A Druid's Web Log – July 2018 – a season of hope and anxiety in the USA

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I am still digesting my recent trip to Ireland. I have to admit that it was a difficult journey in many ways. In the past when I went there I focused on ancient monuments; sacred stone sites, holy wells, and old trees. This time illusions were pared from my eyes and I saw the landscape in a completely different way. As I gazed on the wild hills I realized they were denuded – where vistas of rock and scrub and sheep now appear would once have been unbroken forest. Mile after mile of naked hillsides seemed to be crying out for their lost tree cover, all romantic notions dispelled.The trees were cut beginning in the Neolithic, but it was the English who practiced tree felling on an industrial scale and the decimation of woodlands continues.

The Celtic spirit is famous for being a mixture of joy that is always tinged with sadness. I have to admit that what has stayed with me most is the feeling of suffering I encountered in the people struggling to make ends meet, and the desolation of the empty lands that should have been rich with native hardwoods and medicinal plants, and a rich mixture of birds and animals. Ireland has only one percent of her forests left.

Photo by ewelina wu website ewelinawu.com Fb: @EwelinaWuDotCom — at Hill of Uisneach. — Photo by ewelina wu
website ewelinawu.com
Fb: @EwelinaWuDotCom — at Hill of Uisneach.

The great hope of Ireland now lies in the common people who are rising up and working to preserve and hopefully rebuild their ancient forests and other native traditions. I am most impressed by the power and energy of Irish women. It was the women who fought to bring about the recent legalizing of abortion and it was mostly women who designed and carried out the impressive rituals at the Beltaine Uisneach Fire Festival.

There is a new fascination with the old Druid way and the old tribal laws called The Brehon Laws. The Irish always had a hard time accepting the English law that was imposed on them; English law is punitive in nature while Brehon Law is based on restorative justice. You can’t run a tribe, which is basically a large extended family, using punitive laws. The repercussions are just too dire.

As an American born in Austria, with a good chunk of Celtic ancestry, all I can do is witness and hope as Ireland makes her slow recovery from the decimation of colonial rule and I will lend assistance where I can.

Here in the USA we are celebrating the start of summer while mourning the fate of suffering children who have been taken from their parents and dumped into concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands of us took to the streets to protest, and that gives me hope.

BOOK NEWS

The editing of the new book “The Real Witches of New England” is done. Radio shows and a book launch party are in the works. You can pre-order it here.

WORKSHOPS AND SPEAKING EVENTS

July 14-15
Tree Divination Using the Ancient Celtic Ogham Alphabet with Ellen Evert Hopman
at Dreamland, in Worcester, VT.
Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-3
$130.
Contact: Fearn Lickfield
Saturday September 8, 2018
Western Mass Pagan Pride Day
A talk on Witch persecutions in Europe and the US
11am-5pm
at the Florence Civic Center,
Northampton MA
Thursday, Sept. 27th, 7-9 pm
Get your Halloween groove on early.
The Real Witches of New England book launch party, nibbles and fun.
At AwenTree, 102 Cottage St. Easthampton, MA 01027, 413-527-3331
Ellen will read from her new book “The Real Witches of New England” in which she presents a time line of Witch persecutions throughout history. She will also introduce you to some of the historical accused Witches from our area; The Witch of Northampton, The Witch of Hadley and others. Her books will be available for signing.
October 13 – April 2019
Intro to Herbalism and Self Care~ A Six Month Intensive
Two Saturdays a month, 1-5 PM near Amherst, MA
Western Materia Medica, Chinese 5 Element Theory,
Flower Essence Counseling, Formula making, Hands on Herbalism,
Ethnobotany, Herb walks, Homeopathic First Aid, Live case taking and more.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Celebrate Samhain!
Courtyard Marriott Nashua, 2200 Southwood Drive
Nashua, New Hampshire 03063
Directions

*Below you will find the usual roundup of Archaeology news, Herbs, Celts, Fairies, Ethics and more. Please visit this website to view my books and classes.*