{"id":16802,"date":"2018-05-01T01:10:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T06:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=17761"},"modified":"2018-05-03T09:07:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T14:07:27","slug":"gael-song-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2018\/05\/01\/gael-song-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Gael Song"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wild Rose of Druidry<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Celtic path is unlike any other, unique in ways that mean so very much to me. The first blossom of this path is that it imposes absolutely <\/span>no restrictions<\/b><\/span>, except that one should not harm another (which seems like quite a sensible restriction to me!) In the Celtic pagan tradition, <\/span>all<\/u><\/span> paths are good, and everyone has total freedom to be, to wander into darkness and shadows, if one wishes, then out again into light. I searched for many years for a spirit tradition that would allow me the freedom I longed for, going through Congregational, Presbyterian, and Quaker phases over the past thirty years, dabbling in Buddhism and Sufism for brief periods along the way as well. But the formal Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim religions impose definite dogmas and expectations on their adherents, worshiping in very specific ways, often holding up their own paths as (far!) better than the rest (this one turned me off <\/span>every<\/u><\/span> time!). Even Quakers, who are accepting of all religions and impose no dogma whatsoever, have subtle restrictions, such as being quiet, no singing during meeting, wearing clothing that isn\u2019t loud. I love the gentle acceptance, honesty, and social activism of the Quaker tradition, but there are mornings I don\u2019t feel a bit drab or quiet! And God\/Goddess are <\/span>neither<\/u><\/span> of these, <\/span>ever<\/u><\/span>! I want the freedom to sing in ceremony, to dance and laugh, to wear fairy wings if I feel like it! Ha. <\/span>That<\/u><\/span> would turn Quaker meeting upside down! (Now that I\u2019ve thought of it, I think I\u2019ll just have to try this to see what happens!) The <\/span>freedom call<\/b><\/span> of druidry draws my heart <\/span>so strongly<\/u><\/span>, like the wind across the moors in the Oak moon (June) or the hint of fairy flutes in the wood at dusk. Why <\/span>can\u2019t<\/u><\/span> I be anything I feel like, as long as it harms no one at all? No other path I\u2019ve ever seen holds out this wild rose promise to be whatever one likes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And second, comes the complete druid acceptance of whatever folks may be going through in life. In the Christian tradition I\u2019m most familiar with and still love in many ways, there were definite restraints on the expression of anger or sexuality especially, specific qualities that were held up as better than the rest (oh, not <\/span>that<\/u><\/span> again!),not to mention their utter <\/span>horror<\/u><\/span> of my pagan leanings! But I have wonderful friends who can be a bit volatile, who want to howl or drum half the night in their pain, who clam up, perhaps, or talk non-stop when they are stressed. I want to love them <\/span>all<\/u><\/span>, <\/span>especially<\/u><\/span> in their difficulties! I just can\u2019t <\/span>stand<\/u><\/span> imposing goody-goody nonsense on them. And the druid tradition does not. It brings patient understanding that says challenges must be faced and walked through, the wisdom of knowing all is ordered from above for good reasons that will someday flower into the deep embodiment of truth that is far more precious and permanent for having been earned through hard experience. During my long years as a therapist, I watched clients turn early traumas into career choices time and time again, with hearts that held <\/span>far<\/u><\/span> more passion and determination for turning things around in the world as a result of those early difficulties in life. There is a <\/span>reason<\/u><\/span> for the darkness that comes into every life. Every druid knows this. I confess I can be a bit judgmental underneath of folks who seem loud and rough, but the druid path has taught me not to do that, or far less than before. The standard of <\/span>accepting everyone onto the path just as they are<\/b><\/span> is druid, held high, and I will follow it with my whole heart, inspired by the breadth of love it carries.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The third blossom of druidry is being <\/span>deeply grounded in the <\/b><\/span>earth<\/b><\/u><\/span>, loving the sensual <\/span>gorgeousness<\/u><\/span> of this world; the upside down mirror in each raindrop, the softness of birch bark in the rain, the sweep of clouds twirling across the sky at dawn. At light healing school, we were often in the clouds ourselves, meditating and drifting for whole days at a time. And those hints of heaven <\/span>are<\/u><\/span> intoxicating and bring through shifts we probably couldn\u2019t manage any other way. But some folks thought that passing over to the Otherworld would be just lovely, too, and focused on this end-of-life passage a lot of the time. Others forgot to look down again at the end of the day. Oh, goodness! Give me druids every time! I want to run my fingers across rose petals for a whole lot of years to come, make eye contact with real people, wriggle my toes in the mud! Earth is fantastic! Sensuality is phenomenal! And bringing all those dreamy changes into real work in the world is best part of all!!! This is what I love <\/span>most<\/u><\/span>, putting what I\u2019ve learned into real effect in my life. I just <\/span>adore<\/u><\/span> that. It\u2019s my <\/span>coffee<\/u><\/span> in life, truly. Other traditions are action oriented, too, of course, but none that I\u2019ve tried have the earth-loving, sensual, vitality of druidry.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And this leads to the sweetest, most fragrant blossom of all, <\/span>sexuality<\/b><\/u><\/span>. (Not that there aren\u2019t distortions mixed in here, there are.) Every formal religion I\u2019ve been involved with has imposed fairly rigid restrictions on sexuality in life, Sufism and Christian particularly. And while druidry does have that standard of not harming anyone, which carries some responsibility with it, no dogmatic rules are imposed on this aspect of life, either. Everyone is left to choose and learn and explore as they wish. I was raised by a wonderful Bostonian\/Scottish mother, but she had unfortunate puritanical underpinnings. If I went outside skyclad as a young child, this would cause an utter uproar in the household. Thank <\/span>goodness<\/u><\/span> druids are not this way! Thank <\/span>GOODNESS<\/u><\/span> a hundred times over! I was so relieved and happy to find a tradition without a straight jacket in this regard! And then, sexuality itself is <\/span>so<\/u><\/span> exquisite. There are no adequate words at all here, it\u2019s beyond them all. I think this acceptance of sexuality is the <\/span>greatest<\/u><\/span> gift of the druid tradition really, the shining starry pentacle. For I believe that God and Goddess intimately overlight all sexual joinings, that They move into each partner and send Their intense loving passion for each of us, very personally, into our skin and eyes and hearts in just this way. It\u2019s how we can unite with God and Goddess in the most intense form on earth, the <\/span>most sacred<\/u><\/span> act there is. This is what I feel, anyway. So, all those religious\/societal severe restrictions on personal sexual expression keep God\/Goddess at bay in a very real way. Besides being sacrilege, those restrictions are all control energy, pure and simple. So again, thank <\/span>Goddess<\/u><\/span> for druidry! For it allowed me to break out of the heavy gridwork those puritan leftovers built around my very affectionate soul! So there!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> And lastly, I just want to add that all these special qualities of druidry are identical to the qualities I have felt in the Goddess, the White Tara, Who has led and assisted me over all these thirty pagan years of my life. She has embraced me in my deepest darkness and does so with everyone (a breadth of love I WISH I could embody.) She rules the path of experience, teaching us all through life\u2019s hard lessons and bringing forth the fruit of these later on. These are Her very <\/span>children<\/u><\/span>, these highest destinies in us all. And the Goddess is as sensual as <\/span>roses<\/b><\/u><\/span>, the tongue of the wind on the skin of the sea, ocean breakers gently caressing the shore. She IS the earth! It is Her very Body! And then, lastly, sexuality is Her middle <\/span>name<\/u><\/span>! For <\/span>She <\/u><\/span>is the inner teacher of intimacy, love-making, lifelong partnership in real <\/span>love.<\/u><\/span> And druidry is <\/span>Her<\/u><\/span> religion on earth. Of <\/span>course,<\/u><\/span> it holds up Her standards of love to the world! Thank <\/span>Goddess<\/u><\/span> for <\/span>druidry<\/u><\/span>!!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jill Rose Frew, Ph.D. <\/b><\/span><\/span>is a clinical psychologist, energy healer, workshop leader, and author. She will be opening a school teaching light healing and the Celtic path of enlightenment in 2019. For information, please see www.CelticHeaven.com<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She is author of\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Guardians of the Celtic Way: The Path to Arthurian Fulfillment<\/a>\"\"<\/u> (her name was Jill Kelly then), and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Alba Reborn<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Volume One Revised<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0and<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span>Volumes Two and Three<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Click on Images for Amazon Information<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wild Rose of Druidry The Celtic path is unlike any other, unique in ways that mean so very much to me. The first blossom of this path is that it imposes absolutely no restrictions, except that one should not harm another (which seems like quite a sensible restriction to me!) In the Celtic pagan tradition, all paths are good, and everyone has total freedom to be, to wander into darkness and shadows, if one wishes, then out again into light. I searched for many years for a spirit tradition that would allow me the freedom I longed for, going through Congregational, Presbyterian, and Quaker phases over the past thirty years, dabbling in Buddhism and Sufism for brief periods along the way as well. But the formal Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim religions impose definite dogmas and expectations on their adherents, worshiping in very specific ways, often holding up their own paths as (far!) better than the rest (this one turned me off every time!). Even Quakers, who are accepting of all religions and impose no dogma whatsoever, have subtle restrictions, such as being quiet, no singing during meeting, wearing clothing that isn\u2019t loud. I love the gentle acceptance, honesty, and social activism of the Quaker tradition, but there are mornings I don\u2019t feel a bit drab or quiet! And God\/Goddess are neither of these, ever! I want the freedom to sing in ceremony, to dance and laugh, to wear fairy wings if I feel like it! Ha. That would turn Quaker meeting upside down! (Now that I\u2019ve thought of it, I think I\u2019ll just have to try this to see what happens!) The freedom call of druidry draws my heart so strongly, like the wind across the moors in the Oak moon (June) or the hint of fairy flutes in the wood at dusk. Why can\u2019t I be anything I feel like, as long as it harms no one at all? No other path I\u2019ve ever seen holds out this wild rose promise to be whatever one likes. And second, comes the complete druid acceptance of whatever folks may be going through in life. In the Christian tradition I\u2019m most familiar with and still love in many ways, there were definite restraints on the expression of anger or sexuality especially, specific qualities that were held up as better than the rest (oh, not that again!),not to mention their utter horror of my pagan leanings! But I have wonderful friends who can be a bit volatile, who want to howl or drum half the night in their pain, who clam up, perhaps, or talk non-stop when they are stressed. I want to love them all, especially in their difficulties! I just can\u2019t stand imposing goody-goody nonsense on them. And the druid tradition does not. It brings patient understanding that says challenges must be faced and walked through, the wisdom of knowing all is ordered from above for good reasons that will someday flower into the deep embodiment of truth that is far more precious and permanent for having been earned through hard experience. During my long years as a therapist, I watched clients turn early traumas into career choices time and time again, with hearts that held far more passion and determination for turning things around in the world as a result of those early difficulties in life. There is a reason for the darkness that comes into every life. Every druid knows this. I confess I can be a bit judgmental underneath of folks who seem loud and rough, but the druid path has taught me not to do that, or far less than before. The standard of accepting everyone onto the path just as they are is druid, held high, and I will follow it with my whole heart, inspired by the breadth of love it carries. The third blossom of druidry is being deeply grounded in the earth, loving the sensual gorgeousness of this world; the upside down mirror in each raindrop, the softness of birch bark in the rain, the sweep of clouds twirling across the sky at dawn. At light healing school, we were often in the clouds ourselves, meditating and drifting for whole days at a time. And those hints of heaven are intoxicating and bring through shifts we probably couldn\u2019t manage any other way. But some folks thought that passing over to the Otherworld would be just lovely, too, and focused on this end-of-life passage a lot of the time. Others forgot to look down again at the end of the day. Oh, goodness! Give me druids every time! I want to run my fingers across rose petals for a whole lot of years to come, make eye contact with real people, wriggle my toes in the mud! Earth is fantastic! Sensuality is phenomenal! And bringing all those dreamy changes into real work in the world is best part of all!!! This is what I love most, putting what I\u2019ve learned into real effect in my life. I just adore that. It\u2019s my coffee in life, truly. Other traditions are action oriented, too, of course, but none that I\u2019ve tried have the earth-loving, sensual, vitality of druidry. And this leads to the sweetest, most fragrant blossom of all, sexuality. (Not that there aren\u2019t distortions mixed in here, there are.) Every formal religion I\u2019ve been involved with has imposed fairly rigid restrictions on sexuality in life, Sufism and Christian particularly. And while druidry does have that standard of not harming anyone, which carries some responsibility with it, no dogmatic rules are imposed on this aspect of life, either. Everyone is left to choose and learn and explore as they wish. I was raised by a wonderful Bostonian\/Scottish mother, but she had unfortunate puritanical underpinnings. If I went outside skyclad as a young child, this would cause an utter uproar in the household. Thank goodness druids are not this way! Thank GOODNESS a hundred times over! I was so relieved and happy to find a tradition without a straight jacket in this regard! And then, sexuality itself is so exquisite. There are no adequate words at all here, it\u2019s beyond them all. I think this acceptance of sexuality is the greatest gift of the druid tradition really, the shining starry pentacle. For I believe that God and Goddess intimately overlight all sexual joinings, that They move into each partner and send Their intense loving passion for each of us, very personally, into our skin and eyes and hearts in just this way. It\u2019s how we can unite with God and Goddess in the most intense form on earth, the most sacred act there is. This is what I feel, anyway. So, all those religious\/societal severe restrictions on personal sexual expression keep God\/Goddess at bay in a very real way. Besides being sacrilege, those restrictions are all control energy, pure and simple. So again, thank Goddess for druidry! For it allowed me to break out of the heavy gridwork those puritan leftovers built around my very affectionate soul! So there! And lastly, I just want to add that all these special qualities of druidry are identical to the qualities I have felt in the Goddess, the White Tara, Who has led and assisted me over all these thirty pagan years of my life. She has embraced me in my deepest darkness and does so with everyone (a breadth of love I WISH I could embody.) She rules the path of experience, teaching us all through life\u2019s hard lessons and bringing forth the fruit of these later on. These are Her very children, these highest destinies in us all. And the Goddess is as sensual as roses, the tongue of the wind on the skin of the sea, ocean breakers gently caressing the shore. She IS the earth! It is Her very Body! And then, lastly, sexuality is Her middle name! For She is the inner teacher of intimacy, love-making, lifelong partnership in real love. And druidry is Her religion on earth. Of course, it holds up Her standards of love to the world! Thank Goddess for druidry!!! *** About the Author: Jill Rose Frew, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, energy healer, workshop leader, and author. She will be opening a school teaching light healing and the Celtic path of enlightenment in 2019. For information, please see www.CelticHeaven.com She is author of\u00a0Guardians of the Celtic Way: The Path to Arthurian Fulfillment (her name was Jill Kelly then), and\u00a0Alba Reborn,\u00a0Volume One Revised,\u00a0and\u00a0Volumes Two and Three. Click on Images for Amazon Information<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":236,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}