Can somebody explain Druidry for me please? Thanks
Can somebody explain Druidry for me please? Thanks
That's a really, really broad question. Druidry isn't just a single path. This may be a case where google and a library trip are your friend, and after some reading, then you can have some more specific questions.
It's very broad. About the only thing you can generalise about it is that it's based in 19th century Romanticism and the Celtic Revival, and it attempts in some fashion to revive nature-centred spirituality and Celtic culture. It's not inherently polytheistic, but most forms of Neodruidism are polytheist and pagan; though some prominent organisations are largely monotheistic, even Christian in nature (depending on if you think of them as Druidic or not, e.g. the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards).Originally Posted by Greenlife
Defining Druidry is a bit like trying to define Paganism—ask 10 people, get 20 answers…and all of them, though different, will all be right…and despite being right, some of them will also be incorrect (though not necessairly wrong). For a decent working definition, Druidry is a spiritual tradition (and not necessairly a religion) that emphasizes the divinity in Nature that is inspired by Celtic mythology and inspired by ideas of the Ancient Druids and/or the later Druid Revival.
To the world of conventional scholarship, modern Druidry is an oxymoron, for Druids are a thing of the past–the extinct priesthood of a barbarian culture relevant only to specialists. To the mainstream religions and philosophies of the West, modern Druidry is an absurd anachronism–a cult that turns its back on progress and the modern world to embrace an archaic reverence for trees and stones.
John Michael Greer (Archdruid of the AODA) in “The Druidry Handbook”
It has been my experience that modern Druid paths are generally based on several things: what little we know of ancient Druids, some of the teachings and such from the Druid revival groups, a good deal of Celtic beliefs and mythology in general, and a wee dose of tree hugging (in the metaphorical sense). Modern Druids tend to be very nature oriented, and (IMO) much of modern Druidry is based on the (assumed?) ideals of an ancient order mixed and is as much of a philosophy as a religious path (much like Buddhism, you can be one or the other or both).
What groups or individuals choose to focus on, depends on them…like all Pagan traditions, Druidry is extremely diverse and highly dependent on individual study and development. Modern Druidry is not usually a recon path, but some Druid groups still attempt to be as historically accurate in a modern context as historical and archaeological information allow them to be. Even so, many modern Druids agree that the content of a spiritual tradition, rather than its history, determines its validity.
Sometimes you will see "Druidry" vs "Druidism"--often (but not always) Druidry is preferred by those emphasizing the Revival traditions, whereas Druidism is often (but not always) preferred by those taking a more recon approach. Some of the modern Druid groups include the Henge of Keltria, the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids (OBOD), the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF), and the British Druid Network (there are others).
“You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom
“We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
"We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
"Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett
Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
Depends on whether you want to know about the original druidry or the modern druidry. You won't find much on original druidry I am afraid. Perhaps some people will be able to recommend some books or online resources for modern druidry.
There is something pagan in me that I cannot shake off. In short, I deny nothing, but doubt everything. - Lord Byron
Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher. - William Wordsworth
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