2018 Mount Haemus Award Article – Channeling the Awen Within: An Exploration of Learning the Bardic Arts in the Modern Druid Tradition

By The Druid’s Garden

I am excited to annouce that my 2018 Mount Haemus Award article, titled “Channeling the Awen Within: An Exploration of Learning the Bardic Arts in the Druid Tradition” has been released on OBOD’s website (a better formatted PDF is at the bottom of the page; I suggest downloading and reading that). In 2020, I will travel to the UK to deliver a talk tied to the paper itself, as every four years, OBOD offers a Mount Haemus lecture for the four most recent scholars. Every eight years, OBOD publishes a volume, and the next volume will also include this paper. Given this incredible honor–and the fact that the project is now finally finished (whew!)–I wanted to take a bit of time today to talk about the project, what I learned, and how I hope it can help others.

What I Learned

Regeneration, card 79 from the 3rd edition of…

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Power of The Seed

By Ancestral Apothecary

Team Reach Out World Wide Heads To Guatemala

Efforts to locate and dig out victims of this week’s devastating volcanic eruptions have been put on hold due to dangerous conditions. Authorities warn of the potential for additional lava flow and as of this morning, the Guatemalan government called off the search effort, saying ongoing rains combined with still-scorching ash and toxic gases on the ground made it too risky for crews to work in the region. The recent disaster is blamed for almost 100 deaths and about 200 others still missing as of today. Over 1.7 million people are affected.

Outside the disaster area, residents have lined up for hours to receive supplies, some of them having spent days without food and even water, with lava flows contaminating many local supplies.

Team ROWW is gearing up with supplies and a medical team to head in once conditions are deemed safe for our volunteers. Please help us get much needed supplies to Guatemala by checking out our Wish List. Remember to use Amazon Smile and choose Reach Out WorldWide as your charity of choice for 0.5% of your purchase to go back to ROWW. You can also Donate to help with the logistics of this deployment. Thank you for helping Guatemala!

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Illiteracy Leads To Censorship

By John Rappoport

Self-care Sisterhood: Folk Medicine Making for Women of Color

By Ancestral Apothecary

Caring for patients facing life threatening illness

By Ancestral Apothecary

Ancestral Remembrance: An Introductory Weekend

by Ancestral Apothecary

Health Benefits of Reishi {Ganoderma lucidum}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Ling Chi
Ling Zhi
Reishi

Known in Japan as the ‘phantom mushroom’ because it can be so very difficult to find, the reishi generally grows on old Japanese plum trees. Reishi is so rare that only about 10 mushrooms would be found growing on about 100,000 plum trees. Finally, it was the Japanese Shigeaki Mori who perfected the art of growing the reishi indoors. This art involved culturing wild reishi spores on plum-tree sawdust over an elaborate and arduous two-year time period. The fruiting body of the reishi can be used medicinally.

Also popularly known as the hing zhi “herb of spiritual potency”, the reishi is, in essence, a mushroom that can grow on old rotten logs, fallen tree stumps and other similar areas throughout the coastal regions of China. However, reishi is cultivated in areas as diverse as North America, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China for…

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What Is Oats {Avena sativa}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Avena Sativa
Common Oats
Groats
Oats
Wild Oats

The plant-based cereals called the oats – botanical name: Avena sativa – is a very nutritious food and remedy. The oat is rich in protein, has lots of beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium, trace elements and potassium as well as iron – while also being very high in vitamin content. The presence of these bodybuilding nutrients in the oats makes for strong bones and teeth, most of these vital minerals found in the oats are also necessary for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system in a human being. Remedies made from the oats were traditionally used as a herbal nerve tonic; this tonic was given to patients to treat problems like depression, and mental debility as well as nervous exhaustion. Eating oats is a very good remedy when withdrawing from the effects of tranquilizers and antidepressant medications. The oats not only stimulates the body but also boosts energy levels up…

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What Is Horsetail {Equisetum arvense}

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Bottlebrush
Horsetail
Mare’s Tail
Scouring Rush
Shave Grass

Horsetail is a well-known herb; it is a perennial herb growing in moist loamy or sandy soil found in much of the North American continent, as well as in similar climates in Europe and Asia. The morphology of the horsetail herb is very strange and the plant has a creeping or string-like root name. The roots at the nodes are turned into numerous hollow stems of two kinds. Horsetail begins growth in two stages, initial growth of the plant is through a fertile and flesh-colored stem, this stem can grow to a height of four to seven inches and comes out a cone like a spike – this spike contains spores of the plant. The initial stem does not last long and withers away. The second stem is a green and sterile structure reaching a length of eighteen inches in height…

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