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Druidry
- Thread starter Zwing
- Start date
@The Hammer and @Quintessence are Druids.
Thank you…perhaps they will reach out here in response to your “bump”.
You're welcome. I'm sure they will. The Hammer is frequently on here, at least.
I m a Druid revivalist (although that is not really the term I would use).
Feel free to converse with me, ask questions, etc. I'm typically an open book.
What core beliefs would you say define you as a Druid?
Reverence for Nature, the Gods, Reincarnation, and Equanimity for all.
Hey, thanks, Hammer! I am interested in Druidry as a possible mode for my own religious expression, particularly because of the reverence for nature which is something close to my heart. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about it. As a result, I have many questions, the first of which would be whether there are groups of Druids who are not theistic, along with those who recognize deities. My assumption is that theistic Druids mainly reverence the old Celtic deities, but knowing what I do about the syncretic nature of modern paganism, gods from other pantheons may find their way to recognition by any particular Druid group (what is a group of Druids called, BTW?) In any case, Druidry for me would have to be non-theistic in nature. I also assume that reincarnation is your own personal doctrine, as to my knowledge, it does not represent a constituent of historical Druidry. Would I be right in so assuming?
I guess that makes a good start… Thanks in advance for your help in orienting me to the Druidic world of today.
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I identified as a Druid for a good chunk of years. I did the first round of studies with OBOD, and I can assure you there were plenty of non-theistic Druids out there.
Druidry's pretty adaptable. It can be a religion, but it can be a lifestyle or philosophy as well(or all of the above). There are certainly a lot of Pagan Druids who revere the Celtic pantheon, but a lot of Druids honor the Norse deities, too. Some use totally different pantheons. Some try to find out a bit about their locale. Some lean Buddhist. Others combine Druidry and Christianity. And Atheist Druids are not uncommon at all.
I did find Druids don't judge much.
What would you say are the differences in your beliefs when you became a Hindu and when you were a Druid?I identified as a Druid for a good chunk of years. I did the first round of studies with OBOD, and I can assure you there were plenty of non-theistic Druids out there.
Druidry's pretty adaptable. It can be a religion, but it can be a lifestyle or philosophy as well(or all of the above). There are certainly a lot of Pagan Druids who revere the Celtic pantheon, but a lot of Druids honor the Norse deities, too. Some use totally different pantheons. Some try to find out a bit about their locale. Some lean Buddhist. Others combine Druidry and Christianity. And Atheist Druids are not uncommon at all.
I did find Druids don't judge much.
Good question(meaning, you've made me think). I don't find any conflict between Druidry and Hinduism. I don't think I had any beliefs that I abandoned, rather I added Hindu concepts to my beliefs over time, and that eventually became more of a focus.
My branch of Druidry actually has a section dedicated to Hindu polytheistic concepts and Deities. We all come.from the same Indo-European root.
For an unknown reason, I’ve not gotten any notifications of the recent responses here. No great bother, though, now that I know about it.
Should I take it that you did your initial work online with OBOD? I tend more to enjoy personal interaction, especially when it comes to religion. I am in Massachusetts in New England. How might I go about finding a group in my area which practices Druidry? Is there any online resource for such an effort?
Callisto
Hellenismos, BTW
Thank you.
I did time with AODA first. Being really intrigued by Greer's The Druidry Handbook, that's initially where I went, but decided eventually I needed something more directed, as I'm not very self motivated(and that's when I went with OBOD).
I would love personal interaction myself, but I'm in the middle of Iowa. If you're not Abrahamic(or living in or near Des Moines), you're likely out of luck for that.
Are you getting responses now?
Yes, it appears so.
I'm a part of this organization, this link should have all their groves!
@The Hammer, @Quintessence and @JustGeorge and to anyone else here with experience in Druidry whom I may have missed...
I collect botany books dealing with "The Language of Flowers," other floral symbolism, sacred herbs and trees, etc. -- mainly focusing on the flora of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Can any of you recommend a good book that covers plants of this geographic region in sort of the same way that the various editions of Culpeper's Herbal does?
Some editions of Culpeper often leave out herbs found in other editions of the same title, and I don't think that any of the Culpeper editions include the rowan tree (mountain ash) -- which, I think (?) is one of the sacred Celtic trees. But I like Culpeper because he gives not only the folk medicine for these plants, but also their astrological associations. I prefer the Culpeper editions that provide color illustrations of the various plants, such as Culpeper's Colour Herbal (W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd, 1983).
Anything like that would be great. If you can recommend a good, comprehensive book covering herbs, flowers, and trees of this geographic region, I'd appreciate it! Thanks in advance for your kind help!
I collect botany books dealing with "The Language of Flowers," other floral symbolism, sacred herbs and trees, etc. -- mainly focusing on the flora of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Can any of you recommend a good book that covers plants of this geographic region in sort of the same way that the various editions of Culpeper's Herbal does?
Some editions of Culpeper often leave out herbs found in other editions of the same title, and I don't think that any of the Culpeper editions include the rowan tree (mountain ash) -- which, I think (?) is one of the sacred Celtic trees. But I like Culpeper because he gives not only the folk medicine for these plants, but also their astrological associations. I prefer the Culpeper editions that provide color illustrations of the various plants, such as Culpeper's Colour Herbal (W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd, 1983).
Anything like that would be great. If you can recommend a good, comprehensive book covering herbs, flowers, and trees of this geographic region, I'd appreciate it! Thanks in advance for your kind help!
Hmm. Unfortunately, my herbal expertise is rooted in my local environment, which is not the British Isles currently. I'm not sure I have a good direction I could point you in either, but I'll dredge my library to see if I've got some lead.