Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals

Here's a slightly special bonus feature: you can watch the conversation from a camera on our dash as we drive out to the Harvest Nights Gathering in Connecticut in October 2019. Check out the video on the 3CG YouTube page... and maybe consider subscribing, because there's another video we're also working on to release shortly! In this episode we talk about the similarities and the differences of being an ADF Initiate and an ADF Priest, how the direction we came at each role affects our experiences, and how those experiences manifest in our daily work and lives. This is one of the (many!) requested topics we received at the end of last season. The video is the same as our podcast episode, so you won't miss anything if you listen to this instead of watching the video, or vice versa. You can, of course, subscribe for a lot more content on our YouTube channel. We do all sorts of neat things there. Learn more about us and our podcast at threecranes.org/podcast and learn more about Druidry at adf.org

We're at the end of Season 2, but we have plans for hiatus and Season 3! We'll tell you all about them, and give you an idea of what it's been like for us to do this podcast for the past two seasons. If you have ideas for future episodes, please send them to us, either via our Facebook page or via email. We really want to hear about what you're interested in, and we'll try and hit as many as we can on our trips. Plus, the trip we're taking to Harvest Nights next week is a pretty long drive, and we'll have our recorders! If you're looking for a great festival to start the year with, consider the Trillium Spring Gathering, an ADF festival in Northern Virginia. We'll be there, and the first episode of Season 3 will land on the Thursday most of us will be traveling to Trillium, so give a listen while you drive! Learn more about Druidry at adf.org and check us out at threecranes.org.

One of our big things in Three Cranes Grove, ADF, is that we love to create. After Rev. Crystal Groves' discussion of marketing and social media strategies at Trillium 2019, we had a discussion about the creative process, what it means to connect people to others, and what it's like to produce the words for the really hard things that happen in our lives. We also talk about ensuring that people approaching Druidry are able to see themselves as valid, joyful participants in Druidry. If you're interested in Rev. Avende's book, "The Spiraling Sun," you can find it on Amazon or at The Magical Druid. While Rev. Avende works on that Greek Oracle book (hint, hint), you can check out another awesome project that was just released, "The Hearth Keepers Way: An ADF Hearth Keepers Guide!" Find us on Facebook and check out threecranes.org/podcast. For more about Druidry, check out adf.org or threecranes.org.

What is toning? How do you do it? What's it good for? What's the lamest joke you've heard all day? We have the answers to all these questions and more in this episode! This episode was recorded at Trillium 2019, on the way home (we very much recommend Trillium if you're looking for a festival early next year). We're closing in on the end of our season, and running out of recorded material. But that's okay! We're developing an off-season plan so that you get more episodes and different content, plus new guests. And, we're headed to Harvest Nights in a few weeks, which is about 12 hours up and 12 hours back, so we'll have a lot of time to record and get new topics in. If you have topic suggestions, we'd love to hear them. Send us email or shoot us a message on our Facebook page. As always, find us at threecranes.org/podcast and learn more about Druidry at adf.org.

Sometimes, Druids flying to festivals get picked up by Druids in cars, and that's where this conversation comes from: Rev. Avende was picking up people on their way to Summerland 2019, and took Melitta Stafford with her, which led to this conversation about creating family traditions in a multifaith household. There's a wide-ranging conversation covering different ways we come to Paganism, how our virtues interact with householding, different family structures, and the ways that polytheism and Paganism lend themselves to creating structures that aren't traditional but are still amazing. Find more of Melitta's work at Druid in the Grove. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at adf.org.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Arthur at Trillium 2019 about his experiences with starting, and then disbanding, a Grove that never took firm root. Hemlock Vales Protogrove, ADF, lasted for about three years in State College, PA, before it was disbanded. This interview is a sort of post-mortem on what happened several years ago. Too often, we talk about what works for getting a group off the ground, but we don't always remember to talk about when it's time to close that group down and move on. This conversation is about reflecting on what went right, what didn't go right, and what lessons we can take from those experiences, years on. The creation, maintenance, and disbanding of Hemlock Vales can help us all as we look at where our own Groves and groups are going... and help us decide if they are thriving or if we're just being overly hopeful. If you want to dive deeper into the discussion, we recommend his blog: One Pagan Group - Some Assembly Required. Find us on Facebook, check out threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at adf.org.

On the way home from the 2019 Summerland Festival, Rev. Dangler spoke with Jacque of The Pagan Peddler about the weekend and what went well, ranging from ritual to the setting of god post in the nearby woods. The festival was great, and we really enjoyed ourselves. You might remember Jacque from our interview after Wellspring 2019 (Episode 26). We're happy to have her back! We're starting to wrap up this season, but we hope that you're enjoying these episodes. If you do, consider rating our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or whatever service you listen on. Learn more about Druidry at adf.org, check us out on Facebook, and learn more about our podcast at threecranes.org/podcast. Thanks for riding with us!

Our Grove is known for our video work and presenting Pagan ritual, and Rev. Avende and Rev. Dangler talk about what it's like to pull all these videos together. What's it like to take an omen for a recorded ritual that will later be edited? What's it like to record rituals in disparate parts while geographically dispersed? What's it like to livestream a rite? We talk about Rev. Davin's solitary ritual work (example video linked), the work of Rev. Amber Doty with the ADF Clergy Council videos (example video linked), and of course, a lot of the fun things that we create. If you're interested in our Grove's video work, check out our YouTube page, 3CGVideos. You can find the Woodland Blessing video from the ADFDruidry channel, too. If you're interested in videos that show a really wide variety of ADF-style Druidry, check out the 3CG Favorites playlist on YouTube, which gathers many videos from Grove, personal, and group accounts across YouTube; you'll find some really neat stuff there. We of course encourage you to subscribe to the ADF Druidry YouTube channels like ours. Headed to Beyond the Gates festival today? Travel safely!

What does the journey to Paganism look like? It's different for us all, and Rev. Avende and Rev. Dangler compare their journeys, talking about their experiences with religion, the things that led them to this path, and how it affected (and eventually entwined) their lives in unexpected ways. Everyone comes to their spirituality in a different way, walking their own path. Know that it's valid, however you came to your place in the cosmos. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and consider supporting us at threecranes.org/donate.

Each year, Three Cranes Grove, ADF, does a Sunday Morning Druid Service for the Dublin Irish Festival. The attendance ranges from about 200 to 350 people each year, depending on weather and a few other factors. This year, we drew 248 to the service, and the attendees come from all walks of life: this is a truly mainstream event and a diverse crowd of folks. We decided to record our experience in three parts for you to get an idea of what it's like to put on a ritual of this sort. We recorded after our dress rehearsal on Thursday, then in the car on the way to the rite (twice, thanks to a forgetful bard who forgot her coffee... among other important things), and finally on the way home from the rite. You can watch our archived livecast from this year on the Three Cranes Facebook page (Like & Subscribe while there, if you'd like). You can watch past DIF rites on our YouTube page, 3CGVideos (and an edited 2019 will eventually appear there, too, or you can watch a playlist of pre-DIF music). You can, of course, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get updates when we post new content there, too! If you want to join us for one of these, consider attending the Dublin Irish Festival next year. It was certainly a joyful time for us!

Today, Rev. Jan Avende and Mike Bierschenk come together to discuss the idea of being left alone and adrift in the spiritual world. They talk about what it's like to experience doubt in their spiritual lives, what it's like to work through the cycle, and how they pull themselves out. As an incidental bonus, there's some interesting discussion about the nuances between sea deities in different cultures (Poseidon and Manannan) and how they impact those experiences. This episode is recorded outside at Wellspring 2019, so there's no road noise, but please excuse the airplane that flies by: the background birdsongs will return once it goes by.

This week we talk a little bit about what it's like to do divination for a person, and for a group. We start with a bit of information about our general notions of how divination works, including some influential ideas on our practice, and then we move into how we use divination in our own work. We even discuss what we do when someone reads the wrong symbol in a public rite. So, ride along with us as we drive home from Trillium 2019, chatting about our symbol sets and how we work with them. Find us at threecranes.org/podcast, like us on Facebook, and find out more about Druidry at adf.org.

How do we talk about our religion with our kids? What happens when you tell your children stories about faeries and the wider, magical world? It turns out that you get kids who ask great questions and come up with great ideas about how to apply the lore to their lives. We cover everything from fairy traps, to the popular notion of the "tooth fairy", to how to keep your child from being swapped out for a changeling. Check out the video, "Kids & Fairies" on YouTube, and read a bit more about the "Changeling Banes" that we mention. Find out more about us at threecranes.org/podcast, like us on Facebook, and check out more about Druidry at adf.org.

ComFest is one of the largest events Three Cranes Grove, ADF, does all year. It's a local music/beer/arts/hippie festival here in Columbus, Ohio, and our Grove hangs out to meet people and enjoy the summer (or roast in its heat, depending on who you talk to). There's not another generally public event where we see quite so many people who fit squarely into the "target audience" of modern Druidry. Part of what makes this event interesting is that in seeing so many people, we have to condense down what "Our Own Druidry" is, and several of us have developed an "elevator pitch" to describe Druidry in about 30 seconds or so. Today, you'll hear us call on several Grove Members, our two ADF Priests, and the Heartland Regional Druid to give their short description of 3CG, ADF, and modern Druidry. Guests giving their Druidic elevator pitches are (in order of appearance): Shawneen, Corbin, Midnight, Michael, Thexalon, Jan. Find us on Facebook, check out threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about modern Druidry at adf.org.

As we took our camps down at Wellspring 2019, Rev. Avende took a moment to interview Sara Mastros, who has an upcoming book, "The Orphic Hymns Grimoire." The interview is fabulous and well worth listening to: we learned a lot just from asking the questions! Check out her site and (pre)order her book! You can also follow the project on Facebook. You can catch up with Sara: July 27 - Hills & Rivers Fest in Bethlehem PA Oct. 6 - Greater Pittsburgh Pagan Pride Nov. 15-17 - Changing Times, Changing Worlds, Ellenville, NY Apr. 9-12 - Sacred Space / Between the Worlds joint conference. Hunt Valley, MD. She also offers this hymn to Hermes: I sing of High Hermes, beloved worker of wonder, First of the Pleiades conceived while she dreamed of bright Thunder. All-powerful game-master, lord of the dead, true-thinking foreteller of what lies ahead, Code-cracking con-artist, jail-breaking the shibboleth, killed peacock-eyed Argos when you bored him to death. Winged-sandaled human-friend, fast philanthropic prophet, rejoicing in racers and instructing pick-pockets. You spin hermeneutics like you’re spitting hot rhymes, You’re the father of fraud, rearing up lies. But that same trickster offers genuine peace, Blameless, irreproachable machine of surcease. Corycian luckbringer, blessed loquacious one, Comrade of the worker and those under the gun, Employing clever rhetoric, venerable friend, Pray for your initiates when our lifetimes end: Boast about our work and our charismatic rhymes, Memorialize our memories for future lifetimes. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at adf.org.

Sometimes, Druidry is full of weird experiences, and we're no exception. In this episode, we talk about weird things we've seen, odd experiences, and even the occasional cryptid story we've encountered in our lives. The natural world holds a lot of wonder for us, and things at the edge of our understanding, including the border of the supernatural are fun to talk about and discuss, especially when prompted by the odd things we might see on the drive. (This was a very unplanned topic, resulting from seeing something odd on the horizon.) Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org.

Obstacles on the Dedicant Path The Dedicant Path (DP) is the basic study program offered by Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF), and while it's a fairly basic introduction to Druidry, it's not necessarily easy. We talk about our own experiences with the program, how the program has changed and improved, what the common stumbling blocks are, and strategies to get around them. We also talk about new ways to look at the Nine Virtues and how to approach some of the requirements creatively. You can read their respective Dedicant work on their websites: Rev. Dangler | Rev. Avende You can also take a look at an article by Arthur Shipkowski (who wrote the lyrics to our theme) on this topic, too, on the ADF website. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org.

Today, we're not in a car, but we are at a festival! Rev. Dangler sat down at the 2019 Wellspring Gathering to interview The Pagan Peddler about her experiences vending at festivals, and describes some of his own in the process. At the same time, Rev. Avende sat down to do another interview, which you'll hear in early July. One of the really nice things about this episode is you can hear some of the background sound that you'll hear at a festival: birds in the background, folks breaking camp, and the wind in the trees. It's a nice break from the road noise, we admit. You can find out more about the shops mentioned below, which isn't an exhaustive list of the vendors at Wellspring at all. They're not sponsors of the podcast (and didn't pay for placement), they just happen to be mentioned, and they carry cool stuff we think you might like. You can find them at festivals or online. The Magical Druid - Website | Facebook | Etsy The Pagan Peddler - Facebook | Etsy | Patreon Balticsmith - Website (Etsy) | Facebook Finally, we have some exciting news coming up in the very near future about our podcast. It's not changing so much as it is improving; we're looking at new ways to deliver content and make it easier to support the podcast while removing some limitations on our creativity. In the meantime, if you'd like to donate, you can do so at threecranes.org/donate. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org or adf.org.

Do you wonder how an ADF Priest prepares for and creates ritual prayers in a seemingly "off the cuff" sort of way? Rev. Avende and Rev. Dangler talk a bit about their process, and each also creates three extemporaneous prayers to different deities. We agreed in advance: no preparation or editing in post allowed! You get the full extent of our inspiration during the prayers. The godden we pray to are as follows: Rev. Dangler - Uṣás, Vedic goddess of Dawn Rev. Avende - Uṣás, Vedic goddess of Dawn Rev. Dangler - Esus, Gaulish god from the Nautes Pillar Rev. Avende - Hestia, Greek goddess of the Hearth Rev. Dangler - Agni, Vedic god of Fire Rev. Avende - Anāhitā, the Avestan Mother of Waters (We both like Uṣas a lot.) Ride along with us as we head to and from the various festivals. This one was recorded at the Trillium Spring Gathering 2019. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org or adf.org. Send show ideas to [email protected] or drop us a line on Facebook. And, of course, if you'd like to donate, you can do that at threecranes.org/donate. We enjoy spending time with you.

On the way home from Wellspring 2019, Rev. Dangler gave a solo review of the event, providing a quick recap of the weekend along with a short preview of things to come. This is a short episode, but we wanted to get one out in a timely manner. In the early part of the review, Rev. Dangler offers his prayer to the Shining Ones from the reinstallation of Rev. Jean "Drum" Pagano as ADF Archrdruid. Here's the text of that evocation: From deep in the dark, cool earth, A shining light arises. It brings the voice of underworld rivers Burbling to the surface. When we speak oaths, you carry them. Hear our voices, Shining Chthonic Ones! From growing green and living city, A shining light awakens. It brings the joy of new hope and promise To fulfillment. When we speak praise, you grow it. Hear our voices, Shining Ones of the Land! From firmament of stars and dawn’s first fingers, A shining light descends. It brings the order of the cosmos into focus, Lighting our way. When we speak truth, you lift it high. Hear our voices, Godden of Order and Cosmos! Shining Ones, Accept our Offering! Wellspring happens each Memorial Day Weekend near Cleveland, Ohio. You should consider joining us in the future. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org or adf.org.

Magical healing, magic to improve a mother's milk, cheese-magic for conception, magic for a toddler's tooth-tiger teething troubles: we've got practical experiences with magic that has worked in our lives, and we love to share those experiences! Dig through a few ancient texts for solutions to modern problems with us. You never know what you'll find! We're at Wellspring this weekend (Memorial Day weekend), and we hope you'll come find us if you're there, too. We're intending to record, so if you've got a hot topic and want to record with us, find us and sit down for a minute! If you're interested in the cheese spell from this episode and it isn't showing up in the show notes on your device, you can find it at the end of the descriptive post on our Podbean site. Find us on Facebook, visit us at threecranes.org/podcast, or learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org or adf.org. Depending on how recording goes, we may not release an episode for the last week of May. If we don't, expect us to pick up again the first Thursday in June! And don't accept cheese from strangers, kids.

We all sometimes have questions about our worth, whether we are new to Paganism or old hands. It doesn't really matter how long you've practiced or what you've accomplished, sometimes, you second-guess yourself. Today, we talk a bit about our experiences with not feeling like we're good enough to do the work, popularly called "imposter syndrome," and how we meet it, manage it, and experience it. So, join us as we travel from festival to festival. We'd love to have you as part of our conversation. Find us on Facebook, visit us at threecranes.org/podcast, and learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org and adf.org.

Welcome to the Oracular Spectacular! Revs. Avende and Dangler chat about a seership group Rev. Avende is part of here in Columbus, Ohio. Called "The Oracular Spectacular" and dedicated to bringing divination to the public while sharpening their own skills, the crew have a unique working process that is open to all. This episode is a crossover episode from another podcast called The Pagan Gumbo Podcast. Working out of The Magical Druid, the shop co-owned by Rev. Dangler, we talk about broad Pagan topics and have a lot of fun with a larger cast and no road noise. This episode is a dyed-in-the-wool Druids In Cars episode, though, so you'll be used to those things. We hope you enjoy. Find us on Facebook, check us out at threecranes.org/podcast, or learn more about Druidry at threecranes.org or adf.org. You can find out more about Pagan Gumbo, The Magical Druid, and Nui Cobalt Designs at their respective sites, too.

One of the cool things we got to do at the ADF Trillium Gathering this year was offer an uncommon form of divination during the main rite: fire scrying. This divination method involves seeking symbols in a burning ritual fire. In our case, the main ritual fire at Trillium, which has received our offerings and transformed the for the Spirits. Fire scrying is an "open" type of divination, rather than a "closed" type. Closed divination systems have a fixed number of symbols that appear in generally (though not always) predictable arrangements. Scrying in general, and fire scrying in particular, relies on the inner language of the seer to produce meaningful experience that can be translated into something understandable by those receiving the reading. You'll hear the actual audio from the ritual, plus a discussion that we had about our process and experiences with fire scrying in the past. So come, join us on this trip, and enjoy the ride. Check out the Three Cranes Grove, ADF, Facebook or YouTube pages and like or subscribe over there. To learn more about Druidry, visit Threecranes.org or ADF.org.

For our first episode in the new season, we're reviewing the first festival we attended this year: The Trillium Spring Gathering, an ADF Festival in northern Virginia. This one has a special place in our heart, because it was Trillium 2018 where we first started Druids In Cars. We talk about the workshops, the campground, and the people. And oh, do we have great things to say about the meal plan! So come, join us on this trip, and enjoy the ride. Check out the Three Cranes Grove, ADF, Facebook or YouTube pages and like or subscribe over there. To learn more about Druidry, visit Threecranes.org or ADF.org.

Welcome back to the Festival Season! We're starting our recording (today, on release day!) on the way to Trillium (we're borrowing some random free Wi-Fi on our trip to bring this to you) for the future. Already, we've got new episodes in the can, so expect to see some regular releases here in Season 2! Plus, enjoy our new theme music, previewed at the very end of Season 1, by our own Grove Bard, Mike Bierschenk. We look forward to more conversations, with more people, and a lovely time as Druids in cars, going to festivals!

November 1st starts our #PrayerADay challenge, and it's a Thursday, so we're releasing (by the skin of our teeth) an episode where Rev. Avende discusses the history behind the challenge, and how you can participate! You can join the #PrayerADay Facebook group if you want to write, follow the fun on the #PrayerADay Project Facebook Page if you just want to read, or follow @adfdruidry on Tumblr to see the posts scheduled out. Season One of our podcast is mostly over with the festival season coming to a close, but we have some stuff still in the can! We have a few bonus episodes to release, often with special guests, so do keep on listening and subscribing, and keep circulating the tapes to anyone who might not have heard them yet. You can always find us at threecranes.org/podcast and on our Facebook Page. Until then, if you're hungry for content, check out the Three Cranes Grove, ADF, Facebook or YouTube pages and like or subscribe over there. To learn more about Druidry, visit Threecranes.org or ADF.org.

What does it mean to have an Earth-Based Spirituality when we're very far from our home planet? Originally recorded before this podcast ever came into being, Rev. Avende and Rev. Dangler had the chance to sit down with Rev. Rob Henderson at the ADF Clergy Retreat in October 2017 and discuss just that. Of all the people we could talk to about this, Rev. Henderson is the person we most wanted to chat with, and we're so glad we did. The topic is silly, but serious, and an ideal representation of the sort of weird things ADF Priests think about when they have time to shoot the breeze at a festival. So join us as we chat with Rev. Henderson about Space Druidry! Find out more about our podcast and find transcripts at threecranes.org/podcast, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Druidry at adf.org!

Today, we interview Corbin once again at Summerland, asking him about his impressions of the manhood rite Three Cranes Grove, ADF, did for him as part of his transition, and how he was welcomed as a man into the Grove. This is an important discussion for us because it deals with both the design of transition rituals for trans individuals, and the necessity of welcoming and acceptance of a "new-to-us" gender identity among a community of people. Some colorful language appears, though it is bleeped in this version of the podcast. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

With Rev. Dangler attending Beyond the Gates this weekend (he's a Druid in a plane, going to a festival), we're releasing another bonus episode today. This episode discusses Three Cranes Grove, ADF's, Grove Poem, Clutiā Trion Garanonon: "The Fame of Three Cranes". About three years in, we wanted to commemorate our history in a creative, fun way. Rev. Hunt had the brilliant idea to use a poem that we could add to each year and speak at each anniversary rite. We'll chat about how we craft each stanza (poetry by committee!), what it means to us, and how we've managed its length over the years. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

At Summerland 2018, we sat down (not in our car, but in the pavilion) with Corbin to discuss gender nonconformity among the spirits, and how we can make our language and work more inclusive. It was an excellent discussion, and one we've been hoping to have for a long while. This is the first part of two conversations with Corbin on this general topic. This episode contians a discussion about human body parts in vision and in art. There is also some profanity that has been bleeped. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

While our hosts are at the Summerland Festival, we thought we'd regale you with a bit of our lighter side of the work we like to do: some praise, both silly and sincere. This is our first "Bonus Episode," so we call out to the being we've sometimes called, "King of the Internet": Garanus, the Crane. If anyone can help us, it's that liminal, long-necked waterbird. Also given praise in these short recordings: The Bovine Earth Mother, Potatoes, and Redheaded Hotties. Also, we include a meditative charm to put a toddler to sleep. After all, we're all about threading the needle between "useful" and "serious" around here. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

With a larger gathering of ADF Priests, Rev. Avende took the opportunity to return to the issue of vocation at the 2018 ADF Western Clergy Retreat. Revs. Melissa Ashton, William Ashton, Sara Blackwelder, and Lauren Mart all discuss their experiences with vocation and what it feels like to them, as well as how they have found nuance and depth in the work. For more information and transcripts, find us at threecranes.org/podcast, or find us on Facebook, or check out our YouTube page for more great content! Learn more about Druidry at adf.org! Next week is the Summerland Festival, starting on Thursday. We hope to see you there!

At the 2018 Western Clergy Retreat, Revs. Jan Avende, Melissa Ashton, Sara Blackwelder, Lauren Mart, and Kirk Thomas sat down to talk about what it feels like to be geographically isolated and doing work, both before and after ordination as an ADF Priest. They discuss a variety of issues they've encoutered, talk about the differences between different parts of the country, and consider a few strategies to make the distance seem less wide and impossible to cross. One of the suggestions they make is to seek out a festival. Consider one of the following ADF festivals that are upcoming: Summerland (Ohio, Aug. 16-20, 2018), Beyond the Gates (Washington State, Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 2018), or Midnight Flame (Michigan, Sept. 6-9, 2018). At least one of us will be at each of these festivals. (And we'll be recording future episodes, trying to bring even more voices into the mix!) Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org.

Lucky number 13 brings us to a discussion from the Western Clergy Retreat about Ritual Bloopers and Fails! Rev. Avende sat down with several ADF Priests to discuss just how human they really are, and hear some of their best (worst) stories about how things went terribly wrong in ritual, and how they managed to keep the ritual going when it happened. Rev. Avende is joined in this episode by Rev. Melissa Ashton, Rev. William Ashton, Rev. Sara Blackwelder, Rev. Lauren Mart, and Rev. Kirk Thomas, and each shares a story (or two) about the things that stand out in their memory as the key bloopers of their lives as Priests and celebrants of ritual. Tune in, enjoy the laughter, and listen stories of high-flying acrobatics, trees being knocked over, wells shattering upon the stones, and (of course) things catching on fire (unintentionally)! Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

Driving home from one of the Bardic Live Casts we do (which is archived on Facebook, if you'd like to watch), Rev. Avende and I had an opportunity to talk about the experience. We cover a range of topics, from the spaces we've worked in to why we've moved away from livecasting public ritual and toward more interesting work. You'll get some background on how our bards came together as a group, and how we decided to start giving these concerts... and what feeds us about the process, too. So ride along with us as we chat about some of our behind-the-scenes work in our Grove. If you'd like to watch our livecasts when they go live, you can do so by going ot the Three Cranes Grove, ADF, facebook page. Like our page, and the follow it as well. This second step, following the Grove, will keep us fresh in your newsfeed, and will also notify you any time we go live (which, at this point, happens about once or twice a quarter, so it's not going to overwhelm your feed). You can also catch past events on YouTube, and subscribe for new ones. Our next livecast will be the Dublin Irish Festival ritual on August 5, 2018, at around 9:30 AM Eastern.

Our second episode on this topic, also recorded with Rev. Avende, Rev. Ashton, Rev. Blackwelder, and Rev. Mart at the Western ADF Clergy Retreat a few weeks ago, goes into some detail about the oddities (and also the dangers) of priesting as a woman. It also dives into the expectations different gender roles bring, and the difficulties of finding a place in the community as a woman Priest. Like last week, this podcast episode contains discussions of assumptions around sexual relations encountered, but nothing explicit is ever discussed. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

In this episode, which is the first of two on this topic, Revs. Jan Avende, Melissa Ashton, Sara Blackwelder, and Lauren Mart discuss some of the issues they have experienced as female Priests and leaders. This episode was recorded at the Western ADF Clergy Retreat in 2018, just a week before the release of this episode. They offer some examples of what they've seen as female priests and leaders, interactions they've had that felt different because of their gender, examples of how allies provide space and support, and how they have navigated these issues in the past. This podcast episode contains discussions of assumptions around sexual relations encountered, but nothing explicit is ever discussed. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

In today's episode, we speak about vocation: how to recognize it, feed it, and understand where it's taking you. We also reflect on our own vocations, and how they've changed over time. We don't just mean "preistly" vocation, though that takes up a good amount of the time, and we certainly don't just mean in ADF. This is an episode about finding what feeds you, and what fills you, and what it can do to benefit you and keep you from burning out. The cartoon referenced early in the episode is "The Discernment Process," by Dave Walker at Cartoon Church. Find it here: http://cartoonchurch.com/content/cc/discernment/ This episode was recorded on the way to the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

This week, Jan was fortunate to speak with Rev. Ayliah Cannon about trance experiences and how they do the work. In the discussion, they talk about a variety of trance mechanics and experiences, including where we go in trance, how we get there, and how it feels when we arrive. More than that, though, they dive into ways to discern the reality of trancework, how to exit trance, and the importance of journaling the work. This episode was recorded on the way home from the 2018 ADF Wellspring Gathering. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

What's it like to go a bit deeper down the rabbit hole of priesthood, and find yourself in new territory as a priest, and elevated to heights you weren't really expecting? Here, Rev. Dangler talks about what it’s like to become a Senior Priest in ADF. For background, ADF has three levels of Priest: ADF Priest, ADF Consecrated Priest, and ADF Senior Priest. Rev. Dangler is a Senior Priest. The process of becoming a Priest we describe here might seem unique to ADF, but the lessons and observations are actually quite broad for anyone seeking or advancing through their study toward Priesthood, no matter the tradition. This episode was recorded as we arrived at the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

In this episode, we talk about what it's like to find comfort in our skin as clergy, as Initiates, and even as Grove members. We discuss a lot of the practicalities of inclusion, where responsibility for it lies, and how to reach out if you don't feel included, or if you can't find your role in a group or Grove. This episode was recorded on the way to the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering, and it was an early discussion between Rev. Avende and myself. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

On our way out to the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering, picking up where our last episode left off, we discussed the idea of spiritual patronage: what it is, what it looks like, what its benefits are, and how the relationship changes over time. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

This was an important conversation recorded on the way back from the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering. We talk about our patrons, how we build our relationships, our individual experiences with the goddess Uṣas, and how we set our boundaries with those spirits we work with. This discussion is key because sometimes, we have to walk away from those relationships, too, when we recognize that they aren't working. This episode releases as we travel to the ADF Wellspring Gathering in Madison, OH. We hope to see you there, and we'll be recording more episodes, too! Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

This is actually the first conversation we recorded on our way out to the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering, and we spoke a lot about our altars, particularly focusing on our deity images, various ritual challenges we've created (including the #DailyShrine and #TheFlameOfHope experiences), how our actions have impacted our children's devotional lives, and the way parenting intersects with our shrine work. It was a fairly wide-ranging conversation, and it gave us a feel for the way we might want to go as we work our way through the podcasting process. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

In this conversation, recorded on the way home from the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering, we had a broad discussion about what happens when we have a drought of work, where you feel unconnected or guilty that things have changed in your practice, and how to get back on track with the work through divination and expiation. The thing to know is that there's nothing wrong with you when it happens, and it's not uncommon. Like any relationship, your relationship with the Spirits will change and grow in unexpected (and sometimes challenging) ways. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

Headed to the 2018 ADF Trillium Gathering, Rev.'s Avende and Dangler spoke about how they do daily devotionals, how they've changed and grown over time, and how their families have interacted with these various devotional processes. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for info and transcripts, find us on Facebook, and learn more about Paganism and Druidry at adf.org

Have you ever wanted to extend the fireside conversations you have at festivals beyond the gates of the event? Join Rev. Jan Avende and Rev. Michael J Dangler in our introductory episode, we chat about who we are and why we're doing this. It'll also give you a feel for the recording and the style of what we're going for. This episode was recorded on our way home from the 2018 ADF Trillium Spring Gathering. Visit us at threecranes.org/podcast for transcripts, or on Facebook