This is the sacred grove of the Druids, and the spiritual center around which all things circle. The Druids, in the same way that they had a gease against writing, had a similar gease against building religious structures of any kind and worshipped in naturally occurring groves of trees. Ceremonies at natural places such as mountains, lakes, or woods and communion with individual special trees are an important part of a whole nature religious life.

Staying in touch with and listening to the entire web of life is regenerating and rewarding. The pattern of understanding is written in the spiral of the nebulae and in the spiral of an unfolding fern leaf for us to read and appreciate. Looking at these messages, we can understand why the Druids did not write things down. Why bother, when the meaning is expressed so clearly and elegantly without our interference?

I try to maintain an awareness of the mundane world-- earning a living, doing chores, and running errands-- while at the same time remaining aware of the greater world-- the phase of the moon, the wind and weather, and the singing of the trees. For me the expression of this duality of the interaction of man and nature is the placing of stone on stone. Stonehenge and all standing or placed stones are my symbol of the unity of nature and the inclusion of humankind in the all.

To feel a part of the spiral of the universe, I believe that it is necessary to acknowledge that we are on the circle of life. Of course, we make our life choices by our own will but if we do not make choices they will happen anyway. We must express ourselves, interact with others, live by some standard of ethics, and bring our lives to some completion. We can direct ourselves to an end consciously or choose to walk backwards on our life path and never anticipate the outcome of our steps.

We can never choose not to grow old and die, and there are events in all of our individual lives that happen to us whether we will or no. We must accept these things to stay in communion with the all. To try to choose agelessness, going backwards on the wheel, or to attempt immortality, stepping off the wheel, are destructive evils because they close us off from forces greater than ourselves and leave us alone.

The symbolic meaning of Koad is the cycle completed, perceived, and understood. This corresponds to the harvest festival of Mabon, when the Great Mother gives us sustenance from her abundance and permits us to enter into the mystery. The harvest rune, Jera, is the partner to Koad. The card's message is one of peace and plenty, and its reversal tells us to watch for narrowness of concentration.