Questions I need to ponder about my Nature journey

What is my own definition of Earth Mother?
I tend to see Earth Mother this way: Earth, My Mother. In my Bealltainn ritual, I even address Her in this manner. I connect with Earth as ‘Nature, the biosphere that supports my physical body, and the living ecosystem of which I am an intrinsic part’. I actually do not see Her as a personified Deity at all. She is more a Power, a Force. I also, by extension, see Her as the strands of the Web that connect every living thing with every other; She is a generative force, that is both the source and sustenance of physical life in this Earthly incarnation. I also tend to see any Deity with nurturing, care giving and disciplinary features as a ‘Mother’ Goddess, whether they be male or female. Certainly, I, as a woman, have no physical human children, but that does not stop me from expressing my Mother nature. I too, am a mother – just not one of physical human children, so the whole schtick of Her ‘birthing’ us and being our ‘Mother’, all Goddesses being but a facet of Her and mating with one male Deity, all of which other Male Deities are just different facets of – no.

Does my hearth culture have an Earth Mother?
Both the Celtics in general and Gaelic cultures in particular have ‘Earth Mother’ Deities; the Irish have many, including Anu (Danu) and Boann (the river Boyne), and the Welsh have Dôn. Danu is known for fertility, abundance and protection, and her consort / husband is rumoured to be Bile, the Sacred Tree. Boann was a water goddess of the Tuatha dé Danaan, connected with rivers in general and the river Boyne in particular. She is represented in animal form as a white cow, and her name means ‘she of the white cattle.’ In Welsh tradition the Children of Dôn were the powers of light, constantly in conflict with the Children of Llyr, the powers of darkness. Dôn is a Welsh analogue of Danu.

In Gaul, the Celts worshipped a goddess known as Dea Matrona – another river Goddess – who was associated with the Marne River.

How does ADF as an organisation define Earth Mother?
I don’t know yet, but it seems as though it’s as a Deity. As I go through the path and learn more, I should be able to articulate this better.

However, from the ADF website, Ian Corrigan articulated this in a post:

“In this form as the Primal Waters the Mother can be conceived of as the All-Mind, the underlying power of awareness that connects all individual beings. From this ocean of mind arises the island-selves of the individual minds.”

So, I tend to think ADF as a whole tends to see Her as sentient awareness. I will need to evaluate this over time, and consider whether this view could be a part of my own definition or not.

Where am I going to go each week, and what do I consider ‘nature’?
In short, I don’t know yet. I don’t consider hanging out in my yard or driving over to a local park (where I held my Bealltainn ritual isn’t local) as ‘nature’.  I could head out to the area I refer to as ‘The Preserve’… one of the few areas that doesn’t consist of a car park or a shopping mall around here; but the truth is, I could go out on my patio. I do this every day anyway – I’d go out of my mind if I didn’t taste the fresh air, listen to the birds, feel the wind and scrabble around in some dirt every day.

Virtues… and what they mean

This category is my reference material, work, comments and thoughts on the Virtues; so what did I do first? Why, I buggered off to check the Wiki, of course! Put simply, ‘virtue’, according to the Wikipedia, is ‘moral excellence’. It goes on to say, “A virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual and collective well being. The opposite of virtue is vice.”

Okay then… so what does constitute this ‘moral excellence’? They go off on a blah-de-blah rant about what it is and offer about 300 virtues, but, for my own definition at the outset, I’d hazard that it truly means ‘doing what is right instead of what is easy’ – and the wisdom to know the difference.

First High Day Recap Homework

First High Day Recap Homework

Processional Route
This wide lane was the processional route for the pilgrimage to the ritual site from the car park.

Brief Information:
High Day Celebrated: Bealltainn (Beltane)
Location: Chalk Ridge Falls Park, Belton, TX
Date Celebrated: 2 May, 2011
Time Celebrated: 2PM, CST
Who led the Rite: EnchantedWolf
Grove Name: This was a Solitary ritual
Gatekeeper: Mannannán Mac Lir
Patrons: None specific called

Omen Method:
I asked for a Sign, and I waited for response; I did not call omen within ritual, I used omens to determine an alternative ritual site, as the trail I needed to take to the chosen site was closed from the storm and a footbridge collapse.
Omens:

Unwelcome
This site did NOT want anything to do with me or my ritual.

#1 – Asked for permission to perform rite at alternative site #1; Received bad feeling, rustling and feeling of being watched in a hostile manner; my boots got stuck in the mud and it was hard to extract them, even just walking out to the stone and trees.

#2 – Asked for permission to perform rite at alternative site #2; Feeling of peace and lightness, found single, fresh, bright green oak leaf on ground.
Workings: First Oath

Summary:
For my first Rite, I chose Bealltainn (Beltane), and as part of that working, I took First Oath. This was a solitary working.

In review, I think the Rite structure worked well. It felt very natural. Since I held it at a park outside, and to get to the ritual area, one has to hike a quarter mile from the parking area to the site, doing a processional and setting sacred intention for the pilgrimage just fell right into place. In my previous work with OBOD Druidry, I’ve learnt Gaelic chant, so I was able to chant the whole way. (When I wasn’t out of breath ;). )

Things that I think went well were the choice of the site itself; the offerings I brought; the intention; and the gentle energy and peace that seemed to surround the rite. Another big thing that really worked is the significance of this park itself to me. I have taken some major Oaths in this park, life-changing vows that I have kept. To take First Oath and have my very first ADF-style ritual here was significant to me.

Now, since this actually was my first ADF-style ritual ever, I didn’t have any patrons, yet. However, I offered generically to the 3 kindreds, and to the Earth Mother. My gatekeeper was Mannannán; I am already beginning to work with him, so I didn’t see any point in NOT appointing Him gatekeeper 😉 . For this first ritual, I partially read from a script. I knew my fuinn (the Gaelic chants) by heart, but not the English portions – they were new to me, so I didn’t really stumble over words too much. Memorization is part of what I’m working on.

Actual Ritual Site
Actual ritual site with Oak Leaf omen at base of the tree.

What I did have a problem with, was TIMING, and FLOW. It’s hard to describe, but I had pauses in between the sequence of events that probably should not have been there. Also, I found the logistics uncomfortable. Even though I’d packed my offerings in the correct order I needed them, I still fumbled with the physical aspects of the rite. That included choosing the actual site. The park is large, and the trail I needed to get to the ritual site had been closed, due to a footbridge collapse, so I had to do something alternatively.The first alternative site, when I asked the trees and the site if they were willing, I got a lot of negative energy and I could hear restlessness in the branches and on the ridge above me, as if I was being watched in a hostile manner. I also sank in the mud and had trouble extracting my boots. The longer I was there, the worse I felt.  I thanked the trees and the site for their time, and left. You know, even when I came back through and took the photo from the ridge of this site, I got the feeling it didn’t even like that. The second site was an entirely different feel. There was a blanket of peace, and when I asked permission, I asked for a sign. Looking around, there was a brand-new, bright green oak leaf on the ground, so I chose to use that place for the rite. It was right next to the Falls, and the water was running heavily; it was very beautiful. The tree that permitted its use as the Tree Hallow was a beautiful, but rather young, tree.

Oak Tree Hallow
The Tree Hallow Portrait for Bealltainn, 02 May 2011

Since this my first ADF rite ever, I did not add in some of the steps that should have; I did not do taking of omens within the rite itself, although in order to find a new ritual site, I did ask for an omen or sign, and I did receive them. I also did not do anything specific to Bealltainn, really, except make offerings to the 3 kindred in keeping with the season.

I think I felt pretty confident about it. I ad-libbed a few things at the very end, for I took the rest of the offering material I had and dispersed them to the wilderness, after I had formally closed the rite in the ADF way.

The feeling I took away from the rite was a good one, and in thanks, I packed out some tin cans others had left before me.

SMO Distance Learning Programme

I am SOOO excited – I just went and visited SMO (Sabhal Mòr Ostaig), the Gaelic College on the Isle of Skye, and they now have distance learning programmes! (They have for a number of years) Hot diggety! Although they offer short courses, I really want to study more deeply, so I’m actually going to opt for them; their courses emphasis speaking and listening skills, and that’s what I need. Once I develop more confidence, I can do the writing course, but for now, I intend to start right at the beginning. An Cùrsa Inntrigidh is the introductory course for complete beginners, and that’s were I’m starting. Unfortunately, it will have to be potentially in August, because I think I missed all the other start-dates. Hopefully, there will be some coming up this year.

On the issue of ‘Nwyfre’

or, searching for a good Gaelic word for ‘Life-Force’

Modern Druids like those of OBOD use the Welsh term for this concept, ‘Nwyfre’, which apparently comes to us from Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams), a poor and unendorsed source for ADF study. According to Celtnet UK, Nwyfre is a Cymric god known from the patronymics of Gwenwynwyn and Gwnar in the Welsh Triads and the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen. He was one of the progenitor gods of the Brythonic pantheon and represents one of the ‘lost’ sky gods. Nwyfre’s name literally means ‘firmament’. There doesn’t seem to be a direct translation in Gàidhlig for this, however, if I look at the meaning of the word, I can at least have some options to use for communicating this concept.

I still need to go through my JG Campbell, my JF Campbell, F. Marian MacNeill and others, to actually see what Highland Gaels have traditionally used, if possible. I did include my dictionaries, here, though, for a start.

a nan Faclairean:
Firmament – Speur
Sky – Speur
Energy – Fuinneamh, Neart
Neart can also mean ‘strength’
Spirit – Spiorad means ‘a spirit’ and Spioradail means ‘spiritual’

From Celtic Christian and other resources:
Neamh, Heaven
In the Lord’s prayer: a tha air Neamh (who art in Heaven)
Freumh – Root