Greetings All! (Samhain 2010)

By Grey Boar

Vice President GreyBoar

The old Celtic year has ended and what a year it has been! Undoubtedly it was one of the busiest years I’ve ever experienced.

It was my privilege to meet those of you who were able to attend the “2010 Keltrian Gathering of the Tribes” here in Cumming, Georgia. The entire weekend was a joyous occasion for me and I thank all of you who took time out of your busy lives to attend.
I also want to thank those of you who contributed your time and effort to the success of the excellent workshops and rituals. Then too, I’d like to offer my gratitude to those members of Olde Stone Grove who participated as well as my bandraoi, BeanSidhe for all her hard work in planning and preparing for the event.

Tony and I manned a table for “The Henge” at Atlanta Pagan Pride Day on Saturday, October 9th. We handed out “Keltrian’ info flyers and membership forms to all people interested… and there were plenty! The official count was just under 900 attendees that day. As a side note, there was also a drive to collect food for the needy in Atlanta through the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The Bank was blessed with over a half ton of food collected from attendees and vendors.

At this time, I’d also like to give my appreciation to Tony for assisting me with the “Introduction to Keltrian Druidism” workshop.

Recently “Druidry” was recognized as an “official” religion In the United Kingdom, although some there are still unsure whether this is a good thing or not. It remains to be seen how this will affect the different groups there.

Yet with all the wonderful events that have occurred this year there has been sadness as well.  Alexei Kondratiev and Isaac Bonewits passed this year; both who were invaluable contributors to modern Druidism. The Atlanta Pagan community is certain to miss Lady Sintana founder and Wiccan High Priestess of the House of Ravenwood who crossed through the veil in September.  She was one of the first to fight for our rights to follow the Old Religion, in whatever form, here in the United States.

As we gather for ritual to honor our Ancestors this Samhain, let us all take time to remember all those whom have passed into “The Other World” this year and raise our drinking horns to their honor as well.

Still, the Celtic New Year is upon us. It would be wonderful to see more members enrolled in the Henge’s correspondence course. Then too, we would need more people involved in mentoring those students. Though we’re certainly not evangelistic, it would be beneficial to our Henge to have more members with the capabilities of “furthering” our tradition. Hopefully this would lead to more Groves. So why don’t you toss those ogham sticks and see what the Gods would have you do this year!

Happy Celtic New Year and a blessed Samhain to all!