From the Regional Druid
Happy Summer Solstice!
This Solstice seems to be about memory and tradition. The runes for our Omen included Othala. Initially, the rune represented ancestral holdings or inherited land. In our current culture, many of us don’t live on land that has been inherited. In some cases, we don’t even live in the country or state where our family lives.
I don’t live in the country of my birth, nor do I live in the same state as my parents or siblings. Othala, to me, is about the inheritance of traditions and the memories of those who came before. It is about that continuity from parent to child as we move down the generations. While we may not live on the land of our ancestors anymore (or maybe you do), our lives seem to cycle back to earlier days in different ways. For me, it’s the traditions from my childhood, passed down to me from my parents, and to my parents from their parents.
Summer Solstice is around the start of Summer holidays for the kids in school, and lighter traffic for the rest of us! What traditions do you have around this time of year? Do you all gather for barbeques? or shared meals? or roasting pigs in the backyard over an open fire?
Our traditions are informed by the past and adapted to the future. We may no longer roast pigs as we don’t have the backyard to do so, but the tradition of roasting food on the barbeque is still there. How do you continue and adapt your traditions?
Blessings of the Kindreds to you and yours,
Victoria S (Leona Oigheag)
Northwest Regional Druid
From the Deputy Regional Druid
Greetings from the PNW!
My family is on our annual observance of the Summer Solstice. Our tradition is to spend the solstice camping on the Oregon coast. We take our time and friends from around 
Oregon come to our campsite and visit us. This is our sixth trip and it is now the thing our kids most look forward to throughout the year. We go tide pooling, hike some estuaries, collect agates, and do some crabbing.
For me, one of the most important things about our trip is that it physically connects me to the light. I have a very strong tendency to stay up too late. It’s an issue that is pretty cyclic. I stay up, so when I get up I’m drinking coffee to keep up with the kids (I Homeschool our young ones), and struggling to get my daily tasks done. As soon as everyone is in bed, though, I perk up and try to finish my daily work. Then I wind down with a little anime and Facebook. All the while, the household lights, and screens are keeping me from experiencing the natural shut down we get from the darkness. So, a drop of the pure, and some melatonin, and I’m off to sleep too late, again. Sliante!
In the middle of Oregon, however, last light at the campsite is, like, an hour later than in central California. I can’t abide a bright lantern, so, even though I’m still doing dishes after everyone goes to bed, my natural response to the dark kicks in and I’m asleep at a reasonable hour. Our trip is almost 2 weeks long, so I have time to get into that rhythm. Instead of 12 or 1 AM, I’m asleep at 11 for a few days in a row. It will get me through these longest days of the year, until Eight Winds, when I’ll stay up too late with some of the best Druids I know.
Michael Riley
Senior Druid at Sierra Madrone Grove, ADF
Northwest Deputy Regional Druid
A prayer for stabilityWe call to our Ancestors to hold strong the way beneath us, We call to the spirits of nature, We call to the Shining Ones by Jon Drum |
Dedicants Corner: Summer SolsticeWorking on your Dedicant Program? Or just interested in the High Day Morgan Daimler talks about Irish-American Witchcraft: Midsummer, the Fair Folk, and Some Advice Thinking about your Nature Spirit essay? Consider how you consume food and what you do with edible parts of food that often isn’t eaten. Check out the latest Clergy Council High Day Ritual for Summer Solstice |
General Resources from Around the Web
Some new, and not so new, resources that any Druid might find useful!Looking for a new ritual to try?
Remember to check out the Liturgists Yearbook and the ADF Rituals
Archdruid Jon Pagano and Podcaster Lonnie Scott talk about Modern Paganism
Listen to Professor Ronald Hutton talk about Traditional Fairy Beliefs (video)
Heron Michelle talks about The Paradox of Personal Sovereignty in Modern Witchcraft
Upcoming Rituals
You can see what’s coming up on our Northwest Events Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ADFNorthwestEvents/.
You do not need to be logged into Facebook to see the page.
Sites for Pagan News and Blogs
Useful links & remindersSupport ADFA reminder that ADF is supported by your donations! ADF Forum ArchivesAre you looking for archives for our mailing list posts? or do you prefer to use forums rather than mailing lists? ADF BlogsDrum has been updating the Archdruid Blog at https://www.adf.org/blogs/ad. You can also check out his personal blog at https://adruidsprogress.wordpress.com/ The Mother Grove blog includes agendas and minutes from the Mother Grove meetings. These notes also go out in email to ADF-Discuss |
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Podcasts & ProjectsADF members are working hard to get information about their spirituality and their practices out there. Check out these podcasts, and remember to rate them too! Kindling the Hearthfire Weird Web Radio Gifts of the Wyrd White Mountain Druid Sanctuary
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Have questions for our Regional Druid? Contact Victoria at adf-northwest-rd@adf.org.
Have a submission for the next newsletter? Email us at adfnwevents@gmail.com
Want to help out at Pantheacon or Eight Winds? Email us at adfnwevents@gmail.com
Image Credits:
Header Image by Victoria S (Leona Oigheag)
Other images by Michael Riley