One of the things I do each year is present at a local college’s world religions class as part of a panel on paganism. I talk about how ADF Druids practice and believe, while others on the panel talk about other pagan traditions. Following this year’s presentation, which looked a lot different because it was recorded via video call, I got this question from one of the students:
“How do Druids incorporate non-binary people. So much of what we have seen [in our studies during class] is divided into male and female (goddess/god, sacred forces/energies), so how do non-binary people practice?“
I responded and invited the professor to share my response with the class:
As of this past weekend I’ve been an ADF Priest for 5 years. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. The journey has been wonderful thus far, though definitely with its ups and downs. Sometimes this priesting thing is hard 😉. I like to occasionally reflect on the things that I’m doing, and decided this would be a good time to kind of do a round up of my accomplishments. Continue reading “Five Years a Priest”→
This year has been rough in a lot of ways, but through those difficulties some opportunities have opened up. One of the really hard decisions folks have been making right now is what to do about school for their children. The likelihood is high in my part of the world that we’ll have some or all eLearning this year, and many are considering pulling their kids out to homeschool entirely. With schooling at home, whether it’s full-on homeschool, school provided virtual school, or supplemental activities, there has been a lot of momentum about how to provide the best learning opportunities for our children. I’ve looked at homeschool curriculums, and plan on at least supplementing my daughter’s experience with one, and my son (who would have started preschool this year) will be doing homeschool completely.
So, I’m proud to say that the book I wrote with Rev. Lisa Wasilkowsky Malik, Rev. Sara Blackwelder, and Rev. Kirk Thomas won the Good Fire Award in ADF this year. I have no idea if we’re getting physical plaques or anything this year, but it would be nice. I like being able to display them.
Themis, Goddess Championing Justice, turn your eye upon those who invoke your name, For the people cry out for justice, and yet it is denied them by the actions of men, And those who claim your name deny the divine law of hospitality to the people.
You who watch over assemblies, and protect the rights of the people, look closely: The people gather to bring their petitions to the law makers, The people gather and are forcibly turned away in your name.
The law makers defile your dominion, so let your gaze fall upon them. Let the scales show whose rights are being stolen, whose humanity is being denied. With Dike, Justice, at your side, leap furiously upon those who dare invoke your name against Xenia & Hospitality.
Themis, stand with the people. Themis, bring your justice.
Y’all, I’m kind of ridiculously excited about this. So, I play Animal Crossing, a really relaxing life simulator game from Nintendo, and you have the ability to decorate your island with all different kinds of furniture and your clothes with custom designs. So, of course I made a Sacred Nemeton on my game, and myself a robe and stole. Continue reading “Animal Crossing Druid Rite”→
My daughter recently lost her first tooth, and I knew I didn’t want to do the traditional tooth under the pillow thing. We’ve long said in our house that you don’t invite fairies into your home, so trying to figure out how to manage this particular rite of passage without losing the cultural touchstone and the joy was something we had to give some thought.
Initially I had thought about setting up a special little mailbox that she could “mail” her tooth in, and receive money back from the tooth fairy. But then Covid-19 happened and I was left without the ability to acquire the materials and also without the energy to do something that elaborate.
So instead I went back to the drawing board. The main religious thing I cared about was that we weren’t openly inviting fairies into the house. The main parent thing I cared about was that my daughter still got to have a tooth fairy experience to remember and share. So, we needed limited exposure to the tooth fairy. Enough to give my daughter the experience, but not so much that fairies generally would feel welcome. And fairies love bargains, so I wrote up a tooth fairy bargaining charm.
Tooth Fairy come in for only one task.
My tooth has fallen out, so this thing I ask:
In exchange for one tooth some treasure you’ll leave,
Then begone from this place, the bargain achieved.
We put her tooth in a jar and recited the charm, and then wrote it out and put it next to the tooth jar for good measure. Then we set the jar up on a shelf overnight. In the morning my daughter came downstairs to a jar with a coin and some glitter in it, and was overjoyed.
Feel free to put this charm to use for your children.
Hi everyone. I’m going to be trying something a little different in order to serve you, my folk, in these times of crisis. We’re physically separated, but in that, we can still seek connection with each other, and find solace in the messages the spirits have for us. To that end I’ll be posting every few days/week or so with some divination read through a different lens each time. My hope is that this will give us a way to feel connected to the spirits, to each other, and an opportunity to take their wisdom and blessings into ourselves.
I’m hoping to get the first episode up in the next day or two, and it’ll be free over on my Patreon (patreon.com/skylark913). After this first one, my Patrons will get access to them a few days early, they’ll all be available for free to everyone after that. (If you’re able, I’d love your support over there).
So, I invite you to join me in this experience of connection, and I hope that you’ll find a new way to connect to the spirits and the divine, and perhaps be inspired to understand life in a new or different way, letting your actions reflect that understanding.
Our grove celebrates the Druid Moons (6th night after the new moon) with a ritual each month. The ones we celebrate are Gaulish, and each one has a different focus and a different working. My favorite of them as a priest is definitely Anagantios (or Stay at Home month). Continue reading “Anagantios 2020”→
So a thing I’ve been working on ADF Initiate Preceptor is getting our courses modernized. To that end I’ve now got the initiate version of Liturgy 1 up and running in Google Classrooms, and one of the things I made to go with it is a supplemental website that contains useful information when working through the course.
