Brought to you by Druidic Dawn (www.druidicdawn.org) Volume 2, Issue 4 Aontacht Volume 2, Issue 4 | Spring/Autumn Equinox 2010 creating unity in community Aontacht • 1 Volume 2, Issue 4 aontacht Zcreating unity in community 8 Reverend Bishop Alistair Bate 6 From the Desk ... interview with a Christian Druid letter from the Aontacht Production Team leader 7 Keeping Up with the Project Team latest news & updates at Druidic Dawn Druidic Dawn community 17 Australian Assembly flier of the OBOD Assembly in Australia 39 The Cooking Cauldron 13 The Riverway recipes from the community the ecology of home 44 Community Events Calendar Jason Kirkey find gatherings and rituals near you Australia: Spirit of Place 18 48 Coming Next a journey with photographs a peek at the succeeding issue & our Astrocelt submission guidelines 22 Nature and Nurture the art of creating bua Morrigan “Morri” Sidhe 25 I Stand Before the Oak 27 Spirits of the Land Phagos connecting with your native land 37 Spirit of Cadbury Maya Faye Boyd 29 What It Means To Be Native 38 Greenwood Encounter finding home again Candlesprite Jenn McCormack 35 Boduan Wood Sanctuary a sacred site? 40 Beyond the Mist Maya 40 The Song of Taliesin Andeg Myeengum 43 The Druid Isle - new release! 26 The Oak Tree from the publishers Candlesprite Cover photo: © 2010. Jenn MacCormack Aontacht • 2 Volume 2, Issue 4 aontacht Contributors creating unity in community Rev. Bishop Alistair Bate was raised and edu- cated in Ireland. Bishop Alistair graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2002 and had a Editor Jenn MacCormack short lay-ministry with the Unitarian Church Co-Editor before committing himself to the Independent Vacant Sacramental Movement. Interested in Druidism Druidic Dawn Rep. since childhood, he joined OBOD in 1999 and Nigel Dailey Publisher more recently founded his own Christian Druid Druidic Dawn, CIC group, The Trinity Grove. Feature Editor - Recipes Faye Boyd Graphic Designer Jason Kirkey is the author of The Salmon in the Morrigan Sidhe Spring: The Ecology of Celtic Spirituality, as well as Original Layout Design several books of poetry. He currently lives in San Aestas Designs Francisco where he runs Hiraeth Press and ( aestas.dieromantic.com ) Dinnseanchas, an organization dedicated to eco- General Inquiries logical wisdom. In May 2010, Jason will graduate All questions, comments and from the California Institute of Integral Studies etcetera can be sent to the fol- with an MA in Philosophy and Religion. lowing address: [email protected] Nigel Dailey (Astrocelt) resides in North Wales Advertising and has a variety of interests ranging from Ar- At the moment we are not offering ad space. However, chaeology, Anthropology, Archaeoastronomy, this is subject to change. Astrology, Druidry, History, Mythology and Aontacht is published four times Smallholding. All has been gained while travel- a year by Druidic Dawn, CIC. ling through the journey human beings call "life." Aontacht, Volume 2, Issue 4 © 2010 Druidic Dawn, all rights re- served. All contained content is copyright to its respective own- ers, including art and photos. The Morrigan Sidhe (Morri) has been a practicing contents of this publication may Pagan since 1979 and adopted Irish Druidry in not be reproduced in whole or in 1983. Since that time, she has been a member of part without the consent of the copyright owner. several Druid Orders and is currently studying the Bardic Grade in OBOD. She has been a stu- Environmental Benefits dent of several Medicine People from various Statement Aontacht magazine is only Nations and is a member of the Carrier Sekani Nadleh Whut'en First available online as a free .pdf Nation Caribou Clan. Morri's publications have included poems, download; thereby saving trees, water, solid waste and short stories, and articles and she is also an accomplished playwright greenhouse gases. It is de- and visual artist. signed on an Energy Star rated computer. Opinions and views expressed are not necessarily those of the editors, publisher or staff. OAontacht • 3 Volume 2, Issue 4 You do not have to be a Contributors member of the Druidic Dawn community to sub- Shaun William Hayes (Phagos) has been aware of mit to the newsletter. his path since the age of 18 and has studied healing and the Western mystery traditions off and on most Please submit contribu- tions directly to the edito- of his life. His qualifications are in counselling and rial staff via email to: hypnotherapy and he has practised past life regres- [email protected] sion. For the past ten years he has been a member of OBOD and he is now studying in the Druid grade. Phagos co-founded the Sylvan Refer to the last page of Grove five years ago, and is one of four facilitators. They meet regu- this issue for writer’s larly in the New Forest near the historic village of Burley, UK. guidelines and even more information, before you submit inquiries or contri- butions. R.M. Carr (Candlesprite) practices Irish Druidry and lives in Leicester, UK. He is an author, poet, Below are our upcoming visual artist, staff-maker and amateur photogra- issues. Be sure to specify pher. Under the working name of Candlesprite, his to which you are submit- photography, poetry, short stories and articles ting. have been published in a variety of magazines including Echoed Voices (where he was also an as- sistant editor) and Witchtower. He also co-wrote with his partner the 4-part Diary of a Sacred Tree for Anna Franklin’s The Celts loved and re- Silver Wheel magazine. He enjoys travelling to sacred sites around vered the Land; how do Britain and Ireland in his free time as well as long inspirational walks we in modern times re- in the ancient woodlands of Charnwood Forest near his home. veal our love and rever- ence in practical ways? Maya St. Clair (Cuardai) resides in Kuwait, is an Irish Polytheist, and a mechanical engineer with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is The Celts understood the Or n M r editor of the á ó , the official newsletter of Wild Earth as sovereign, the New Order of Druids. She also serves on as a goddess; what is sov- their Council. Maya is an Irish Gaelic student ereignty and how can we and regularly writes a wide variety of articles apply this to our everyday and book reviews on Celtic and religious topics. life? The Celts viewed the Cosmos as an ensouled, relational universe; how do we observe and relate to the universe in a partic- vipatory way? . Aontacht • 4 Volume 2, Issue 4 Production Team Contributors Positions Available: Co-Editor Jenn MacCormack (Eadha) divides her time between A volunteer position as Co- central North Carolina, USA, and Gwynedd, North Editor is available. The Co- Wales. She studies Psychology and Welsh Studies, and Editor assists the Editor. Ex- is proud to be a fluent Welsh speaker. Her major inter- amples tasks include working ests are the Mabinogi, Archetypal Psychology, garden- closely with all members of the Aontacht Production ing, poetry, singing stories, the Welsh pibau cyrn Team, proof-reading, brain- (bagpipes) and self-sufficiency. She is the current editor for Aontacht. storming and being responsi- ble for Feature Interviews. Do you have people skills, an ethical and professional ap- proach, and an ability to Arabella Melville The variegated strands of Arabella adapt to different roles? Pre- Melville’s life range from organic smallholding to aca- vious editor experience wel- demic research, predominantly into the effectiveness of come but not required. If medical interventions. She was a writer for three dec- you're interested in applying ades, with a dozen published books on medicine and or would like more details, please email: health. She co-founded The Eternal Forest Trust with [email protected] Colin Johnson in 2005. "Wild Earth" Feature Editor Faye Boyd (Fae) has been interested in Nature and As we have created a new all things Celtic for many a year. She is a member of magazine feature, a volunteer OBOD, Druidic Dawn, Ord Brighideach Internation- position as "Wild Earth" al, Celtic Reiki Master, Hot Stone Therapist, Guided Feature Editor is now avail- Meditations and is a spoken word artist. Fae resides able. Do you have the ability r to procure or write relevant in Canada. material on related Earth- based themes and subjects, process people skills, and an ethical and professional ap- Andeg Myeengum is a student currently residing near proach? Are you interested in contributing to the future of Toronto, Canada. Drawn to pagan ideas as a solitary Druidry, Celtic Spirituality practitioner for much of his life, he has recently started and the Earth Community in his walk along a Druid pathway, exploring many as- the third millennium? We are pects of nature and studying and comparing traditions looking for diversity of expe- from the present day to those of history. He is interest- rience and will work with you to develop the "Wild Earth" ed in a wide variety of subjects (especially mathemat- feature into something ics) and hopes to attend university in the fall to study unique. If you're interested in physics and computing. applying or would like more details,please email: [email protected] Aontacht • 5 Volume 2, Issue 4 From the Desk ... Letter from the Aontacht Production Team by Jenn MacCormack cantly--an increase in submissions, greater (John Muir) diversity of opinions expressed, "magazine" status (as opposed to just a John Muir, one of the earliest nature con- "newsletter"), and a new Editor to name a servationists in the US, had a good point. few of these changes. But we are not While most religions have sacred texts, stopping there.