![\"ADF](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2016\/02\/ADF-Texas-Imbolc-2016-23.jpg\")
<\/a>Last weekend was my third time<\/a> to be a part of the ADF Texas Imbolc Retreat. It\u2019s held annually at U Bar U Ranch, a Unitarian Universalist retreat center in the Texas Hill Country. It\u2019s a bit of a drive for me (337 miles one way) but it\u2019s an easy drive from Austin or San Antonio, and it\u2019s drivable from most of Texas, which is saying something. If you can\u2019t afford to fly off to Pantheacon or Sacred Space or another big Pagan gathering<\/a>, a smaller regional event may be a good alternative for you.<\/p>\n Not that anyone should consider the ADF Texas Imbolc Retreat a consolation prize! It\u2019s a small retreat (40 people, perhaps? I didn\u2019t get a count), but that allows for a more intimate atmosphere \u2013 you can talk with everyone who\u2019s there, get to know them a bit, and see what you can learn from them. That intimacy can carry over into the rituals, and this year it did. More on that later.<\/p>\n ADF sent two senior priests to teach and help lead rituals. Actually, ADF sent one senior priest: Rev. Carrion Mann<\/a> \u2013 that was all the traveling clergy budget would allow. Rev. Jon Drum<\/a> paid his own way so he could be at the retreat for the fourth time. That should tell you something about the quality of the event.<\/p>\n There was slightly less formal programming this year than in the past two years. I liked that. The programs we had were all good, and there was more time for informal conversations.<\/p>\n The first presentation on Friday afternoon was Lauren Neuman of Nine Waves Protogrove<\/a> on \u201cExploring Pagan Discernment.\u201d Pagans and polytheists are big on having our own first-hand experiences of the Gods and spirits. But how do you know who you\u2019re talking to? How can you be sure it\u2019s not just your ego telling you what you want to hear? I\u2019ve made a few random suggestions (compare it with lore and with other people\u2019s experiences, check it against the values of the God or spirit in question and against your own values) but this was the most complete list I\u2019ve come across.\u00a0 Lauren is going to turn her presentation into a blog post in the near future \u2013 when she does I\u2019ll link to it.<\/p>\n After that, Carrion Mann spoke on \u201cWorking Within the Mist: Death, Dying, and the Dead.\u201d This presentation was condensed from a longer one she\u2019s done before. I wish I could have heard the whole thing \u2013 the 90 minutes or so we got was excellent. Like Kristoffer Hughes and his book The Journey Into Spirit<\/a><\/em>, Carrion talked about how our common society has hidden death away \u2013 we try ignore it and pretend it won\u2019t happen to us, even though we know there\u2019s a 100% chance we will all die sooner or later.<\/p>\n She also talked about how we can honor the dead and work with the dead, which included Isaac Bonewits\u2019 warning \u201cjust because they\u2019re dead doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re smart.\u201d People don\u2019t all of a sudden become enlightened after death \u2013 if they were a jerk in life, they\u2019re likely to be a jerk in the afterlife. But our ancestors can be our strongest spiritual allies. They may be less powerful than the Gods, but they also have a lot fewer people clamoring for their attention \u2013 and they have a personal interest in seeing us survive and succeed.<\/p>\n I picked up a couple of key points for emphasis in my personal and group practice this year \u2013 that alone was worth the drive to U Bar U and back.<\/p>\n Where you find Celts in battle you will usually find Druids as well. Not as sword-swinging combatants, but as magical and inspirational supporters. There\u2019s a dark side to Druidry, a side many modern Druids prefer to ignore in their practices and actively deny to the non-Pagan world. The dark side of Druidry is scary and it carries more responsibility than many of us prefer to accept. But it\u2019s as much a part of our heritage as plant lore and poetry. And in this world full of oppression and injustice, it\u2019s also necessary.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Last year I previewed \u201cPreparing the Way of the Gods<\/a>\u201d at this retreat and I wasn\u2019t happy with the way it came across \u2013 I ended up reworking it significantly before doing it again at Many Gods West. I\u2019m glad I got the opportunity to improve the presentation, but I didn\u2019t want to treat the folks at the Imbolc Retreat like guinea pigs. I did four dry runs over the past month or so and made numerous revisions. I was happy with the way \u201cThe Dark Side of Druidry\u201d turned out, and I\u2019ve only got a couple small changes to make before I do it again next Saturday.<\/p>\n There were three other presentations on the official program. Jon Drum talked about \u201cPagan Bardic Pursuits\u201d and coached everyone through writing a devotion. Chopper Whitewolf talked about \u201cBeing a Modern Warrior\u201d and emphasized the need to \u201cdo the next right thing now\u201d and the need for Pagans of all persuasions to work together where we have common interests. And Carly McNamara spoke on the \u201cDevotion of Scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n For me, the highlight of the weekend was the main ritual. In many ways it was like any other ADF ritual, following the Core Order of Ritual<\/a>. It\u2019s a liturgy I\u2019ve used for 13 years, since long before I was a Druid, much less a member of ADF. There was an opening, a purification, an opening of the Gates, and an invocation of the Gods, ancestors, and spirits of Nature \u2013 the Kindred. Brighid was invoked and honored as the Deity of the Occasion, which was especially appropriate since it was Imbolc.<\/p>\n Her presence and her power were clear and strong.<\/p>\n I put the camera down and joined in the procession around the sacred fire. And I heard<\/em>. What I heard was for me and a few other folks in Denton, but like everything else in this ritual it was clear and strong.<\/p>\n Good ritual helps us experience the Gods for ourselves. This was good ritual.<\/p>\n The late evenings around the fire were good too. There were stories and songs, marshmallows and mead, and conversations that ranged from deeply spiritual to hilariously ribald. This year\u2019s stories seemed to be less bardic offerings and more personal accounts \u2013 stories that aren\u2019t just true, they actually happened. And the night skies were clear and dark \u2013 U Bar U is a great place for star gazing.<\/p>\n My thanks to Chris Godwin, Amanda Godwin, and the good people of Hearthstone Grove<\/a> for all their work in organizing the ADF Texas Imbolc Retreat, for the invitation to speak, and for their wonderful hospitality. I had a great time this year and I look forward to doing it all again in the future.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>I had the first presentation on Saturday morning \u2013 I spoke on \u201cThe Dark Side of Druidry.\u201d I did a blog post on this topic<\/a> back in 2014 \u2013 late last year it occurred to me that there was a lot more that needed to be said on this topic, so I\u2019ve expanded it into a presentation that runs about an hour. I\u2019ll be doing this again at Pantheacon on Saturday morning at 9:00 AM in the Monterey Room. Here\u2019s the blurb for the event, which summarizes what I talked about.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Perhaps it was the cumulative work done by the participants in previous retreats at this place. Perhaps it was the energy raised by the participation of everyone there. Perhaps it was the sacrifice of the beautiful Brighid\u2019s Cross made by Rev. Mann. I suspect it was a little of all that, and more. I was taking pictures, half in and half out of the energy flow, and then I heard a familiar Voice behind my head: \u201cput the camera down and listen<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n