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Author Topic: What is your Druidry?  (Read 9694 times)

Sorcha

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #15 on: June 10, 2016, 08:55:59 am »
Quote from: FraterBenedict;192486
Lots of Christ-followers have meshed with Druidry in the past.

 
It's actually one of the reasons I went with Druidry and not, say, Wicca. And why if I join an order it would likely be OBOD and not ADF.


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RecycledBenedict

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #16 on: June 10, 2016, 11:02:14 am »
Quote from: Sorcha;192496
It's actually one of the reasons I went with Druidry and not, say, Wicca. And why if I join an order it would likely be OBOD and not ADF.


Just don't forget that AODA is a potential choice, too.

I have no personal experience of AODA groves - wrong side of the Atlantic - but the books about AODA Druidry made public by John Michael Greer are very interesting.

Sorcha

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #17 on: June 10, 2016, 04:04:53 pm »
Quote from: FraterBenedict;192499
Just don't forget that AODA is a potential choice, too.

I have no personal experience of AODA groves - wrong side of the Atlantic - but the books about AODA Druidry made public by John Michael Greer are very interesting.

 
Indeed. AODA's coursework and philosophy sounds very, very similar to OBOD. It would definitely be an option. I do like that they give you the option to choose whether you're going to pursue the path of the bard, ovate, or Druid (with the option to choose more than one). I definitely find myself drawn to the path of the ovate with certain bardish overtones (I'm very artsy).

It's early, however. I'm still exploring, and definitely am in no rush to join anything. I have been participating in OBOD's public forum, and have been enjoying that.


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Mountain Cat

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #18 on: June 10, 2016, 04:57:50 pm »
Quote from: Sage;521
Basically, this is the place to talk in lengthy detail about your Druidry!

 

My Druidry is OBOD Druidry to an extent. I'm a good portion of my way through the Ovate grade and I love it. Where I differ (somewhat)  is that I'm solitary, not big on rituals that aren't seasonal and have a strong emphasis on magic. Also, and I always feel that this should bother me, but it doesn't, I don't have a focus on Celtic gods.

I love the focus on nature, on the self, on learning and creating and developing one's own gifts. I really love OBOD's courses.

When it comes down to it I suppose I define as a hedge druid. Or maybe druid hedgewitch.

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #19 on: July 29, 2016, 05:17:24 pm »
I suspect this is going to constitute over use (possibly even abuse!) of the multi-quote function, but ah well - it's taken me a while to get around to posting this, so I may as well really go for it...

Quote from: Sage;521
What do you mean when you use the term Druid for yourself?


I tend to use the term neo-Druid for ease as it's sort of the closest fit I've found so far, but I would almost always qualify it with an explanation.  Theoretically I should be able to type that explanation out here, but I've started and deleted the paragraph numerous times and still can't formulate it properly...
 
Quote from: Asch;571
a Neo-Druid rather than Recon because there's so little existing evidence and information about pre-Christian Celtic cultures and faiths that being a Recon seems like a truly difficult task and combined with the radically different culture and worldview that most of us are mired in it just didn't appeal to me.


Quote from: Asch;571
I'm not fully convinced of the efficacy of magic and don't feel right about following a path where it's quite integral


I'd agree with both of the above sentiments.
 
Quote from: Chakabe;2057
DruidCraft


I kind of like the sound of that...
 
Quote from: darashand;5600
includes things like environmental stewardship


Quote from: darashand;5600
community service, and a commitment to justice and ethical behavior.


Yes, I definitely agree with those points.
 
Quote from: FraterBenedict;177514
I find spiritual connectedness and awareness primarily in Nature, not in a particular ethnic mythology


This is me, too.
 
Quote from: Sorcha;192473
allows me to connect to the sacred in nature and the natural in the sacred.


I love your phrasing, Sorcha!
 
Quote from: Mountain Cat;192505
I'm solitary, not big on rituals that aren't seasonal and have a strong emphasis on magic. Also, and I always feel that this should bother me, but it doesn't, I don't have a focus on Celtic gods.

I love the focus on nature, on the self, on learning and creating and developing one's own gifts.


I'm the same way, Mountain Cat...

I don't have a pantheon, I kind of have this deep instinctive feeling that there's this universal life force energy, which is sacred to me.  Although I still can't seem to put it into words (at least not well!) this notion has been with me for a very long time, since I was a small child actually, so it simply feels right to me.

Quote from: Mountain Cat;192505
hedge druid. Or maybe druid hedgewitch.

 
... and I kind of like hedge druid  :)

Back to the OP
Quote from: Sage;521
What does it mean to be a Druid in modern society? What do you mean when you use the term Druid for yourself? Why are you a Druid instead of, say, a witch or a Celtic Recon? Conversely, do you find your Druidry informing any other spiritual path you walk?


I won't presume to answer the first bit of the question, beyond having included the above quotes, since, in short, I don't know - especially as I've not found any particular path which resonates with me and I've consequently ended up being a solitary (so I'd be unable to answer for anyone but myself, anyway).

What I mean is that my spirituality (rather than religion per se) very much revolves around nature and the earth.  Also (and this bit's going to sound pretentious - so much for all these humble neo-Druids) I've felt this spirituality calling to me, as mentioned, since I was a very small child, of about 6 years of age.

The third bit of the question I think I've answered (or rather, poached my answer from others) within all the quotes above.

As for the last bit of the question - I've contemplated Zen, Taoism and Shinto in the past, as can probably be easily imagined.  I like the core ideaologies of those practices, but it's more of an academic interest, as once again they just didn't feel quite right to me at a basic level.

Wow, this really was long (sorry!) and what's worse is that I'm still not convinced that I've really made any sense...

Let me just finish up by saying, I'm kind of resigned to being a solitary (whatever label I choose for myself) because I think I'm basically making it up as I go along!
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Malarky

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #20 on: March 14, 2017, 11:34:52 am »
I would identify, if anything, as a druidistic pagan. If that could be considered a thing.

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #21 on: March 14, 2017, 12:07:31 pm »
Quote from: Malarky;203716


 
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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2017, 09:04:07 am »
Quote from: Sage;521
What does it mean to be a Druid in modern society? What do you mean when you use the term Druid for yourself?

 
With the mess that is Heathenry as of late, I am taking a 2nd look at neo-druidry.

I am certainly not a Celtic Recon.  I'm barely Celtic, actually, preferring Norse gods.  

I was an ADF member a few years ago, but I find myself a lot more inspired by the writings of John Michael Greer.  

To me Neo-Druidry means (to paraphrase JMG)
1) The Earth Path which consists of learning about the world around you and how to live more harmoniously with nature
2) The Sun path which observes the important holidays and the progression of the seasons
3) The Moon path which is cultivating meditation and modern magick in one's life.

The three paths are largely about the exploration of the Self and of Nature, and the link between the two.   Deities can be inserted or not, depending on the preferences of the individual.   Most people  who call themselves neodruid will have an inkling for Welsh or Irish deities. But some might use deities of other pantheons.  Others might not have any deities at all, and simply have a pantheistic view and reverence for Nature in all its totality.  Neodruidry might even have (gasp!) Christians, albeit ones of rather liberal theology.

Sobekemiti

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #23 on: March 19, 2017, 10:22:12 am »
Quote from: Sage;521
What does it mean to be a Druid in modern society? What do you mean when you use the term Druid for yourself? Why are you a Druid instead of, say, a witch or a Celtic Recon? Conversely, do you find your Druidry informing any other spiritual path you walk?

Basically, this is the place to talk in lengthy detail about your Druidry!


So I was sure I'd replied to this, but it seems I just thought about it and then did nothing about it, so. Here's some teal deer about my druidry.

So I got acquainted with ADF-style druidry through the Solitary Druid Fellowship back in 2012, and when that wound up, I joined ADF. I'm currently working on my Dedicant's Program. What I like about ADF is that it's informed by scholarship, and that my practice didn't have to be Celtic-hearth based. That, and I love the Core Order of Ritual and its flexibility to adapt to cultural frameworks.

Yes, a lot of what draws me to ADF druidry is the liturgical framework. I work with a Hellenic hearth, but I don't care for Hellenic recon, mostly because the primary deity I work with is Hekate, and Hekate doesn't really fit well with the standardish forms of Hellenic recon in my experience, which focus too much on the Olympians to be of much use to me as a devotee of Hekate.

But I can work with the COoR and make something that's Hellenic enough for my tastes, but has the ritual structure I prefer. It's always going to be a balancing act, but this is where I find the most useful ritual for me, and I can simply use the Hellenic lunar calendar structure (deipnon and noumenia) and the High Days and that's all I need. It just works. It also makes it far less complicated to slot that into a Kemetic calendar, so I don't need to keep three separate calendars, which is nice, because I hate calendar maths. This is why I use a fixed Kemetic calendar, as well. I am a lazy pagan.

I do call myself a druid, and a witch, because to me, they seem to be the best fit for my path. I tend not to worry too much about how others use the term druid and what they mean by it, but then I'm solitary, so I generally just get on with it. Hekate informs a lot of where this path is taking me. I'll probably end up combining druidry and non-Wiccish witchcraft, with Her influence, to make something that works for me.

I find the three worlds cosmology - land, sky, sea - to be a very useful way to tie my Kemetic stuff, and my Hekate stuff, and my druidic stuff, together. I'm one of those people who needs a single overarching thing to keep my paths together, rather than keep them separate. So with that, I can mod in a good Kemetic equivalent that I find works very well. And, of course, Hekate is given sovereignty over land, sea, and sky, so She makes a lot of sense in a druidic context.

I use the Nile, the marshes, or the waters of the Nun; the starry sky of Nut, Sirius, and vault of the Heavens; and the sycamore or tamarisk tree, or even the Djed pillar. Land emerging out of water into the sky, it's very Kemetic, while there'll never be a Kemetic hearth in ADF, nor should there be, I find that framework ties everything together. I don't have to hold different paradigms in my head. It's just a matter of translating the cosmology.
Sobekemiti | Hekatean Witch, Kemetic Orthodox Shemsu, Sobek Devotee | My pronouns are they/she

Waldhexe

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Re: What is your Druidry?
« Reply #24 on: November 16, 2017, 10:51:54 am »

When it comes down to it I suppose I define as a hedge druid. Or maybe druid hedgewitch.
I really like the way you put that. I just started the OBOD Bardic course. I come from ecclectic witchcraft (mostly wheel of the year stuff, hegde stuff some reclaiming stuff). I became interested in the course because I know some people who have taken it and I'm familiar with a couple of books from Philippe and Stephanie Carr-Gomm...so I tried the info package with 2 introductory lections and then enrolled for the full course. I'm not far yet, but I'm happy about getting new impulses to ponder and exercises. I'm not sure what I should call myself, at the moment I feel like a witch studying druidry  ;D

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