Chiltern Nemeton Grove
Founded in Tring Park on the Summer Solstice of 2000ce
Chiltern Nemeton is the Mother Grove of the Order of the Oaken Heart founded in 2010. The Grove is also affiliated with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and the British Druid Order.
Into the Woods
Eight times a year, a diverse group of people head into the woods of the Chiltern hills in England to celebrate the seasons and the beauty of nature with their own brand of druidic ritual and music.
Joining the Grove
An open, friendly and welcoming druidic inspired community that shares an Animistic and Deeply Ecological vision that draws primarily from our Celtic but also from our Germanic Pagan roots. We gather in woodlands, hill tops, by rivers, in groves and ancient sites to celebrate the eight neo-pagan festivals of the year.
Honouring the Nature Spirits, Ancestors and Deities in ritual, prayer, poetry, music, and storytelling as we communally make our offerings to the spirits. We seek inspiration to live in peaceful harmony, as human beings with the greater ecology which we are intrinsically part.
Connections...
Our Clan are primarily an Oaken Heart Grove but we are also affiliated to the Druid Network, British Druid Order and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Most of our attendees are not members of any Druid Order, but are folk who are inspired by Druidry, in its facilitation with their animistic and ancestral inspired way of life. For members of a Druid Order, we welcome sub-groups of communal support within our Clan may that be for example around the correspondence course of the British Druid Order or the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.
The Oaken Heart Training Programmes
The Oaken Heart Teaching programmes are free and you become initiated by the Grove community after being in the role for example as a Bard for a year in sharing your journey in music, poetry and storyteling. The Oaken Heart Way draws on a synthesis of many inspirations such as Neo-Pagan Druidry and Celtic Shamanism. The Teachings are a mix of talks, meditation, Shamanic and Ritual practices.
Foundation Teachings
This four day lesson gives you a foundation in the Grove's ritual form and also gives you the tools to develop your own spiritual pathway as an Oaken Heart Practitioner within Druidry.
Hearth of Chiltona
The Hearth of Chiltona programme deepens your spiritual commitment to the Spirit of place. In this training you learn the role of deep listening before ceremony and giving an Altar blessing during ceremony, honouring the spirits in the moment.
Training as a Bard
The way to become a Bard, Vate (Seer) or Artisan is to live it, sharing your exploration with the community in ceremony over a year. During this period you have a Soul-friend in that Art whom will give you support and advice to enable you to explore the Oaken Heart Ceremonial form.
Druid Pathways
Once you have been initiated as an Oaken Heart Practitioner and have been empowered by the Grove as both a Bard and a Vate you may choose to become a Druid whom in the Oaken Heart pathway is a Ceremonial facilitating Leader, Celebrant, and Sou-friend/Spiritual Mentor.
