River Wolf

I thought that my new blog on my other account would be pretty separate from my main account (which has my name and my career info), and because I sometimes work in the field of public education, that was a little too close for comfort.

This will hopefully be the first of many. It’s very possible the internet cares little for this log, but keeping a meditation log is highly recommended by just about everyone giving advice on how to start meditating, and also a Dedicant Path requirement (hence the Druidry tags on this first one).

10 minutes guided relaxation response/zazen meditation, early afternoon. Wow. That was … deep. Even though sitting up, my body was thick mush. But in a good way.

The following is a response to a journal question in the Wheel of the Year text for completing ADF’s Dedicant Program.

Disclaimer: this essay is an articulation of my own personal views and experiences within Druidry, especially within ADF; other perspectives may and probably will differ significantly from mine, and I welcome any comments agreeing or disagreeing with any point I’ve made here. Ask two Druids any question, and you’ll likely get three answers.

A Druid is a pagan practicing a recreation or re-imaginging of an indigenous pre-Christian religion once native to Indo-European peoples before the development and spread of world religions such as Hinduism and Judeo-Christian religions throughout these regions. Often people who identify as Druids or a practitioner of Druidry are focused on the pre-Christian practices of the British Isles or European land once inhabited by the Celts due to the term “Druid” coming out of Celtic religions traditions. However, modern Druidy also includes neo-pagans working with other traditions, especially those of Indo-European peoples.

Because ancient Druids did not write down their beliefs and practices themselves, there is no firsthand account of such religious practices, only conflicting secondhand accounts from outsiders, so our actual knowledge of these times are scant and reconstructed out of what we can glean from stories, myths, and secondhand historical accounts. There are significant differences between ancient Druidry and modern Druidry, largely because of such an incomplete understanding of ancient Druids, added to the fact that modern practitioners are not necessary interested in living exactly as an ancient Druid lived; indeed, even if they wanted to, ancient Druidy likely could not exist outside of the culture and people of that time. It is therefore unsurprising that modern Druidry is influenced mostly by sources outside of ancient Druidry, including the Druid Revivalists in the time of the Industrial Revolution and continued today in popular culture, modern Wicca, shamanism from various cultures, and a multitude of other philosophies and spiritual paths. 

What makes a Druidry a distinct branch off of neo-Paganism, which also is influenced by these same array of sources? One is the value of wisdom, sometimes held above other values. A Druid’s wisdom is aided by learning from and about the world around her, including not only the natural world (as for all branches of neo-Paganism) but also humanity and its many civilizations and cultures.

Druidry also uses spiritual ritual practices that are tied closely with nature. Though this can be solitary, there is a special emphasis within Druidry on joining with the Folk, one’s human community. Ancient Druids were often seen as spiritual leaders, and this value has been carried over into modern Druidry. Spiritual leadership should be understood as a flexible term not limited to the common associations with priesthood or other leadership roles within modern organized religions. Instead Druids can show spiritual leadership by being respected for their wisdom and perspective, seen in their actions as clear as (or clearer than) their words. In prior conversations with people practicing Druidry, there was a concern with not only gaining wisdom, but acting with it, and having such wisdom be visible to others; in other words, “walking the walk” as well as “talking the talk”

Because of an emphasis on wisdom, there is little trouble for modern Druids to have their practice influenced by a wide array of sources. While myths provide a common source for inspiration, Druidy is non-dogmatic and has no single collection of holy texts. Wisdom can thus be gleaned from both religious and secular sources. (From what little we know of ancient Druids, there is good evidence that this sort of non-dogmatic flexibility was practiced by ancient Druids as well.) Similarly, while modern Druids highly value knowledge of history, myth, precedent, and tradition, they also honor the spark of creativity that comes with new ideas and experiences, and do not see it as any threat to tradition. Rather, it can be seen as the continuation of the long arc of humanity’s progress in gaining wisdom, seeking enlightenment, etc.