What if the secret to finding balance in our chaotic modern world lies not in the latest wellness trend, but in an ancient spiritual path that sees magic in the ordinary and wisdom in the seasons? What if you could connect deeply with nature's rhythms while living in the city, and find profound transformation through simple awareness of the cycles happening all around you?

In this enlightening conversation with Eimear Burke, Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), we explore how modern druidry offers practical wisdom for cyclical living. Her journey from a strict Catholic upbringing to leading one of the world's largest druid organizations reveals how ancient earth-based wisdom can guide us toward deeper connection with ourselves, nature, and the sacred in everyday life.

Topics covered

In this episode, we discussed

• Eimear's journey from a strict Roman Catholic upbringing to discovering Druidry
• What Druidry is as a nature-based spiritual path and non-dogmatic practice
• The Wheel of the Year and celebrating seasonal festivals every six weeks
• The three strands of druidry: Bards (creativity), Ovates (healing), and Druids (wisdom)
• Understanding the concept of "spirits of place" and connecting with the landscape
• How Druidry views cycles of life, death, and rebirth in nature and within ourselves
• The importance of finding stillness and the extraordinary in ordinary moments
• How druidry practices responsibility rather than rules or sin
• The magic that happens when we're in harmony with nature
• Finding your inner groove as a place of reflection and guidance

 

About Druid Eimear Burke 

Eimear Burke is the Chosen Chief of OBOD (The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids), a role she holds in leading this global druidry organization. Coming from a strict Roman Catholic background in rural Ireland, she discovered druidry 20+ years ago and has been following the Wheel of the Year through seasonal ceremonies ever since. As a psychologist and celebrant, Eimear bridges the practical and mystical aspects of druidry, helping others connect with nature-based spirituality. She hosts weekly "Fireside Chat with Eimear" live streams where she speaks with druidry practitioners, and her work focuses on helping people find their connection to the natural world and their inner landscape.

 

Connect with Eimear

• Website: kilkennydruidry.com 
• Facebook & Instagram: @EimearBurkeDruidSeanchai
• Weekly live stream: "Fireside Chat with Eimear" (Thursdays 8pm UK time) 
• OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids): www.druidry.org 
• Additional resource: "DruidCast" podcast by Dave the Bard

 

Listen to the Episode

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube

 

Timestamps

[00:01:31] Eimear shares her journey from Roman Catholic background to discovering druidry

[00:05:06] What Druidry is as a nature-based spiritual path

[00:06:20] Understanding the Wheel of the Year and seasonal festivals

[00:07:53] The non-dogmatic nature of druidry and personal responsibility

[00:09:33] The three strands: Bards, Ovates, and Druids explained

[00:10:43] How long the druidry journey takes and individual pacing

[00:12:35] The spiral nature of learning and growth in druidry

[00:13:03] How the Wheel of the Year differs between hemispheres

[00:15:06] Understanding spirits of place and connecting with landscape

[00:16:44] The magic that happens when working with nature

[00:18:47] Iris shares her personal connection to nature and spirits of place

[00:20:24] How we are nature, not separate from it

[00:20:57] Where to learn more about druidry and OBOD

[00:22:47] How druidry relates to internal cycles and personal development

[00:25:26] Using seasonal ceremonies for reflection and intention setting

[00:27:32] Final wisdom about finding stillness and the extraordinary in ordinary moments

 

A Spiritual Awakening: When Traditional Religion Doesn't Fit

Eimear's journey began with a profound childhood realization that would shape her entire spiritual path. Growing up in rural Ireland in a strict Roman Catholic family, she experienced something unusual for a child.

The moment of clarity came at age nine: "We were in a religion class and I realized, or it came to me, that the God the nun was talking about didn't exist. I panicked because I thought, oh my God, that's a terrible thing. I'll go to hell."

This early spiritual rebellion led to decades of agnosticism until she discovered nature-based traditions that resonated with her soul. After exploring Native American traditions and African healing practices, she still felt something was missing a connection to her own landscape and ancestry.

 

The Book That Changed Everything

The synchronicity that led Eimear to druidry is a perfect example of how the path often finds us when we're ready. In a bookshop with a healer friend, a book literally "hopped out" "The Modern Day Druid" by Cassandra Eason.

"She wrote it away that made druids very, very accessible. You didn't have to be deep in the dark forest. You could be in a city. You could have a few pot plants in your apartment and you can create a grove."

This accessibility became the gateway to a 20-year journey of following the Wheel of the Year and eventually becoming a leader in the global druid community.

 

Understanding Modern Druidry: Nature as Spiritual Teacher

Modern druidry defies simple definition as Eimear notes, "If you ask 10 Druids what druidry is, you get about 20 different answers." But at its core, it's a nature-based spiritual path that uses seasons and landscape as metaphors for life.

 

The Inner Grove Philosophy

Druidry centers on developing your "inner grove" a place of stillness within yourself where you come to reflect, learn, and receive guidance. "When our inner world is in sync with the outer landscape, then there's balance and harmony in our lives."

This isn't about escapism it's about creating internal coherence with the natural rhythms happening around us constantly.

 

No Dogma, Only Responsibility

Unlike traditional religions, druidry operates without rules, sin concepts, or rigid doctrines. Instead, it emphasizes:

• Personal responsibility for your actions
• Living from your internal moral compass
• The law of the harvest what you sow, you reap
• Ethical living without condemnation or judgment

 

"You live your life from your own internal moral compass. You are responsible... it's not a punitive thing, but it's about you taking responsibility."

 

The Three Paths in OBOD

The OBOD training follows three interconnected strands, each representing different aspects of wisdom and connection:

 

Bard: Awakening Creativity and Connection

• Storytellers, poets, musicians, history keepers
• Connecting with your landscape through creative expression
• Engaging with the elements to awaken natural creativity
• Foundation for all other learning

 

Ovate: The Shamanic Healing Path

• Herb lore, divination, deeper forest wisdom
• The healing strand of druidry
• Going deeper into earth-based practices
• Connecting with plant and natural medicine wisdom

 

Druid: Philosophy and Wisdom Teaching

• Pursuit of wisdom, ritual leadership
• The philosophical grade focusing on ethics and guidance
• Teaching and celebrant responsibilities
• Integration of all previous learning

Important note: These aren't hierarchical levels but complementary paths you can embody simultaneously. Eimear took seven years to complete the Bard training, emphasizing that the journey matters more than the destination.

"It took me seven years to do the Bard grade. Some people do it many times before they proceed to the next. Some people never go beyond the Bard grade. There's no rush, and it's not about getting a qualification at the end."

 

The Wheel of the Year: Living in Seasonal Rhythm

Every six weeks, druidry marks a seasonal festival, creating eight celebrations annually that honor natural cycles:

• Two solstices (longest and shortest days)
• Two equinoxes (day and night balance)
• Four fire festivals (agricultural transitions)

Autumn Example: Letting Go and Going Within

As Eimear explains the current season: "We've just celebrated the autumn equinox, where day and night are in equal balance. Just after the equinox, the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and we're coming into... honoring the ancestors, letting go what we no longer need, going into the dark time of the year."

The seasonal metaphor becomes personal guidance: Just as trees release their leaves to nourish the soil for future growth, we're invited to release what no longer serves us to make space for new possibilities.

Winter Wisdom for Modern Life

"Our ancestors would have gathered around the fire and stayed in and told stories, and it would be a time of rest and restoration. We don't do that unfortunately in the modern world. There's always that tension between what I would like to do in winter and what I have to do in winter."

This tension highlights how druidry offers alternative rhythms to our always-on culture, suggesting we can honor natural cycles even within modern constraints.

Spirit of Place: The Living Landscape

One of druidry's most profound concepts is "spirit of place" recognizing landscapes, trees, mountains, and natural features as living entities with consciousness and essence.

 

Practical Connection Examples

Eimear shares: "I was climbing Kilimanjaro years ago, and it was very important for me to connect with the spirit of the mountain... help me on my climb because it's not an easy climb. And we did ceremonies on the way up and that guided me."

This isn't about believing in ghosts or supernatural entities it's about "acknowledging that it allows you to be much more empathic, sympathetic to the environment that you're in, in a much more respectful way."

 

When Magic Happens

Regular practitioners report synchronicities and natural responses during ceremonies:

"You are in a circle in the grove having a ceremony, and you're facing the east and you're calling on the spirits of air, and suddenly a flock of birds go right by. Just at that moment."

Or: "I remember doing a full moon ceremony on a cloudy night... one of us turns to face where we know the moon is and greets the moon. And with that, the clouds part."

This isn't about "doing" magic it's about how nature conspires with us, literally "breathes together" with us when we're open and attentive.

We Are Nature: Breaking the Separation Illusion

Perhaps druidry's most radical teaching is this: "It's not that we like nature. We are nature. We're not separate. We are nature."

This fundamental shift in perspective transforms everything:

• Environmental connection becomes self-care
• Seasonal changes mirror internal processes
• Natural rhythms guide personal decisions
• Earth healing and personal healing intertwine

When you recognize yourself as part of nature rather than separate from it, caring for the earth becomes caring for yourself, and connecting with natural cycles becomes a way of connecting more deeply with your own rhythms and needs.

 

Personal Cycles and Transformation

While druidry doesn't focus specifically on menstrual cycles, it deeply honors all life cycles daily, monthly, seasonal, and life-stage transitions.

The Constant Spiral of Growth

"We are constantly aware of that life, death, rebirth cycle within ourselves... it's not only a spiritual path, it's also a personal development path. It looks to reflecting on what we need to let go of, what needs to die in order to be reborn."

Every six weeks provides a natural checkpoint for personal reflection:

• What needs to be released?
• What wants to emerge?
• How can I align with seasonal energy?
• What am I grateful for?

 

Practical Seasonal Reflection

Eimear describes their Spring Equinox ceremony: "We have little pots and soil and ash and water and seeds... people then plant a seed that is a metaphor for something they want to give life to. Whatever it can be. And then you nurture that plant."

This embodied ritual makes abstract intentions concrete and connects personal growth to natural cycles.

"Every six weeks, you know, with our ceremony, it's a time to pause and reflect and say, okay. What do I need to let go of? What do I need to call in?... It's what do you need? Not what you should be doing."

Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Druidry's greatest gift might be its ability to reveal magic in everyday moments without requiring exotic locations or special equipment.

Accessible Wonder

"You don't have to be on a sacred site around the world... it's about finding that quiet still place in nature, outside, in a garden, in the woods, even in a park, spotting the wildflower that grows between the cracks in the pavement in a city and finding the extraordinary within the ordinary."

Simple Presence Practices

The invitation is beautifully simple:

• Be still and find your center
• Look around with awareness
• Listen to what's happening
• Notice small gifts from nature

"Those small little things, because in times of hardship... if there can be one little piece of hope or one small little thing, an ordinary thing, that can give you some kind of hope, I think that's important."

Eimear's personal example: "I have bees and when I come across a swarm of bees or something like nature, and it's like, oh my God, I can hear them look at them. They're fascinating and it just gives me such joy. Just those simple things."

 

How to Start with Druidry

Starting a druidry practice requires no special qualifications or equipment just willingness to notice the natural world and openness to seasonal wisdom.

If you’re curious about exploring this path, here are some useful links:

• OBOD – www.druidry.org: You can request an introductory pack
  
• Eimear Burke’s website – kilkennydruidry.com
  
• Fireside Chats with Eimear – Weekly livestreams on Facebook and YouTube
  
• Tea with a Druid – Weekly meditations and reflections
  
• Druidcast Podcast – Interviews, seasonal topics, and pagan music
  
  

Whether you explore formal training through OBOD or simply begin observing the seasonal shifts in your area, the invitation is the same: find your still center, connect with the landscape around you, and discover the extraordinary magic that exists in ordinary moments.

The earth is always teaching. The question is: are you ready to listen?

The Bottom Line

Modern druidry offers something our fast-paced world desperately needs: a way to slow down, connect deeply, and find meaning in the cycles that surround us constantly. It's not about abandoning modern life but about infusing it with ancient wisdom that recognizes the sacred in seasonal change and the magic in everyday moments.

Eimear's message resonates powerfully: You don't need to retreat to a forest to find spiritual connection. You can create a grove in your apartment with a few pot plants, honor seasonal transitions from your city home, and discover profound wisdom in the wildflower growing through pavement cracks.

In our age of disconnection and overwhelm, druidry provides a path back to wonder, cyclical wisdom, and the recognition that we are not separate from nature we are nature itself.

 

Key Takeaways

• Druidry is accessible to anyone - You don't need forests or special locations to practice
• Seasons provide personal guidance - Natural cycles mirror our internal transformation needs
• No dogma, only responsibility - Live from your internal moral compass without external rules
• We are nature, not separate from it - Connection with earth is connection with ourselves
• Three paths offer different wisdom - Creativity (Bard), healing (Ovate), and philosophy (Druid)
• Every six weeks brings reflection - Regular seasonal ceremonies support ongoing growth
• Spirit of place is real and accessible - Landscapes have consciousness we can connect with
• Magic happens through attention - Synchronicities emerge when we're present and open
• Personal cycles mirror natural ones - Life, death, rebirth patterns guide transformation
• The ordinary contains the extraordinary - Wonder is available in everyday moments
• Community supports individual practice - Global networks connect solitary practitioners
• The journey matters more than destination - Take your time, there's no rush to "advance"

 

Transcript

[00:00:00] Iris Josephina: You are listening to the podcast of Iris Josephina. If you are passionate about exploring the menstrual cycle, cyclical living, body wisdom, personal growth, spirituality, and running a business in alignment with your natural cycles, you're in the right place. I'm Iris. I'm an entrepreneur, functional hormone specialist, trainer and coach, and I am on a mission to share insights, fun facts, and inspiration I discover along the way as I run my business and walk my own path on earth. Here you'll hear my personal stories, guest interviews, and vulnerable shares from clients and students. Most people know me from Instagram where you can find me under at cycle seeds, or they have been a coaching client or student in one of my courses.

[00:00:52] Iris Josephina: I'm so grateful you're here. Let's dive into today's episode.

[00:00:59] Iris Josephina: Hello everyone. Today I am here with Druid Eimear and we will be talking about Druidry. I have always been very passionate and into everything that has to do with cyclicality and the earth, and I feel that Druidry is so beautifully connected to that. And yeah, welcome to the show. Welcome that you wanted to come on here to talk to me.

[00:01:25] Iris Josephina: So could you share what your story is and how you got into Druidry? 

[00:01:31] Eimear: Okay. Well, I come from, it's kind of a long story. I come from a Roman Catholic background, you know, rural Ireland, and I, a strict Roman Catholic family. My mother particularly was very, is still is very religious and it never called to me.

[00:01:49] Eimear: And unlike my peers, most children tend to kind of be fairly religious. I never was. And when I was nine, we were in an original class and I realized, or it came to me that the God the nun was talking about didn't exist. That I panicked because I thought, oh my God, that's a terrible thing. I'll go to go to hell.

[00:02:07] Eimear: But I remained an agnostic for years and years and years. I met, I was doing some work with, I met some woman from the US from the native tradition, and I really loved that nature connection. And I have a very close friend who's a healer from Tanzania and I worked with him and I had initiations with him, and again, really loved that nature connection, but neither were from my landscape.

[00:02:29] Eimear: And I found that a frustration. And I was with my healer friend Siobhan, and we were in a bookshop. And this book hopped out as these things, do you know, with synchronicities, the modern day beauty by Cassandra Easton. And I looked at it and she wrote it away. That made druids very, very accessible.

[00:02:49] Eimear: You didn't have to be deep in the dark forest. You could be in a city. You could have a few pot plants in your apartment and you can create a grove. That really, really appealed to me. And, she mentioned OBOD, the order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, which I'm now the chosen chief of. And she said she had done her training with them, which she was a solitary solitary and she didn't like groups. Now that this is for me, 'cause I don't like groups either, which is a bit ironic and I went online and, saw, saw their website and they have an introductory pack that you can order. And at the time I had a, a choice to make. I'm a psychologist and, I was thinking of doing, a course in psychotherapy supervision, which is kind of a sensible, professional thing to do.

[00:03:33] Eimear: And then there was Druidry and I couldn't do both at the time, and I had to choose anyway, Well, as soon as I pressed that button for the, the introductory pack to Druidry, I got this wave of, yes, an incredible sense of energy and a rush, knowing this was the right thing to do. I got the introductory pack and then I just loved it.

[00:03:57] Eimear: I said, I want to join, and I did, and the rest is history, but I was brought up. I mean, I was educated by, by Roman Catholic nuns, but I learned all about the mitts and legends from them. I learned about Druids, that those word, that the word druid was always there. It fascinated me and not realizing why, when I'd hear the word, I would kind of get some kind of special feeling or a tingle that some, but I never thought I'd be through it.

[00:04:21] Eimear: I didn't put myself in that picture, but there was something very deep down that I connected with. So I joined and my husband, my late husband, Howard and I, we, didn't know any other druids and so we started running our own ceremonies to mark the wheel of the year. So that's 20 years ago. So we're now on our 21st cycle of following the wheel of the year, where every six weeks we have a ceremony to mark, whatever the season is, within the landscape.

[00:04:49] Iris Josephina: Beautiful and just for people who are listening and they're like, okay, but, what is Druidry? Could you explain a little bit like in a nutshell, like what is surgery and, and where lay its origins and what is practiced? 

[00:05:06] Eimear: Okay, well that's, that's in a nutshell. Forget that one. If you ask 10 Druids what Druidryis, you get about 20 different answers.

[00:05:14] Eimear: So let me give you my one, for me, Druidry is a nature-based spiritual path. Where you look to the seasons and the landscape as a metaphor for your life. So part of the training is around developing your own inner world, your own inner grove. This is this place that you come to, this place of stillness where you come to be, to reflect, to learn, to receive guidance, and when that notion of when our inner world is in sync.

[00:05:47] Eimear: The outer world, outer landscape. Then there's balance and and harmony in our lives. So we do that by following the wheel of the year. So every six weeks there is a festival. So we've just celebrated the autumn equinox, where day and night of equal balance. And just after the, Equinox, the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and then we're coming into, so, and another few weeks, and that is around honoring the ancestors, letting go what we no longer need going into the dark time of the year and so on.

[00:06:20] Eimear: So every six weeks we have a festival and if we can, and it's a really nice time to say, coming into, so around that drawing in shedding what we no longer need. When you look at what happens in the landscape, the kayak, the crone, the hag, the witch comes with their strong winds and blows the leaves from the trees and then beats them into the ground and creates the frost, which encloses the seeds and they can remain dormant and they need that frozen time.

[00:06:47] Eimear: And in springtime then they can germinate. And then further into the, the, the darkness of winter. With the winter solstice waiting, our ancestors would have, you know, there was no more work to be done. You'd gather around the fire and you'd stay in and you'd tell stories, and it would be a time of, in many ways of rest and restoration.

[00:07:09] Eimear: We don't do that unfortunately in the modern world. There's always that tension between what I would like to do in winter and what I have to do in winter. And it's around just reflecting on what's gone and what seems to be no more. You know, we look at the dead leaves and the trees, but actually they're contributing to new life because they're bringing, nourishment to the soil, to the trees through the roots, and everything is asleep.

[00:07:32] Eimear: It's not dead. And then it's, it reawakens, in the springtime. So we honor, the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. And it's a non-dogmatic spiritual path. We have no teachings as in there's no big book. We don't have rules. We don't have a notion of sin. What we do have is a notion of responsibility.

[00:07:53] Eimear: Responsibility for your own actions. You live your life from your own internal moral compass. You are responsible. And we, I suppose that that honoring the law of the harvest, you know, what you sow, you reap, which is not a, a punitive thing, but it's about you taking responsibility, also looking at your actions through an ethical lens.

[00:08:17] Eimear: We don't have any Tiktoks about whether, for example, some people think that Druids are vegetarians or vegans, or don't drive cars or whatever it is there are, you choose to do what you wish and it's like, it's encouraged, you know, people are encouraged to live as ethically, as ecologically soundly as you can.

[00:08:39] Eimear: But there are no rules about and no, no condemnation. You could be an animus in druids, it could be a polytheist, a monotheist, a duotheist we welcome all spiritual faiths and none. So we have, Christian ministers who are druids. We have Buddhist monks who are druids, agnostics, pagans, non pagans. It doesn't matter. We don't get involved in those things.

[00:09:02] Eimear: It's around sharing the values of a love of nature, honoring the landscape, the earth and her beings. And we have three strands we'll say in the order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. It's not a hierarchical order, but we have three strands. You start as a Bard and that allows you to connect with your landscape and to awaken your creativity and through engaging with the elements that you creativity can awaken.

[00:09:33] Eimear: So the bards of old were, you know, the storytellers, the poets, the musicians, the Harpers, the history keepers. And that's a very, very important role with stories are around healing, keeping the, the king in check with either a praised poem or, a satire our next grade. And that's a foundation And then the next one is the Ovate grade, which is like the shamanic strand, the healing strand.

[00:10:01] Eimear: We study herb lore, divination, going deeper into the forest as it were. And then the druids grade is the philosophical grade, the pursuit of wisdom, teaching the ritual holder, the celebrant and the ethicist, the guide. Now you can be all those three. It doesn't matter. It's just that's the pathway we take Bard, Ovate, and Druids but there's no hierarchy within the order.

[00:10:29] Iris Josephina: Hmm. Thank you for sharing that. And is there like a specific amount of like years to move through this or Everybody goes at their own pace and they arrive wherever they want? 

[00:10:43] Eimear: That's exactly it. So each grade is a year, so you get teachings every month for the year. You could do it any year, but we recommend you take your time.

[00:10:52] Eimear: It took me seven years to do the Bardy grade. Some people do it many times before they proceed to the next. Some people never go beyond the bardy grade. There's no rush, and it's not about getting a qualification at the end. It's the piece of paper. There is, you know, that idea that you're qualified that's not there.

[00:11:08] Eimear: It's the journey and you are engaged with the teachings. Or the exercises or the meditations, how you explore your own creativity. it's interesting. When I was doing mine, I was frustrated. My husband, was a poet and he could just spit out poetry just so easily. And I'm on the bar Druidry, like I, no, no, I'm in an art group.

[00:11:29] Eimear: I don't really count that. It wasn't a little after. I'd finished the whole thing after seven years that I started telling stories and in the x-ray I took up playing the harp. So nothing is in a straight line. It spirals. I mean, you talk about cycles, you know, life or going round in circles, but there's also it spirals.

[00:11:48] Eimear: It goes in and out. I would use the, the ryle as a metaphor, the triple spiral for my own journey. In and out. I'm a celebrant of weddings and, and, you know, rites of passage. I was doing that while I was a bard, yet that's considered a d juridic task, but you can do anything. So I was in and out, in and out, never in a straight line.

[00:12:07] Eimear: And so you take as long as you wish and, your path is your path and there's no comparison with anybody else. And that's what's really, really important to hold on to.

[00:12:16] Iris Josephina: Hmm. Thank you for sharing that. And I also loved how you use, or how Druidry uses the metaphor of the, the forest or the grove. Yeah. And that every level, if you will, is like a deeper step into your internal growth and your internal forest. 

[00:12:35] Eimear: That's right. 

[00:12:35] Iris Josephina: Like deeper into the. The layers of, of who we are as human beings and our, our wisdom.

[00:12:44] Iris Josephina: And you already mentioned that there are, celebrations in Druidry and they follow the Wheel of the Year and just out of like very curious reasons for myself, like, is that, does that differ from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere? 

[00:13:03] Eimear: Well, yes, because of, so we celebrate the, the two solstices, the two equinoxes, and then the four, what we call fire festivals.

[00:13:12] Eimear: They would've been agricultural festivals. So in the southern hemisphere where we're celebrating, so we're coming into sound, they're celebrating. So it's the opposite. Yeah. And you know, when we're celebrating the winter sauces, they're celebrating the summer sauces. That is because they fall into the seasons there.

[00:13:29] Eimear: Now the interesting thing is, we have druids, we have members all over the world who don't have, seasons like ours here. Mm-hmm. But what we encourage people is to engage with their landscape. And connect with the spirits of place and connect with the seasons and see how they can work around how following the wheel of the year, they make their own modifications to engage with the landscape that they're in.

[00:13:57] Eimear: It's not dogmatic. Yeah. Because it's around being in harmony with your landscape, wherever that is. Now, I spent a lot of time in Africa and for many, I taught every year there for 20 years, and I'd always be there for UL and I would do the UL ceremony, which is really, really strange because it's not springtime.

[00:14:15] Eimear: But I would, and I have a very close friend, Josephine was a Maasai woman. She would do the ceremony with us, and I would leave out the broth breed of the Bridget's cloths to gather the healing Jew. And, I would give those to people and people would accept them, but it was always strange. But that was, I didn't live there for a whole, you know, for a number of years.

[00:14:39] Eimear: I was only there for a short time. But it's really, really important to, to connect with the landscape that you're in. 

[00:14:45] Iris Josephina: Yeah. It's 

[00:14:46] Eimear: finding your place there, there, finding your soul connection, engaging with the spirit of place is really, really important. Yeah. 

[00:14:55] Iris Josephina: I wanted to ask you about that. You mentioned the spirits of place, like I understand what that means, but for people who are listening who may not understand what you mean by that, could you explain that for a second?

[00:15:06] Eimear: I don't know how to explain that. It's like something I know. 

[00:15:10] Iris Josephina: Yeah, 

[00:15:11] Eimear: and like it's. You know, you get a sense when you go into a forest or into a park. Mm-hmm. Or you're beside a lake or beside a sea. You can have a sense of some kind of spirit. I'm not talking about spirits as in oh ghost or whatever, but there's a sense of this place is alive and I can engage with.

[00:15:37] Eimear: This space as a living space place. I can remember I was climbing Kilimanjaro years ago, and it was very important for me to connect with the spirit of the mountain in order that I assumed she was she. Anyway, whether I'm right or wrong, help me on my climb because it's not an easy climb. And we did ceremonies on the way up and that guided me.

[00:16:00] Eimear: There was that sense of I acknowledge you as a living, a living being, who's sensory, who has an essence, who has a soul, and acknowledging that it allows you to be, much more empathic, sympathetic, sympathetic to the environment that you're in, in a much more, respectful way. I think. I dunno if I'm explaining this properly.

[00:16:25] Eimear: Yes, yes. But it's about, you're it's about bring into your awareness the essence of the place that you're there, that you're in. And I think that brings you in closer harmony with the space that you find yourself in. And then magic happens. Well, one of the things about, one of the important things in druiry is magic.

[00:16:44] Eimear: And it's not, you know, abracadabra magic, but it's about experiencing. So the magic that happens when you are sensitive and engaging with the spirit of place. We've so, I mean, my druid colleagues, we talk about this so often, that you are in a circle in the grove having a ceremony, holding a ceremony, and you're facing the east and you're calling on the spirits of air, and suddenly a flock of birds go right by.

[00:17:14] Eimear: Just at that moment. Mm. I remember doing a full moon ceremony on a cloudy night. We're outside and we're standing in our circle, and then one of us turns to face where we know the moon is and greets the moon. And with that, the clouds part, And there were people there for the first time and their jaws drop.

[00:17:33] Eimear: Oh my goodness. How did you do that? And it's not, we didn't do anything. It's about how nature or the spirits of nature, or for want of better words, just, work with us, conspire with us. Mm-hmm. I mean, conspire as in to breathe together with us to just support us. I just, things happen how nature speaks to us.

[00:17:59] Eimear: that's really, that, that's part of engaging with the spirit of place, the spirit of trees, very, very important. Engaging with them, seeing them as entities and living entities in themselves with the consciousness. Now we have no proof that that's true. People will tell you that's a welcoming tree or, this is a tree I have a strong connection with.

[00:18:23] Iris Josephina: Hmm. 

[00:18:23] Eimear: And it's very much an individual experience, but a beautiful one. 

[00:18:28] Iris Josephina: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I actually got a little bit emotional when you were sharing about this because this spirit of place is something that I have felt. Since I was a little girl. Mm-hmm. Like I've always been in communion with what is going on around me.

[00:18:47] Iris Josephina: Uhhuh and always hearing, always feeling, always sensing, the greater interplay of things and how nature speaks to me. Yeah. In various ways. And it's just so beautiful to hear that there is an entire community of people on this earth who. Understand that and who live in that way and honor that. And this also brings me back to what you mentioned earlier, like this responsibility of allowing yourself to hear.

[00:19:21] Iris Josephina: I feel a lot of people these days are numb. Mm-hmm. Or have closed off this part of themselves, which also makes them miss or lose an opportunity to also hear parts of themselves. I feel if we close ourselves off to all of this information and this community around us in the form of nature, whether it's a rock or mm-hmm.

[00:19:46] Iris Josephina: The ocean or the grass, we also have less opportunity to find that connection within us, because for me, it, nature has always been my root, my anchor. Like if I lose myself or if I'm lost in what my purpose is. Mm-hmm. Or who I am as a person, I just have to be with the earth and I'll know again, it's like an anchor bringing me back to.

[00:20:11] Iris Josephina: The center of what is important inside of me. 

[00:20:15] Eimear: Absolutely. And the, the thing about within Druidry is that it's not that we like nature. We are nature. It's not, we're not separate. Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:24] Iris Josephina: Yeah. 

[00:20:24] Eimear: It, we're part of it. we are nature. So when you, like you're saying you are actually connecting to yourself.

[00:20:32] Iris Josephina: Yeah. 

[00:20:32] Eimear: And you're using your connectedness with all things to bring you back to yourself, you know? Yeah. To go outside yourself, to connect with other, brings you back to in connection to yourself. Does that make sense? 

[00:20:44] Iris Josephina: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Yeah. So if someone would want to learn more about Druidry, where would you recommend them to?

[00:20:56] Iris Josephina: Well, 

[00:20:57] Eimear: I, I suppose where I did, which is with OBOD which is, it's the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. And, it's, it's, it's based in the uk It was founded in the uk. I'm here in Ireland now. It's, it's a global, we have members all over the world, so it's ww.drury.org, and there's lots of information there that you can access on 

[00:21:19] Iris Josephina: Hmm. Thank you. And for people who have never heard of it, it's, it is possible to, order like an introductory 

[00:21:28] Eimear: pack. Yeah. 

[00:21:29] Iris Josephina: Package, where you can read like the first part of the, to get a sense if it's for 

[00:21:35] Eimear: you. Yeah. And we also, I do a fireside chat. It's a live stream every Thursday, on, it's either Facebook or, or, on my YouTube channel or the orders YouTube channel where I talk to an ordinary member of the order and quite, and we have the followers there.

[00:21:53] Eimear: A lot of them are not druids at all, but they, they tune in every week because they like to hear the chats. That can be. Also give somebody, it's called Fireside Chat with Eimeir, people, an idea of whether it's for them as well. And then Philip Cargo, my predecessor, he does, tea with a Druid on a Monday.

[00:22:13] Eimear: And that might give you a sense as well, as well as going to the website to see if, if, if it's for you. 

[00:22:21] Iris Josephina: Yeah. Beautiful. And I'm just having like this question in my mind right now, and I would love to ask you, we didn't speak about this earlier, but since, I am always like so connected to the cycles within us, I'm just curious, is there anything in Druidry that speaks to that, especially as a, as women.

[00:22:47] Eimear: It is not specific to women, but is that, that we are constantly aware of that life, death, rebirth cycle, within ourselves. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, the, the, the course or the journey, the drew a journey is not only, a spiritual path, it's also a personal development path. Mm-hmm. And it looks to reflecting on, what we need to let go of, what needs to die in order to be reborn.

[00:23:12] Eimear: We don't do specific, because it's for men and women on cycles. Yeah. But you're invited yourself when you're looking at your own life cycles. And we have so many. Okay. Obviously there's the menstrual cycle, but there's. So many other cycles within a year, within a month, within a day that, yes, we are encouraged to reflect on knowing that, what follows death is another birth letting go in order to let something else come in.

[00:23:43] Eimear: That's very much to the fore. When we look at, we say on The tree alphabet, the, we have 20 trees and, and om symbols and they're different meanings. And silver birches, the, the tree of new beginnings and, the U is the, the, the tree of death and transformation. But as soon as you come to that, the tree comes into play again.

[00:24:09] Eimear: So it's that all that time reflecting on that. And it's the same in our bodies. Our bodies are always, the cells. I mean, I think we recycle our cells every seven years. Mm-hmm. You know, we're completely different set from where we were seven years ago. I find that fascinating. Mm-hmm. So it's not specifically, for women, although there are women who do things, but not necessarily in the teachings, but it's open, you know, but constantly thinking about that, that, that, cycle of life, how important it's.

[00:24:40] Iris Josephina: Yeah, and I feel it also almost goes automatic. When you are immersing yourself in the wisdom and the ideas and the fact that everything is cyclical, everything moves in cycles. If you witness the seasons around you, it automatically invites to reflect on like, okay, how do the seasons within you? Yeah.

[00:25:05] Iris Josephina: Show themselves. And how do you connect to those and what is the, the energy and the, the feelings around it that you have when you move through them? Yeah. 

[00:25:16] Eimear: And you know, where people in January make New Year's resolutions and on the first, and by the fifth they've forgotten them and then they're feeling bad, et cetera.

[00:25:26] Eimear: So every six weeks, you know, with our ceremony, it's, it's, it's a time to pause and reflect and say, okay. What do I need to let go of? What do I need to call in? What? And it's, it's a nice reminder every six weeks to go within and saying, what is it you need? Not what you should be doing. Mm-hmm. It's, what do you need?

[00:25:50] Eimear: Could be go and write that book. It could be clean your kitchen, it could be rest. Could be saying no more often or whatever that is, or saying yes to yourself. We have a lovely ceremony for the spring equinox where, we have little pots and soil and ash and water and seeds that have been harvested throughout the year or, you know, from the previous summer.

[00:26:12] Eimear: Usually flower seeds. And people then do, as part of the ritual, plant a seed that is a metaphor for something they want to give life to. Whatever it can be. And then you nurture that plant and, yeah, it's quite beautiful. So all, all each, each ceremony, each time, you have another little reminder, what is it I'm sewing, or what is it I've harvested?

[00:26:33] Eimear: What is it I'm grateful for? So there's around, this is what I would like, but this is also what I'm grateful for. Gratitude is very, very important. And then there's healing in all of that. Healing is a very important part of Druidry as well, and that relationship with the other world. They, you know, the druids kind of walk that line between this world and the ord and the other world, and that keeping that balance between the two, and that's connecting with spirit, however you, define spirit.

[00:27:06] Iris Josephina: Yeah. Oh, beautiful. I can listen to you for hours. Like all, all the things that you're saying, like they ring truth in my soul and my heart. It's, yeah. Thank you for, for sharing all of this and to close. Is there anything else, any piece of wisdom from Druidry that you'd like to share with our listeners? 

[00:27:32] Eimear: I think There's a huge importance to be still, to find that still center of yourself in yourself and to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. You don't have to be, you know. On a sacred site, around the world or whatever it is. You don't have to go to stone. I'm not saying don't go, but it's about finding that quiet still place in nature, outside, in a garden, in the woods, even in a park, spotting the, the wildflower that grows between the cracks in the pavement in a city and finding the, the extraordinary within the ordinary.

[00:28:09] Eimear: That I found that that's something I discovered on my path and I found it really, really, reassuring in times of doubt. 'cause then you're seeing magic everywhere in the simplest of things, in the smallest of things. And that's accessible to everybody. And I think, that I think is a really important around being.

[00:28:31] Eimear: Simplicity is really, really important. 

[00:28:35] Iris Josephina: Then there's no pressure. I think 

[00:28:36] Eimear: it's just to be still. 

[00:28:37] Iris Josephina: Yeah, 

[00:28:38] Eimear: and looking around and listening. You go, oh, I hear a bird. Is that a bee buzzing? That's beautiful. That's a gift. Those small little things, because in times of hardship, and I'm just thinking, you know, the wars that we're dealing with that the world is engaging in at the moment.

[00:28:56] Eimear: What it's like for people in those situations. And if there can be one little piece of hope or one small little thing, an ordinary thing, that can give you some kind of hope, I think that's important. 

[00:29:08] Iris Josephina: Yeah, that's crucial for human beings, and thank you for sharing that with us. And I, I totally agree.

[00:29:17] Iris Josephina: It's like a little, little gift that we receive. It's like, for me, it's like the same when I, for example, find like a berry bush. Yeah. On a walk. I'm like, wow, there is like all these berries all of a sudden. Yeah. And they are like little gifts. And, 

[00:29:34] Eimear: and that is that, that, that gives me, you know, kind of a, i, I get a, a, a buzz from that.

[00:29:40] Eimear: I'm, I have bees and when I come across a swarm of bees or something like nature, and it's like, oh my God, I can hear them look at them. They're fascinating and it just gives me such joy. Just those simple things. Yeah. 

[00:29:52] Iris Josephina: I agree and I would love to join one of these fire, fire gatherings. 

[00:30:00] Eimear: Well, you, you, they're live streamed at eight o'clock my time, so I dunno.

[00:30:05] Eimear: You're, I dunno you an hour ahead in Portugal. Are you the same? I know you're an hour. I 

[00:30:11] Iris Josephina: dunno about that. 

[00:30:12] Eimear: I know the Netherlands are an hour ahead, but it's at 8:00 PM UK time and, oh, 

[00:30:17] Iris Josephina: we're in the same time 

[00:30:18] Eimear: zone. Okay. So it's at eight o talk and you just, go on, say Eimear Burke or OBOD or YouTube or OBOD or through Facebook and you just watch and, or you can do it.

[00:30:31] Eimear: They're recorded. They're there and they're on YouTube. Afterwards, and there's a comment, so people comment and we have discussions. So my, my viewers often ask questions of my guests. So we have kind of quite an interesting conversation. You know, it can be about anything. It can be about creativity, it can be about death, it can be about grief, it can be about love, adventures.

[00:30:55] Eimear: It can be about anything. 'cause I never know what my guest is going to talk about.

[00:31:01] Iris Josephina: Oh, beautiful. So that is one place where people can find you. Are you also on social media or do you have a website? I do. People can find you. My own 

[00:31:11] Eimear: one is kilkennyDruidry.com 

[00:31:13] Iris Josephina: mm-hmm. 

[00:31:17] Eimear: And then I am Eimear Burke. Druid. Shana Key is a, an Irish word for storyteller that's on Facebook and Instagram. 

[00:31:25] Iris Josephina: Okay. I will make sure to share all of these in the, in the show notes so people can easily click 

[00:31:32] Eimear: through.

[00:31:33] Eimear: And there's also another Druid cast, Dave the Bard, our Pendragon in the order. He has a monthly podcast called Druid Cast, and that is an amazing resource. Great music, great pagan music, but also he has wonderful interviews with people, fascinating topics. I would highly recommend that too. 

[00:31:54] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I've listened to, to his podcast.

[00:31:56] Iris Josephina: Have you? And I love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it. It's amazing. 

[00:32:00] Eimear: I, I bing listened, over the summer I went back over the mall and I just loved it. And just, it was, it was a treat. 'cause I wasn't listened to anything political. It was. About all things that I don't, I'm not, you know, all sorts of things within, um, a broad brush, I'll say of Paganism and I was fascinated.

[00:32:22] Eimear: History, all sorts of stuff. Witchcraft, magic. I just thought it was wonderful. And then the, the great music, so I'd highly recommend that. 

[00:32:30] Iris Josephina: Yeah. I'll paste that one in the show notes too so that people can click through. And then I would love to say thank you for coming on here to share your wisdom. I really enjoyed our conversation.

[00:32:43] Iris Josephina: I am really amazed by your wisdom. And yeah. Thank you for 

[00:32:48] Eimear: joining. Pleasure to to chat with you, Iris. Thank you and lovely to meet you. I really enjoyed this conversation too. 

[00:32:55] Iris Josephina: Okay, this wraps up today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. Want to know more about me? The best way to reach me is via At Cycles Seeds on Instagram.

[00:33:05] Iris Josephina: And if you heard something today and you think, oh my God, wow, I learned something new. Feel free to share the podcast on your social media and tag me or leave a review of rating. In this way, you help me reach more people like you. Thank you so much. 

 

About the Host

I’m Iris Josephina functional hormone specialist, orthomolecular hormone coach, and entrepreneur. Through Cycle Seeds and The Inner Rhythms Podcast, I support people in reconnecting with their cyclical nature, deepening body literacy, and reclaiming hormonal harmony from a place of sovereignty and embodied knowledge. Most people know me from Instagram, where I share stories, tools, and inspiration on cyclical living, menstrual cycles, fertility, hormones and more. 

 

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