Winter King Small and round, soft and warm

Hopping around so happy

Pecking at the ground in search of a worm

I speak and you turn towards me

Beautiful round and perfectly formed

Softest shades of brown

Puffing your red chest feathers out proud

Warming yourself in winter sun

Bobbing about in the snow and ice

Leaving footsteps so perfectly small

I watch you with a smile on my face

My spirit shining, my heart filled with warmth.

Carry me high on your tiny wings

Show me the beauty of our world

Help me understand the smallest of things

So I can see the treasures Nature holds.

Take me as I amI wake from sleep and rub my eyes

Kick start my brain and to my surprise

Nothing has changed, it’s all still here

I’m still myself and have nothing to fear

It took no time at all to settle into myself

To accept that my life is so full of wealth

The gifts I receive every day make me proud

To be who I am, now I know I’m allowed.

I’ve grown from not knowing just who I am

To being completely myself and I don’t give

a damn

If it doesn’t suit some or causes others dis-ease

I am who I am and I’ll do as I please.

I can’t tell you just how much it all means to me

Having found my true self and the confidence

to be

My spirit is strong now I honour myself

I am blessed with an aura of spiritual health.

By Vanessa Tong

TDN on Tour

The second TDN on Tour day I have attended started a little greyer and slightly

damper than the previous one. With that in mind we set off, knowing of at least three

people who would definitely be there! However, as before, a dozen folk eventually

met on the ramparts of Barbury Castle Hillfort, which is not bad for a ‘turn up and

see what happens’ type of event on a cold, and possibly wet October afternoon.

It's always nice to meet up with like-minded folk in places like-minded folk like to

be; it sets a tone that allows for open and carefree speech that some of us don’t get to

enjoy on a daily basis. I think these 'On Tour' days provide an excellent outlet for

people to leave behind the ordinary , everyday life, and spend a few hours in space

which allows you to drop your guard and just be yourself, but without the focus on

ritual or seasonal celebrations. I think it's worth it just for that alone.

After a ramble around the ramparts at

Barbury, including a practical (if somewhat

comedic) demonstration of just how difficult

it would have been to attack, (which I would

never have been able to do before I quit

smoking!), there was more than enough time

for introductions and getting to know people

that I hadn’t previously met. We then

circumnavigated back to the car park and settled down in the picnic area for lunch

and more chatting.

After lunch, we set off along the Ridgeway, with some people meandering along

enjoying the scenery and company, while other more seasoned walkers yomped off

into the distance. All were happily chatting away, either making new friendships or

renewing old ones. A stop at an interesting little patch of woodland allowed

everyone to regroup, exploring the area as well as the wider views that make the

Ridgeway such a great place to walk at any time of year.

Once back at the hillfort, there was time for everyone to have a rest and relax before

the rain finally came in and bought the day to a natural conclusion, and folk started

to drift off home.

I think the beauty of these days lies in their simplicity. Anyone can organize one, just

by saying “I will be at [name your place!] on Sunday at one” and allow the rest of the

day to unfold as it will. There's no need for planning anything, and even if nobody

else turns up, at least you'll be out in a place that you like for the afternoon! But I

can’t imagine that will ever happen - there are few of us who are so secluded we

couldn’t muster up one or two others to meet.

See you on the next one, hopefully! - Phil Wodensown

Walking with Dragons

My feet itched; the sensation was unbearable, I took off my shoes and set my feet

down in the soft, black peaty earth. It was cold, like a knife-shock.

The itch flowed up my legs and into my body, filling me with a weird sensation of

both fullness and emptiness. Everything was darkness but darkness filled with light,

a black light that showed how vast the darkness was without any of what I’d always

known as light. Strange! Fascinating, I completely forgot to be scared.

I stood still in the bright darkness, waiting. Slowly the darkness dissipated and I

found myself stood by the cairn at Dunkery Beacon, the highest point of Exmoor. It

was full moon.

I could feel my feet again, so cold they were hot. Tentatively I moved one, then the

other… they still worked. I tried again, just to make sure, and the strangest thing

happened. As I lifted a foot so the itching decreased but it felt as though my foot was

still attached to the earth, as if root-like threads stretched down from my foot into the

black mud. I tried it with the other foot… same thing. I stood there for a moment

lifting first one foot and then the other, testing the feeling. And I felt I wasn’t alone.

I stared around me, nothing. I picked up my boots and carefully made my way to the

seat on the east wall of the cairn. Watching the full moon climb the sky, I asked, ‘OK,

what’s going on?’

Slowly, under the moonlight, the land changed. All the shapes of the hills I know so

well were still there, but overlaid with a web of silvery threads, like an enormous

ghostly spider’s web criss-crossing the hills in every direction.

‘A web,’ I said, ‘a web of… life?’

Someone invisible nodded to me; not unfriendly but BIG!

‘W-who are you?’ I managed with a slight stutter.

A picture came in my mind’s eye – a beautiful woman in shimmering white, her pale

gold hair half veiling her face. A large black spider spun down from a thread on her

left hand, touched the ground and spun back up again, down and up, over and over.

A huge white sow stood beside her.

‘Ceridwen!’ I whispered. ‘Lady …’

She nodded.

Beside her stood a male figure crowned with horns, a white mare nuzzled his

shoulder, white dogs with red eyes and ears gathered behind him.

‘Gwyn …’

He nodded.

I knew the stories. Dunkery is one of Gwyn’s mountains. The name of the mountain

is Dun Keri, the stronghold of Keri, of Ceridwen.

A web, an interconnecting web, threads, ways, connecting points together and all

over the land … all over the Earth? Yes, the answer came into my mind, it’s common

all over the Earth, Australian song-lines, chi-lines of the Tao, the meridians.

A female, antlered figure, stood beside them now; the reindeer goddess Elen of the

Ways. The people of Britain used to follow the reindeer paths thousands of years ago

as Sami people still do. She pointed to the web, then at me. I saw my body covered in

silver web too … and the web-of-me connected to the web of the land. I lifted one

foot, then the other, now I could see the threads I’d felt before, connecting me to the

land.

‘Yes,’ I heard in my head.

I could feel them, sense them, with my feet.

Elen nodded. ‘As I do,’ she said.

Of course! Animals find the paths their ancestors trod through the web. The

Australian people sense them, many others too; power-lines under our feet that we

can tap into.

The moon shone brighter, everything monochrome with inky shadows. Coiled

around the cairn was a bright-dark, black-silver

form, a dragon.

‘The web is the serpent path.’ The words came into

my mind. ‘When you walk, sing and feel me in the

Earth, walk my paths.’

The words were echoed by Elen, Ceridwen and

Gwyn.

Now I know, now I can walk with dragons.

This happened many years ago, on Exmoor just as I’ve

told it. I’d gone there to do tai chi on Gwyn’s mountain.

I never forgot and I still walk the dragon’s ways.

Elen Sentier, http://www.brightdarkness.co.uk

Book Reviewsby Nimue Brown

The Global Forest. 40 Ways Trees can Save UsDiana Beresford-Kroeger

Druids know that trees are precious, but what Diana Beresford-Kroeger has to offer

us is a book full of reasons why this is so. There are far more reasons than I could

have imagined; more, I think, than the 40 claimed by the title. In ‘The Global Forest’

are 40 essays discussing the contributions that trees make, and each one is dense

with insight and information. The author is a botanist and medical biochemist, so

comes at the subject armed with a lot of facts. For someone (me) not familiar with the

many sources she draws on, reading this is a bit like the intellectual equivalent of a

very sticky pudding – I had to tackle it in small bites. It’s left me with a desire to find

out more about the topics than I can number here.

If you loved Colin Tudge’s 'The Secret Life of Trees', this will sit perfectly next to it

on your bookshelf. In fact, many of the suggestions Tudge raised as ideas, Beresford-

Kroeger tackles in more precise detail, making it clear that a viable future for

humanity depends on our relationship with trees. Despite everything we have done,

trees might yet save us. There’s a powerful, positive message in this book.

The other reason I think pagan readers are going to delight in this book is the way

the author moves between science, and the traditional knowledge of Native

American peoples. Both sources of insight are treated with the same respect. Where

the two often converge, Beresford-Kroeger weaves both narratives of understanding

together in compelling ways. This is not a book where science and religion are in

opposition, but instead it embraces the magic of the tree, offering it as a scientific and

spiritual wonder combined.

It is said that the Druids of old were natural scientists. If we want an example of how

Druidry and science can combine in modern life, this book shows us the way. Not

only is it science and spirituality, but it is written with all the poetry of a bard, and all

the prophecy of a mystic.

Depression as a Spiritual Journey

Stephanie Sorrell, MA

Depression is both a widespread ailment and an issue non-sufferers have a great deal

of trouble coming to terms with. Mental health issues are still treated as shameful

and socially taboo. The fear and unwillingness to talk about depression serves to

further isolate those afflicted with it.

I know Cat sent me this book to review, conscious that I’ve been suffering depression

for some time, and that I’ve chosen to be very open about my difficulties. As a

sufferer, information is not easy to come by, and not understanding your own

experiences makes them worse. For those supporting or in contact with a depressed

person, there’s not much information available either. How do you support a

depressed or suicidal person? The closer you are to someone who is suffering, the

harder it is to accept their anguish and your own powerlessness in face of it. This can

be heart-rending, and destructive in its own right.

Writing as a survivor, a student of academic issues around depression, and a

spiritual person, Stephanie Sorrell has a great deal of insight to bring to this subject.

There is more to this book than the title suggests, although it considers the spiritual

aspect, it is an all round handbook for understanding and dealing with depression.

Sorrell explores the biological issues underpinning depression, describes the

interventions currently available, shares personal experience and individual case

histories, and then goes on to place depression in a spiritual context. Her comparison

between the experience of depression and the spiritual ‘dark night of the soul’ is

fascinating. She makes clear that we need, as a culture, to consider depression more

widely. We need to place it in the context of spiritual crisis and to consider the ways

in which it contributes, as well as the ways in which it diminishes.

Of most interest to druid readers, I think, will be the chapter exploring the

relationship between depression, spirituality and creativity. The more overtly

spiritual chapters are Christian in their worldview, and thus include elements that I

found alien and suspect other druid folk will too. However, where Sorrell speaks

more widely of spirituality and steps away from Christian perspectives, there is

much to engage with.

I was especially moved by her chapters on how to be

with a depressed person, and how to be with a suicidal

person. I wish I had been able to give these words to

people six months ago. This is such a clear explanation

of what is needed. I think Sorrell’s words have the

power to push through the fear and cultural

conditioning around depression and suicide and to offer

instead genuine insight with the potential to help those

who are faced with someone in crisis. I honestly want everyone to read and consider

these two chapters, as they are tremendously important pieces of work.

Sorrell makes clear that above all else, we need to change how we think about

depression so that we can change what we do around it and how we deal with

sufferers. Depression is an unwellness that can and does kill people. It’s not any kind

of failure or weakness; it is not a product of laziness. It is a crisis that has a definite

spiritual dimension, and as such does not fit neatly into medical models of sickness,

even though it can need a medical intervention.

The odds are that everyone will either suffer depression or know someone who does.

Add this book to your ‘must read’ list.

If you wish to join the TDN Review team, please contact cat@druidnetwork.org

Announcements

The dates and venue have been confirmed for The Druid Network Annual GeneralMeeting 2012.

Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th FebruaryBilberry Hill Centre, near Lickey Hills Country Park, West Midlands, B45 8RT

As is now traditional, we invite all Members to announce their intention to attend.

Saturday will be taken up with the AGM, and the year ahead for TDN will be

determined. Sunday will mostly involve project workshops.

At the moment all other details are being developed, but we felt it best to give you

advance notice for your diaries. A Members Gathering will be available shortly on

the website for pre-AGM discussions. - bish

Agreement of collaboration between the Shrine of Brighid – Correllian Wicca –and the Hermandad Druida Dun Ailline (Dun Ailline Druid Brotherhood)

Granada (Spain), August 28th, 2011.

The Hermandad Druida Dun Ailline (Dun Ailline Druid Brotherhood), based in

Barcelona (Spain), and the Shrine of Brighid of the Correllian Tradition of Wicca,

based in Granada (Spain), signed an agreement of collaboration on August the 2nd

2011, under the auspices of their common patron Goddess, Bride.

Both groups have agreed in collaborating so as to share and spread information

about the Goddess Bride, an objective that will be useful for the members of these

institutions and for the whole Spanish Pagan community.

Besides, their agreement establishes the possibility of organising events or

interchange programs between these two institutions, so as to create projects and

worship their patron Goddess, in spite of being part of different religious

confessions.

This agreement is expected to be a turning point for the Spanish Pagan community,

as it is the first agreement of this sort which is signed between two religious

associations that belong to different Pagan confessions, seeking to create an

atmosphere of collaboration and inter-religious dialogue.

Events

Sun 18 Dec

TUATHA DE BRIDGET - Pollok Country Park, Pollokshields Road, Glasgow We meet in the Burrell Museum Car Park in Pollok Country Park, Pollokshields Road,

Glasgow at 13.00 hrs on all festivals except MidWinter/Eponalia which is one hour

earlier at 12.00hrs (to allow folks to get home afterwards in daylight if possible).

Mon 19th Dec

YULETIDE CELEBRATION - White Rose Healing, Alfreton, Derbyshire

Beginning at 12noon, to finish by 9pm, the day includes talks on the year to come,

seasonal activities, festive food and drink, culminating in a public Yule ritual of

celebration and thanks. All welcome! Please visit www.whiterosehealing.com.

PAGAN FOLK NIGHTS - The Progressive Club, Tamworth, Staffordshire - MonthlyNew monthly pagan folk nights. Future dates will feature Damh the Bard, Tree Beard,

Talis Kimberley and more. For further info: www.celticearthspirit.co.uk

CAER DUR MOOT - Tom Browns Pub, London Road, Dorchester, Dorset.Last Wednesday of each month, Meeting from 7.45pm onwards. Usually end the evening

with a folk session so please feel free to bring along an instrument if you wish.

For further information please email Melkin: heritage@caer-dur.co.uk

STÁV TRAINING CLASSES - St Mary's Church Hall, Magdalene St, GlastonburyEvery Wednesday. Stáv is an ancient Viking tradition of Body, Mind and Spirit

development which has been passed on for hundreds of years. Cost: £5 per session, £3

concessions. For further information phone: 0771 358 5954 or email:

admin@iceandfire.org.uk

INFORMAL WILDWOOD WEEKENDS - Near Betws-y-Coed, North Wales Based in a large ancient woodland overlooking the Conwy Valley,we offer time to

connect with the land beneath us both spiritually and physically during informally

organized weekends.

FFI or to arrange a visit: contact Stephen: Francis897@aol.com. Cost : £10 (covering

insurance and other basic costs).

CONNECTION WITH DRUIDRY – DAY WORKSHOPS - White Rose Healing, Alfreton, Derbyshire - www.whiterosehealing.com10th March, 2nd June & 8th September 2012 (more dates TBA)

A seasonal series of workshops will focus on how the tools contained within Druidry

help us to reconnect with this land, our ancestry and ourselves.

For further information, contact cat@druidnetwork.org or visit druidcat.wordpress.com

Holding an Event? Druiding in the Community?

Let other TDN Members know about it!

Get in touch via the Website – we want to hear what you're all up to!