The voice that Echoes At Dawn

I have a lot of new stock coming in next week. I have re-ordered popular runes sets, and some new bumper stickers and posters, and some new athames and will have wands in the next week.

I also have plaques and sarongs and jewelry coming in too. I will off to Panfest next week, and the good news, I will have the debit card machine available there.  Now, I hope it works too.  If not, it will just be good ole cash, and credit cards.

Still, this summer has been good.  I am thinking about another festival in the fall, just sent off Robson Valley Music festival application, and will be doing some work on workshops.

There is a workshop scheduled for Edmonton.  I would like to set workshops up in Quesnel and Prince George. If you know of good locations for hosting a workshop, contact me.  I will look into it.

Charlene

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I have pulled out of the Salmon Valley Woman’s Festival. I know that this is short notice (gosh, I noticed today that the website for the event has been updated oh so quickly), and will be doing something else that weekend.

Why? Well, it comes down to deciding what is best for me, and best for my company. I know that not everyone will agree, but I am more pagan focused in my business, and I do support alternate spirituality. I am working on Gaia Gathering, which will be happening in Vancouver in 2009, and I am working on a new place to run workshops in Prince George, as well as new workshops in Edmonton. At this time, I am thinking end of September for the Edmonton one. Because of this, and the work I am doing on a Masters in Divinity in Wicca Studies, I am rather busy, and I need to focus on new ideas for nurturing the business, and working on me. I know the women who are organizing the Salmon Valley gathering are good women, and I wish them all the best.

Instead, I will be attending another gathering instead. Please find the link on my website.

I would love to see you come out and attend. Andrine Morse is a wonderful facilitator, and I am sure we will all share all of stories and entertainment.

I am also working on packaging new products this week and next leading up to Billy Barker Days in Quesnel. Inventory shifts quickly, so for best selection, come in early to the venues, or call me to set up appointments.

Is there a topic you want to learn more about? I will likely be doing weekend workshops in the Fall/ Winter. Feedback I have been receiving is that most of you find weekend day workshops easier to attend, and I am willing to run a workshop privately for you and a few friends in your own home.

I am also able to do readings as well. I know that at the venues I attend, I am not always able to do readings, as there is very little space, but I am willing to make appointments for readings as well. I record them onto CD for your convenience.

After updating my website and the stock, I will hopefully continue with my review of the first Spirits of the West Druid Gathering, and hopefully, a review of Panfest.

Peace and Blessings all.

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Make a point of checking out the Venues Page.  I am listing the venues I will be vending at this year.  I hope that it helps people when they are looking to see what is up with Echoes At Dawn Metaphysical.

Tomorrow morning I am off to the Spirits of the West Druid Gathering.  I am hoping for good weather, and mostly I am hoping to have a good time.

I will post a review when I get back.

Peace and Blessings all

Charlene

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This summer will be like last year….I will be setting up my vending tent to do direct sales to you in the community. You can see what we have to offer, and I am looking forward to handing you my business cards and the like. The downside with these venues is that debit card service is not available; however, I can take Visa and Mastercard.

I will be posting a new page with venues I am planning to attend, once I have confirmation of being there. I will be registering next month.

I am working on a book review, and will be attending Gaia Gathering 2008 in Ottawa in May, so I will not be filling orders during the May long weekend.  I am still working on orders of new products soon.

I am also working on the code in the order section, making sure it is not buggy. I have noticed some bugs when the shopping cart goes to calculate shipping; these are in the communication with Canada Post. If you think you are quoted really high, remember, I will manually recalculate and requote the shipping for you. Sigh. Not easy to do, but I am a one woman show here, committed to make sure that you get what you need.

Also, for live readings, Kasamba has been taken over by LivePerson, and my new url is

http://www.liveperson.com/druidess-157

This will take you to where you need to go for personal readings. I also do offline readings as well, in person. Let me know if you want one of those or a reiki session.

That is all for now.

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It is topical. I bought a minivan in 2000, I still drive it. Maintain it fairly well too….changing the oil regularly, etc. etc. After last summer when I ran over a deer and it totalled my transmission, I replaced it, and (well, that was transmission no.  2), no need to mention the make and model, and now, I start out filling the tank at $40.00, and now it is double that.

And prices for gas started their rise after the US invaded Iraq.  And then we had issues with hurricanes in the states.  Now, gas goes up and down, given the high cost to start, up and down five cents a litre. It used to be a cent here and there.

I am concerned. High oil prices are not good for anyone.  While consuming fuels personally for driving around is one thing, what people forget is that everything is transported around the planet using fossil fuels. OK, that has been said….how long will the trickle down effect take?

Bread has not quite doubled here….that is high grain costs, eh?  In some places in the developing world, that is creating economic hardship, and food supplies are starting to rise, to the point the UN is concerned.

Canada, true north country it is, practically heats all winter via fossil fuels.  Last winter was full of snow, and colder than we have had. Not outrageous for us, but now we pay so much more for the fuel.  I am starting to see wood burning in a different light (however, insurance with wood burning is astronomically high….sigh).

My point is that with summer coming, and weight to lose, I am starting to think a bike is a good idea.  High fuel costs make me seriously think it may be worth it. Problem is, bike security is not that great…they get stolen fairly regularly here. And, while a bike solves my own personal use of fuel for transport, it does not cover shipping costs….which will GO UP.

Everything we use is shipped in from somewhere. Rumour has it that in Prince George, the truck come in Thursdays from the east, so if it is on its way, that is more that a week at times.  That will cost more, and that will be added to the cost of goods.

And so, while folks blame high fuel costs on the US dollar being so weak, maybe we need to think about the costs of food and everything else.  I just hope that does not mean i will have to raise prices, in spite of the parity we have with the US dollar right now.  We shall see. What are you going to do about fuel costs?

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I have some new reiki stone sets that have been catalogued, and will be inventory updating adding crystals I have in stock. I have gemstones not on the website, and will be adding new stock.  There are some price changes from the suppliers, and that will be changed.

Some prices are up, some are down.  Shipping weights and measurements will be added, and I will be checking on images that are not loading properly.  I am also doing year end books for tax filing, so expect this to be fully up by end of April.

I will be having a new contest in June….name that crystal. I have some crystals that I cannot seem to identify. If you can, you will win a $50.00 gift certificate at the shop.  Yeah, it bothers me that I cannot figure out what they are, and so I am asking your help.

I am also planning to host a Psychic Self Defense Workshop in May, probably the last weekend of the month. It looks like the one day workshops are the most popular, and so I will do that. I will also do another set of workshops in Edmonton in the fall, including an Advanced Psychic Self Defense: Techniques workshop.  With vending happening on most weekends in the summer, I doubt I will have time. I will be doing free workshops at certain venues, as I have been asked to do that.  I will give you more information on this as it goes.

I am in the midst of planning a summer vending schedule, and will be listing our live locations around Northern BC and Alberta. At these locations, I can sell items for cash or credit card only; no debit service, sorry. If there is something you want, you may want to order online.  Online orders get priority over vending events, and that is until the day before I arrive in the location. I will post cutoffs for online orders, and a full schedule of where and when as I set it up.

I will also do some readings on location as well.

I also have a new online policy for orders. I will hold orders for a week, and then the items go back into general inventory. I have had some folks not follow through with payments, and I will ship the item after payments. Also, I cannot hold an item indefinitely, and so that is our new policy.

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I said I would continue to post about the article on Druidry in the Neopaganism text.  Here is the conclusion of the review of the essay in the collection, and my take on whether or not it is representative of druidry today.

Last time I posted, I was commenting on how abusing the environment is abusing the Mother herself. Still, I find in the woods, where most people do not go, or even the provincial campgrounds, people are not very considerate. There are forest service site around BC, where the Forestry Ministry has groomed a site for people to camp, usually near lakes and rivers.  Ideally, that should keep the human impact on the environment minimal; instead, some people, usually young people, destroy what facilities that are there, and leave beer and liquor bottles, smashed of course, and cans all over, not to mention the litter that someone tried to burn, which would not. It is a user maintained system, no camping fees paid, bring your own water for drinking, rustic outhouses available, and bring everything else you need to survive. No electrical hookups.

Instead of these sites being a place to camp closer to the environment, some people treat them so horribly. I remember going to check one out early in the year; new signage, it was beautiful. I remember camping the following weekend, and having to rake up glass from the ground so my children could play. Sad.

That is another discussion for another time.

Graham Harvey continues in his essay to make other claims about druids and druidry that I am not sure if they are still accurate today, or of the north american or canadian experience of druidry.  He discusses what the three paths or kinds of druids, coming from the historical information that we do have on druids.  This is the first reconstruction that British Traditional Druidry took on, and I am not sure that it is true of the North American groups or orders. Bards were the ones that were poets of the traditional sense, and their inspired works, both of wisdom and wit, were known to be coming from the invocation of the Awen. Harvey covers this fairly well.

On page 124, discussing further about the roles of the bards, he claims that druids are celebratory, and that druid events are about re-enchanting life. Druids, at least in Britain, do perform the festivals, equivalent to the sabbats for wiccans or witches, in public places, so the festival is more about celebration and connecting to the season. He also says that the celebration is not an outline of “[l]engthy explanations…”, but rather that correspondence programs seem to do that. It would seem that the celebration fosters a re-enchantment with life, or simple activities, and the theatre and poetry of the ceremony would carry and foster an experience that would do that; as I interpret Harvey’s statement.

I am not certain, but at the time of the essay being first written, and from my own search for training and learning of the druid path, back in the early 1990’s there were three ways to learn about druidry or druidism; ADF’s course by Bonewits et al, Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), or reconstruction from the old texts of Irish and Welsh literature.  Today, there are a few more options to learn.

Even from my past experience with OBOD, the druidry he seems to be describing is OBOD style.  Poor Bonewits only got a paragraph, and sadly, because of low cost, and being in North America, ADF is probably one of the most popular styles of druid affiliation, with OBOD also a popular affiliation. And, ADF has a very different style of practise.  This is probably one of the reasons I am concerned about this essay in the text, in that it is dated, and it presents a rather narrow view of druid practice to hopefully students of religious studies courses. I hope that if it is discussed in university, that those other trends and practises in North America are covered in lecture, as the text does not cover it. Ironically, wiccan or neowiccan ideas of not paying money for teaching has encrouched on druid teaching; it is not universally held amongst pagans or neo-pagans that teaching should not be paid for. Considering that paper, and curriculum costs time and energy to develop in order to guide one to learn, one should consider that. I will discuss at another time the idea of paying for learning and teaching, as I do offer courses through Echoes At Dawn, and I will get into more about why that it is necessary and useful to do so.

I find it ironic that Harvey describes how the role labels of bard, ovate and druids do not limit or create a hierarchy of sorts, but that “[t]he primary activity of a Druid is organization.”  It seems contradictory, in that OBOD is one of these organizations that strives to be more of a flat group rather that a hierarchy. ADF is borrowing and using the organizational model of church and congregation building, instead called groves.  And, if one is a solitary practising druid by geographic isolation, it would seem that this makes no sense.  Harvey explains that the organization facility of a druid is one of leadership. Leadership of a druid comes from the Awen, he describes, and moves into a ritual leader role, and a spokesperson on behalf of the group, called a grove.  He also describes how Bonewit’s vision of trained clergy and public events, would run counter to the general pagan trends of the non-hierarchal and inclusive. These are valid points, but he does not elaborate how or why that came to be with ADF.

Given that the intent of this collection of essays was for a religious studies course or similar course at a university, it would seem that this was a good choice; Graham Harvey is a well respected published academic. In that way, the overview of druidry is at least represented in the text, but it is too bad now that it is somewhat dated, and narrow it is view of the types and kinds of druidry there is available now.

A review of some of the blogs on the blog roll will give one more food for thought, and an excellent overview of the differences in views and ideas, even amongst druids.

I will be raising more discussion on druidry in other posts.

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This was in one of my email newsletters that I still subscribe. I know email lists are becoming kind of passe, but sometimes I hear about some very interesting information. This article is something that I will be commenting on. My comments on this post will be in this colour, to distinguish between them. I am planning to finish my review of Druidry from the Neopaganism text next post, but this week, lets tackle politics.

The Deployment of US Troops inside Canada

Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:00 am (PDT)

The Deployment of US Troops inside Canada

By Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, March 13, 2008

On February 14th, Canada and the US signed an agreement which allows for the deployment of US troops inside Canada.

There was no official announcement nor was there a formal decision at the governmental level.

In fact the agreement was barely mentioned by the Canadian media.

The agreement, which raises farreaching issues of national sovereignty, was not between the two governments. It was signed by military commanding officers.

I guess this kind of thing does not need politicians to be involved. Too bad. I am very upset that Canadian media did not mention it. And you say that media is not politically controlled. Ha. This is already a month old.

U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) released a statement confirming that the agreement had been signed between US NORTHCOM and Canada Command, namely between the military commands of each country. Canada Command was established in February 2006.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, and Canadian Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command, have signed a Civil Assistance Plan that allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

“This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation’s requests for military support of civil authorities,” Renuart said. “Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering and mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment.”

“The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S. Northern Command,” Dumais said. “Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century, and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends.”

The plan recognizes the role of each nation’s lead federal agency for emergency preparedness, which in the United States is the Department of Homeland Security and in Canada is Public Safety Canada. The plan facilitates the military-to-military support of civil authorities once government authorities have agreed on an appropriate response.

U.S. Northern Command was established on Oct. 1, 2002, to anticipate and conduct homeland defense and civil support operations within the assigned area of responsibility to defend, protect, and secure the United States and its interests.

Similarly, Canada Command was established on Feb. 1, 2006, to focus on domestic operations and to offer a single point of contact for all domestic and continental defense and security partners.

The two domestic commands established strong bilateral ties well before the signing of the Civil Assistance Plan. The two commanders and their staffs meet regularly, collaborate on contingency planning and participate in related annual exercises.

(NORTHCOM website: http://www.northcom.mil/News/2008/021408.html

The Decision to Allow the Deployment of US Troops inside Canada was taken in April 2002

While a formal agreement was reached in February 2008, the decision to allow the deployment of US troops in Canada was announced in April 2002 by (former) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Territorial control over Canada is part of Washington’s geopolitical and military agenda as formulated in April 2002 by Donald Rumsfeld. “Binational integration” of military command structures was also contemplated alongside a major revamping in the areas of immigration, law enforcement and intelligence.

I guess the War of 1812 means nothing, and since buying all the natural resources such as the oil and gas and the like is not enough ( most of this is American owned companies now), sovereignty is now a thing of the past. Problem is, the elephant US likes to make the rules, and the Canadian Mice are not the same, so once again, we get to give up our political values to embrace the American way. Yes, this is strongly worded. Immigration laws are different here. Law enforcement is different, and we do not send drug dealers in jail for life. Intelligence, well, the CIA has already been in and out of Canada for generations, so why not now. So, because our military is not”good enough”, we get to do “binational integration.” My concern is that national sovereignty does not mean much now. I am worried this is the beginning of the end of being a different country.

The matter has been known for more than five years. It has been deliberately obfuscated. There has been no public debate. It has not received news coverage nor has it been the object of discussion in the Canadian House of Commons or the US Congress.

No kidding. Half of this country would be so outraged with our politicians, that we would be …..uncharacteristically angry. The border means nothing, so why pay duty and taxes, then?

In an article published in 2004 entitled Is the Annexation of Canada Part of Bush’s Military Agenda?, I provided a detailed analysis of the process of integration of military command structures. I also examined the broader issue of sovereignty. The Toronto Star accepted to publish an abridged version of my November 2004 text as an oped. The article explained that Ottawa had been:

“quietly negotiating [since April 2002] a far-reaching military cooperation agreement, which allows the US Military to cross the border and deploy troops anywhere in Canada, in our provinces, as well station American warships in Canadian territorial waters. This redesign of Canada’s defense system is being discussed behind closed doors, not in Canada, but at the Peterson Air Force base in Colorado, at the headquarters of US Northern Command (NORTHCOM).”

So arrogant. Do not bother talking to the Canadians, after all, they have no real military anyways, so lets just plan this without them.

Despite repeated assurances by the Toronto Star OpEd Editor, the article never appeared in print. Below is a summary of my more detailed November 2004 text as well as links to the original articles:

“The creation of NORTHCOM announced in April 2002, constitutes a blatant violation of both Canadian and Mexican territorial sovereignty. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced unilaterally that US Northern Command would have jurisdiction over the entire North American region. Canada and Mexico were presented with a fait accompli. US Northern Command’s jurisdiction as outlined by the US DoD includes, in addition to the continental US, all of Canada, Mexico, as well as portions of the Caribbean, contiguous waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans up to 500 miles off the Mexican, US and Canadian coastlines as well as the Canadian Arctic.

NorthCom’s stated mandate is to “provide a necessary focus for [continental] aerospace, land and sea defenses, and critical support for [the] nation’s civil authorities in times of national need.”

(Canada-US Relations - Defense Partnership - July 2003, Canadian American Strategic Review (CASR),
http://www.sfu.ca/casr/ft-lagasse1.htm

Rumsfeld is said to have boasted that “the NORTHCOM - with all of North America as its geographic command - ‘is part of the greatest transformation of the Unified Command Plan [UCP] since its inception in 1947.’” (Ibid)

Following Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s refusal to join NORTHCOM, a high-level so-called “consultative” Binational Planning Group (BPG), operating out of the Peterson Air Force base, was set up in late 2002, with a mandate to “prepare contingency plans to respond to [land and sea] threats and attacks, and other major emergencies in Canada or the United States”.

So when the prime minister at the time does know about it, and says NO NO NO, they just go ahead anyways. ARE YOU THINKING HARPER MIGHT JUST LET YOU…NOT WITH A MINORITY GOVERNMENT. More reason to keep it so.

The BPG’s mandate goes far beyond the jurisdiction of a consultative military body making “recommendations” to government. In practice, it is neither accountable to the US Congress nor to the Canadian House of Commons.

So, we have a headless quasi-government organization that is accountable to no one. Does anyone see a problem here? Well, considering that this was done without public consultation, I guess Jane Canadian Citizen just does not need to be worried….there there, we’ll take care of you. Hogwash and hockey sticks!!

The BPG has a staff of fifty US and Canadian “military planners”, who have been working diligently for the last two years in laying the groundwork for the integration of Canada-US military command structures. The BPG works in close coordination with the Canada-U.S. Military Cooperation Committee at the Pentagon, a so-called ” panel responsible for detailed joint military planning”.

Broadly speaking, its activities consist of two main building blocks: the Combined Defense Plan (CDP) and The Civil Assistance Plan (CAP).

The Militarisation of Civilian Institutions

As part of its Civil Assistance Plan (CAP), the BPG is involved in supporting the ongoing militarisation of civilian law enforcement and judicial functions in both the US and Canada. The BPG has established “military contingency plans” which would be activated “on both sides of the Canada-US border” in the case of a terror attack or “threat”. Under the BPG’s Civil Assistance Plan (CAP), these so-called “threat scenarios” would involve:

“coordinated response to national requests for military assistance [from civil authorities] in the event of a threat, attack, or civil emergency in the US or Canada.”

So, do you think the Americans may need to call to Canada for help? I guess it depends on whether or not its military resources are tied up already….my guess is they are thinking we would call on them. So far, we have not needed their help. Lets make sure we tell our government not to ask for help….as it comes with a ball and chain attached to it.

In December 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, the Canadian government reached an agreement with the Head of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, entitled the “Canada-US Smart Border Declaration.” Shrouded in secrecy, this agreement essentially hands over to the Homeland Security Department, confidential information on Canadian citizens and residents. It also provides US authorities with access to the tax records of Canadians.

Now, this is a problem. Access to our tax records for what purpose, exactly? Confidential information….hmmm

What these developments suggest is that the process of “binational integration” is not only occurring in the military command structures but also in the areas of immigration, police and intelligence. The question is what will be left over within Canada’s jurisdiction as a sovereign nation, once this ongoing process of binational integration, including the sharing and/or merger of data banks, is completed?

Canada and NORTHCOM

Canada is slated to become a member of NORTHCOM at the end of the BPG’s two years mandate.

No doubt, the issue will be presented in Parliament as being “in the national interest”. It “will create jobs for Canadians” and “will make Canada more secure”.

Meanwhile, the important debate on Canada’s participation in the US Ballistic Missile Shield, when viewed out of the broader context, may serve to divert public attention away from the more fundamental issue of North American military integration which implies Canada’s acceptance not only of the Ballistic Missile Shield, but of the entire US war agenda, including significant hikes in defense spending which will be allocated to a North American defense program controlled by the Pentagon.

And ultimately what is at stake is that beneath the rhetoric, Canada will cease to function as a Nation:

a.. Its borders will be controlled by US officials and confidential information on Canadians will be shared with Homeland Security.
b.. US troops and Special Forces will be able to enter Canada as a result of a binational arrangement.
Canadian citizens can be arrested by US officials, acting on behalf of their Canadian counterparts and vice versa.
But there is something perhaps even more fundamental in defining and understanding where Canada and Canadians stand as a Nation.

The World is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has launched a military adventure which threatens the future of humanity. It has formulated the contours of an imperial project of World domination. Canada is contiguous to “the center of the empire”. Territorial control over Canada is part of the US geopolitical and military agenda. Has been since the War of 1812, in which Canadians burned down the White House. They have been coveting Canada for years. Take off, eh!

The Liberals as well as the opposition Conservative party have endorsed embraced the US war agenda. By endorsing a Canada-US “integration” in the spheres of defense, homeland security, police and intelligence, Canada not only becomes a full fledged member of George W. Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing”, it will directly participate, through integrated military command structures, in the US war agenda in Central Asia and the Middle East, including the massacre of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, the torture of POWs, the establishment of concentration camps, etc. By making Canada in charge of most of the Afghanistan mission, it allowed the US to invade Iraq….and the WMD fears turned out to be bad intelligence. Sure, we are stuck with the most difficult job. Afghanistran, from a peacekeeping type of view, is one of the most challenging missions, and worse, citizens are afraid we may be trying to do what so many others have tried…the French, the Russians, etc. and failed. Canada wants to leave Afghanistan in shape to run a country, not in a state of ruin.

Under an integrated North American Command, a North American national security doctrine would be formulated. Canada would be obliged to embrace Washington’s pre-emptive military doctrine, including the use of nuclear warheads as a means of self defense, which was ratified by the US Senate in December 2003. (See Michel Chossudovsky, The US Nuclear Option and the “War on Terrorism” http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405A.html May 2004)

Now, as a citizen, nuclear weapons are stupidity and foolishness. A nuclear weapon detonated affects the whole world within two years, as the atmosphere will circulate the particles around by then. I am still against nuclear weapons, and anyone who has seen the photos from Hiroshima would know why. As part of my research paper for a nuclear science course, I went through recently declassified material a few years back. Germany was well on its way to the bomb, but political problems diverted its program. In the race to do it first, and the belief that others were further ahead, the nuclear program, in which most of the members have died from cancer, did unspeakable damage . Photos of people with horrible disfigurement, radiation sickness, suffering….and these were the people who were suffering and not vapourized by the detonation. Nuclear Science was just theory in the 1930’s, had more meaning after those civilians were bombed.

During WW2, there was a shift in targeting only military or strategic targets to civilian ones. By the end of the war, mass genocide was acceptable, and the nuclear program allowed one weapon to indiscriminately wipe out so much. The Allied Forces became comfortable with mass bombing campaigns that started targeting civilians, using bigger bombs, as tje casualty numbers were taking their toll, and so was war effort fatigue. Those thinking shifts in what is acceptable and not in warfare have not changed since then, and terrorists are using the same indiscriminateness to justify their actions.  Trauma will shift ethics, and we need to be aware and wary. That, combined with the success of making the bomb work, allowed for Hiroshima, and cultural misunderstanding allowed for Nagaski. We need to learn from this.

Moreover, binational integration in the areas of Homeland security, immigration, policing of the US-Canada border, not to mention the anti-terrorist legislation, would imply pari passu acceptance of the US sponsored police State, its racist policies, its “ethnic profiling” directed against Muslims, the arbitrary arrest of anti-war activists.

I am sad for my country. I am sad for this state of fear. I am saddened that anyone would use terrorism to gain control, and have no capacity for empathy, that this is the way we respond to it.

Peace and its capacity…..

———————————————————-
Links to Articles

Is the Annexation of Canada Part of Bush’s Military Agenda?
- by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky - 2007-07-18 (first published in November 2004)

Canada and America: Missile Defense and the Vows of Military Integration
- by Michel Chossudovsky - 2005-02-23 (accepted for publication as an OpEd by the Toronto Star)
Continental Integration of Military Command Structures: A Threat to Canada’s Sovereignty
- by Michel Chossudovsky - 2006-05-12

Canada’s Sovereignty in Jeopardy: the Militarization of North America
by Michel Chossudovsky - 2007-08-17

http://globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=8323

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Profession of Faith and Commitment

 I was just reading over an essay in a collection of essays meant to explain neopaganism for a religious studies course, Between the Worlds: Readings in Contemporary Neopaganism, ed. Sian Reid et al.  What I found fascinating with the essay entitled Druidry  is Graham Harvey’s comment that comparing ancient druidry from the Iron Age to modern day’s expression of the same thing. He says “[d]ruidry is no longer a profession in the sense of a career, but a profession of faith or commitment to a nature-centred spirituality.”(118) I realize that this statement was published originally eleven years ago, but I found it interesting, and I then thought and believe that druidry is far more than that, even though I suspect I agree with some of it.

The text is a phenomenal collection of essays that bring up many ideas, critical thought, and would definitely create discussion in a college or university course in religious studies. (Yes, I did graduate from university …my gad, sixteen years ago. Ah yes, same amount of clean time I have accumulated free from chemical addiction…another time, perhaps.) At any rate, this is one of those times I wish I could have taken a course in religious studies, or in fact women’s studies. Those courses were not available when I attended school. Still, if you are like me, a wannabe student of all things, and still reading copious non-fiction as my interest in escapism has lead me away from novels,  this is certainly worth reading.  Now, if you want an overview of paganism and its issues that is written for a non-university audience, Exploring the Pagan Path, ed. Kristen Madden et al. is a wonderful text; I have used it in a book study I have offered before through my business. But this one is different.

This text is meant to be a university or college text, so the language of the essays, and the research and documentation is at the academic standard.  This can make it a little difficult to read if you are not used to it or have been out of school for a while; it does not read like a lot of published pagan works. This is still worth a read, and I would say a recommended addition to the Canadian pagan’s personal collection.  Being familiar with the early materials in the front of the text would serve many pagans a core requirement of their understanding of their beliefs and the traditions they subscribe, and to further enhance the accuracy of real history rather than the myth histories that seem to still be regurgitated again and again about the “burning times” and the need to be afraid of persecution. I digress once again; I was interested by the addition of the article about druidry by Graham Harvey.

Druids of all shapes, sizes, and traditions may not agree on most things in druid belief. I guess the one thing most agree is that there is no dogma.  Even on the idea that we druids have faith or are committed to a nature centred spirituality is contentious.  I contend that while we are no longer a role in a contained, rigid society that had the role of druid is a very busy community leader with pastoral, healing, legal and other forms of inspired work; I would say that druids today have more than a faith in nature centred spirituality. I think it is more about a sensibility, an understanding, rather than a belief in something intangible and unseen. Most of us can find a way to experience “nature” in Canada, even in some of the most urban centres we have. That experience of nature is not the same as having faith in it.

Faith is a word with high levels of connotation with Christian understandings.  “Faith can move mountains”, “faith like a mustard seed”, and so forth still bubble in the western collective cauldron of meaning. Faith in nature? I would say that for druids, there is no separation from nature. To me, to use the term nature, is to go back to the romantic times, and once again box ourselves as different from nature.  Nature is more like a label that to me does not even come close to covering the sensibility that druids have; that sensibility is more of a Gaian or environmental sense of responsibility. What I see is that while many may come to modern druidry attracted to other aspects of druid practice initially, in time, the environmental injustice that continues to create nasty air and water pollution, and the emissions to the atmospheric soup causing climate change, will sober up most to a reality that modern druidry must awaken. Druid practice is not just a trip to your local wilderness park with it rustic outhouses; it involves being aware of all kinds of ecosystems and environs, and really acknowledging that outside and inside is just part of the same whole. Indoor ritual and personal devotion in front of an indoor shrine, while wonderful for restoring spiritual wellness, is not the same as going out to meet the wild, primal nature of the ecosystem that teems with life. Most of us do not get to go and experience it, and we have opportunity to explore outside that many will never have.

Sometimes I think as Canadians we get a little thick like the fiberglass we use to insulate our houses; sometimes I think we are insulating ourselves and our minds. We spend so much time indoors due to winter cold, and even in summer when bad air comes, getting closer to more electricity sucking air conditioning units as the summer gets warmer in Canada, we start to think that outside is some big leap, and that we do not really live in it. I suppose this is “cabin fever” at its worst. Getting outside, and really embracing it, is tough for most people in the modern age. My father used to take us camping without most of the gear I bring now; my husband thinks the cottage, or a cabin, which is just a rustic house, is roughing it. Gee, when I was growing up, mosquito netting was a luxury; West Nile Virus has made it a necessity.  Still, to get to know the world as it is means exploring it and being outside in it. And that means embracing the bugs and the dirt, and learning how to urinate and defecate  in an environmentally conscious way outside. Sorry folks, there just is no other way to say it.

One of the things that for me, being a part of and not apart from, the environment or ecosystem, or more simply, I am a resident of planet earth, so that means that when I engage in some druidic practice which reverses Mother Earth, I have to really examine the nature of my relationship with my mother. Just because the reaction to the boundary violation is delayed does not justify the breach. The mother is taking a little time to react to humanity’s abuse, and I imagine that we may have to do a lot to restore that relationship, in spite of our collective addiction to things. Garbage and waste may need another look, and learning how to camp in low impact, environmentally friendly ways is a start. I have seen garbage practices at pagan festivals that make me cringe. However, leading by example and not preaching, and when asked sharing what to do will go farther than browbeating people who have just got the courage to spend some time outside helps.

And, when I abuse my mother Earth, I really end up abusing myself. Women tend to understand this more readily, not because men cannot understand it, it is just that in the journey to become an individual woman, many women try to be the opposite of their mothers, while denying that they are like their mothers.  To hate your mother is to hate yourself. To accept your mother is to accept yourself. So, to accept ourselves, we need to accept our mother. We need to respect the Earth, and by doing so, we respect ourselves. We need to see that we live in everyone’s living room, and that not contributing our part is simply indifference and self-centeredness at an extreme level. Problem is after the rhetoric is the practice of doing this.

 I will continue at another time.

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Through Kasamba, an online chat service that links experts with all kinds of expertise, I am finding that being called upon to do readings regularly is tuning up my tarot skills. That and a little psychic powers oil really helps. Online chat, like email or phone readings, it is possible to do really good readings because the net forms an energetic web connection between you and the client. In some ways, I would rather do in person readings. It is certainly cheaper for the client, and I record those. But, if you are not able to book an in person reading, you will find me at

http://www.kasamba.com/druidess-157 .

This service hooks up all kinds of experts for live help. One of the hardest things to do is deal with clients that ask about a specific outcome, and the cards show me very clearly that the outcome is not even pictured yet. Issues with finances, work, career, and other neglected responsibilities show up, as no cup cards come up. As you guessed, I am dealing with the love questions.

When a person is questioning about love life issues, it is very hard to read when no cups show up. What sometimes is revealed is that there are beliefs and attitudes that need to change in order for a persons love life to improve, for them to be attractive, for them to get out of bad relationships where their giving nature is abused and used. And, the tarot is showing me issues with physical resources, career and business, or just big events coming up around them….no new love connections. It is hard to deal with, in that it is hard to say, well, the cards show me nothing yet.

I have enjoyed the challenge. I try to point out both the downside and the upside for what the cards have shown me. There are lot questions about relationships. With some people the cards show me what I consider a disaster, but people still cling to the idea that it will somehow work out. Sigh.

The cards are symbols, of events and emotions, and impacts. I primarily have a connection with the person who is doing the asking, and it is funny how my readings are better if the person is well connected to a third party being asked about.

If someone is distant, or just casually connected, that DOES affect the quality of the reading. I am reading through the same distance. And, sometimes the issue is that people just do not have enough of a connection to tell them that there will be a love connection with the man or woman. Sometimes I pick up, sometimes I do not. Sigh.

It is also part of the job to do readings tactfully and honestly. I try to read with the best of my skills. I am finding that with more readings, I am doing more research into the cards.

Because the client and I connect on the chat service, I shuffle the cards, and so the cards I pull reflect more my symbols for their issues. It seems to be less a struggle figuring for some unique readings. Still, tarot is a bit projective in that it sometimes tells me about the situation a person is in, and less about future stuff at times. It also has a tendency to show what one needs to hear, not necessary what one wants to hear. The other part of tarot is the aspect of reading or learning from symbol, or image. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” There are layers of symbols in the cards, and the Rider Waite versions have mostly symbols coming out of the Golden Dawn synthesis of the cards, and other decks less so. Each picture links to the next, and that sentence of meaning takes some time to sort out.

Tarot readers have been known to keep journals and pick a card for the day, and study it. The cards have many uses in this manner, and in time the symbols themselves will teach you.

In the meantime, I am enjoying reading regularly, and earning some money from the process.

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