Hi, I’m Ieuan
In 2021, I relocated to Miami from Nashville, Tennessee with my family. The Covid/ Post Covid era caused many changes in communities, working modalities, and job situations. For us, that ment a mover to Miami. In Nashville, I served as chef druid of an independent druid grove (501c3 religious institution) from 2009 until 2021. During Covid, like with many community organizations, we met virtually and carried on as best we could. The rest of the page wil provide a little about my background as it relates to my druid journey.
Training
I am a Druid Graduate of the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids training program. I have also earned several graduate academic degrees over the years in various fields including a PhD in Computer Information System where my research area is machine learning and predictive models. My most relevant education background related to my work as a Druid is baccalaureate degree in religious studies from the University of South Florida and a Master of Arts in Celtic Studies from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, My dissertation for this degree was titled “The Celtic Influence on the Appalachian Region of the United States: Cultural Identity and Diaspora” and focused on the continued influence of the traditions brought to the Appalachian region of the United States by immigrants from the Celtic fringe of the British Isles.
Personal Background
I grew up in an Appalachian family where folk magic was readily practiced by my mother, aunts, and grandmother, and learned many of these traditions. This background instilled in me a strong interest in magical traditions. I went on to formally and academically study several traditions before finding his spiritual home in Druidry. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, surrounded by my Appalachian family in Diaspora, who left West Virgini in the early 1960’s to find work as so many Appalachian families did. As an adult, I moved to Tennessee, where I lived for 20 years, and appriciated having the time in the mountains and being closer to my ancestrial home. During that time, I took many trips to Ireland and various parts of the UK, including, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Mann and have found a synthesis between the Appalachian traditions of my family and the traditions of my ancestors from those regions across the sea.