Profile
|
||||||||
| User: | alferian (9029311) Alferian's Journal
Notes from the Chancellor's Desk |
|||||||
| Name: | Alferian | |||||||
| Website: | Avalon Center for Druidic Studies | |||||||
| Location: | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |||||||
| Birthdate: | 1960-05-31 | |||||||
| Bio: | My name is Alferian Gwydion MacLir, which is to say that is my Druidically given name, not the name I was born with. I am what they call a born-again pagan, a Druid of the old school, educated in Druidry by the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) one of several offspring of the Ancient Druid Order which goes back into the mists of history, but certainly as far as the 18th century, and that's old enough for me. I like the 18th century. William Blake and his brethren Romantic Poets have long been soul-friends of mine in the brotherhood of bards. I have an avid interest in studying the Iron Age cultures of Britian and Ireland too, but consider Druidry to be a modern religion and philosophy, not a return to a pre-Christian past. The important thing for me is to have a spiritual path that allows me free range of imagination, respects individual vision and conscience, and is grounded in respect for Nature, not an attempt to conquer and improve on it. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is in the middle of the United States of America, up at the top, by Lake Superior. By training I am an English professor, with an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Minnesota (1993) where I specialized in the Romantics and Victorians with a twist of lime. The twist was psychoanalytic gender studies of masculinity, a very tiny niche and one which didn't earn me any kudos on the professorial job market. After teaching for a few years part time, I lost my adjunct position, produced a baby girl and have been taking care of her for the past seven years. My other offspring have been a business as a writing consultant and independent scholar (The Bardic Institute), another business as a wandmaker and wood carver (Bard Woodcrafts -- sometimes misspelled "Bad" Woodcrafts), and most recently, the Avalon Center for Druidic Studies which is a school for the scholarly study of the Celtic pagan heritage, magic, healing, the bardic arts (poetry, literature, music, drama). The idea is to create a physical place for like-minded folks to gather. That has always been the goal of colleges, I suppose. Most of the great academic institutions were founded by a particular religion. The State universities in the USA are dedicated to Secularism, a very popular religion these days that uses molecules and mysterious forces instead of personified deities. At present the Avalon Center like my other business ventures is run out of my dungeon office at Bardwood Lodge, a small, unassuming house in Minneapolis with a lovely garden, including a meditation circle in the back. Once a month the Grove of Pan plays host to a Gentleman's philosophizing club called the Arista Graphia (which is pig-Greek for "The Best Scribblings"). In my spare time, I am also chief druid of an OBOD seedgroup called Geal-Darach Grove which is Scots Gaelic for White Oak Grove. As a druidic group we gather to celebrate the eight modern pagan festivals using the OBOD ceremonies and exist as an additional support and community for members of OBOD and other self-styled druids in the area. You can visit Bard Woodcrafts Wandery at http:/www.bardwood.com and you can visit Avalon Center at http:/www.avaloncollege.org | |||||||
| Interests: | 11: animals, avalon center, bards, books, druidry, fantasy, gardening, magic, magic wands, wizards, writing | |||||||
| Friends: |
| |||||||
| Mutual Friends: | 6: caelesti, dsmoen, elvisomar, joey_bernard, telperionmoon, thebookhous | |||||||
| Also Friend of: | 6: bjornstad, dinkytownbooks, dmiley, eireannoir, radiantmatrix, robin_greenwood | |||||||
| Member of: | 1: paidmembers | |||||||
| Account type: | Basic Account | |||||||
