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	<title>Mount Haemus Lectures &#8211; Order of Bards, Ovates &amp; Druids</title>
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	<title>Mount Haemus Lectures &#8211; Order of Bards, Ovates &amp; Druids</title>
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		<title>26th Mount Haemus Lecture ~ The Fifth Province: Myth and Metaphor in Twentieth Century Ireland</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/26th-mount-haemus-lecture-the-fifth-province-myth-and-metaphor-in-twentieth-century-ireland</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maria Ede-Weaving]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 23:12:45 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://druidry.org/?p=19795</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This paper explores the ancient Irish myth of the Fifth Province as described in The Settling of the Manor of Tara, tracing its transformation into a powerful cultural metaphor in twentieth-century Ireland. It argues that the myth’s symbolism — a central unifying force among divisions — was reimagined by thinkers, artists, and politicians to promote dialogue, healing, and postcolonial reflection. Drawing on figures such as Richard Kearney, Seamus Heaney, and Imelda McCarthy, the study shows how the Fifth Province served as a philosophical and creative space during key moments in Irish political and spiritual renewal, including the peace process and the cultural liberalization of the Republic. The paper concludes by considering how this mythic structure offers practical tools for contemporary Druids seeking to balance personal, communal, and ecological harmony.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[This paper explores the ancient Irish myth of the Fifth Province as described in The Settling of the Manor of Tara, tracing its transformation into a powerful cultural metaphor in twentieth-century Ireland. It argues that the myth’s symbolism — a central unifying force among divisions — was reimagined by thinkers, artists, and politicians to promote dialogue, healing, and postcolonial reflection. Drawing on figures such as Richard Kearney, Seamus Heaney, and Imelda McCarthy, the study shows how the Fifth Province served as a philosophical and creative space during key moments in Irish political and spiritual renewal, including the peace process and the cultural liberalization of the Republic. The paper concludes by considering how this mythic structure offers practical tools for contemporary Druids seeking to balance personal, communal, and ecological harmony.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>25th Mount Haemus Lecture ~ Discovering Meaning In Ireland: Megalith Spiritual Experiences</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/25th-mount-haemus-lecture-discovering-meaning-in-ireland-megalith-spiritual-experiences</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Philip Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2023 12:52:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://druidry.org/?p=13922</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Megalithic sites in Ireland have a profound effect on many people, drawing them in with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Some are interested in these structures from a historical or scientific perspective, while others view them as sacred and make pilgrimages to them. Paul M White’s study aims to explore the spiritual experiences of individuals who’s lives have been impacted by their visits to these ancient sites.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Megalithic sites in Ireland have a profound effect on many people, drawing them in with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Some are interested in these structures from a historical or scientific perspective, while others view them as sacred and make pilgrimages to them. Paul M White’s study aims to explore the spiritual experiences of individuals who’s lives have been impacted by their visits to these ancient sites.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>24th Mount Haemus Lecture ~Fallen Branches: Reconstructing The Lost Saga Of Caswallawn ap Beli Mawr</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/24th-mount-haemus-lecture-fallen-branches-reconstructing-the-lost-saga-of-caswallawn-ap-beli-mawr</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maria Ede-Weaving]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 May 2022 12:20:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://druidry.org/?p=12432</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Though a sizable body of literature has survived the aeons since the first Bards regaled us with tales of heroes and gods, it’s also sadly apparent that many of these grand narratives are now lost, with only the faintest fragments for us to gather. And of these lost sagas, perhaps none are quite as complex, enticing, or mysterious as the Story of Caswallawn ap Beli.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Though a sizable body of literature has survived the aeons since the first Bards regaled us with tales of heroes and gods, it’s also sadly apparent that many of these grand narratives are now lost, with only the faintest fragments for us to gather. And of these lost sagas, perhaps none are quite as complex, enticing, or mysterious as the Story of Caswallawn ap Beli.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
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		<title>23rd Mount Haemus Lecture ~ World Druidry: Seasonal Festivals in a Globalizing Tradition</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-twenty-third-mount-haemus-lecture-world-druidry-seasonal-festivals-in-a-globalizing-tradition</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maria Ede-Weaving]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2021 11:34:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://druidry.org/?p=10151</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Druidry, as a contemporary, nature-based, new religious movement, has been growing and 2 spreading rapidly since the early 1990s. Druids now reside in 34 countries, across six continents, and inhabit 17 unique biomes, in addition to the mistletoe and oak filled temperate forests depicted in history and fantasy. As a nature-reverent tradition with high holidays based upon a cycle of seasonal celebrations, this begs the question: How can Druidry maintain a spiritual common core across so many, diverse ecological contexts?]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Druidry, as a contemporary, nature-based, new religious movement, has been growing and 2 spreading rapidly since the early 1990s. Druids now reside in 34 countries, across six continents, and inhabit 17 unique biomes, in addition to the mistletoe and oak filled temperate forests depicted in history and fantasy. As a nature-reverent tradition with high holidays based upon a cycle of seasonal celebrations, this begs the question: How can Druidry maintain a spiritual common core across so many, diverse ecological contexts?]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>22nd Mount Haemus Lecture: The Feminist Druid: Making Way for New Stories/New Work</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-feminist-druid-making-way-for-new-stories-new-work</link>
					<comments>https://druidry.org/resources/the-feminist-druid-making-way-for-new-stories-new-work#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maria Ede-Weaving]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2020 12:03:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://druidry.org/?p=8486</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In the re-telling of three feminist folk tales (or kitchen table myths) that foreground the problem-solving abilities of intrepid female protagonists, LaFrance highlights how 1) a Druidic reverence for the natural world echoes the lessons of consent-culture, 2) Druidic work models an ethics of care central to recognizing the fluidity, flexibility, and complexity of human bodies and their relations, and 3) how the community-building/deep listening at the center of today’s Druidry offers crucial models of leadership and organization in a time where many traditional models for governance have come under pressure.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[In the re-telling of three feminist folk tales (or kitchen table myths) that foreground the problem-solving abilities of intrepid female protagonists, LaFrance highlights how 1) a Druidic reverence for the natural world echoes the lessons of consent-culture, 2) Druidic work models an ethics of care central to recognizing the fluidity, flexibility, and complexity of human bodies and their relations, and 3) how the community-building/deep listening at the center of today’s Druidry offers crucial models of leadership and organization in a time where many traditional models for governance have come under pressure.]]></content:encoded>
					
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			<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
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		<title>21st Mount Haemus Lecture: The Well and the Chapel: Confluence</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/twenty-first-mount-haemus-lecture-the-well-and-the-chapel-confluence</link>
					<comments>https://druidry.org/resources/twenty-first-mount-haemus-lecture-the-well-and-the-chapel-confluence#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Philip Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2020 09:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://druidry.org/?p=7549</guid>

					<description><![CDATA["RoMa Johnson, a Druid scholar, sets out to build bridges between Druidism and Christianity, describing these different approaches as hailing from the Well and the Chapel.   Her radical exposition of communion between the two addresses the intimacy and the visceral nature and fierce and tender love that is ever present in all existences.  How would it be if we as human beings were to treat the world and each other knowing this to be true?" Peter Owen Jones]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA["RoMa Johnson, a Druid scholar, sets out to build bridges between Druidism and Christianity, describing these different approaches as hailing from the Well and the Chapel.   Her radical exposition of communion between the two addresses the intimacy and the visceral nature and fierce and tender love that is ever present in all existences.  How would it be if we as human beings were to treat the world and each other knowing this to be true?" Peter Owen Jones]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://druidry.org/resources/twenty-first-mount-haemus-lecture-the-well-and-the-chapel-confluence/feed</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>20th Mount Haemus Lecture : What Druidry does &#8211; a perspective on the spiritual dynamics of the OBOD course</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-twentieth-mount-haemus-lecture-what-druidry-does-a-perspective-on-the-spiritual-dynamics-of-the-obod-course</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:19:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://druidry.org//?p=2195</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Dr Susan Jones, MBA, has a professional background in science, higher education, business and government, alongside 30 years' psycho-spiritual involvement including 17 years as OBOD's Mentor Co-ordinator. Most that is written about Druidry by academics, commentators and leaders focuses on what Druids believe and do – what they practice and their rituals, what ideas they share. It is based on evidence that can be seen. But Druidry develops in the hearts and minds of individuals and may be unexposed to the outside world. This paper offers a different perspective: what Druidry does. As OBOD's Mentor Co-ordinator, Susan had a unique position from which to view the spiritual dynamics of Druidry, through the lens of the OBOD course.  What does Druidry do? How does it do it? Is it of value? Does it have limits? Her new research will also seek to answer a puzzle - whatever happened to those who enrolled as OBOD members but didn’t follow the course through? Do they still find a benefit in Druidry? How could what we know so far influence what Druidry will do next? This paper will be a celebration of over 7,000 students who have shared something of their spiritual journeys, with some truly remarkable insights that add to the general discourse about Druidry and the life spiritual.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Dr Susan Jones, MBA, has a professional background in science, higher education, business and government, alongside 30 years' psycho-spiritual involvement including 17 years as OBOD's Mentor Co-ordinator. Most that is written about Druidry by academics, commentators and leaders focuses on what Druids believe and do – what they practice and their rituals, what ideas they share. It is based on evidence that can be seen. But Druidry develops in the hearts and minds of individuals and may be unexposed to the outside world. This paper offers a different perspective: what Druidry does. As OBOD's Mentor Co-ordinator, Susan had a unique position from which to view the spiritual dynamics of Druidry, through the lens of the OBOD course.  What does Druidry do? How does it do it? Is it of value? Does it have limits? Her new research will also seek to answer a puzzle - whatever happened to those who enrolled as OBOD members but didn’t follow the course through? Do they still find a benefit in Druidry? How could what we know so far influence what Druidry will do next? This paper will be a celebration of over 7,000 students who have shared something of their spiritual journeys, with some truly remarkable insights that add to the general discourse about Druidry and the life spiritual.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>19th Mount Haemus Lecture</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-nineteenth-mount-haemus-lecture</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:13:59 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://druidry.org//?p=2190</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Dr. Dana Driscoll, Associate Professor of English, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (US) has long explored how people learn to write and develop as writers over time. In this study, she applies learning theory to explore bardic (creative) practices in the modern druid revival movement. Through a survey of 266 druids and in-depth interviews with 14 bardic practitioners, the research explores how people taking up the path of the bard develop expertise, seek community, reap spiritual benefits, and embrace the flow of Awen (inspiration). A key finding is the role of the Eisteddfod (bardic circle) in the development of the bardic arts. Also considered are the challenges new bards face including overcoming the myth of talent and addressing cultural conditioning. Through the lens of learning theory, the study concludes by considering how the druid community can help individuals overcome barriers to taking up the path of the bard and continue to promote and cultivate the bardic arts for individuals, groves, and gatherings. ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Dr. Dana Driscoll, Associate Professor of English, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (US) has long explored how people learn to write and develop as writers over time. In this study, she applies learning theory to explore bardic (creative) practices in the modern druid revival movement. Through a survey of 266 druids and in-depth interviews with 14 bardic practitioners, the research explores how people taking up the path of the bard develop expertise, seek community, reap spiritual benefits, and embrace the flow of Awen (inspiration). A key finding is the role of the Eisteddfod (bardic circle) in the development of the bardic arts. Also considered are the challenges new bards face including overcoming the myth of talent and addressing cultural conditioning. Through the lens of learning theory, the study concludes by considering how the druid community can help individuals overcome barriers to taking up the path of the bard and continue to promote and cultivate the bardic arts for individuals, groves, and gatherings. ]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>18th Mount Haemus : Lecture The Elementary Forms of Druidic Life &#8211; Towards a Moral Ecology of Land, Sea, and Sky</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-eighteenth-mount-haemus-lecture-the-elementary-forms-of-druidic-life-towards-a-moral-ecology-of-land-sea-and-sky</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://druidry.org//?p=2187</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Jonathan Woolley, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, is part of a research project studying the relationships between people and the environment, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. His work with contemporary Druids explores the spiritual landscape they inhabit, and follows the political and social agency of such surroundings. By comparing the three worlds of Druidry with other cosmologies - both within the West, and elsewhere - we can develop a clear appreciation of what truly defines Druidry as a spiritual community; the elementary forms of Druidic life.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[Jonathan Woolley, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, is part of a research project studying the relationships between people and the environment, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. His work with contemporary Druids explores the spiritual landscape they inhabit, and follows the political and social agency of such surroundings. By comparing the three worlds of Druidry with other cosmologies - both within the West, and elsewhere - we can develop a clear appreciation of what truly defines Druidry as a spiritual community; the elementary forms of Druidic life.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>17th Mount Haemus Lecture: Tree Lore is Wisdom</title>
		<link>https://druidry.org/resources/the-seventeenth-mount-haemus-lecture-tree-lore-is-wisdom</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Philip Carr-Gomm]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:05:18 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Haemus Lectures]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://druidry.org//?p=1376</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The ogam alphabet is important in Celtic history. It is important in Druidic tradition. But the ogam alphabet that is important in Celtic history is not at all the same thing as the ogam alphabet in Druidry. This dichotomy represents an excellent example of just how different history and tradition can be. History attempts to record facts, events and decisions relating to specific times. Tradition represents the way in which people want to remember those facts, events and decisions afterwards – not simply repeating them, but finding ways to add meaning to them, to commemorate them in action or in thought, and to make them influential in their own lives. Tradition can therefore be cultural and/or religious, national and/or group-oriented, gregariously inclusive or intensely personal. Above all, however, tradition that endures over time, and expands as it does so, eventually has its own history.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[The ogam alphabet is important in Celtic history. It is important in Druidic tradition. But the ogam alphabet that is important in Celtic history is not at all the same thing as the ogam alphabet in Druidry. This dichotomy represents an excellent example of just how different history and tradition can be. History attempts to record facts, events and decisions relating to specific times. Tradition represents the way in which people want to remember those facts, events and decisions afterwards – not simply repeating them, but finding ways to add meaning to them, to commemorate them in action or in thought, and to make them influential in their own lives. Tradition can therefore be cultural and/or religious, national and/or group-oriented, gregariously inclusive or intensely personal. Above all, however, tradition that endures over time, and expands as it does so, eventually has its own history.]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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