In time long past, the Druids and folk of the Tribes gathered in earth and stone mound or round-house dwellings not unlike the hobbit houses of modern literature. In the center of each dwelling burned the hearthfire around which the tribes folk gathered to share meals, tell tales by the winter fires, guest visitors, and take counsel of their Chieftain and Druid Elders... For those fortunate enough to walk the path with their spiritual kin in Grove, it is much the same today...
... But for many, limited by distance or by means, the closest kinship to be claimed is through cyber community. This place serves those members for whom distance or circumstance are currently impassable barriers.
In the time of the ancestors, even the solitary Druid was once a babe dandled on her mother's knee, raised in the ways, rhythms, lore, and tales of the Tribe. Even foreigners were given tasks to bring them into its ebb and flow. Likewise, none came to be Druids without facing their mentors and the testing and trials of those who guard the Mysteries.
And so with us...
Then and Now...
The only way to know the Tribes is to live amongst them. By your own skills you will earn or be denied admittance here, as lore and custom demand, and cross the threshold to live, work, and play as one of us. Thus will you come to the Vale of Avalon that surrounds the outer perimeter of the Holy Isle. In modern terms, this Vale is our e-community or cyber "village"; a place for nurturing one another, for learning, practicing and sharing Avalon's earliest customs and ways. Here we hunt Truth under the guidance of our Elders and the encouragement of our fellows in community.
It is always wise to acquaint ourselves with local law and custom before settling in. Our Laws are found in our governing documents and in the agreement below. In entering our home remember: those who do nothing and share nothing, gain nothing; but those whose hearts are eager will profit much by their sojourn here. Therefore, come you in and find your place by the hearthfire; for by this blaze shall you come to know your place and purpose here. Therefore, gaze... and enter into the heart of the eternal flame...
Roundhouse interior, FlagFen UK, orig. photo (c) C. Filmer-Davies
Forums by ProBoards (phpBB)
Forum & Calendars
Purpose & Use
Forum
The Forum is the home of the ADO e-community and provides a place where all members may gather to share the fruits of their studies and experiences of Avalon's Druid Way. Regular and substantial participation on the Forum is a major criteria for invitation to online lessons and a requirement for all ADO Druids. Rules for participation in the Forums are given below and in the Forum itself.
Calendars
The MemberEvents Calendar now resides within the Forum itself, providing information on members-only events, gatherings, training opportunities, and Grove celebrations, as well as important dates for administrators. In the interest of making our guests feel welcome and comfortable, we also provide Public Events Notices. To receive the notice simply join the "Events" mailing list at: eventscalendar@avalondruidorder.org. Before making travel plans, please contact the ADO Midwife for confirmation and current admission prices on events: events@avalondruidorder.orgsubject header: Midwife / ("Event Name"). We look forward to meeting you one day soon!
Conduct: The "E-Laws"
For a modern spiritual community we have very few actual rules. Mostly, you will find the same rules restated in different ways for different situations and circumstances. Some rules have been added to the requirements of Tradition because the habits of modern people have proved them necessary. We believe that making Laws to regulate the obvious makes children of self-empowered adults; yet most of us live in societies that infantilize us.As the freedoms of children are limited because they are not responsible, so the freedom of adults must correspond to the level of real personal responsibility they show themselves ready to assume. To be a member, is to be given freedom to explore the customs, beliefs, and spiritual practices of our community intimately; therefore it is a condition of membership that we each accept personal responsibility for the consequences of our own thoughts and actions.
For those who would rather meet face-to-face, our events mailing list and the information at our Hedgerow School page provide an easy reference to ADO gatherings, events, training and other opportunities. The Gate to the cyber community is below. When you are ready, may it serve you well.
Requirements:
Be a current ADO member or Aspirant (with the required COPPA Form on file, if applicable).
Be courteous and respectful to all, at all times.
Grant the learned their titles, for they are hard-earned badges of service to us all.
Refrain from "whispering" (gossip); talk with others, not about them; and do not give ear to 'whisperers'.
Be prepared to hunt (quest) and to receive questions as your answers.
Keep Avalon, Avalon: Whatever (and whoever) we bring into Avalon affects everyone in the Tradition, whether they are prepared for it or not. Keep your non-Avalonian explorations separate from your work in Avalon and ADO.
What was made here, stays here. (All text at the ADO website, in our newsletter, forums, calendars, or other publications are the property of ADO and are protected by International copyright law. For information or to request permission for use, please contact the ADO Midwife.)
Actively and consistently participate!
Bring official matters directly to the assigned authorities(s) rather than to the e-community, by writing: ado_admin@bluebottle.com, Subject Line: (title/name/issue). If your issue is with a moderator, please see the ADO Members Liaison. Only they are authorized to assist you!
Unauthorized posting of copyright materials to ADO member resources is strictly forbidden, and is prosecutable under international copyright law. (Please see the ADO Midwife for more information.)
Federal law prohibits use of ADO resources to promote the agendas of political or social parties or platforms. This is a spiritual community. Let us reserve our activism for more appropriate venues.
What we share here, stays here. We share profoundly personal information on the basis of two assumptions: (1) that we each do the same; and (2) that we each keep confidential what is shared. It is not up to us to decide whose life and work should or should not be private. Therefore, keep all ADO member information private. Never cross-post messages to or from ADO members or resources, or otherwise share member information outside this Order -- not even with other Avalonian groups! To do so is to violate the law and break trust with our fellow members in community, and may result in termination of your membership.
Know and follow our Spiritual Laws, Rules & Customs: We are each vowed to uphold these requirements as taught by our Elders and as published by the Order. Please keep informed of current legal and traditional requirements by studying the Book of Tribes and regularly reviewing the appropriate pages at our website and member Forums.
You further agree that:
Posting of abusive, obscene, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or predatory material, or any other material that may violate member rules and/or civil laws, is strictly prohibited and may result in immediateand permanent banning or shunning from our spiritual community (i.e. termination of membership) -- and to your ISP being informed. The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these terms.
The webmaster, administrator(s), and moderator(s) of all ADO member resources, including this forum, have the right to remove, edit, move, or close any topic at any time at their sole discretion.
Any information you have submitted whilst applying to join ADO and/ or enroll in membership-related services may be stored in a database now and in future. While this information will not be knowingly disclosed to any third party without your consent (except as required to comply with the needs of the IRS and/or law enforcement agencies), neither the ADO nor its official representatives can be held responsible for any disclosures or compromised data resulting from computer hackers or second or third party security failures. In requesting to join, you agree to take personal responsibility for any such risk involved.
ADO uses your email address only for confirming your registration details and password, for sending new passwords and reminders, and for occasional member notifications from the Order.
ADO cyber resources may use "cookies", Java and/or Flash applets, and scripts. Disabling cookies and/or Java or Flash in your browser may prevent you from being able to view or access certain cyber resources. ADO is not responsible for problems resulting from personal computer limitations, software incompatibilities, or settings. Please check your fire wall and security settings to be sure that your browser will approve the site, accept cookies, and run the necessary Java and/or Flash applets and software.
Posts, messages, and submissions of articles intended to support a continuing traditional/scholarly dialogue within our community shall remain subject to whatever copyright agreements pertain between ADO and its members. These agreements cannot be retroactively revoked, and shall pertain whether or not you choose to remain a member.
Reminder: You must be an ADO Aspirant or member to join this Forum. Requests from non-members will be refused. To Join: Submit the ADO member application and enroll in the required Home Study at the "Join ADO" page of this website. Once full payment is received your Forum membership will be activated. Your application serves as your legal agreement to be bound by these and all other requirements, terms, and conditions of membership, both now and in future.
Disclaimers
Whilst our members are a loving and trusty community, we recognize that ensuring the safety of our groves and cyber sanctuary requires that we provide certain safeguards and remedies. ADO makes every effort to remove or edit objectionable material as quickly as possible; but as life and people are imperfect, we cannot guarantee always to review every message. Your request to join/access ADO member resources constitutes your legal acceptance of this fact, and your acknowledgement and agreement to abide by all ADO member requirements including the following:
Except for official notices from the ADO Elder Speaker and/or Chieftain, or by a mentoring Elder in the course of mentoring, posts by individual members do not represent the official views, opinions, tradition, teachings, or policies of Avalon Druid Order as a nonprofit entity.
All member posts, messages, and general correspondence remain the property and the responsibility of the author. ADO (as represented by its mentoring Elders, administrators, officers, and staff) is neither responsible nor liablefor the content of member correspondence.
ADO Members & Aspirants: Click flames of Hearthfire to request to join our member Forum.
We thank you for making the commitment to actively participate as a member of the ADO Tribes (spiritual community). Our Order can only be as exciting, nurturing, and spiritually satisfying as each of us chooses to make it. By choosing to actively participate, you are choosing to be one of the members who make ours a truly inspiring spirituality!
Other people's rights are also important to us. We create as much of the art for our site as possible using freeware, however we do use some images provided "free for individual or nonprofit use". Copyrights on clipart and other web images are difficult to track and mistakes will inevitably occur. If your original work is displayed here without your permission and you wish to have it removed, or if you wish to grant consent for use and receive credit for your work, please contact our webmistress with proof that you are the copyright holder. Per your request, upon receiving your information we will either remove your work or add your credit and link to the appropriate web page(s).
(Please direct questions and/or concerns about text or images appearing at this website to ourWEBMISTRESS.)
Site Directory
Avalon in the World...
Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from devoting "substantial time or resources" to political parties, platforms, lobbying or activism. It does not, however, prohibit individuals from doing so independently, through other venues. Our spiritual community is also part of the world community. We are taught to apply our beliefs to every area of our lives; this means being active participants in the world, as well as in our own spiritual Order.
We share with other Druids a charge as Stewards, Midwives, and Healers of this planet, and our members take a vital interest in its well being. Thus ADO is happy to designate certain limited areas where members may share links to events and resources whose intent is to gather, explore, discuss, and respond peaceably to world events affecting the spiritual quality of life on this planet. We encourage each of you, as individuals, to speak out in defense of our spiritual beliefs in these regards through every legal means at your disposal.
Participation in interfaith efforts also fulfills one part of our founding Vision (or "mission" statement) by promoting greater tolerance and understanding between faiths and cultures. Please share appropriate links with our web mistress for posting here, or post to the "Moots" thread of our members Forum.
NOTE: Page translations provided for reader convenience. ADO makes no claim for accuracy and accepts no responsibility for issues arising from reader use of 3rd party translation services.
In time long past, the Druids and folk of the Tribes gathered in earth and stone mound or round-house dwellings not unlike the hobbit houses of modern literature. In the center of each dwelling burned the hearthfire around which the tribes folk gathered to share meals, tell tales by the winter fires, guest visitors, and take counsel of their Chieftain and Druid Elders... For those fortunate enough to walk the path with their spiritual kin in Grove, it is much the same today... 
