I’ve been asked this question before and it seemed like the perfect thing to kick off this new blog of mine. To start, let me get the usual caveats out of the way first. When asking any sort of question that seeks to define a religious or spiritual path there will always be many different answers that you could give. Each person practices their faith in a way that is personal and specific to them. My views on this are colored by a number of factors. I am currently a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin (or ADF for short) and so my views of Druids and Druidry reflect that background. I also have had my own personal experiences that affect my views. So as I am answering this question, know that this is simply how I view things and not necessarily the views of every person who calls themselves a Druid. These opinions are my own and I reserve the right to change them as I continue to grow as a human being and a spiritual being. With all that out of the way, let’s dive into the question at hand.

Image of a Druid

The word itself can conjure up a few different images. For those familiar with Dungeons and Dragons you may have the image of a shapeshifting guardian of nature who wields the forces of nature in ways that give them devastating magical powers. For others you may have an image of an old, bearded man clad in white, performing rites and ceremonies inside a grove of trees. Neither of these images truly reflect the Druids of today. Druids come in all types. I have met people of many different races, genders, and backgrounds who call themselves Druids. We truly are a diverse bunch, like the many types of plants found growing in the forest.

Inspired by our Ancestors

Unfortunately there does not exist an unbroken line of Druidic teaching. As the Celtic regions of Ireland, Wales, Gaul, Scotland, and Britain were converted to Christianity a lot of information about the Druids of old was forgotten to history. The Druids had an oral tradition which meant that nothing about what they actually taught, practiced, or believed in was recorded by them directly. All we have are a number of myths that were eventually written down by Christian monks and some writings by Roman invaders who had little cultural context for what they were witnessing. So while the Druids of today take inspiration from the Druids of old, we don’t necessarily share the exact same beliefs as they did. There just isn’t a way for us to know for sure.

Today’s Druids owe a great deal to the Druid Revival Movement. This was a time a few hundred years ago, around the Industrial Age, when a burst of people became curious about what the pagans of old believed in. As cities modernized, people looked out to the countryside and dreamed of a time where their ancestors lived in harmony with the land. It was a movement of poetry, literature, and art as well as a spiritual movement. Scholars picked apart any historical writing they could for scraps of information that they could find about the Druids. People drew elaborate conclusions based on the simplest of details. So while not truly a time of great historical accuracy, it brought new life to a type of faith that had almost been forgotten.

Modern Druid orders across the globe, like those that came to be during the Revival, are inspired by the Druids of the past. Our ancestors, whether by blood or by spirit, worshiped the land and the old gods. They held the High Days and followed the phases of the moon. They were bards, scholars, and priests for their people. We try to emulate the role these ancestors played in their communities in our own communities. 

Nature Worshiper

The Earth is a sacred, living being. It is our home. It gives us everything that we need to live and to thrive. Druids know this and thus do our part to honor the Earth. We must be protectors and stewards of this great planet that we share. We personify her as the Earth Mother for this planet is like a mother to us all. And like any member of our family, we want her to be safe and healthy.

As we seek to further understand our Earth Mother we find ways to get to know her and her natural cycles. One of the simplest and best ways we can stay in tune with our planet is by getting to know the changing of the seasons. Druids learn to notice the subtle shifts that come about each year that herald the transition of one season to another. Not only does it get you in touch with the Earth but also your locality as these shifts are distinct depending upon your geographical region. 

Follows the Old Gods

The ancient Indo-Europeans were made up of a number of polytheistic cultures. For those of you who don’t know, polytheistic refers to the worship of many gods. You may be familiar with a few of them. The Olympians were worshiped by the ancient Greeks, with gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades among their ranks. The Aesir and the Vanir of Asgard, gods like Odin, Thor, and Freya, were worshiped by the Norse peoples. The Tuatha De Danann were worshiped by the pagans of Ireland, which included Brigid, the Morrigan, and the Dagda. While many people simply think of these gods as mythological figures. Druids, like many modern pagans, work with and worship these deities as the divine beings that they are.

Forever a Student

To be a Druid is to, in part, be a scholar. The Druids were considered the learned, intellectual class in ancient Ireland. They would commit years of their life to study a variety of topics. So to follow in their footsteps is to also commit yourself to being a scholar. There is so much information out there about science, history, magic, and the arts that it would take one multiple lifetimes to try and learn all of it. As a Druid, one never stops learning for there is always more to know. 

Seeks Balance

Finally, being a Druid involves seeking to bring a sense of balance to your life and the world around you. To be a Druid was to be someone that the community could turn to. Sometimes Druids were even held to a higher regard than a King. As Druids attempt to live in harmony with nature and establish a type of balance within the local ecosystem they reside in, we also seek to establish a type of balance within our communities. Helping to mediate squabbles, giving to charity, volunteering, these are some of the ways that we give back to our communities to help balance out some of the uncertainty and chaos out there. Also with regular meditation and practicing mental discipline, a Druid seeks to bring balance to their mind and inner world. To seek balance within as well as without, this is the work of a Druid.

Conclusion

I hope that my words have helped shed some light on what being a Druid means to me. I could go on for longer and in more depth (and perhaps I might in a later blog post). But for now this seems like a good basic overview. I hope I was able to perhaps create a spark of interest inside of you. If not I hope at least you found yourself mildly entertained. For those of you who have read this far, I thank you. Here’s to the first of many more posts to come.

Hail the Kindred.