Workshops for 2013

Last year Druids Down Under in Sydney met regularly to do workshops on ritual for the Sydney wheel of the year. We met at approximately monthly intervals on weekends with the purpose of observing the changes in the land around us and bringing the ideas which formed from that together as a group to discus their significance as symbols for ritual. We used the wheel of the year which I had created for Coastal Sydney, and even though we were holding our workshops in South Western Sydney, we felt that much of the symbolism was the same, save for a few flowers which did not bloom there, or the coming of frost which isn't felt nearer to the beach. Each workshop was divided into three sections: 1) a discussion of the natural changes which had occured and the most significant natural phenomena of that particular time, eg. storms, insects, cold wind, wattle blooms etc. 2) We discussed the meaning of these as symbols and how to interpret them for spiritual understanding. We also worked out ways that this knowledge could be brought together to create a ritual. 3) Using a basic ritual format I had adapted from circles in the British Druid Order I had attended, we created and held new rituals which incorporated these ideas.

It was a great success and the group which formed out of it now work well together in ritual, as well as sharing a common bond in following this cycle together through the year. As we enter 2013 we will be starting to hold a new series of workshops to deepen this knowledge and open it up to new members. It has been a wonderful journey so far with the main basis for practice having been a focus on the seasonal changes. This year our focus is to be on expanding upon that, but also on bringing in a closer melding of the traditional Celtic mythologies to different festivals. Some examples are the story of Brigit for our Flower Festival in August which is similar to Imbolc, or the story of the Mabon and how it can relate to the Peace Festival around the autumnal equinox. It is going to be an interesting year of exploration.

These workshops are public and further information about them can be found via our facebook page. Just search for "Druids Down Under". Alternatively you can email me, Julie, at julie.d.brett@hotmail.com, though facebook is our preferred method for networking and posting events.