Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri

Currently meeting six times a year, these rites are held in public within the neolithic stone circle of Avebury in Wiltshire, England. They are open to Bards, Druids and anyone who is interested and respectful of the temple/circle, the tradition and the community holding the rite. There is no charge to join the ritual.

The Gorsedd was begun at the autumn equinox of 1993, when the ritual was facilitated by Philip Shallcrass (Greywolf), Chief of The British Druid Order. At that time, the rite was crafted as a celebration held in conjunction with an interfaith conference. Philip's invitation that those who wished to be initiated into the Bard tradition, as a part of an ancient tradition of Gorseddau of Bards of the Isles of Britain, was taken up by more people than he had anticipated, and the rituals became a regular event from that day on. They were led by Philip and Emma Restall Orr (Bobcat) for some 8 years, before Philip stepped away from doing any public ritual.

In recent times the rites have been run by two different organizations. Gorsedd rites at the quarter festivals of Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain and Imbolc, were started by the British Druid Order and facilitated by Morgan Adams, the first being at Lughnasadh 2004. The aim was and is for a smaller gathering of those dedicated to the site, coming together to celebrate the festival. Philip Shallcrass occasionally attends these rites.

It is hoped that at the Equinox rites that any who wish to be involved in the facilitation of the rite have an opportunity to do so, ensuring that it is a gathering for and with individual / independent Bards and Druids, and members of many different Druid orders and groups.

More recently the two groups have come together to form an autonomous Gorsedd independent of both The Druid Network and the British Druid Order but fed by both.

The rituals are very much in the vein of gentle 'folk' Druidry, the power coming from the dedication of each person attending, the acknolwedgement of the community, the reverence for spirits of place, and the power of our heritage. At each rite there is the opportunity for handfastings (Druid weddings), naming and blessing of children, prayers for the sick and those who have died, and of course the Bardic Initiation into the Gorsedd of Bards of the Isles of Britain, through this particular temple gorsedd of Caer Abiri.

Dates, where notified, are posted on the Events pages  http://druidnetwork.org/en/events/index.html