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Author Topic: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.  (Read 3269 times)

Cali

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Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« on: June 02, 2015, 08:55:38 am »
I feel very connected to Druidry but I don't feel attached in any way to Celtic deities for the most part. Why this is I have no idea. I'm more interested in Kemeticism and some Anglo-Saxon deities. When I first came across Druidry, I looked into the ADF as it had a Pan-European focus and was a member for a while but the organization wasn't for me. My hearth culture during my time with the ADF was Hellenic as I didn't resonate with any other pantheons at the time. Even so, I found it hard to work within the ADF framework, it just didn't feel right to me.

Since then I've been looking into OBOD as well as the BDO and AODA (I love John Michael Greer's books). However all of them still seem to have an overly Celtic focus, which is great as I love Celtic culture and traditions but the deities I work with don't fit within that culture. I know OBOD is quite eclectic in nature but to me it still has a big Celtic focus which has made me question whether it's for me or not.

Do any of you honor or work with deities who are not Celtic as part of your Druidry? If so, how have you "made it work", so to speak? Also, do your deities feel okay about being part of a predominately Celtic spiritual path?

Mountain Cat

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2015, 01:12:26 pm »
Quote from: Cali;175681
I feel very connected to Druidry but I don't feel attached in any way to Celtic deities for the most part. Why this is I have no idea. I'm more interested in Kemeticism and some Anglo-Saxon deities. When I first came across Druidry, I looked into the ADF as it had a Pan-European focus and was a member for a while but the organization wasn't for me. My hearth culture during my time with the ADF was Hellenic as I didn't resonate with any other pantheons at the time. Even so, I found it hard to work within the ADF framework, it just didn't feel right to me.

Since then I've been looking into OBOD as well as the BDO and AODA (I love John Michael Greer's books). However all of them still seem to have an overly Celtic focus, which is great as I love Celtic culture and traditions but the deities I work with don't fit within that culture. I know OBOD is quite eclectic in nature but to me it still has a big Celtic focus which has made me question whether it's for me or not.

Do any of you honor or work with deities who are not Celtic as part of your Druidry? If so, how have you "made it work", so to speak? Also, do your deities feel okay about being part of a predominately Celtic spiritual path?

 

Yes, OBOD has a definite Celtic framework and feel. I've never felt comfortable in that framework. However, it is so open as a spirituality that I find it easy to work on it without any overt culture or deity connection. For me it is a spirituality that I can use to learn how to re-connect with the natural world. It's taught my about thinking on a mythic level and helped me understand ritual and tradition. I know many people use it as a religion and I think that it would work very well that way. You can choose to worship who you want within their framework. Even Christianity can fit, I noticed.

Personally, I've always felt drawn to the Norse pantheon. I can see how they could fit into the structure OBOD has taught me. My Deity, on the other hand has a different path for me. That is why, at the moment, I have left gods out of my Druidry practice. I don't sense disapproval. I get a "Learn all the things!" sense. So, that's my experience. I don't regret OBOD. I don't think I would have been able to maintain a pagan practice without it. I've learned a lot. I love it. But my Druidry is a spiritual path, not a religious path. Let me know if you have any more questions about OBOD or anything else I've said here.

:)

Sophia C

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2015, 01:29:31 pm »
Quote from: Cali;175681
I feel very connected to Druidry but I don't feel attached in any way to Celtic deities for the most part. Why this is I have no idea. I'm more interested in Kemeticism and some Anglo-Saxon deities.

[snip]

Since then I've been looking into OBOD as well as the BDO and AODA (I love John Michael Greer's books). However all of them still seem to have an overly Celtic focus, which is great as I love Celtic culture and traditions but the deities I work with don't fit within that culture. I know OBOD is quite eclectic in nature but to me it still has a big Celtic focus which has made me question whether it's for me or not.

What is it about Druidry that appeals to you? Because, in the OBOD tradition least, Celtic revival and British modern Pagan traditions are pretty much what it consists of. A parallel might be me saying I'm attracted to Heathenry but that I don't like Norse or Germanic gods... But that's a personal opinion. OBOD is very flexible about deities and frameworks. Nonetheless, it is a Celtic revival tradition, so you might end up not finding anything of interest in it if you're not interested in that. Which is why I'm wondering what it is about Druidry that you like. Maybe there's something non-Celtic that shares those elements and would work even better for you.
"We're all stories, in the end. Make it a good one, eh?"
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Mountain Cat

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2015, 03:31:18 pm »
Quote from: Naomi J;175693
Maybe there's something non-Celtic that shares those elements and would work even better for you.

 
I've wondered about this for myself, too. I couldn't find anything else that matched up with all my needs so I chose OBOD and work it as an animistic/pan(en)theist spiritual path. It's very lovely.

Sophia C

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2015, 03:41:22 pm »
Quote from: Mountain Cat;175699
I've wondered about this for myself, too. I couldn't find anything else that matched up with all my needs so I chose OBOD and work it as an animistic/pan(en)theist spiritual path. It's very lovely.
Is it simply its animistic and pantheist aspects that work for you? Or more than that?
"We're all stories, in the end. Make it a good one, eh?"
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Mountain Cat

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2015, 05:59:57 pm »
Quote from: Naomi J;175700
Is it simply its animistic and pantheist aspects that work for you? Or more than that?

 
No, there are more aspects of OBOD that work for me. I love the mythic thought, the psychological aspects (I don't know if other people see a psychological aspect to it, but I've found one), the meditations, the eclectic approach, the polytheism, the ritual, the connection to the land, to history... Pretty much all of it. I love it. I just don't feel a connection to the Celtic deities, which disappoints me, some, as a polytheist. But I knew, going in, that I didn't feel that connection.


Though, I do feel that I probably won't continue past the Bardic level. If I had that connection to the Celtic pantheon I would, but without it, I dunno, I don't know that it would feel right. I've got a ways to go, so nothing definite. :)  Plus, I still don't know what path I'm being steered towards by Deity, so, yeah. Uncertain.

Cali

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2015, 09:39:19 pm »
Quote from: Naomi J;175693
What is it about Druidry that appeals to you? Because, in the OBOD tradition least, Celtic revival and British modern Pagan traditions are pretty much what it consists of. A parallel might be me saying I'm attracted to Heathenry but that I don't like Norse or Germanic gods... But that's a personal opinion.


I stared out, like a lot of Pagans as a Wiccan. However as time went on I drifted from that path. I had always had a keen interest in Druidry since I first began my path to Paganism. I like how natural the religion is, it's focus on environmentalism and ecology and it's animist tendencies. Whilst Wicca certainly has elements of those things, I just felt my beliefs fit more towards Druidry.

Due to the fact I have an interest in Egyptian deities, I have looked into Kemeticism, particularly KO but I got a pretty firm "No" and something within my gut just didn't feel right about it. I also looked into Heathenry as well but the way some Heathens carry on made me turn away. Druidry is the only path I keep going back to.

Sobekemiti

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Re: Working with non-Celtic deities in a Druidic framework.
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2015, 10:24:59 am »
Quote from: Cali;175681

Do any of you honor or work with deities who are not Celtic as part of your Druidry? If so, how have you "made it work", so to speak? Also, do your deities feel okay about being part of a predominately Celtic spiritual path?


I'm a member of ADF, and while it isn't for everyone, I still managed to make it work within a Kemetic framework, and I persisted with it because I love the Core Order of Ritual so much. I know working with a Kemetic hearth may not count as ADF to some, but it works for me, and I got enough of a push from the Greek deities I work with as well to incorporate Druidry into Their rites as well. At least that will harmonise them well, so I'm not dealing with three different ritual structures. I can really only work with one framework at a time, so for now, ADF druidry it is. Even if it is a weird Graeco-Kemetic mix. /whatevs. /my private practice is my own.

For me, I managed to make it work by finding a way to see the concepts in a different way. So, Fire, Well, and Tree is basically water, fire, and, well, a tree, when you break it down, so finding something that correlates in Kemetic religion wasn't that hard once I thought about it.

Instead of a Celtic set of imagery, I use the Nile, the Sycamore Tree, and Nut (the starry sky), and that works really well for me in blending Kemetic gods into a Druidic style. I feel like that imagery of that tree, on a small mound of land, surrounded by the Nile and the starry sky above is really powerful to me. It's just so alive to me. That's mostly how I made it work. I could feel Sobek in the water, and Heru soaring through the sky, and that was enough for me to know They were happy enough with it as a framework.

I mostly reserve those Druidic style rituals for the solstices and equinoxes; for the other four festivals, I do my own based on old Kemetic festivals, in a Kemetic style. I'm also in the process of figuring out a daily Hellenic druidic-style ritual, but I haven't settled on something that feels right yet, nor when I might do it. I'm sure I'll figure it out through a lot of trial and error. That's usually how I make things work.
Sobekemiti | Hekatean Witch, Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu, Sobek Devotee | My pronouns are they/she

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