Druids in Cars, Going to Festivals is a podcast is brought to you by Three Cranes Grove, ADF, a local congregation of Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF) serving Central Ohio (and anyone else who will let us serve them).
Most of the time, our podcast is hosted by the two Grove Priests of Three Cranes Grove, ADF: Rev. Jan Avende, and Rev. Michael J Dangler. We record these episodes as literal “Druids in cars,” meaning that we’re actually in cars as we talk about these things, or engaged in the activity of travel in some way, shape, or form.
Not all of our discussions are at (or on the way to) festivals, but most of them are. We try to take advantage of the fact that driving to events is both a chance for enjoyable fellowship, and sometimes quite lengthy.
We draw on occasional guest stars and we try and keep the topics fresh and rotating.
You can listen to and download “Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals” on your favorite podcast player, or right here. We release episodes each Thursday (we travel a lot).
Listen on these fine podcasting platforms:
Podbean | iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Spotify
Accessible Podcasting
All our episodes are released via Podbean to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, et al., in a stereo format (we like the feeling of “sitting in the middle of the conversation” that stereo broadcasting brings). These services don’t make it easy to provide transcripts or a second feed, so we’ve decided to host some additional content here for accessibility and to accommodate preferences. Below the Podbean player, under the description for each episode, you’ll find a link to both a screen-reader accessible transcript and a mono mix of the episode.
Our transcription team is volunteer, and they’re always working on new episodes as they come out. Since May 1, 2018, we’ve been releasing an episode per week, which is a bit faster than our transcription volunteers can handle. This does mean that not all of our episodes have transcripts at any given time, because we’re sometimes catching up. If there’s a particular episode you want us to focus on, please let us know, and our team will get to work.
It’s our goal to make this podcast as accessible as possible, to as many people as possible.
Check out our episodes in the player above, or in the descriptions below!
Druids In Cars, Season 1 Episode List:
Bonus Episode 3 – Space Druidry!
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!
Episode 17 – A Manhood Rite For Transition
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 the Podbean version of this podcast. The unedited version will be available here.
Bonus Episode 2 – Mythic History and Our Grove Poem
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.
Episode 16 – Gender Nonconformity In Druidry
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 contains a discussion about human body parts in vision and in art. There is also some profanity that has been bleeped in the Podbean version of this podcast. The unedited version will be available here.
Bonus Episode 1 – Praise Silly and Sincere
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.
Episode 15 – Returning To Vocation
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!
Episode 14 – Loneliness & Geographic Isolation
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 encountered, 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!)
Episode 13 – Ritual Bloopers & Fails
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)!
Episode 12 – The Bardic Livecasts
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.
Episode 11 – Priesting As A Woman (Part 2)
Our second episode on this topic was also recorded with Rev. Avende, Rev. Ashton, Rev. Blackwelder, and Rev. Mart at the Western ADF Clergy Retreat a few weeks ago. They go 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.
Episode 10 – Priesting As A Woman (Part 1)
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.
Episode 9 – Discerning Vocation
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/
Episode 8 – Experiences & Methods of Trance (with Rev. Ayliah Cannon)
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.
Episode 7 – Becoming a Senior Priest
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.
Episode 6 – Slipping In To Your Clergy Skin
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.
Episode 5 – Patronage: A Deeper Relationship
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.
Episode 4 – Building Relationships, Setting Boundaries
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.
Episode 3 – The Images On Our Altars
This is actually the first Druids in Cars 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.
Episode 2 – A Drought Of Work
In this conversation of Druids in Cars, 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.
Episode 1 – Building Devotionals and Family Practice
In this episode of Druids in Cars, while 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.
Episode 0 – Introduction
Have you ever wanted to extend the fireside conversations you have at festivals beyond the gates of the event? That’s what Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals is all about.
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.
