Please consider the following descriptions carefully. Register for courses by contacting Mentors directly via the link provided (for ADO Member Offerings use the form below). Titles in blue are open to the public, but are accepted by ADO.You may expect to feel some uneasiness with traditional training initially, but its differences are also its strength. Please contact Mentors directly with any questions or concerns and if you are still unsure, please consider more conventional avenues of study. This way is not suited to everyone. Whether it is suited to you only your heart can say.
Open Home Studies
(9-month correspondence studies each $350 USD per person, unless otherwise indicated)
Faery Herbal I: The Plant Kingdoms - (Starts 21 March) Philosophy of traditional herbalism as it was practiced in the Isles in time past. Curriculum includes study of correspondences, Doctrine of Signatures, a basic Faery herbal repertoire, and traditional charms and preparations. (Offered byAvalon Sanctuary)
Faery Herbal II: The Sacred Grove - (Starts 21 March) Philosophy of traditional herbalism as it applies to the nine Faery woods, correspondences, Doctrine of Signatures, a basic herbal repertoire, and traditional charms and preparations. (Offered by Avalon Sanctuary)
Faery Healing* - (Starts 21 September) Traditional modes of healing including Essence Healing* (folk aura-healing), Healing Breath*, Faery Song* and much more. (* Trademark: Avalon Sanctuary.Offered by Avalon Sanctuary. Additional course offerings at our website.)
Celtic Herbalism - Nine month correspondence course covering the basic herbs of the modern Celtic Healer's medicine kit, traditional philosophy, ethics, wildcrafting, and methods of growing and preparing herbs. (Prices may vary. Please seeBrighid's Academy of Healing Arts to apply or for more information.)
Celtic Art - Apprentice in the art of making Celtic knotwork, Pictish zoomorphic animals, gilding, and calligraphy with one of today's masters. (Prices may vary. Please seeAON Celtic Art / Cari Buziak to apply or for more information.)
Closed Home Studies (ADO Members Only)
(9-month correspondence studies each $350 USD per person. Use form below to register.)
Druidry 101 (ADO): Masque of Spirit, Druid Basics - Basic concepts in Avalonian Druidism, including: Healing Cycles, myths, lore, traditional laws, Druid customs, deities, ancestors, guided meditations, working with energy, correspondences, basic breathwork, and basics of ritual.
Songspell 101 (ADO) - Myths and lore, overview of Tribal history, the Singer's place and purpose in Avalon and in the Tribes, including intermediate breathwork, voice, sound and resonance, sacred story-telling, basic poetic forms, song strains, perspectives on basic healing, and the uses of enchantment.
Pathwalking 101: Guardianship (ADO) - Hunter/gatherer myths and lore, the Guardian's place in the Tribes, spiritual warriorcraft, concepts behind battle feats and skills, shielding, warding, and concepts underlying basic battle magics.
Dreamer's Arts 101 (ADO) - Provides an overview of the history and lore of Avalon's Dreamers (prophets, seers, and oracles), including ethics, forms of 'dreaming', its uses and purposes past and present
Intensive Workshop (ADO Members Only)
(4-day intensives, each $250 USD per person. Use form below to register.)
For ADO members on the Druid clergy track who cannot make extended pilgrimage. [Prerequisite: approval of ADO Elders] Workshop sequence provides a context for understanding the Druid's place within the tribal and world communities; compares and contrasts personal, tribal, and Druid healing cycles and practices; and offers a profound experience of Avalonian Druid culture and spiritual life within a safe, sanctified space (3.5 days ea., $350 USD per person, includes accommodations):
Immersion (ADO Members Only)
(Current price: $2,100 USD per person, includes 18 days study and lodgings; min. enrolment- 10, maximum- 21)*
Brings the Seeker as fully as possible into the life, ways, worldview, customs, and spirituality of ancient Avalon as she is known and honored in Avalon Druid Order today. Being in Avalon's sacred landscape in spiritual communion with other Druids is an inspiring experience. It enlivens our past-life memory, and helps to illuminate our purpose today. To walk with our ancestors and take in their presence, to explore their wisdoms at the very wellspring of their belief, and to see our world through their eyes is an overwhelming, truly unforgettable experience!
Several types of Immersions are offered:
The Sacred Landscape: Somerset (UK) or Finger Lakes Region, NY (USA) / Beltane
The Singer's Arts: Iona (Scotland) or Nova Scotia (Canada) / Samhain
The Dreamer's Arts: Mona (Wales) or Black Mountain, NC (USA) / Imbolc
The importance of these sites spans the whole of Avalon's history and they remain keys to the inner life of our Tradition today. Each has its own special purpose, presence, power.
For the fullest possible experience, we strongly urge participants to follow certain basic guidelines:
Participants are housed in communal lodgings that evoke, as nearly as possible, the life and culture of ancient Avalon. All participants must observe house rules and help with weekly chores. An organic / whole foods diet and natural-fiber wardrobe is highly recommended. Smoking, pets, use of mind-altering substances, and non-medical electronic devices are prohibited in all lodgings. Guides/instructors may enter common rooms unannounced at their discretion. The traditional ancient courtesies shall be extended to all attendees.
Pilgrimage (Open to the Public)
(Current price: $1,800 USD per person, incl. 18 days lodgings; min. enrolment- 10, maximum, maximum- 30)*
For all who share an interest and concern for the sacred places in our world. While some guidance is provided, the main focus is on personal reflection and contemplation. Scheduled according to demand: Somerset, Britain; Mona, Wales; the Hebrides; Temair, Ireland; or Carnac, Brittany. Special Pilgrimages can be created upon request with sufficient advance notice and financial commitment by attendees.
* Reservations for Immersion and Pilgrimage are scheduled one year prior to scheduled travel.
Level I offers the foundation for life as a Druid Novice in the Tribes (ADO spiritual community), including:
Avalonian Lore, Guest Laws & Tribal Customs
Energy Work & Attunement
Cycle(s), The Breath & The Power of Sound
Personal Devotions
Intro to Traditional Teaching Methodology
Intro to Pathwalking: Stewardship in Community
Level II introduces the Novice to key Avalonian root wisdoms and skills, preparatory to exploring the Great Mysteries as a Druid Apprentice. Studies include:
The Arcane Laws
Sovereignty & Tribal Rites of Passage
Cosmology, Druid Healing Cycle & Ritual
Intro to Singer's Arts
Intro to Traditional Faery Healing
Basic Druid Ritual Observances
Level III prepares the Apprentice for the Dream of Calling, which defines the path of service within the Order. A celebratory "rebirthing" ends the three day vigil, closing the weekend. Includes:
Entering Avalon's Dreamtime
The Dream of Calling
Interpretation & Presentation of Dreams
Intro to the Dreamer's Arts
Welcoming Ceremony
Hedgerow Registration Form
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(FOR ADO COURSE OFFERINGS ONLY!... Please complete all fields before submitting. Regrets, but incomplete forms will be discarded.
Your information will be kept strictly confidential, and will never be sold or shared except as required by law. Please pay in advance for all coursework. There are no refunds for cancellations or on payments made for Immersion and Pilgrimage. If you must cancel and forfeit your payment, it will be considered an unassigned donation to ADO and you will be sent a letter for tax purposes.)
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Legal Names [First, Middle, Last]Home & Work Phones (country + city code + local exchange)
Postal Address [Street, Apt. #, City, State or Province,
Postal Code, Country]ADO Member Number
Personal Email AddressEmergency Contact Information
Desired Coursework: [select the one for which you will be paying with this registration]
(Courses marked TBD are still in preparation. Please hold registrations for these courses until dates have been published. Payment for all Immersions and Pilgrimages are required a minimum of one year in advance to secure local accommodations. All courses are subject to requirements for minimum enrolment. Should it be necessary to cancel a course, all monies collected that have not been paid out will be refunded and a tax receipt issued for any remainder.
Please remember that changes in US law and Homeland Security may require additional time to obtain necessary travel papers. Places that did not previously require Passports, Visas or Entry Papers may now (or may soon) require them. Please be prepared to obtain all necessary permits and paperwork required for your travels at least a year in advance of your intended journey.)
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Before submitting your form, please consider the following:
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Physical Requirements
All courses are taught in English. Regrets, but mentors cannot provide language or translation services. Participants must have sufficient fluency in English to manage course work, as necessary and appropriate.
Immersions and Workshops will be conducted outdoors (weather permitting) in wooded, hilly terrain. Weather conditions change quickly, so please pack your gear accordingly. Immersion participants rise early and work late four days each week, with three days free for vigil, personal work, assignments, and exploring. Workshop students begin study early Thursday morning and work late into the evenings until noon on Sunday. Both programmes are extremely intensive: be prepared to hit the ground running. The experiential nature of our work requires participation in daily activities roughly equivalent to wilderness hiking and low-impact aerobics. Be prepared to navigate hills and underbrush in rainy, muddy, or even snowy conditions. Please let us know in advance of any special needs. We will do what we can to make you comfortable, but we rely on you to be honest about your real tolerances and limitations. Regrets, but no refunds will be made for lessons, activities, or sites missed due to inability or unwillingness to cope with these conditions.
Intensive Workshop Locations
All places are of the body of the Great Mother and thus sacred. All sites have Spirit of Place. Wherever possible, coursework is held on dedicated land chosen for its special resonances with the ancient Isles of the Blest, providing multiple work environments to help you key specifically into Avalon's archetypal energy. Geologically, these areas exhibit many of the same features as the ancient tribal landscape, such as tidal seas, bogs, fens, caverns, mounds, pools or lakes, woods, and fiery areas such as hot springs. Locations are chosen at the Mentor's sole discretion. (ADO members, watch "Messenger of the Gods" for more information on upcoming offerings.)
* For archaeological information on regional energetics and features, see "Shadows of the Western Door", by M. Winfield, and 1910-1930s Archaeological Journals.
Intensive, Immersion & Pilgrimage Lodgings
Accommodations can be quite costly, especially in beautiful, quiet areas near sacred sites. Mentors obtain the very best lodgings available for a reasonable price. Intensive Workshops are held at campgrounds, and cabins are obtained where available; however sometimes the price of privacy is that we do find ourselves pitching tents. Access to heat, running water, and flush toilets vary by course and site. Please contact the Mentor in advance to inquire about amenities for the current course.
Students attending Immersions and Pilgrimages are housed in older, cottage-style dwellings chosen for their convenient locations, friendly staff, cleanliness, and charm. All coursework events are self-catering (i.e. you must provide and prepare your own meals). Occasionally tea or coffee will be provided. Showers are nearly always shared between rooms, so please be prepared to be tidy and swift! Wherever possible, we locate in residences whose Hosts also provide optional services such as massage, Reiki, and other alternative wellness modalities from which we feel our students might benefit. Some Mentors may also provide these services directly, for an additional fee. Again, please inquire of your course Mentor for more information.
Submission of Registration
We've now said everything we can say about these opportunities. It is time to consider whether or not to avail yourself of them. Only you can answer this question. We can say that we've taken these courses ourselves and found them admirable, but whether our own experience would recommend them to you we cannot say. Contact the Mentors. Ask questions. Consider your available time and resources, listen to your intuition, and then ask your heart. We're certain whatever you decide, it will be the right choice for you.
Please allow 3-5 days for ADO Mentors to receive your registration and contact you. Other Mentors may be contacted directly using the links above. Thank you -- and many blessings of the journey!
Workshop, Immersion, and Pilgrimage programmes are offered based on current demand. To receive notices as programmes are scheduled or to request placement on a waiting list, please join our mailing list (above). Minimum enrolment applies. Special arrangements may be made for groups of 7 or more. Please write the Hedgerow School for more information (Hedgerow@avalondruidorder.org).
PAYMENT:
Immersion & Pilgrimage must be paid one (1) year in advance due to accommodations and travel considerations. Registration for these events is accepted during the 6-months preceding the deadline for each training.
If the date shown is less than a year away, we may no longer be accepting registrations.
During the Druid persecutions, stiff penalties were meted out for the 'heresy' of adhering to an ancestral faith. Though many feared to gather at the great Centers as once they had, most were loathe to abandon their ancient customs and beliefs; and so they chose to forge new paths to old places. The impenetrable thorns of the hedgerows afforded them both nourishment and protection, so wherever a Druid paused to munch beneath the bows, a circle would form until the next breeze should sweep them to another roost --
What is a Hedgerow School?
All spiritual traditions and philosophies must pass on to their members the articles of their faith. While the Tribes (congregation) learn their faith at home and at seasonal gatherings, Druids also traditionally apprentice with wandering 'Masters' (or 'Bards'), whose impromptu gatherings under the boughs of the Wild Wood are remembered in the lore of the "Hedgerow Schools." These wilderness Schools predate and succeed the great Druid Colleges and Mystery Schools, being both more flowingly traditional in manner, and more elusive when under attack. For unlike adherents to mainstream religions, Druids are often denied the right to gather in worship or to teach our faith.
conditions that persist even today in much of the world.
For many, it is still unsafe to claim the title "Druid" or meet within the sacred Grove. There are places where even to be seen meditating is dangerous. Outside the major metropolitan areas, which tend to be more tolerant of diversity, the need of the Hedgerow School with its roving faculty of independent Bards remains; and so, when the Winds are right, we constellate to share the ancient wisdoms. The gathering is coordinated through the auspices of our training consultant, Avalon Sanctuary. While the Hedgerow School continues a very old mode of teaching, it remains utterly unique to this time. It's wealth is greater than the sum of the Bards and Schools whose wisdoms adorn it, for its riches are measured in the hearts of its Mentors and students. If you have an eye to see truth, a heart to feel it, and a boldness that dares to follow... we welcome you!
Piper Stones (c) 2001, Morgaine & Myrddin
Modes of Study & Experience
Unlike many modern Druid study programs, the Hedgerow School strives to keep close to the traditional training methods of Avalon's far ancestors. We do this not to be 'clever', but because we genuinely feel that direct example and personal experience are the very best teachers. Thus, wherever possible we avoid typical 'distance learning' syllabuses, lesson plans, fixed schedules of tests and written assignments. The only 'fixed' element of Avalonian Training is the Cycle itself, through whose structure the wheel of experience is expressed in endless variation. Hedgerow Bards mentor based on the perceived need of the Seeker in the moment. The experience of learning in this environment will be very different than anything you will likely be accustomed to, and will require patience and trust to reap the full benefit.
Current courses on offer through independent Mentors will vary. While you may register for courses with ADO Mentors through this web page, ADO is not the legal service provider for the Hedgerow School. All questions, registrations, payments, and other concerns regarding coursework on offer by non-ADO Mentors should be addressed directly to the individuals with whom you have contracted for study. Thanks in advance for your consideration.
Home Study
A 'Home Study' is any course the bulk of which is undertaken by the Seeker at a distance from their Mentor. It is essentially a guided independent study on a specific theme that is often intended to lay the groundwork for later face-to-face training. These studies may include imbedded workshops to ensure a true experience of key skills (such as 'recognizing the energy of Avalon', etc.), without which there can be little real progress. Generally, the less packaging the better, and 'paperless' courses compensate through flexibility and 'live time' with Mentors.
Intensive Workshop
Thirty-three hours in three and a half days of intensive training and experience in Avalonian Druidry and/or Tribal Life, and Spirituality, taught by Avalonian Elders. This is the fastest kind of deep study, perfect for those whose careers preclude the lengthy trips required for Immersion and Pilgrimage, but who have a deep desire for an authentic experience of Avalonian Druid spirituality, and who wish to breathe life and power into their personal spiritual practice.
Immersion
A two to four week plunge into Avalonian life and spirituality, Immersion provides a direct experience that delves beneath the surface to provide the closest approach possible to life in Avalon's Tribes as a studying Druid. Each Immersion is uniquely designed to best meet the needs of the size and type of group that will be attending. Facets of Avalonian life common to all Immersions include: life in a collective; wild crafting and home keeping; myths and lore; guest laws and other Tribal customs; spirit journey; traditional methods of remembering; differentiating kinds of energies and energy correspondences; discovering and communing with Spirit of Place; and learning the language of the sacred landscape. Ample time is also allowed for personal vigil and exploration.
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage is undertaken primarily to experience ancient sacred sites directly. Group travel is more affordable than individual travel and has the added advantage of access to the guidance of experienced Elders. Maximum time is allowed for seeing and experiencing sites connected with Avalon, with precious time allowed for private exploration, personal vigil, spiritual journeys, and contemplation. Unlike Intensive and Immersion, Pilgrimage is meant to bring us into closer spiritual harmony with the sacred through a largely personal act. Mentors are present primarily to provide Avalon-specific background information on specific sites, tips on how to approach and explore different kinds of sacred areas, to facilitate access to sites and lesser known areas of interest, and for verification of the unique and powerful experiences that are common in such liminal places. Your experience of Pilgrimage will be unique to you.Time spent in the sacred places of the world have the power to advance or set back our progress, depending upon one's readiness to accept their lessons. What is necessary is an open mind, an accepting heart, and the willingness to suspend one's expectations to embrace the unknown.
A modern Druid schoolin the tradition
of the ancient hedgerow Bards,
bringing together Elders and mentors
from diverse groups within
the Druid Branch
of the Avalon Mystery Tradition. Facilitated by
the Avalon Druid Order (ADO).
[IMMRS 1-Beltane
IMMRS 2-Samhain
IMMRS 3-Imbolc]
This Hearthfire was last kindled upon: 4 June, 2008
Please consider the following descriptions carefully. Register for courses by contacting Mentors directly via the link provided (for ADO Member Offerings use the form below). Titles in blue are open to the public, but are accepted by ADO. You may expect to feel some uneasiness with traditional training initially, but its differences are also its strength. Please contact Mentors directly with any questions or concerns and if you are still unsure, please consider more conventional avenues of study. This way is not suited to everyone. Whether it is suited to you only your heart can say.
