{"id":6466,"date":"2017-05-16T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=6466"},"modified":"2017-05-23T16:17:59","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T22:17:59","slug":"a-druid-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2017\/05\/a-druid-method.html","title":{"rendered":"A Druid Method"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I recently listened to an interview from last month with Emma Restall Orr<\/a> on the Skeptiko podcast. Emma Restall Orr is a former Druid and author of several books, including The Wakeful World<\/a><\/em>, an excellent exploration of animism. The interview was fascinating, though at times a bit uncomfortable \u2013 there were places where the host and the guest were clearly not on the same page and their very different speaking styles clashed.<\/p>\n

What grabbed me was a statement fairly early in the podcast. In response to a question on the importance of place in an Druid practice, Emma Restall Orr said:<\/p>\n

When I used to teach Druidry around the world \u2014 in the States, in South America, in Australia, all around, the sort of the Celtic or the British diaspora, the Druid diaspora \u2014 and I would be teaching people to explore the context, their ecology, the land that they\u2019re living in, while at the same time understanding that the only way they can reach Druidry is through their ancestors, because Druidry is not the religion of that landscape, it\u2019s the religion of, perhaps their ancestors. For me in Britain, I get Druidry through the landscape.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While I completely understand that her Druidry is rooted in the landscape of Britain, I don\u2019t think the landscape of Britain is required to practice Druidry.<\/p>\n

\"ECG<\/a>
an English Druid (OBOD Chosen Chief Philip Carr-Gomm) speaks to American Druids in the woods of Pennsylvania \u2013 2012<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is Druidry, anyway?<\/h1>\n

Druidry is the attempt to recreate, reimagine, and reconstruct the religion of the ancient Druids. The problem is that we know very little about what that religion actually was. As Ronald Hutton pointed out in The Druids<\/em>, this has made them a blank slate on which many different people have projected many different ideas about what they thought they were or what they wanted them to be.<\/p>\n

If you could walk up to someone in pre-Roman Britain and ask them about Druidry or about religion, it\u2019s mostly likely they\u2019d look at you funny. \u201cDruids? Those are our priests, healers, and keepers of records and lore.\u201d Druids were a class of people, not a belief system. \u201cReligion? This is our land, these are our Gods and ancestors, here are the virtues by which we live.\u201d The idea of religion as something separate from who you are and what you do is a very modern, Western, Protestant idea.<\/p>\n

Modern Druidry has many different expressions. OBOD focuses on individual spirituality, AODA focuses on the Western Mystery Tradition and deep ecology, and ADF is a Pagan and polytheist church \u2013 to mention the three orders I\u2019m familiar with.<\/p>\n

Ancient Druidry wasn\u2019t one thing either. We don\u2019t know much, but we do know that things were at least slightly different in Britain, Wales, Ireland, and Gaul. The land was different, the languages were different, and at least some of the Gods were different. Some were probably the same God under a different name, but a few are present in one area but not in the others.<\/p>\n

So while we cannot say what the religion of the ancient Druids was with any certainty, there are some things we do know, based on history, archaeology, and comparisons with their neighbors. We also have three hundred years of the Druid revival<\/a> writing on that blank slate.<\/p>\n

Authentic Druidry<\/h1>\n

Here\u2019s where I disagree with Emma Restall Orr\u2019s statement. Authentic Druidry requires a connection with the land. But it does not require a connection with the land of England. There were Irish Druids, Welsh Druids, and Gaulish Druids\u2026 and probably Druids from other areas as well. If a Druid traveled to Rome or Egypt or even further (I know of no historical accounts of such travels, but I\u2019d be surprised if there weren\u2019t at least a few) they didn\u2019t stop being Druids or suddenly become lesser Druids because they were no longer in their homeland.<\/p>\n

If ancient Druidry was mobile \u2013 and it was \u2013 then modern Druidry is mobile as well.<\/p>\n

Each Druid order defines Druidry in their own way and I have no desire to challenge their structures. But I see a method for creating a Druidry that is both authentic and powerful.<\/p>\n

\"GCG<\/a>
American Druids exploring a swamp in Louisiana \u2013 2017<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Start with the ancient Druids<\/h1>\n

We don\u2019t know much about the ancient Druids, but we know they were religious specialists in an animist and polytheist society. While Ross Nichols may have forced them into a modern three degree system, OBOD\u2019s classifications of Bards (musicians and storytellers), Ovates (healers and seers), and Druids (leaders and priests) has a reasonable basis in history.<\/p>\n

Other interpretations and other structures can be just as valid, but if you\u2019re not going to look back to the ancient Druids for inspiration, pick another name for what you do. These are the things Druidry \u2013 or if you prefer, a Druidry \u2013 is concerned with.<\/p>\n

Connect with your ancestors<\/h1>\n

The ancient Druids are our spiritual ancestors \u2013 so are the revival Druids, even if they aren\u2019t as sexy. It is likely some of them are also our physical ancestors, particularly those of us whose families came from Britain and Ireland.<\/p>\n

We also have more recent ancestors. Much of what we enjoy in life is because of them and the foundations they laid \u2013 connecting to them and honoring them<\/a> is a good and right thing to do. Listen to them. Pay attention to what they tell you. We live in a time where \u201cnew and improved\u201d is everywhere, but the old ways often have great wisdom and value.<\/p>\n

Connect with the land<\/h1>\n

There\u2019s something special about wild places<\/a>, but all land is sacred including the cities and suburbs. All land is alive<\/a>. Connect with the land \u2013 take off your shoes and walk barefoot in the grass. Watch the squirrels, listen to the birds, hug a tree. Better yet, sit down and listen to a tree. Do not expect to hear it with your physical ears, but a tree can communicate with you, if you\u2019ll slow down long enough to hear it.<\/p>\n

Druidry may have begun in Britain and Ireland (or maybe it didn\u2019t \u2013 we really don\u2019t know) but it can be practiced anywhere. Connect to the land where you are.<\/p>\n

\"crow<\/a>
part of my Druidry in Texas<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Connect with the Gods<\/h1>\n

We know very little about the Gods of the Druids. The Druids kept an oral tradition, and their stories were not written down until well into the Christian era. But we know a bit, and much of what we don\u2019t know has been filled through practice, devotion, and UPG.<\/p>\n

Does that seem wrong to you? How do you think the ancient Druids learned about their Gods?<\/p>\n

Different people have different ideas about who and what the Gods are. There is no such thing as Druid orthodoxy. But ultimately, what you think about the Gods is less important than the fact that you connect with Them, however you conceive of Them.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Gods<\/a>. Pursue the Gods<\/a>. Worship the Gods<\/a>. Wrestle with the Gods<\/a>. There are many ways to connect to the Gods \u2013 pick the one that works for you.<\/p>\n

Practice your Druidry<\/h1>\n

Should we say Druidry<\/em> or Druidism<\/em>? I strongly prefer Druidry. It isn\u2019t an \u2013ism that we believe, it\u2019s a \u2013ry that we do.<\/p>\n

Read and study \u2013 we all need to develop a solid foundation for our religious and spiritual practices, and we need enough context to be able to tell the crap from the not-crap. Spend time outside, whether in communion and devotion, in service to the Earth and all her creatures, or just being a part of it all. Honor your ancestors \u2013 call their names and tell their stories. Honor the Gods.<\/p>\n

Serve your community. Perhaps your community is a grove of your fellow Druids. Perhaps it\u2019s a collection of diverse Pagans and other like-minded folks. Maybe it\u2019s your extended family, or your neighborhood. Ancient Druidry was not practiced in isolation \u2013 our contemporary Druidry needs a community as well.<\/p>\n

Occasionally I\u2019m asked how I can call myself a Druid when none of us have a direct lineage to the ancient Druids, and we can\u2019t even be sure what they thought and what they did. My answer is that whatever or whoever first called those ancient Druids to their Druidry can also speak to us, if we will only listen, and respond.<\/p>\n

If we practice Druidry we can become Druids<\/a>, where ever we are.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each Druid order defines Druidry in their own way and I have no desire to challenge their structures. But I see a method for creating a Druidry that is both authentic and powerful, where ever we are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":6472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[229,1305,947,228,4,5,1304],"class_list":["post-6466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-druidry","tag-animism","tag-druidism","tag-druidry","tag-emma-restall-orr","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-skeptiko"],"yoast_head":"\nA Druid Method<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Each Druid order defines Druidry in their own way and I have no desire to challenge their structures. 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