A Druid’s Anchor Spot

Dana's avatarThe Druid's Garden

Current statistics from the United States EPA suggest that Americans spend almost not amount of time outside: the average American now spends 93% of their total time enclosed (including 87% of their lives indoors and 6% enclosed in automobiles). A UK-based survey indicated that children now spend less than 30 minutes or less outside and 20% of children don’t spend any time outdoors on an average day (which is less time than prisoners spend outside per day). I think that the reason that a lot of people find druidry is because of statistics like these: increasing work and life demands make it harder to get outside, increased urban sprawl makes it harder to find “wild spaces”, and our relationship with nature is at a deficit that has implications for our health, happiness, and well being.

If (re)connection with nature is a clear goal for those on the druid path…

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Lightning Goddess Perunika’s Daughter – Lepa Mara

Lepa Mara Slavic Goddess of Spring

Ecoregional Druidry: Adapting and Localizing Symbolism

Elemental Wheel with Traditional Animal Symbols

Dana's avatarThe Druid's Garden

To follow up from two posts a month or so ago on ecoregional druidry and the wheel of the year  and celebrating rituals, observances, and activities, I want to continue thinking about how druids can adapt basic practices of druidry to their local ecosystems.  This is particularly important for those of us in diverse ecosystems around the world: part of nature spirituality is being with nature as she is in your region. Thus far in this series, we’ve explored a druid’s wheel of the year that is seasonally-focused on a local ecosystem as well as the different ways we might celebrate this wheel of the year with rituals, observances, and activities.  Also tied to these spiritual practices are symbolism associated with the elements and directions; framing symbolism that weaves its way into our practices in a variety of different contexts. And so, in this post, we’ll delve into thinking…

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Eleven Traits of Witches and Wizards

Living Magically

Druid Tree Workings: Working with Trees in Urban Settings

The Oak Grove in the Morning Light

Dana's avatarThe Druid's Garden

Maples growing up through grate--been there for years! Maples growing up through grate–been there for years!

I walk down the sidewalk of a street in the small town that I call home.  As I journey, I see a crabapple friend with ripening fruit, her leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. I reach out to her, and tell her I look forward to harvesting some in the fall.  She is pleased, as her fruit is largely ignored, and delighted that I will return.  I see others along my walk: horse chestnuts, lindens, mulberries, serviceberries, balsam poplars–many trees that are different species from the forests where I often tread.  Finally, I walk across a grate and wave to the maples growing up from below, in the four foot space below the grate and the drainage channel and into someone’s driveway. These urban trees are often shaped by humans in ways forests are not: an odd growth habit becuase of pruning…

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The Bindi

Huzzah!

Trinity of Polish Divinity: Summer Solstice, Water Rites & Magical Crowns

Avatar ~ secretsoftheserpent

If you dig far enough into any group’s history, you will find wars and conquest of one people over another. Of course, the victors write the history, but there are always those that have been Guardians to the whole truth.

In my humble opinion, the conflicts today are the same as when the first human bashed another in the head with a rock and took his stuff. Only the weapons, and the ways we communicate those actions have changed. A few have awakened and are trying to make true changes, but mostly it’s just talking heads.

What is Enlightenment? ~ Secrets of the Serpent

By gserperent

 

 

I’ve been asked What is Enlightenment? All the so-called gurus give little bits and pieces to keep the people coming back. Most of them make it into a spiritual thing, which is okay, as long as you realize nothing is outside of you. Enlightenment can be very spiritual, but it is an individual experience that must be your own. The ancient sages always put wisdom or knowledge and enlightenment together. You must bring out the fire-breathing dragon. If you don’t have the fire(intellect), you are just a baby dragon who will be led by their chains to do other people’s bidding.

Knowledge should be sought to energize life. Ancient history is very important. Exploring history is exploring the depths within yourself. The strength of a tree begins in the roots. You are a very complex being. The statues in Hinduism that show the deity with many arms is symbolizing that you are many persons within one. The deities are yourself. Most individuals fear the complex depth within. They remain on the superficial and surface layers of the psyche. This is why I always ask “Are you ready to meet yourself”? Very few will descend the depth of their mind. Those that do successfully will create wholeness. The modern individual has lost touch with the subconscious. Getting in touch with your subconscious is literally magic(See Magic).

The past of every culture and way of life flows in to us today. Just observing ourselves is not enough. The past flows on within us. We as a whole do not know history, so it keeps repeating itself. We have lost faith in history and have fallen into a restless, constant search for novelty after novelty. Just like our bodies have relics of early developmental stages, our minds have depths that reach back into the stages of our creation. If you are familiar with my work, you know that an alien race created the human race(see Lemurian Magic). They mixed their DNA with the hominid species that was already here. So our minds and bodies have both the alien and hominid stages built right into them. If you have ever tried to trace your family lineage, you know just how hard it can be to trace your lineage. Do you realize how complex it makes it by throwing in two separate species? Two whole new paths to trace your DNA.  On the alien side you may have to go back billions of years. That is how long this alien species had been around. This is why the ancients said we are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of personalities in one being. This is how complex you really are. This world herds us into thinking the same. They know what our minds are capable of and they shackle our minds.

Throughout history ancient philosophers have put people into two categories: the individual or higher human and the herd. Philosophers saw the individual as the most important thing a human can do for enlightenment. They are not talking about the individualism that is spoon fed to the masses. They were talking about real creative, stand alone genius. This is why they refer to them as higher humans. They have goals,are okay with being different, are good with solitude and can live independently. When I say independently, I don’t mean going out and living in the middle of nowhere or the fear based Preppers. I mean they have the freedom to live life to its fullest potential as they desire. When I say solitude, I mean they can be alone with themselves. When they are alone they actually do their greatest work or creating. Then there are the rest or the herd. Philosophers even see the people the herd look up to like sports stars, actors or business leaders as still being in the herd. The only power a herd person has is to band into groups. They saw true individuals as someone who does not want to pluck the fruit from the tree they plant in their own lifetime. No the true higher person will plant their tree of ideas for the fruit to be plucked long after they are gone.

Our morality turns us into a herd animal or someone eager to please and is mediocre. Our morality is anti-natural. People just blindly adopt the judgements of their society. You must understand that when it comes to the universal force there is no wrong or right. Is it wrong for the cheetah to kill the antelope to feed her cubs? Duality is built right into nature. Except it as a whole. The herd wages war on all that is strange, what they see as privileged, the higher human, the abundance of creative power and masterfulness. Herd morality, whether it is religion, political or any other idealism, gives people an escape from themselves. Comfort and contentment are their supreme values. They become judgmental of strangers and lose their love for mankind as a whole. Ideas and Ideals of the herd should rule the herd, but not reach beyond it. The enlightened person says yes to life and accepts life as a whole.

The saying “What does not kill me makes me stronger” has so much truth in it. When people figure out that suffering is a part of this life, they either become a Nihilist or they want to escape it and they make up things like other worlds such as heaven. In other words, they either say life sucks, has no purpose and ends in death or they make up a perfect world, utopia or heaven to work towards. This is why so many people hate when I say that you have to flow with life. I am not referring to flowing by accepting someones elses or some gods decisions, or that you have a predestined fate you have to follow. I am referring to the flowing of your own life. I am of the ancient school that reality, the cosmic energies or nature is alive. Dualism is built right in to our reality. What we consider destruction and chaos is built right into our reality. Which means pain and suffering is something that is natural. It creates life, just look at the birth of a child. Negative and destruction are good, but it requires strength. The Dionysus cult called it ‘Divine Madness’ because it refreshes and replenishes, it keeps you from stagnation. The ancients believed that growing stronger through tragedy is the highest state someone could attain. Knowing this gives you the strength of the cosmic river behind you, but you have a rudder to steer with the current. It is when you go against the current, like the human race does on a whole, you have problems. Flow with nature. Just by seeing the beauty in nature you become enlightened.

Continue reading “What is Enlightenment? ~ Secrets of the Serpent”