The Druid Grove of Bega: 2009 Vernal Equinox Sunrise at Castlerigg

The following photos were taken at dawn on the Spring Equinox 2009.

The Equinox sun climbing the side of Clough Head Fell from Castlerigg Stone Circle.

Pictures by Paul Atlas-Saunders

Welcome to the Druid Grove of Bega

An gelli dhrewydhek a Bega a'gas dynergh

Jalaluddin Rumi

"The Druidic Way is the way of the Hearth. And that hearth is the doorway to other realms. And the best hearth to use is one's own. One's Guides are those who know the treasures and the dangers about us. And they know that the stone fireplaces are shown forth as Dolmens, twin pylons, stone gateways that frame the rising and setting of the sun. For the secret is not in the sun, or the moon, or the stars, or the stone or the dolmens. The secret lies in ourselves. It is the Goddess within us who tends the hearth and our inner God who summons us to the quest. The way of the Druid Clan of Dana is to be silent so that the divine call is heard. And the eyes are shut so that Dana, our Mother, may be seen in all Her transcendent beauty."
Rt. Rev. Olivia Robertson

Bega of the Gifts Iseum

We now also run Bega of the Gifts, an officially chartered Iseum; forming a part of the Fellowship of Isis Iseum's Spiral of the Adepti. Click here for details of the Iseum's history.

This is our Druid Grove's Healing Order. Forming a Sacred Hearth of the Goddess - a sacred place of sanctuary and healing for all. Email for details.

Click links below to discover more about the Fellowship of Isis

Fellowship of Isis centres

Fellowship of Isis Networks and Official Contacts

Fellowship of Isis Foundation Union

ArchDruid Union directory

St Bega: Patroness of the Druid Grove of Bega - An Gelli Dhrewydhek a Bega

Legend states that Bega was a 7th century Irish princess, who, in the summer of circa 650 fled Ireland to escape an arranged marriage. She was given a holy artefact as a sign of her commitment to God. This artefact was a sacred ring. Some legends say that a venerable man in a hooded cloak had presented this to her, other stories say she received the ring during a vision she had of an angel (an apport?). Bega sailed blindly, landing on the Cumbrian coast at the headland now named after her: St Bees Head. Here she founded a community dedicated to healing and justice. She later founded communities at Bassenthwaite and Copeland (both in Cumbria). She is also credited with helping to found the great double monastery of St Hilda's at Whitby.

Many miracles were associated with her mystical ring. The healing of the sick was widely reported as was the tending and healing of animals and fighting injustice. Her sacred ring was venerated at St Bees Priory, Cumbria until the 10th century.

Bega’s main feast date is given as 7th November. Other dates given are September 6th, October 31st and December 17th. A beautiful 10th century chapel, dedicated to her lies on the eastern shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, in the northern Lake District.

The Druid Grove of Bega (An Gelli Dhrewydhek a Bega) and the Iseum of Bega of the Gifts are dedicated to the continuation of her work by way of healing and working in the Celtic "pantheistic" tradition of the manifestation of God/Goddess in nature.

For more information on the legend of St Bega see the following books that re-tell the legend:

Credo by Melvyn Bragg (fiction)

Bega and the Sacred Ring by Alex Langstone (psychic questing)

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2009 Vernal Equinox Sunrise at Castlerigg

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St Bega: Patroness of the Druid Grove of Bega - An Gelli Dhrewydhek a Bega

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