NOD News

We are happy to announce that, as of today, the New Order of Druids has expanded its local activities with a new vernemeton (local grove) in Spain.

We welcome the Vernemeton of Cernunnos, based in Jerez de la Frontera, to our international community! If you live in Spain or are interested to find out more about the Vernemeton of Cernunnos, make sure to follow their Instagram for updates!

Website & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vernemetoncernunos/ 

The Vernemeton of Cernunnos is a ritual sanctuary and druidic community rooted in the magic of the forest.

The Vernemeton of Cernunnos is a ceremonial and creative circle dedicated to the living worship of the forest god, Cernunnos, and to druidic practice as a means of connection, healing, and community. Born in southern Iberia, this sacred space brings together guardians and seekers of the ancient essence of the Druids, who share a vision: to restore the profound bond between humanity and nature through art, ceremony, and druidic magic.

Read more about the Vernemeton of Cernunnos here:

https://www.druidcircle.org/nod/index.php/en/home/find-a-local-nemeton/624-vernemeton-of-cernunnos

A Handfasting is a term for a Celtic wedding ceremony, in which the hands of the bridal pair are joined and tied together or "fasted" with a rope around it. Celtic wedding rituals, and pagan weddings in general, are on the rise, but up to now there had not been a register book in which Druids or other priest(esse)s could keep a record of the wedding ceremonies they performed. Such books do exist, but are almost always tailored specifically for Christian parishes and churches. 

With the launch of the "Handfasting Register" book, it is now also possible to keep a registry in a book specifically designed for recording pagan wedding rituals. The register allows to fill out an index number, date, the names of the newlyweds, the place of the marriage, the names of the witnesses, remarks, the name of the Druid(s) or other priests or priestesses who performed the ceremony, and the signature of the ceremony leader. Each book provides space for up to 350 marriages, supplemented with an index. The book also contains an introductory text on Celtic and pagan wedding ceremonies, and how to best keep a registry of them.

The register book comes in A4-size and contains high-quality paper with hardcover case wrap. 

This book is provided to you by the New Order of Druids, but is not exclusively intended to be used for handfastings performed by us. The book can be used by any Druid or other pagan priest/ess who feels they can benefit from keeping a registry of their own.

The book is available in English and in Dutch from our NOD Book Store at the following links:

English version: https://www.lulu.com/shop/new-order-of-druids/handfasting-register/hardcover/product-kv5revv.html

Dutch version: https://www.lulu.com/shop/new-order-of-druids/register-der-handfastings/hardcover/product-2mwevk4.html


The Dutch version can also be purchased at our local webshop at this link: https://druidenwinkel.be/register-der-handfastings-invulboek/

Below you can find a few pictures of the inside of the book for the Dutch version. The English version is identical, but of course entirely in English instead.

We hope this register book will be beneficial to the Druid and the pagan community as a whole.

In 2010, the New Order of Druids introduced the NOD Nature Donation Funds. For each paid upgraded membership, we would donate € 5 to the Nature Conservancy. 

Due to circumstances, it has been decided that as of this year we will no longer endorse the Nature Conservancy. Instead, the donations for the upgraded memberships will go to the planting of trees through the organisation Trees For All, which is located in the Netherlands and has forestation projects in various parts of the world. This means that, for each paid upgraded membership, one tree will be planted. This will already apply for all upgraded membership starting January 1, 2025.

Trees For All is a Public Benefit Organisation based in the Netherlands (Europe) with a CBFcertificate. For more than 25 years, Trees For All has been devoted to creating more forests in the world, not only in Europe but also in many other parts of the world. It is their intention to contribute in this way to a better climate, more biodiversity and healthier living conditions.

When you pay for an upgraded membership, you don't need to do anything for this donation to plant a tree - we will do it automatically for you. The donation to plant the trees at Trees For All will be made once a year, usually in January, where we add all the amounts based on the upgraded memberships together. When we make our yearly payment, we will choose one of the various projects in the world Trees For All is working on, and we will alternate between the various projects each year to contribute to all of them in turn.After having made the donation to Trees For All, we will receive a digital certificate in name of New Order of Druids, to certifiy that the donation has been made and the amount of trees have been planted.

Read more about this: 
https://www.druidcircle.org/nod/index.php/en/home/plant-a-tree

Read more about how to upgrade your membership: 
https://www.druidcircle.org/nod/index.php/en/membership-options

Read more about the Trees for All organisation: https://treesforall.nl/