July 31, 2022

Marty had told us the ancestral and otherworld energies were very present at a sacred site near his home. When we gathered there before the Bealtaine Festival celebration at nearby Uisneach, we could not have anticipated the power and potency of those energies. We were incredibly altered and others had to alert me to the fact that a cow was standing not two feet behind me perhaps considering a nibble on my jacket. Normally skittish, cows had climbed the hill and were standing in a circle around us. 

It took a while to bring myself back before we climbed in the car to head to Uisneach. It was the first time on this Ireland journey that we would wonder how I managed to drive. 

We were still very much in an altered state when we arrived at the festival and merged with the crowd estimated at 4,000 people. We wandered around in a daze for some time before deciding we had to migrate to the edges to keep our sanity. It was overwhelming. And as much as we tuned in, we could feel nothing sacred about this festival. It had the energy of a renaissance fair. People in costume. Many were dressed as goddesses, others cloaked with swords and daggers. There was even a man dressed as St. Patrick which was markedly antithetical to this ancient sacred fire festival.  It was soon clear that there was really nothing sacred about this event. When I mentioned this to Anthony who was there giving a talk, he smiled and told me that was a problem of my expectations. This is not a sacred ceremony. It’s a reenactment.

It was also, because of covid, the first time in two years that people had been able to gather for this event. It was both reenactment and reunion. Most of the people I know who attended the event were wildly enthusiastic about it, especially the chance to see friends. I appreciate that. However I am deeply disappointed about what is clearly the demise of one of Ireland’s oldest and most important festivals and essential sacred events. Through the centuries, this was not a reenactment and the garments worn were not costumes. Through the centuries they continued to make it relevant to current times.

Yes. It was always a gathering of friends and tribes with feasting and games and laughter and music and fine flowing clothing. It was also a time for deep spiritual connection with the ancestral, cosmological, and otherworld energies that were fundamental in their lives. That is what was missing for me as I observed people still standing in line at the food vendors during the lighting of the fire. As rock and roll music continued to blast over speakers from a stage during the fire lighting ceremony. As I overheard people refer to a statue of Ériu as ‘that womany statue over there’, clearly not knowing who she is and that she is the predominant deity and energy of the festival and the Hill of Uisneach. 

So no, I won’t be going back. Although I’m glad I was able to experience it this once. It just seems to me that when we relegate these ceremonies to reenactments of the past, we fail to bring the power of those ceremonies forward to this time. And now, as much as ever, we are called to a deeper connection with the spiritual energies fundamental to our lives. We are called to embrace and manifest the ancient spiritual and cosmological wisdom in this now.

We are called to leave behind the cloaks and daggers.

Beannacht,
Judith

July 30, 2022

Anthony Murphy is an amazing man and cherished friend. Throughout our long relationship we’ve joked about him being the Druid of Drogheda, his hometown nestled on the River Bóinne near Ireland’s east coast, and I’ve threatened to make him a cloak. Throughout our long relationship he has adamantly said he would never wear one. In this perhaps slightly worn and frayed joke we share, there is the mutual understanding that we are not into costumes for the work we do individually and together. In fact none of my colleagues in Ireland wear costumes which is one reason I work with them. 

Of course among my friends and colleagues there is Courtney Davis who is one of the most colorfully dressed men you would ever meet. And some might think his garb is costume. But it’s not. It’s simply a reflection of who he is, his authentic self. And that’s the point. 

I don’t need a cloak or costume for the energy I hold and the essence of who I am to be fully present. In fact a costume would hide the truth of that behind a mask of ancient tradition and symbolism which might be romantically decorative but which hold little relevance to who I am or the spiritual experiences and insights I offer. They certainly don’t enhance the power I hold but rather diminish the integrity of it through possible misunderstanding and misinterpretation. 

So I will leave my sewing machine for other projects. I do make most of my own clothes but I won’t be sewing any cloaks or costumes for myself or Anthony. I have no desire to cloak the truth.

Beannacht,
Judith

July 29, 2022

People often speculate that I’m a witch. Some are bold enough to ask. I’m not. But I appreciate that it’s a convenient pigeon hole for the casual and perhaps even no so casual observer.

I do resonate with the origins of the word, generally one who holds a wisdom and knowing of sacred and otherworld energies. And while I also don’t find a resonance with ‘witchcraft’, I do know there is a craft essential to manifesting this knowing. There is tremendous power here. If we are honored to touch this power, we are called to be in right relationship with it and it seems this is where it can all go wrong.

This is a sacred alliance. While we hold a unique place in this alliance that allows us to amplify and direct the powerful energies present, this is about power with. Not power over. Too often our human nature wants our will and our way, not divine will and divine way. This is not about casting spells to get what we want. This is about the highest and greatest good. As much as we know or think we know the sacred energies, they also know us. They know absolutely the measure of our intention and integrity. 

I was reminded yesterday of the story of Aleister Crowley. Once a student of the Golden Dawn, he took short cuts that undermined the integrity of that tradition. He was kicked out of the organization but continued to exert his will, traveling a path of dark and black magic. 

This is a sacred alliance. Only when we stand in a place of integrity within our sacred sovereignty do we honor that alliance and our place in it. Only when we are in right relationship with this sacred knowing can we contribute to sacred manifestation. 

This is the inner work we are called to. To be rooted at all times in this sacred sovereignty and in right relationship with this sacred knowing. All the tools and chants and ceremonies and costumes mean nothing if we are not rooted in this place. 

Ah, yes. The costumes. Fodder for the next blog post.

Beannacht,
Judith

July 28, 2022

I heard music and looked out the cottage window. Rory was standing inches from the climbing roses playing his tin whistle. He told me later they were actually teaching him a new song. We were horrified when a woman who was, and is no longer, tending the
garden whacked back the roses without any warning or permission. I do understand that conventional wisdom counsels that roses need to be drastically cut back every so often. This is just not a convention at HazelWood Cottage.

Rory was particularly distraught and has spent the last months sitting with the roses, feeding them seaweed mixtures, and playing music to them. I understand the roses are now blooming profusely. 

Rory living at the cottage, his music and gentle nature and bright spirit, is a gift I could never have imagined. And so it’s a good thing I didn’t…try to imagine it. Yet I did set an intention.

Before we bought the cottage with a colleague, I had gone in by myself and asked what the cottage wanted. The response was clear. She wanted life and color and music and harmony. However those first years were counter to that intention and the energy was not good. It was tense and angry and dark and palpable. So I created this intention.

HazelWood Cottage
Your sacred nature & purpose
Shall manifest with
Strength & clarity
Grace & harmony

Within months the energy shifted. My colleague announced he no longer wanted to work with me or own any part of the cottage. The woman who had been living there moved out. And Rory moved in. He’s been there almost eighteen months now and we have agreed this arrangement will extend far into the future. 

Like the roses, the intention is blossoming profusely. The manifestation is vibrant. The cottage is happy.

Manifestation. Many messages came through in Ireland that through a profoundly deepened relationship with the alliance energies – the ancestral, Earth, cosmic, and otherworld energies – there is an increased capacity for manifestation. And as I have been now walking with these energies over these past months, I know that to be true, as do others who were with me on that first Ireland journey. 

I’m beginning to understand how to navigate this capacity. How to be in right relationship with it. This is essential for spiritual integrity and worthy of more exploration. And so we shall. For we are called to manifest blooming intentions.

Beannacht,
Judith

July 24, 2022

The meditation was complete in the dimly lit cairn and she slowly opened her eyes. Standing directly in front of her was a bearded and robed figure. She sensed he was Druid. I was not surprised. It was crowded in there, well beyond the eight of us on the second Ireland journey. 

I had emailed the sisters on the first journey that we would be at the cairn that afternoon and before I started the ceremony I called them in energetically. They joined us from across the US and Canada. When I got back to the B&B I got this email from one of those sisters. 

The cairn is surrounded, bathed, filled with Light.
Druids of all generations stand shoulder-to-shoulder across the Landscape.
Ancestors into the deepest reaches of time are there too, in joyful, solid support.

That was the nature of these journeys. We were constantly surrounded by ancestral energies. And while that is pretty amazing, I want to focus on the energies of joy and support. For the ancestors were just so happy and even grateful that we were stepping into the energies of our ancient sacred vows. It’s like they had been waiting. And finally we had come to this land and this focus. That message was powerful and persistent.

And there is an urgency in this anticipation. These times we are living in call us all to step more clearly into our spiritual nature. For these are the bridge times. These are the times that have been prophesied by ancient cultures around the world. Some I included in my Legacy book. But there are many others and some go as far as naming these times apocalyptic. A dramatic assessment but these are dramatic times, especially as we continue this collision course with climate catastrophe and cultural dissolution.

These are the bridge times between what was and what will be, what can be. There is tremendous hope in this and hope is what the ancestors are here to support and celebrate. They are absolutely here for us if we will stand in a place of being here for ourselves, for our people and our planet. If we stand in a place of right relationship with the Earth, the Sacred, and Community.

I’m reminded that among the many global prophecies is that of Ireland’s Tuatha Dé. The prophecy of their return from the Sídhe mounds when they are most needed. And when we are ready. Are we ready?

The profound unfolding from our Ireland experiences began when those of us on the first journey stood in ceremony and said ‘yes’. We are ready. We are ready to stand in that place of sacred connection. We are ready for the hope and possibility of these bridge times.

Beannacht,
Judith

July 23, 2022

Hiraeth n. (Welsh)
A spiritual longing for a home which maybe never was.
Nostalgia for ancient places to which we cannot return.
It is the echo of the lost places of our soul’s past and our grief for them.
It is in the wind, and the rocks, and the waves.
It is nowhere and it is everywhere.

There is still so much arriving and unfolding from my time in Ireland. The story of that time and of the journey ahead cannot yet be completely written. But it’s landing. And it continues to be the most profound spiritual experience of my life. One I could never have imagined. Good thing this unfolding isn’t limited by my imagination!

One thing is clear. We can absolutely return to those ancient places and ancient knowings.  We can absolutely visit those places of our soul’s past. I realize that this Hiraeth, this spiritual longing, has carried me on this path for decades. Now my alliance with those sacred places and times and ancestral energies is indeed everywhere…and now. A threshold has been crossed and while there is no turning back, nor would I want to, there is in this a returning. A returning home.

I have returned to the place of my soul’s past and now that past is present. The Sacred Alliance of ancestral and Druidic energies, Earth energies and cosmic energies walk with me every day as they did in Ireland. My current focus is to sustain that alignment as I navigate both the spiritual and secular aspects of my life. This will take some practice. But as my teacher counseled, this flow will become more fluent and familiar.

I’ve mentioned before that the Sacred Ireland Journeys as they have been in the past will no longer be. For across this threshold lies the energy of future gatherings in Ireland. We gather to forge a deeper relationship with the Sacred Alliance. We gather to forge a stronger ability to connect with and share the Light. We do this for our people and for our precious planet.

I can imagine no greater honor and no better way to spend the rest of my life. What a blessing. A blessing that is in the stones and the wind and the waves. A blessing of returning home.

Beannacht,
Judith

With deep gratitude to my beloved for finding this piece on Hiraeth. Your support is an anchor on this journey.

July 6, 2022

Over these past two months of being here in Ireland on pilgrimage with three groups, so much has landed. So many insights and knowings at so many levels. Incredibly profound, deep, and life changing. I knew writing during this time would not work. So now that I’m back at HazelWood Cottage for a few days before I head back to MossTerra, I’ve been wondering if any writing would arrive. It always works in this way of arrival. 

Today this arrived. And while I’m a bit surprised and bemused, this is what’s being called to be written. Such is the way of the muse. And so a beginning.

I sent this photo of our Irish garden to a friend. Her response was that we could use a few goats to mow the grass. Actually we have goats next door but they would probably do more than just munch the grass. It does seem a general consensus that our landscapes should be mowed and manicured and curated. When neighbor Mick wandered up recently for a cup of coffee, he said, “Ah, I see ye have decided to go wild.” He was very surprised by my response that in fact I’ve hired a landscaper who is doing exactly that. I could see by his response that paying someone to foster this wild garden is a foreign concept. His garden is well manicured. 

I’ve spent the last two months connecting deeply with the great harmony and web of all life here in Ireland. The ancient sacred sites, the ancestral and otherworld realms, the cosmos, the stones and waters and plants and animals of the landscapes. As Chief Sealth said, we did not create this web. We are but one strand in it. And much of the focus of these past months has been to step into that web with sacred intention. 

Every part of that web is part of a sacred design. Every plant in our garden is also part of that design. It is not my place to decide which plants are part of Nature’s tapestry and which are not. Our intention with our Irish garden is to create a wild, organic, and native habitat for the creatures we share this land with. And as I write this, the butterflies are dancing through the clover and flowers in the grass. As it should be.

Yes. Dominion over the land comes to us through the Christian construct. And clearly many have embraced that notion of deciding what should thrive and what should be weeded out. And I have to ask….how is this different than the notion of white supremacists deciding which people should thrive and which people should be eliminated? I appreciate this comparison may seem brutal. But who are we to decide what belongs in the web and what doesn’t? It’s a total and antithetical affront to the sacred.

I’ve long held this idea but in my recent connection with the great harmony, it’s now deeply rooted in me. And so with my remaining days in Ireland, I will enjoy the chaos of it all. The cascade of yellow blossoms that almost obscure the cottage. The abundance of butterflies. Rory playing his flute to the roses climbing the arch at the front of the house. The sweet smelling herbs that line the walk ways. The birds nesting in the trees and the critters nesting below the weeping willow tree.

It’s exactly as it should be.

Beannacht,
Judith