21 March 2007
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We invite you to join us on a unique exploration of the one language that all Druids hold in common: the language of our sacred Land. And we invite you to join us for this journey not in the Celtic lands of the Old World, but in the largely uncharted lands of the "New World".
While our methods may differ from one group to another, most of us will agree that two basic energies define the character of a place: the energy inherent in its nature; and the overlay of residual energies that make up its atmosphere, which result from feelings and events remembered within the land itself. Exploring these energies is an important part of resanctifying the land. While we may disagree over the accuracy of Celtic stories of place, most of us can agree that such stories provide an important link between what can be intuited from energy and what is known from myth, legend, folklore, and history -- a link that was invaluable to our spiritual ancestors. Taken together, these stories formed a mythical, metaphorical map of the sacred landscape that could easily be communicated between any people who knew the story-lore, whether or not those individuals originated from the same Tribe, Order, or Land ...
All serious modern Druids are familiar with these ideas. Some are also well-versed in the stories of place of the Old World Celtic lands; but few of us could make the same claim for our knowledge of the majority of lands we inhabit today. We propose that Druids today have as much to gain from an intimate knowledge of the sacred body of our land as did our Druid ancestors in time long past. And while our *island* is larger than the Celtic isles, it is not less enchanted nor less deserving of honour. While we could certainly undertake this exploration as part of the "secret lore" of our own Order, such an attitude is not in harmony with what we know of ancestral practices. The ancestors give every appearance of having developed and shared this information as common to all Druids, regardless of college, Order or tribe. It is this very universality that makes such a *map* invaluable. It would be absurdly arrogant to think that any one organization could discover and hoard all of the place lore and stories of an entire continent in one lifetime; certainly it would be folly for an Order with a membership as modest as our own. But together we can accomplish this. Naturally much knowledge would remain in the keeping of local Druids and Groves; but it is the nature, stories, and lore of the major continental features and power sites that we seek to discover and share through this exploration -- beginning this year, with North America.
And so we invite you to join us at a Council Fire of North American Druids. At this fire we are all equals, ambassadors for our own Druid paths come together to share in a hunt for the sacred body of our Mother here in the lands of the New World. Our intent is to use this knowledge for the healing and renewal of the land. The hunt begins now, at the close of the present lunar standstill, and "ends" in 2016 at the close of the next standstill. It is not our intention that ADO "lead" the group or "head" the Council (though we can do so, if need be). Our hope is for a circle of equals from many North American Druid paths, with its own elected Council of those within the assembly who possess the greatest experience and knowledge of such endeavors. The assembly will gather and submit information. The Council will sift the information gathered and prepare it for final presentation. Where multiple sites vie for the same role, a majority vote of all contributors will decide which is selected, according to the site's folkloric and energetic correspondence with its its proposed role in the landscape, and its relevance to our own time. The method and philosophy behind the Celtic stories of place will serve as our model in this. Our results will then be rendered as a "modern Druid map of North America" accompanied by the place stories and descriptions of the chosen sites, with any remaining information to be made available through published appendices.
Participants are free to use their customary methods of exploration, provided that each includes within her/his site report(s) a consideration of following:
- A brief description of methodology and criteria for assessing the site
- Folklore and stories of place relating to the specific site from all available cultures;
- Major geological changes affecting the site over the past 10,000 years;
- Past and current land usage;
- Past and current climate(s); and
- Direct observations on the area's atmosphere, energetics, and spirit of place, derived from first-hand exploration of each site.
Discussion of submissions (and submitters) is subject to one simple rule: It is not the intent that we critique one another's beliefs or methods (except in so far as the results must be verifiable), so please restrict comments to polite, respectful considerations of results. This map will be subject to change with changes in the land and its remembered history; thus, once completed it will need to be reviewed and updated periodically (we propose every 19 years or so). In the unhappy event that this project is of interest to only a few, then we shall respect the consensus opinion that such a project (or cooperative relationship) has no place in Neodruidism and publish our results privately for use by the active participants. However, we believe most Druids will see the value in this, and intend for the completed work to be published as a resource to Druids everywhere with the proceeds going either to a charity protecting North American wilderness and/or sacred sites (chosen by majority vote of all contributors) or perhaps to a foundation created by us all expressly for that purpose.
Links to contributing groups will be shown below, where available. (Regrets, but only links to groups that regularly contribute site information to this project will be maintained here.) Since the intent here is not for personal glory but for the resanctification of our lands and the creation of a shared resource, credit for the project will be shared by all contributing individuals and groups, with the project itself being marketed under an appropriate collective title or name of the group's choosing (such as "Druids of North America [DONA]" or "Convocation of American Druids [COAD]", for example).
If you are signing on as an official representative (or "ambassador") for your Druid organization, please let us know so that your group may be properly credited and its link published here. Also, please include your group's email, as well as your personal email address, with your contact information as this will ease the process as we get closer to publishing. Permission to republish this letter (as shown here) is granted on the condition that you provide a link back to this page with the letter -- and -- that Avalon Druid Order-ADO is credited as the letter's original author and source. (This consent does not extend to any other information at this website.) If you would like to offer your services in helping to organize any aspect of this effort, please contact us at: ado_admin@bluebottle.com, Subject Header: Druid Map. Your assistance will be much appreciated! Group meeting times will be determined by majority vote of the active contributors. More information will be made available at sign-up.
Thank you for sharing your time, consideration, and talents with your fellow Druids. We look forward to sharing this journey with you!
Bendithion Afallon,
[PS: I would particularly like to thank those tireless workers on behalf of Sovereignty, my Irish and Scottish mentors Gina, Rosmerta, and Mabh, for their generous sharing on matters concerning the healing and resanctification of the Land. What Gaelic terms we use here are used in honor of your patient years of work on the path before us. May our own small contribution be worthy of your efforts.]
ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS (Links provided for those with active websites):
- Avalon Druid Order (ADO): International
- Blue Rose Grove: Salem, NH
- Green Man Grove: Cave Spring, GA
- Silver Spiral Grove: Danbury, CT
- Yewberry Grove: Great Barrington, MA
[Note: As this project has evolved, some participants have preferred to publish their findings online rather than prepare and send documents that will sit unseen until the project is completed. We have honoured this request, though we still prefer that information be submitted in document form, as this shortens and simplifies the work of compiling and preparing it for later publication.]
