In the Cold of Winter

After starting out with a flurry of activity, looks like DruidUU has settled into a once-a-month posting pattern this winter. I'm sure things will pick up around here as things change in the future, but that's just the way life is right now!

In case you haven't seen it yet, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids recently published this video on their YouTube page that introduces viewers to their Order and its work. It's a high-quality production that is certainly worth checking out!

I held a small, but nice Alban Arthan ritual for the Winter Solstice at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, but due to scheduling conflicts, my Imbolc ritual will just take place in a solitary fashion here at home. I've enjoyed sharing Druidry with those in our Ancient Shores Chapter of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and will miss the community aspect of the coming holiday!

Best wishes to all of you as the coldest days of winter settle in for a spell. May you find rest and inspiration in this quiet and beautiful time of the year. The cardinals have already started singing at my house as they reaffirm their life-long bond in preparation for spring!

-Skybranch /|\

Invocation of the Ancestors

A raft of tamarack needles floats on the Peshekee River
in Michigan's Upper Peninsula 

This Samhuinn, I led a Druid-based ritual for five other members of the CUUPS Group at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship where I've been a member since 1997. In case you're not familiar, CUUPS stands for the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a group of us formed a local chapter, called Ancient Shores CUUPS, about a year and a half ago. (I'll write more about CUUPS in later posts.)

While much of my ritual was based on suggestions from The Druidry Handbook, by John Michael Greer, I also felt something extra was needed to complete the ceremony under our little grove of pines. What I came up with is something I call the "Invocation of the Ancestors" and I thought I'd share it with you here.

"As we receive the gifts of the Earth Mother and the Goddess at Samhuinn, when the veil between the worlds is thin, so too can we feel our ever-present ancestors, who may be gone from this world, but are with us, always. Through their courage and sacrifice, joy, laughter and pain, this world has been shaped for us to live in.  Indeed, our lives are the very real result of their everlasting love.

Druids know there is power in the sound of the voice. The resonant tones that escape our lips are the very echoes of Awen within us and the energy of Nwyfre, the life force, which is present in all things.

At this time, I invite us all to remember our ancestors together. As you feel so moved, let us speak aloud the names of those who have passed beyond the veil. Let us draw them near us, here in our sacred grove, as we thank them for their many gifts and feel their everlasting love."

As we spoke the names of our ancestors in the evening air, a powerful feeling came over our Grove. I truly felt the love of those gone before in a very real and immediate way. My Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Uncles and other loved ones who have passed on are still guiding my steps every day. And what a wonderful moment to share such a bond with the rest of our group at this special time of Samhuinn. 

May each of you also see clear the guiding light of your ancestors.

Yours under the Whispering Pines,

Skybranch /|\

Ancient Shores

I led a very wet hike this evening at Averill, once the largest banking ground in the world, where white pine logs were piled thousand upon thousand as they awaited their trip to the sawmill. A lot has changed since the 1880s, and the property along the Tittabawassee River is now owned by the Little Forks Conservancy, who has worked to restore the natural ecosystems there.

As I walked the property yesterday, I listened to the wind blow through the trees and watched autumn leaves spiral to the earth. Each spring, 130 years ago, this land was nothing but logs piled 30 feet high and more, stretching for a mile along the high riverbank. Now, white pines and a host of other trees grow there once again and birdsong fills their branches.

The little stream flows into the river

As I contemplated this history of men and trees, I was drawn off the trail by a fragment of an old stone foundation in the woods. A small piece of wall is all that's left of some old structure, long rotted and gone. Looking further in, I noticed a piece of an old railroad tie that was once part of the grade that ran near here. Now, it's a paved bike path that stretches for 30 miles through the restored countryside of forests and farmland.

Looking even further into the trees, I noticed the winding bed of a small stream, cutting its way through the woods as it heads for the nearby river. I found evidence of mink, raccoon and deer in the sand and clay along the shore. Beds of stones and pebbles lie exposed in the low water. Walking along the bed, I paused to examine these rocks, deposited here who-knows how many eons ago. Crouching low, I was amazed at the variety of sizes, shapes and colors and found several small pieces of pure white quartz amidst their gray-clad cousins.

Then, in the water, I noticed a pattern of lines and pulled up a rock that was nothing less than a completely fossilized shell. Just over an inch long, its top and bottom halves are clearly visible, almost like something new which had instantly turned to stone. This whole region, however, was once covered by glaciers a mile thick and ages earlier than that, a warm saltwater sea. The name of our local Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans group is "Ancient Shores CUUPS" in recognition of those times long past and forgotten by most.

Though it seems like the main tale of this place, it turns out those frenetic years of lumbering destruction were just a mere moment of time in a long, long, story of this land. Here I am, crouching in a streambed with wetted fingers, clutching a fossilized shell from an ancient sea. Maybe the very water molecules that gave it life thousands and thousands of years ago are literally flowing through my veins.

Skybranch /|\