A Druid's Blog

Hear the voice of the Bard!
Who present, past, and future sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees.
~ William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience

A lot of folks have been thinking about the tornado we had last year – on June 1. The trees in the yard that lost limbs have started putting out fresh shoots, all along the broken off branches. By next year there will be fresh new twigs along every branch and, I hope, clusters of flowers. Sadly, this year there were no bees at all on my hawthorn tree by the house. In former years it was always covered with bees. (See the Nature News section below for updates on bee colony collapse).
The barn swallows finally gave up nesting in the entranceway. They had rebuilt their nest as usual but the presence of two cats plus one human coming and going proved too much for them. The woods are filled with bird song, however, and I have seen many snakes and toads. Life continues to flourish at a distance from the house.
My long haired, black cat almost died this past month and we still have no idea why. “Fever of unknown origin” was the vet’s diagnosis. I spent a few anguished days forcing water and tuna can liquid into his mouth with a syringe because he wouldn’t eat or drink. I can barely imagine what it must be like for a parent of a sick human child. Happily the cat is his old self again.
BIG BOOK NEWS!

• My book BEING A PAGAN made it to the list of 27 essential Pagan books!
• For those who want to hear what I sound like….A recent interview on Blog Talk Radio

HOW WRITERS CAN HELP EACH OTHER.

• Publishing is evolving so quickly that it can feel overwhelming. Something that hasn’t changed is the generosity of writers helping each other. Here are some old and new ways for writers to help each other when a new book comes out.

The older, tried and true ways:

• Support the author by buying the book or e-book.

• Mention the book to your local library. Librarians often write reviews and are generally very cool people.
• Urge your local bookstore to carry the book.
• Write a review on Amazon (you can do this without making a purchase), Goodreads, or any other site that you frequent. The reviews can be as short as one sentence and don’t need to be longer than a paragraph.
• Suggest the book to your book group. Authors are often happy to make an appearance (if local), Skype, or email with the members. Don’t hesitate to ask.
• If you are part of an organization that books speakers for conferences, consider inviting the author.

The slightly newer, still in transition ways:

• If you have a blog, invite the author to do a guest blog. Share it on Facebook.
• Which brings up the big world of Facebook. There are three main ways to respond to FB and they each carry a different weight.
  Like: this is easy to do and appreciate
  Comment: this is more valuable and lots more interesting. The majority of people don’t get this far. You can do it on your page in a status update or on the author’s page as a comment.
  Share: This is the heavy weight contender and carries the biggest bang. For ex: Share the book’s website link on your page or go to the author’s blog, make a comment, and then share it with FB. Kapow!
• House parties: With the closure of so many independent book stores, there are fewer venues for authors. And it has always been hard for author to get booked at the remaining bookstores where they don’t have an established base. Here’s what you can do: host a house party for the author. Invite a gang of readers to meet the author, do a potluck or snacks, and have fun. The author can meet with your friends in a relaxed atmosphere.

The Gold Standard

• Word of Mouth. If publishing houses could buy this, they would. If you like a book, tell your friends and family. Buy it as a gift for those you think might like it.
  borrowed from
  pll@writingretreats.org
  www.writingretreats.org

Remember ~ you can order my books and DVDs from this website and get a signed copy and a personal note! ~
Here are the usual gleanings from this Month’s media…

ARCHEOLOGY NEWS

• How to build a round house
• How agriculture spread to Northern Europe
• California Petroglyphs
• Orkney underwater archaeology
• Was Newgrange in Ireland inspired by the Cygnus constellation?
• Dogs, booze and bling in 7th century Ireland
• 42,000 year old flutes discovered in Germany
• A Gallo-Roman Celtic site found in France
• A cursing stone discovered in Scotland
• Knowth to be explored digitally
• Stone Age Rock festivals
• Stanton Drew more complex than previously believed
• Nice image of a Celtic God
• A new language discovered in Turkey
• Oldest Mayan calendar found. The world won’t end in 2012. We can all relax now. More pictures….
• A virtual tour of Stonehenge and environs
• Cernunnos, understanding the Horned God
• French cave art is the oldest known
• Origins of the domestic horse
• Horses were once ridden and milked

HERB NEWS

• How mushrooms could save the world.
• Invasive plants you can eat; Kudzu, Japanese Knotweed, etc
  (I also recommend the book INVASIVE PLANT MEDICINE by Tim Scott
• More free lunch
• Heather ale

TRADITIONAL RECIPE FOR HEATHER ALE
Ingredients: Heather, hops, *barm, syrup, ginger and water.
Crop the heather when it is in full bloom, enough to fill a large pot.
Cover the croppings with water and set to boil for one hour
Then strain into a clean tub.
Measure the liquid and for every dozen bottles add one ounce of ground ginger,
half an ounce of hops and one pound of golden syrup or honey.
Bring to the boil again and simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain into a clean cask.
Let it stand until milk-warm and then add a teacupful of good barm.
Cover with a coarse cloth and let it stand till next day
Skim carefully and pour the liquid gently into a clean tub so that the barm is left at the bottom of the cask.
Bottle and cork tightly
The ale will be ready for use in as little 2 or 3 days
* BARM The yeasty foam that rises to the surface of fermenting malt liquors

• Ancient Beers

NATURE NEWS

• Bee colony collapse update & More…
• Sulphur may hold the key to the Gaia hypothesis. Interesting because Sulphur is one of the greatest homeopathic “polycrests”, that is, it cures the greatest spectrum of diseases and conditions. Maybe Earth should be known as the sulphur planet.
• Plastic eating fungi from the rainforest could cure world’s pollution problem.
• Poland bans Monsanto GMO corn because it is killing bees
• Wild elephants mourn a dead conservationist
• Algae powered street lamps
• The Beltaine Full Moon of May 5 explained….
• West coast of the USA contaminated with Fukoshima radiation

RELIGION NEWS

• Evidence for reincarnation? From Fox News! (weirdly)
• Same sex marriage was once a Christian rite …Or was it?
• China bans reincarnation without government permission (how will they ever enforce this law?).
• Hildegard of Bingen finally declared a Saint (the Pope admires powerful women centuries after they are safely dead)
• The ongoing battle to preserve separation of church and state and religious pluralism in the USA

DRUID NEWS

• The story of The c
• Robin Williamson on the Tuatha de Dannan
• A beautiful invocation in Gaelic

PAGAN NEWS

• Olympic torch lit in ancient Greek ceremony at the Temple of Hera More…

ARTS

• Fabulous footage of music, dance and architecture from Córdoba, Spain.

NEWS WE CAN USE

• Volkswagen premiers the hover car
• Ten reasons to date people involved with the arts
• How to make butter
• Learn Irish
  LEARN IRISH IN ONTARIO, CANADA
  OIREACHTAS GAEILGE CHEANADA ,
  Community Language : Irish (Gaelic)
  Dates : 6 – 8 July 2012
  Locations:
  1. Gaeltacht Thuaisceart an Oiléain Úir (Erinsville/Tamworth, Ontario), and
  2. Days Inn, Kingston, Ontario,

  Information and Registration
  Contact: kenny-h@rmc.ca
  Deadline for Special Hotel Rates: 15 June 2012

HEALTH NEWS

• Antibiotics in the food supply
• RecentNews-_-EthanolAntibioticsinFood
• The skinny on obesity
• Was the Vioxx tragedy even worse than we thought?
• What really causes heart disease. Its not cholesterol…

POLITICS/ETHICS

• Icelanders refused to bail out the banks – here is the result
• Judge blocks Oklahoma ban on abortions in a rare show of sane thinking
• The most conservative states are actually the most anti-family.

May your summer be bright and your gardens fruitful. All blessings of the warm season!

This year for the first time since I arrived in 1986, the hawthorns actually bloomed on schedule. We were able to celebrate Beltaine, the Celtic start of summer, on the afternoon of April 30. For those who don’t know what the fuss is about, Beltaine (or May Day) is the festival that begins the light half of the year for us Celtoids. Samhain (or Halloween) is the ancient Celtic festival of the beginning of the dark half of the year, or winter.

• Here is a bit more information about the festival;
• For those who missed it last Moonth an article about the Fire Festival of Beltaine
• Traditional Irish Beltaine customs
• May Day in Cornwall
• How to make May Butter

I did a sweat lodge ceremony recently with Grandmother Three Crow who works with indigenous elders here on Turtle Island. She travels to South America regularly to meet with elders there. I asked her what message they had that I could share and she said they ask that we visit the sacred sites of America and elsewhere, to keep the energies flowing and alive. She said its important to approach the sites with a good heart, not to bring anger or sadness to the sites, because they are placed on important energy grids for the planet and any emotions we bring to them get sent around the Earth.
I hope that everyone will take this on as a sacred mission, to prepare themselves emotionally and spiritually before approaching the sites. She said that even if a sacred site has been desecrated, covered with a road or otherwise disturbed, we should find one thing, a tree, a rock, some point of focus, and continue to offer prayers and good wishes to the energies of the site.
It is important that we find the sacred sites in our own areas and begin to caretake them with a good heart. I know of people in California and Ireland who are re-opening clogged sacred springs and holy wells. These sites need to be woken up with reverence and prayer. Some sites are well known such as the Great Serpent Mound, Chichenitza, the pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge, Newgrange, the Ring of brodgar in Scotland, etc.
Others are less known but equally valuable.

• Here is a site in Arkansas that might need some good energy;
  and a video about how to approach a site
  and another video about how to find ley lines

REVIEWS OF THE NEWEST BOOKS

• Aren Action has a nice review of the new novel, article 4, page 18

Article 4 Priestess of the Fire Temple A new novel by Ellen Evert Hopman Reviewed by Christopher Blackwell

This is the third book of Trilogy of novels, that are “Bardic teaching tales” by Ellen Hopman, about Ireland and the change from the power of the Druids to the power of the Christians from the second to fifth century. I have read and reviewed the first novel Priestess of the Forest on page 7 of our Imbolc 2008 issue of ACTION and her second novel The Druid Isle on page 8 of our Litha issue of our 2010 issue of ACTION.
In this latest novel we follow Aislinn the wild red haired daughter of the High King of the central Kingdom who still respects of the old ways. She is not loved by her Christian step mother, for the girl seems to refuse to be a proper princess aware of her high social position. She is more interested in learning from her Druid teachers about herbs and song. From her search for herbs, Aislinn often comes home disheveled and clothes dirty, embarrassing her socially proper stepmother and queen.
The queen is only interesting in making a suitable marriage for her own son and perhaps the future high king. At fourteen it comes time for her to be married for the good of the kingdom, to a young prince who is as uninterested in her. But she sets out to do her duty. She sets out to become a proper representative of her father and kingdom for the good of the kingdom, both that she loves and respects. Once again nothing goes as expected for she will be thrust out of the life she was sent to live, facing dangers and suspense on a mysterious journey to an unknown destination and a life she could not have imagined for herself, to help protect the knowledge of the Druids so that it might not disappear under the Christians.
Again we have a chance to learn of the Druid way of life with a bibliography of books covering the ideas explained and a glossary of Celtic names and ideas. The story is full of twists and turns that keep the reader interested and takes full advantage of Ms. Hopman’s years of practice as a Druid and herbalist.
Each book is a complete story itself, but do yourself a favor and read all three if you can.This book can be bought as either in paperback or as a kindle edition. You can buy this book direct from Ellen Hopman as a signed copy a personal note from the author at http://www.elleneverthopman.com/, from her online store, or online at Amazon.com, or from your local bookstore.Priestess of the Fire Temple ISBN-10: 0738729256 ISBN-13: 978-0738729251

A nice review of Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore came out in Sagewoman Magazine recently;

Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore
Are you interested in herbs, fairy lore, Scottish deities, or learning Gaelic? If so, this book will surely interest you. The author, Ellen Evert Hopman is not only a Master Herbalist but also a Druid Priestess, and Ellen proves her mettle in this fascinating book.
The book begins with a brief and informative review of Scottish history “Caledonia: A Thumbnail Ancient History,” which offers insight into the major groups of ancient Scotland such as the Picts, Britons, and Celts just to name a few. Reading about these different tribes and their history, one can picture how they lived. She also gives a solid grounding in what we know (and don’t) about the Druids.
The next chapter, “The Old Gods,” is very informative, especially to those with an interest in a Druidic path or Scots gods. But I’m leaving the best for last: Hopman’s extensive (one is tempted to say, exhaustive) chapter on herbs, with descriptions of well over one hundred plants, their uses (both medicinal and otherwise) and a variety of instructions — on making a poultice, tinctures and herbal salves for example — invaluable for the novice. For each entry, the plant’s common, Gaelic, and Latin names are listed along with which parts can be used and for which ailment. Many recipes are supplied, as well as cautions when they should be avoided (such as herbs to be avoided for pregnant women). This part of the book is my favorite, by far.
But the author isn’t finished yet; there are also chapters that discuss the sacred birds and animals, magical practices (including prayers, rituals and incantations. Plus a discussion of the distinction between Druids and Witches and descriptions of Scottish Quarter Days and Fire Festivals.

The last third of the book is dedicated to Elves, Spirits, Witches, Monsters and, naturally, the Fairies. Ms. Hopman gives a full listing of many different classes of creature imaginable.
Even the Appendix of this book is wonderful! If you have ever wondered how to pronounce words in Gaelic such as the Goddess * Airmidh, Ms. Hopman is here to help. I have read many books, websites, and articles that dealt with Druids, but no one ever covers this topic! I was able to laugh at myself when I realized the pronunciation of words that I thought was correct was totally off-base. I just bet the Fairies have had a good laugh at me during my lifetime trying to speak Gaelic, but no more. Fantastic work, Ms. Hopman, and thank you! Crystal Luna Rouge.
* (Airmidh – Ar-vey or Ar-vee)

Also see:
BOOK REVIEW IN ELECTRIC SCOTLAND (see page 5)
You can purchase the book from this website and get a signed copy and a personal note!
DRUID NEWS

• A song about the tree alphabet with some inspired banjo picking
• Why we should do ritual with kids
• Druidism, Paganism to be taught in British schools. Not everyone is happy…
• Make your own Celtic clothing

RELIGION NEWS

• The “Doctine of the Faith” (i.e. the Catholic Inquisition) goes after nuns who support health care, gays and feminism
• Russian Orthodox church condones ignorance of ancient scriptures

PAGAN NEWS

• Irish government will give legal status to Pagan weddings. According to tradition its bad luck to marry at Beltaine. Lughnasad (August 1) is the traditional time for weddings).
• Video about the Nazis and Paganism. Long but interesting. Bear in mind that the Nazis were overwhelmingly Christians, not Pagans.

ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS

• A Dolmen excavated in Wales
• Beer and bling in Iron Age Europe
• Indo-Europeans arrive in Europe – videos More videos…
• Dinosaur eggs found in Chechnya
• Did religion give birth to civilization, agriculture?
• Nice image of a Pictish harp. Note the cat at the bottom.
• Torc found in Northern Ireland
• Virtual tour of a Mesoamerican sacred site (Mexico, Jalisco)
• A cookbook of old stone age to Medieval recipes, based on soil samples
• Lucy was not alone…
• Ancient Lyre fragment found in Skye
• Irish sweat houses…yes, Europeans had them too.
• Dolmens near Carnac, Brittany

POLITICS/ETHICS

• Corporations no longer work for the good of society – how to turn that around

ARTS

• The Existential House Cat (video)
• Inflatable Stonehenge…I sooo want one!
• Spoken word…The Return of the Fairies

NATURE NEWS

• Monsanto and bee colony collapse
• Natural insect repellents
• Why trees matter
• “Natural pools” are swimming pools that use plants instead of chlorine to clean the water.
• Mugwort (Artemisia) an herb that opens the third eye….
• Cats and dolphins (I just had to include this one – thanks Bob!)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Find out about your surname

HEALTH NEWS

• Turmeric and cancer – a natural cure.
• Statins raise blood sugar and can CAUSE diabetes. With millions on Lipitor, Crestor, Vitorin and Simcor and similar drugs this could be a root cause of the current diabetes epidemic….Read more here…
• Cannabis cuts lung tumor growth in half….
• An article about some useful herbs

A happy summer to all!
PS if you like my website why not contact the web designer? Her address is at the bottom of each page!

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

•  Lovely harp pieces with pictures of Ireland
  More…
• A Finnish music video

POETRY NEWS

•  A great idea that costs nothing – Poet-tree walks.

MAGIC AND TRANSFORMATION

•  Magical properties of foods

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!

Dear friends:
Firstly I apologize for the brevity of this moonth’s offering. My old computer went to the Otherworld and I spent three weeks reading posts from the public library. We all owe a big debt to librarians everywhere, I couldn’t do my research without their help, nor would I have had any computer access this past Moonth.
One casualty of the Great Computer Crash is that I lost my mailing lists. If anyone wants to be added to my list please message me privately and include your name, e: mail and THE STATE YOU LIVE IN (important!) Write to saille333 at mindspring.com
It’s been a harrowing Moonth for me; I was supposed to go to California to launch the new novel PRIESTESS OF THE FOREST: A DRUID’S TALE. I got to the airport, e: ticket in hand, and was preparing to check my suitcase. I had a confirmation number for my flight. The woman informed me that all my flights had all been cancelled “by someone”. She could provide no further explanation.
There was no way I could purchase a last minute ticket; it would have been far too expensive. I still have no idea what happened but the lesson is this; when using frequent flyer miles be sure to triple check your flights. Especially when flying United Airlines (never again).
On a more positive note, the new novel is finally out and folks are receiving their copies. I have them on hand in my bookstore and if you order from me via PayPal ($18.95 plus $4.00 s/h, add an extra $6.00 for s/h for orders outside the USA) you will get a signed copy and a personal note.
Here’s a brief description;
Pagan Celtic Druids and Early Christians meet in this story of Iron Age Ireland. Saint Brighid of Kildare based her temple on an earlier Pagan model and the novel imagines what such a temple may have looked like and how it may have functioned. Celtic beliefs about sacred Fire and the Sky World are explored in this Celtic romance.
The first novel in the trilogy; PRIESTESS OF THE FOREST: A DRUID JOURNEY explored the relationship with sacred Land. The second title; THE DRUID ISLE focused on the realm of Sea and the mystical voyages undertaken by wandering Celts. The third novel; PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE: A DRUID’S TALE is about the Sky realm and sacred fire. The new novel can be read alone but those who have read all three books will have a richer experience. Old characters make an appearance in the new work.
The three realms of Land, Sea and Sky form the basic cosmology of ancient Celtic spirituality. These novels are all Druidic teaching tools as well as tales of action and romance.
Read more about the new book here
If you happen to live near Western MA here are a few venues where I will be speaking and signing books;
Monday, March 19, Agawam Public Library
I will discuss the new novel PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE: A DRUID’S TALE and my other books. I will have books for signing.
750 Cooper St., Agawam, MA. 7 PM
(413) 789-1550
Book launch Celebration – Priestess of the Fire Temple
Sunday, April 1 from noon – 2 pm. Inspirit Common,
219 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060.
413-585-1169.
www.InspiritCommon.com 
I will sign books and answer questions about Druids and Celtic spirituality.
Thursday April 19, Huntington Library
I will lecture on Celtic Gods and Goddesses and sign books. 5:30PM
7 East Main Street, Huntington, MA. 01050
(413) 667-8847
The View From the Mountain
The local nature news is that after a warm and dry winter we suddenly had a snow storm March first. Even though there are about eight inches on the ground the goldfinches are already starting to turn yellow. They now resemble little canaries with black and white barred wings. The bird feeders are full and still upright, no sign of bears so far.
Maple sugaring is in high gear and everyone is looking forward to the new crop.
I am experimenting with those small solar powered lights that you stick in the ground to illuminate a path. I have made a path into the forest that looks like twinkling Fairy lights after dark. Those little lights are also useful when you have a power outage; you can re-charge them by day in the sun and then bring them inside at night.
Here are this moonth’s gleanings from the media (sorry for the slim pickings this time!)
ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS

• Oldest stringed instrument is found in Scotland

NATURE NEWS

• Bill Gates’ yield-increasing claims about GMO crops widely refuted by studies

POLITICS/ETHICS

• The future we can expect if we don’t vote for Democrats
• Monsanto seeks a patent on pigs and other livestock – now they want to take over the entire food supply

DRUID NEWS

• Large Meteorite Likely Found in Druid Burial Site

Music

• A gorgeous Gaelic chant for the recently deceased. Absolutely gorgeous.

Happy Bring Back the Snakes Day (Saint Patricks) to all !!!

February marks the appearance of the first fires of spring. It becomes obvious that the days are growing longer as the sun sets later and later. Already my evening commute is in full sun; just a month ago I was driving home in the dark.

For the Celts it was a month sacred to Brighid, the Goddess of Poetry, Smith craft and Healing. A Mother Goddess she was associated with the cows and sheep. In the old days there were no super markets and you had to wait until the ewes began to lactate before fresh milk could be had once again. Once the milk appeared it was cause for a feast and a celebration.

The Christian church adopted the festival and re-named it “Candle mass”. Everyone would bring their candles to the church to be blessed.

Modern Wiccans have adopted February 1 as the day of “Imbog” (in the bag), a day to honor Brighid. I did place a basket of “clooties” (little strips of cloth to be tied to a sick person or animal throughout the year) on my doorstep on that night for Brighid to bless as she went by. But the astronomical Imbolg actually falls on February 4 this year (midway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox).

It gets complicated.

I asked the local farmers what day the sheep give birth in this part of New England and they said around February 15. The sheep start to give milk again about 3 days before they deliver their lambs, so the milk festival in my area should properly be observed on or around February 12!

I plan to observe the festival of Brighid with some local folk on the 11^th.

Here are some links to more details about this all-important Celtic milk festival:

• Imbolc is here!
• A song of Brighid
• A Brigit beneath ar sét – O Brighid, bless our road!

On a more secular note I was priviledged to attend OCCUPY CINEMA  a few days ago. It was a collage of films made by Occupy Wallstreet supporters. Six hundred folks showed up in this relatively rural area and everyone left energized and uplifted.

 The most interesting thing I learned from the films was what happened in Spain recently. Apparently Progressives lobbied to have “none of the above” added to their presidential ballot. “None of the Above” got more votes than any candidate. But because Progressives refused to vote the most right wing candidate got in. Very sad situation now for Spanish workers, students, and the poor.

 It is very important that everyone vote this fall. Even if a candidate seems less than perfect.

 Some upcoming gigs where you will find me:

• PANTHEACON, SAN JOSE, CA
  The 18th Annual PantheaCon will be held Feb. 17 – 20, 2012
  (President’s Day Weekend) at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, CA
  I will be speaking on Scottish magic, herbs and Fairy lore.

Spring 2012

• AGAWAM PUBLIC LIBRARY, MA
  Monday, March 19, 2012
  I will discuss the new novel PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE: A DRUID’S TALE and my other books and I will have books for signing.
  750 Cooper St., Agawam, MA. 7 PM   (413) 789-1550
• HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, MA
  Thursday April 19, 2012
  I will be speaking on Celtic Gods and Goddesses and signing books.
  7 East Main Street, Huntington, MA. 01050 5:30 PM
  (413) 667-8847

LITERARY NEWS

• The Hobbit in Gaelic
• The next book in the Priestess of the Forest trilogy is already available for pre-order here! PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE TEMPLE: A DRUID’S TALE actually comes out March, 2012

MUSICAL NEWS

• Irish festival comes to Portland, Oregon
  Featuring the Irish language, sean-nos singing, sean-nos dancing and Irish music.
  What: 5th Annual Sean-nós Northwest Festival
  When: February 17th, 18th & 19th 2012
  Where: Multnomah Village, Portland, OR
  Tickets: $35 daily pass, $60 weekend pass

ARCHAOLOGY NEWS

• A Roman city in Wales
• GoogleEarth – seeing under Stonehenge
• Was King Arthur buried in Scotland?
• More…
• More evidence
• How the ancient Irish cooked deer, fish…
• Orkney’s Stone Age Temple
• Ancient Celtic Art
• For those on Facebook, this site has lovely photographs

ANTHROPOLOGY NEWS

• SCIENTISTS PINPOINT AREA NATIVE AMERICANS CAME FROM

RELIGION NEWS

• More weird religious views from the GOP
• The Mayan elders speak about 2012
• Christians abuse Pagan children, secular activists
• One small victory for a Pagan school child
• Death threats sent to woman who opposed Bible give away in school
• Catholic leaders urge Gingrich and Santorum to stop bashing the poor

NATURE NEWS

• Solar flares heating up. Get ready….
• How to make dandelion coffee
• Singing plants
• Tree rings played as music
• British Campaigner urges UN to accept “ecocide” as a crime

ART NEWS

• View the Sistine Chapel in Rome, drag your mouse around for a panoramic view

May Brighid bless your house, your kin and your cattle!