Related Information to Real Druids

Real Druids - Page 4

You information on the Druids has helped me to understand more about what is done in this religion. I think most teenagers today hear 'Druid' and immediately think about the Dungeons and Dragons version.

Rather off topic, but... Do not feel you are limited to this Thread alone, there are other Threads within this Board about Paganism and similar worship to Druids that you may be able to give us your experiences on.

Druids Real

I'm glad to be of assistance in that respect.

When it comes to either a misunderstanding of what Druidry is or just lack of knowledge on it, it's not just the teens. A few years ago I happened along a webpage filled with erroneous information on Druids written by a young man who was doing Comparative Religion Studies. The page stated such things as Ancient Druids being child murderers who worshiped a demonic God known as Sam Hain, and that was one of the nicer things that was written there. Samhain (one word and pronounced "sow-inn") is not a Godform, but a festival that many Pagans celebrate to honor their ancestors. The word stems from "Samonios", meaning summer's end. Once I had a few discussions with the gentleman in charge of the webpage, providing some proper information both on Ancient Druids and Modern ones, he immediately removed the webpage from the internet.

Rather off topic, but... I thank you for your offer to become involved in some of the other discussions here on the board, and I may do so at some future time. Currently, my free time is quite limited due to home life, work, and studies. I'll continue to answer questions to the best of my ability here in this thread, but at current I'm not able to get too involved with other situations. And a side note; Your e-mail notification of replies does not seem to be operating. I'm subscribed to this thread, but have not received any notice of new posts.

Real Druids Paranormal & Mystics Dreams Studies

Name: Alferian

Comments: I was invited to reply to this thread by J.B. and am happy to do so. I am the chief druid of a grove in Minnesota, USA, which part of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD). The grove is called Geal-Darach Grove and has about twenty members and a larger circle of occasional visitors. OBOD is not organized as a "religion" but as a traditional philosophical order. Members of the order pursue a postal study course with the help of a tutor and through that course of study attain the grades of Bard, Ovate, or Druid in the order.

OBOD members are not ordained ministers of anything (unless they seek ordination through some other body). As a druid, I do not consider myself a priest and indeed I feel that the traditonal ideas about the role of "priests" are misleading when applied to modern druids. Druidry is not a part of our society and druids are not retained by villages or communities to minister to them or perform religious rituals, etc. We perform rituals and engage in meditation to grow and improve ourselves through druidry, much as Freemasons practice their symbolic degrees to improve themselves as men.

So, for an order like OBOD, while there may be many members of the order who consider themselves "pagans" and druidry to be their "religion" that is not by any means required. There are OBOD druids who are Christian or even Atheists. This is possible because Druidry, as we practice it, has no dogmas and very few rules. The whole point of our meditations and rituals is to connect ourselves more fully to Nature and to whatever gods or spirits we choose to believe in. Choice is central. To be a druid in this tradition is not to follow what other people believe, but to discover what you yourself believe.

OBOD does not have a council of elders like the Henge of Keltria, but a very minimal central staff in England and a wide web of volunteers who are members of various groves and seed-groups (smaller than groves) around the world. Events and gatherings are organized by groups of members, not by any central authority.

So, calling such an organization a "religion" really would be stretching the usual usage of the word. There is no revered founder, no prophets, no law-givers, no rules, no comamndments, decentralized leadership, complete freedom of conscience and belief, no system of punishments or rewards, and no single creed. Nor is there much in the way of financial organization, so while one does sometimes pay dues to a grove or pay for the study courses of the order, there is no offering plate, and no tithes, and no churches with million dollar budgets. There are also no buildings, so far as I am aware, although a few groves have built stone circles in the USA. Most groves in the U.K. use existing sacred sites, and most engage in their seasonal celebrations outdoors weather-permitting and often in homes or other private meeting rooms during the winter.

I am very happy to correspond with anyone to answer specific questions. I'm replying here as a guest, so I'm not sure if I will receive any email notification of replies here. But to answer the questions asked by Gothic Nature:

I attempt to explain what druidry is if anyone asks, but I cannot honestly say that anyone has just asked me about my religious beliefs in general. They usually discover I am a druid and then ask me about that. Since I do not consider it a "religion" exactly, but a philosophy of life, I put it in those terms. Essentially it is a philosophy of love that extends beyond humanity to all of Nature. It is a philosophy of compassion and empathy and ecology in the broadest sense.

OBOD druids (again like Freemasons) embrace freedom of belief, so that what other people believe is not of any concern to me. I myself was raised a Christian in the Lutheran church, and I have not tossed aside my upbringing, but I do question the doctrines of Christian churches to a point where I do not think it is correct to call myself a "Christian". I do, however, understand the desire on the part of many people to embrace a religion that hands them answers and tells them what to believe. It feels secure. It is much easier than engaging one's spiritual beliefs critically. Humans find comfort in belonging to groups and communities that all believe the same myths and doctrines. Druids share a love of many of the same stories, but we do not, as a rule, embrace them as if they were historical narratives, as the Koran and the Bible are often taken to be.

But, do I myself believe in Christ or devils, etc? I believe that these entities are real to many people, therefore they do exist. But like all spiritual entities they exist in an imaginal plane, an astral dimension of reality that is influenced by what we choose to believe. So, "belief" is not a simple matter of "true/false". I myself believe there are many kinds of beings other than those cataloged by zoologists. Many druids share a belief in the Hidden Folk, commonly called Faery Folk or in Irish the sidhe (pronounced "shee")

Sometimes more, sometimes equal, sometimes less. There is no simple quantitative answer. I myself love trees and animals and do not wish to kill any of them intentionally, but obviously I have to eat and we build our houses out of trees, and this is a part of human life. The important thing is to be aware of what you are doing when you take something from Nature and turn it to human uses. You also have to be aware of the broader ecological impact of your actions, and strive to make love and respect the guiding lights of your behavior towards Nature as towards your fellow human beings. If the issue is between human jobs in the timber industry and protecting forests and endangered species, the moral right to live must be balanced. Killing other people in order to keep your job is not acceptable morally, In my humble opinion. But, as in all things, a druid must arrive at his or her own conclusions logically and compassionately and often through compromise, not through dogmatic rules.

Sacrifices of time, money, and personal energy. Sometimes symbolic offerings are made but these take the form of flowers and stones most often and are intended as an embodiment of particular intentions.

There is a good deal of feasting, music, and poetry, given our roots in the Bardic ideal.

I hope these answers help and please feel free to explore my own website https://bardwood.com as well as the pages listed under "sources".

Yours by sea and star,
Alferian
Chancellor
Avalon Center for Druidic Studies

Page 4 Druids Real

Greetings, Alferian!

Wonderful to have input here from you. I was quite pleased to see that Avalon Center was not completely gone, but I do understand why you "shut the doors".

Rather off topic, but... I sincerely hope your health has improved and your stress level decreased. Any further word on the Board meeting to discuss its direction?

Message Edited... JB: Usually content within the off topic tags has to be less than the reply, so I adjusted it for you.

Druids Real

All the druids here say that they do not remember anyone asking about their religion so I'm thinking how will anyone know about druids?

Real Druids

Not exactly correct. I stated in an earlier post that it happens, but rarely, to me.

What brings a person to begin searching for information on Druids? For anyone other than myself, I can't even begin to answer. Mine began with personal Gnosis.

I'm not exactly sure how the various orders grow, other than by word of mouth form members to friends they know share similar ideals. Perhaps some of it is by web searches. I do know that since I joined the AODA almost two years ago, the number of new members has steadily increased.

Real Druids - Page 4

Actually some of the the topics in this community got me thinking about druids. Thanks for all the first hand information it helps a lot with my research.

To the site owners is it okay to reference the words here?

Real Druids Studies Dreams Mystics & Paranormal - Page 4

What about the group of Druids that see Jesus as a Druid and even think that Jesus had many Druid teachings now corrupted by society. Are they a branch of Druids or are they merely porting the name for popularity?

Of course, just make sure to link to the Thread you took the information from.