Wells WI November 2021 meeting report.

More members were in the meeting room at the museum this month, albeit wearing warm coats with windows open to aid ventilation. Others are still joining via Zoom.

President Anne said she would be attending the Somerset AGM the following weekend and collecting programmes for the Christmas Carols at Wells Cathedral. More craft workshops are being booked at Keepers, and the board games night was such a success it will be repeated. Some members were looking forward to a walking tour of Glastonbury murals.

Our speaker this month was Molly, a local Druid. Molly explained that Druidry is not a religion, but a dynamic spirituality rooted in nature and a love of the earth and creativity. A small group of Druids becomes a grove, reflecting a tradition of gathering in forests, participating in meetings knows as moots. The Glastonbury grove meet at the Glastonbury Tor Avalon orchards.

Sometimes they go on pilgrimages to sacred places, like St Agnes Well and the ancient stones at Stanton Drew. Although non-hierarchical, there are three orders: Bards, the news bringers and revered storytellers; Ovates, the healers and counsellors helping at the beginning and end of life; and Druids, the teachers with vast reserves of knowledge. Molly says a Druid's three main tasks in life are to live fully in the present and try to help others with whom we share the world; to honour our ancestors and traditions; and to hear the voice of tomorrow by being aware of what we are leaving for our descendants. Molly told us about the wheel of the year, marked by 8 festivals that tell us what we can learn from nature. The original four were: Imbolc, the first festival of spring in February marking the end of winter; Beltane in May when seeds are planted, traditionally associated with fertility; Lughnasa, or Lammas, associated with ripe corn and the first harvests; and Samhain, the Celtic New Year around Halloween when we think about our departed ancestors and what we learned from them. To this were added the customs of marking the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and autumn equinoxes when day and night are the same length, inviting reflection on whether our own lives are balanced. In her daily life Molly connects with nature by acknowledging sunrise and sunset on rising and retiring and tries to buy local. Other Druids' way of life varies dependent on their work and family commitments. Molly answered lots of questions from which we learned that she does wear a robe sometimes to mark the difference between a spiritual time and place, and daily life, and that she is vegan (many Druids are vegetarian, but some eat meat occasionally). She ended by reciting the Druid prayer: here in peace and love we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand, mark oh spirits and hear us now, confirming this our sacred vow.

Molly had introduced herself by saying that her idea of the WI was probably just as ill-informed by inaccurate expectations as was ours of the Druids. But, by the end of the evening, we felt privileged to have gained some understanding of Druid philosophy which, with its emphasis on caring for the planet, living sustainably and respecting traditions, seemed eminently relatable and consistent with modern concerns.

Our next meeting will be on 7 December.

By Veronica Howe