Joanna van der Hoeven - Pagan Portals - Dancing with Nemetona: A Druids exploration of sanctuary and sacred space

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT

DANCING WITH NEMETONA

For those of us upon the Druid path, Nemetona is an intriguing goddess. Joannas book welcomes us into Nemetonas sanctuary that we might know her more intimately. With a combination of helpful exercises and the gentle but compelling wisdom born of Joannas relationship with this goddess, we discover that the concept of the Grove and the experience of Sacred is more rich and complex than we imagined.

Philip Carr-Gomm, author of The Druid Way and Druid Mysteries: Ancient Wisdom for the 21st Century.

This lovely volume teaches us how to re-sacralise our life. In a sad and violent world we need to remember to find the sacred within all things; our room, our hearth, our home, our altar, our garden, and our sacred Grove. By doing this, ultimately we will find the sacred within all creatures; animal, mineral, plant and human. This is the lesson of Nemetona, divine protectress of the sacred enclosure, so wonderfully expressed within this book.

Ellen Evert Hopman, author of Priestess of the Forest A Druid Journey, The Druid Isle, Priestess of the Fire Temple A Druids Tale and other volumes. www.elleneverthopman.com

An incisive and insightful treatise on the subject of sacred space; and one that explores the often overlooked dance of ever-changing boundaries between the self and the not-self. A worthy addition to anyones library.

Graeme K Talboys, author of the Druid Way Made Easy, and The Path Through the Forest: A Druid Guidebook.

How we handle sacred space may feel like one of those abstract, spiritual matters only the most dedicated Pagan needs to get into. Joanna van der Hoeven explores the real life, real world importance of knowing where your edges are and understanding how that impacts on your relationships. This is a book that demonstrates the pragmatic importance of being spiritually awake. Innovative, gently challenging and full of ideas for things you can do, this is an excellent book for anyone who wishes to deepen their spiritual practice. The ideas here would work perfectly well for any Pagan, and are especially relevant to Druids. A helpful, thoughtful book, I hope this represents the future of Druid writing as we shift away from broad brush introductions to look deeply at facets of practice and thinking. Highly recommended.

Nimue Brown, author of Druidry and Meditation, Druidry and the Ancestors, and other volumes. www.druidlife.wordpress.com

Dancing with Nemetona is engrossing in its simplicity, leading the reader easily down paths that seem welcoming and familiar until you realise that the hidden complexities mask the Lady Herself, who has been with you all along.

Joannas voice carries the impact and knowledge of the ancestors, combined with the wisdom of contemporary understanding. The beauty of her words merges spiritual feeling and practical activity, drawing the reader into greater understanding of both the Goddess and themselves, no matter what path they may choose to walk. A true gem, which I shall be glad to return to again and again.

Cat Treadwell, Druid Priest and author of A Druids Tale and Facing the Darkness.

A rare treat! As always with the workings of the Lady I fell into conversation with Joanna van der Hoeven by accident of course, theres no such a thing when we touch threads with others on the path. This book speaks to my heart; it gives an excellent way of finding and following ones path. Although Joanna walks the way of Druidry this book is not exclusive, you do not have to be a Druid to dance with Nemetona; indeed the book is deeply inclusive and allowing. The exercises and insights she offers call ones spirit to the surface and engender a deeper knowing of oneself.

Joannas language is delightful, it lights up the heart with joy, enchanting you to dance with the goddess. She is an enchantress, a sacred singer.

Dancing with Nemetona will go onto the bookshelf by my bed and likely become dog-eared as Ill be dipping into it often to be refreshed and enchanted. It will go on my Kindle so that when Im out camping in the woods I can lie in my hammock of an evening and read while the owls sing in the trees around me.

Elen Sentier, author of Celtic Chakras and Elen of the Ways: British Shamanism Following the Deer Trods.

Nemetona has been, until recently, a goddess obscured by the passing of time. Joannas lovely book gives the reader an entry point into the sacred space that Nemetona embodies, enabling us to touch upon her deeper aspects. With each chapter, Joanna fleshes out the bones of this historically elusive goddess, allowing her to grow before our eyes into an accessible and approachable presence, as close and familiar to us as the homes we dwell in and the bodies we inhabit.

Maria Ede-Weaving, A Druid Thurible Blog.

First published by Moon Books, 2014

Moon Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK

www.johnhuntpublishing.com

www.moon-books.net

For distributor details and how to order please visit the Ordering section on our website.

Text copyright: Joanna van der Hoeven 2013

ISBN: 978 1 78279 327 4

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Joanna van der Hoeven as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

www.stuartdaviesart.com

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to Nemetona, my patron goddess who I have come to know and love over the years. Held within her embrace, transformed by her teachings, I am ever thankful. Long may we dance together, my Lady of the Sacred Grove!

Introduction

Nemetona; Goddess of the Sacred Grove. It conjures up an image of a great, sacred space within a mythic wood, surrounded by nature and sanctified by it. Hers is a name that has survived throughout the ages with mystery.

Very little is known about the goddess Nemetona. We have a few inscriptions found at sacred spots, such as at Altripp, Trier, and Eisenberg in Germany. There is also an inscription to her at Bath, Somerset, in the United Kingdom indeed, there are several inscriptions to various gods at Bath, as well as to the Roman legion and the nature or deva spirits of place. She was also known in Gaul, where the Treveri tribe originated, as we can tell from her inscription at Bath. There was also a tribe called the Nemetes (People of the Sacred Grove). Its not known whether Nemetona was their tutelary goddess or not, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility. In Spain we find the Nemetatae, a tribe mentioned by Ptolemy.

So, though we have little in the way of knowing the goddess Nemetona apart from seeing her name in inscriptions, Nemetons (sacred groves, sacred spaces) can be found throughout the Celtic world by the name. In the Greek colony of Massilia, now Marseilles, there is a reference to Nemeton. In Gaul, we have Augustonemeton, Nemetacum or Nemetocerna Atrebatum, Nemetobriga, Nemetatarum, Nemetodurum and Nemossus.

Britain also hosts a number of sites that contain the word nemeton: Nemetostatio in North Tawton, Vernemetum in Willoughby, and Medionemeton.

Nemetona has been paired up with several gods on different inscriptions, though whether this is referring to them as a couple or not is not known. She has been linked to Mars, Mercury and Loucetious in various places.