offer, miles and lives away from the families of the Sandy Hook school victims, and from other, newer sufferers since then, may consist of not filling the airwaves and spiritual spaces further, with our own shock or anger or sadness or dismay, or whatever other responses events may next provoke in us. A Druid Way


Reblogged from akalle

(Source: akalle, via dar-jeel-ing)

The Real Meaning of Christmas (there I done wrote it!) « Magic of the Ordinary

A very fine exposition of the mystical meaning of Midnight Mass, by a Golden Dawn magician.



Reblogged from bardinprogress
Bard in Progress: i am pretty certain it is not conducive to spiritual growth to switch orders every year

bardinprogress:

about two years ago i started following Druidry, using as a guide a Druidry book which was very loose and non-structured, and spent about a year trying to do-pagany-things before finally reasoning i am not a person who does well in studies which do not have SOME sort of structure. It’s not like i…

I KNOW THAT FEEL BRO

(Or sis.)


Chainsaw artist Mark Acton turns tree stumps into mythical watchmen in Druid Hill Park - baltimoresun.com

Druid Hill Park was so named by the family that owned the land before it was given to the city of Baltimore. The figures Acton is carving are called The Druid and The Green Man. No, I don’t know if any druids meet regularly in Druid Hill Park, but they should.


“ Here then, is the golden rule I had been looking for: Do not go further into a magical practice than a layman from within that culture is allowed to go without invitation or initiation. If non-engagement isn’t an option, if cross-cultural magical practices are unavoidable in our global society, then this seems to be the best way to manage it. Each culture has its own boundaries between what is initiatory and what is not. Culture belongs to the world. Initiation belongs to initiates. By abiding by this rule you can almost guarantee never to wander into cosmic areas you aren’t allowed to enter. Note that this doesn’t mean you can’t become an initiate in a system to which you are non-indigenous. Actually, it means the exact opposite: You wait respectfully on the outside until you are “called”… Just like a local. An Expert’s Guide To Spiritual Trespassing

Reblogged from thewildhuntblog
The Wild Tumblr: The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck and the Public Domain

thewildhuntblog:

The Rider-Waite tarot deck, also known as the Rider-Waite-Smith deck to honor illustrator Pamela Colman Smith, is cited by many as the most popular tarot deck in the English-speaking world. Most of the popular tarot decks around today reference, or pay homage to, its designs and structure. The…

Worth reading if you’re at all interested in Tarot, or in copyright issues!



Reblogged from dewognatos-deactivated20130511
Immi Gnatos Deuom.: Adventures in lazy paganism:

dewognatos:

Just some stuff I do that the rest of you might be able to take some inspiration from. I don’t usually have time or energy for big ritual stuff, so these are some small things I do on a more or less daily basis:

  • Welcome the sun if it’s up when you wake. Same for the stars. Note the phase of moon…

(via rembrandtswife)


Reblogged from dar-jeel-ing

dar-jeel-ing:

December 24: 3 degrees Capricorn; Saturn decanate - Capricorn/Capricorn.

Feast Day: Celtic Tree month of Beth begins, Christmas Eve.

Sabian Oracle: “The Human Soul, In Its Eagerness For New Experiences, Seeks Embodiment.”

Constellation: Cygnus; keyword- “Organization.”

The Devil trump, the Two of Discs and the Queen of Discs are the three cards currently in play today.



“ I offer the details here about the NROOGD’s origins, growth, and practices in order to portray them, not as unique, but rather as typical. As far as I know from conversations with other Witches, this pattern of a core group of friends deciding to begin a coven in order to practice the Craft, of growth from a study group into a Pagan society and/or into a coven, and of gradually interacting with Witches in other covens and Traditions, has been very much a common experience in America. What was original about the NROOGD was that we never pretended that we had any secret information or authority from anyone but ourselves to reinvent the Craft as a spiritual path that could work for us. Hence we knew, as others have now learned, that practicing the Craft as a religion does not require either secrecy or authorization from any predecessors. A Brief History of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, Part II


“ I went to a natural gift making workshop (which I will blog about sometime soon) and got into a conversation about druidry with one of my fellow workshop participants. Turns out, she runs a local TV show called “Faith” and she asked me to come in and talk about Druidry for her show in an upcoming episode. I find it a bit nerve-wracking and intimidating, mainly because of how open and “out” the show is but also because I really want to try to represent the diversity of druidry accurately. But I still agreed to do it because its also a great opportunity to build tolerance and understanding in our community, especially among other people of diverse faiths. And I generally don’t think these kinds of opportunities come along very often, and when they do, we really ought to take them. One of the things she asked me to do was to bring three things that symbolize druidry. These will be used in the show as discussion points. I spent time discussing the three items with members of both of my druid orders (AODA and OBOD) and I settled on three things: an acorn, an awen, and a stone.

Three Representations of Druidry: Acorn, Awen, and Stone « The Druid’s Garden

An interesting post on three potent symbols.

“ If I’m going to be a Druid I have to bring my Druidry into all my life. If I’m going to be a priest I have to incorporate my priesthood into all my life. Not with the kind of silly braggadocio that gives some Pagans a bad name (and some Christians and atheists too), but by breaking down the compartment walls and letting all parts of my being serve my True Will. Integration must replace compartmentalization. Under the Ancient Oaks: Integration

The sun stands still

Winter Solstice. Alban Arthuan. Yule. Mothernights. Christmas. Dies Natalist Solis Invicti.

The shortest day and the longest night. The moment when the sun crosses the celestial equatorat a particular point. For three days, the sun rises and sets at the…

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The Antinoan Doctor surprised me this morning with a post about an actress who became a nun in the…View Postshared via WordPress.com

The Antinoan Doctor surprised me this morning with a post about an actress who became a nun in the…

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Reblogged from morgandria
dewognatos: morgandria: Macrocosm in microcosm - my own little henge, I suppose. Center - Fire agate. Land - Moss agate, nephrite jade, leopardskin agate, aventurine, tiger’s eye. Sea - Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, labradorite, blue sapphire, chrysocolla. Sky - Danburite crystal, golden rutilated quartz, blue topaz, kyanite, celestite. Ohh, I really like this.

dewognatos:

morgandria:

Macrocosm in microcosm - my own little henge, I suppose.

Center - Fire agate.

Land - Moss agate, nephrite jade, leopardskin agate, aventurine, tiger’s eye.

Sea - Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, labradorite, blue sapphire, chrysocolla.

Sky - Danburite crystal, golden rutilated quartz, blue topaz, kyanite, celestite.

Ohh, I really like this.

(via dewognatos-deactivated20130511)