The Mountain Ash Grove
Welcome
to the Internet home of The Mountain Ash Grove. We hope you find what you seek.
This website is a new work-in-progress, so please bear with us during
construction.
The Mountain Ash Grove is many
things at once. It is the vision of a hallowed grove for the practice of
mystical pre-Christian spiritualism nestled in the Smoky Mountain foothills of
the Carolina Upcountry, preserved and dedicated in perpetuity. It is the non-profit
corporation that will own and administer the Grove as a private spiritual
preserve and nature conservancy. It is the initiatory current of shamanic,
sorcerous workings and hedge craft practiced by the members
of the current. It is a sacred place for our people to do sacred things in
peace, tranquility, and privacy. It is an obligation of service and devotion to the Land,
the Mighty Ones, and one another. It is a legacy of
ancient truth and wisdom, preserved for our children, and their children.
Our structure is that of a loose confederation of like-minded cunning folk who work and share their wisdom in a supportive and non-threatening environment. We believe strongly in the old idea that in the final analysis, all Knowing folk are ultimately “solitary” and need the freedom from oppressive structure and formality to truly grow and progress. The Grove is not a hierarchical “coven”. It is a fellowship; an extended family bound with the Red Thread with a commitment to a common set of goals.
The Grove is a Mystery
tradition in every way. It encompasses the of the people,
places, things, and ideas that constitute it. It exists both across and between
the worlds. It is new, but very old. It is ultimately formless, yet with a
clearly discernable form. It is in perfect balance. It is transcendent. It is
ours.
The Mountain Ash Grove is
not affiliated with, derived from, or in any way beholden to, any other
publicly-known “path” or “tradition”.
We claim no cord to anyone, and we are in not New Age, Neo-pagan,
“Eclectic”, or “Wiccan” in the Gardnerian/Alexandrian sense of the word. The framework for our community and praxis is built on
English, Scots, Welsh, Irish, and German folk traditions, but loose enough for the members to flourish in their
own unique individual wisdom walks, with a cohesive basis of commonality. This is
as it must be.
Being migratory interlopers on this land known as America, we absolutely honor and respect the spirits and traditions of our Native American brothers and sisters, both living and gone before. We do not commit cultural theft in our own works. We recognize the rightness of the common principles and ideas that transcend man-made borders, and humbly ingratiate ourselves to the spirits of the sacred land as friends.
We acknowledge the primacy of the feminine, as did our forebears of the old ways. Ultimate authority in the Grove rests with our Ladies, as daughters and rightful heirs of the Veiled One Herself. Beyond that, gender and sexuality play no role here.
Membership in the Grove is by invitation after a period of acquaintance. We firmly maintain that witches are born, not made, and that the Craft finds those who are destined to it. If it is meant to be, it will be.
For the benefit of all the
would-be “experts” and “authorities” who may stumble upon us, the terminology
used herein is our own arcane usage. We have no need to “define our terms” or
wish to indulge in pseudo-scholarly debates. To paraphrase an old chestnut, “It is so
because we say it is so.”
Please
use the navigation bar on the left to move about the site.
Some of our
friends include:
