Celtic Druid Temple Blog

Woodland Magic at Celtic Druid Temple

22/5/2024

Our moonthly newsletter is now live. We invite you to join us at our Full Moon ceremony at 8pm on Thursday the 23rd of May. We’ve been celebrating the fullness of the Moon and our connection with the greater cycles of Time for over 20 years now and each ceremony is still unique and enriching for us. More and more people are realising that partaking in regular ceremonies which celebrate our relationships within Nature can be really beneficial to staying grounded throughout the rest of our busy daily lives. And we're fundraising for biodiversity. We are eager to install a pond to support the natural regeneration of biodiversity in the woodland. Our woodland is already bursting with bird song and hosts a visiting herd of deer, families of pine martins and foxes as well as badgers and the occasional otter who visits the lower part of the woodland. Ponds really are secret treasures, for their relatively small size they contribute in a powerful way to the overall health of the locality. Read the full newsletter at this link.

Slovak Group on Sacred Pilgrimage 15/5/2024

16/5/2024

Yesterday we hosted a lovely group from the Slovak Republic. A full day immersed in Temple Crom and its surrounding woodlands. Ard Druí Niamh gave an introduction to the Temple and to our traditions. Two days previous had been enjoyed with Joe Conlon, Keeper of Tlachtga at the sacred site of Tlachtga in Co Meath.

Gifts were exchanged and Con and Niamh posed with Renata, the leader and teacher of the group from the Slovak Republic. We are holding traditional wooden drinking vessels from Slovakia.

Below is am image of a Slovak lady playing a Fujara, a traditional sheep herders horn. A hand made musical instrument that sounds a bit like 'Pan pipes' but with Pan pipes you'd blow over the end to get the sound but with a Fujara one blows into it.

A surprise for us and for Ivana! Ivana is from the Slovak Republic where the first editions of my book were printed for me. She got a copy from us and began the translation / transliteration long before she knew she would be here on a Spiritual Pilgrimage. When Ivana found out she would be visiting us here she was amazed. She brought the book with her 50% translated and I was very happy to sign it for her in OgamNua. What wonderful magical connections are made when people embrace their own Path to awareness. We express our thanks for all the gifts we were given and wish the Pilgrims every blessing for their shared journey.

Feedback by email from Ivana-
Last week I spent traveling around Ireland discovering the primordial Celtic Druid Tradition with group of friends from Slovakia. It was an amazing experience, full of beauty in nature as well as in people. Thank you Con Niamh Connor for your welcoming and sharing. Since I've been translating the book of Ogham for the past 7 months, meeting you was a dream come true for me and a great honor. I wish you all the best!

Full Moon Magic

20/4/2024

In this months newsletter we invite you to our Full Moon celebrations this Tuesday the 23rd of April. We let you know about three new Celtic Fire Magic Saturday Afternoon classes, we are looking for volunteers to help in our woodland and Con shares another two chapters of his book to subscribed members. You can read the full newsletter at this link.

First Full Moon of Earrach

23/3/2024

In this moonth's newsletter we highlight our full moon celebrations and let you know that there is a partial eclipse taking place on Monday morning. We have also announced a bonus Saturday class on the 30th of March all about meditating, understanding subtle energy and the how wonderful trees are. New Dates for April and May have also been shared. Read the full newsletter here.

Ireland’s Indigenous Celtic Wisdom Tradition

5/3/2024

One of the core mysteries of Ireland’s Indigenous Celtic Wisdom Tradition is that it has Three Cauldrons within and Three Realms without. The diagram above shows the development from Beginner to Realised to Wisdom Sharer. See that #1 is where we all start and #3 is completed basic training as an Ard Druí and that #5 is applied or advanced sharing of wisdom. #1 is where we find the “seekers”, those who would walk a path to higher self awareness. The #1’s look all around and mostly see mediocrity, dullness and casual acceptance of the master-slave hierarchy. Seekers want to find a way out of such notions and may begin to look for a Path. They often leave Ireland to join in with other indigenous practices in other lands because they cannot see Ireland’s native traditional ways because these were destroyed by an alien church and imperial control system.

Or they stay at home and fall prey to the fantasy bandits with their gaudy glamour claiming connection to our indigenous practices. The common basis for the philosophy of the bandits is a debased version of the Hebrew / Jewish tradition of the Cabbala. This they present as the “Old Religion” and it is but not from Ireland! (See Stopping the 'wiccan burning cult' on the homepage at https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/ for details). The bandits knowledge system and core philosophy's and lineage belongs to the deserts of the middle east and all their efforts to make it ‘Celtic Irish’ by the addition of shamrocks and retold church stories peppered with a “Cúpla Focal” does not hide this fact. Others incorporate parts of the Hindu tradition and many educated seekers look to be ‘Certified Shamans’ with dressings of shamrocks, leprechauns and so on. Alien practices cannot connect seekers to the Irish indigenous Path.

It is unlikely that anyone under the age of 30 years is at stage #5 because they could not have gained access to the higher awareness that comes only with sufficient life experience and personal knowledge from which to share. A 30 year old may have lots of experience in specialist areas but would not have sufficient life experience and personal knowledge to share true wisdom on the higher levels. The basic reason for this is that it is only by combining personal knowledge and personal experience that one creates personal wisdom. Reading, studying or even watching videos can help seekers to avoid common mistakes but such mental activities cannot give either personal knowledge or personal experience that lead to higher wisdom. It can be argued that “reading, studying or even watching videos” can give focused mental skills in confined areas and this has much truth in it but it does not lead to the higher consciousness of the Ard Druí sharing wisdom to seekers.

The 15 images shown in the graphic above are made from static images to convey information about progressive stages of personal development. The reality is more like these cauldrons are spinning fast and in chaotic motion in three dimensions all the time. Only the base or cauldron of warming is sitting upright all the time - this cauldron must be filled with living water and organic fresh food on a daily basis, this cauldron must be stirred by physical movement and must be cleansed by regular constant detox / bowel movement. The cauldron of warming needs to be fed the best ingredients, stirred and cleansed on a continuous basis for an extended period before the middle and upper cauldrons have a chance to ‘do their work’. This is the mystery - “you are what you eat, say and do” - choose wisely and enjoy every step of your Path.

All part of the Saturday Class teachings at our Indigenous Wisdom Tradition - see https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/saturdayclasses.html

Crom bites the Patrician

22/2/2024

The Druí of Celtic Druid Temple will celebrate the Full Moon on Saturday the 24th of February at 8pm on the Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, at 8pm at Temple Crom in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon and at 7pm in Vienna, Austria. You are welcome to join us at any of these locations. We ask that you email the Ard Druí facilitating as a courtesy before attending. Contact details at this link. We’ll be celebrating the Spring Equinox on Sunday the 17th of March and we have also shared in our newsletter some indigenous truths behind the story of St. Patrick.....read more here.

St. Patrick

22/2/2024

The True Story of St. Patrick
The legend of St. Patrick was fabricated.The designation or title of ‘saint’ for Patrick has never been acknowledged by any of the Roman Catholic Popes. We are told that in the later years of his life he travelled all over Ireland building churches, digging wells, killing dragons, snakes and reptiles that did not exist. He burned 150 Druid books that did not exist, prayed for old Arch Druids to die, killed or caused 800 Druids to be killed and had a female follower who was close to him disappear linked to a she-beast story, and he caused two princesses to die by his baptism
read the full article:
https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/thetruestoryofstpatrick.html

St. Patrick burned Druid books and killed many Druids
If his own confessions are to be believed Patrick burned 150 Druid Books and on Tara he caused a competition with a Druid Book and the Bible to be thrown into a barrel of water – needless to say the Druid Book sank proving that the Bible was a better book. There is also a story about Patrick and two Pagan Celtic Princesses – which he caused to die at the Ogulla Well in today’s Co. Roscommon.
https://www.celticdruidtemple.com/blog/he-burned-many-druid-books-if-he-is-to-be-believed

Happy Full Moon

22/1/2024

Hi to all our members and friends, we hope you and yours are well. The Druí of Celtic Druid Temple will celebrate the Full Moon on Thursday the 25th of January at 8pm on the Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, at 8pm at Temple Crom in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon and at 7pm in Vienna, Austria. Our moonthly newsletter is now live and you can read it here.

Modern Fake Ogham

15/1/2024

Hi, I was asked for an opinion on a recent find of a plank with Ogham carings - see the pic below, its about 8 foot long and recently found. My reply to a friend who follows that fb page was - In my opinion this Ogham Plank is a moderm movie or tourism prop. The “W” end which would represent the root or feet is symetrical showing it to be cut to be seen, i.e. on top and not in the ground where the root belongs according to the Book of Ballymote.

Two modern scholars have translated the section of the Auraicept that tells us how to read Ogham. In the translation of Calder (1917):
“This is their number: five Oghmic groups, i.e., five men for each group, and one up to five for each of them, that their signs may be distinguished. These are their signs: right of stem, left of stem, athwart of stem, through stem, about stem. Thus is a tree climbed, to wit, treading on the root of the tree first with thy right hand first and thy left hand after. Then with the stem, and against it and through it and about it.”
In the translation of McManus (1988):
“This is their number: there are five groups of ogham and each group has five letters and each of them has from one to five scores and their orientations distinguish them. Their orientations are: right of the stemline, left of the stem-line, across the stemline, through the stemline, around the stemline. Ogham is climbed as a tree is climbed.”

The ‘root’ would be in the ground. The visible remaining steel screws (guess) suggest that it was fitted upside down and held in place by these screws attached to a ground scaffold of probably steel with the ‘roots’ in the air...
Asking for advice on dendrochronology for dating would merely suggest the age of the wood and not the engraving on it. It is too thin with a neatly cut back with Ogham type symbols raised to be considered as ancient. The removal of wood to leave raised Ogham is a lot more work than the usual method of carving the symbols into the parent material - wood or stone...
The alphabet is a mix of two types with one type using the leaning half line style. This is shown on the modified image with the comment. It looks good but it does not say anything. A movie or tourism prop that was discarded after use, nice find however.

Other pictures of this plank did show actual steel woodscrews...

Happy Imbolg

10/1/2024

Our moonthly newsletter is live and can be read here. In this moonths newsletter we share our timing for our Imbolg ceremony and details of a new 6 week afternoon lecture series taking place at the Hemp Hall here at Celtic Druid Temple from Saturday the 17th of Febuary.