An introduction to the ritual tools and practices found in the Druid tradition. Held deeply within Celtic mythology, the crane bag is both a symbol of sovereignty, as well as an item containing the ritual tools of the Druid. With the proper use, it can further the Druid in working with the tides of nature, finding his or her own place in the environment, living in balance, harmony and peace. In ritual, these tools and practices can guide one to deeper levels of meaning and understanding within the tradition, helping the Druid on his or her journey through life and towards integration with the natural world.

When I started running meditation groups, I searched for a book that would tell me how to do it. There wasn’t one. Like many Pagans, I hate dogma and resent being told exactly what to do. But at the same time, like everyone starting out on something new, I wanted a frame to hang my work from. I learned the hard, slow way. Druidry and Meditation is a guide for Druids who want to meditate. It explores meditation for the body, the intellect, the emotions and for spiritual practice. There are plenty of easy to follow exercises, along with prompts about how to develop your own work from there, held by a philosophical framework. I’ve included sample pathworkings to get people started, and a detailed explanation of how to construct your own. There’s a chapter on how to run a meditation group – covering practical issues as well as the art of writing for groups and the technicalities of guiding. I’ve also included a section on how to incorporate meditation into group ritual, covering practical issues. Druidry is a beautiful, multifaceted, non-dogmatic spirituality. Every aspect of Druidry can be supported with meditative work. Meditation is not Druidry and Druidry is not meditation, but the two combine to inspiring effect. Many Pagans question, all the time, how we can make our spirituality an intrinsic part of our lives. This meditative approach to Druidry is one answer to that question. Through greater self-awareness, with deep contemplation, spiritual openness and conscious nurturing of creativity, we can explore and express our Paganism in ever more rewarding ways.

When sixteen-year-old Andrea Anderson begins caring for a sick neighbor's dog, she learns a lot about life, death, pottery, friendship, hope, and love.

Life is a mystery quite beyond the comprehension of our normal ways of understanding. Having lived as a Benedictine monk for over fifty years, Mark Patrick Hederman has learned how to engage with mystery. Here, he explains how to bring a new sense of the sacred into your life. Despite clamorous reports to the contrary, he argues that religion is alive and well in our world. Those who say that secularization has taken over are imposing their own `dogmas' on an unsuspecting and gullible public. In this fascinating book he contends that most of us are religious and can't help it: being human means being `religious', otherwise we would die of despair. The idea that science and religion are opposing forces is false, but he maintains that the arts are the only way we can convey the sacred to today's world. A mytho-poetic language could provide a `middle voice, ' a `third language' that bridges that gap between science and religion in our society