The Anderida Gorsedd are a Druid group that hold regular open rituals, camps and moots in Sussex.The open rituals began on the Spring Equinox 2000, the dream of Druids Damh the Bard and Cerri Lee to revive the regular celebrations of the old Pagan festivals in the sacred landscape of Sussex. On that cold day 7 people braved the weather for a walk up the hill to the Long Man, and there the Gorsedd was proclaimed. By Beltane six weeks later word had spread throughout the Pagan community and 40 people joined together to celebrate the Rites of Spring. Since then the Gorsedd open rituals have been held for every fire festival, equinox and solstice, rain or shine, and it is this reliability and consistency that have been the root of its success. Now anywhere between 50 and 100 people gather under the Long Man to honour the turning tides of the Wheel of the Year, sharing laughter, tears, song and story, as the Gorsedd enters it eighth year.
The Anderida Gorsedd camps are held in Spring and Autumn, the times of change, as the land begins to blossom, and as the tide turns towards the dark half of the year. Each camp has its own theme, and over the years we have had camps where people have travelled to the Otherworld in a modern version of the Druidic Bulls Hide Trance; we have travelled through a labyrinth of fire to visit the Underworld from which people were reborn, or the Upperworld where they travelled to meet the Old Gods; we have burned a Wickerman, the flames taking our wishes to the Old Ones; we have explored the male and female mysteries and returned to celebrate together beneath the May Pole; and we have travelled to the Realm of Animals, masked, dancing to chant and drum.
The camps are held on an organic farm near Lewes in Sussex. The field is an oasis of calm and peace, bordered by a stream, completely private. There is a meditation area, a communal central fire, friendship, and community. The camps are sacred journeys, held on sacred space.
If you want to see the kinds of things we've been up to over the last 7 years you can visit our website at www.anderidagorsedd.org. You might also like to join our message board internet community.
Dates are posted on the www.anderidagorsedd.org and our Events pages.
