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 clipart images provided as "free for individual or nonprofit use". Wherever one relies on outside sources mistakes may sometimes occur. If your original work is displayed here without your permission and you wish to have it removed, or 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).
In time long past, the shores of Avalon stretched from the Isles of the Mighty to the Strong Door of Sena and the orchards of Avallenia. The Western Seas lay further off in the minds of men than they do today, when Sight is bound to ownership. In that time, a Seeker could wander the world unfettered by passports and papers, and it needed no man's permission to seek one's rest beneath the spreading bows in the Wood. Now the wild places of the world have gone or come under the control of lords unwelcoming to travelers. The art of hospitality is lost to most modern men. A dark time, a perilous time for pilgrims, one might say; yet in this Sanctuary we have long offered succor to Seekers. It was so for those who came before us, and it is so now ... Ah, did you not come seeking for your rightful place in Avalon?... It is different each time and always the same: it is the heart's path. In your dreaming you shall see it. The waters here run true and deep and I, who am keeper of dreams, will see that you remember it.
Learning Our Ways: Guest Laws & Hearth Customs
In Avalon the place of gathering is sacred. It does not matter what kind of gathering place it is. It can be as simple as a campfire or as elaborate as a medieval castle. Whether it is plain and rustic or elaborately decorated the place of gathering is always treated with great respect. What would be considered wrongful or inappropriate for a church will also be wrong here; for the place of gathering is the literal and symbolic representation of the Source of Life, for it shelters the heart of the family, the kin, the Tribe, the Order, and the Greater Tradition. This is not 'just an idea', to be discarded if we are uncomfortable or it seems inconvenient; it is a central concept within the Tradition and one which we take very seriously. Thumb your nose at it and you will swiftly find yourself passed by for invitations and unwelcome at community gatherings. There is no place in ADO for those who cannot deal with this fact or who feel exempt from the need to conform to Traditional expectations. Such people are not ready for this experience and it would be best if we each recognized this now. The modern habits of thought and behavior which disdain respect for the family and tradition will not be tolerated here, and those who hold them must change or leave. It is a simple matter of survival ...
May Deep Peace Be Yours.
SITE DIRECTORY
This Hearthfire last kindled on: 17 September, 2009
Just as a Hearth is sacred space, so too this Sanctuary, and as you would within a church or temple, so too here. Of our laws and customs you will have made some study before coming here; but to 'know' and to 'live' leave different marks, and so some things bear repeating: Make no assumptions, and presume not upon the hospitality of your host(s). In this our work is much the same: Ours to provide for your comfort, and yours to provide for ours! Does this seem strange? Were hospitality unpleasant in the giving and taking there should be no travel abroad; for however lovely the country, yet there is always risk of encountering some scoundrel on the road. Better to shelter within during dark hours, and so we make it cheerful work for all. The customs of our Hearths will not seem so strange when you have rested, for the bones remember. Let your bones speak to you then of the time before, and the glow of a distant hearth-fire ...
To ponder such a history might be considered vain narcissism did it not also vitally pertain to our lives today. As the plant dies when parted from its roots, so we study that from which we would grow, that by nourishing its roots our spirituality may grow strong and prosper. Traditional studies prepare us not only as individual members of a 'cyber sanctuary', but as active participants in a physical spiritual community that honors and follows the ancient worldview, while remaining a living spirituality for our own time. Knowing ancestral ways and beliefs is prerequisite to following them, and following them is prerequisite to obtaining dedicated lands upon which to found a spiritual centre staffed by a spiritual cooperative of resident Avalonian practitioners. This last will entail more than bricks and mortar. We have most of us been indoctrinated into a society which prizes money and 'image' above the bonds of kinship, personal integrity, and substance; the art of community living has largely been lost. But it is not lost beyond recall, and while many may be unwilling or unable to fulfill a tribal role at present, others are ready even now.
The Order intends to establish one physical site to act as a hub location for its entire membership, providing safe, dedicated space for retreats, training, and vital immersions in the experience of modern Tribal community. Naturally such a place could never accommodate all potential future members, but members would be free to pool their resources to found their own regional gathering and/or community sites. The Order's central hub would then act as a template, providing an example for others to follow. Since we are opposed on principle to accumulating debt, the Order's property must remain modest enough to be obtained and maintained by only a handful of members. Nonresident members would then be granted access according to set schedules and guidelines. We expect very few members to be prepared to make radical change and donate their own time, resources and labor to manifest this dream. In consideration of their unique contribution on behalf of us all, only these founders will be granted residency onsite as its caretakers or stewards, maintaining the facility and providing 'on-call' support services to visiting members. As a condition of residency, their successors will be required to make similar contributions to the welfare of the Order. In this way we each receive according to what we give; fairness is preserved, dedication and commitment are rewarded, and the needs of both the individual and the membership are well served.
Until recently, these goals seemed impossible for so small and modest a community as our own; yet this is illusion. The means have always been there. Like everything else, the answer has been in the keeping of our far ancestors, waiting for us to recognize it. With the help of a few modern visionaries and pioneers in sustainable architecture and construction, it has finally been re-illuminated. And so our long wandering may soon revolve around fixed settlements on the land -- even as did the far ancestors -- and that seems most appropriate. Thus we carry the ancestral fire to a new settlement, to be relit in our own time.
Laying a Strong Foundation
The clues to making our modern settlement(s) lie in the customs, beliefs, and dwellings of the far ancestors. These were not the round houses of the later Celts (though they echoed one another in form and feeling), but dry-stone dwellings with corbelled roofs covered in turf that made use of the materials and skills at hand -- the same design and methods, in fact, that were used for the mounds of the dead. This is not surprising when we consider that in Avalon the dead are not 'gone'; they continue in the Otherworld, preparing for rebirth. Why shouldn't the living and the dead dwell under one roof? The spirits of the 'dead' are free to move between worlds and often appear to -- and interact with -- their living friends and kin. There are just as present today, though we are conditioned not to see them. Thus, the ancestors built and equipt their houses with all of the essentials and comforts the kin could provide.
Most of our ancestor's burial sites have been dismantled and the materials recycled by later peoples, but where left undisturbed by man these simple stone structures have survived the millennia without so much as a leak. Truly these were houses of the immortals, saturated with the images, lore, and stories of generations past, kept alive in the memory of the present. In such settlements kin-groups abided many generations, and through them we made our first binding connections with the Land. It is to these ancient, communal dwellings that we now look in fashioning lodgings for today's members.
The American Avalon ...
ADO has long been ridiculed for oral tradition teachings claiming that the far ancestors were among the native peoples of the "New World", and denials of modern science have been used to bolster this attitude. But recent joint European/American university research has brought long hidden archaeology and new DNA evidence to light, laying bare facts that should long have been obvious: the ancestors were here thousands of years before Erik the Red and they left an extensive archaeological record to prove it -- a record that can still be read, despite the damage wrought by neglect and a total lack of protections afforded to similar sites worldwide.
For decades the world believed conventional 'wisdom' that assured us that identically crafted mounds, boats, symbols and structures did not indicate extensions of, or contact between cultures. No matter how improbable the argument, we are conditioned to believe 'authorities' and we did. Just as we believed that all ancient Britons lived in Round Houses, rather than the "Hobbit holes" they more usually inhabited. Had we given any credence to surviving literature, we might have recognized these corbelled, turf-roofed dwellings as the "Sidhe mounds" of Celtic lore, and the dwellers within, those later called Gods and "Faeries".
Warm and snug from wind and weather they were, with most of the amenities (indoor plumbing, cooling, heat), and through means more durable and less toxic than our own. Had we the resources and skill, we would model our modern community upon such settlements. Such homes required little maintenance once built. An occasional sweep, fresh strewn rushes and sweet herbs, and dwellers were free to attend the other necessities of life.
If we are to remain true to the ancestral worldview in building our community, we must see the endeavor as they would see it. Fortunately for us, appropriate ruins present themselves for study on both sides of the Atlantic. All of the ideas used in these buildings are used in cob construction; the only real difference is in available materials, and whatever adjustments in building techniques those materials require. Even the most cursory comparison of Skara Brae (Orkney) and Mystery Hill (NH) will reveal this close kinship.
And they did not only build dwellings. Without the presence of like ritual centers and burial sites, we could hardly presume to say that evidence existed to support our lore. We could hardly claim proof that the same peoples and cultures existed and dwelled on both sides of the "Western" Sea from time long past. It is precisely because the mirror reflects the same image on both sides that we may say our lore is verified. But even physical evidence is perishable. What exists now in support of our lore may vanish tomorrow beneath the blade of the plow and the bulldozer. And this would be a terrible loss -- not only to our present efforts, but to posterity.
Let us pause, then to examine a small sample of this evidence while yet we
may. What is presented here are the comparisons of today's eminent scholars and scientists. It is the simplest of all verifications, for it is based not on opinions derived from fragmented writings, nor solely on oral lore, but on physical ruins and artifacts that exist and are still being studied today. For some, it may be verification enough; for others it will be but the beginning of a long, slow road whose final destination only the heart can know.
Ritual Burials
What is Avalon? What does the lore tell us?... In the tongues of men she has many names: the Blessed Isles, Land of Eternal Youth, Isle of Women, the Apple Isle, and the Isle of Glass, among others. Most of our myths speak of the place where the ancestors dwell after passing from this life; a place where they may take respite and be renewed before continuing their journeys -- some to return to this world, some to experience and learn in other realms. Avalon is, then, the Isle where the dead rediscover their immortality before being reborn. If Avalon were here, then, we should expect to find as many burial sites as settlements reflecting her presence as she has names -- as indeed we do.
Across the Seas the dead were venerated and their bones kept as oracles for long years before interment. Families sometimes buried kin in a corner of the home; but the lives of the Druids (and later Chieftains) belonged to the Tribes, a fact reflected in their burials. Beneath cromlech and dolman, surrounded by banks and ditches, they lay publicly encircled by stones, whose rings were often augmented by succeeding generations, growing with time like the rings of trees...
Cairn burials are considered older still, and are also attributed to royalty. Because cairns are the product of years of ongoing ritual, a special Druid sect was dedicated to their maintenance. But how could such a society observe any ritual that lasted for years? Not hard. To each passing pilgrim, the
Keeper of the Cairn might share some of the lore of the dweller(s) within it, by way of helping to prepare the visitors for their roles in the ceremony. After praying into, and singing over the pilgrim's own small, white quartz or granite stone, it was laid ceremoniously on the mound in honour of the deceased and as offering for whatever boon might be asked by the visitor. This rite was also performed by travelers at sacred wells serving various crossroads throughout the Isles.
Thus a tomb such as Maeve's bears witness to the visits of thousands of pilgrims whose prayers and songs have been laid over her grave since the time before Christianity became a mainstream religion. It tells us how many times her story was remembered, told, and brought away to far-off homes to be held in the dreams of the people forever. For to be remembered by those who follow us ... this, too, is a kind of immortality.
Design versus Accident
It remains a popular scholarly argument that cromlechs and dolmans (such as those pictured at right and below, left) are not the products of man's design, but "accidents of nature" created
by receding glaciers and made famous by man through use. I hardly need say how such a theory is viewed in Avalon... If these artifacts are the product of coincidence, then the very nature and definition of "coincidence" needs to be seriously re-examined.
True, comparisons can be difficult at times. Foreign sites are mostly much better preserved than those in the States, which are (in the main) completely unprotected and thus come daily under the developer's bulldozer, sans protest. More than twenty thousand mounds have been destroyed near Ohio's Serpent Mound alone -- a fact about which most Americans know absolutely nothing.
Nor would they likely protest if they did, since most Americans remain completely ignorant of the real history of the land they live on. Our ancestors knew the name of every hill, creek, and knoll. How many of us can say the same? Some would be hard-pressed to remember recent place names, let alone ancient names and associations. Why? Because we are not taught, and because this knowledge is not honoured in modern society. To work with such sites requires this knowledge, yet today, most have small respect for the indwelling powers of such places; presuming instead that these ancient guardians can easily be brought under their command with a few magic words and a wand (or some heavy machinery). Such is the arrogance of ignorance.
We who have seen and experienced first-hand the the real power of these sites make no such presumptions. We know the forces that dwell within them, and the kin of many nations may be found there. Alongside Amerindians lie the burial mounds of Saxons, Norse, Celts, Phoenicians, and their forebears the Solutreans and Magdeleneans, in sites spanning the east coast from Nova Scotia to the Gulf and west to the Mississippi and beyond. More sites than we could possibly publish are yet to be explored, and more yet remain to be discovered. One need only look to find them -- despite a hundred years of concerted government efforts to conceal and demolish them.
Initial Approach
Every formal introduction has its own special approach, and the introduction to a sacred site is no exception. Easiest in the beginning is to enter as you would entering a friend's church or temple, mindfully and in an attitude of respect. Pause before entering to ground and center. Consider for a moment the feeling of the site; where do you feel at its entryway? Is it a natural entry or an intentional one? (If possible, use an intentional entry.) Before going further, let your
awareness connect with the site ask to commune with its Guardian (yes, all sites have one!). When you feel the Guardian's presence, state your name and your intention. Also ask the Guardian's name before asking permission to enter.
Be willing to abide by the Guardian's answer, however disappointing that may seem. Once you gain permission, move slowly and mindfully. Feel out the manner and exact location to enter, then follow your instincts and intuition going in. Take time to commune with each stone in a ring or cromlech, or with the whole group in a cairn or settlement site. Be prepared with a gift or offering in exchange for what you seek. Introduce yourself to each stone and ask what its message is for you. Some may have
nothing to say to you, but others will say and/or show you much. Sit with each message.
As you move around the site, notice whether the messages you receive have any relationship to the stone's location or purpose (if known). Consider what is the memory of the land and what is the memory of the stone. Not all stones will come from the place they now lie. If they were brought, from where did they come? Who brought them and for what purpose? You may ask these questions many times at each site before you begin to really understand the answers you have been given. Never go into a site about which you have a bad feeling until you have done inner work to determine the cause of your response, even where permission has been obtained from the Spirits of Place. There are many dwellers within such places of power, and not all are such that one would wish to bring them "home to meet Mom!"
The Inner Design
We have seen now a number of striking examples of exterior likenesses between sites in the US and abroad. Let us now turn our gaze inward, to the inner templates upon which these sites were constructed. Surely, if the similarities are coincidence, any resemblance must end at the surface. But do they? While the dimensions vary, the theme remains constant during much of the ancient period, only branching away near recent times. These echoes persist even across cultures (though with less persistence). Gaze, then, upon what has lain denied before science these many centuries in obscurity, while the authorities and experts insisted that Amerigo Vespucchi was first, after the red man, to reach these shores. Let your own eyes bear witness to a truer history ... for if the red man came first, then whom does his own lore speak of meeting here? And if he sprang from another line, how did he come to remake the forms and structures of a people he (supposedly) never knew?
There are many examples of the "keyhole" or "womb-tomb" shaped mound design (above), particularly in the Scottish Highlands, Wales, and Cornwall -- all areas once inhabited by the far ancestors. Parallel archaeological evidence in America has been used to support emerging DNA evidence indicating the presence of early Europeans in the "New World" as well.
These similarities either arise from a common source or they attest to some inter-cultural dialogue or exchange. Notice the 'egg' in the two Serpent Temples (below left). If these are working calendrical features, we should expect their placement to change to reflect the differences in perspective on the sky -- as indeed they do. Most megalithic designs mirror the Mother's body. They are allegories for Earthly creation. These two sites, however, are of a different order. They are celestial allegories, whose function suggests the reason for the Druids' titles as 'Serpents of Wisdom.'
In addition, the placement of the eggs in relation to the serpents evokes the eerie sense of 'Maiden' and 'Mother' aspects of Creation. Might this shift in perspective also imply a migration not from East to West, but from West to East, as some modern archaeologists have begun to suggest? ...
The Speaking Stones
The lore of the Isles is filled with stones that speak, sing, or cry out. Many are associated with the ancient Druid seats, some with the delivery of justice, and others with uses long forgotten. The sites of these stones are often decorated with strange shapes and symbols whose meanings are mysterious to the modern world. For the tourist, they are often seen as crude decorations, first attempts at "civilized art" by fledgling societies; but they are much more than this to us, and are
laden with many layers of meaning. Where Avalon has existed one would also expect to find such artifacts and here is where many will expect verification to fail... and yet it does not. The images below provide the same iconographic parallels as do those above for lithic comparisons. Look carefully and remember, so that you may recognize the marks of the ancestors in your own lands.
The Re-Sanctification of the Land ...
What makes a place sacred? Is it the ancestors who dwell within it, the priesthood that worships over it, the people who live upon it, or something rare and intangible that cannot truly be named or duplicated?... Each place has its own distinct identity, its own Spirits of Place, but what makes one place so much more "magical," more responsive to feeling and thought than another? Modern people prefer to think of such places as "rare," but it was not so for the ancients; and the undisturbed places of the world bear witness that wherever the feeling of ancient cultures survives, so too does the sense of "magic" inherent in them. Why should this be so? Is it simply wish fulfillment, the psychological projection of our desires upon the surrounding landscape? Or is it something more?...
In Avalon we say that the magic of a place springs from the beliefs of the beings who dwell on it. Where the inhabitants remember the land as sacred and magical, it remains -- or becomes so... Thus one way of restoring our sense of a "magical world," is to restore our own faith in the inherent magic, power, and sacredness of the land around us, of the Earth, the Great Mother as a whole. The images above are shared with the intention of awakening in each of us the memory of the sacredness of our world, whether near or far. There is no "one Avalon," no "one sacred place." Which is more sacred, the Mother's right breast or her left? Her toes or her fingers? To the ancients, no one part was "better" than any other, and so it must be again for us. Beneath the mask of modern development, the sacred landscape and all who dwell within it lie waiting for us to rebirth them into the this time and place. We may do this by remembering and honoring the sanctity of the landscape as it exists now wherever we are.
Mindfully or unmindfully, our every thought, word, and action either re-sanctifies or de-sanctifies Mother Earth. The consequences of these cumulative choices are very real, as are their impact on our quality of life. We have been taught to believe many untruths to protect others' realities. It is time now to enter into our own; to re-examine what we have been taught to believe about Mother Earth. It is time to redefine habits of mind that diminish her beauty, magic, and power, and reclaim the worldview of our far ancestors as it relates to this time, today. It takes no special talent, no "calling" to do this, but only deep desire and love -- love stronger than "habit." May each of us find the strength within ourselves to reclaim the truths that have been hidden from us. May we each learn to "walk in wisdom," to appreciate and be nurtured by the beguiling, enchanting planet on which we dwell.
Skara Brae, Scotland
Passageway, Skara Brae
Entryway, Mystery Hill; Salem, NH (c) Morgaine
Mystery Hill, NH (c) Morgaine
Tomb of the Eagles, Orkney (c) Mystic Orkney
Dolman, MA (c) NEARA
Brown's Hill, Carlow Ireland (c) Shee-ire
Druid Circle, Wales (c) celynog
Druid Hill, MA (c) NEARA
Plans of Bryn Celli Ddu, Wales (above) & Upton Chamber, CT (right)
Cairn O'Get, Caithness, Scotland
Corbelled roofs, CT (above), Ireland (below)
Avebury, UK (c) W Stukeley (above) & Serpent Mound, OH (c) Rosenboom-Weisenburger (right)
Bryn Celli Ddu, Wales (c) celynog (left); N Carolina Ogham (above center);
Irish Ogham (c) NEARA (center)
Dingess, WVA (c) NEARA
"Petrocircles," WVA
Petrocircles, Mona (above) & NC (above right)
Petrocircles, WVA
Serpent Mound, OH (c) Wright State University (above)
Tripod Rock, NJ (c) E Bochnak (right)
Temenos, Shutesburg, MA (c) S Carlson
be devised facing inward toward a commons, or outward towards the meadows and wildwood? What sort of energy and climate are dominant onsite? Will people be inclined to focus inward in contemplation or outward on external matters? The focus of the settlement can be used to augment different aspects of the landscape in order to promote a sense of balance between, and unity of, feminine and masculine polarities. Another consideration is that a land's dominant energy will tend to reveal the types of challenges it will yield. Earth-aligned places tend to offer physical and financial challenges, watery sites bring up emotional issues and airy places psychological issues, and fiery locales evoke passions and rapid change. Each type of site has its shadow and its light, and the stronger the alignment, the greater the impact of each; factors which must be taken into account when choosing a location.
The early settlements were self-sufficient and sustainable, fitting harmoniously with the environments in which they were built -- so much so that archaeologists have only recently begun to discover sites that have sat unnoticed in urban centers for centuries. Our own Avalonian settlement would be as close to those of our ancestors as possible and practical. Stonework is a luxury in our time, but the methods used where stone and wood were not easily accessible will be of tremendous help in keeping the feel of our settlement authentic, and the structures sustainable, relatively low-maintenance, safe, and affordable. Like Avalonian villages of the past, our community would be self-sufficient. The commons would house communal resources such as computers, energy efficient clothes washers, dryers, a dish washer for sanitizing jars for herbal preparations, and an emergency radio. Electrical power for the commons would come from solar and wind energy, with individual homes mostly appliance free. The absence of electronics in individual dwellings would encourage closer adherence to the natural circadian cycle of waking and sleeping. Passive heating and cooling would be used wherever possible. Our water would be drawn from springs or deep wells and high-efficiency stoves would burn wood or peat for supplemental heat. Perhaps most difficult for many, our settlement would be a petrol and motor vehicle-free zone. We would encourage non-motorised transport whenever possible (punts, bicycles, horses, etc.); parking for a limited number of motor vehicles would be provided away from the common area and dwellings.
Like our ancestral communities, our modern Avalonian settlement would be built and maintained through a collective effort. Those expecting to benefit would be required to make a vital contribution or forfeit their share. Each member's contribution would be according to their abilities, and support the survival needs of the community as agreed and determined in Tribal Council. Distribution of food, herbs, and other goods to participating members would be run on a cooperative basis, with all participants working equal shifts for equal shares of necessities. Any surplus might be sold to the public to help pay for whatever common goods, utilities, or other necessities the community could not provide for itself. Disputes would be settled between individuals or in Council, according to ancient Braithion law (or where impractical, according to Braithionic ethics and principles). Requirements for land and water usage would also follow ancestral guidelines (see "Tribal Laws" page).
Such a life would not be for everyone ... but then, none would be required to live it. Its inhabitants would be those willing - indeed, eager and able - to realize the same vision, ideals, commitment, beliefs and values as those set forth by the Founder and taught by the Order. It would in no wise be an easy transition even for such dedicated folk. Our birth culture has softened our minds and bodies and both would have to be trained to the very real requirements of such a place. Many modern conveniences would be lost; yet those of us who cherish this dream feel that the peace, satisfaction, harmony, and meaning to be gained would more than compensate us... Ah! I see you have warmed yourself now. I have spoken long. It is a gift of old age to speak much and say little! But if you are not yet ready to retire to your rest, I would regale you with a bit more about our future ...
Barrow Mounds (1700-1800s)
Cob hearth (c) EarthedWorld.co.uk
Lore and archaeology both attest to different types of settlements in different times, and landscapes. In some instances, later patriarchal settlements rest alongside early matriarchal settlements, the differences evidenced in the respective designs. Matriarchal settlements like Skara Brae generally show identical dwellings set in a circular pattern round a 'commons', whilst patriarchal settlements like Barnhouse show more individualized structures, with one or two grand houses and a scattering of modest homes, arranged in more linear patterns facing away from one another. Some differences were clearly based on the needs and strengths of varying landscapes, and the principles behind such adaptations should inform our own plans as well. A main point of divergence lies in the arrangement of private versus communal space. Should the settlement
Laying the Hearthstone
The question will now arise: How does a small group of impoverished Druids, who can barely afford to travel to Tribal gatherings (the equivalent of an out-of-state camping trip), propose to acquire the resources to build a physical community in this lifetime? This is an excellent question, and one that any self-respecting, sane person must ask! After all, if the goal is unrealistic, why expend time, energy, and limited physical resources pursuing it? If it were truly useless, there would be no point at all ... but the fact is, even now the means are nearly within our grasp. While it is true that (short of being gifted land and buildings by a donor) ADO will never likely have the means to construct the elaborate stone buildings that were common to our ancestors ... there are methods of
Cob house interior (c) EarthedWorld.co.uk
building which endure for hundreds of years with minimal upkeep, that are almost free to those with land and a willingness to do physical labor. It will mean choosing our land wisely, for building codes vary from place to place. It will require land, a modest amount of funding, and twenty people willing to invest in workshops and donate eight long weekends over the course of two 'summers' (mild seasons) in exchange for special access when the work is done. But it can be done cheaply, safely, and well. Impossible, you say? Not at all. The methods we propose have been used all over the world for more than ten thousand years, and are now seeing a renaissance amongst forward-thinking architects and builders. They require almost no shipped in materials. Nearly everything is available onsite from Mother Earth. Once we've acquired land, in a short time our first permanent structure could be completed ...
What is Cob?
In old English, a 'cob' is a loaf-shaped lump of earth much like its namesake, the 'cobble stone'. It is formed out of a mixture of clay, sand, straw, and lime and cures as hard as rock. Cobbles are hand-made onsite and pressed onto a roofed rock foundation in 12" tiers. The tiers are layered until the desired height is achieved. Cob lends itself to lavish sculptural elements (left), curving shapes, and built-in furnishings. Stone or wood lintels are built in as the walls go up, and the openings are cut out once the cob has dried. The finished walls are plastered and painted with earth paints. Cob houses are still common in Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Wales, parts of Scotland, and the eastern US (though these have suffered from the pressures of recent development).
Sculptural elements, cob shed (c) CityFarmer.org
Cob makes an excellent insulator and, if properly built, remains dry and comfy, retaining heat during the winter and keeping cool in the summer. Traditional cob houses resemble 'hobbit holes' (rounded rooms connected by short curved passageways) and may be easily expanded room by room, year by year. The total cost of building a mid-sized cob building under the direction of professionals is minimal.
Cob window
(c) CobProjects.info
As Above, So Below: A Reasonable Roof & Floor
The roof may also be built for not much more than the cost of the roofing timbers, if one is willing to stick with tradition and do the labor, for the sod roof has also come back into vogue. Despite its occasionally bad press, properly constructed sod roofs are excellent insulators and can be water-proofed. Again, the materials are right under our noses, so the cost can be considerably lessoned. There are also professionals willing to estimate materials and beam sizes for next to nothing, and federal and state incentive programs to help with funding where using a contractor is preferred. Nonprofits are among the favored groups to receive these benefits.
Stone or a diluted mixture of cob may also be used to lay the floor, once again making
full use of the materials available onsite. Cob houses are also ideal for solar and passive heating and cooling solutions, and when well-made are much sturdier than standard construction. (Cob houses in New Zealand have withstood, without a crack, earthquakes that leveled newer construction surrounding them.) Once cured, they can also withstand wind and weather with only minor repair. Repair work is easily accomplished by pressing some new cob into any cracks or gouges, curing, sealing, and retouching the paint. The experience of building cob structures is lauded as an excellent way to establish bonds and bring people together. There could be few methods better suited to an earth-friendly, self-sustaining traditional community.
Tradition's Footprint
Aside from the dry-stone constructions (e.g. settlements such as those at Skara Brae, Orkney, and Mystery Hill, NH), the type of construction most appropriate to our own Avalonian Age and focus is also that which provides the least expensive, sturdiest, and (potentially) most creative form of housing: the cob house. Web sources estimate construction of a small dwelling at between $500 and $5,000 USD (excluding the cost of building permits, wells, and running in electric) once the land is obtained. Even tripling these estimates, fully paid land and one or more buildings could be within ADO's reach within 5 to 10 years. In response to this realization, our Chieftain and BoG are already making plans for how members willing to commit might manifest these dreams.[Note that when the time comes for ADO to pursue this goal, additional IRS requirements, applications, and fees will apply. Under IRS guidelines, the settlement's incorporation would be separate from the Order's 501(c)(3).]
As we have mentioned, those who make the commitment and perform the work will be considered the settlement's founders and have first claim to residency as on-site stewards and/or mentors as their reward for being amongst those who made and followed through on the commitment to "make the dream happen." While our settlement may be several years away yet, it is not too early to consider a criteria for identifying 'founders' as opposed to others who might make smaller contributions. Since the ancestors had settlements, we may turn to them for guidelines governing settlement founders. Based on this lore, all founders must:
Be current ADO Lifetime Members in good standing (i.e. people who have already made a substiantial commitment to our spiritual community).
Know and abide by ADO Traditional customs, laws, and member policies.
Meet ADO Elder Council requirements for Mother Grove level spiritual training.
Donateto ADO a share of money, materials, and/or labour equal to that of other founders toward completion of Phase I construction (obtaining the land and completing construction of the community centre).
Complete the necessary legally accepted training qualifying them as members of the building crew (see www.cobcottage.com for examples of estimated workshop costs).
Sign a Resident Contract with the Order specifying the residency requirements, expectations, privileges, and limitations.
Submit to periodic revue and evaluation by the Elder Council and/or BoG for compliance with the requirements of the Resident Contract.
Maintain the premises in good repair, help with future building phases and/or provide training and services for onsite events, as assigned by the Great Council (the BoG and the Elder Council).
As a condition of residency, the founders' successors would be required to demonstrate a comparable level of commitment. Few will be willing to make such a commitment, but then it only takes twenty people to make it happen. This dream is not our only dream, but it is a great dream, nonetheless and one that many here share. For those who have neither the desire nor interest to live communally under Council 'rule', there will remain the same opportunities and resources provided to ADO members now--except that a safe, dedicated space will exist for member gatherings, spiritual functions, and training. Nothing will be lost, but there is much to be gained ... Thus, ADO is not merely a cyber address for 'talking Avalon'; it is a place to reclaim, practice, and prepare for sharing life in an Avalonian community. The greater our involvement in manifesting this purpose, the greater our satisfaction as members. We hope you will join us in working to make this dream a reality.
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 clipart images provided as "free for individual or nonprofit use". Wherever one relies on outside sources mistakes may sometimes occur. If your original work is displayed here without your permission and you wish to have it removed, or 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). 
