S he walks toward the hedge, the boundary that separates the farmer’s field from the village, a line that runs down to a wooded area and the heathland beyond. When she reaches the hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn, and dog rose, a triad of wild and native plants that hold ancient and special meaning, she smiles and reaches out to stroke a rose hip. The cool autumn breeze plays in her hair, whipping it around her face as the sun spills its light in waves across the landscape, the sky dotted with huge fluffy clouds. It is harvest time, when nature’s abundance is at its peak. She feels the strength of the ancestors flowing through her blood and bones and hears their song in the wind. She says a quick prayer to the ancestors and blesses the land and the ongoing harvest, even as the sound of heavy farm machinery floats upon the breeze.
She turns and follows the hedgerow down to the little woodland, a special place that bursts with bluebells in the spring. In this place she stands for a moment, utterly still, listening to the sounds of the spirits of place: the robins and blackbirds, a pheasant squawking, a hawk crying high overhead, riding the thermals. This is the edge—where the hedge meets the wild, where the known meets the unknown; the civilised comes up against the wild. Here, at the edge, is the special place, the in-between place. This is where she belongs.
Inviting the power of the ancestors to flow through her, inviting the gods and goddesses that she loves, inviting the spirits of place to join with her intention, she turns three times anticlockwise and sings. Once she has stopped, she knows that she walks between the worlds, that the Otherworld is all around her and she can seek its wisdom and guidance, while testing her courage and her wits. Here she will find the answer to help her in her quest. Here she will find the inspiration, known to the Druids as awen. Here is where the magic happens. Here she walks as a Hedge Druid.
Druidry is a deeply fulfilling earth-based spirituality. Western spiritual traditions often differ from, say, Eastern traditions in that they can be a more solo affair. Our mythology is filled with tales of a hero or heroine on a quest, and it is that quest which seems to be a recurring theme. There are challenges and people to help along the way, but on the whole the quest must be fulfilled by the seeker and the seeker alone. With Buddhism, one often has a community, a sangha, a teacher to go to, monasteries and abbeys, and more. Western Paganism is a bit different, but fast growing with events, organisations, festivals, schools, colleges, and more. Perhaps in our lifetime we will see the equivalent of Pagan monasteries and abbeys, where the priesthood or those wishing to live a life entirely dedicated to their Pagan religion is sanctioned, widely accepted, and has community financial support. However, the point remains that the solo quest has been and most likely will always be central to Western Paganism.
This quest can be seen in many different ways. It could be a quest to find the true nature of the self. It could be a quest on behalf of another person, or a spiritual quest to find communion and integrate with the gods, a form of mysticism if you will. Often we are seeking to bring disparate parts of our own soul back together, to find the whole once again, to bring a holistic view into our ever-increasing disparate and isolationist society. When we find the whole within our own self, we find the whole within the community and the world.
Druidry is no exception. Druidry is the quest to find our place in the world and to work in the world in balance and harmony. It is being a part of a functioning ecosystem, to learn its ways and find how we too can be a contributing member. We might be seeking the divine in order to build that bridge that allows us to understand how to find our place in the world, or we might be trying to connect with our ancestors and their knowledge of the world. We might look to the spirits of place or to the Fair Folk for guidance and inspiration on how to walk in this world and the Otherworld, in balance and for the benefit of all. For the Otherworld is also a part of this world, overlaying it and offering a different perspective on the nature of things. We need this different perspective in order to step outside of our narrow human-centric perspective, to enable us to see the bigger picture. And so we might quest to the Otherworld as well, to gain this broader viewpoint, finding guides and companions that can provide knowledge and insight for us to take back into this world.
What is most important is that one actually begins the quest. So often we can just think about it, contemplate it, talk about it, but not actual do anything about it. We must be bold and take those first steps and then have the fortitude to see it through. Should our paths turn away from our original goal, then we must pursue those if we feel that is the right thing to do. But as long as we are walking on the path, as long as we are actually doing the work and not just thinking about it, then we are on the mythic quest that is so much a part of our Western heritage.
Along the way, we will find great joy and sadness, great courage and great fear. We will face those parts of ourselves that we would rather hide away. We will also acknowledge our gifts, talents, and abilities and be able to use them to their best advantage. But we cannot do it if we are not actively engaged on the quest. So be bold, take those first steps and see where they may lead, for no one else can walk the path for you. Great adventure awaits!
I hope to share with you in this work the inspiration and knowledge that I have received over the years. May you find the path rise to meet your feet; may you walk it with integrity and honour.
An áit a bhuil do chroí is ann a thabharfas do chosa thú.
(Your feet will bring you to where your heart is.)