Emma Restall Orr (born 1965) is a British animist, philosopher, poet, environmentalist, and author.

Career

Restall Orr worked for the

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic organisation based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards. It has grown to become a dynamic druid organisation, with members in all parts of the world. The concep ...

in the early 1990s, becoming an Ovate tutor. In 1993 she became joint chief of the British Druid Order (BDO), staying until 2002. Together with the Order founder

Philip Shallcrass Philip Shallcrass (born 1953), often known by his Druid name, Greywolf, is Chief of the British Druid Order. He is an English artist, writer, poet, musician and singer-songwriter who pioneered a "shamanic" Druidism. Background Philip Shallcra ...

they continued to work on developing the BDO further Following this Restall Orr went on to found

The Druid Network The Druid Network is a British druidic (neo-pagan) organisation providing a source of information and inspiration about modern Druidic traditions, practices and their histories. It was founded in February 2003 by Emma Restall Orr, and approved as a ...

in 2002, which was officially launched at ''

Imbolc Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint ...

'' in 2003. From the late 1990s Restall Orr organised some of the largest annual gatherings of Druids and those interested in Druidry, at the Avebury Gorsedd and The Awen Camp with Philip Shallcrass, then at The Druid Camp with Mark Graham. In 2004, she founded the organization,

Honouring the Ancient Dead Honouring the Ancient Dead (HAD) is a British Neopagan advocacy group working within Britain for the dignified treatment of human remains of British pagan provenance. It explores the issues of excavation, storage, museum display, disposal, repatria ...

. She remains Chair of the Trustees. She is the author of numerous books on

Druidic A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

and

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

spirituality, pagan ritual, poetry and animism, her later books moving away from druidry. Kissing the Hag considers female nature, Living with Honour is an exploration of practical ethics, and The Wakeful World is a metaphysics of modern animism. In 2006, Restall Orr opened Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground and Nature Reserve (https://sunrising.co.uk) in South Warwickshire. Since 2012, she has moved out of the public eye, focusing on her work with this project. Restall Orr's brother is the historian

Matthew Restall Matthew Restall (born 1964) is a historian of Colonial Latin America. He is an ethnohistorian, a Mayanist, a scholar of the conquest, colonization, and the African diaspora in the Americas, and an historian of popular music. Restall has areas of spe ...

and their father is the ornithologist and philatelist Robin Restall. The

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2012 Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Game ...

saw Rory MacKenzie recite parts of a 1997 Gorsedd ritual originally written by Emma Restall Orr and

. in a declaration which was witnessed by an estimated audience of around 750 million people.

Bibliography

In English

* ''Spirits of the Sacred Grove'' (Thorsons, 1998) (Reprinted in 2001 as Druid Priestess) * ''Thorsons Principles of Druidry'' (Thorsons, 1999) * ''Ritual: A Guide to Life, Love and Inspiration'' (Thorsons, 2000) * ''First Directions – Druidry'' (Thorsons, 2000) * ''A Druid Director, with Philip Shallcrass'' (British Druid Order, 2001) * ''Druidry: Rekindling the Sacred Fire written with Philip Shallcrass'' (British Druid Order, 2002) * ''Living Druidry: Magical Spirituality for the Wild Soul'' (Piatkus, 2004) * ''The Ethics of Paganism: The Value and Power of Sacred Relationship,'' chapter contributed (Llewellyn, 2005) * ''Pagan Visions For A Sustainable Future'' edited with Ly De Angeles and Thom Van Dooren (Llewellyn, 2005) * ''The Apple and the Thorn,'' with Bill Melnyk (Thoth, 2007) * ''Living with Honour: A Pagan Ethics'' (O Books, April 2008) * ''Kissing the Hag: The Dark Goddess and the Unacceptable Nature of Woman'' (O Books, October 2008) * ''The Wakeful World: Animism, Mind and the Self in Nature'' (Moon Books, November 2012)

In languages other than English

* ''Druidismo'' (Armenia, Milan 1999) * ''Druidismo'' (Hi Brasil, São Paulo 2000) * ''Ritual'' (Hi Brasil, São Paulo 2000) * ''Druidenweisheit'' (Urania, Germany 2001)

References

External links