YOUR APPROACH TO DRUIDRY

[Philip]

Hi!

A few days ago I put up a poll about how members view deity. It has been so instructive and helpful to me, I'd like to try another one!

Please read what I have written, then cast your vote!
Thank you so much!
Philip /|\

Some people follow Druidism as a spiritual or philosophical approach to life: they like the way that it respects Nature, the way it offers no dogma, has no creed, and its teachings and ceremonies are open to members of all faiths. They don’t feel the necessity to ‘have’ a religion, or they share John Lennon’s vision when he sang, in ‘Imagine’, of an ideal world with no religion. Others practice a religion but also feel themselves to be Druids – and so we have Christian or Buddhist Druids, for example. Still others follow Druidism as a religion in its own right.

The same person may also relate to Druidry differently during different periods of their life: they may begin by following it as a philosophy, then at another time as a religion, or vice versa.

And there is yet another way that some people relate to Druidism. They follow it as a magical discipline. They approach Druidism as a Mystery School, as a path of initiation that can teach them how to work magically and shamanically.

[Selene]

Hi, Philip.
I'm one of those who sees Druidry as a spiritual/philosophical approach. I have never been comfortable with organized revealed religions; indeed, given the long history of horrendous deeds done in the name of various religions, I have often wondered if the positive aspects could possibly outweigh the negatives.

Still, I have always felt deeply spiritual, and as I said in your other poll, I do believe in Deity. And since I tend toward pantheism in my perception, Druidry has been ideal for me.

And I also appreciate the inclusiveness of Druidry, because I am not arrogant enough to believe that my opinions on revealed religions must be shared by all. I am very glad that OBOD welcomes people of any faith and I do not think that I would enjoy being a member if it did not.

Finally, I have never felt a connection to any form of magic, but I do not say that I could never feel it. Having recently begun my Ovate studies, I will not shut the door on the possibility (however remote it seems at the present!).

Blessings of Samhain,
Selene

[lupiana]

I'm both unabashedly Christian by religion and philosophically a Bardic level druid. OBOD has helped me see the Divine in Nature, as I feel that Divine presence in a church. Some would say the two don't mesh, but I've found they do - and quite nicely. Hope the book goes well!

[lupiana]

Selene, you know so much more than I do and I do see your point, but I'm not convinced it's religion that causes the problem. On horrendous deeds, they happen no matter what. They happen among atheists, who profess no religion at all. But then there's this:

The Prayer of St. Frances

Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.

(Falling asleep at the keyboard now, and this looks like the beginning of a lively thread!)

[Selene]

Yes, Lupiana, I know what you mean, and I do not disagree. And that is a lovely prayer with a sentiment that we would all do well to aspire to. But killing in the name of God has always seemed to me a particularly heinous act. Like I said, however, I do not expect everyone to see things the way I do; it's just the way I feel about it.

Blessings,
Selene

[lupiana]

The feelings are well founded, unfortunately. I remember in Sunday school listening to stories from the Bible - and I loved it when Jesus told the mob to put the rocks down. I think we could all learn from that.

[Mey]

I'm at the beginning of the path of Druidry as a spiritual or philosophical approach to life.
I also relate to Druidry differently during different periods of my life: I may begin by following it as a philosophy, then at another time as a religion, or vice versa. Especially now when my husbands father is dying from lungcancer it helps me as a religion to deal with all the pain and suffering our little family goes through at the moment.

And there is yet another way that some people relate to Druidism. They follow it as a magical discipline. They approach Druidism as a Mystery School, as a path of initiation that can teach them how to work magically and shamanically.

This is to me a paralell path next to the one of philosophy and spirituality. I learn from both. Sometimes they cross or get together and for a while.

It depents on what the new day brings. Tomorrow will be totally different from today (or not). Tomorrow I may be needing a totally different approach to get through the day and to straighten certain things in my head.

As I wrote in the other thread: if you want to know more, feel free to PM or email me.

Blessings,
Mey

[grian]

spiritual, inasmuch as it embraces deity, and that which is so hard to categorise or describe, philosophical in that it informs my everday actions and intent, and magical in that it give me a place to deepen and explore magic, which happens anyway, but if focussed, can be used creatively.

to kill in the name of god seems a complete contradiction to me - if philosophy, spirituality, the arts and psychology were four of the foundations of common education, learned at the knee, i think there would be less war, as more-fulfilled people are less likely to need aggression, and that aggression could be channelled in more creative ways. there is the small matter of history to overcome, tho, in this equation, and that is a hard one to overcome.

[dmiley]

Hi Philip,
If I had to pick one, it would probably be the magical initiation path, but the description seems to me inadequate. I look at Druidry as a path of self discovery. What I discover seems magical and may actually be magical, but I know I'll never be able to "prove" it. So let me propose that Druidry is a way to experience the "final frontier." Did you mean this as part of option 3 or is it a separate choice.

[Underground River]

Where is the "other" choice?
I can't decide if I am choice one or two. I know I am not magical...I'm a muggle...lol.
Seriously, when I found druidry a fire was kindled inside me. Does that mean it's a religion? It was the spirituality and philosophy I had always been following, just didn't know it was called druidry. So now which choice do I submit?
GD

[colm]

I agree that there needs to be an other category here. I think I have viewed Druidry as all of the above at some point in time or another. I myself do not practice organized religion as it has never felt completely right for me. My mother later stated to me that religion is merely anything that one does religiously, therefore with my meditations and practices, Druidry may be viewed as religious in this light. That religion is a matter of taking faith and putting it into practice.

The philosophies of the Druid path are put forward in a way to include all faiths/beliefs to bring them all together under a common cause. The philosophies of the Druid path are something I have tried hard to incorporate into my life for as long as I can remember. I see the teachings as a way to walk my life path, to hold myself up to the light and remember to see the things that are important all around us.

I also view it as a very mystical/magical teaching which teaches us to embrace the things we cannot explain in a new light. To harness the energies around us in a most magical way.

There is so much more to write, this has been an ongoing conversation with my family for over 5 years now and to put it all here would take another lifetime so I hope I was as clear as I could be while keeping it breif.

Peace and Blessings,
Colm

[Merlyn]

Greetings Philip,
I am glad that your last poll was helpful. Always your best resource; your own base.
I voted #2
I find Druidry has opened the door to all spirituality. Druidry enabled all realms to be accessed to me, like a skeleton key to the various realms, weather it is Ancestral, Animal, Deity, Plant, Tree, Cosmos or Gods.
Druidry is the core of understanding. This makes it more than just a philosophy to me. Yes it truly is my philosophy to life, but being of the lineage I am, it strikes a much deeper chord in me. I feel that if I had not found the OBOD, or if it never existed, I would still have found this path and followed it in some way.
Being able to know that I am Poly-pantheistic, was a very important step. I found this "outside" of the OBOD Gwersi, as a side study of insight into what I believe in. Each realm is a cosmos in itself. Each realm shares it's existence with others, they are interdependent, just like me

The same person may also relate to Druidry differently during different periods of their life: they may begin by following it as a philosophy, then at another time as a religion, or vice versa.

I think we do relate differently in each grade as well. It builds into a "full understanding" by the end of the Druid grade. But it also opens the doorway to further understandings. I cannot begin to explain all the different directions I want to go with my research and insights now. Now that I am at the very end of the Druid grade, I see many realms I will dive deeply into and have many places that I will revisit. The elemental and animal realms hold endless insights, and there are many I have decided to dig deeper into. The elemental Dragons have been one example. They hold many wisdoms.

I hope this is all as helpful as your last poll

Merlyn /|\

P.S.
Hard to get all my thoughts in on this one but yes I have found Druidry to also be a magical format, one that works very well. It holds the depth needed for me. I found Wicca much to limited and fell short, as did many other approaches. Only Druidry has the depth of insights needed to truly work the magic and access the depth of magical talent I have found within me.

[ildanach]

Hi there,

While I marked down "My religion" as an answer, really it is both the first and second choice, in seeing the Druids as being both priests (sometimes, as not all Druids were priests) and the intelligentsia of the various Celtic peoples. Thus, I suppose, being a Druid isn't so much of a religion (I guess I should change that ) but as a type of person attached to a religion of a certain people(s), while the Druids themselves would have functioned not only as priests but also as philosophers, judges, lawyers, doctors, etc.

Not sure if that made sense.

peace
-jeffrey

[greymore]

hello,
I am new at studing anything religious or philosophical. The physical here and now with the elements and all of nature is what's happening for me. I guess i've been asleep as to the significance of my existance. Druidry has struck a chord inside me though and feels natural. I've plunged into learning with all myself... that is magical. So that was my choice.

[SeaDruid]

Although I picked the second option, I could easily have picked #3 as well. IMHO, an initiatory and/or magickal/ and/or shamanic path is a spiritual path that is more experientially oriented than philosophically oriented, and I think that Druidry fits that bill as well for me. Every ritual, every tree planted, every poem or song written, every Tarot layout is a bit of magick and a further initiation into a way of living with respect and honor for Nature and all that I believe is both imminant in and transcendant of Her. It helps get me out of my head, which is good since my head is usually buried in books!

As for religion, I have less to say. Religion, to me, seems to be a spirituallity that has been codified to the point of petrification. I like bits of many of the world religions, particularly Buddhism and Taoism (afraid my Catholic upbringing ruined me on Christianity pretty much), but I still find too much set in stone. I guess I'm not looking for religion anymore.

[Loosh]

I voted for number two but really I felt all of them in different proportions. So I prioritized them: spiritual & philosophical, Mystery School, and then finally religion. I find I can include religion in the sense of the Mystical Union with God/dess. And I certainly feel the psychic connection characteristic of an esoteric magical Order, a Mystery School.

[Azrienoch]

Number Two here. I think that magic, God, and even the reality around us are metaphors for developing one's enlightenment. These three things are within us...but I can only speculate by saying that they are outside of us.

[Philip]

Hello!

I appreciate it can be difficult making a choice, but if you ask yourself
"If I had to choose which of these approaches most described how I feel at this moment," that might help. Then by all means post a note which gives you the space to talk about about your thoughts in more detail. If none of the categories describes how you most feel, then do not vote, but post a note.

Blessings,
Philip /|\

[Merlyn]

A spiritual & philosophical approach as described above
is what I voted for, as OBOD Druidry covers my approach most closely.

I agree also that OBOD Druidry is also a magical and in some ways religious, directly and indirectly.

I also bring to light "OBOD Druidry" here, specific. I say this because I feel it is what you meant Philip. Other forms of Druidry (other druid orders) would not "fit" this definition at all in some cases.

[SeaDruid]

I also bring to light "OBOD Druidry" here, specific. I say this because I feel it is what you meant Philip. Other forms of Druidry (other druid orders) would not "fit" this definition at all in some cases.

That is quite true. Some orders have set out to be religions.