Druantia: A Modern Goddess (mostly UPG)
Druantia is a hypothetical goddess associated with trees proposed by Robert Graves in his book The White Goddess. He describes her as a tree goddess, and an archetypal earth mother. She rules over over fertility, sexual pleasure, and the natural world.
However, Robert Graves is not a reliable source in terms of history, as has work has been discredited by many scholars.
Though the name Druantia may not be historically fact, I do believe she is indeed a goddess. Druantia may not have always been her name, in fact I personally believe she has had many names, with Druantia being one she uses to reach out to many neo-pagans. Needless to say, information on her scarace, especially as she did not historically exist.
This where we'll be getting into the juicy UPG of this post:
To me, Druantia is A multitude of goddesses that are syncretic with one another. She comes to me primarily as Flidais, the Irish goddess of animals, fertility, and the hunt, as well as Elen of the Ways, a modern goddess associated with nature and mystery.
Worshipping and Working With Druantia:
Druantia is not a goddess who asks for much. If you have a love for nature and the wilds, she is more than happy to work alongside you.
I find that when I work with her during meditation, I find myself in a forest, with vibrant, earthy colors. She appears to me as a tall woman clad in foliage, with wild hair and antlers. Think of a similar vibe to Keyleth of Critical Role.
Druantia can help one learn to protect themselves, heal themselves, and embrace their own nature. For adults, she is a wonderful teacher of sex magic, and can help one learn to harness their own pleasure to manifest their desires.
Druantia can help those who are stuck in locations such as cities and urban areas maintain their connection to the wilds of nature. I live in the downtown area of a decently sized city, so feeling connected to nature has been difficult. Druantia however has been helping me see the beauty of the wilds, even within the city.
Druantia is an archetypal earth mother, so basically if it's associated with the earth mother archetype, it can be associated with her.
As I've mentioned, there is no reliable historical record of a goddess by the name Druantia. So this poses the question of who exactly is behind that name. In my own experiences, I have experienced her to be syncretic with a number of deities. I'll list the primary ones I view as her.
Flidais - The Irish Goddess of animals and the hunt. As an animal goddess, this lends to her connection with nature and the wilderness, and as goddess of the hunt, she nourishes us like a mother nourishes a child. Sacred to her are Cattle and Deer, both animals that are or were commonly used for food, once again, making her a nourishing goddess. This is the primary aspect of Druantia that I venerate and worship. She is equal parts regal as she is feral. Flidais is often syncretized with the Gaulish hunting goddess Arduinna. When I call upon Druantia, I also call upon Flidais, as I personally believe Flidais and any goddess syncretized with her to be the origin of Druantia's energy. Flidais is also often times equated to Elen of the Ways, and many depictions of Elen fit depictions of Flidais.
Elen of the Ways - like Druantia, Elen of the Ways is a modern goddess. She is attributed to celtic Britain as her origin, but there is little to no historical sources on her, aside from being equated to the Elen of the Welsh Mabinogion. Regardless, one cannot deny that there is an energy with Elen of the Ways. She is said to rule over magic and mystery, as well as nature itself. She is said to rule the Leys, as in Leylines. Leylines are energetic Hotspots of the earth. Most information on Elen of the Ways comes from the author Caroline Wise, as well as the blogger Judith Shaw of the blog Feminism and Religion.
Offerings for Druantia are between you and her first and foremost, however, some ideas on things to offer her are as follows: Woodsy Herbs and Incense, Tea, Cannabis (if legal to possess), malachite, pelts, and hearty foods.
Now obviously, as Druantia has no historical basis under that name, it may not be best to work with her in the context of Celtic Reconstructionism.
However, if you are eclectic or a revivalist, she is wonderful to worship. I've found her to be such a wonderful influence on my life and she's helped me break free of some old habits and practices that were holding me back.
Even though Druantia may be a modern goddess, there is much merit and blessings to be found walking her path. Whether you worship Druantia as a standalone being, or worship Flidais under her name, she will grant you blessing all the same.
