 Hi, my name is Danny, and welcome to Esoteric Moment. Today, I want to talk about the difference between inner grove work versus outer grove work. Both is a word that can mean many different things to many different druids, and it kind of depends on your personal practice, where you learn druidry and if you belong to any order. So keep in mind that I don't represent all druidry, just my path and the druids that I've worked with. Grove can mean many different things. Typically, it can mean the group of people that you're working with for rituals or celebrations during the different seasons. It can be used a bit like the word coven. Grove can also mean the actual physical place that you're doing ritual at, that you're working in. And that grove is typically a grove of trees. Perhaps it's a circle of oak trees on a hilltop. Maybe it's whatever little tree you can look at on your balcony in an urban setting. It might be that outdoor space. Maybe you're even lucky enough to have a stone circle to work in. That might be your grove. Grove can also mean your inner sanctuary. It can be the place that you retreat to in your mind, in the other world. And we're going to go into the difference between that inner place, that realm that you've got you within yourself and whatever outer space you're using to do work. Your inner grove is a place that is easily accessible no matter where you physically are. A place that you can retreat to for meditation, for healing, for meeting with your ancestors, for work with guides, connection to physical mundane places you might never go to. It is really whatever inner workings you do. For me, the inner grove is part of the other world. It is that bridge realm between the mundane physical world and the things that lie beyond. The ancestors realms, other parts of the universe. When I go into the other world, I physically take time in the mundane world to create a sacred space, to prepare myself physically and mentally for relaxing, for really doing the work that's ahead of me. There is some preparatory work that I do. When I go into this inner world, I am looking for the solitude and peace that, for me, my inner grove starts with a wooded circle that is right at the beginning of the forest. And there are many paths from this inner grove in the forest. There are paths that lead to teachers that I've met, guides. There are paths that lead to other sacred spaces or destinations in the inner world. There's a path that leads to my personal place of power. It's kind of a center working space that I can use as a touchstone, a foundation for what other journeys I might have ahead of me. Sometimes that might be the only place that I stay in the other world and in my inner grove. Sometimes I work outside of that space, but it is really kind of the container and beginning part for whatever inner journey and work that I do. It's highly useful to cultivate this inner space in order to go deeper and allow yourself a touchstone. The inner world and your inner grove is going to be a reflection of you personally. It is going to be filled with the symbols, the sense, the sensations that you need in order to delve deeper into your practice. And it'll change as you change and your practice changes. One of the things I appreciate about working with OBOD is that they have familiar pathways into getting into inner grove work. And they have many practices and ideas that can help people develop this regular routine on how to reach this place. But they're very careful not to corrupt your inner world. They don't force upon you this vision that it has to look one way or the other that it has to be in the woods or it has to be on a hilltop or that it has to have Celtic music playing in the background. You know, it's your inner landscape. You want to make sure that it is always your space and that the ideas and influences around you impact that space, but don't turn it into someone else's landscape. It needs to always remain a reflection of you. And I'm not saying that means you control every aspect of this inner space. I really believe firmly that the inner grove is connected to this other world and that it is the bridge point that allows you to go in all of these mystical directions. And there's a lot that you don't control in that space and in that realm, but it is still a reflection of you. So it's important to not try and control it too much or, you know, create some vision that you think it has to be and put it there. Inner grove is different from outer grove work. Your outer grove work might be in a natural place or it might be on your balcony, but the key is that it is firmly rooted in the mundane world. Doesn't mean that there isn't magic and doesn't mean that it isn't sacred, but that's the whole point. You are firmly rooted in the natural world, in the physical space, in the eating and breathing and living and dying that is all around us. But outer grove work is also where you probably are meeting with other druids or teachers or even your gardening club, whatever community that you have around you that helps you connect and stay grounded in the physical natural world. That's going to be a part of your grove work, your outer grove work. The outer grove work is focused on community, connection and the natural world. Both the inner grove and the outer grove take dedication. You cannot neglect one for the other. You need to visit both regularly. The inner landscape that you cultivate and your connection to self is directly related to the outer world, the community you form and the relationships that you engage in. If you overcompensate in your area of self development, you eventually reach a point where without the foundation of community and relationships, you will suffer and your practice will suffer. Vice versa, if you focus only on community organization and your outer grove work, you plant a million trees, you cultivate all the natural spaces and you are focused purely in the mundane natural world and that connection there, you will reach a point where you suffer because the personal inner work hasn't been done and you won't have the energy and strength to continue growing in your community and the outer grove work you participate in. Also keep in mind that one might be more pagan seeming to you than the other. Your inner landscape might be full of mysticism and very magical feeling or it might be the five minutes that you meditate every night and you say what you're grateful for. The outer grove work might seem the most magical to you for you do high ritual and you wear druid robes and you learn how to do public ritual or you're planting oak trees or connecting with the Oum in their physical real breathing forms outside. You're developing community. That might be where the power and magic and growth lies for you. It doesn't matter what shape or form these two workings take in your life. That's not the important part. The important part is that both are a reflection of you and that you develop and work within both the inner and outer landscapes equally as an ebb and flow at all times but generally we want to make sure that our inner grove and our outer grove have just the same type of dedication and enthusiasm that really makes your practice what it can be. In the comments below I would love to hear whether you feel like your practice focuses more on work in the inner grove or whether it focuses more on the outer grove. Right now whatever moment in your life or practice your feeling I'd love to hear kind of which part is more of an emphasis in your life. Thanks for watching and as always may you find peace in the sacred grove.