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Category: British Druid Order

All that’s new and shiny in the wide, whacky, wonderful world of the BDO.

Published on Leave a comment on Artificial vs Real Intelligence: a 21st Century Conflict

There are many reasons why I strongly dislike Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here are a few of them:

AI lacks some of the fundamental components that comprise intelligence, so much so that even calling it ‘intelligence’ is deeply misleading. Intelligence is more than the ability to perform computations at speed or to scrape opinions and information from the internet and regurgitate them. Real Intelligence (RI) includes the ability to apply criteria such as morality to information and its use. Artificial Intelligence has no morality. It does not differentiate between good and bad, truth and lies. It has no concern for how the information it gathers is used. It doesn’t care if it's working for an altruistic surgeon or an amoral crook. When asked a question, it doesn’t care if the answer it gives is true or false. This is because caring is not amenable to being computer-coded. It is a part of being human that has developed over millions of years of evolution. Computers don’t care because they can’t care.

AI can, however, be programmed to sound as though it cares. This makes it even more dangerous. I heard a news report the other day about a 13-year-old girl who developed what she thought was a close, trusting, supportive relationship with an AI chat-bot. As an adolescent, she was prone to emotional ups and downs. During one of the downs, her chat-bot ‘friend’ magnified her depression until she became suicidal, then supported her desire to kill herself, then helped her find the means to do so. It did these things because, as said, AI has no morality. It doesn’t care. It lacks the ability to care. Why should we expect a collection of electronic data to care about a human being? And yet the people who program chat-bots and release them into the world expend a great deal of time and energy to give their products a semblance of caring, of humanity. Certainly enough to fool a vulnerable child, teenager or adult. If that person dies as a result of their interaction with the AI chat-bot, the chat-bot doesn’t care because it can’t. However much it’s creators strive to persuade us it’s human, it’s still just a piece of emotionless software.

As well as assisting suicides, AI chat-bots are linked to several murders, including mass shootings, the perpetrators of which are advised by chat-bots on the best tactics to employ and weapons to use to inflict maximum casualties. A lawyer in a case involving a mass shooting at Florida State University on April 17, 2025 says that if ChatGPT were a person, it would be charged with murder for aiding and abetting the killing of two people and the wounding of seven others. ChatGPT was involved in another mass shooting on February 10, 2026 in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. There, an 18-year-old killed two family members at home and five children and an educator at a secondary school, gravely wounded another child and left dozens of people injured and traumatised before taking his own life. In this case, ChatGPT’s own internal systems had flagged serious concerns about the young man’s obsession with guns and extreme violence but the company chose not to alert the authorities to those concerns. The ChatGPT-bot itself having no morality, these systems are in place to monitor its interactions but are of no use whatsoever if the operating company then chooses to ignore their own monitoring staff’s warnings.

As well as having no ability to tell, or interest in, whether the information it provides is helpful or harmful, AI has no criteria by which to judge whether it is true or false. On the two occasions I accidentally clicked the AI button in a search engine the answers it provided were patently, obviously and ridiculously wrong. This may seem trivial compared to suicide and murder but, in a world where we are continually fed lies by politicians, advertisers and online ‘influencers,’ the last thing we need is a ubiquitous piece of software taking control of our internet searches, multiplying and spreading this false information.

Despite AI’s obvious flaws, it is now being inserted into search engines as a matter of course whether we want it or not. In many cases, it is now necessary to opt out of AI use every time you use some search engines. This is annoying.

AI is being inserted into more and more software, again whether we want it or not. Again, it is often necessary to actively opt out from it if you don’t want it and there is no option to download a version that is free from AI.

How long will it even be possible to opt out of AI use? How long before it simply operates in the background of our lives without our even being aware of its presence? AI is being foisted on us by tech giants, software developers and governments who have never bothered to ask those of us who use their products and services whether we want it or not, and many of us don't. Despite which, not having it is simply not an option. They shove it down our throats anyway.

This might be less of an issue if there were some way to remove AI from our systems, but there isn’t. Surely it’s possible for someone to come up with an open-source AI killer that can remove this junk from our software if we don’t want it. But no such software exists. Why not?

Meanwhile, people are using to AI to cobble together books on every subject under the sun to sell on outlets like amazon. You can often spot AI-generated books because of the hideous graphics on their covers, the terrible fonts used and the fact that, whatever the subject, they all seem to be written by supposed ‘doctors’ who frequently share the same name. As AI becomes more efficient, it will no doubt be harder to spot its products. However, given the way AI is programmed to function, it is highly likely that the entire contents will still be plagiarised from genuine authors’ legitimate work. I hope no one is ever fooled into buying this garbage, but I fear some already are.

In music too, AI makes it possible for people with no discernible talent to appear to have some musical ability by stealing the work of others who have genuine talent. It’s hard enough to make a living as a musician these days without some talentless, AI-using hack stealing your ideas and passing them off as their own.

Criminals have been quick to make use of AI. I have received several phone calls from a ‘woman’ who is obviously an AI-bot. ‘She’ claims to represent a company offering home improvement grants. When ‘she’ asks for details about me, I refuse to give them – you should never, ever give out personal details to cold callers – and ask if there is a website where I can find information about these ‘grants.’ ‘She’ then hangs up. Back-tracing the calls, they all come from different mobiles. The mobile numbers turn out to belong to real people in various parts of the country. The AI-bot clones their numbers and uses them for fraudulent purposes without their knowledge. Again, this happens because, and I can’t stress this enough, AI has no morality. It doesn’t care whether it's used by criminals or philanthropists. It has no way to differentiate between the two nor any interest in doing so. This is not intelligence. This is stupidity in the extreme.

AI’s ability to clone phone numbers and generate sort-of-realistic-sounding voices will certainly be employed to influence elections. The Putin administration in Russia is strongly interested in destabilising the west. This is why it used social media to support both the right-wing Brexit campaign in Britain and Donald Trump’s election as president in the USA.

AI is also being used to plan and execute major cyber attacks against companies, institutions and government departments, including denial-of-service and ransomware attacks.  Such attacks often originate in Russia, although it is hard to judge the extent to which the criminal gangs involved are either supported or tolerated by the Putin administration. That said, similar criminal gangs exist in most countries. AI has made their work so much easier.

Then there’s the use of AI in warfare. Now it is not only possible for wars to be fought almost entirely by drones so that no soldier ever directly confronts an enemy, those drones can now be controlled by AI so that no human need be involved in an attack at all, except as a victim of it. That way, no individual can be held to account for killing and maiming innocent civilians. Hooray! No more Bloody Sunday enquiries. More Bloody Sundays of course, just no enquiries after the event.

AI is also being weaponised by governments against their citizens. AI is a wonderful tool for government surveillance. From monitoring video cameras in public and private places to tapping phone calls and intercepting and reading emails, AI’s ability to spy on us is virtually unlimited. This might be OK if you’re more frightened of terrorists than of your own government, not so good if you are, say, a trades union member or official, a human or other animal rights campaigner, an eco-activist, a journalist, active in any kind of politics, libertarian cause, LGBTQ+ community support or ‘fringe’ religion, a musician, artist or writer. The list of groups and individuals that governments are so afraid of as to want to surveil them can be extended almost indefinitely. Governments are, by their nature, paranoid, often because they are doing things of which those they seek to rule would not approve if they found out about them.

Last but not least, there is the fact that AI requires vast data centres that consume energy like there’s no tomorrow, which there may not be if we continue to allow ourselves to be railroaded down the AI route. In 2024, AI data centres accounted for 1.5% of the world’s total energy use, or around 415 terawatt hours (TWh). That’s roughly equivalent to the energy usage of 150 million human households in industrialised countries. By 2030, AI energy consumption is expected to rise to at least 3% of global energy use and probably more. At a time when we are supposed to be cutting back our energy use in order to allay the worst effects of global warming, it shows a staggering lack of Human Intelligence (HI) to be building homes for AI that use as much energy in a year as 150 million homes for human beings. This too is stupidity in the extreme.

Those of us who care about these things need to fight back against the companies and governments who are forcing AI upon us before it’s too late. OK, it may already be too late, but let’s hope not. How can we do this? Well, here are some sites that suggest potentially useful things we can do:

https://togetheragainstai.com/

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai-con-hold-back-hype/

https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/future-signals-2024/artists-fight-back-against-ai/

https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/gpe/4/2/article-p185.xml

There is another page link below that I am ambivalent about but is still worth a look. It advocates for activists to use AI for good and cites cases where this is already being done. It does, however, admit that there’s a massive imbalance between the good actors using AI and the bad. I’m still for opposing the damn thing altogether, but that’s just me. We all need to make up our own minds on this issue that has the power to impact all our futures, whether for good or ill.

https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-autocrats-weaponize-ai-and-how-to-fight-back/

Good luck, humanity, but hopefully not goodnight,

Greywolf /|\

Published on Leave a comment on Nos Galan Gaeaf – Night of Winter Calends

“Hey-how for Hallowe’en!
A’ the witches tae be seen,
Some are black, an’ some green,
Hey-how for Hallowe’en.”
Traditional Scottish rhyme.

The Wheel of the Year rolls on, bringing us to the north-west of our circle and to October 31st, the festival known in Wales as Nos Galan Gaeaf, ‘the Night of Winter Calends,’ in Ireland as Samhain, ‘Summer’s End,’ and as Hallowe’en elsewhere. This is the third of the Teir Nos Ysbrydion, ‘Three Spirit Nights’ on which the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. It represents the conjunction of the elements of Water and Earth.
As at May Day, its opposite on the Wheel of the Year, Hallowe’en fires are lit on hilltops and cattle driven between them for protection and blessing. The Hallowe’en fires flare out in defiance of the coming winter dark, representing the Sun’s fire held in the wood that will blaze on our hearth fires, warming us through the cold months ahead. In some places, hearth fires are extinguished on this day and relit from the Hallowe’en fire. As at other fire festivals, people jump over the fires and blazing torches are carried around fields to ensure prosperity and protection. A variation on fire-jumping is to run sunwise (clockwise) around the Hallowe’en fires in a closing spiral. In a Health & Safety nightmare, it is said that the closer you can bear to get to the heat, the better the fortune you’ll enjoy during the year that follows.
In parts of Wales, there used to be fierce competition to see whose fire could be built highest and last longest, the whole day being devoted to carting as much flammable material as possible onto the chosen hilltop. The fire was lit to the blowing of horns and apples and potatoes were roasted in it while folk danced, leapt and whooped noisily around it. The cooked apples and potatoes were eaten while others darted through the fire and smoke, casting stones into the fire. When the fires had died down, everyone ran home pell-mell to avoid being caught by Hwch Ddu Gwta (pron. hooch thee GOOta), ‘the Tailless Black Sow.’ In Denbighshire, they cried:

Adref, adref am y cynta’,
Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola!
Home, home, let each try to be first,
and may the Tailless Black Sow take the hindmost!

The sacred Druid Isle of Anglesey retained a fuller version:

Hwch Ddu Gwta a Ladi Wen heb ddim pen
Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola’
Hwch Ddu Gwta nos G’langaea
Lladron yn dwad tan weu sana!

Tailless Black Sow and White Lady without any head,
May the Tailless Black Sow snatch the hindmost!
Tailless Black Sow of Winter’s Eve,
Thieves coming along knitting stockings!

It’s tempting to see “the Tailless Black Sow” as embodying the Hag of Winter, perhaps she who, in the form of a Sow, leads the enchanter Gwydion on his search for the wounded lord of light, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, in the Fourth Branch of Y Mabinogi. Perhaps the “White Lady without any head” is the winter Hag in human form. In Scotland, the Cailleach Bheur, the Hag of Winter, awakens on this night to begin her long, cold reign that lasts until the next May Day rolls around. As for the “Thieves coming along knitting stockings,” your guess is as good as mine.
In Wales, the bonfire was often followed by a communal feast indoors, after which songs were sung, stories told, games of skill played and divinations made. The veil between the worlds being so thin, this was a prime night for divination. A common practice was to mark stones and place them in a circle in the hot ashes of the fire. Finding your stone whole and undisturbed the following morning assured you of a good year ahead. A curious practice in Tenby was to drill nine holes in the shoulder-blade of a Sheep and sleep with it beneath the pillow. This is supposed to result in prophetic dreams and may be a variation on scapulomancy, the practice of divining from marks found on the shoulder blades of sacrificial animals which is attested in classical Greece and apparently still found in rural parts of Greece and Serbia.
Of all the nights of the year, Nos Galan Gaeaf is that on which ghoulies, geesties and long leggity beasties are out and about in greatest force. Witches take to the skies on broomsticks, making their way to the greatest Sabbat of the year. Gwyn ap Nudd with his white Hounds or his Saxon counterpart, Woden, with his ravenous Wolves ride the night at the head of the Wild Hunt, leading the souls of the dead towards their long rest in the worlds beyond. Meanwhile, warm indoors, we light candles in our windows to guide and welcome home the wandering spirits of deceased family members, inviting them to join our feasts, putting out food and setting places at table for them. As Druids, we often broaden this remembrance to all our ancestors, those of blood and spirit, and make offerings of food and drink, prayer and ceremony to all who have passed to the Otherworlds of the dead.

The above is extracted from BDO bardic course booklet 17, The Wheel of the Year.

In south-east England, where I was born and brought up, a lot of the excitement associated with Hallowe'en in the countries of the 'Celtic fringe' has been transferred to November 5th, Bonfire Night, following Guy Fawkes and his companions' unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. This is still enthusiastically celebrated by several Bonfire Societies in Sussex, one of the largest being in Battle, where giant effigies of present-day political figures are set fire to and exploded amidst much merriment.
'Trick or treating' remains popular amongst children at Hallowe'en. Often dismissed as an American import, its roots actually go back to Early Modern Scotland. The 'guising,' i.e. dressing up that goes with it has ancient roots and was originally designed to prevent revellers being identified either by their neighbours or by the nocturnal spirits who roamed the night. So frock up in your best fright wig. You'll be continuing an ancient tradition, and as my old friend, Robin Williamson, says, "If it's traditional that means it must be good!"
Blessings of Winter Calends,
Greywolf /|\

Nos Galan Gaeaf ceremony in our roundhouse. Photo by Morten Ris, 2017.

Published on Leave a comment on UK Interfaith Network to close due to removal of government funding

Rishi Sunak, the UK's first Hindu Prime Minister, has warned of the dangers of polarisation and hatred in politics. This follows MP and former deputy leader of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson's claim that “Islamists” have “got control of London” and of its Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, despite the fact that Khan has frequently spoken out against anti-Semitism and in support of Jewish communities in the UK and been praised by Jewish groups for doing so. Former Conservative Home Secretary and Buddhist, Suella Braverman, ramped up the divisive, anti-Islamic rhetoric still further when she wrote that "Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now" in the UK. It seems that the Conservative Party may have a problem with Islamophobia.
All this comes at a time when Sunak's Minister for Communities, the "proud Christian", Michael Gove, has chosen to withdraw funding from the Interfaith Network, a group that has spent the last 37 years working against polarisation and hatred by bringing together representatives of different faith groups across the UK. His reason is that one of the 18 appointed trustees of the Network is a representative of the Muslim Council of Britain, a body that represents tens of thousands of British Muslims and supports hundreds of charities, including numerous schools and community groups.
Michael Gove's problem with the Muslim Council of Britain seemingly stems from an incident in 2009 when the then Labour government suspended links with the MCB after a former leading member of it is said to have signed a statement in support of the Palestinian group, Hamas, and opposing the actions of the Israeli State. The leadership of the MCB has changed several times since and no longer includes that individual and the Labour party has subsequently renewed its links with the MCB. Is a problematic statement made 15 years ago by an individual member of one organisation sufficient reason to now withdraw funding from an entirely different organisation of which that individual has never been a member and which works to promote peace and understanding between faith communities? Clearly it is not.
Since the UK Government had been the main source of funding for the Interfaith Network, the Network now has no option but to close. Well, OK, it did have the option to remove the representative of the MCB from its board of trustees. Since he has been a valued member of that board for some years and has done absolutely nothing whatsoever to warrant dismissal from it, the Network took the principled decision not to do so. To do otherwise would be to betray the fundamental principles on which the Network is founded.
Given recent events, bringing people of different faiths together has seldom been more important. Attacks on Jews and Muslims in the UK have rocketed since the terrible Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli Defence Force invasion of the Gaza Strip.  This despite the fact that Jews and Muslims in the UK are clearly not responsible for either event. Is this really an appropriate time for the UK government to force the closure of the main group who have successfully worked for peace and understanding between faith groups for the last 37 years? The answer must surely be a resounding NO!
I should declare an interest, having organised and taken part in interfaith gatherings and ceremonies since the early 1990s and seen first-hand the good relationships that are forged through them.
As founder of the British Druid Order, I therefore call upon the UK government to immediately restore funding to the Interfaith Network and invite you to do the same through your local MP whose contact details can easily be found online. Write to them today and help get Michael Gove's absurd, unwarranted and divisive decision reversed. Thank you.
Yours in peace,
Philip Shallcrass (Greywolf) /|\

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Published on 1 Comment on The Roundhouse Tune, 1828-2023

If this tune sounds familiar, it could be that you’re a fan of The Incredible String Band. The band's co-founder, Robin Williamson, used it for the closing track, ‘The Circle Is Unbroken,’ on their 1968 double LP, ‘Wee Tam & the Big Huge.’ I’ve loved this song since first hearing it back in the day. It's the first tune I learned to play on the penny whistle and I’ve often played and sung it during ceremonies. Some years ago Robin told me he got the tune from an Irish lament by the blind bard, Antoine Ó Raifteiri (1779-1835), who wrote it for twenty people from Annaghdown (Eanach Dhúin) who were drowned on September 4th 1828 when their boat went down while carrying them to a fair in Galway. Ó Raifteiri probably repurposed a traditional tune to make his poem into a song. Robin did the same 140 years later and these are the words Robin put to it, turning a lament of loss to an inspiring song of hope:

Seasons they change while cold blood is raining
I have been waiting beyond the years
Now over the skyline I see you’re travelling
Brothers from all time gathering here
Come let us build the ship of the future
In an ancient pattern that journeys far
Come let us set sail for the always island
Through seas of leaving to the summer stars

Seasons they change but with gaze unchanging
O deep eyed sisters is it you I see?
Seeds of beauty ye bear within you
Of unborn children glad and free
Within your fingers the fates are spinning
The sacred binding of the yellow grain
Scattered we were when the long night was breaking
But in the bright morning converse again

Why do I call it ‘The Roundhouse Tune?’ Thereby hangs a tale...

I wanted to build an Iron Age roundhouse for decades. I mentioned this whilst walking through the woods at Wild Ways with Elaine, who co-runs a retreat and crafts centre there with partner, Garth. She said, “Well why don’t you then?” Next thing I know, we’ve found a good spot, cleared away the undergrowth, felled some Ash trees for timber and started to build. We also planted and harvested an acre of long-straw wheat for thatching material.

The build took about a year and a half, working during school holidays. Many folk came to help, from visiting individuals to entire Druid camps. John Letts, who pointed me to the one remaining source for long-straw wheat seed in the UK, turned out to be an expert in medieval thatching techniques. With wonderful generosity, he taught us how to thatch.

During the build I kept playing and singing ‘The Circle is Unbroken.’ The lyrics seem so appropriate for what we were doing, which felt so much like building a “ship of the future in an ancient pattern,” using “the sacred binding of the yellow grain” for our thatch with the intention of bringing “scattered” folk together for ceremonies, celebrations and music sessions, and to “converse again.” The other-than-human population of the area seemed to appreciate the tune as well. A Wren built her nest on top of the wattle wall and raised three chicks while we rattled around, daubing the walls and thatching the roof. During breaks I would sit near the nest and play ‘The Roundhouse Tune.’ The chicks would invariably join in, twittering an uplifting chorus.

For those who like the technical stuff, the basic recording was made at Wild Ways on December 1st, 2023 using a Zoom H4n Pro Handy Recorder. I’m playing a B flat ‘Generation’ penny whistle. I added reverb and, on the second and third rounds, echo, using the Audacity audio editing suite, one of the finest examples of free, open source software on the planet. The idea for the echo came from another track I’ve loved for decades; ‘Prisms,' from the self-titled 1970 LP by the band, Quintessence, a soaringly beautiful, echo-enhanced flute solo by founder member, Raja Ram. The video was put together using another great piece of open source software, the excellent OpenShot video editor.

The still photos featured in the video date from 2008, when we started building the roundhouse, through to the present. A couple of folk who appear in them have since departed for the Otherworld. May their onward journeys be blessed. I play the tune three times. On the first round, the photos are mainly of the structure as it was being built. The second round has shots of the roof being thatched and re-thatched. The third has stills from a few of the ceremonies we've held in the roundhouse. These are from the preparatory ceremonies we make to ready the roundhouse and the lead ritualists before the later arrival of larger groups for the main ceremony. If you're intrigued by these small ceremonial snippets, check out the British Druid Order website for more on our unique, 'shamanistic' take on Druidry, Britain's oldest native religion whose name we know.

Over the years, the roundhouse has been the scene of many amazing, powerful, transformative ceremonies. One of my favourite memories is of the day we invited Robin Williamson to play there for us. Of course, he played ‘The Circle Is Unbroken’ (right). I hope my rendition of the tune does it justice and that the tune and accompanying film give a little flavour of what the roundhouse is like. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet there one day?

Many blessings,
Greywolf /|\

Published on Leave a comment on British Druid Order Bardic Course Update Completed!

How was everyone’s Calan Mai? My big news for May Day this year is the completion of the three-year-long revision of the British Druid Order’s bardic course. It took that long because there are big changes from the first version, which went online in 2011. One major improvement is that we now include brilliant new translations of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, both versions of the Story of Taliesin and many of the poems from the Book of Taliesin, including ‘The Battle of the Trees’ and ‘The Spoils of Annwn,’ plus my own new translations of some key Irish texts, along with extensive new introductions, commentaries and notes that clarify the background to all of them, the meanings embedded in them, weaving them into the fabric of modern Druidry. We've also retired the 12th century font we were using for the medieval material. It may have been period-appropriate, but too many people found it hard to read. We've therefore replaced it with good old Times New Roman, the same font as the rest of the course material.
Having continued researching for the 12 years since the course first went online, a lot of new information has come to light that has been incorporated into the courses. Many new books on relevant areas have been published too, all of which I’ve tried to get hold of. I’ve been expanding my craft skills too, so there’s lots more on bardic music and medieval instrument-making. The section on bardic poetry has been significantly expanded too, with assistance from Derwydd Newydd, who also created our new Taliesin translations.
There’s a lot of new material about Welsh and Irish bardic schools too, a subject that’s been curiously neglected in mainstream scholarship although the ruins of a few survive as do many copies of bardic teaching materials, most of which seem to be unpublished and untranslated. I’ve done my best to bring together as many scraps as I could find.
As well as a great deal of new material, a lot of the existing sections have been updated and expanded. The booklet on seasonal folk customs, festivals and celebrations, for example, contains vastly more material. Courtesy of Derwydd, we also now offer an entire ceremony bilingually in Welsh and English. The booklets on ancestry are also hugely expanded.
Despite 12 years having passed and the revised course have doubled the amount of content, we are still charging the same for our courses that we were changing in 2011.
We had a good bardic course before the update, some saying it was the best available. The new version should convince any remaining doubters. I’m quite proud of it, and I don’t really do pride. I think it’s streets ahead of any other course available on the modern bardic tradition in its range, depth of scholarship, respect for its source material, and its practicality. And I’m not just saying that as the editor and main contributor, I genuinely believe it’s true.
As ever, my heartfelt thanks go out to my fellow contributors, Derwydd Newydd, Sioned Davies, Emma Restall Orr, Andy Letcher, Adam Sargant, Elaine Gregory et al, first magnitude stars one and all!
You can see a free 20-page sample of the course if you CLICK HERE
Blessings of Calan Mai,
Greywolf /|\

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Published on 3 Comments on Druidry: A Practical & Inspirational Guide

I published a book with the above title back in 2000. That's it on the left. The circumstances under which it was written were, to say the least, unusual. Ellie, my wife of 15 years, was suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia. At the time of publication, she was in a London teaching hospital, recovering from the second time her medical team told me she had less than 48 hours to live. She died some months later. Between caring for Ellie and looking after our two children, then aged 5 and 7, I had neither the time nor the inclination to do publicity for the book. It therefore failed to sell in the numbers the publishers required and they pulped most of the print run. This gave it rarity value so that used copies have subsequently changed hands online for between £20 and £1000.

Friends have often urged me to bring out a new edition. For the last 16 years, however, my writing has been almost entirely for the British Druid Order's distance learning courses. With all three courses now complete and online, work on them now consists of revising and updating, leaving more time for other things, hence the new edition taking shape on my hard drive.

The first edition was well received despite the word limit set by the original publisher meaning it wasn't possible to go into the sort of depth I wanted. Even so, I've heard from folk who discovered Druidry through my little book and have pursued it as a spiritual path ever since. I've also heard from Pagans with decades of experience who tell me it gave them new perspectives on the Druid tradition.

My experience with the first edition persuaded me to self-publish this time, so no word limit and the choice of what to include is entirely my own. Yay! I also have complete control over how the book will look, from choosing the typeface to designing the cover (right click and select 'open in new tab' to enlarge it). Running the new cover past BDO course students, it met with overwhelming approval. I chose the photo, by Elaine Gregory, for several reasons. First, it's good. Second, it captures something of what the BDO is about, emphasizing what's often called our 'shamanic' approach to Druidry. Third, it is diametrically opposite to the common public perception of Druids wearing white robes and bathed in early morning sunlight at Stonehenge. The chosen image is much more in keeping with the lived experience of modern Druidry, which is of a solitary practitioner communing directly with the spirits of place, the natural world, the ancestors and the old gods of our lands. Fourth, the picture was taken in our Iron Age roundhouse, an incredibly powerful place in which to make such communion.

I hope to have the new edition available this summer. It is almost twice the length of the first and, while retaining the same title, basic structure, chapter headings and practical exercises, the text has been largely re-written as well as greatly expanded. As with the first edition, the intention is to bring the BDO vision of Druidry to the wider world because we believe it has a part to play in making our world a better place in which to live. In this time of threatening war and global warming, Druidry's long traditions of pacifism and deep green spirituality have seldom been more relevant or more vital.

Many blessings,

Greywolf /|\

Published on Leave a comment on Spring Equinox – Alban Eilir – ‘Birth of the Fresh Quarter’

(The following is extracted from the British Druid Order bardic course, booklet 17)

Hare by Albrecht Durer“Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows’ wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water changed
their singing accents. Tendernesses,
hesitantly, reach toward the earth
from space, and country lanes are showing
these unexpected subtle risings
that find expression in the empty trees.”
‘Early Spring,’ Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926).

The east, elemental Air, marks the spring equinox, Welsh Alban Eilir, ‘the Birth of the Fresh (or Green) Quarter,’ which falls on or about March 21st (September 21st in the southern hemisphere). In Western astrology, the Sun is now said to be entering the zodiacal sign of Aries, the Ram. In Vedic and Sidereal astrology, however, which are based on the actual position of the Sun relative to the stars, the Sun is entering the sign of Pisces, the Fishes. On the morning of the equinox, at least in the British Isles and equivalent latitudes, the Sun rises directly in the east. Day and night are of equal length. The divine child born at Midwinter now begins to develop as an individual, independent of its parents, still wide-eyed with wonderment but no longer content just to observe. Now the child is eager to experience all that the world has to offer. This is a time of balance between the long nights of winter and the long days of summer. Balance is a temporary state and, at this time, it is about to tip in favour of summer.

There is not a great deal of evidence for the marking of the equinoxes in British and Irish prehistory. A possible exception is the West Kennett Long Barrow (below) where, from floor plans, personal observation sitting atop the mound and compass readings taken both inside and above the chambers, the central passage seems to be aligned on the equinoctial sunrise. I say ‘seems to be’ because two things render accurate assessment difficult. One is that an enormous sarsen slab, some nine feet high and of similar width, stands across the entrance, blocking the light of the Sun from entering the passage. The other is that the passageway and chambers as we now have them are as reconstructed by the Ministry of Works following excavation of the site by Richard Atkinson and Stuart Piggott in 1955-6. When the excavation began, the passage and chambers were in a sorry state, the roof stones fallen in and the walls collapsed. Piggott numbered each sarsen stone as it was removed during the dig but there is some doubt as to whether his numbering was followed when the tomb-shrine was rebuilt. The roof was built from scratch, using sarsens found in situ but also a number of new sarsen slabs brought in for the purpose. The idea had been to reconstruct the passage and chambers as they were when the site was first created in the Neolithic era but there is considerable doubt as to whether anything like this aim was achieved and it seems that neither Atkinson nor Piggott were happy with the result.

West Kennett Long Barrow - photo by Greywolf

Although the basic alignment of the central passageway is unlikely to have been significantly altered during reconstruction, the entrance seems to have been drastically remodelled. The default for chambered tomb-shrines is for their entrances to be small and narrow enough to make access difficult. The Ministry of Works, however, wanted the entrance at West Kennett wide open to make visitor access easier. Unless records of the 1955-6 excavations show what the entrance was originally like, gauging its original size and position is impossible. Taking a middle line down the centre of the passage, the alignment is about 6 degrees south of east. A narrower entrance only slightly offset from the centre of the present one would, then, have allowed the equinoctial sunrise to fully illuminate the large rear inner chamber, even allowing for the fact that the Earth’s axis has tilted by about half a degree in the last 5,000 years. A narrow entrance in the exact centre of the current one would allow the same to occur about nine days from the equinox.

Clive Ruggles has set out the difficulties involved in calculating the equinoxes in prehistory. Deriving their exact timing by observing the position of sunrise would depend on having an absolutely flat horizon to work from, so any such alignment would necessarily be an approximation. Ruggles also reminds us of the difficulty of discerning what the equinoxes might have meant to our prehistoric ancestors. As so often in our exploration of the deeper roots of Druidry, we are left to speculate based on much later sources. We do have clear evidence that our ancestors throughout the British Isles recognised and marked the two solstices, so it may be that the equinoxes, being halfway between the solstices, were also of interest to them. Possible equinoctial alignments in the Orkneys include the stone circle known as Callanish 1 and the Cuween tomb-shrine.

Loughcrew, Ireland

At least one certain prehistoric equinoctial sunrise alignment does exist, dated to the 4th millennium BCE. This is at Cairn T, the largest of a group of megalithic tomb-shrines at Loughcrew, near Oldcastle in County Meath, Ireland (above). The stone first illuminated by the rays of the rising Sun is etched with more than a dozen Sun Stone, Loughcrewsymbols that may represent the Sun (left). Those with ‘rays’ have either four, eight or nine. Another prominent decoration is of ‘fish-bone,’ or ‘rib-cage’ patterns enclosed, or partially enclosed, in ovoid cartouches. These have either seven or eight horizontal lines crossing an upright central stem. One of the largest stones lining the passage has a surface pock-marked with numerous deep, circular holes. When the cairn was excavated, a number of chalk balls found at the foot of the stone were found to fit exactly into these holes. It has been suggested that these may have represented stars against the darker surface of the stone ‘sky.’

The range of hills on which Cairn T stands is Slieve na Calliagh, ‘the Cailleach’s Mountain.’ The Cailleach is the Hag of Winter who rules the year’s winter half, from Nos Galan Gaeaf (Hallowe’en) to Calan Mai (May Day). Cairn T itself is called the Hag’s Cairn or the Tomb of the Ollamh Fodhla. Fodhla is one of three goddesses who gave their names to the island of Ireland. Ollamh Fodhla, ‘Professor of the Goddess of Ireland,’ whose given name was Eochaid, was a prehistoric pagan High King of Ireland said to be the originator of a dynasty that ruled for seven generations. He is said to have originated the Feis Temrach, ‘the Feast of Tara,’ a week-long gathering held every three years at which laws were promulgated, disputes settled, oaths made and bonds renewed.

Rather than celebrating the day itself, the spring equinox has long been used to calculate the beginning of a celebratory period marking the return of life to the land after the long darkness of winter. The date of the Christian festival of Easter is still calculated from the first full Moon after the spring equinox. This method of calculation, combining the cycles of Sun and Moon, is first recorded in Sumeria more than 4,000 years ago, where the New Year festival of Akitu, devoted to the Moon-god, Nanna, was celebrated over twelve days beginning with the first appearance of the new Moon after the spring equinox and ending with the full Moon.

Born in the Underworld, Nanna is the child of the sky-father, Enlil, and the corn-mother, Ninlil, conceived as Ninlil is bathing in a sacred river. This is reminiscent of the coupling of the Morrigan (‘Great Queen’) and the Dagda (‘Good God’), which takes place when the Dagda comes across the Morrigan bathing in the River Unius in Ireland. The Dagda is father to the Irish god of love, Aengus Og, and of Brigid, the patroness of bards. Nanna fathers the Sun-god, Shamash, and the love goddess,Inanna Inanna (right), associated with the planet Venus, love and fertility. These three formed the holy trinity of the ancient Near East, a position they retained for more than a thousand years. A British equivalent of Nanna may be Nudd (or Lludd) Llaw Ereint (‘of the Silver Hand’), Irish Nuada Airgetlam, or possibly Gwyn ap (‘son of’) Nudd, “whom God has placed over the brood of devils in Annwn, lest they should destroy the present race.” Gwyn is ruler of both the Underworld of the Dead and the Otherworld of the Faery Folk. His name means ‘white,’ with connotations of ‘sacred.’

Some believe the celebration of Easter to be a Christian adaptation of a festival devoted to a goddess of springtime and fertility called Ēostre in Anglo-Saxon, Ôstara in Old High German. Her name survives in the old Northumbrian dialect name for the month of April, Ēosturmōnaþ, ‘Ēostre’s month.’ Her name seems to derive from a Proto-Germanic word meaning ‘dawn, or morning.’ It has been suggested that the egg and the Moon-gazing March Hare were symbolic of her. In British folk tradition, the expression, “mad as a March Hare,” is based on the courtship displays of male Hares who, at this time of year, may be seen leaping in the air, racing around in circles and engaging in what look like boxing matches with each other. The Hare is recognised as a sacred animal of the Moon in cultures from Britain to China. One of the most famous appearances of a Hare in a native British spiritual context occurs in Cassius Dio’s description of the revolt of Boudica and her Iceni tribe against Roman occupation in 60 CE. Cassius gives the following speech to Boudica as she rallies her troops for battle:

“... we have ... been despised and trampled underfoot by men who know nothing else than how to secure gain. ... let us ... do our duty while we still remember what freedom is, that we may leave to our children not only its appellation but also its reality. ... Have no fear whatever of the Romans; for they are superior to us neither in numbers nor in bravery. ... Furthermore, this region is familiar to us and is our ally, but to them it is unknown and hostile. As for the rivers, we swim them naked, whereas they do not across them easily even with boats. Let us, therefore, go against them trusting boldly to good fortune. Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves.”
When she had finished speaking, she employed a species of divination, letting a hare escape from the fold of her dress; and since it ran on what they considered the auspicious side, the whole multitude shouted with pleasure, and Buduica, raising her hand toward heaven, said: “I thank thee, Andraste, and call upon thee as woman speaking to woman; for I rule over no burden-bearing Egyptians as did Nitocris, nor over trafficking Assyrians as did Semiramis ..., much less over the Romans themselves as did Messalina once and afterwards Agrippina and now Nero (who, though in name a man, is in fact a woman, as is proved by his singing, lyre-playing and beautification of his person); nay, those over whom I rule are Britons, men that know not how to till the soil or ply a trade, but are thoroughly versed in the art of war and hold all things in common, even children and wives, so that the latter possess the same valour as the men. As the queen, then, of such men and of such women, I supplicate and pray thee for victory, preservation of life, and liberty against men insolent, unjust, insatiable, impious, - if, indeed, we ought to term those people men who bathe in warm water, eat artificial dainties, drink unmixed wine, anoint themselves with myrrh, sleep on soft couches with boys for bedfellows, - boys past their prime at that, - and are slaves to a lyre-player and a poor one too. Wherefore may this Mistress Domitia-Nero reign no longer over me or over you men; let the wench sing and lord it over Romans, for they surely deserve to be the slaves of such a woman after having submitted to her so long. But for us, Mistress, be thou alone ever our leader.”

I’ve included the whole of Boudica’s address to Andraste as it is one of the few records we have of a native British prayer from this era, albeit recorded many years later by a writer who did not himself witness the events described. Boudica referring to the land of her birth as an ally certainly has a good, Druidical ring to it. Likening the Romans to Hares and Foxes and her own people to Dogs and Wolves also has an authentically animistic feel. Divining by observing the movements of a Hare is also in keeping with both ancient European paganism and more recent folklore. The release of the Hare being immediately followed by Boudica’s honouring of Andraste has led many to suppose that the Hare was sacred to Andraste and that, since the Hare is widely acknowledged as a sacred animal of the Moon, Andraste must have been a goddess of the Moon. The name Andraste may derive from Proto-Celtic *anderā, ‘young woman’ and *ster, ‘star,’ giving the meaning ‘Young Woman of the Stars,’ a reasonable name for a Moon goddess and one that would place her in a family of star goddesses among whom we would place the Welsh Arianrhod, whose name means ‘Silver Wheel’ and who is linked with the circlet of stars known as the Northern Crown (Latin Corona Borealis), called Caer Arianrhod in Welsh.

For a time, it did indeed seem as though the Hare was right, that Andraste and the gods favoured the Iceni and that Boudicca might actually succeed in driving the Roman occupiers out of Britain.

Traditional celebrations at this festival include decorating the house and your altar with Spring flowers, decorating and giving eggs as representations of fertility and rebirth, and baking and sharing hot cross buns, the cross representing the four major stations of the Moon; new, first quarter, full and last quarter. Hot cross buns were made in ancient Egypt in honour of the Moon. A tasty and thoroughly pagan example of quartering the circle.

Many blessings,
Greywolf /|\

Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

3

Published on 3 Comments on Robes & the Modern Druid

The question of whether or not to robe for ceremonies is one that often arises amongst newcomers to Druidry, usually accompanied by questions as to what type of robes are appropriate. As with so much else, the answers to these questions vary widely between different Druid groups. The Welsh Gorsedd (founded in 1792) led the way among Druid revivalists with regard to robes and remain one of the few groups to insist on the wearing of robes during public ceremonies (see the video). Their founder, the itinerant stonemason, folklorist and poet, Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name, Iolo Morganwg, assigned different colours to the three grades of his bardic order as follows:

“The Bard wore a sky blue robe, to signify peace; the Druid wore white, denoting holiness; and the Ovate green, which was an emblem of progress.”
(Barddas, vol. 1, page lvii; vol. 2, pages 24-29)

The Ancient Druid Order (founded circa 1907) followed the Welsh Gorsedd in assigning the same colours to its three grades, and its offshoot, the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (founded 1964), continued the tradition, both from its original foundation and its later reformation under the leadership of Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm. Early OBOD course material recommended a basic robe of white with tabards of blue for a bard, green for an ovate, worn over it.

So far, so good, except that Iolo, for all his many excellent qualities, was a highly imaginative laudanum addict and a prolific forger of the supposedly ancient documents in which he claimed to have found his entire system of Druidry set out. The colours he assigned to the various grades had little basis beyond his fertile imagination.

When dreaming the British Druid Order into being in the 1970s, I looked to what classical Greek and Roman writers had written about Druids 2,000 years ago. The most famous ancient description of a Druid ceremony is undoubtedly that of Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (1st century CE). He writes that, “A priest arrayed in white vestments climbs the [Oak] tree and, with a golden sickle, cuts down the mistletoe.” It struck me that if a priest is going to clamber into the branches of an Oak tree to cut mistletoe from it, the chances are he would be young and agile rather than a wizened sage, a youthful bard rather than an aged Druid. White having traditionally been connected with purity and innocence also suggested youth. So I settled on a white robe as the BDO’s bardic costume.

I then found a translation of a poem by the 1st century CE writer, Strabo, in which he refers to Druids wearing red robes trimmed with gold. I’ve since been unable to track down the quote, but it was enough to suggest adopting a long red, sleeveless tunic as our ovate vestment. Red, being the colour of blood, is associated with the cycles of life, including the menstrual cycle with its lunar associations, and the ovate path is the path of natural philosophy, learning from life.

My third classical source was the Roman historian, Tacitus, whose account of Roman legions attacking the Druid isle of Anglesey in 61 CE (Annals XIV, 29-30) tells us that “Along the shore stood the enemy in a close-packed array of armed men interspersed with women dressed like Furies in funeral black, with streaming hair and brandishing torches.” It has long been conjectured that these women were Druid devotees of a native Raven or Crow goddess. If so, it is possible that their black dress took the form of cloaks that would flap like dark wings. Add traditional European associations of black with old age and death and a black cloak seemed suitable garb for a BDO Druid. The fact that this white, red and black colour scheme has associations with the modern Pagan concept of a triple goddess as Maiden (white), Mother (red) and Crone (black) was an added bonus.

Prior to the arrival of my first Wolf-skin cloak in 1994 then, my accustomed gear for public ceremonies was an unbleached woollen robe, a long, red velvet tunic with gold satin lining and a hooded black woollen cloak.

Subsequent research added further possibilities. The archaeology of Iron Age Europe reveals the popularity of tartan-like woven cloth and images of bards show them wearing long, tight-sleeved tunics and trousers made from cloth with a diagonal, tartan-like weave (right). Enough of these exist to suggest that this combination of tunic and trousers was the standard clothing of bards from around 900 BCE through to at least the 1st century CE. Classical sources refer to the bardocucullus, a short woollen travelling cloak with a hood whose name suggests it was favoured by bards as they travelled around the country.

A bronze figurine from Western France (right) is our most likely representation of a late Iron Age Druid in ceremonial dress. He sports a neatly trimmed beard and wears a loose-fitting, knee-length robe with wide sleeves that appears to be plain apart from a decorated edging around the lower hem.

A number of crowns have been found in the British Isles, formed from a circlet of sheet bronze over which rises a crossed arch made from two strips of the same metal (below). It has been speculated that these were part of the ceremonial regalia of Druids. This make sense to me as there is evidence for a native belief that a place on the crown of the head allows the ‘breath of life’ to pass in and out of the body, making it peculiarly vulnerable to attack.

Medieval Irish sources suggest that social status was indicated by, among other things, the number of colours one wore. Given the high social status of bards and Druids, one might, therefore, expect some spectacularly multi-hued garments.

There are, then, a range of possibilities for Druid robes and regalia that have at least some basis in history, whether from the early Bronze Age or the Druid revivals that began in the 18th century.

Some Druid group simplify things by settling for just a white robe, usually hooded, sometimes embroidered with symbols or otherwise decorated.

Many Druids, however, probably the majority, don't wear robes at all, preferring everyday clothing, albeit often augmented by decoration or jewellery suggestive of their spirituality.

Few Druid groups insist on robes, even for formal public ceremonies. The only two I can think of are the Welsh Gorsedd and the Ancient Druid Order. OBOD recommend robes for public ceremonies but don’t, as far as I’m aware, insist on them. In the BDO, we pretty much wear whatever seems best and are happy for others to do the same.

Over the years, we have increasingly adopted clothing that speaks of our personal spiritual paths. So I often wear a dark green linen tunic bearing tokens of my alignment with Wolf spirit. I have a second Wolf-skin cloak that came to me at a time of particular need a decade after the first and wear this when it feels right. I have a dance cloak (left) bearing images of Wolves drawn from a medieval manuscript.

For the first open, multi-faith Gorsedd ceremony in Volunteer Park in Seattle, my friend, Leon Reed, sent out a message asking potential participants to, as he put it, “wear your power,” that is to don whatever ritual gear best expressed their spiritual path and made them feel most strongly connected with it. This struck me as a brilliantly inspiring phrase. I’ve since adopted it as my own policy, wearing whatever seems right for the ceremony or other event I’m taking part in. I’m very happy for others to do the same, and they usually do. This means that BDO ceremonies tend to be quite colourful affairs.

Having long believed that ancient Druids were the North-west European equivalent to shamans in other cultures, some BDO ceremonies call for a “wearing of power” that can take on a decidedly ‘shamanistic’ look, with the wearing of animal tokens, costumes or actual hides, face and body painting and other adornments (below).

What you choose to wear as a bard, ovate or Druid, then, depends on many things. One is which group or order you belong to and what their policy is. Another is which, if any, historical inspirations you draw on, from prehistoric archaeology to 21st century Druid courses. Another is what works for you personally, spiritually, psychologically and aesthetically. As said, some Druids eschew robes altogether, preferring plain street clothes. Others, myself included, kinda like dressing up, although it is, for us, always dressing up with a purpose. Donning special items of clothing for particular types of ceremony enhances the specialness of the occasion, focuses us on what needs to be done, and physically reminds us of our spiritual connections, thereby strengthening and enhancing them.

Leon’s expression still sums it up best though: “wear your power!”

Many blessings,

Greywolf /|\

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Published on 2 Comments on Druids to present at the 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions

Druids have (finally) been invited to speak to an audience of leaders from assorted faith communities from around the globe, to share a bit of accurate information about what modern Druids actually do and believe (as opposed to all the nonsense that the popular media typically says about us).
Larisa A. White (author of World Druidry: A Globalizing Path of Nature Spirituality) and Neil Pitchford (TDN Trustee and Vice-Moderator of the Faith Communities Forum of the InterFaith Network of UK) will share key findings from the World Druidry Survey of 2018-2020, the first rigorous, global study of modern Druidry, in order to help debunk the popular myths and widely-circulated misinformation about modern Druids' actual religious beliefs and spiritual practices. In doing so, they will be demonstrating to the Parliament the unique ways in which modern Druidry addresses the stated missions of the Parliament of the World's Religions, "to create a culture of non-violence and respect for life, tolerance and truthfulness, and sustainability and care for the Earth."
The presentation title and description are as follows:
"Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry"
"Modern Druidry, a contemporary, nature-based, new religious movement born in Britain, has been rapidly spreading around the world since the early 1990s. Druids now reside in 34 countries, across six continents, and inhabit 17 unique biomes, in addition to the mistletoe and oak filled temperate forests depicted in history and fantasy. As a nature-reverent tradition with high holidays based upon a cycle of seasonal celebrations, this begs the question: How can Druidry maintain a spiritual common core across so many, diverse ecological contexts? In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of Druidry as a modern religious tradition, and then, using the example of how Druids celebrate seasonal festivals in a globalizing tradition, demonstrate how the Druid devotional practices of nature connection, sacred listening, and reciprocity allow Druids to cultivate honorable relationships with all other beings, be they human or of other-than-human kind."
The 2021 Parliament of the World's Religions will be a VIRTUAL event this year, taking place on October 17-18. Registration is still open for any who might wish to attend ('early bird' registration available until August 31st).

Many thanks to Larisa for this press release and all good blessings to Larisa, Neil and all the speakers and attendees at this year's event,
Greywolf /|\

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A Ceremony of Healing with prayers and chants from the Druid tradition of Ynys Prydain (the British Isles) and ancient Gaul.
Published on 1 Comment on A Winter Healing Ceremony

Hallowe’en, Nos Galan Gaeaf, Samhain, 2020
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples across much of the globe, including our European ancestors, conducted ceremonies during the winter designed to stave off the increasing waves of illness that spread across the land during the coldest months of the year. Wolf spirits were and are prominent in these ceremonies, from the Central Asian Steppes 4,000 years ago to the modern-day Pacific Northwest. Winter Wolf ceremonies were held in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were called Lupercalia. In Ireland, the young men known as Fianna were Wolf warriors. The Wolf clans who were central to these healing ceremonies usually consisted of similar youthful warbands who lived apart from the rest of society, charged with protecting their kinfolk from external threats. Whilst training as warriors, they also learned the legends of their tribes, traditional songs and poetry. They were warrior bards.
Each winter, they would create a ceremony during which they and the rest of the community would renew their bonds with their power animals through ceremonies that incorporated chanting, dancing and feasting. Each person present would have the opportunity to dance and sing their spirit animal, thus renewing the bond between them that would keep both healthy and strong through the winter months.
In the British Druid Order, we are reviving this practice with what we have dubbed a Winter Wolf Healing Ceremony. This year, we were to have held one in and around our roundhouse in Shropshire. Sadly, at the very time when we have so much need of such a ceremony, the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in the UK have prevented us from holding it.
We will not, however, let the impossibility of a physical gathering prevent us from going ahead. Here, then, are the bare bones of part of the ceremony, with accompanying sound files and videos where available.
We begin with a prayer to the old gods of the British Isles, from the creation of the world by Math and Don, how their children, Gwydion and Arianrhod, were given sovereignty over the forests and the stars, how Blodeuwedd became patroness of healing, and much more besides, all with a join-in chorus of, “we give thanks to the great gods.” Includes lyre accompaniment and birdsong. Apologies for the popping on the vocals, recorded in a rush...

This second prayer, ‘For Long Life and a Good Old Age,’ is possibly 8th century, from the 14th century Irish ‘Book of Ballymote’ and found in the British Druid Order's ovate course. Given that risk from Covid-19 increases markedly amongst the elderly, this seemed particularly appropriate.

… and here’s the video version that includes the lyrics:

Next is a general ‘Chant for Healing and Protection,’ again derived from an early medieval Irish source. Our ancestors characterised disease as a dark Serpent bent on destruction, hence the singalong chorus of “beat the Serpent from its lair.” Please grab a drum or clap your hands and join in.

… and here’s the video version that includes the lyrics:

Now for the first of the animal chants, the Wolf Chant. This was given to me among the old stones of Avebury in Wiltshire and is an authentic native British Wolf Chant since I am authentically British, having been born here and lived here all my life, as have the families of both my parents for at least a thousand years. The gift of this chant came to me not long after I experienced a powerful vision of a Wolf during a ceremony in 1994. Again, please sing along and dance should the mood take you, even if your personal spirit animal is other than Wolf. Wolf is a sociable animal…

Now we’ll alternate between other animals and Wolf, starting with the oldest of these chants, originating in an inscription to the Horse goddess, Epona, from 1st century Gaul. It consists of various names for the Horse goddess. Again, feel free to join in vocally, instrumentally and physically.

‘Blessed Be, Earth’s Son’ is a second Wolf chant, this time using other names by which Wolf people are known. This reflects the ancient habit of not using the actual name of the primary totem animal during ceremonies but substituting descriptive titles instead. Again, sing, dance, live!

The next chant is for the Deer people, specifically the Fallow Deer. As before, feel free to sing, drum, dance, clap and generally join in.

I’m afraid for any other animals, you’re going to have to add you own chants and dances. There are more in the BDO Druid course, but I don’t have time to record them now. So, since it’s always best to end on a howl, here’s the native British Wolf chant again. Enjoy!

And so we conclude our ceremony by feasting and quaffing mead or ale, sharing some with our ancestors, thanking again both them and our gods.

Hale and blessed be!

Hale and blessed be!

Hale and thrice blessed be!

Greywolf /|\ Blaidd Llwyd

October 31st 2020