The Living Nemeton

25/07/2020

August 2nd is National Tree Day but, sadly due to COVID-19, many community planting activities have been cancelled this year. However, it’s worth checking if your local Council has any innovative activities planned that aren't traditional tree planting events.

For example, Liverpool City Council's hard-working bush regeneration team will still be planting 2000 trees at Fassifern Park - and they welcome your encouragement. If you would like to have a message featured in a video about Liverpool's natural environment, please send a short video on why trees and green spaces are important to you to [email protected] (no longer than 20 seconds) by the 31 July 2020. People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to participate so get the family involved! Each entry will go in a draw to win a $50 Bunnings voucher.

21/07/2020

St johns wort. St. John’s wort
My envy whosoever has thee
I will pluck thee with my right hand
I will preserve thee with my left hand
Whoso findeth thee in the cattlefold
Shall never be without kine

Carmichael 1900

L. Hypericum Perforatum. G. Achlasan Chalium-chile (the armpit package of Columba). Also known as Fuga Daemonum - a plant that drives away the devil.

According to Gaelic tradition St Columba possessed a great affection for St John the Baptist and so he always carried a piece of St. John’s wort has on his person (Carmichael).

It’s probable this plant was associated with the pre Christian midsummer festival that was later synchronised with St Johns day. Also known is Gaelic as allus Murie (Mary’s sweat) and lus na Maighdine Muire (Virgin Mary’s herb) among many others.

It’s a protective herb in many ways in Ulster hung about the house it protects from witches and the evil eye at midsummer and was the essential part of lighting bonfires in Danaher and Gailey. Not only in Ireland but also in Cornwall and Scotland.

This plant embodiment then can be seen as a representation of a terrestrial sun perhaps. Used to remove poltergeist and depression alike.

The idea of an armpit package is interesting. Folks think that by holding the plant wrapped in your left armpit the oils from the plant would be released slowly onto your skin and into your blood stream nearest your heart providing beneficial “spirit raising״ to those troubled with depressive like feelings. Perhaps this is what we mean by chasing away the devil?

So much more to share but well worth looking into the lore yourself 🙂

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02/05/2020

Don’t forget if you’re a Southern Hemisphere OBODie to join us at 11am AEST for our talk! We hope you can join us x

Over the coming days and until 10 May 2020, the Southern Hemisphere Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids Online event is happening. The event has a variety of presentations, rituals, eisteddfodau and bardic circles as well as opportunities for informal chats and catching up with friends new and old. If you’re a member of you can join the event and obtain more information via the event’s page. If you’re not on Facebook there are also options to participate via Zoom.
We are doing a presentation today at 11am AEST on “Exploring the Power Of the Nemeton” in which we examine the different types (spheres) of nemeta, and how a focus on these in your practice can be of assurance and assistance in these challenging times. We would love it if you could join us. The presentation will be streamed live to Facebook and can of course also be watched in replay after the event for OBODies who can’t make it at the scheduled time.

01/05/2020

Over the coming days and until 10 May 2020, the Southern Hemisphere Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids Online event is happening. The event has a variety of presentations, rituals, eisteddfodau and bardic circles as well as opportunities for informal chats and catching up with friends new and old. If you’re a member of you can join the event and obtain more information via the event’s page. If you’re not on Facebook there are also options to participate via Zoom.
We are doing a presentation today at 11am AEST on “Exploring the Power Of the Nemeton” in which we examine the different types (spheres) of nemeta, and how a focus on these in your practice can be of assurance and assistance in these challenging times. We would love it if you could join us. The presentation will be streamed live to Facebook and can of course also be watched in replay after the event for OBODies who can’t make it at the scheduled time.

30/04/2020

The veil has thinned, the ancestors have spoken. This is the turning point of ascent into the Celtic new year. So too, we ascend from the deep cool dimness of the Glen, carrying the messages our ancestors gave us in our hearts. Blessed Samhain

26/04/2020

Today on our journey, we have passed through the Glen and we begin to wander the mossy paths along the valley, slowly making our way back towards the light ... @ Dantes Glen...

24/04/2020

We are now drawing even closer to in the and our continues. The cool damp Glen is a mossy, green wonderland around the clear waters of the . The blackwater pools at the base of the Glen are reminiscent of the and it’s associations with journey to the afterlife. You know from just being here that this is a special place, and the sense of the is strong. May your ancestors continue to guide you through these extraordinary times. May you release what no longer serves you. @ Dantes Glen...

21/04/2020

That awesome feeling when the book you are in arrives! ❤️ Thank you Sandra and Elkie and all our fellow contributors
/|\ We are so proud to be featured among the pages filled with insights from our friends and fellow

20/04/2020

We continue our experience of today, as we continue to pause and take stock of what really matters, who we really are, what we harvest, what we choose to hold onto and take with us into a future that is more unknown and more unknowable than any of us have seen in our collective lifetimes. You may reflect upon such things, inasmuch as the water of the creeks in the Glen also reflect reality. Take care, breathe deeply, stay safe, and soon we will begin our ascent back from the depths of the Glen. We hope you will continue with us on our journey /|\

16/04/2020

In recent posts, we have discussed the value of water as a sacred means of connection with our ancestors. As we pause on our journey, we would like to share another short video of the waterfall at the base of . You may find that a brief meditation on water, and its profound yet simple function as a conduit to your ancestors, brings you peace at this time. I like to conclude this practice by drinking (clean!) water, inspired by the words of Glenys Livingstone in her wonderful book : ‘I remember that I have come from the East to this place, and I am Water. She is alive in me, and I in Her’. And as She is alive in us, so too are all our ancestors. It is perhaps no coincidence that this glen bears a fair resemblance to St Nectan’s Glen in Cornwall, a power place and an ancestral place for me. St Nectan’s Glen has traditionally been decorated by the pilgrims who visit with votives and clouties. I’ve often wondered why the practice of leaving offerings at scared springs wasn’t one of the traditions imported into Australia with the British ancestors. Of course, one must be mindful now to ... ~ Lisa /|\

14/04/2020

Our pilgrimage of descent to continues as we pause now in the Glen itself, surrounded by the dense green glow of the fertile hollow. We have each journeyed here from our own personal to a place we can connect to our through the waters of rebirth. One thing these challenging times has proven in the most emphatic way is that we truly are all connected. Stay safe, stay connected, and be guided by the Old Ones. @ Dantes Glen...

13/04/2020

We invite you to take 20 seconds (or longer, if you wish!) to rest beside the waters of old that flow through . These waters likewise flow through you, forming an unbroken link between you and all your who ever walked the Earth - whether they be ancestors of blood, ancestors of mud (who walked the lands we inhabit before us), or ancestors of inspiration. All are connected, not just the living.