Ellen Evert Hopman

Herbalist, Author, Druid Priestess

Ellen

Imbolc, Brighid, and the return of the snow

As I write this we are in the midst of a classic winter storm. This year it almost feels as if the weather hereabouts has gotten back to “normal” (whatever that is). I can remember 20 foot snow drifts, higher than a school bus, back when I was a teenager and going to the Putney School in Vermont. I remember wind so cold I had to wear an old nylon stocking over my face, just to keep it from frost bite. Now they call that kind of cold a “Polar Vortex” and everyone acts surprised.
Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are sheltering in the Rhododendron bush next to the living room window. Other birds are chomping away at the seeds and suet I put out and I have seen fresh Coyote or Coy-Wolf  tracks in the snow every day. The flock of wild turkeys that has adopted me hasn’t been around for a few days. Hopefully they are roosting high up in a conifer somewhere, safe from the snow and predators. When the storm is over I will put out my usual cracked corn for them, at the edge of the driveway.
I love late January and early February because that is the time of year when my Patroness, the Goddess Brighid, is honored. I don’t know what happens in other parts of the world but here in New England we have a yearly event called “The January Thaw” when the air gets warm for about a week and water drips from roof tops and puddles and mud form in driveways. In Celtic traditions it is said that when Brighid walks the countryside, everywhere She steps the ice melts and the Earth turns to green. It is far from green here, but we certainly get hints of Spring at the time of Her festival.
I always know that Brighid is here by the weather, and I put out a candle in the snow, oatmeal or oatmeal cookies for Her and her donkey, and a basket of cloths to be used for healing throughout the year, for Her to bless. That magical time is now over and the snow is dropping on us in buckets, by this evening we will have a foot or more.
Here are some prayers and invocations that I like to use.

INVOCATION OF BRIGHID
(from PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE – A DRUID’S TALE)

by Ellen Evert Hopman
(translation by Alexei Kondratiev)
A Brigit, a ban-de beannachtach
Tair isna huisciu noiba,
A ben inna teora tented trena,
Isin cherdchai,
Isin choiriu,
Ocus isin chiunn,
No-don-cossain,
Cossain inna tuatha.
O Brighid, blessed Goddess
Come into the sacred waters
O woman of the three strong fires,
In the forge,
In the cauldron,
In the head.
Protect us.
Protect the people.
~   ~   ~
Brighid, Patroness of the Druids and Bards
By Ellen Evert Hopman
(From A DRUID’S HERBAL FOR THE SACRED EARTH YEAR, Destiny Books)
Beloved Brighid of the triple flame
Daughter of the Dagda
Guardian of the sacred spring
Whose voice is the soul of the harp
We call on thee.
Teach our hands to heal
and our hearts to sing.
We entrust our life’s progress to your care
and ask that you shape us
bending and turning our hearts
on your bright anvil of flame
till we are made perfect jewels
fit to be set into the eye
of your timeless harp
to play for the soul of the people
in times of sorrow and times of celebration.
We thank you for your gifts to us
of poetry and music
of laughter and tears
and for the healing balm of your wisdom.
May we always remember to meditate
on the gift of your sacred waters
which surround us at our birth
and sail us to our destiny.
Our hearts are open
to receive your blessing.
Midwife of our souls, rain on us.
Shower your inspiration
in curtains of song
from sacred waterfalls
in the realm where you dwell.
Come to us as Virgin
with the soft smell of flowers.
Come to us as Mother
and feed us your fruits.
Come to us as the Wise Woman
in the stark blasts of Winter.
Help us to see your Mystery in all creation
that we may know gratitude
and reverence.
Our hearts sing to you with love.
Teach us to change
like the revolving seasons.
Teach us to grow
like the green corn that feeds the people.
Teach us to fashion beauty
like the stillness of the forest pool
and the roar of the ocean wave.
Teach us to heal
like the soothing gem
which cools the eyes and Restores the limbs.
With humility and bright expectation
We invoke thee this hour!

SOME RECENT ARTICLES

Below you will find the usual collection of the last Moonth’s media. May
these tid bits inspire your path.
*** If you order books or DVDs from this website you will get a signed copy
with a personal note! Be sure to add a request if you want the books signed
to someone else! ***
ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

HERB NEWS

RELIGION NEWS

CELTIC NEWS

PAGAN NEWS

NATURE NEWS

POLITICS AND ETHICS

May Brighid bless your fields and your flocks!

January 2014

Druid blessings on the Secular New Year

This past year has been a bear for me. My beloved soul cat died in January, my mother passed in April, my cousin’s ex-husband and my high school boyfriend in November, and my aunt Jackie passed on the Winter Solstice. I have never had a year like this one. On Christmas Eve I actually slept for 12 hours and had a vivid dream that a man with a Kalashnikov rifle was sleeping next to me, to protect me. Let’s hope that 2014 is a kinder and mellower year.
Earlier this month I had a very nice experience at the largest hospital locally. I was invited to be part of a four person panel with a Jewish Rabbi, a Muslim, and a Catholic Priest. We talked about the season and our respective holy days. There was another Catholic Priest in the audience. I started my talk with the Bible quote; “In my Father’s house are many mansions”. I also mentioned that physicists now opine that there are
multiple universes, let alone galaxies. Then I launched into the Druidic Wheel of the Year. We were all very well received, so much so that we have already been invited to speak at another hospital. Interesting that hospitals are places of such glowing hope.
Shortly after that I was on the phone with tech support for computer issues and the person I was speaking with told me he was a Hindu, from India. As we waited for changes to load on my computer I mentioned the Solstice and he Googled it. Then I talked about Stonehenge and its Solstice orientation. He had never heard of that either so he Googled again. We kept talking and I explained that the Celtic religion is the Western fringe of the Vedic, Indo-European tradition that eventually morphed into Hinduism (he was flabbergasted that I knew how to pronounce Sanskrit words like “Atma”). Finally I urged him to read my article on these subjects. It has been a pleasant season for inter-faith work, so far.
As I type there is a flock of five very sleek looking wild turkeys eating the fallen seeds from my bird feeder. The sun is out but we are expecting a classic ‘Noreaster by tomorrow. May the new year be peaceful, happy and prosperous for us all!

BOOK AND BLOG NEWS

  • My Moonthly herbal blog post
  • Check out this site where you can hear excerpts from my novels read in gorgeous British accents!
  • Stumbled upon this old interview today – I had no idea my web person put it on my site!
  • Upcoming workshop in PA
    Tree Medicine Tree Magic
    September 5-7 2014
    Weekend Workshop Hosted by Ellen Evert Hopman (in Pennsylvania)
    A Friday night slide show of some common North American trees illustrating their medicinal and magical properties. On Saturday morning we learn about the Irish “Tree alphabet” and then go outside to perform a traditional Druid tree meditation and learn to listen to the trees. Saturday afternoon we learn more about the “Tree Alphabet” and then gather tree medicines such as leaves, pine needles, flowers, barks, etc. Sunday we prepare medicines from the ingredients we have gathered. Each student  will leave with a hand-made set of Ogham divination cards, based on the ancient Irish Ogham “Tree Alphabet”. Please bring a notebook and pen, and wear comfortable shoes and outdoor clothes as you will be outside part of the weekend.
    Ellen will also have books with her to sell and sign if you are interested.
    $225 covers workshop, all supplies, lodging and meals.

ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

 HERB NEWS

CELTIC NEWS

RELIGION NEWS

PAGAN NEWS

NATURE NEWS

POLITICS AND ETHICS

 

December 2013

This past Moonth has seen an increase in the number of deer sightings, maybe because hunters are after them with bows and guns. I have seen a few does and youngsters crossing the road and one day I saw a grey animal with a square jaw that looked like a reindeer. That’s impossible here in MA so it must have been a baby moose.
I only fill the bird feeders after the first frost (that keeps down the mouse population because by the frost they have found a winter home, hopefully elsewhere). Chickadees, titmice, goldfinches, junkos, nuthatches and sparrows come and go all day now, with the occasional crow putting in an appearance.
The plants have gone dormant of course, so herbal activities at this time mostly consist of going out into a field looking for seeds. I have brought home huge armfuls of mugwort, SaintJohnswort, pokeweed and sumac, all brown and dry and covered with berries and seeds, in an effort to grow them in the garden. I scatter and bury the seeds in likely locations.
We had a few record breaking days of cold up here on the mountain this Moonth, followed by balmy days of 40 degrees or more and we have only had a slight dusting of snow so far.
The most significant development this Moonth has been an international effort to change the AP and Chicago Stylebooks requesting them to capitalize “Pagan” and “Paganism” when used as the proper terms of contemporary Pagan religion. Here is the letter we sent;

FROM:
Coalition of Scholars in Pagan Studies
PO Box 758, Cotati, CA 94931-0758 USA
CapitalizePagan@yahoogroups.com
Contact: Oberon Zell

TO:
Chicago Manual of Style
ATTN: Anita Samen, Managing Editor
The University of Chicago Press
1427 East 60th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
AP Stylebook
The Associated Press
P.O. Box 415458
Boston, MA 02241-5458

To the Editors of the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style: A petition

November 30, 2013
Dear Editors,
We the undersigned are a coalition of academic scholars and authors in the field of religious studies, who have done research into contemporary Paganism, and written books on the subject. Pagan studies represents a growing field in academy and the American Academy of Religion has had “Contemporary Pagan Studies” as part of its programming for more than a decade. We are approaching you with a common concern.
The word “Pagan” derives from pagus, the local unit of government in the Latin-speaking Roman Empire, and thus pagan referred to the traditional “Old Religion” of the countryside, as opposed to Christianity, the new religion with universal aspirations. Paganism, therefore, was by definition pre-Christian religion. Over time, with the expansion of the Roman Church, “pagan” became a common pejorative by Christians toward any non-Judeo-Christian religion.
In the 19th century, the terms pagan and paganism were adopted by anthropologists to designate the indigenous folk religions of various cultures, and by Classical scholars and romantic poets to refer to the religions of the great ancient pre-Christian civilizations of the Mediterranean region (as in the phrase, “pagan splendor,” often used in reference to Classical Greece).
Today, the terms Pagan and Paganism (capitalized) refer to alternative nature-based religions, whose adherents claim their identity as Pagan. Pagans seek attunement with nature and view humanity as a functional organ within the greater organism of Mother Earth (Gaea). Contemporary Pagans hearken to traditional and ancient pagan cultures, myths, and customs for inspiration and wisdom.
Thus contemporary Paganism (sometimes referred to as “Neo-Paganism” to distinguish it from historical pre-Christian folk traditions) should be understood as a revival and reconstruction of ancient nature-based religions, or religious innovation inspired by them, which is adapted for the modern world. Paganism is also called “The Old Religion,” “Ancient Ways,” “Nature Worship,” “Earth-Centered Spirituality,” “Natural Religion,” and “Green Religion.”
The Pagan community is worldwide, with millions of adherents in many countries. Moreover, increasing numbers of contemporary Hindus, First Nations activists, European reconstructionists, indigenous peoples, and other polytheists are accepting the term “Pagan” as a wide umbrella under which they all can gather, distinct from the monotheists and secularists. They are using it positively, not to mean “godless” or “lacking (true) religion.”
Therefore it is understandably a matter of continuing frustration to modern self-identified Pagans that newspaper and magazine copy editors invariably print the proper terms for their religion (i.e., “Pagan” and “Paganism”) in lower case. Journalists who have been confronted about this practice have replied that this is what the AP and Chicago Stylebooks recommend.
But names of religions—both nouns and adjectives—are proper terms, and as such should always be capitalized:

  • Religion:      Christianity   Judaism   Islam        Buddhism   Hinduism  Paganism
  • Adherent:    Christian       Jew          Moslem    Buddhist     Hindu        Pagan
  • Adjective:   Christian       Jewish      Islamic     Buddhist     Hindu        Pagan

This list could be expanded indefinitely for every religion in the world. As you can see, Paganism, like all faith traditions, should be capitalized.

Pagan and Paganism are now the well-established chosen self-designations and internationally-recognised nominal identifiers of a defined religious community. The same terms are appropriately lower-case only when they refer to ancient “pagans” since, in that context, the term does not refer to a discrete movement or culture. In short, “Pagan” and “Paganism” now function much as “Jew,” “Judaism,” “Christian,” and “Christianity” do.
(—Graham Harvey Contemporary Paganism, NYUP, 2nd edition 2011)

The current journalistic convention of printing lower case for these terms seems to have originated with the Associated Press Stylebook,  first published in 1953.  However, a new era of religious pluralism has emerged over the past sixty years. The terms “Pagan” and “Paganism” are now being capitalized in a variety of publications, texts, documents, and references, including religious diversity education resources such as On Common Ground: World Religions in America, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University, and Inmate Religious Beliefs and Practices, Technical Reference Manual, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice.
In order to assure greater accuracy in 21st century journalism, we hereby petition the AP and Chicago Stylebooks to capitalize “Pagan” and “Paganism” when speaking of the modern faiths and their adherents in future editions.
Thank you.
Signatories

  1. Cairril Adaire (founder, Our Freedom Coalition: A Pagan Civil Rights Coalition; founder, Pagan Educational Network)
  2. Margot Adler, M.S. (National Public Radio; Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1982; author: Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, 1979, 1986, 1996, 2006)
  3. Eileen Barker, PhD, FBA, OBE (Professor Emeritus in Sociology with Special reference to the Study of Religion at the London School of Economics; Founder and Chair of INFORM [Information Network Focus on Religious Movements]; author of over 300 publications on the subject of minority religions)
  4. Carol Barner-Barry, Ph.D. (Professor Emerita, University of Maryland; author: Contemporary Paganism: Minority Religions in a Majoritarian American, 2005)
  5. David V. Barrett, Ph.D. (London School of Economics and Political Science; British sociologist of religion who has written widely on topics pertaining to new religious movements and western esotericism; author: The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, Cults & Alternative Religions, 2001; A Brief Guide to Secret Religions, 2011)
  6. Helen Berger, Ph.D. (resident scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University; Professor Emerita of Sociology, West Chester University, PA; author: A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism & Witchcraft in the United States, 1999, 2013; with Evan A. Leach and Leigh S. Shaffer, Voices from the Pagan Census: Neo-Paganism in the United States, 2003; Witchcraft and Magic in the New World: North America in the Twentieth Century, 2005; with Douglas Ezzy, Teenage Witches: Magical Youth and the Search for the Self, 2007)
  7. Jenny Blain, Ph.D. (Recently retired from Sheffield Hallam University, previously taught at Dalhousie University, Canada, and now on faculty for Cherry Hill. Co-editor with Graham Harvey and Doug Ezzy of Researching Paganisms, 2004; author of Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism, 2002; with Robert Wallis, Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights, 2007; also numerous articles and chapters on Heathenry and Seidr, and on Pagan engagements with Sacred Sites.)
  8. Jon P. Bloch, Ph.D. (Professor, Sociology Department, Southern Connecticut State University; author of New Spirituality, Self, and Belonging: How New Agers and Neo-Pagans Talk About Themselves, 1998)
  9. Raymond Buckland, Ph.D., D.D. (founder of Seax-Wica; Originator Gardnerian Wica in America; author: The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism, 2002; Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, and more than 50 other titles.)
  10. Dennis D. Carpenter, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin; author: Spiritual Experiences, Life Changes, and Ecological Viewpoints of Contemporary Pagans; co-founder, Pagan Academic Network.)
  11. Chas Clifton, M.A. (Colorado State University-Pueblo (retired); Co-Chair of Contemporary Pagan Studies Group, American Academy of Religion; editor: The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies; author: Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca & Paganism in America, 2006; with Graham Harvey, The Paganism Reader, 2004)
  12. Vivianne Crowley, Ph.D. (Formerly professor at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College, University of London, specializing in psychology of religion. She is on the Council of the Pagan Federation where she focuses on interfaith issues. She is the author of many books on Wicca, Paganism and spiritual psychology, including Wicca: A comprehensive guide to the Old Religion in the modern world.)
  13. Carole Cusack, Ph.D. (Professor of Religious Studies, Chair Studies in Religion, Arts and Social Sciences Pro-Dean, University of Sydney, Australia;  co-editor, Journal of Religious History; co-editor, International Journal for the Study of New Religions; author: Invented Religions, 2010)
  14. Marie W. Dallam, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Honors College, University of Oklahoma; Co-Chair, New Religious Movements Group, American Academy of Religion)
  15. Frances Di Lauro, Ph.D. (Lecturer, Undergraduate Coordinator, Writing Hub, School of Letters Art and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia)
  16. Maureen Aisling Duffy-Boose (President Emeritus, Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) 2005-2010; VP Emeritus, Pagan Pride International 2003-2013; Board Chair, Utah Pride Interfaith Coalition 2002-2005; Founding Priestess, Four Dragons Clann, 1734 Witchcraft, 2011)
  17. Robert S. Ellwood, Jr., Ph.D. (Emeritus Professor of Religion, University of Southern California; author of Religious & Spiritual Groups in Modern America, 1974, 1988; Many Peoples, Many Faiths, 1976; 10th edition with Barbara McGraw, 2014)
  18. Douglas Ezzy, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Tasmania; published extensively in academic journals and academic monographs on contemporary Paganism, Witchcraft and religion)
  19. Holly Folk (Associate Professor of Liberal Studies, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA)
  20. Rev. Selena Fox, M.S. (Senior Minister, Circle Sanctuary; founding editor, CIRCLE Magazine; co-founder, Pagan Academic Network; diversity educator, U.S. Department of Justice; author: When Goddess is God (1995); contributor to Religions of the World (2002), Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America (2006), U.S. Army Chaplains Manual (1984), other works)
  21. Elysia Gallo (Senior Acquisitions Editor for Witchcraft, Paganism, and Magic at Llewellyn Worldwide; Vice President of Twin Cities Pagan Pride)\
  22. Wendy Griffin, Ph.D. (Professor Emerita and Chair of the Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at California State University, Long Beach; Academic Dean, Cherry Hill Seminary; Founding Co-chair of the Pagan Studies Group for the American Academy of Religion; Co-editor of the Alta Mira’s Pagan Studies Series; editor: Daughters of the Goddess: Studies of Healing, identity and Empowerment, 2000)
  23. Raven Grimassi (Director of the Fellowship of the Pentacle, author: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, 2000, and other award-winning books on Pagan-related themes)
  24. Charlotte Hardman, Ph.D. (Honorary Fellow, retired senior lecturer, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University; co-author: Paganism Today 1995; Other Worlds 2000)
  25. Graham Harvey, Ph.D. (Head of Department of Religious Studies, The Open University, UK; President, British Association for the Study of Religion; co-author: Paganism Today, 1995; Contemporary Paganism, 1997; with Chas Clifton, The Paganism Reader, Routledge, 2004; Food, Sex and Strangers: Understanding religion as everyday life, 2013)
  26. Irving Hexham, Ph.D. (Professor of Religious Studies at University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; author with Karla Poewe: New Religions as Global Cultures, 1997; Understanding World Religions, 2011; and many other works on new religious movements)
  27. Ellen Evert Hopman, M.Ed. (Druid Priestess; Co-founder and Vice President for nine years, of The Henge of Keltria Druid Order and co-founder and Co-Chief for five years of The Druid Order of White Oak; author with Lawrence Bond, People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out, 1995; with Lawrence Bond, Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today, 2001; and other volumes)
  28. Lynne Hume, Ph.D. (Associate Professor and Research Consultant, University of Queensland, Australia; Faculty, Cherry Hill Seminary, Bethel, VT; author of Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia, 1997; The Religious Life of Dress, 2013; co-author, with Nevill Drury of The Varieties of Magical Experience, 2013)
  29. Ronald Hutton, Ph.D. (Professor, Department of Historical Studies, Oxford University; author: Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, 2000)
  30. Christine Hoff Kraemer, Ph.D. (Instructor, Theology and Religious History, Cherry Hill Seminary; author of Seeking the Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theology, 2012 and Eros and Touch from a Pagan Perspective: Divided for Love’s Sake, 2013)
  31. James R. Lewis, Ph.D. (co-founder of the International Society for the Study of New Religions and editor-in-chief of the Alternative Spirituality & Religion Review (ASSR). Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tromsø in Norway; Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Wales, Lampeter; author: Magical Religion & Modern Witchcraft, 1996; The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions, 1998; Peculiar Prophets: A Biographical Dictionary of New Religions, 1999; Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions, 1999; with Murph Pizza, Handbook of Contemporary Paganism; The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements; with Jesper Petersen, Controversial New Religions; The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions; Odd Gods: New Religions and the Cult Controversy; Legitimating New Religions)
  32. Scott Lowe, Ph.D. (Professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Co-General Editor, Nova Religio)
  33. Sabina Magliocco, Ph.D. (Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at California State University, Northridge; author: Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America, 2004; Neopagan Sacred Art & Altars: Making Things Whole, 2001)
  34. Ven. Rev. Patrick McCollum (Director of Public Chaplaincy, Cherry Hill Seminary; Chaplaincy Liaison, American Academy of Religion; Minority Faith Chair, American Correctional Chaplains Association; Executive Director, National Correctional Chaplaincy Directors Association; President, Patrick McCollum Foundation; Religion Advisor, United States Commission on Civil Rights; Recipient, Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism; publications: California Department of Corrections Wiccan Chaplains Manual, 1998; Courting the Lady, 2000; Religious Accommodation in American Jails, 2013)
  35. J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D. (Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University; Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions, 1991, 8th ed., 2009; with Isotta Poggi, author of Magic, Witchcraft, and Paganism in America: A Bibliography, 2nd ed., 1992; Nelson’s Handbook of Denominations, 2007)
  36. Brendan Myers, Ph.D. (Professor at CEGEP Heritage College, Gatineau, QC, Canada; faculty, Cherry Hill Seminary; author of The Earth, The Gods and The Soul – A History of Pagan Philosophy: From the Iron Age to the 21st Century, 2013)
  37. M. Macha NightMare/Aline O’Brien (American Academy of Religion; Nature Religions Scholars Network; Marin Interfaith Council; United Religions Initiative; Interfaith Center of the Presidio; Association for the Study of Women and Mythology; Biodiversity Project Spirituality Working Group. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Cherry Hill Seminary; the Advisory Council of the Sacred Dying Foundation; former Adjunct Faculty at Starr King School for the Ministry. Books: The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over (with Starhawk) 1997; Witchcraft and the Web: Weaving Pagan Tradition Online, 2001; Pagan Pride: Honoring the Craft and Culture of Earth and Goddess, 2004)
  38. Joanne Pearson, Ph.D. (co-author with Richard H. Roberts & Geoffrey Samuel of Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World, 1998; (ed), Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age, 2002; A Popular Dictionary of Paganism, 2002; Wicca and the Christian Heritage: Ritual Sex and Magic, 2007)
  39. Christopher Penczak (faculty member at North Eastern Institute of Whole Health; founder of the Temple of Witchcraft, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit church; co-owner of Copper Cauldron Publishing; author: The Living Temple of Witchcraft, 2008; 2009—and over two dozen other books)
  40. Sarah M. Pike, Ph.D. (Professor of Comparative Religion, California State University, Chico; author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and The Search for Community, 2001; New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, 2004)
  41. Richard H. Roberts, Ph.D. (Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University; co-author with Geoffrey Samuel & Joanne Pearson of Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World, 1998)
  42. Kathryn Rountree, Ph.D. (Professor of Anthropology, Massey University, New Zealand; author of Embracing the Witch and the Goddess: Feminist Ritual-makers in New Zealand, 2004; Crafting Contemporary Pagan Identities in a Catholic Society, 2010; Archaeology of Spiritualities, 2012)
  43. Michael Ruse, Ph.D. (Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL; author: The Gaia Hypothesis: Science on a Pagan Planet, 2013)
  44. Geoffrey Samuel, Ph.D. (Cardiff University, UK, as well as an honorary attachment at the University of Sydney; author: Civilized Shamans, 1993; co-author with Richard H. Roberts & Joanne Pearson of Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World, 1998; The Origins of Yoga and Tantra, 2008; Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West, 2013)
  45. Bron Taylor, Ph.D. (Professor of Religion & Nature, University of Florida; Fellow, Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München; Editor, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture; author of Encyclopedia of Religion & Nature, 2005; Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future, 2010; Avatar and Nature Spirituality, 2013; Civil Society in the Age of Monitory Democracy, 2013)
  46. Robert J. Wallis, Ph.D., FRAI, FSA (Professor of Visual Culture; Associate Dean, MA Programmes, School of Communications, Arts and Social Sciences; Convenor of the MA in Art History and Visual Culture; Richmond University, the American International University in London; author of Shamans/neo-Shamans, 2003; and numerous articles on contemporary Paganisms, neo-Shamanisms and their engagements with prehistoric archaeology in Britain)
  47. Linda Woodhead, M.B.E., D.D. (Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University, UK. She studies religious change in modern societies, and is especially interested in how religion has changed worldwide since the late 1980s. Between 2007 and 2013 she was Director of the “Religion and Society” research programme in Britain, which involved 240 academics from 29 different disciplines working on 75 different projects. Her books include Everyday Lived Islam in Europe (2013), A Sociology of Religious Emotions (2011), Religions in the Modern World (2009), The Spiritual Revolution (2005) and A Very Short Introduction to Christianity (2004). She is a regular commentator and broadcaster on religion and society.)
  48. Michael York, Ph.D. (Faculty, Cherry Hill Seminary; retired Professor of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology with the Bath Spa University’s Sophia Centre; he directed the New Age and Pagan Studies Programme for the College’s Department for the Study of Religions and co-ordinated the Bath Archive for Contemporary Religious Affairs. He continues to direct the Amsterdam Center for Eurindic Studies and co-direct the London-based Academy for Cultural and Educational Studies. Author: The Roman Festival Calendar of Numa Pompilius, 1986; A Sociology of the New Age and Neo-pagan Movements, 1995; The Divine versus the Asurian: An Interpretation of Indo-European Cult and Myth, 1995; Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, 2003; Historical Dictionary of New Age Movements, 2004)
  49. Oberon Zell, D.D. (co-founder and Primate, Church of All Worlds, 1962 [incorporated 1968; 501(c)(3) 1970]; co-founder, Council of Themis, 1968; Publisher Emeritus, Green Egg magazine, 1968-ff; co-founder, Council of Earth Religions, 1974; founder, Universal Federation of Pagans, 1990; founder, Grey Council, 2002; founder and Headmaster, Grey School of Wizardry, 2004; Secretary, Sonoma County Pagan Network, 2010-2013; author: Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, 2004; Companion  for the Apprentice Wizard, 2006; with Morning Glory Zell, Creating Circles & Ceremonies, 2006)

Below you will find links to other news of interest this past Moonth. Enjoy!

BOOK NEWS

***REMINDER! You can purchase books and DVDs from this site and get a signed copy with a personal note – perfect for Yule gifts! Just be sure to add a note if you want the book autographed to someone else. Solstice is coming!***

CELTIC NEWS

 PAGAN NEWS

ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

 LANGUAGE NEWS

HERBAL NEWS

HEALTH NEWS

  • Obamacare/Affordable Care Act – an update;
    I am happy to report that after I signed up by phone I got a letter from the MA Exchange. My health insurance will be basically free because MA chose to expand Medicare to cover many more folks (I am not yet 65). And my dental is about $20 less a month for the same coverage. Thank you Obamacare!
  • What men need to be happy
  • Why people are now so gluten sensitive (and why we should all eat non GMO organic foods)
  • How to live to be 100
    I like this – except the part where they say honey and herbs are a placebo. Honey has many healing virtues.

DRUID NEWS

RELIGION NEWS

NATURE NEWS

ART NEWS

POETRY NEWS

 POLITICS AND ETHICS (because it’s the same thing)

May your winter fires be bright and may everyone who reads this stay healthy and warm! Solstice Blessings!

November Blog

The Halloween madness is almost over here on the mountain and I can finally sit down to pen this blog. While most of the world was focused on doling out candy, my little band of Druids held a small ritual in the forest to honor the ancestors. Plates of food were left out for the Fairies and for our beloved dead, and libations of whiskey and offerings of cornmeal (for those of Native American ancestry) were made to the fire. Tears were shed for the recently passed over and thanks were given to grandparents and those even more distantly related, who struggled, loved and died so that we could be alive today.
When the rite was finished we noticed that our cloaks were covered with tiny green spiders, something I have never seen before. I told them it was a message from the Sidhe (Fairy) realm, letting us know that they were with us. And also that we were weaving something for the future.|
It has been unusually warm the last few days. I went outside to rake leaves a few days ago and thought I saw hail or snow on the ground which was impossible. A closer look revealed tiny curled up baby white caterpillars, Hickory Tussock Moths that have become a local problem. School children pick them up and some have violent allergic reactions.
Another odd thing – I teach a six month herbal intensive every year, October to April. One of the first things we do every year is make healing salves with comfrey, walnuts, horse chestnuts and other plants. The drop dead date for gathering fresh comfrey leaves has always been around October 15 because after that the frosts blacken the leaves. Today it is November 2 and the leaves are still green and fresh.
It appears that global warming is happening faster and faster….
A little personal news, I am thrilled to pieces that I finally got a wee mention in the New York Times (along with a number of other worthy Druids); and here. It is so nice that the Times chose to feature Druids this year at Halloween, instead of the usual Witches. May this be a sign of good things to come.
I signed up for Obamacare on the phone last week with no problems. Happily I will now have the same dental plan only with better benefits, for $20.00 a month less! I urge everyone to ignore the website for now and just call 1-800-318-2596. As with any new insurance plan it may take a few weeks for the paperwork to show up in your mailbox, but applying by phone is very easy.
Below you will find a round-up of the last Moonth’s archeology news, some nature news and Herbal postings, as well as a few political links of interest. Please enjoy!

UPCOMING APPEARANCE

The weekend of November 8-10, in CT. I will be speaking here;
Changing Times-Changing Worlds.
The metaphysical future started a while ago, why is it taking people so long to notice?

BOOK NEWS

Some nice reviews of the first two novels just appeared on Amazon.co.uk;
Priestess of the Forest
Ellen Evert Hopman’s novel: `Priestess’ of the Forest, which is Part 1 of a Trilogy, is such a valuable and learned novel. It describes the life of an early Irish Priestess and Healer born at the time of the rise of Christianity in Ireland: a Druidess called Ethne. Ethne’s progress and her spiritual path is movingly and very humanly presented. The reader can’t help but be drawn into the spiritual worldview of the Druids, its connections to the Earth and to the spirit realm. And I have to pay tribute to Ellen Hopman’s erudition about Irish Society. It is impressive, fascinating and invaluable, woven as it is throughout every strand of the book. But more than that, Ellen Hopman is herself a master herbalist and healer, and this sensibility breathes through every line of the novel. At the outset of the story, Eithne has brought to her for healing, a gravely wounded Irish warrior, Ruadh. Part of the healing is a moving chant: `In the name of Brighid; bone to bone, Flesh to Flesh, sinew to sinew, vein to vein,’ sung as she bathes his forehead and chest with cool water, and their love grows as the spread of Christianity begins remorselessly to replace the whole spiritual basis of ancient Druid path in Ireland.
— Michael Conneely
The Druid Isle
Ellen Evert Hopman’s novel: ‘The Druid Isle’ is Part 2 of a Trilogy which opened with her ‘Priestess of the Forest’. It is a fascinating and wisdom-provoking study of the lives of two young people living when Christianity and the Roman Empire are conquering the North of Britain. They grow up apart in two utterly different cultures, but are destined to meet. Aife is the adopted daughter of Ethne, the heroine of Part 1; she grows up in the wisdom and healing serenity and spiritual connection of the Druid Forest School. Lucius, by contrast, grows up in the flesh-denying inauthenticity of a new Christian monastic school. However Lucius finds by chance – or by destiny – the ritualistic beauty and reverence for life, of the ‘Festival of Summer’ of the local pagan people – only for this to be shattered by the Roman slavers, but he ends up finding his destiny and the truth of his birth, on the Druid Isle. Lucius is prepared for the dangerous journey by sea to the Druid Isle by the mystery, peace and joy of a ritual in the fogo of the Mamm an Byss. There, in the most supremely beautiful passage in the book, Lucius is granted a vision of the Sky and Water Mother who has protected him since the day he was born which connects him to his essence and prepares him as the preserver of the Druid wisdom.
— Michael Conneely
***Reminder*** You can purchase books and DVDs from this site and get a signed copy with a personal note. Yule is coming!

RECENT ARTICLES

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE THE FALL

ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

MORE STONEHENGE NEWS

FAIRY NEWS

HERB NEWS

HEALTH NEWS

NATURE NEWS

LANGUAGE NEWS

DRUID NEWS

RELIGION NEWS

POLITICS/ETHICS

All blessings of the snug dark on those who read this.
***Reminder*** You can purchase books and DVDs from this site and get a signed copy with a personal note. Yule is coming!

Congress wants to shut down but we get active as Fall sets in

The weather has been sunny, cool and crisp here in the mountain, the kind of fall weather that one thinks of for New England. The maples are turning orange and red, the gingkoes are yellow and the oaks are tinged with gold and orange. In-between are the deep green pines and yellow birches. The willows are still waving their green hair in the wind.
The dominant flower at the moment is purple aster, the goldenrods and echinacea are still about, but starting to fade.
After the summer somnolence folks are getting active, as always happens this time of year. One of the signs of this has been a renewed interest in political activity. Even as Congress shamefully threatens to shut down and refuses to do the people’s business, the rest of us are picking up steam.
Here are some actions that you too can be a part of;
There is a mini boycott going on of Lowe’s and Home Depot because they are still selling bee-killing pesticides and garden plants that are pre-sprayed with bee killing poisons. You can go to their Facebook pages and tell them what you think about that;
Lowe’s
Home Depot
The specter of fracking has raised its ugly head in Britain and Druids have taken notice. I was privileged to do this small action back here in the USA, at noon on September 28, in a public park. I think this rolling protest can easily continue and be worked into public gatherings everywhere.
Meanwhile the campaign to stop the display of human remains at the new Stonehenge visitor’s center continues, I just got this rather pathetic press release from English Heritage regarding the display of dead people at the Stonehenge visitors center. Why they can’t make plastic replicas is beyond me.
STATEMENT: DISPLAY OF HUMAN REMAINS AT NEW STONEHENGE VISITOR CENTRE
After careful consideration English Heritage Commissioners have today endorsed the proposal to display the remains of three human burials as part of the permanent display at the new Stonehenge visitor centre. There is strong consensus that English Heritage has a public duty to communicate all the key narratives and archaeological findings to the public.
Our proposal is consistent with current museum practice across the UK. Their presentation, treatment and storage will follow strict guidelines set out by the UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Visitors will be made aware of the display before they enter the exhibition. Visitor research also shows that the vast majority of museum visitors are comfortable with, and often expect to see, human remains as part of displays.
Stonehenge is the focus of a ceremonial and ritual landscape shaped by prehistoric people for over 1,500 years. The exhibition puts at its centre the people associated with it and as such, the remains have a rightful place in the exhibition.
KEY FACT: The three sets of human remains on display have been in the care of scholarly institutions for at least 10 years and do not include any freshly excavated material. Two were excavated over 50 years ago and the third was uncovered during road improvement works in 2001. If English Heritage was not displaying them, they would remain in the collections of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum and the Duckworth Collection, University of Cambridge.
Issued by English Heritage Communications
11 September 2013
You can write to EH here.
My newest herbal blog post HAG’S TAPERS FOR HALLOWEEN (an herbal monograph on how to use Mullein)
is up.
This is a victory for everyone who wrote letters, signed a petition or made a phone call. The Monsanto Protection Act is being cancelled!
Here are some places I will be speaking in the coming months;

Here is a roundup of the past Moonth’s news. Enjoy!

ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

 LANGUAGE NEWS

 FAIRY NEWS

 NATURE NEWS

 HERBAL NEWS

 HEALTH NEWS

 RELIGION NEWS

 ARTS NEWS

 POLITICS/ETHICS

 NEWS YOU CAN USE

 
May everyone who reads this have a blessed Samhain/Halloween season. All blessings of the holy dark be yours!