The Druid Network Box 3533 Whichford Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. CV36 5YB, England

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1 The Druid Network PO Box 3533 Whichford Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. CV36 5YB, England Networking Groups and Groves Newsletter Autumn Equinox 2011 Autumn Greetings! Apologies for the delay of this issue of the newsletter, normal service should hopefully resume by Spring! Unfortunately only two groves (apart from my own) rallied to the call for pictures and articles so I m afraid this issue is a little on the sparse side. However, as we know, quality is far more important than quantity so I m sure you ll enjoy it nonetheless. We ve been having some rather varied weather in the North of England these past few months. I think we have experienced all four seasons within the space of a week. Trees and bushes that should be shedding their leaves are sending out new buds and growth instead and it makes me wonder how the wild birds, insects and animals feel about the strange weather fluctuations or whether as instinctive beings they just take it in their stride and naturally adapt. Here s hoping that wherever you live you find beauty no matter what the weather is challenging you with and that whatever project you may be undertaking over the next few months brings satisfaction, contentment and completion. Autumn Blessings Lynda

2 News From The Groves The Oak and Feather Grove East Lancashire, England We held our Equinox celebration on Sunday 25th September at one of our favourite spots in Tockholes Wood. There had been a call from TDN for members to be involved in Peace One Day on the 21 st September and, whilst we couldn't hold our celebration on that day, our celebration had a focus on both world and personal peace. Before we started the ritual it seemed a good idea for us to go round the circle and hear everyone's thoughts on peace and the equinox. We had many inspiring words shared, all centred on the need for us to find our personal inner peace, a state where we understand who we are, where we can find the strength and use our knowledge and wisdom to stand strong in the face of stress and adversity. We acknowledged that peace isn t just about our own personal well-being, a passive meditative state, but that we have a responsibility to be active and extend that gradually to include our family and friends, our Fly Agaric Toadstool & community, with an ultimate aim for world peace. But it starts Wellhouse, Tockholes Wood with us. So what has this to do with the Equinox? The equinox is a point of balance, equal day and night, and being at peace is also a place of balance. But we acknowledged that whilst this centre is a nice safe place, it is at the edges we find challenge and where we can influence the changes we want to see. Knowing, through peace, that we have the strength to face these challenges allows us to engage, to make our voices heard. It is scary, but once we have an understanding of peace and balance we know that we always have that safe place to return to. Phil Clan of the Triple Horses Southern Oregon, USA Fly Agaric Toadstool Hairy Tree Sculpture Photo s by Cloudberry

3 Clan of the Triple Horses Southern Oregon, USA Here is what we are doing for Samhain: Communing With Our Ancestors Presented by Debbie Gent of Shamanic Connection (Shamanicconnection.com) Hosted by Clan of the Triple Horses Saturday, October 15, :30-7:30pm Location: Private residence in Medford (Potluck dinner begins at 4:00 p.m.) Feel free to come for part or all of our activites The wheel has turned once more and Samhain is near. At this time, the veil between the world of the living and the Otherworld is at its thinnest, allowing the spirits of the Ancestors and Sidhe to mingle with the living. We will use this opening door to the Otherworld to meet and learn from our Ancestors. Through the use of trance or altered state travel, we will be escorted The Altar from our Spring Equinox Ritual at a local into the underworld to our ancestral labyrinth grove and join the Samhain celebrations. You will meet your Ancestors, listen to the words of wisdom they have to offer, receive a divination and offer healing to a member of your clan before returning back through the veil to the world of the living. A report and hopefully pictures will be in the next newsletter. Blessings, Aigeann Clan of the Triplehorses (Medford, OR, US) Web site,

4 Genesis Order of Druids Portsmouth, England On Thursday June 23rd with Special permission from English Heritage we held our ceremony at Stonehenge where we were granted special access to the inner stone circle, in attendance were almost 100 people which included the drums of DrumNAtion and the local Victory Morris men group. During the ceremony we performed the raising of Ivy Wolf, Raven Ivy, Ivy Willow and Oak Hare. We also initiated 2 new members and were treated to some great drumming and performance from the Morris men and had an enactment of the Oak King and Holly King battle for sovereignty of the land. Here are a few pictures from the day. Pictures (c) Trevor Thwaites

5 Elfed s Time Is Here The heat of Summer is waning fast, Fallen leaves carpet the ground, As the vibrant green of Summer gives way to the golden hues of Autumn. Acorns of Oak, nuts of Hazel, apples on the trees. Sloes and Bramble berries in the hedgerow ready to feast on at last. The sky is dotted with birds silhouetted migrating south. We see creatures gathering in their life giving harvest, and farmers reaping Ostara's hope The light still receding, but now in balance. It is the darkness which beckons As energy falls in anticipation of winter s rebirth We enjoy the final days of sunlight warming, but sense Jack Frost is calling. We celebrate and thank Cerridwen our great mother as she gives up her fruits to sustain us through the darkness, We ask the Greenman, our father to nurture the land through the cold months of Winter. As we look to the return of the light once again. And to the eternal cycle of nature s rebirth. The Summer has passed, the reaping finished. Elfed's time is here again. Samhain's Mystical Call - A Harvest Trilogy Sunlight Waning Earth s fertility is failing Ripened crops in the fields Mother Earth gives up her fruits As we reap the harvest from spring sown seeds The darkness beckons peeking over light s shoulder As nature s orange cloak prepares to descend over the green trees Celebrate in corn s golden joy The Sunlight fades as the darkness approaches, but today is in balance. The harvest of fruits from the trees gives life to the creatures of the earth. The final warmth of summer bathes the land As the plants and trees start to withdraw into winter s gloom But first comes the Autumnal hues of red, brown, yellow and gold preceding winter s stark grey cold Birds fly south across the autumn skies As the glint of summer sun disappears from our eyes Now is the time to withdraw As the nights draw in and temperature falls, We look forward to Samhain's mystical call. The heat of Summer, but a distant memory. As Father Sun descends the western sky. Darkness now reigns as the light is retreating. The veil between the worlds is thin. This is the time to celebrate the turning of the year s wheel, And to remember those that have passed.

6 This is the time to rejoice in Samhain s mystical call. Dark windows dressed with orange bright Pumpkins. Their twinkling light warning the spirits, Enchanting the children with their flickering glow, As through the trees the first chill winds blow Let us raise our glasses to the ancestors and toast to the future, Let us cast a spell for good health, Praise the goddess, the mother, the crone. While we drink our mead and feast on earthly harvest Now is the time to embrace Samhain s Mystical call. Stormwatch Autumn 2009 Blessings Steve (Stormwatch) Genesis Order Of Druids Previous issues are available to members of TDN here: Please don t forget to share this newsletter with the fellow members of your grove. This issue sent by is of a lower resolution than that available on the website to keep download time to a minimum but a higher resolution copy can be ed on request. Anybody who wants to contribute to the Spring Equinox Newsletter will be very welcome and a reminder will be sent out closer to the time.