Thoughts on Druidry

Of all of the structured Pagan paths it could be argued that Druidry is the most established and perhaps most widely recognised. From the perspective of acceptance by national legislature the Druid movement is accepted as a religion from the perspective of the charity commission, the first, and so far only path to gain such recognition. There are a number of well established and well respected Druid orders around the World, and the origins of the reconstruction of a Druid faith go back to the pre-Raphaelite art movement and the Romantics of the 17^th Century. There are also suggestions that Druid colleges continued in Ireland and North Wales through the dark ages although this is contentious and if it were the case would almost certainly have been a Christianised version of Druidry following the Celtic rather than the Roman Catholic Christianity.

Druidry seeks to promote a spiritual engagement with and attachment to the land and the ancestors and an understanding of mans place in the natural environment and the need to live sustainably. As with all Pagan paths there are areas of Druidry which are at best contentious. The linking of Druidry to the building of Stonehenge is rather unlikely given the archaeological evidence that the monument is Neolithic/Bronze age in date whereas the evidence suggests that Druidry was far later being Iron Age, a difference of some 1500 years. The suggestions, now largely dismissed by serious scholars that there is a continuing thread of Druidry from the Iron Age to the current are similarly unlikely, and it would make more sense to suggest a reconstruction, largely by Christian theologians in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

The principles of Druidry are of a training system with an aim of selecting and preparing people within communities or tribes to fulfill the role of priest, possible judge, possibly healer, advisor and intermediary in negotiation with other tribal groups. The training system as it currently operates within the better know Druid groups tends to be three levels, bards, ovates and druids. Bards are considered to be the storytellers and songmakers, responsible for carrying knowledge and information in a pre-literate society. Competitions amongst bards take the form of Eisteddfods common throughout Wales although how similar these are or if they have any link to Iron Age Druidry is hotly debated. Ovates are generally considered healers in physical, spiritual, emotional and psychological senses, taking care of the communities needs through an intimate knowledge of herb-lore and counseling, Druids are generally considered to take the role of priests and spiritual leaders for the tribe and the wider community as well as taking responsibility for the settlement of disputes.

In modern Druidry this is not generally seen as a continuous progression through a rank system. It is perfectly acceptable for an individual to enter bardic training and to remain at that level if that is where their talents and skills are best employed. It is thought from Roman writers that men and women were accorded equal status within Druidic groups, and certainly that is the case with modern Druidry. Tacitus gives us reports of the attack on Anglesey and the intimidatory effect of Druid warrior women, although the transformation of this into suggestions of a Matriarchal system are almost certainly taking the concept beyond what is credible. The story of Boudicca is sometimes cited as suggesting such a system but that seems to be rather a specific case. Whatever the original system within Iron Age Druidry, modern Druidry has no bar on office based on gender or sexual orientation.

Modern Druid groups tend to be organised into groves, meeting outdoors to celebrate the major seasonal festivals and to give honour and “sacrifice” to the land and the spirits of place and ancestry. There is in my opinion an over-arching theme to Druidic practice but a theme that fully allows individuals and groups the freedom of expression to make Druidry their own within that framework. Some groups practice in ceremonial garb others choose not to and this is perfectly acceptable. Some groups integrate magical aspects into their Druidry, others don’t. There is no specific deity followed by all Druids but generally it accepted that there is some concept of deity within each Druid group whether that be in the form of an Earth Mother or a Lord of the Hunt or whatever form it may take.

There are some very good books on Druidry from the likes of Phillip Carr-Gomm and Emma Restall-Orr and Ronald Hutton has researched the subject extensively and is involved in a Bristol based Druid grove. Unlike many organised pagan paths Druidry is in the main an open system with organizational bodies such as Order of Bards Ovates and Druids and the British Druid Order being contactable for further information, and many individual groups being open to newcomers and those interested in the path. This generally makes it a more accessible path than some of the other Pagan belief systems.