Does anyone besides me feel that they have fallen through a looking glass into some kind of weird mirror world? I am thinking about the current Republican effort to take the US backwards to what they imagine were “the good old days”. To the time when white men were in charge of practically everything, when blacks and women were discouraged from or denied the vote, when women were forced into lives of domesticity no matter how intelligent or well educated they might have been, because of a lack of family planning. A time when everyone was straight and probably Christian and if they weren’t they were “odd”.
Why any intelligent woman or person of color would back the Republicans in this absurd effort is beyond me.
The View from the Mountain
After a very warm and dry winter we suddenly had snow this morning on the mountain. I have been warning folks for months that we could still get another blizzard. The weather is so weird now that it seems anything is possible. It’s a strange time with the daffodils in full bloom and leaden skies dropping snow on everything. The cats won’t go out because of the cold and damp.
Canada Geese already have babies paddling around in the pond down the street. Last night I heard something really big like a bear or a moose crunching through the dry leaves behind the house at about midnight. I ran for my flashlight but by the time I got out there all I saw were a set of very yellow eyes glaring back at me. Probably a Coyote or a Coy-wolf.
After three months of severe water shortages the well finally got fracked. (It’s a gentle process, nothing like the fracking involved in gas drilling that is now causing earthquakes in the Midwest). Its glorious to be able to take a bath again and do dishes and laundry and make herbal brews to my hearts content.
By the end of this month I will be making Spring tonics with my herb students from Sassafras root and Birch twigs. You can see a small clip from my instructional video on herbalism here; (you can purchase the full version from this website – just go to my bookstore).
BOOK NEWS
- This Moonth’s literary events include a reading from my second novel THE DRUID ISLE by a wonderful group out of England called the Celtic Myth Podshow. You can listen to it by following this link
They tell me that they will be doing a reading from the third novel PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE: A DRUID’S TALE in the near future. - Earlier in March I had an article about Sacred Fire published on the Llewellyn website
- And a few days ago a second article was published, about the upcoming Fire Festival of Beltaine
- There are also some recent interviews/pod casts to share, done with herbalist and author Susun Weed
More…
And more…
UPCOMING SPEAKING EVENTS
- Book launch – Priestess of the Fire Temple
Sunday, April 1 from noon – 2 pm.
Inspirit Common
219 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
413-585-1169
I will sign books and answer questions about Druids and Celtic spirituality
It’s a Sunday so parking is free!
Monday, April 9, Awentree, Easthampton, MA
Cost is $10
102 Cottage St, Easthampton MA 01027, 413-527-3331
From : 7:00pm To : 8:30pm
Exploring Paganism and Earth Centered Spirituality at AwenTree
April’s focus will be Celtic Traditions. I will teach an overview about Druid Traditions and sign books.
Email : awentree@yahoo.com
More info
Thursday April 19, Huntington Library A lecture on Celtic Gods and Goddesses and sign books
7 East Main Street, Huntington, MA. 01050 5:30 PM
(413) 667-8847
June 9, HERBSTALK Herbal Conference, Somerville, MA
From 11 to 6 pm at Arts at the Armory, located at
191 Highland Ave. in Somerville, MA.
I will speak about sacred tree medicine.
NEWS YOU CAN USE
- And here are the moonths gleanings from the media for your reading pleasure;
SCIENCE NEWS
- Lyme Disease Surge Predicted for Northeastern US: Due to Acorns and Mice,Not Mild Winter
- Fukoshima update, debris has hit and will continue to wash up in central and southern California
Please go to www.wachters.com where you can order seaweed tablets that can protect the body from the effects. Please tell them I sent you (my number is 6028)
RELIGION NEWS
- Some articles about Saint Patrick’s Day. Its not just about green beer….
More… - The Fellowship of Isis, founded in 1976, celebrates
DRUID NEWS
- A very timely blog post about the current state of the Celtic Reconstructionist movement that captures what many of us have been discussing recently.
- I haven’t seen anything like this since I last read (about 10 years ago) a “Chick” religious tract/cartoon.
- A Druid’s account of who Saint Patrick really was…maybe.
- A petition to bring back the bones of the ancestors to Stonehenge
- Ancient Irish clothing for the fashionably correct Druid
- A collection of videos about Stonehenge and Avebury
- The stones of Wales
CELTIC NEWS
- Irish language lessons online, traditional stories and more.
PAGAN NEWS
- Europe’s last Pagans? Somehow I doubt it….a great video from Russia…
- You can see a clip of my own Pagans video here (you can buy it from this site)
- An interesting discussion about Pagan scholarship
NATURE NEWS
- Another reason not to worry about things falling from the sky.
- Dolphins rescued by humans on a Brazilian beach
ARCHEOLOGY NEWS
- Did Stone Age peoples have a written language?
- A digital tour of ancient Rome
- Beer and bling in the Iron Age
- A pre-Christian site in Norway is uncovered
- Article on the excavation of a Gaulish village:
Direct link to a virtual tour - Wonderful news from Ireland, Newgrange will be spared!
- Women of the Maya were powerful; war lords and leaders.
- Norse settlers were here before Columbus (nice pictures of the Canadian settlements)
- What happened to the Celts?
- Archaeological Tour of Ireland
Dr. Ronald Hicks, archaeologist/Celticist will be working with the Archaeological Institute of America to offer an amazing tour of Ireland this summer. This tour will focus on archaeology and mythology. Dr. Hicks has spent many years researching in Ireland, teaches at Ball State University and has lectured on the Druids at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. - A new species of human ? The Red Deer Cave people…
- A rare Saxon burial uncovered
MUSIC
POETRY NEWS
MAGIC AND TRANSFORMATION
POLITICS/ETHICS
- No Room for the Poor in Conservative VS Liberal Interchange
“Conservatives seem to want the private sector to manage the economy,
control education, health care and prisons; they also want control of
women’s bodies, voter registration laws to limit voting by poor people,
lower taxes for the rich, cuts to Social Security, Medicare and the
Affordable Care Act for everyone else. And they expect Ivy League schools
for their children, student loans at high interest for the middle classes,
and minimal training for poor kids to be obedient workers and consumers or professional killers in the armed forces….” - Top ten reasons the rest of the world thinks the US is nuts.
- Why Patriarchal men are terrified of birth control.
- Benefits of the Affordable Health Care Act for women.
CHARITY
- Download a beautiful Cherokee Moon Calendar and make a donation for the elders
- Help women worldwide
- A tiny rural library needs YOUR support!
HELP A WESTERN MA CHILD WITH CANCER
Friends, family, co-workers and Valley residents are coming together to support four year old Amherst resident Sabir Douglas, his twelve year old sister Sahar, and his single mom, Heather Anderson. In January Sabir was diagnosed at Baystate Medical Center with a cancerous tumor.
Sabir is still in preschool while undergoing chemotherapy at the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care in Springfield. His treatment is expected to take about forty four weeks and he will eventually be moving to Boston with his mom for six weeks to undergo treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital and may later need surgery.
Insurance will cover most of the medical costs but will not cover travel expenses, lodging and food for Sabir and his mom while they stay in Boston. You can help!
The Anderson family is well known in the Valley for their work at Hope Church in Amherst where every member of the family has worked to better our local community for generations. Now we have the chance to help them in their time of need.
- An account has been established at the UMass Five College Credit Union for donations. Please make checks out to
Sabir’s Health Recovery Fund and mail to
P.O.B 1078, Amherst, MA 01004.
A website has been set up where you can follow Sabir’s progress www.lotsahelpinghands.com and find out about future events and fundraisers
To request an invitation to the site please write to: saharandsabirsmom@gmail.com
May the fires of Spring shine brightly on all who read this!