Awen Grove Canada

Greetings everyone,

Apparently, it is Summer here in Alberta, but I think the season missed the memo and decided to come late this year. We had some snow and frost late May and early June and the trees did not blossom until just after early June. Fortunately, the weather is warming up and we are only now starting to see some high temperatures in the future.  The Dog Days of Summer will be a bit late this year as well.  (Perhaps Fall and Winter will arrive late too?)

Despite our tardy seasonal weather, we at Awen Grove are definitely feeling the influence of the Season of Rebirth and Growth with a lot of positive changes! Some new members have joined the Grove this year while other members are experiencing some growth and change in their lives.

News:

• We were co-hosts of another successful Druid Gathering during the weekend of June 13 along with some members of OBOD, the Beaver Hills Protogrove (ADF) and the Protogrove of the Ancient Ways (ADF). Dr. Brendan Myers was our special guest this year and he wowed us with an excellent workshop on Ethics as well as his homemade mead.  Thanks to My Computer Hero for providing us with a free domain and hosting (as well as tech support)! Thanks to all of the attendees for helping to make our Gathering successful once again.  We are in the process of planning for next year’s gathering and details will be posted to the website as they become available.
• The Study Group has been moved to the 4th Thursday of each month.

We wish you all the best the Summer Season has to offer!

Despite the popular theory that Winter officially starts on December 21, Winter arrived here in Southern Alberta on December 7 in full force! Cold temperatures, lots of snow and icy roads are the trend this month. This was a crucial time of year for our ancestors who did not have the luxuries of grocery stores, central heating and electricity, since this was the time of year where death could be just around the corner, depending on the stores of food available, the weather and the health of each person. This time of year not only brought with it the chance of death, but also the hope that in a few months, the days would lengthen and Spring would come. As of the Winter Solstice, the days will begin to get longer and with that carries the hope of Spring’s arrival in a few months. It certainly makes us appreciate what we do have!

Things generally seem chaotic during the season of Samhain, but a lot of good things have been going on the Grove!

The monthly study group meetings resumed in late Summer and we’ve touched on some excellent topics such as the nature of the Gods, ethics, truth, and the seasons. It is wonderful to see a sense of community building with regular meetings and thoughtful monthly topics supplied by members. One of our members, JD, has also given us the chance to get to know and grow some of the Druidic sacred plants such as Holly and Mistletoe by bringing live plants for each of us!

Back on September 21, Awen Grove hosted Sunday brunch with Dr. Brendan Myers at Kilkenny’s pub in Calgary.  Many people turned out to chat with Brendan and enjoy some great conversation. We were glad to meet with members of the Serpent and Owl Clann, a new Celtic Reconstructionist group in Calgary!

At Samhain, Athelia and Ron hosted the annual Samhain ritual and candlelight ancestor vigil. We had great weather and it was good to see so many members attend!  The service was beautiful and it was great to catch up and socialize at the feast afterwards.

November brought an interest in learning some new handicrafts and HP was gracious enough to show those of us who are all thumbs (namely me) how to knit.  Over the next few months, we hope to have a few more “craft days” where a member teaches us a new handicraft since the knitting has been such a success! (I actually made something which in itself is a miracle)

Winter Solstice brought with it a reminder of the true nature of the season and we all braved icy roads and bitter cold to attend the Alban Arthuan ritual at HP’s house.  We welcomed the rebirth of the light with candles and tried our hands at spinning with a spinning wheel.

Warmest welcome to our newest members!

We wish you all the best of the season and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Blessings,

Athelia Nihtscada /|\

Lughnassadh marks the beginning of the Harvest season as many berries are ripe for the picking. Leaves are actually starting to change colour at this time and we start to notice that the days are growing a little shorter as Autumn approaches. This is an iffy time for our farmers as they pray that no frost will strike (it is likely to at the beginning of August). It is a chance for us to look at the goals we have set for the year and how close we are to “harvesting” the results of our planned work throughout the year.

Enjoy the fruits of your own personal “harvest” at this time of year!

Recent news, ongoing events and upcoming events:

Awen Grove Study Group meetings have resumed after a break for Summer holidays, which started earlier this year with the planning of The Spirit of the West Druid Gathering. Meetings will still occur on the Second Thursday of each month at 7:00pm at the usual location. (If you are interested in attending Study Group meetings, please send us an email)

Brendan Cathbad Myers is coming to Calgary from September 19 - 21, 2008. Awen Grove is planning a brunch at Kilkenny’s Irish Pub in Calgary on Sunday, September 21 at 10:00am. 30 seats have been reserved for the occasion. If attending, please arrive before 10:15am as we cannot guarantee seats after that time. The only cost to you is the cost of your own food and drink. Because this is a pub and it is licensed as a bar in Alberta, individuals under the age of 18 are not permitted. All members of the Druid/Celtic Pagan community in Calgary and surrounding area are welcome to attend!

The Calgary Druid Meetup is a great place to meet other Druids in Calgary and it happens every fourth Thursday of the month at Denny’s on McKnight Blvd. and Edmonton Trail.

Our Autumn Equinox Ritual is being planned for September 25 at 6:30 pm in place of the Druid Meetup. (Details to be posted on the Druid Meetup site - Location TBA)

What’s been happening…

• Athelia’s Online Shaping the Wheel Course in Wisdom and Values from Celtic Culture, Myth, Legend and Lore for Modern Druid Practice, which is a two-part course based on the Weekly Celtic Wisdom posts from 2005/2006, is now available on the Druid Network website.

• The Spirit of the West Druid Gathering

Back in November of 2007, an idea was conceived to set up a weekend gathering for Druids here in Western Canada, which would give us a chance to meet each other and relax in a natural setting. The Spirit of the West Druid Gathering was scheduled for the weekend of June 13 - 15, 2008 and was a great success! We found a nice little residential camp in Central Alberta, which featured a beautiful lake, lots of trees and comfortable lodging for all. Awen Grove was very involved in the organization of the gathering, as well as members of ADF and OBOD.

The weekend featured:

Special Guest - Rev. Kirk Thomas, Vice Arch-Druid of ADF, who presented an excellent workshop on preparing for ritual as well as assisted in the Summer Solstice Ritual which was put together by the ADF Beaver Hills Protogrove from Edmonton.
Beautiful scenery - Mid-June is a beautiful time here in Alberta because all of the trees are sporting lots of new foliage and everything is quite green. Our camp was located on the edge of beautiful Pigeon Lake in Central Alberta. Many birds were still on migration paths, so we saw large groups of pelicans, geese, ducks and many other water birds.

Great people - About 35 people attended, all from different Druid groups and traditions, which made for a weekend of making new friends and strengthening existing friendships. Everyone helped to make the weekend run smoothly.
The Bardic Event of the year! (Maybe) - Guests got a chance to show off their bardic talents around the fire on the Saturday night. We had many songs, stories as well as an amazing re-telling of the “Cremation of Sam McGee”!
Educational and fun workshops - Guests got a chance to try their hand at spiritual wood carving, preparing for ritual, tasting mead, looking at the various Druid traditions, while the kiddies got to make ice cream, paint rocks and learn about water bugs and other critters.
The most amazing food - We were fortunate to have on our organizing committee a professional chef who has many years of experience in feeding large groups at camps and other events. Specialized diets were well accommodated, everything was made from scratch, and I don’t think anyone went hungry all weekend, at any time of day or night!
Shopping - Even in the middle of the woods, some Druids like to shop and we had plenty of opportunity to do so with our merchant tent and silent auction.
Very comfortable accommodations - The main lodge was open 24 hours a day and featured couches, chairs, and a full kitchen. All of the cabins featured brand new mattresses and heaters, so very few people had problems sleeping. There was plenty of room for all.

Lots of free time - One of the most important aspects of the weekend was the focus on free time. The goal was to put on a relaxing weekend, and folks had lots of time to explore, chat with others and relax.

Samhain is upon us and the wheel of the year is turning within the dark half of the year. With the harvest in and the dormant time in nature descending upon us, it’s a good time to look at what has happened over the past year. The harvest season for Awen Grove has been a busy one, but one full of great things!

In August, we finally purchased a proper domain, and now have a very professional looking website, a new email address and no pop-up or banner ads (that alone makes the cost worth it)! Special thanks goes to Daniel for all of his help in getting this set up for us! Daniel put a lot of work into finding a decent Word Press theme and getting everything set up with the host and the domain.

Things are still under construction, but our main content is now accessible through this website. The former website at Bravehost will remain up for a few more months as we transition over to the new domain.

The front page is part of a blog format, so it will ensure that something new is added regularly to this page. The links to the right are permanent links and contain the content for the website.

Samhain also marks the formation of the Awen Grove Study Group for those who are taking the Course of Study. This gives us all a chance to connect on a regular basis, share ideas and to grow as a community. Please see the News Page for more details. As the study group grows, more information will be provided.

We hope you enjoy this new look for Awen Grove and welcome any comments or suggestions.