Made by Greywolf
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
BDO Retreats (Updated June 13th)
Retreats allow us to step back from the flurry of daily life and connect more deeply with the spiritual forces that surround, support and inspire us. BDO retreats will initially be based around our amazing Iron Age roundhouse, set in a secluded woodland grove in the heart of rural Shropshire.
Druid Sweat Lodge, August 2010
A group of us are getting together to refurbish the thatch on the roundhouse roof at the end of the summer. There is the possibility of a Druid sweat lodge, probably on the 27th-29th August, if there are enough people interested to make it viable. A sweat lodge is a very powerful experience and not for the faint-hearted or infirm. Don't consider it if you have mobility issues, claustrophobia, heart problems, asthma or any other medical condition undergoing treatment. If we do this, we do it right. That means arriving the night before, fasting overnight. The next day, still fasting, we will begin ritual cleansing and attunement, some of which will be done in the roundhouse, as well as doing all the physical preparation, building the lodge, gathering wood, fetching the stones and laying the fire. At dusk, we will light the fire. We will finally emerge from the lodge, purified and reborn, in the early hours of Sunday morning, at which point we will drink lots of water and gratefully plunge into the nearby brook, after which we will eat and sleep. Sunday will be spent working through our experiences in the lodge, talking, eating and resting. Since the Monday after is a bank holiday, it may be possible to stay over on Sunday night.
The way we do lodges is inspired partly by the Lakota example, but also by what archaeology tells us about the native sweat lodge tradition that existed in Britain in the Bronze Age, and mainly by our own animistic, 'shamanic' understanding of Druidry as our primal, native European spirituality. The lodge is the womb of our mother, the cauldron of rebirth in which we are stripped to the soul, remade and renewed. This is not a toy.
So, how much will this cost? An internet search reveals that the average fee for a one-day Native American style sweat in the UK (most of them are Native American style) is between 30 and 65 pounds, with most at the upper end. The only other three-day event I could find was asking 165. We need a bare minimum of 500 to cover the rental of the venue, timber for the fire to heat the stones, etc. We will probably have to buy in rocks as well, since none in the geology of the area are suitable. And it'd be nice to offer something to the fire-person, who gets a lot of hard work and doesn't even get to go in the lodge. Add another 150-200. It'd be nice to come out with a little bit for BDO funds too, if possible. If we make a lodge for 12 people, allowing for myself and maybe four others who've been working on the roundhouse all week, that leaves 7 places. If each of those 7 pays 120 pounds we should do a little better than break even. Sound fair?
OK, if you're still interested after all the things I've said to put you off, e-mail me at BDOHQ putting the words 'BDO sweat lodge' in the title line.
Many blessings,
Greywolf /|\
Retreats allow us to step back from the flurry of daily life and connect more deeply with the spiritual forces that surround, support and inspire us. BDO retreats will initially be based around our amazing Iron Age roundhouse, set in a secluded woodland grove in the heart of rural Shropshire.
Druid Sweat Lodge, August 2010
A group of us are getting together to refurbish the thatch on the roundhouse roof at the end of the summer. There is the possibility of a Druid sweat lodge, probably on the 27th-29th August, if there are enough people interested to make it viable. A sweat lodge is a very powerful experience and not for the faint-hearted or infirm. Don't consider it if you have mobility issues, claustrophobia, heart problems, asthma or any other medical condition undergoing treatment. If we do this, we do it right. That means arriving the night before, fasting overnight. The next day, still fasting, we will begin ritual cleansing and attunement, some of which will be done in the roundhouse, as well as doing all the physical preparation, building the lodge, gathering wood, fetching the stones and laying the fire. At dusk, we will light the fire. We will finally emerge from the lodge, purified and reborn, in the early hours of Sunday morning, at which point we will drink lots of water and gratefully plunge into the nearby brook, after which we will eat and sleep. Sunday will be spent working through our experiences in the lodge, talking, eating and resting. Since the Monday after is a bank holiday, it may be possible to stay over on Sunday night.
The way we do lodges is inspired partly by the Lakota example, but also by what archaeology tells us about the native sweat lodge tradition that existed in Britain in the Bronze Age, and mainly by our own animistic, 'shamanic' understanding of Druidry as our primal, native European spirituality. The lodge is the womb of our mother, the cauldron of rebirth in which we are stripped to the soul, remade and renewed. This is not a toy.
So, how much will this cost? An internet search reveals that the average fee for a one-day Native American style sweat in the UK (most of them are Native American style) is between 30 and 65 pounds, with most at the upper end. The only other three-day event I could find was asking 165. We need a bare minimum of 500 to cover the rental of the venue, timber for the fire to heat the stones, etc. We will probably have to buy in rocks as well, since none in the geology of the area are suitable. And it'd be nice to offer something to the fire-person, who gets a lot of hard work and doesn't even get to go in the lodge. Add another 150-200. It'd be nice to come out with a little bit for BDO funds too, if possible. If we make a lodge for 12 people, allowing for myself and maybe four others who've been working on the roundhouse all week, that leaves 7 places. If each of those 7 pays 120 pounds we should do a little better than break even. Sound fair?
OK, if you're still interested after all the things I've said to put you off, e-mail me at BDOHQ putting the words 'BDO sweat lodge' in the title line.
Many blessings,
Greywolf /|\
