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Celtic Druids Newsletter

B Sli an Drui weekends
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D Celtic Handfasting
Pagan Weddings for all

E Druid's Calendar
Landscape Temple Map

F Five Roads to Tara
Gold Road identified

G Temple Donation?
200 yr old cow barn re-fit

H Astro Natal Chart
Incarnational Potential

I Astro Couples Chart
Compatibility for Couples

J Astro Transit Chart
Current Energy Flows

K Geostress Balancing
Home and Office

L Healing (One on One)
Healing and Counselling

M Psychic Readings
Tarot and Geomancy

N Spirit Release
(Ghost Busting)

Thank you Mike from Trim, for emailing this image to Druidschool. While the Sun rose behind a wall of clouds the winds picked up with the energy from over the Atlantic Ocean blew all day on Tara Hill. Later on it brought rain - sideways rain - just like what you can get in the west of Ireland - you could get soaked in one minute and then mostly dry out in maybe 20 minutes.

At the 8ish morning Ceremony to Water we gathered at the Well of the Dark Eye at Tara. This is easy access and just down from the cafe / book shop. A Water Ceremony was in progress and our group just merged with those already present. At the end of their Ceremony the participants all washed their hands in well water held in a ceramic baby-bath - this was then poured over the well capstone. Our Ceremony was to Bless Water and Harvest some for the Celebration Drum Dance in 12 hours time. My partner Niamh was inspired to give a guided visualisation of connection to Water for our gathering - this was a great success. We then collected water from the well and blessed it with Love.

Then we took a group of seven to visit the Gabhra stream in Tara Valley (on the public road that Opus Dei has closed and locked) and the on to Rath Lugh. The image below is the open way from the road to Rath Lugh.
 
Enter Rath Lugh Summer 06

We had a great time - even though we got soaked at noon by the Mound of the Hostages while holding ceremony to the Sun at its Summer High. We stopped and took shelter in the lee of the Mound and because the rain was “sideways rain” a big group was sheltered from the worst of it. Then we gathered again and held our Ceremony to the Sun - and the Sun shone briefly between clouds. We were wet and we left the Hill to drive to Navan Town for Lunch. We were tired and needing dry clothes so Niamh and I went home. After a wash and change of clothes we returned to Tara at around 7 in the evening. The parking situation at Tara was now very confused and there was three lines of cars where there used to only be two lines of cars. Then as we got up near the gate we saw Heather had parked in our parking spot for the first half of the day night. She came over to us and she said, “hang on I’m going now - you can park here”, we smiled our thanks. Nice One.

As we walked up the Hill to the gravel patch we were still in the sheltered side of the sideways wind and rain. The big trees were dancing and twisting and the dark clouds rushed by at great speed. I decided to re-locate our 8pm Celebration Drum Dance to inside the walled area around the church to gain some shelter from the very powerful winds. A portion of the Rath of the Synods extends inside the wall of the church graveyard and the wall is visible in the image below with the camera looking west. This is a decommissioned Protestant Church built on an older Catholic Church that in turn is built on and beside the 3/4 ring ceremonial enclosure today called the Rath of the Synods.

There were about 50 people when we set up under the protection of the trees. I saw drummers from last year with their drums and knew that this chaos we made last year was about to happen again. I poured 4 kg or 8lbs of Quartz crystals from the beach on Achill Island in the west of Ireland in to a semi spiral to act as the Crystal Fire for our ceremony. See image below

 
Crystal Fire celebration drum dance

As I walked out I raised my staff and the drummers began. Within seconds there were a half a dozen dancers (some barefoot) dancing around the centre in a Sun wise direction. More and more people danced in - young and old boy and girl in a bouncing easygoing rhythm.
Image below - Celebration Dance on Tara Pilgrimage 06
 
Crystal Dancers on Tara 06

As I raised my staff the drumbeat increased and the dancers began to howl and dance faster. I drop my staff to rest - the drums stop and the dancers roar and shout with pleasure. I walk into the circle and the dancers return to the rim - I pour water on the Crystal Fire. Others join me from the morning ceremony. I raise my staff and say “agus arís” (means - and again), the drums regain their beat and the dancers slip into harmony. See more images below
 
more Crystal Dancers on Tara 06

After about the fifth time we had completed a full round the children asked if they could pour water too. These 7 - 12 year old volunteers really wanted to activate the Quartz Crystal Celebration Fire at Tara. I told them that when we were finished that they could all have a Happy Stone from the Quartz Fire that would be a memory of the fun and happiness. Some joined me as I refilled bottles to share out the workload... and at the end of the next round the children were so numerous and excited that I did the oldest trick of all - I asked them to shout their names out loud. This they did for about two minutes with great big grins all over their faces.
I actually do not know how many rounds we did or how long the entire event lasted but it was great fun. When the last round called itself I gave thanks and asked our gathering to give a big shout of thanks to the drummers, to dancers and to Tara. Then I asked the big people to let the children have first ‘pick’ from the centre. Others had given semi-precious stones to the pile and the young people sought out the best. No fighting, shouting or disagreements were seen or heard. There were one or two big people who could have been told off about being a little bit too eager ..... Some very luck children got many fingered clusters of clear Quartz and their eyes sparkled with delight. We had been joined by maybe three hundred people for the dance and it was a great success. See picture below -
 
A view of the group at the Crystal Fire

We even forgot the wind and the rain. Thanks to the trees. After I declared the ceremony finished I was asked if it would be OK to do some fire poi / firestick dancing and I said “pick a safe spot and I’ll call the people to you by a drummer”. It was not dark but sheltered under the same leafy canopy that had protected us from the wind and rain. The ‘performers’ were great - energetic, skilled and having a good time. These young men and women entertained us with an exciting show. Because I was not going to the Fairy Tree for a “Ceremony for Air” at Sunset due to severe exposure I saw the dance of their flames as the Ceremony for Air and learned new things about Air. Some volunteers from the Rossport Camp had ‘veggie burgers’ for E2 donations and solidarity and hunger at a free party on Tara meant I got to eat two of these with pleasure. I ask all to support Shell to Sea. Please see http://struggle.ws/rsc/

A ‘Rapper’ then exploded onto the scene and chastised the lazy ones who do not seek freedom from the system. All this was within the walled enclosure. As it approached midnight - we gathered at the location of the earlier Crystal Fire. Our small group swelled in only a few minutes. A request was sent out to hold the drumming, guitar, etc down for a while - thank you, Jessica. Our group had three or more people holding beer bottles, but they made no disruption. The children had mostly gone home and our group were gathered to support a “Ritual of Protection” for Tara and to merge our desire dream to energise Tara’s Celtic Goddess - Edain Echraidhe at Tara, Rhiannon in Cymru and Epona in Gaul. In Ireland the name of the Horse Goddess was not lost, but it was hidden and her valley that is today called the Gabhra was also hidden from view. The scribes of the Catholic Church have diminished this part of our cultural history with clear intent and this still goes on today. Opus Dei’s Lismullen Institute in the sacred valley of the Celtic Royal City of Tara was given as the location for ‘dreaming’ the White Mare on this night. During this group visualisation there was a gentle drumming after each time I referred to the White Mare with her herd thundering through the Opus Dei building in the valley - thank you, unknown drummer.

Then we broke up and chatted and gathered our things and because we had had such an exhausting day night we went home. Many others stayed and the amount of cars in the car park at 2ish on Thursday morning suggested that there were many other Ceremonial Gatherings on Tara. A good event from our measure but we were just so tired we had to go home.

All said, it was the wind and the rain that acted as Chieftain of the Day. I staged a happy form of chaos with good intent for young and old to dance free seeking to protect Tara Valley. Three groups were absent for their own reasons from Tara on this Summer Sun Standing 2006. Two TV and three Radio requests to interview me came in and were ignored.

The smiles on the faces of the young boys and girls were reflected in the smiles of the men and women, both young and old that joined us in the Drum Dance. This is what the Tara Pilgrimage 06 was about, expressing the freedom to be happy at open gatherings on sacred sites with people you have never met before - there was common intent - Celebrate Tara. We did. It was great.