#schismatic

Short answer: In the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) you're not supposed to recruit members. Some other druid orders promote recruiting.

There was a time in the 1970s when a member of the RDNA priesthood was actively recruiting people as fast as he could in order to bring them into the Council so that he'd have a majority in his favor to pass his legislative ideas. He was specifically targeting people in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) crowd.

His actions were a bit alarming to the members of the Council of Dalon Ap Landu as his proposals included major departure from the original spirit of Reformed Druidism. One of the Chairpersons emeritus of the Council suggested granting veto power to every member of the Council over any piece of legislation they deemed un-Reformed. They figured it would be too difficult to implement given that it would be an obvious move to prevent power grabs.

Luckily, there were many "recruits" who were in fact more sympathetic to the true spirit of Reformed Druidism, and the idea to get a supermajority was ultimately a failure. That led to the scheming member of the priesthood breaking away and form the New Reformed Druids of North America and the Schismatic Druids of North America. The latter served as the inspiration for the foundation of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) which today is a neopagan branch of druidism that is a business and does actively recruit members.

AWW concept/planning: Hey let's write something about England teaching History of Magic and throw in some mutual pining USUK/UKUS and some Torchwood and Dr. Who references and GerIta mpreg and Harry/Luna being cute and Blaise and Draco are besties and Prucan cuteness plus teen voldie had a crush on Matt and Peter's adorable and Greece has lots of cats and cuddles with Japan and how about a badass battle at the end where all the nations fight Voldemort's army? Oh and it will be like 30-ish chapters

What actually happened: England is like 10x more angsty and has Issues(TM), Luna is less present than I would like, Harry is getting some sort of therapy through Peter, Peter has Issues, probably nobody will get any foreshadowing bc there's so much filler, somehow Romania and Bulgaria and Scotland showed up, the fairies are much less prevalent than planned, voldie's secret Plot (that is the actual plot and based on actual real world 1997 events) will culminate in at least one person the readers like actually dying, and we are 33 chapters in and probably half done lol

Schismatic concept/planning: Ooh let's write something short where some creepy guy knows Conan is Shinichi and is obsessed with him and let's throw some KaiShinHei in there and some AkaSagu and make it super dark and shit!

What actually happened: Shinichi and Conan have Issues(TM) and Heiji is a worried boyfriend while Kaito ships them and is despairing over Saguru and Akako's straightness and Kazuha and Ran are trying to help and the Black Org is wayyyy more involved than you think they are

Shadow Bride concept/planning: Hey let's fill this Kink Meme prompt with Pitch wanting to make babies with fem!Jack, it'll be short and a good way to practice writing smut

With the spiritual diversity among druids, there is also the diversity and freedom to customize and embellish liturgical scripts for druid weddings as well. In the Reformed Druidism (RDNA), there was early resistance to establishing a standard wedding ceremony script, since most of the RDNA ceremonies don't even have a mandatory basic outline (but they do have hallmarks that are common between most of the extant scripts). However, a handful of wedding ceremonies have been offered and used in an RDNA style by members of the priesthood.

Most of them have been written as modern handfastings. Traditionally handfastings were once trial marriages lasting a year and a day and were generally nonbinding. However, these days handfastings are usually used as the legal ceremonies, complete with signing a Marriage License or certificate. The iconic hallmark of a handfasting is when the spouses-to-be have their hands tied together with ribbons, and are expected to remain tied for a whole day (I doubt anyone stays bound for a full 24 hours though).

The RDNA wedding scripts from the mid 1970s generally look similar to the Common Order of Worship format, where the betrothed both have sacrifices which are offered to the Earth-Mother in exchange for a blessing, and they partake of the Waters-of-Life from the ritual chalice.

A strange ritual written in 1976 for the Schismatic Druids of North America (SDNA) has some elaborate expectations added in. SDNA Groves are already supposed to have both a priest and a priestess. The betrothed are expected to be skyclad or wear white, green, or brown robes. Just before the middle of the ceremony, the attendees begin the wedding feast. During this time, the betrothed are "emphatically expected" to go off somewhere private and have ritual sex with the priest and priestess, and then with the members of the opposite's wedding party (i.e., the groomsmen then mate with the bride and the bridesmaids mate with the groom after the priest & priestess mate with the bride & groom, respectively). Then the betrothed are expected to come back and consummate in front of the attendees while the priest and priestess do the same "as representatives of the god and goddess."

After this segment, the sacrifices are offered, the vows are exchanged, a written contract is signed in quadruplicate (one for each spouse, one for the Grove records, and one to be sent to the gods through the sacred fire). At this point the rings are exchanged and the betrotheds' hands are bound by ribbons. Then the Waters-of-Life are consecrated and shared and the betrothed are declared to be married. The other members of the wedding party are expected to serve the spouses and the priest & priestess for the remainder of the feast.

Year founded: 1976

Location Founded: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Origins, inspirations, or parent org: Parent - Schismatic Druids of North America (SDNA). Inspirations - New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA), Jewish heritage, mysticism, and “repaganized” cultural and religious customs.

Founders: Isaac Bonewits, Vicki Rhodes

Official Symbols: Not specified in the modern historic record. One third-party example exists as a Star of David with RDNA Druid Sigil at the center. The inverse would also work.

Theological compatibility: Intended for pagans with Jewish heritage, spirituality, culture, mysticism, neopagan syncretism and eclecticism, especially people who really like lots of rules in their religion.

Founder prior involvements: Isaac Bonewits - RDNA, occultism, LaVeyan Satanism, witchcraft. Vicki Rhodes - RDNA, Jewish & neopagan practices.

Active, Hiatus, or Defunct, & Rebootability: Defunct from late 1970s to 2001, active from 2002-2003 before becoming defunct again. Is rebootable. Rebooting would require RDNA or NRDNA Third Order ordination lineage.

Centrally organized: Under SDNA umbrella.

Governing body: The Provisional Council of Arch-Druids (PCOAD) was formed to voice their concerns on behalf of their Groves, though it seems the authority for all legislative decisions was still held by Bonewits to make it easier to get things done, effectively as “benevolent dictator.”

Study Program or Mentorship: No formal study program but had narrower guidelines than regular SDNA educational policy.

Member degrees, ranks, or levels of achievement: Initially identical to RDNA - First Order (entry level), Second Order (training for priesthood), Third Order (priesthood), plus seven higher orders of priesthood as areas of focus or dedication. There is also the Order of the Acorn as a self-dedication rite for those who wish to affiliate with the RDNA or its direct offshoots. The SDNA later began to develop a rank system of Circles - First, Second, and Third Circle, allegedly with more than one circle below First. Specifics now seem to be lost, but a ranking system of five circles were later incorporated into ADF until the 1990s and are likely close approximations to the SDNA. The SDNA and ADF are otherwise very similar, the latter being founded a year after the SDNA became defunct.

There will most assuredly be rituals that are open only to members who have been admitted to the First Circle or higher, and rituals closed to lower Circles. -The Fifth Epistle of Isaac, A Reformed Druid Anthology, 2nd ed.

Membership fees and recurrence: Like the RDNA, membership to the HDNA is free. Individual Groves have the autonomy to charge membership dues to offset operating costs. Entering the Third Order (priesthood) informally costs “breakfast” to feed the person who ordains you. It is viewed as a courtesy, not a requirement, after the All-Night Vigil and ordination ceremony.

Estimated membership: 0.

Estimated number of Groves or study groups: 0

Current grand poobah & title: N/A currently and no definitive title was recorded. Whoever becomes the next SDNA or HDNA priest would first have to be an RDNA or NRDNA Third Order, but we might suggest adopting the title “Benevolent Dictator” or at the very least, Chairperson of PCOAD.

Cult danger (A. B. C. D. E. F. version 2.7) estimated rating: LOW-MODERATE

Alleged cult criteria:

Dogma - Strict requirements detailed across 13 chapters that are vaguely reminiscent of Levitical Law but much more pagan.

Sexual Manipulation - Nine laws regarding sexual conduct including the expectation of sex on weekends and holidays, no restrictions on the grounds of age or species, bonded partners are expected to gratify each other at least weekly, menstrual periods are to be enjoyed and celebrated, and another creepy one is “Be careful about seducing their [outsiders’] children.”

Lots of these rules have caveats and exceptions akin to “void where prohibited” but some of them just shouldn’t be rules if they need disclaimers. If anyone wants to reboot the HDNA they should seriously amend the rules and laws to make them more acceptable to reasonable society.

If anything needs to be rectified, please contact me with proof for correction.