Druidry is enjoying a remarkable resurgence as a pagan, animistic, polytheistic, ancestor-honouring, green spirituality for the 21st century. In this age of imminent climate catastrophe, Druidry offers an inherently green spirituality. Ancient Druids honoured trees and plants as sacred. Following their lead, medieval Irish and Welsh law codes gave legal protection to many tree species. Druid revival groups have been running tree planting campaigns since the early 1900s. Druidry's ecological roots run deep.
In an increasingly fragmented world in which many feel isolated and alienated, Druidry offers a genuine sense of community, both in physical gatherings and online, and of a community dedicated to creating a better world for future generations. Druidry can and does change lives. Many equate their discovery of it with a sense of joyous homecoming.
This book guides readers from the present-day revival of Druidry, its core principles, ethics and practice, to its ancient roots as a spiritual tradition common across much of north-western Europe during the Iron Age, prevalent in the 'Celtic fringe' countries well into the medieval era, aspects of which survived in the bardic schools of Britain and Ireland until around 1800. Along the way, you will learn about the inspiration, creativity, lore and learning of bards; the divination, seership and healing techniques of ovates; the nature, philosophy and magic of Druids; rites of passage; seasonal celebrations; shape-shifting and walking between worlds. Practical exercises encourage you to directly experience the three inter-woven paths of bard, ovate and Druid.
The author has been a Druid since 1974, founding the British Druid Order to promote a vision of Druidry as the earliest spirituality native to the British Isles and much of Northern Europe for which we have a name. An initiated High Priest of Alexandrian Wicca, he is a writer, musician, artist and craftsman living in rural Wiltshire, about halfway between the great stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge.
As a child given to strange dreams and waking visions, Philip sought ways to understand and deal with them. Conventional Christian and scientific worldviews failing to provide answers, he looked to alternatives including Norse Paganism, Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Ritual Magic as taught in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Alexandrian Wicca, in which he is an initiated High Priest. These ultimately led to Druidry, which he adopted in 1974 and has practiced ever since. Not finding an existing group that reflected his vision of Druidry, in the late 1970s he founded the British Druid Order (BDO). The BDO promotes a shamanistic vision of Druidry that has increasingly come to the fore in the 21st century and works directly with the spirits of the natural world, our ancestors and the old gods of Britain, Ireland and north-western Europe. Working with ancestors led to pioneering calls for the respectful reburial of ancient human remains. The BDO also pioneered open ceremonies at sites in the UK and elsewhere, including Avebury and Stonehenge. The BDO also promotes greater appreciation of the rich medieval literatures of Britain and Ireland. A powerful vision during a ceremony in 1994 led to his adopting the craft name, Greywolf. For the last 16 years, he has been editing, researching and writing distance learning courses for the BDO that are unique in the Pagan world. When not working on these, Philip is a musician, artist and craftsman, currently blending all three by recreating early British musical instruments, from prehistoric clay drums to medieval stringed instruments.
