Category: Holy Wild

Holy Wild, Muse in Brief

Episode 9 – Holy Personal Gnosis, Batman! » Dining with Druids

Alison Leigh Lilly

In this week's episode, "Holy Personal Gnosis, Batman!", Ali and Jeff open up about their relationships with the gods, sharing a little insight into how they grapple with questions of spiritual authenticity and internal versus external sources of authority, balancing academic research, creative explorations and unverified personal gnosis (or "UPG"). Jeff talks about the time Odin almost made him crash his car, and Ali explores the dark, stellar aspect of the Celtic goddess, Brighid — but only after apologizing for her part in causing the East Coast earthquake. Make sure to stick around for the end of the episode, when Jeff reads a truly inspired piece of writing and Ali talks a bit about an up-coming contest for listeners to win a copy of the new anthology of Pagan fiction, The Scribing Ibis. Click to listen.

Holy Wild, Poetry & Music

How to Become a Poet

Alison Leigh Lilly

When I was a sophomore in high school, I applied for a really exclusive summer school for aspiring student artists. I had been fancying myself a writer since first grade, and more specifically a poet since fourth or fifth. I was anxious but confident. I made it past the first round of interviews.... but I didn't get in. Today I stumbled across two pieces of internet flotsam that reminded me of that teenage, poetry-ridden self of mine. The second was an article by Jim Moore, who recently saw his seventh book of poetry into print. Moore writes: "People sometimes ask, especially parents of aspiring writers, 'What does it take to become a poet?' From my own experience I would say four things matter most. Everything else takes care of itself. ..."

Holy Wild, praxis

Druidry Day-to-Day

Alison Leigh Lilly

7 AM. The cat blinks at me from his nest of blankets at the foot of the bed, drowsily challenging me to nudge him again and see if I keep all my toes. As I stretch and reach for my glasses, though, he's up and pacing across the carpet between the bed and the door, between the door and the top of the stairs, up and down the stairs as he waits impatiently for me to make my way into the kitchen where his food bowl is sitting -gasp!- almost half empty! I pull on my yoga pants (because this Druid is also all Young Urban Professional-y) and manage to get my creaky, not-as-young-as-it-used-to-be body downstairs and onto the mat. In a few minutes, I'm flushed and sweating, my flabby bits jiggling a little as I work to hold each pose. I am not as strong as I want to be. I am not as flexible as I want to be. I am not as young or nubile as I want to be. (Okay, well, maybe nubile, technically, but not for long.) But my body, beloved animal, isn't minding much what it is that I think I want — her heart pounds, her breath comes long and steady, her blood warms the chill of morning from her bones, and for a moment I am deep in the joy of saluting the sun, my goddess, my intimate star.

Contemplation & Meditation, Featured, Holy Wild

Why Druidry? Revisited

Alison Leigh Lilly

To me, Druidry will always be a kind of mysticism or mystery religion, a spiritual path grounded in the ecstasy, creativity and vision that takes root in wildness. As a religion, modern Druidry has grown up around the archetype of the Druid as the wise sage, the inspired poet, the bright-eyed seer and the lover of nature. That archetype of the Druid is the acorn from which the oak of Druidry as a religion grows and expands, reaching limbs in all directions, sending down roots deep into the earth and the present moment. The Druid archetype is the ideal that helps to shape and guide the religious lives of those who practice Druidry — just as the acorn contains within itself the genetic patterns necessary to create the mature oak, and yet each oak itself must draw nutrients from its immediate environment and will grow in its turn to fit its own place and time. No two oaks that grow in the wild will be the same, and that process of growth is never-ending as each new branch, twig, leaf and root seek their own way towards sunlight and soil.

Holy Wild, Muse in Brief

Episode 8 – Polytheistssaywhat? » Dining with Druids

Alison Leigh Lilly

In this week's episode, “Polytheistssaywhat?” Ali and Jeff are on the road again, this time traveling with Cu Gwyn the Wonder Cat for company as they discuss the portrayal of religion in science fiction, the evolution of modern Paganism and its parallels with different kinds of language development. Ali totally loses her geek cred by admitting that she’s not all that into Battlestar Galactica, and Jeff gets down with his bad linguistic self talking about the relationship between Vodou spirituality and the Hawaiian creole language. Click to listen.

Contemplation & Meditation, Holy Wild

Nemeton, Altar and Sacred Grove

Alison Leigh Lilly

What is the sacred grove? The nemeton, sanctuary of spirit. A place set apart, a respite from wildness. Amongst the trunks of sacred trees — thick, tall pillars of rough bark etched in rivulets and knots that watch like eyes as light and shadow dance across the land — there is a space, within which all wildness, noise and dancing gives way to stillness. The grove is the eye of the world, as the storm has its eye that watches calmly from the very center the turning, roiling winds that utterly surround it. But this is no hard-edged circle, a gate that slams shut against the sacred mess and buzz of the world. The grove is made of wildness, too, an edge sculpted by wind and rain and sunlight, an eddy in the currents of energy. It is an in-drawn breath, a going-in amidst the goings-on, that opens up a center deep in the very heart and flux of things. And in the sacred grove, there is the altar where we do our work. A center of gravity, a pole that runs the length of the universe and patiently turns the worlds around itself.

Holy Wild, News & Announcements

New Anthology of Pagan Fiction!

Alison Leigh Lilly

It's finally here! The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth was officially released today, and it's now available in paperback through the Bibliotheca Alexandrina online store. It will also be available soon on Amazon.com and Amazon UK, as well as on Smashwords in a variety of ebook formats. There's more info available on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina website, but you can catch a sneak peek at the blurb and the Table of Contents here. Plus, keep your eyes peeled for the up-coming Meadowsweet Book Give-Away and a chance to win a copy of the anthology for yourself!

Holy Wild, Pacifism

Learning to Fall

Alison Leigh Lilly

Last night I had a dream. I was enrolled in a class that taught self-defense. The instructor was a thin, over-eager man. He split the class in half and gave half of the students bats. To the other half, he said, "They're going to come at you with bats. So you need to practice how to defend yourself." I kept waiting for some advice, some insight into how you fend off a person with a bat. But that was all he said. And they came at us with bats. Swinging for the head, the shoulders. I raised my arms over my head to protect myself, and they swung their bats until my arms were bruised and shattered in a pulpy mess of pain. The instructor called out, "Swing harder! You need to learn how to defend yourselves against an enemy that will show no mercy. This is a serious threat, and you need to take it seriously." And it dawned on me that those of us without the bats were not the only ones being taught. The students with bats saw themselves as warriors, defenders learning to wield their weapons for the right cause, in the name of justice. Their eyes burned with pride and power.

Holy Wild, News & Announcements

Dog Days’ Scuttlebutt

Alison Leigh Lilly

I'm getting married! In just over a month! (In 35 days, to be exact!) From the beginning, August promised to be a busy month of planning and preparation, and so far it hasn't let me down. But it'll all be worth it when my beloved and I stand together on that threshold where the three realms meet, exchanging vows before our gods and our kindred (both ancient and living) and pledging our love to one another. Plus, afterwards — pool party! But rumor has it there are some other changes afoot as well. A new anthology of Pagan fiction, more hilariously rude Druid dinner conversation, stories and memes and contests ... oh my!