Religious Tolerance is a Symbod of Civilization

The Times (London) has an interesting article regarding Witchcraft, Druidism, and Paganism where in they indicate that the sign of a civilized society is its tolerance and acceptance of alternative religions. They say, in part, "Today the wheel has turned full circle... it is a mark of civilised society that those who follow these beliefs are accorded the same rights as those who follow mainstream faiths."

The article also mentions that the "Pagan Federation — set up in 1971 — is gaining influence and has become
the
main liaison body between pagan ministers and hospitals, prisons and
other
authorities."  Besides, the Pagan Federation noted there, there is also a Pagan Federation International.

Two Druid Circles in Golden Gate Park

Melissa Griffin reports that the circles in are back in business -- two of them in Golden Gate Park (San Francisco). One is near the western boundary of the AIDS memorial grove, the other is west of the Japanese Tea Garden.  I don't believe either group is Keltrian, but, I'd be interested in finding out more about them.  Who they are, who is leading them, etc. 

Melissa go on to indicate that the park landscape architect was looking for rocks to finish up a Rhododendron Dell renovation. Near the AIDS memorial grove, he found a series of beautiful, hand-carved limestone rocks and began moving them to his project. (He works for the City and they are City property, after all.)  What he didn’t know was that he was dismantling a Druid circle. The Druids were, according to Melissa, upset and "demanded" their religious rocks back.  The Parks Department arranged for their safe return and all is well again.

Keltria web ranking dropping

I noticed that the Henge of Keltria website is dropping web popularity according to Alexa. If you have a website, please add a link to the Keltria website (www.keltria.org). It will improve our "Sites Linking In" which should improve our web popularity. That will help raise us in web searches. See http://www.keltria.org/hengememberwebsites.htm for links.

Thoughts on Keltrian Ritual

I ran into an interesting Blog where the individual talked about looking in to the Henge of Keltria.

thoughts on Druidry and Celtic Reconstructionism « Ozark Pagan Mamma

I read about a group that broke away from ADF mainly for this reason- the Henge of Keltria. I looked into this group, but was disappointed to find that in creating their form of Druidism, they changed too many things from the way they were done in their parent group. For instance, they made ritual even more elaborate than ADF’s– my tendency is toward KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). More steps were added to the rituals, and an elaborate system of ritual tools was created. They also made the groups initiatory and closed instead of public and open.

Certainly, the construction of ritual space is a little bit more complex than I recall ADF rituals being, but there isn't much more involved with the rest of the ritual. There are many things in Keltrian Ritual that are optional and, of course, the tools is one of them. Ritual tools in Keltrian Ritual are trappings and are not necessary to accomplish the goal. We often recommend that if you don't have, or can't use a sickle that a cupped hand can be used just as well.

Yes, Keltrian Druidism is initiatory. That said, the vast majority of the rituals are public or semi-public. I use the term public, because some groups can and do rituals where anyone can show up, but the majority of groves hold ritual in privately owned spaces, usually someone's home, where an invite is expected or the individual comes with someone who is known. I personally try to keep the "creep-o's" out of my home and I would never invite a "creep-o" to someone else's home that I wanted to be invited back to. The "Great Eight" Feasts and the Mistletoe Rite are open. Only the Vervain Rite is initiates only. The reason it is closed is that it is a magic working ritual. In working magic it is important for the group to develop group mind and work in unison as well as working with trust. It is difficult to trust someone you have little to no knowledge of and the initiation process provides a framework to garner trust from the other participants. It is also difficult to establish group mind unless the group has worked together on many occasions in a non-magickal way.

Thanks to Richard Thorpe and Dr Jacqueline Gibson for their support of Breton language.

There are many reasons to learn a Celtic language.  Certainly, it is difficult to achieve a cultural worldview unless you can think in the language of the culture.  I applaud any efforts to increase awareness of Celtic languages and promotion of their revival.  Gary reports on the Celtic Myth Pod Show site that a Cardiff couple boost the Breton language.

The articles says in part, "There are about 540,000 speakers of this Celtic language and a Welsh couple are helping to revive it."

"Richard Thorpe and his Breton partner Dr Jacqueline Gibson both speak Welsh and Breton and have been active raising links between Wales and Brittany since moving to France 18 months ago. More than 700 people recently took part in a sponsored run in Brittany in aid of Breton-language schools. The course began in Nantes and ran west via Lannion, which has been twinned since 1991 with Caerphilly. It finished in Carhaix-Plougher in central Brittany."

Thank you Richard and Dr. Jacqueline.  We appreciate your efforts in helping to keep Celtic Language alive.