(link to Amazon page)
I have always had a fascination with
Druidry, since I was little, but my personal spirituality has never
explored the practice deeply. I was very excited to read this book,
and it didn't let me down. I think that Joanna did a wonderful job
of opening the door to Druidry and making it approachable.
The book opens with a short 'day in my
life' story, which I think was fabulous. I really enjoyed the simple
and down to earth way that she describes her activities. The many
times, throughout the day, when she stops and takes just a moment to
honor her path, really makes it visible how anyone could add these
moments into their own life, no matter how much time they feel like
they have. I always love people who can make spiritual practices
relatable to our busy, modern, lives.
One of the first things that she
addresses is the debate between solitary and group work. I think she
sums up the major points quite nicely, and her ultimate message is
that both have their strengths, and you need to do what works for
you. Sometimes that can be group work, but it can also be solitary
work, and that just because you don't have a group to work with
doesn't mean you can't build a solid practice for yourself.
Joanna talks for a little bit about the
history of Druids and the definition of Druidry. Then she explains
Awen. Awen is one of those concepts that always felt a bit cerebral
to me. Perhaps it was because I hadn't studied it extensively, but
her explanations made it real to me. I had always understood Awen to
be inspiration, and kind of a artistic type of thing, like I might be
inspired to write something or create art. But she expands on the
definition of inspiration, that it can literally be transcribed as
'to breathe in'. This brings a whole new level to the concept of
Awen for me. Breathing in is a quite physical way of internalizing
something, and I never feel like I have really learned a thing until
I have internalized it. I also like the idea that we are constantly
exposing ourselves to Awen, to inspiration, to spirituality. With
every breath we take.
She then brings this breath idea
around, that through the breathing in and breathing out, we are
creating a conversation with the world around us. And there is
definitely an exchange going on every second of ever day. I think we
often take this exchange for granted, and that we aren't always aware
of what we are taking and what we are giving back. I think there is
a lot of value in bringing our focus back to the breath, back to the
moment and back to the ways in which we are conversing with the world
around us.
Though she does talk about deities in
Druidry, she doesn't go into specifics. Rather, she explores the
different ways we may experience the divine, with a special focus on
seeing divinity in the natural world.
One topic I really enjoyed was her take
on ancestors. I have thought (and written) before a lot about the
difference between ancestors of the blood and those of the spirit:
those we are related to through our genetics and those we feel a
spiritual connection to. I am always glad to see others write about
things like ancestors of the spirit, because I think it is a powerful
concept that deserves attention. But she added in another type of
ancestor that was new to me.
Joanna calls them ancestors of the
future. She uses this term both to refer to us, those of us
practicing right now, as well as future generations to come. But the
thought is very similar, and it is a good one. When thinking of
myself as an ancestor of the future, I definitely want to leave
behind a legacy that future generations will be proud of. Not only
in the way I treat the world, but the thoughts and ideas I leave
behind. I also think that giving consideration to future generations
and what they might need, can lead us to living more consciously in
this lifetime.
One final ancestor type is ancestors of
place. I know a lot of Pagan's work to connect with spirits and
deities local to the area they live in, even if those spirits are
somewhat outside of their preferred path. But I think it is a good
idea to add in ancestors of place. I definitely like the idea of
reading up on where you live, connecting with the generations that
lived there before and keeping up a good relationship with those who
have passed in the area.
She looks at the yearly cycle both in
the eight major festivals as well as the four seasons. I loved that
she connected different types of ancestors to different parts of the
year. I think she gave a very good outline of things that you can do
throughout the year to better connect with the energies of the time
and the world around you. She also includes suggestions for prayer,
meditation and an ongoing inner pathworking that you can work your
way through.
Joanna covers many of the basic
techniques such as meditation, ritual casting, altar setup, prayer
and pathworking. I think that her instructions are simple enough
that someone brand new could follow them easily. But she offers her
own take on them, so even if you are already familiar with them, you
may find new ways to deepen your own practice.
I found this book to be very
inspirational. Even though I live in a fairly rural area, most of my
day is not spent out in nature. I always struggle with books that
only give suggestions that include long walks in deep woods or being
otherwise alone and secluded in a natural setting. Though the focus
of this book was on connecting with nature, I felt that Joanna did a
really fantastic job of making that connection something that
everyone could feel was within their grasp. I also think that she
gave lot of consideration to how most people find time to be hard to
come by. Many of her activities are easily done in small chunks of
time, and are not intimidating if you have a busy life with little
spare time.
If you feel spiritually connected to
nature, even if you aren't particularly drawn to Druidry, I think you
would enjoy this book. If you are interested in Druidry, but haven't
read much about it, or are intimidated by more indepth books, I think
this is an excellent starting point that will give you a foundation
to work from as you go forward.
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