Wight Druids

WIGHT Druids are intending to offer their usual open public celebration of Beltane on Thursday, May 1, at The Longstone, Mottistone, as close as possible to sunrise.

The date and timing, of course, coincides with a long-standing regular fixture for Wight Morris and we will naturally respect (and enjoy!) their performance before embarking on our own celebration of the festival.

As always, all will be welcome who approach with open heart and mind, and in the spirit of mutual respect that is the Druid ethic.

All hail to the May!

Scribe/|\

WIGHT Druids are getting together a small group to study ‘A Perennial Course in Living Druidry‘, developed by Emma Restall Orr (Bobcat), founder of our close affiliates, The Druid Network, and author of many books on the subject of modern Druidry.

It is envisaged group meetings will be only once per lunar month, outdoors in the wild whenever possible, and will follow the wheel of the year using material Emma has made freely available online, so anyone taking the course can always go at their own pace. No pressure, here. No exams. The aim is simply to enjoy, and to share inspiration.
Some people have already expressed an interest and it is currently considered that the course should start soon after Beltane (May 1).
There are no fees involved - everything Wight Druids do is always offered free of charge - and anyone interested is welcome to jump in at any point during the course.
This course does not directly address the ‘nuts and bolts’ of Druidry, although anyone joining can of course be shown how to find all of the more practical, basic or more advanced, teachings for themselves, but is designed to lay the best possible foundation for integrating Druidry as a personal way of life, and to offer deep inspiration to all who are already following this beautiful natural path, or who are considering walking this way.

Let us know if you are interested. E-mail scribe@wightdruids.co.uk

May the Awen be with you.

Scribe/|\

Reference: http://druidnetwork.org/en/learning/courses/online/perennial

ALL HAIL to the 20 or so courageous souls who staunchly braved a powerfully gusting and bitingly cold north wind to celebrate Alban Eiler, the Spring Equinox, at The Longstone.
Despite the rawness of the day, we planted our seeds, shared our inspiration - as well as good hedgehog bread and the Druid Fluid - and competed gamely with the wild wind with our Awen songs.
Aside from the wind and the cold, however, the weather was, in fact, extraordinarily kind to us, the awesome black clouds holding off delivering their load of snow, sleet and - ultimately, rain until we had reached shelter once again.
We look forward to the rich promise of the summer ahead, and of our harvest, now, with a renewed vigour and sense of expectancy. There is much that is good, in places quite extraordinary, to come through the months ahead.
A final word of thanks to our dear friend Jan for offering tea and delicious cakes afterwards at her lovely little cottage. A delightful grounding in good company and a great way to warm the frozen bones again after the north wind’s mischief.

Bendithion/|\

Scribe

WIGHT Druids are to offer open public rite and celebration to welcome the Spring Equinox at The Longstone, Mottistone, around noon on Saturday, March 22.

As ever, all who approach with open heart and mind and in the spirit of mutual respect that is the Druid ethic will be most welcome.

As some of you may recall, the Vernal Equinox is the Spring time of balance between light and dark, when day and night are once more of equal length. Alban Eiler also stands at the point of balance between Imbolc and Beltane, the other two festivals of Spring, and so is the perfect time - through reconnecting with the rhythms of the natural world all around us - to restore the quality of balance to our daily lives.

Be there - or remain unbalanced

Bendithion Llawen

Scribe/|\

THE special ritual and drumming event we organised turned out to be a mercifully muted yet deeply intimate event, given the bitterly cold and heavily misty weather - and the widespread illness that took out so many of our dear friends for the night.
Your priest was among those on the ’sick list’, with scarcely any voice left to create ritual.
Just a handful of us gathered around a candlelit Longstone to share poetry, storytelling, food, coffee and a lovely, gentle drumming session to welcome this powerful Moontide. To each, simply being there had required a considerable effort of will.
Despite the fact that the mist closed in like a mystic wall all around the site, the face of the Moon - often attended by the most gorgeous and delightfully colourful corona, as the hefty clouds streamed by across the night - was, for the most part, amazingly clear, distinctly feminine and wearing an enigmatic smile.
Beyond midnight, the assembled company retreated to watch the ‘Blood Moon’ eclipse from the relative comfort of their own warmer spaces.
Over the past few years that we have been offering open, public events, each one has come to be special in its own way, regardless of how many - or how few - people are able to share.
This was no exception, defined on this occasion by its intimacy, some lovely poetry, storytelling and drumming, and the sheer power and beauty of Moon and of the night.

Bendithion

Scribe/|\

A GOOD turnout, once again, against an unpromising weather forecast.
Yet the rain held off (again!) to allow us to celebrate the festival of Brighid, the First of Spring, with a delightful open public ritual at The Longstone - attended by, among others, the local ponies, who seemed quite intent on blagging a feast from anything that seemed vaguely edible (coats, bags, ritual notes and equipment … whatever!) and a good, hearty drink of water from the bowl for the floating candles before trundling off back to graze the adjacent downland.
It seems Rhiannon was keen to make her presence felt early, as Blodeuwedd’s successor at the Belteinne Moon!
This light, simple ceremony included a special Blessing for our dear friend and Sister, Jan, who at Imbolc moved into her own private space, her first for many years - the perfectly named Snowdrop Cottage, where the many and varied types of the little white flowers were in full bloom to welcome her ‘home’.

Bendithion

Scribe/|\

FOLLOWING the success of our Hunter’s Moon celebration late last year, Wight Druids will again be honouring a special Moontide, the lunar total eclipse, with open public celebration from 9pm at The Longstone, Wednesday, February 20.

Open Druid ritual will be followed by a drumming session to welcome this ‘Blood Moon’ and, possibly, a midnight picnic, weather permitting.

Afterwards, it is intended to hold vigil until the moment of totality, around 3.30am, again weather - and individual hardiness - permitting.

Bring your drums - and your dreams. Again, all are welcome who bring open heart and mind.

Bendithion

Scribe/|\

WE intend to celebrate Imbolc, the First of Spring, this year with open public ritual at The Longstone, Mottistone, around noon on Saturday, February 2. Weather permitting.

All are welcome who bring an open heart and mind, and approach in the spirit of mutual respect that Wight Grove extend to all the peoples of these Lands.

We have bread and mead!

In Peace and Love

Bendithion Llawen/|\Many Blessings

Scribe

TODAY, we raised a rainbow.
A round dozen souls gathered at The Longstone just as dawn was breaking to celebrate the Winter Solstice beneath a cloudy, orange-shot sky and were rewarded with a magickal experience.
As we sang the first of our two rounds of triple-Awens, the sun began to break above Castle Hill and the first faint outline of the rainbow began to appear.
As we continued with the ceremony, the rainbow became stronger and stronger, describing a great arc over the upright, viewed from the East.
At the second round of the Awen chant, towards the end of the ceremony - which we dedicated to the rainbow - it responded by doubling and growing to its full brightness.
Then, as we thanked the quarters and closed the circle, it gently faded to nothing as quickly and discreetly as it had appeared.
So the new light and the Mabon, the Sun Child, was born in the Grove of Ynys Weith.
We look forward to a colourful year.

Bendithion Llawen/|\Many Blessings

Scribe
Picture by Dr Suzanne Owen

A COUPLE of dozen revellers joined the Wight Druids open public celebration for the Hunter’s Moon at The Longstone at the end of October.
The event, which began with ritual and culminated in a drumming session, also included a meditative journey to meet the Cailleach during which those present were invited to offer all that was negative in their lives, or no longer served them, to be thrown into her cauldron of transformation, to be changed into the seeds to be planted for the new growing season beyond the Dark Half of the year.
This event was, in fact, the ‘outer’ public counterpart to the ‘inner’ Samhuinn rite, which was celebrated privately in a lovely, intimate little yew grove with just a few invited friends.
The next open public celebration will be for Alban Arthuan, Winter Solstice.
Please get in touch for more details.

Bendithion/|\Blessings

Scribe