About Alferian

Alferian Gwydion MacLir

is the druidic name of Dr. Sir James Warren Scott Maertens of Minneapolis, Minnesota — Also known as Brother Owl. He wears glasses, size ten shoes, and has a rather bulbous nose, inherited from his Belgian family all the way back to the ancient Celtic Belgae renowned as fierce fighters against the Romans and named for their bulging schnozolas.

Alferian is a scriblerian, who spends time writing things on the Internet and is currently finishing a book on wandmaking. James is a Master Mason and brother of Lake Harriet Lodge No. 277 in Minneapolis, where he currently serves as Lodge Education Officer. Brother Owl completed the entire set of Scottish Rite degrees during the Fall class of 2007 at the Minneapolis Valley’s historic temple. He is proud to be a Knight of the Rose Croix and Knight of the Temple, and Master of the Royal Secret 32°. He is also a Druid Companion of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, a member of the Ancient Order of Druids, and a member of the Royal and Antient Fellowship of Wandmakers and an Honorary Combustible of the Honorable Company of Tobacconists.

Alferian holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Minnesota (1993) but has given up a lucrative career as an English professor in order to raise his daughter, keep house, and carve magic wands. In 2005 Alferian founded the non-profit scholarly center, Avalon Center for Druidic Studies (ACDS), which is intended to grow into a residential center for the scholarly study of modern and ancient druidry and other peculiar subjects of interest to modern druids, including nature spirituality, sustainable living, and the arts of the imagination. Dr. Maertens is a professor of philosophy and literature with ACDS teaching occasional on-line courses in druidry.

Dr. Maertens lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter, a mini-dachshund Robert Browning, an aged cat named Muffin, a new kitten named Minerva, two gold fish, and a hermit crab, as well as many squirrels in his garden. He cultivates as many trees as possible in his small urban nematon and is honored to be the chief druid of Geal-Darach Grove, an OBOD seed group.