[Edited 20 Dec 2017]
It’s that time of year again, to take stock, look back, and ponder the shifts and fortunes of life as it has manifested on this planet during its most recent revolution around its star. (There — that sure can put any individual ego in its place.)
First, a few honorable mentions: several posts tied for 11th place, falling just a little short of the list:
“Brighid of the Snows” — a meditation on Damh the Bard’s lovely song “Brighid”.
“Triple Solstice, 2017” — three celebrations of the 2017 Summer Solstice.
“Doing the Work” and its paired post, “Not Doing the Work” — among other things, a reflection on the value of spiritual practice.
“East Coast Gathering 2017” — a continuing series since 2012, featuring the annual OBOD autumn equinox weekend camp in northeastern Pennsylvania.
“Druid Clickbait” — a Druid twist on the wry appeals of typical clickbait.
Now for the Top 10:
10–“Binding, Blessing and Changing” (tying with an older post, “Fake Druidry and OGRELD“) — the first examines the ill-formulated though intermittently well-intentioned magical attempt to “bind Donald Trump”. Looking for ongoing empirical tests of magical effectiveness? Exhibit A for what not to do. The second post deals both humorously and seriously with the modern practice of Druidry.
9–“Grace for Lunasa Season” — a meditation on Irish poet Dennis King’s poem “Altú” — “Grace”. Just what are the ancestors doing, anyway?!
8–“Druid and Christian – Samhuinn and Sovereignty” — finding links and connections between traditions — “successful ritual means good relationships”.
7–“Ancestry, Polytheism, Tradition” (tying with another older post, the first of the seven-part “Earth Mysteries” series examining the seven principles from J M Greer’s book Mystery Teaching from the Living Earth) — a look at what the ancestors bring and the very broad context they offer us. The other post considers each of the seven core teachings.
6–“Mantle of Brighid about Me“, sneaking in from December 2016, and tying with “Beltane 2015 and Touching the Sacred“) — the first is the ritual implicit in John O’Donohue’s lovely poem. The second celebrates the May festival.
5–“Jesus and Druidry, Part 3” (tying with “Shinto – Way of the Gods” from 2012) — “My Druid is Christ”, wrote St. Columba. The links between the two practices are deep and long-standing. The Shinto post links to a couple of series and individual posts, all continuing to draw readers and demonstrating the appeal of earth religion.
4–“Review of John Beckett’s The Path of Paganism” — John Beckett’s book differs from the typical Pagan 101 text, and conveys much of John’s balance, insight and hard-won practice.
3–“Romuva — Baltic Paganism” — after the fall of the Soviet Union, the native Pagan faith of Lithuania re-surfaced — it never completely died out. Some fascinating material and images are available, including videos.
2–“Grail and Cross — Druid and Christian Theme 5” — “… both Grail and Cross are now firmly entrenched in the Western world as specific symbols, straddling Pagan and Christian understandings of emotion and physicality, manifestation and transformation, magic and divinity”.
1–“MAGUS 2017 — The Mid-Atlantic Gathering US” — a review of the first instance of what richly promises to be an annual event, the OBOD Mid-Atlantic Gathering U.S. (MAGUS) at Four Quarters Sanctuary in Artemas, Pennsylvania. A tribute to the work of Four Quarters Sanctuary and to the organizers.
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A Druid Way 