About me (Danaan)

I was raised by eclectic, artist parents in the 1950s- 1970′s United States. (Mostly in Louisiana and California.) My family celebrated the Wheel of the Year, wrote poetry, did tarot, and other fun things. After a childhood of being one of the few girls around who liked to hang out in wild places, playing music and the rest, I knuckled down for college. With my hefty science and pre-med coursework I received my B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources (with Honors) from the University of California Berkeley.

Following graduation and a couple miscellaneous jobs, I had a 23+ year career in local environmental protection, at both staff and management levels. (More of that playing in wild places thing again…) Married, had a kid, put kid through ridiculously expensive college, had brain surgery- the normal stuff!  We’re both ‘retired’ now; I’ve spent the last couple of years managing and renovating our 17 acres of forested land in the Southeast US.

So I did what many of us do- drop away from any formal spiritual practice while being a busy young adult. Then in the the early 2000′s I was ‘reminded’ to look to my spiritual life. I searched out local Druids, went on a pilgrimage with them to Ireland, joined an order (OBOD), and have been studying and practicing Druidry ever since. I’ve found that my science career nicely supports my Druid studies, while I’ve had a chance to validate the decades of gardening and watching nature I inadvertently did on my own. I’ve even been able to revisit some of my past music and poetry training as a child.

The Druid specifics- I am a Druid with the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) of East Sussex, England, and a member of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) . (I am also a past member of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) of Tucson, AZ.)  I’ve been known to hang out with the Reformed Druids of Gaia (RDG- nature is good). So while I consider OBOD and AODA my spiritual homes, I gladly visit elsewhere. Right now I classify myself as a pagan (of various pantheons), animist, quasi-Buddhist druid. (Subject to change).

Given all that, Danaan.net is dedicated to sacred nature, Druidry, Paganism, and related areas.* As my interpretation of ‘related’ is somewhat broad expect this site to morph over time. (I do not plan on regurgitating specific lessons of my Druid orders. Enough of that on the web already.) In the future I intend to incorporate content on other religious traditions that revere nature. (On using the name ‘Danaan’ for this website and as a ‘craft’ name- if my mother was brave enough to name me for the Irish goddess Danu in the 1950′s, I’m honored to use it now.)

To everyone who visits my site- may the blessings of the greenwood be with you!

            Danaan /|\

* For about 10 years previous to 2008, Danaan.net was a family site with local community information.