In Iron Age Ireland, Britain, and Western Europe there was a class of people who served their tribes and nations as scholars, clergy, mediators, poets, educators, and advisors.  Today we refer to these diverse peoples spanning different cultures, languages, lands, and centuries as Druids.  They were very learned and literate but chose not to write any of their teachings and traditions down.  Rather they passed them on through word of mouth and way of life.  It was a living tradition quickened by divine inspiration, the cycles of the sun, the phases of the moon, the movements of the stars, the wonders of the lands, the habits of plants, the creatures of the lands, the imaginative power of human minds, and the loving bonds of human hearts.  These Druids advised on the traditions and practices that would sustain life, inspire adventure, and make meaning from death and tragedy.  They spoke for justice and mediated conflicts.  By the 1st or 2nd century of the Common Era the office of the Druid was in decline due to Roman conquests. This decline continued over the next few centuries due to Christianization and societal changes.  By the 4th and 5th Century Druids scarcely existed with continued social changes and cultural upheavals. Their traces could still be found, however, as mythic characters in the imaginations of storytellers and the music of folk songs.  There they stayed dormant, sleeping for over a thousand years.  

Then, in the 1600’s curiosities began to emerge in Ireland, Britain, and Western Europe.  The question, “Who were the Druids?” began to be uttered.  At first, this question was pursued in terms of national identity and how British, Irish, and Western European peoples could locate themselves in history, understand their roots, and make sense of pre-Christian history.  While scholarship is able to tell us some things about the people and activities of the Iron Age it can’t tell us things like the words of Druid prayers or the liturgies of Druid rituals.  We do understand the cross-quarter festivals and discerning the solar and astronomical cycles it celebrates as contributions of Druidry to her communities.    For some, though, this question changed from  “Who were the Druids” to “How can I be a Druid?”  

From the 1700’s on numerous groups and organizations emerged that called themselves Druids.  This ranged from social clubs organizing for charity and support of persons in need, to political revolutionaries seeking peace and justice, to magical practitioners searching spiritual mysteries.  Movements and orders would be born, grow, and die all across Ireland, Britain, and Western Europe through the 1900’s.  Old practices were recovered and new traditions were imagined and engineered by drawing from the land herself, folklore, folk traditions, esoteric wisdom schools, and world religions.

Druids were resurrecting!

When I think of the Christian stories of Jesus’ Resurrection, they all have one thing in common.  No one recognized Jesus at first.  He looked different.  His truth had to be revealed and his appearance experienced in the heart and soul.  This is how I think of Druid resurrections.  No one can claim that modern Druidry looks the same as ancient Druidry, but the truth of it and our connection with ancestors and forbearers lives in our hearts and souls.  Its available to anyone but not for everyone and that’s ok.  It’s something that calls to us and comes from deep within us.

This is where my story picks up.  I had heard the word Druid and had some basic notion of Druidry as a nature based spiritual path.  I had experienced a resonance in my soul with things “Celtic” such as the lands, art, and music.  During a body listening meditation while I was in Seminary, my body told me “I am a Christian, I am a Druid.”  I chose to honor this call and explore this question, “How can I be a Druid?”  Or rather, “How can I share, enact, and live in such a way that that honors my inner truth?”  and “How can I find community and companions to walk with?”

So, I researched Druid orders, got in touch with Druid practitioners, and found that the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) was for me.  I like to say that I have always been a Druid.  Before committing to a tradition it was like I was wandering around in a field.  Connecting to OBOD was like finding a path.  In doing initiation and other ceremonies I was struck by an experience very common among people on this path: “It felt like coming home.”  To me it was coming home to a deeper ancestral connection with the elements and the forces of nature.  I can’t prove this but my intuition tells me that these Druid ancestors (by blood and/or by Spirit) are pleased with us today.  Those wise practitioners of living traditions are glad that we resurrect it in ways that work for us today.  So while we can’t claim continuity of the exact words and lineages, we have resurrected their spirits quickened by divine inspiration, the cycles of the sun, the phases of the moon, the movements of the stars, the wonders of the lands, the habits of plants, the creatures of the lands, the imaginative power of human minds, and the loving bonds of human hearts.  

Key Sources

Here are some of the works and scholarship that helped shape my convictions:

Cunliffe, Barry W.  2010.  Druids: a very short introduction.  Oxford University Press

Hutton, Ronald.  2009.  Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain.  Yale University Press.

https://druidry.org/druid-way/what-druidry/what-is-a-druid 

Order of Bards Ovates and Druids (OBOD) website https://druidry.org/ “OBOD – The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids – is a mystery school, a community around the world, who love nature and want to follow a magical, spiritual way that respects and protects the natural world in all its beauty. Members work with spiritual teachings that combine the inspiration of the ancient druids and the old stories with contemporary scholarship and insights into the relationship between human beings and the world of plants and animals, stars and stones. On this site you’ll find hundreds of articles on Druidry and Druid Lore, Nature Spirituality, Gods & Goddesses, contributions from members, and much more.”