Following the Path of Druidry
More Information About the Course
What Others Say
Frequently Asked Questions
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Many people believe that the teachings of the Druids were lost with the coming of Christianity, and that we couldn't possibly be teaching authentic Druid wisdom. But we believe that we are. The teachings given in the course are made up of five strands:

The first, and most important, comes - surprisingly to many - from very far back in time, and almost certainly to the teachings of the Druids before the coming of Christianity. We believe these teachings were entrusted to future generations by being encoded in certain ancient stories. Within these stories we can find embedded entire programmes of Druidic training, which form the core of the teachings that we present in the training of the Order. In addition to this material, we draw on the wisdom of the Druidic triads, which were recorded by Christian clerics but which reflect much of the wisdom of their pre-Christian ancestors.

The second strand has its source in the much later period of the Druid Revival, which began over three hundred years ago, at the end of the seventeenth century. Our Order traces its lineage to this period, and from this source of teachings we have inherited certain ritual forms and teachings. Some of these we have discarded as inappropriate to the modern age, but others have been kept, not only for their beauty and relevance, but because they too might well derive from earlier sources, or draw their inspiration from them.

The third strand comes from a more recent time, about forty years ago, when the previous Chief of the Order, Philip Ross Nichols, together with a group of fellow-druid members of the Ancient Druid Order, formed The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids, still honouring its connections through the Ancient Druid Order back to its founding in the time of the Druid Revival, but taking the decision to incorporate more study of Celtic source material, and to include a celebration of the four Celtic fire festivals. Ross Nichols was a friend of Gerald Gardner, the founder of the modern Wicca movement, and the evidence of the intellectual cross-fertilisation that occurred between them can now be seen in both Wiccan and Druid teachings. Nichols edited Gardner's first book on Wicca, and contributed material to his second book.

The fourth strand comes from the contribution of the present Chief of the Order, Philip Carr-Gomm, to the teachings. Having trained with Ross Nichols, and having trained in psychology and psychotherapy, (in particular Jungian analytical therapy and Psychosynthesis) Philip was asked to lead the Order in 1988.

The fifth strand comes from the contributions of many contemporary scholars and specialists in Druidry and Celtic spirituality, who - over the last decade or more - have offered their insights and writings to the world, and in some cases specifically to the Order, to help build a body of teachings that are truly relevant and helpful to students of Druidry in the modern world. These include, amongst others, Professor Ronald Hutton, Professor Roland Rotherham, Dr Graham Harvey, John & Caitlin Matthews, Mara Freeman, Vera Chapman, Gordon Cooper, Erynn Laurie, Cairistiona Worthington, John Michael Greer, Philip Shallcrass, Emma Restall-Orr, Nicholas Mann, Maya Magee Sutton, Frank McEowen, Tom Cowan, John O’Donohue, Robin Williamson, and John Michell.

These five strands have contributed to creating a body of teaching that over the years has proved to be inspiring and helpful to very many people.

Not at all. Many members find a year is sufficient time for them to follow the course, but many also take longer - 18 months to two years or more. There is no pressure to complete the course, and each student is encouraged to follow the course at their own pace.

In ancient times it took nineteen years to become a Druid, but this course of training included many of those subjects that we learn today at school. And nineteen years is also a symbolic length of time: it represents a Metonic cycle: a calculation of the time between two almost identical eclipses, and a calculation which also succeeded in uniting the solar and lunar calendars. And so nineteen years symbolises the time it might take for someone to unite the sun and moon, the Masculine and the Feminine, within their beings.

Today it still takes a long time to achieve this union in the depths of our souls, and the study of Druidry is a lifetime pursuit for many. But we no longer need to train for nineteen years before we can call ourselves a Druid. In fact the term Druid has now come to denote, for many, the type of spirituality they follow. And as for training, we have found that most members taking the course reach the Druid level of training in about three years, although it is possible to achieve this in just over two years.

Although we do mail you quite a lot of material, we believe you will find it easy to work with. Over the years we have received hundreds of letters from members saying how they have found following the course feels like 'coming home' to them, and how it has changed their lives. They find the Gwersi simple and yet at the same time profound and inspiring. Even with a busy life, most people find the time to work with all the material we send them. And your tutor is always available to help you.

Yes - but we do ask that they write to advise us that they are working with your material and that they send a registration fee of £25. By registering on the course they will be entitled to their own tutor, and will be able to progress through the Grades, provided they fulfil the criteria as laid out in the course.

To join the Order and take the course you must be at least 18 years of age. In exceptional circumstances we can accept enrolments from students who are 16 or 17, but their enrolment must be accompanied by a letter from a parent or guardian confirming that they are happy for them to be taking the course. We appreciate that many younger people would like to take the course, but over the years we have found that the material presented simply cannot be assimilated by those under 16.

You can either enrol on the course right away or you can start off by sending for an introductory package, which gives the first month's work of the course, together with details of the Order's Sacred Grove Planting Programme and Campaign for Ecological Responsibility. This costs £15 in the UK. Higher fees apply in other countries to cover airmail postage and currency conversion costs (£17/€25 Europe, £18/$33 US & Rest of World). You also receive the first CD of the audio version of the course in this package, to help you choose whether you would like to follow the audio + text version, or whether you would like to receive just the text only.

After sampling all this material, if you feel it isn't right for you, you can either keep the materials, or send them back to us and we will refund your money. But if you decide you would like to enrol on the course, we will send you a package each month for the next twelve months. Each package contains four Gwersi to study (in audio or text format or both), and a copy of Touchstone - a monthly magazine which contains articles and poetry, and gives details of Groves and Seed-Groups, Members' Notices and news of forthcoming events, workshops and other items of interest.

In addition to the monthly Gwersi, through the year we also send you the Bardic Companion, a CD of the Sacred Grove and Light-Body exercises, and of Gaelic Pronunciation, and the Book of Ritual plus the full ceremonies for each of the eight seasonal festivals.

In addition to the material that you receive, you may correspond about your experiences with the course with a tutor who is personally allocated to you, and we provide you with the passwords to gain access to the private members' website and forums.

If you're in the UK the cost of the text course works out at £3.75 a week, and the text + audio course £6.15 a week. Higher fees apply in other countries to cover airmail postage and currency conversion costs. But staged payment plans are available to help you, and if you enrol on the full course online now, we include the Introductory package for free. Click on the 'Join & Enrol' button to view details of fees, and full descriptions and photos of the materials you will receive.

We do not want financial hardship to prevent people following the course, so if you really find that even with the easier payment methods, you still cannot afford the fees, please write to us explaining your circumstances. Concessions are also often available for camps, retreats and workshops in the event of financial difficulties.

Yes! At any time you can contact us and ask to receive the CDs too, for a supplement.

The fee structure is calculated in the same way as the Bardic Grade, and a similar amount of material is sent during the Ovate and Druid Grades. We plan to release an audio version of the Ovate course in 2008. Each Grade is complete in itself and takes about a year to complete. You must start with the Bardic Grade.

It is not necessary to progress from one to the other, and some members choose to remain as Bards or Ovates.

We send you a great deal of material and it all costs money to produce, and everything is sent airmail to prevent delays. If we could find a way of reducing these costs we would, but in the meanwhile offices, computers, postage, printing and so on all need to be paid.

The photographs shown in the 'More Information' windows that you can access if you click on the 'Join & Enrol' button will give you an idea of how much we actually send you, and in addition to what we mail there are many benefits of membership that cannot be presented in this way, including mentoring, gatherings, camps, retreats, private website and forums. We believe the amount requested is very fair considering all the benefits of membership and the amount of material we send, and that you will agree with this when you see all that we send you in the introductory package. But if you don't, or if you feel it isn't right for you, just send it all back to us and we will refund your payment in full.

We aim to produce and distribute the course with as little environmental impact as possible. Storage cases for the course are made from 100% recycled cardboard and whenever we can we use 100% recycled paper, with chlorine-free paper from managed forests as a second choice. We also allocate a proportion of the course fees to tree planting. This money is donated directly to Trees for Life to help reforest the Caledonian Forest in Scotland, and The Woodland Trust to create new woodlands and to help preserve woodland in the UK. We are also working with Maori friends in Aotearoa, New Zealand, to help preserve and maintain a sacred site in the wilderness, and with Tree Aid to fund tree planting and management in Dogon country in Mali. In addition we have initiated two projects to help protect and preserve the environment: The Campaign for Ecological Responsibility and The Sacred Grove Planting Project. Full details are sent to all members on joining.

The course is also available in text versions in French, Dutch, Czech and German language editions. Portuguese and Italian versions will be available soon. See www.druidry.eu and the 'Languages' section on this site. The audio version is only available in English.

If you would like to receive the introductory package which includes a CD, the booklet Wild Wisdom - introducing the Order and Druidry, a booklet entitled The Sacred Grove, sample lessons of the course, and details of the Campaign for Ecological Responsibility, you can do this online - click on the JOIN & ENROL button at the top of this page. Full details on how to enrol on the full course come with the Introductory package. If you are absolutely sure you want to enrol on the full course you can also do this, and receive the introductory package too.