OAK WISE

Poetry Exploring an Ecological Faith

L. M. Browning
 OAK WISE
Poetry Exploring an Ecological Faith
 OAK WISE
Poetry Exploring an Ecological Faith

L. M. BROWNING

FIRST EDITION

Little Red Tree Publishing, LLC,

635 Ocean Avenue, New London, CT 06320
Copyright © 2010 L. M. Browning
All rights are reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Except for
brief passages quoted in a newspaper, magazine, radio or television review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.

First Edition, 2010, manufactured in USA

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 LS 20 19 18 17 16 15 13 12 11

Cover and Book Design:

Michael John Linnard, MCSD

The following photographs are attributed and used by kind permission:

Cover Photograph: “Fallen” by: Steven Schnoor © Copyright Steven Schnoor

Interior Photographs/illustration:

Page xii - "Liberty Oak," by unknown, In the public domain.

Page xiv - "The druid Grove," taken from Old England: A Pictorial Museum, by Charles Knight
(1845). In the public domain.
Page xvi - "Oberfallenberg_11," by Friedrich Bhringer. In the public domain.
Page xxxii - "The Ancient Oak." by Jerry Fryman, In the public domain.
Page 13 - "Yew Tree," by Stanley Walker, In the public domain.
Page 23 - "An Encroaching Fog," by Duncan George. In the Public Domain.
Page 43 - "Mist early in the morning," by Nevit Dilmen. In the Public Domain.
Page 59 - "Doubtful Sound," by Duncan George.
Page 68 - "Standing Stones," by Duncan George.
Page 79 - "Toward the Fields of Zenor," by Duncan George.
Page 103 - "The Raging Atlantic," by Duncan George.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Browning, L. M.
Oak wise : poetry exploring an ecological faith / L.M. Browning. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references, glossary and index.
ISBN 978-1-935656-01-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Druids and druidism--Poetry. 2. Nature--Religious aspects--Poetry. I. Title.

PS3602.R738O15 2010
811'.6--dc22
2010013858

Little Red Tree Publishing, LLC

635 Ocean Avenue,
New London, CT 06320
website: www.littleredtree.com
 DEDICATION

Dedicated to those who seek the

Other Shore.

Keep a weather eye

and hold steady to thy heart.
Let neither doubt or desolation
deter you from believing.
 CONTENTS

Foreword by Michael Linnard xi

Preface xiii
Introduction by L. M. Browning xvii

Disavowed ~ the Pagan 3

I. — The Heretical Truth 3
II. — Sheltering the Outcast 3
III. — One Who is Greater 4
Gaea’s Soul 6
I. — The Primordial Soul 6
II. — The Source of Life 6
Evergreen 8
I. — The Unforeseen Death 8
II. — The Warmth of Hope 9
III. — The Distraught Orphans 10
IV. — The Comforting Assurance 11
Arboreal Spirits 15
I. — Pilgrimage to the Silent Sages 15
II. — The Life of Trees 16
III. — Seeking the Wisdom of the Elders Living 17
IV. — The Secret Keepers 18
V. — The Cradle of the Forest 19
Living Memory 25
I. — The Witness to All Acts 25
II. — Transfusion 29
III. — Through the Umbilical 32
IV. — Memory Lost 35
Sacrosanct 37
I. — Reconciliation 37
II. — Holy Ground 38
Walking Between Worlds ~ A Shaman's Story 45
I. — The Connection 45
II. — The Years of Idealism 48
III. — Daemons 50
IV. — Shamanic Dismemberment 52
V. — An Old Soul in a Modern World 56

viii
The Duties of the Bard 61
I. — Ink and Pen ~ Blood and Breath 61
II. — The Memory of the Village 61
III. — The Historian's Task 63
IV. — The Invocation 65
The Pilgrimage Inward 67
Full Circle 71
Anam Cara 72
I. — Binary 72
II. — My One Essential 75
III. — Assembling the Pieces 76
The Journey Home 81
I. — To Call for the Boat 81
II. — The Long Awaited Arrival 81
III. — The Needed Guide 82
IV. — The Journey's End - Life's Beginning 83
Returning From the Wasteland 84
I. — Ailing 85
II. — Damage Done 85
III. — Recovery 86
The Homeland 91
I. — To Resume a Past Life 91
II. — After the Long Journey 92
The Voyage Back 96
I. — Unable to Let Go 96
II. — Risk Taken 96
III. — To Invoke Remembrance 98
IV. — The Final Plea 100
Grassroots 107
I. — The Face of Faith 107
II. — Where Belief is Found 107
III. — Going Back to go Forward 110

Glossary of Words and Terms 113

Bibliography 121
Further reading/Further resources 122
Index of Titles and First Lines 123
Biography of Author 124

ix
 FOREWORD

It gives me great pleasure to publish this book of

poetry from a young poet, L. M. Browning, who writes with
great passion, conviction and integrity about a transformative
process, which has cast her back to an ancient set of animistic
beliefs and faiths immanent in the concreteness of the earth
itself. Her new found spirituality is located and centered in
the physicality of the world that we as humans, and all other
creatures and organic elements, have inhabited for millennia.
It is a book of personal expression: an exploration of the
spiritual world of shamanism and Druidism in poetic form,
which is both intense and contemplative.
In each poem the author reveals an accumulative and
meticulous examination of a faith and belief in the earth and
everything in it as a sacred place, which has a reciprocative
consciousness and soul. She furthermore asserts that we all
are an integral element in a divine balance that is delicate
and precarious, which requires knowledge and respect of the
earth. It is a book of individual spirituality in a contextual
physical world with its inherent connection to all that has lived
and shared the earth. In that sense, the oak tree, as a pivotal
sagacious symbol and connectivity to the past, is a central
organic presence, which acts as a conduit to other sacred places.
Many poems explore and express a wide range of feelings
and emotions at length and are divided into sub-headings that
form a pathway for the reader to fully appreciate the significance
of each element. You will also find a remarkable depth of insight
into the modern world and the human condition.
Throughout her poetry there exists an implicit celebration
of the discovery of a profound spiritual identity, through an
ancient belief and faith. Essentially she reaches back to liberate
and, at the same time, enable herself to forge ahead with
copasetic resolution and confidence. It is a book of poetry to
which you will often find yourself returning and each time with
renewed enjoyment and reward.

Michael Linnard, CEO

Little Red tree Publishing,
New London, CT 2010

xi
This wonderful oak tree, called the "Treaty Oak," is located in Jessie Ball Dupont Park,
Jacksonville, Florida, USA is over 250 years old. It is more than 70 feet tall, and the
circumference of the trunk is 25 feet. Its lower limbers obviously near or resting on the
ground are almost the size of the trunk.
(Photograph in the public domain)
 PREFACE

Oak Wise―Poetry Exploring an Ecological Faith,

is the first book in a series of contemplative titles I will be
releasing over the course of 2010-2011 through Little Red Tree
Publishing. The series as a whole explores the many sides
of the human condition: our need for deeper meaning, our
search for the sacred, disillusionment with formal religion, the
betrayal of and restoration of our identity, both as individuals
as well as human beings. Other themes I will visit in later
titles include: the harsh awakening that occurs when we leave
behind adolescence to enter the reality of the world man
has built and the subsequent transcending of the struggle,
poverty, emptiness and despair we face as adults. And finally
an evaluation of the internal structure of the world mankind
has built―our interactions with one another on a personal,
professional and social level.
The next title to be released in this series will be,
Ruminations at Twilight―Poetry Exploring the Sacred, in
August 2010. This book is the companion to Oak Wise. While
Oak Wise delves into humanity’s maternal bond with the
Earth and internal connection to the sacred, Ruminations at
Twilight, explores humanity’s relationship with the paternal
figure―the masculine presence of the divine, that is the father
figure of mankind―as well as the nature of the sacred. Asking
and answering the question: Is the sacred Otherworldly or is it
found in the ordinary things that surround us each day?
The poems within, Ruminations at Twilight, follow the
story of a prodigal child attempting to restore their purer self
and to reconcile with the Divine Father and the Mother Earth
who were left scarred and betrayed by the child’s actions. In
this book the reader bears witness to the private discourse
of one who, pulled by an attraction to detrimental ambitions
and wearied by a life of hardship, betrayed their identity and
compromised their morality; in time, ultimately awakening to
find themselves in need of forgiveness.
Collectively these titles directly confront many of those
"meaning of life" issues that we each grapple with internally
and provide new insights into age-old questions. The series

xiii
represents the desire to discard all truths taught to us
secondhand and to personally explore an empirical knowledge
of the Divine, the World and the self.

Oak Wise is a direct translation of the word Druid. In Druidry the Oak is revered
as one of the Sacred trees. It is also viewed as a doorway into the Otherworld
or conduit through which to gain the wisdom that the Earth holds. As one of
the oldest living organisms on Earth, it cannot be disputed that the rings of a
single Oak can mark millenniums of humanity’s history. If these silent historians
are indeed conscious as the Druids would believe, they would hold a collective
knowledge of natural history more comprehensive than all annuals of mankind.
Next time you come upon an Oak, reach out and touch it and try to connect with
the history it has witnessed.
(Illustration titled: "The Druid Gove," taken from, Old England: A Pictorial
Museum by Charles Knight (1845). In the public domain).

xiv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the contribution of

my mother, Marianne, who has been both a trusted editor and
sounding board throughout the creation of all my books.
My deepest thanks to Rennie McQuilkin, for being a
friend and mentor. As well as to Frank Owen and Jason Kirkey
for their support and warm welcome into the Celtic / Spiritual
circle.
I would like to acknowledge the talented photographers
I collaborated with: Duncan George and Steven Schnoor, and
thank them for the generous use of their art, which helped to
enrich the book even further.
And finally, I would like to thank Michael Linnard and
all those at Little Red Tree Publishing; working with an editor
has never been such a joy. I knew from our very first meeting
that I was putting my book in safe, capable hands.

xv
This is a magical photograph, taken from the Austrian town of Oberfallenberg, looking
through the trees out over a sea of mist lying in the valley with the mountains of Switzerland
in the distance.
(Photograph taken by: Friedrich Böhringer, titled: "Oberfallenberg_11." In the public
domain.)
 INTRODUCTION

Ancient Ways in a Modern World

― An Introduction by the Author

I came into the Earth-based faith I hold now, years

after exploring many other world religions. Raised a Catholic, I
studied both the Traditional and Apocrypha doctrine, reading
both the “accepted texts” as well as the excluded Gospels and
the fifty-two spiritual books that comprise the Nag Hammadi
library. Eventually however, my spiritual search crossed
the boundaries from Catholicism into the other religions,
compelling me to investigate: Judaism, Tibetan Buddhism,
Druidry and Shamanism.
Then, in 2004, following several years of life-altering
events, I made one of the defining choices of my life: to move
away from world religion as a whole; taking with me what few
truths I felt to be absolute as I followed my heart in search of a
more intimate spirituality. The defining choice I made to break
from formal religion had not been made arbitrarily, four years
before I made this pivotal decision I had entered a period of in-
depth reflection. The circumstances of my life had aligned in
such a way that I found myself living in relative solitude. What
started off as a forced withdraw from society due to illness
and family crisis, soon became a period of contemplation
wherein I began to reexamine the virtue and validity of my
long-held beliefs. This period of redefinition lasted for over
eight years. Setting aside everything else in my life, during
this time I attempted to rid myself of all preconceived notions
concerning the world, the Divine and myself, and closely
examine everything I had been taught secondhand, in a desire
to ensure that the foundation of assumed facts upon which I
built my life and my faith was indeed sound.
Over the course of these years of contemplation I had
slowly begun to progress away from formal religion and, one
layer at a time, I had established what it is I personally believe
in, gathering a unique faith composed of the truths that
resounded in my heart and in my life. For many years I thought

xvii
the faith I had come to during this time was purely my own;
until one afternoon, while browsing in the library, my hand
was led to two books on Celtic Shamanism and I found my
personal faith put down before me. The two works that woke
me to the ancient roots of my faith were: The Encyclopedia of
Celtic Wisdom by: John and Caitlin Matthews and The Mist-
Filled Path by: Frank MacEowen.
It was during the days and weeks I spent reading
these books that I came to realize that the beliefs I had spent
years establishing and defining were in fact quite old. While I
thought I was progressing forward, what I was truly doing was
reconnecting with the past. I had followed my heart away from
the dogma of formal religion, so to be true to what I believed,
and found that I had naturally come to the faith held by many
of those to come before us. …I had listened to the guide within
and was led unto the ways that had been lost.
For myself, Oak Wise encapsulates that time of
discovery; the book is not strictly on Shamanism, rather it
is a convergence of my own beliefs and the Celtic traditions
of which I have learned. Despite choosing to leave behind
organized religion, Shamanism remains dear to my heart
and, if I ever consented to give myself a label to help others
understand what I believe and what my spiritual path has
been, the label would be that of a Shaman.

Present-Day Descendants of the Old Wisdom

The natural, gradual transition I made from formal

religion, to spirituality, to the old ways of the Earth-based
faiths, is a change I believe many people are experiencing
at this current time. Whether due to the politics of religion
or a personal discontentment, there seems to be many who
are questioning long-held doctrines, in an effort to find a
faith that makes more sense in this progressing world. It has
been during this search for a new belief that many of us have
adopted perspectives found within the ancient faiths, we are
simply unaware of the history of what it is we are beginning
to believe. For example, The Green Movement that has begun
to gain popularity in recent years, which holds the Earth to
be sacred and asserts our responsibility to her, is not a new

xviii
 concept, rather it is the reemergence of the very old principles
found at the center of the Druidic and Shamanic tradition.
The Ecological Faith was quite possibly the first
“religion.” Archeological evidence estimates that Shamanic
beliefs date back some 30,000 or more years—well before any
prophets emerged from the wilderness, and was practiced by
nearly all peoples throughout the then unconnected world.
Each village, though isolated from the other, came to their
own version of the Earth-based faith. I would attempt to name
the regions of the world that hold a Shamanic history but I
would quite literally be composing a list of every continent.
The old ways of finding the Divine in and amongst the green
of nature are the grassroots of humanity’s faith in a greater
power. These old ways were the ways of a simpler people but
all the same, a wiser people.

While it may seem that Shamanic traditions have

been lost with time as people, whether by choice or forced-
conversion, immigrated from the old faith into the new
religions that have been established within the last few
millenniums; nevertheless, there are two defining aspects of
Shamanism that have managed to survive. The two defining
aspects being: that of an ecological awareness and that of a
direct communion with the Sacred/the ancestors.
Shamanism endures on in the present-day world
going unrecognized for what it is. The “Green” philosophy,
Conservationism, Naturalism, Deep Ecology, all these are
descendants of Shamanic worldviews. Likewise, even within
the “modern religions” that had come to dominate, there still
exist sects that follow Mysticism, which in essence carry on
the Shamanic tradition of union with the Divine, speaking of
the Shamanic inclinations we as a species seem to possess to
seek out what lies behind the veil and commune directly.
Within the traditions of Christian and Catholicism
there are Mystics who wanted to experience the Divine and
pay respect to it with Love, rather than worship it from afar.
Most famous among these being St. John of the Cross, who
took us by the hand and led us through “The Dark Night of the
Soul.” Mysticism is also present in Judaism in the form of the
Kabbalah wisdom and is likewise alive within the Sufi of Islam

xix
and the path of the Dervish. Among the many notable figures
in Sufism, the most beloved by many must be the prophetic
poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, whose verse cannot be
given high enough praise. Incidentally, both these two men I
have listed were writers, this is not coincidence. If one were
to review a list of notable Mystics throughout history, shared
traits would begin to emerge, one such trait being that of a
propensity towards writing (usually verse) and another being
their “outsider status” within their communities. Mystics
in the past and even today to some extent, usually dwelt as
outcasts sometimes by choice, other times by force residing on
the fringes of rigid religious societies who frowned upon those
who would dare proclaim the Divine to be knowable on an
intimate level through the connecting souls. It should also be
noted that Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism, while not having
as defined sects of Mysticism as the religions aforementioned,
do hold deeply-rooted Shamanic wisdom running throughout
their tradition.
Contained within these Mystic branches, the Old
Shamanic wisdom lives on; for Mysticism, at its heart, is the
way of the Shaman encouraging one to gain an understanding
of the Divine/Unseen through firsthand communion rather
than through solely studying second-hand accounts such as
those found in the sacred texts.

What is Shamanism?

There is a modern day ignorance and misconception

when it comes to what a Shaman is. A Shaman is one who
experiences his/her spirituality. The Shaman does not
necessarily follow or study a doctrine or formally worship a
deity, rather they live their spirituality.
In most instances, the iconic image of the Native
American medicine man comes to mind for many when they
think of the word Shaman. However, as we already established,
throughout human history some form of the tradition has
been present in nearly every region of the world, from the
Native America peoples, to the tribes of Africa, to the peoples
of Mongolia and Islands of Japan. In this respect, Shamanism
is one of the few faiths that has the ability to unite all people;

xx
for its beginnings are not localized to one country or race.
Instead, it is a faith that each culture came to at some point in
their history. It is a faith that allows each people to establish
their own traditions; while at the same time sharing the same
fundamental beliefs. No one need convert to a foreign religion
in order to embrace this faith, all one need do is rediscover
their own past.

Depending upon the region, specific rituals and

practices vary; nonetheless, there are certain concepts and
elements that are present among all. Below you will find a very
brief overview of these core beliefs.

In my experience they are:

• The belief that the Earth is sacred.

• The belief that through the Earth/nature humanity is able to

commune with the Divine.

• The belief that the Earth herself has a soul.

• The belief that the Earth is conscious, aware and holds within
her the memory of all that has taken place upon her.

• The belief that, in each moment there are things taking place
on many “planes” and that we must attune ourselves to not only
be aware of what is taking place in our life in the seen , but also
to what is taking place within the Earth and in the Otherworld
or the unseen. Achieving a “simultaneous awareness,” (as I
have come to term it), of what is taking place within, around
and beyond, brings about a more complete understanding of
our existence.

• The belief that there is a balance to our life, to the Earth and
to all living things, which must be respected; for it cannot be
disturbed without dire consequences.

• The belief in a Great Spirit (a Greater Power). Some

Earth-based faiths are monotheistic, some are polytheistic;

xxi
while others simply believe in a Greater Force that does not
necessarily take a physical form. Most Earth-based faiths
do not require their followers to adhere to a specific doctrine
when it comes to this matter, each individual is allowed to
have their own opinion of what the Greater Power is and have
that opinion respected/accepted by the rest of the community.

• The belief that there are both good and evil forces/spirits
within us and around us. The existence of both light and
shadow, which play significant roles in what is occurring
within our lives and throughout the world.

• The belief that illness is caused by struggles taking place

within an individual on an existential/emotional/mental level,
rather than the notion that illness caused by any physical
abnormalities, germ or bacterial infections.
In Shamanic traditions it is believed that illness of
the body can be a physical reflection/manifestation of inner-
turmoil and conflict taking place within the individual. Or, in
some instances, the source of the illness may also be caused
by Soul Loss, wherein part of the individual’s soul has been
broken away from the whole following a significant life trauma
and now need be retrieved and reintegrated.

• The belief that the soul/spirit survives death and goes unto
an afterlife/Otherworld. Some believe this Otherworld exists
upon another plane of existence; while still others believe this
place exists somewhere upon the Earth herself, in the form of
a hidden sanctuary that lies in an in-between.

• The belief that those who are dead still have the power to
effect what is occurring in our lives and communicate with us
from the place where they live on. In the Shamanic traditions
those who have passed from this world still have the ability to
act from afar as guides and teachers. One of the central roles
of the Shaman is to act as a conduit between the village and
those who have “moved on.”

• The belief that animals are the equal of mankind and have
wisdom to teach us. The belief that animals can be guides and

xxii
communicators/mediators for those trying to reach us from
the Otherworld/unseen.
The idea of spirit guides, in the form of an animal, is
quite abundant in the different regional traditions. The way
in which our individual “Animal Guide” is revealed differs;
however the basic premise specifies that such an animal would
be a species that has followed the individual throughout their
life, reoccurring/appearing in various forms to communicate
an underlying truth. The animal being one through which the
individual has been able to feel a deeper connection to the
Otherworld, the Great Force or to themselves.

• The belief that memory and wisdom have been preserved

over the course of history and live on eternal within many
forms/vessels: in the Earth herself and all that takes root upon
her, as well as in the collective memory of those who came
before us, who survive on a different plane.
In the Shamanic tradition this gathered wisdom can
be partaken of through various means. It can be passed on
to us from our ancestors who, despite their distance are able
to commune with us. Or this wisdom may also be realized
through communion with the Natural World (the Earth).
The landscape has an inherent reflective quality about it,
encouraging one to turn within, meditate and listen both to
their heart and to the inaudible language of the Earth through
which we learn truth of Self and world.
It is firmly believed that wisdom and truth, (both
forgotten and yet to be realized) exist and are readily available
to those who are willing to reach out and listen from within.

• The belief that the Shamans can connect to and travel into
the Otherworld through dreams/visions or trances induced by
drumming, music, dancing, fasting, vision quests and other
rituals. It is believed that the Shaman can receive the wisdom
of the ancestors and pass it on to the village. Thus the Shaman
acts as a bridge between worlds (between the village and
the Otherworld). The role of the Shaman is as: healer, sage,
visionary, interpreter and guide.

xxiv
Present Day Role of the Shaman

My personal beliefs concerning the modern role of

the Shaman stress the position of the Shaman as a healer to
those in the village. Not necessarily a healer in the sense of
one administering homeopathic remedies, which usually only
serve to treat the symptoms being manifested in the body
following the rising of the conflict within the Being (soul).
Rather, I view the role of the Shaman (of one whose connection
is strong with the unseen) as a companion to those who are
suffering through inner-conflict or emotional trauma.
The proper answer to relieve such inner-conflict is not
always readily had. The Shaman is able to gather insights from
the in-between; nonetheless the answers to help those who are
suffering are not always known. Regardless of this, it is my
firm belief that, whether or not the Shaman has the answer
needed to cure/resolve the inner-conflict, it is the Shaman’s
role to act as a steadfast companion, stating to the one who is
suffering that: “Whether I have the truth you are in need of or
not, you will not bear your pain alone.” In this act of binding
themselves to the one in pain the Shaman fortifies the one who
is ailing as well as brings their unique insight into the, often
jumbled, situation. In my experience, many times, all that one
who is suffering need know to be refortified is that their pain is
understood by another and that they shall face nothing alone.

Becoming a Shaman

There is the “religion” that is Shamanism―the beliefs

that compose this Earth-based faith and then there is the path
to becoming a Shaman. To convert this process into the context
of other world religions, believing in Shamanism and being a
Shaman is likened to that of being a Buddhist or a Catholic,
and then choosing to undertake the process of becoming a
monk or nun. The only difference being that, in Buddhism or
Catholicism one chooses to become a monk or nun; while in
Shamanism the one becoming a Shaman has been chosen.
To define what a Shaman is can be difficult; many
Shamans do not even fully understand what they are.
We all know what a poet is, what a doctor, counselor,

xxv
 mediator, historian, priest and teacher are, merge all these
and base them in a deep spirituality and you can begin to
appreciate the role of a Shaman.
A Shaman is known as a “walker between worlds”
because they will spend their entire life dwelling in-between
the Spirit World/Otherworld and this world (between the seen
and unseen). A Shaman has a prominent connection to those
who dwell in the Otherworld or the “unseen” and through this
connection the insights of the ancestors can be passed. All
beings, human or animal, possess such a connection through
which they are able to receive guidance from those who are
elsewhere, this connection being an integral part of the heart/
soul. Nevertheless, the Shaman’s connection is different; for in
the instance of the Shaman, the connection to the Otherworld
is more than a facet of their heart/soul, it is their vocation
(their purpose in the village) and more importantly it is their
identity.
In previous ages, a potential Shaman could be identified
by the present Shaman in the village, certain traits unique to
“the way” usually emerged during childhood. At which time that
child would be apprenticed to the current Shaman and would
learn over the coming years how to develop/nurture their gift.
Signs indicating a potential Shaman manifested themselves
differently, depending upon the individual; nonetheless there
were commonalities.
Potential shamans are individuals who have been
selected by the ancestors to act as a mediator between the
new generation and the old who have moved on (between the
seen and the unseen…between the people and the Greater
Spirit). A person who will walk the path of the Shaman will
usually display certain traits such as: a keen sense of spiritual
awareness, the ability to see the apparitions of ghosts/spirits
or will generally exhibit wisdom beyond their years. There
may also be auspicious signs surrounding the child’s birth that
will point to their future spiritual vocation.
At some point within the life of the potential Shaman
there is usually a bout with serious, even life threatening
illness, either physical of psychological. It is at this point,
when the individual is brought to the edge of their life, that he
or she experiences what is termed Shamanic Dismemberment

xxvi
or the Shaman’s Death. It is during this process that the
potential shaman is “dismembered,” stripped down to their
core belief/identity, and upon the brink, overcomes any/all
confusion, inhibitions, distractions and doubts that might
have held them back from fully becoming who they are. For
some this defining, transformative period is coupled with the
experience known as, “Soul Flight” or visions in the form of
dreams, wherein the potential Shaman is able to glimpse the
future path intended for him or her. At its core the process
of Shamanic Dismemberment is an initiatory period wherein
some part of the person being initiated dies so that he or she
can full emerge. I view this part that “dies” as the other life
that the Shaman would have led, if he or she had not been
chosen. It is in the partial death that the Shaman is born, as
the ties, which hold the Shaman solely in one world are cut, so
that he or she can dwell in the in-between.

Those who walk the path regard being a Shaman as both

gift and curse, being that it is at times a hard, lonely existence;
nonetheless the role of the Shaman was vital to the village, just
as it is to this day. The role of the Shaman has not changed, the
village has simply grown. Now, instead of journeying into the
in-between to gather insight for the few families who compose
the village, the Shaman ventures into the in-between, gathers
the insights and brings them unto the “Global Village.”

Shamanism’s Modern Importance

One of the central themes of Oak Wise is that of

“Going Back to Go Forward.” Many times when I discuss this
concept with others they think that I am advocating that we
abandon all modern pursuits and go back to the “horse and
buggy lifestyle.” While I would indeed do this myself if I had
the means to purchase my own lands and be self-sustaining, I
am fully aware that there is no undoing what has been done.
Barring any disaster that would forcibly revert us to a third
world way of life, humanity will not be abandoning technology
any time soon. What I advocate humanity attempt to achieve, is
a balance between technological advancement and Ecological
awareness.

xxvii
 As our technology has advanced we have progressively
allowed ourselves to be brought away from the Natural World,
until now when we primarily reside within the Synthetic space
we have created. Disconnected from the Natural World, we
hold little appreciation for its value and are therefore willing
to harm it or through our indifference allow harm to come to
it. Mankind must attempt to strike a balance between living
within the Technological Community and the Natural World,
instead of solely residing within the synthetic world of media
and cyberspace.
Shamanic, Druidic and the other Earth-based faiths are
founded upon principles that could greatly aid us in striking
such a balance. Returning to our Shamanic roots/adopting a
more Shamanic philosophy would help is in cultivating a more
balanced way of life. Raising our awareness of what the Earth
is beneath her skin of grass and mineral muscles at its core as
well as what it gives to those who dwell upon it.
Cloistered away from the Earth as we gaze into
the screens of our television, computer and cellphone our
perspective is so narrowed we are blind to what is occurring
around us—blind to the natural beauty of the world, blind
to what is occurring on the “deeper levels.” A blindness that
leaves us starved for meaning; for it is within these “deeper
levels” and from the Earth herself, that a sense of meaning is
drawn to fill our lives.

We have become a society of discarders rather than

gatherers. We allow each new invention to replace an old skill.
We are always reaching for the new, viewing the present as
a period of waiting for the “next best thing” and the ways of
the past as no longer relevant. And, in arbitrarily leaving the
old wisdom behind, we have discarded knowledge that could
greatly add to the virtue of our endeavors and the integrity of
our society.
The past is replaced with each new invention yet the
ecological beliefs founded by our ancestors are ideals that
could significantly aid us in taking responsibility for the
transgressions we have committed against the Earth in our
indifference. Awakening to an Ecological faith would give
humanity the sensitivity needed to progress civilization in

xxviii
such a way that we are able to integrate our modern world into
the Natural World rather than laying our modern world over
top the Natural World in a suffocating, destructive manner.
At no other point in human history has it been more
important for humanity to realize that the Earth is sacred. Few
realizations would have more impact on our daily lives and on
the lives of the generations to follow than that of realizing we
dwell on a Divine plane.
Stewards of the Earth, not lords—this is not a new
concept. At present we are all witnessing the Earth going
through changes. Some still debate whether the changes taking
place in the climate and weather are due to global warming or
are a natural turn of events; however the fact that the overall
health of this Earth wanes, cannot be debated. I believe that
the time in which we have to realize the sacredness of the
Earth is waning as well, not in that the survival of the Earth
is in danger, she will live on and undergo all she needs to in
order to heal herself and regain her balance. Rather, it is vital
for us to take back up our stewardship and right the wrongs
we have made because it is the survival of humanity that will
be in jeopardy if we continue to live as we do indifferent to our
impact and convinced of our own immortality.
The earlier we rise—the sooner we wake—the more we
shall be able to accomplish. We all have various endeavors that
we busy ourselves with each day: matters of business, matters
of politics, matters of religion as well as the maintaining of
our home and the security of our family, yet all these paths
are converging, creating one focus one task, that humanity
must now undertake. And that is the restoration of this Earth
and the overhaul of the modern world so that some degree of
harmony can be had between mankind and the Earth.

I will part now with a question: If we were in charge of

preserving paradise—of preserving Heaven—how long would
its sanctuary last?
We have the power to destroy and the power to protect.
We justify our destruction, saying that we shall build something
better atop that which we have leveled. Yet, of all the species
upon this plane, humans have the most distorted sense of value.
We have erected our synthetic world and immigrated into it,

xxix
no longer wanting to inhabit the Natural World. We regard the
Earth in terms of monetary value alone yet she holds the same
inestimable value of the rarest religious relics. As we invent
and build we find the Earth to be beneath us in intelligence…
we feel there is nothing else to learn from her and that she is
good now, only for raw materials. We no longer regard her as a
teacher or guide or provider yet if we were to make pilgrimage
unto an untouched place and go into the silence, there we would
hear the sermon of our sagely, biological mother, who has the
ability to turn us inward and help us find who we are as well as
what we need to fill this empty life in which we struggle.

What information can be found

within the quiet of a rolling plain?

The calm that the roar

of the modern machines drown out.
The truth that lies within us,
which the fast-paced life
prevents us from noticing.
The truth that is written in the sky,
which the neon lights obscure.

In observing nature
we find naked truth.
In communing with nature
we find a healing serenity.
In encouraging and protecting growth
we find a fulfilling purpose.
In rekindling the fire of the old ways
we shall dispel the darkness of this present age.

Only nature can fill that void within us

that stings and gnaws at us;
for it was created when
we stopped living on this Earth
and shut ourselves away
within the cold isolating tower of technology.

L. M. Browning
Connecticut, Autumn 2009

xxx
This is an ancient oak tree growing on Fowlet Farm, Hollybush, Nr. Bedstone, Shropshire,
UK. This tree is actually on the site of an old settlement and probably revered. Even
today it is treated with particular reverence as it is frequently decorated with many votive
offerings.
(Photograph taken by: Jerry Fryman, titled: "The Ancient Oak." In the public domain.)
OAK WISE

POEMS
 Oak Wise

DISAVOWED ~ THE PAGAN

I.
The Heretical Truth

I fled my disillusionment naked.

While all others were clothed still

in the cloth of brotherhood
bestowed upon them by their chosen faith,
I became a monk without the sepia robes
…a nun without the raven gowns.

Thin-skinned and without sanctuary,

I would have become victim
to the harshness around me
if it were not for you.

You who wove together

the swatches of the cream and beige birch bark
and spun on the loom the long strands of grasses
that grow along the banks of the river
so to give me back my robes.

You who strung together

the wooly leaves of wild sage,
interlaced with flowering lavender
and set it atop my head,
that I might be blessed.

You who took luminous strands of thread

and quilted the dark blanket of the night sky
with celestial patterns
that we all might be comforted in the darkness
and have a copy of the map that might lead us home
imprinted and scrolled out above us.

II.
Sheltering the Outcast

3
 Oak Wise

They spat the word pagan at me

and hurdled heretic threateningly after it.
Have I become the heathen?
I came home to the woods,
looked upon the Earth with new eyes
and saw the face of a goddess,
then later, found my god to be a mortal
who came to understand
the forces that move her.

I left the monastery.

I returned to the places faith began
―into the wild―
where you found me.

No church to worship in,

you hath lent me your private chapel in which to pray.
No monastery in which I might reside,
you hath opened to me your hidden chamber,
that I might have a place to lie my head.
No religion from which to draw meaning
you took my hand
and led me through the forest at twilight
―away from the din and into the calm―
to show unto me all that you have faith in.
No holy site to make pilgrimage unto
you hath given me your robe and staff
and let me follow in your wake.

III.
One Who is Greater

And it was upon that first night,

when we took our rest in the glen
and I saw you pull back into yourself
―into prayer―
reaching to another
as we reach unto you,
that all I knew of faith changed.

4
 Oak Wise

We pray to you…
So, to whom would you pray?
Do you, like all,
feel that human need
to reach to someone greater than yourself?
…I did not know there was another who was greater.

Looking up from your evening prayers

you turned unto me and kindly explained that
there is you―
the one who hath learned the most
called God,
though you are an evolved mortal,
but then, there is another force beyond you.

…There is you,
and then there is what gives you your ability.
We have mistaken the man as the source;
for, in our own hunger for power,
that is how we would wish it to be.
Yet your power flows,
not from some internal omnipotence
but rather stems from epiphanies you have
concerning the force beyond, yet within,
and how it lives, moves and grows.

5
 Oak Wise

GAEA’S SOUL

I.
The Primordial Soul

Radiating out from the core of the Earth

is a life-bringing force.
The soil is but her body―
dead without the verdant blood
circulating through her.

There is the mineral enriched core

of molten magma spinning at her center
but deeper still lies another chamber
wherein a luminous soul is kept,
revolving eternal.
The energy of which penetrates
the many different layers
of sediment bound around it,
reaching all the way to the topsoil
where it bursts forth as living green.

From deep below

the spirit of life emanates up to the surface
and spreads―covering the world,
making it flourish
turning the barren to the blooming,
bringing the grass from the ground,
the bud to the stem
and the sapling from its seed.

II.
The Source of Life

Everywhere man does not hold it back

life comes forward.
And even in the patches
we seek to suppress and tame
or entomb beneath asphalt and concrete

6
 Oak Wise

life, in its relentlessness,

still pushes through.

Beholding the out of place flower,

stray tuft of grass or the persistent,
prickly weed pushing its way up
between the stones we lay or the tar we pour,
we see an example of that irrepressible spirit of life
radiating out from the center of this Earth―
driven to bask in the warm light
of the sun it has yearned for―
refusing to be held back.
…we seek an example of the real world
that struggles to live on
beneath the synthetic one we erect.

The origin of the green

is the resplendent golden sphere within―
the aura which her soul emanates,
being that life-bringing force.

The vines of the ivy

wind their way from her innermost garden
towards the surface,
where they unfurl their leaves
and drink in the light.
Vivifying our dull plain.
Generating the fruits
that sustain all other forms.
Transforming the void
into the Eden.

7
 Oak Wise

EVERGREEN
I.
the Unforeseen Death

Oh, what an abandonment the first winter was,

as life withered, without expectation of return.
How spited the first peoples felt
when the warmth of their day was stolen
and the abrasive wind drove them from the merriment
into starvation.

How disconcerting
to watch the entire world die
―every plant wilt and every tree turn bare―
without explanation or apparent cause.

We had not yet established a trust with you,

had we mother.
We were the newcomers to your plains
and knew not your cycles and moods.
We knew not of the ballet
that you and your partner the sun eternally enact.
We knew not that, for a time each year,
you pull all life inward
―leaving the surface barren―
in a season called winter.

We did not realize that winter,

in its extreme,
is natural and needed
…a restorative sleep,
wherein every organism rests
after the season of growth
so to prepare for the next.

From our eyes

all we could see was death;
we did not know that the life we saw vanish
was merely hibernating within you.

8
 Oak Wise

II.
The warmth of Hope

What a renewal of thy love the first spring was.

After the winter left all distraught…
after the desolation and famine,
the budding of the trees was
such an affirmation of thy care
―an answer to the prayers that had carried on
throughout the bleak days
of short daylight and long darkness
…of fleeting warm and deep cold.
…of persistent hunger and bare orchards.

We feared that you had died―

oh needed mother.
As you closed your eyes to sleep
―as you exhaled
and the trees dropped their leaves―
we feared you dead.

Wailing in hunger
without the nourishing bosom
of your land’s bounty,
frozen without the shelter
of your warming presence,
we mourned you
and prepared for our own end
but then you came back.

Your lifeless body took a breath

and the buds emerged
from the tips of the withered trees.
Blood coursed through your pale body
and the yellow grass surged with green.
Your still hands stirred
and a warm wind blew in from the south.
Your eyes flickered opened
and the song of the returning sparrows
heralded your reawakening.

9
 Oak Wise

III.
The Distraught Orphans

During that first scare―

before we knew what was happening,
we felt scorned.

As the warm winds

of our Arcadia turned hostile
we felt as if we had been abandoned by our mother
turned from the house before we were ready
out into a harsh reality,
for which we were unprepared.

The world had come to its end;

the days had grown darker,
nature had shed its colors
like a stiffening corpse,
the flow of fruits trickled
and then finally the coldness came.

And as the warming glow of your presence dimmed

we came to learn of those demons
darkness, cold and hunger,
which you and your symbiot the sun had kept at bay.

Swept off the hillsides

we huddled, bewildered
around the dim, seemingly forlorn hope
that you would rise up
and life could return to what it once was.

Walking through the gray, bare wood

we attended your wake
to see your plaid body set out before us.

You were gone

and we knew not what to do.

Until…

10
 Oak Wise

amongst the cemetery of dead trees,

we saw a gathering of survivors
―a grove of Yew still in bloom.

Taking them as a sign that you still endured,

we had reason to hope
that your warmth would one day return.

You had brought forth this family of tree

that blooms when all others wither
to be a symbol of your continued presence and care…
As if, before your laid down to take your rest,
you left behind a note for us―
assuring us that,
while you may seem lifeless,
you are not
…that while you may seem dead,
you are not
…that while it may seem you abandoned us,
you never will.

IV.
The Comforting Assurance

During your season of slumber

we are left to fend for ourselves.
Yet you do not simply abandon us;
you give us fire to ward off the demon frost
and the wisdom of preservation,
so to have a portion of your harvest
to keep us hearty until your return.

When the cold winds start cresting the hills

and creeping along the grounds of our village,
we place in the grate the fat oak Yule log
and kindle the fire to push back the threat.

We stoke the fire that brings warmth and light,

keeping the hearth with vigilance,

11
 Oak Wise

as if it were a candle in the window

showing our remembrance of you
during the season of your respite.
And on those coldest days
―months into the season of darkness―
when we begin to fear that spring shall not return,
we go unto that evergreen grove.

As if opening the door

of the room you sleep in
to insure that you are alright,
we touch the prickly needles
to check that they still cling steadfast to the bough;
then peel back a single scale of the bark along the trunk
so to see that reassuring glint of pale green beneath
and know that you are still there,
soon to return to us
and bring with you the return of ease.

Then, before we leave,

we take with us cuttings
from the immortally green
with which we adorn our home
in the time of dark,
so to keep in sight
the promise of your return.

12
This Yew Tree, growing within the churchyard of The Church of St. Mary and St. Gabriel,
Stoke Gabriel, Devonshire, on the south west coast of England, is reportedly more than
1,000 years old. This old Yew, like many throughout Great Britain, has managed to grow
undisturbed over the millenniums due to the fact that it is rooted within a churchyard.
When Christianity came to Britannia the Churches were built on top of Druid holy sites,
as a means to force the peoples to convert to the new faith. Given the sacred status the Yew
Tree among the Druidic peoples, these holy sites of the Old Faith were usually sites where
a Yew was growing.
(Photograph taken in 1985 by: Stanley Walker, titled: "Yew Tree" (In the public domain)).
Oak Wise is a remarkable book of poetry
from a young poet, L. M. Browning, who
writes with great passion, conviction and
integrity about a transformative process,
which has cast her back to an ancient set
of animistic beliefs and faiths immanent
in the concreteness of the earth itself.
It is a book of deep personal expression:
an exploration of the spiritual world of
shamanism and Druidism in poetic form,
which is both intense and contemplative. Essentially she reaches back
to liberate and, at the same time, enable herself to forge ahead with
copasetic resolution and confidence. It is a book of poetry to which
you will often find yourself returning and each time with renewed
enjoyment and reward.

REVIEWS

"Browning’s poems are of exquisite quality. Like all excellent poetry, no

modifier, no imagery, no reference is gratuitous. Ms Browning’s literary
background is not only impressive, it is esthetically set to reinforce and
construct a world of rich imagery. This work, is a serious expression with
a precise goal and a dexterous poetic sense of architecture. There is a
philosophical peace that overlays even the passages of questioning and
unease in the writer’s mind. The author takes us to a beautiful lyrical place
that she has found and uses her talent as a poet to entice us."
― Jean-Yves Vincent Solinga, Ph.D, author of In the Shade of a Flower
and Clair-Obscur of the Soul

“In societies that still bear an imprint of ‘the shamanic,’ male and female
shamans are a voice of the sacred. In these worlds, from bardic Ireland
to the crazy wisdom ngakpas of the Himalayas, poetry is a facet of the
shamanic tradition. The work of L. M. Browning is undoubtedly one of
these wisdom-streams. Her sight, voice and verses are a force of nature,
simultaneously reminding us what we’ve forgotten and foretelling what we
must remember to survive.”
―Frank Owen, creator of the online poetry experience NEKYIA.POETRY

Little Red Tree Publishing, LLC

635 Ocean Avenue,
New London, CT 06320
www.littleredtree.com

Cover Photograph: “Fallen,” by Steven Schnoor

Cover and Book design: Michael Linnard