Merlin Williams, a chief Bard for the Insular Order of Druids, who once had to fight to get his sword Taliesin back from the authorities, has decided to turn it back into the Portsmouth Police.

Merlin chose to turn the sword in after careful meditation on world peace and in light of the recent rash of stabbings in the area.

Standing outside the Portsmouth Central Police Station, Merlin stated: “I wanted to show that druids are peace-loving and although the sword was never used for violence, I thought handing it in to the police station where it was confiscated would be a good way of doing this.”

To read more on this story click here.

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Dr. Rodeny Karr has been therapist and Pagan psychologist for the past 28 years. His practice includes counseling for the GLBT and Pagan communities while running local therapy groups, being an activist, a minister in the Western Mysteries Tradition and running various Jungian Shamanic groups.

In addition to traditional therapies Dr. Karr also works with the Pagan Psychotherapy Processes that focuses on journeys and personal healing for those of us in the Pagan community at large. He currently facilitates over four groves which are: The Monarch Bear Grove , Manannan mac Lir Grove , de Laveaga Grove-The National AIDS Memorial , The Downie River Grove

Dr. Karr is also the founder and director of The Monarch Bear Institute, which fosters education about responsible nature conservancy and land stewardship. The institute is also a consortium of earth based healers and teachers and they are in the process of creating documentary films about eco-spirituality. Click here to learn more about The Monarch Bear Institute

Dr. Karr’s fearless determination to helping people from both the GLBT and Pagan communities since the 1960’s as well as his continued work to protect our natural resources makes him my pick for Simple Abnormality’s Pagan Professional of the week.

Dr. Karr has two offices in California one in San Francisco and the other in Walnut Creek. Location and contact information can be found through his main website below.

For more information on Dr. Rodney G. Karr, his groves or The Monarch Bear Foundation you can visit the following web sites.
Dr. Rodney G. Karr, Pagan Psychologist
Shamans-SF

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Today, we are going to go over the belief system and practice of the Druids. The Pagan classification on this practice can be a hard one to pin down to specifics. Like witchcraft in some cases where the practice is and of itself a science, Druidry has some equal comparisons to that point. Druidry itself is really three things: a spiritual path, a religious faith and a cultural grouping. What we will focus on here is religious Druidry.

Before the 18th century what was originally an oral religious system within earlier Celtic cultures through and beyond Gaul shifted with the mass documentation of the Christian monks. What we know of Druidry today comes form a collection of what has been written down from a tradition built on the secrecy of an oral one. This shift in tradition, with the influences through various years in Druidry makes the modern practice part of the NeoPaganism classification.

There are three main types of practice inside Druidry and they are: Bards, Ovates and Druids. The Bards are centered around the arts and are the keepers and poets of the tradition. The Ovates are the healers of the group who have contact with the ancestors and are the workers of divination. The Druids overall are the ones who encompass all that the practice entails along with being the lead on counseling, justice, general mentoring and full training as a Druid.

The belief system for Druids is one that is quite open in terms of having no centralized deities. Those in the faith can choose their own deities which are usually in conjunction with the main tenet of belief that our natural world is spiritual. There is also a strong belief in metempsychosis and that between each life our souls rest in the Otherworld. The Otherworld is of course where the ancestors are to be found for counsel by the Ovates. The order also believes in what is called the three goals and they are as follows: Wisdom, Creativity and Love. Now, the Love that is a part of the Druidy goals is not the typical romantic type Love that is the goal for some who are not of the order; their goal of Love encompasses an open Love that includes that of Nature, community and their growth for all through magical and spiritual education.

There are many things that come together when looking at the practice of Druidy. Some study that must me made in order to incorporate practice are as follows: botany, herbalism, history, language, culture, spiritual reverence for the natural world, culture myths, folk lore and more. Another part of putting everything into practice are the high moral standards that a Druid must posses as well. Due to the importance of morality, Athelia Nihtscada created the following eleven principles out of Ireland’s Brehon laws that pre-date Christianity.

1. Every action has a consequence that must be observed and you must be prepared to compensate for your actions if required.
2. All life is sacred and all are responsible for seeing that this standard is upheld.
3. You do still live in society and are bound by its rules.
4. Work with high standards.
5. Make an honest living.
6. Be a good host as well as a good guest.
7. Take care of yourself.
8. Serve your community.
9. Maintain a healthy balance of the spiritual and mundane.
10. Uphold the Truth, starting with yourself.
11. Be sure in your convictions, particularly when judging or accusing someone, but also when debating. Ask yourself: are you really sure? Do you really know that this the case?

Druidy is like most Pagan religions in that to become a part of the practice and belief system you need to be prepared to do the work. As a faith, this path is not an easy one to make but with the combination of study, morality and a reverence for the natural world that we are living in today it also makes this faith a good representation of NeoPaganism.

If you would like to learn more about Druidry, whether it be for religious or cultural purposes please visit the following links.

The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids
Anciet Order of Druids in America
Ár nDraíocht Féin
Avalon Center for Druidic Studies

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Pagan schools are rapidly developing all over the United States in response to the growing popularity of Paganism. Some of these schools are legitimate places of education while others are based solely on profit. One should keep in mind that though the basic tenant of Paganism is the acknowledgment for an individual to find their own spiritual path there are groups out there, as is any religious grouping, that will teach based only certain spiritual paths.

There are many things that one should take into consideration when applying to a Pagan educational program. You should first do has much research and study on your own of the path in which you feel is right for you. You should research the credibility and history of the educational programs that you are looking into. Many, not all, Pagan educational programs can be learned on ones own without the expense of applying to a school. Look at all the courses that are offered and learn about the teacher’s teaching them. Think about the time line for each course taught and see if it will fit with your schedule. Also, take into consideration the difference between your need for a mentor and your need for traditional Pagan schooling. Most Pagan religions have mentors in certain circles that regularly take on apprentices, find out if there are any in your area and weigh your options for furthering your Pagan education.

In an effort to help those who are looking for a class style Pagan education I have comprised a review of some of the current Pagan schools that exist.

Avalon Center for Druidic Studies: They are both an online and off line school in the process of building a campus and gaining full accreditation. Their various courses offer a Bachelor of Druidic Arts ( B.D.A.), Master of Bardic Arts (M.B.A.), Master of Arts in Ovate Studies (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy in Druidic Studies (Ph.D.). Their admissions process is like that of your regular colleges. For more information visit www.avaloncollege.org

The College of The Sacred Mists: This is an online school that teaches Wiccan courses in the Sacred Mists tradition. Classes consist of studying to attain the three degrees offered in their own tradition and require a study commitment time of a year and a day for each degree. Some courses are only for those who are of the Sacred Mists Wiccan tradition. For more information visit www.workingwitches.com

The Pagan Online Campus: A free online school taught by teachers of various Pagan faiths who donate their time. Course schedules are run based on regular semester guidelines. The Pagan Online Campus is a legally incorporated non-profit institution. For more information visit www.thepagancampus.net

Witch School: An online Wiccan school. They teach the Correllian Wiccan tradition in three degrees and offer courses in general Pagan history. Keep in mind that all courses are taught from a Correllian Wiccan view point and that some courses are free and others are by tuition only. For more information visit:www.witchschool.com

Cherry Hill Seminary: A professional Pagan clergy institution, they offer courses in both the lay and ministry track for Pastoral Counseling and hold to a standard admissions process. This school is good for those in the Pagan community who wish to attain certification as Pagan Clergy. They teach from all Pagan faiths and the seminary is located in Bethel, VT. For more information visit www.cherryhillseminary.org

The Crossroads Lyceum College of Isis: Part of the Fellowship of Isis this is a correspondence school that teaches the Fellowship of Isis tradition and Goddess centered spirituality. They offer two programs of Priesthood training within the Fellowship of Isis tradition. For more information visit www.crlyceum.com

Goddess Moon Circles Academy: A private school for Pagan children grades K-12. Part of the surge in the home schooling movement the academy runs through the regular school year and offers a standard course curriculum in addition to faith based schooling. This is an alternative to sending Pagan kids to private Christian schools. For more information visit www.goddessmooncirclesacademy.org

It is important to understand that even though there are many groups who may call themselves schools or colleges of Witchcraft and or Paganism they mainly teach from the point of view of their own spiritual path. Most of the ongoing study needed to further a Pagan education can be done and in most cases should be done on your own. What is important to your personal spiritual path may be completely different from someone else’s so keep in mind if you do chose to join or participate in any Pagan learning program that what is taught is not what you must follow.

Another thing to take into consideration is melding of many traditions taught as one. For example if you jump into a school that claims to teach general Paganism through three degrees and you are unaware that the three degrees relates to mainly Wicca and not general Paganism as a whole then later on down the line you may run into to quite a bit of confusion.

My suggestion to anyone who wishes to choose a certain path is to educate themselves on all Pagan religions before hand that way when you are taught a discrepancy in paths you will know where it originated.

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