Welcome to "Wild Places"

Welcome all,

This blog is about siding with Life and delighting in the blessings of Nature both within and around us. It is about defending Life, exploring and befriending it, and letting it teach us who we are. It is about opening to the pain and joy of being alive in this moment, when so much is lost and under threat, and there is so much great work to be done together.

I'm Anifail, a Druid living in Brisbane.  This blog is about Druidry as I see it, which means more than just revering the Earth.  It means learning from and cooperating with our non-human neighbours to create and receive abundance, and it means taking personally the destruction of natural communities, and responding appropriately to stop it.  Because my own Druid path includes these practical and political dimensions, my work on this blog will reflect that.  Besides, an Earth-based spirituality without a basis in practical ecology is a bit like a gaseous atmosphere set loose from the planet that moors it: nebulous and of no use to anyone.  

Further, it is my view that a failure to engage in politics, either by decision or by default, is in fact a political stance of a particular kind with real consequences.  It is a vote for business as usual.  In our time, that means injustice, racism, clear-cutting of forests and climate chaos.  Druids owe the Earth greater loyalty than saying a prayer as she falls to the bulldozers.  We need to understand what's happening, assess all the available options and then engage in whatever level of action we are comfortable with plus one.  So that is where I am coming from.

One of the challenges with Brisbane Druidry is to find a Druid path that is relevant to the local conditions and culture.  Another challenge is to connect with fellow travellers.  I am a member of two Druid orders, AODA and OBOD.  Of these, so far only OBOD has an organised presence in Australia.  The Melbourne Grove is well established and there are members in many parts of the country.  

Then there is the Grove of the Southern Cross.  This is an online forum for Australian Druids of all stripes, but it is part of The Druid Network (TDN), and you have to join TDN first to take part.  TDN, however, provides a world of resources and services for their small annual membership fee.

Please say hello and share your thoughts in the comments or by email, and check out some of the Druidry and Druid-relevant links I've shared.  I hope that these contacts, as well as my own shared experiences, will help you connect with kindred souls as well sources of blessing and inspiration as you find your own path. 

Yours beneath the twisted Tallowwood,

Anifail