[Today, we sit down with Druid, environmental activist, and author Luke Eastwood. Here, he discusses his newest book, A Path Through the Forest; his future projects; and his garden!]

Forests Haunted By Holiness: Your next title from Moon Books, A Path Through the Forest, is set to be published in late April 2024. Congratulations! You’ve published quite a few titles with Moon Books. How did that relationship come about? And can you give us a hint of what might be coming down the road?

Luke Eastwood: I received an email from the Editor in 2010 I think via Irish Druid Network website, that I am admin of. He was looking for Pagan authors in the their expansion process. As it happened I had almost finished writing The Druid’s Primer so I submitted it. That all worked out very well and this new book is my fourth with Moon Books. I have a couple more books in the pipeline, but the next one is top-secret as it is something that has not been well covered, I’d rather keep it under wraps until I have a publication date for it!

FHBH: A Path Through the Forest is a collection of essays on Druidry that you wrote between 2004 and 2023. How did you select which essays to include? And why a span of nineteen years instead of twenty or twenty-five?

LE: I’ve written perhaps 200-300 articles over the last twenty years, some are not about Druidry at all or even vaguely related, so I threw out a massive number straight away, leaving only what I felt was truly relevant. As is happened these covered nineteen years pretty much by accident. I found this interesting as nineteen years is the length of the metonic cycle, the period that the moon completes its complete cycle, appearing in the exact same place again.

FHBH: The collection is divided into six sections, including ones on the basics of druidry, environmentalism, and ethics. Did you set out to organize the book this way or did it just come about naturally?

LE: No, that was a conscious decision, beginning with the more basic stuff and ending with the seven interviews. I thought it was important to organise the essays rather than just present them randomly, making it easier for the reader to find what interests them most.

FHBH: Were there any essays that you had to leave out of the collection? If so, do you hope or plan to feature those later?

LE: Yes, there were a few, I could have waited for a few more yet to be published essays or included others, but the book is already long enough and I had to draw a line somewhere. I also have several essays that you won’t find in any other publications or websites. I’ve no plans for a second volume or featuring them elsewhere, other than my own website perhaps.

FHBH: Looking back, which essay was the most difficult, but ultimately most satisfying to write?

LE: That’s hard to say, but “Becoming The Person You Meant to Be” was difficult because it is self-reflective and deeply personal. I am not sure if it was the most satisfying, but it took longer than usual and was tough to get right. “The Politicization of Paganism” was really tough to write, to avoid being partial or unfair. I try to remain neutral, regardless of my own opinion, as I firmly believe in a libertarian approach to personal opinions, non-dogmatic spirituality, and adhering to the separation of Faith from the State and its institutions. I know some people will really hate that article, but I think it holds true and I feel it was necessary for someone to write it!

FHBH: In addition to your own books, which resources about Druidry do you recommend?

LE: How long do you have? The answer to that could take hours, but in short I would suggest studying the source material as much as possible — the Old Irish and Old Welsh books (translated for 99% of us), the mythology, history, Brehon law, triads and poets. There are some great works from the last three centuries, too, but most of what I would recommend from the 20th century was written prior to 1990. There are a lot of really terrible books from the last 30-odd years IMO, probably it’s no coincidence that the Internet took hold as the quality of Pagan books plummeted! Well, that’s just my opinion, I am sure lots of people might not agree at all.

FHBH: Which book fairs, conventions, garden fairs, or other events do you hope to attend in the foreseeable future?

LE: I am not a big attender of events, I don’t do any book fairs but I probably should. I love garden centres, but I have never been to Bloom (in Dublin), but I have been to the National Plowing Championships twice, which is fun, although I spent zero minutes watching the ploughing! I do like to attend some of the more low-key Pagan events, I generally avoid the big crowds and theatrics.

FHBH: What other projects are you working on?

LE: At the moment I am transforming our massive field into a garden, including wild flower meadows, woodland, wild spaces, an orchard, a pond, vegetable area and polytunnel. It’s a lot of hard work but I love it. I am also working on another book, and I have shelved the two following books for now. I tried to work on three books at once, but I just tied myself in knots! I am also working on the next edition of Pagan Ireland magazine, which I am Editor of, it comes out four times per year. It’s hard work too, but I see it as an act of service to the Pagan Community. I also hope eventually to have more time for art and music, but at the moment that seems a long way off!