Hello! I want to go to my local druid circle, but I'd like to research more about druidry before going. (I'm autistic w/social anxiety... I like planning ahead!)

Does anyone have good informational videos about modern druidry? I know the little that we know about ancient druidry, but I'd love to hear someone talk about their current experiences on the community and what the common factors tying everyone together is so I can make a decision whether it's a good fit.

I dont do as well with podcasts, but if that's all ya got, I'll take the recommendation. 💖✌️ Thanks y'all.

I'm very skeptical of organizations, especially religious organizations, but the OBOD really seems on the up-and-up. I'm very curious about the coursework and the org as a whole.

Are there any downsides to being a member of OBOD? Any scandals or issues I should know about?

EDIT: I joined! Thanks everyone for their responses. I figure I can always leave if I don't like it. I'm excited though!

I took my kids out to Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, Utah, so the day was already full of thoughts on fossilization, and geological time and climate changes and adaptations of animals and ... you know, the usual when you visit dinosaur museums. So much time that you just can't comprehend no matter how many graphs they use - we just can't imagine a million years much less 150x that.

But in the Vernal Field Museum (where they collect the stuff big museums on the east coast didn't manage to cart away), I came across this one that moved me differently from all the skeletons. This is the imprint of raindrops from a light passing storm 47,000,000 years ago. By what geological fluke was something so ephemeral as the few raindrops, which didn't even fall thick enough to make a puddle, end up being passed on to me to think about so much time later?

I am a fan of stopping what you're doing to experience something like the first droplets of a rainstorm. Let yourself just fell it and smell it and see it and hear it. I am a fan of journaling about the experience to let you experience the echos of it later (and because good science is helped by a habit of writing down your observations). I advocate for printing out journals to preserve them beyond the end of myspace and hard drives. And then there's this: nature's masterclass in keeping a snapshot of something so temporary for so long, it is functionally to us far longer than forever.

Anyway, an unassuming rock sample in a museum full of rock samples. Others of the samples were newer than this one, many were far older. But this one holds my attention today and draws my attention across the epochs to a brief moment a long time ago. Keep finding wonder on the path, my awesome friends.

I have spent the last maybe 6 years worshipping as a wiccan, with a BOS and everything. But then I dropped my practice for a while after a large life change. But now I'm told in my community that I'm unallowed to be a wiccan becuase I don't wish to worship deities. They said I belonged here instead, and I don't really know if that's true?

Some background on me, I have a hard time with the concept of God. I don't personally belive in a god or goddess, but more so I just worship nature as it's own entity. And I don't personally belive in or care for any particular deities beyond story's and seeing the deities as embodiments of specific things. Like a diety being the diety of fertility, I just see that as a story that symbolizes fertility and then the name people use is a way to be reminded of the symbolism, if that makes sense.

To be completely honest, I'm lost. I love the community and learning that came with wicca but now knowing that I'm suposed to be worshiping a god and goddess and deities.. I don't know. It doesn't feel so much like it fits me anymore.

So I guess my question is, is druidry really just wiccanry without having to worship deities? Is the magic and spell work all the same? Am I allowed to keep and make book of shadows in druidry? I just have so many questions and I would love to know more so I can decide if this is the right choice.

Am infant druid here. Wanting to learn more in my studies. Any video or book reccomendations I can find more info about?

Are there holy texts, scriptures, fables, legends, practices, beliefs etc that are listed somewhere?

Edit: I found AODA and their structure is exactly what I was looking for.

Rarely but occasionally, I run into the claim that authentic Druidism (or maybe Celtic Paganism or "Paganachd") has been passed down family lines in Scotland or Ireland, is not the same as Revival or modern Druidry, and they find the more common type of Druidry to be offensive. Even that the word "Druid" is improper and offensive...that it's a closed tradition that one cannot convert into or join, one must be raised in it. In the most recent case I'm not sure if it's trolling or an attempt at gate-keeping. The few people with this view would find all revived Druidism inauthentic.

This is not my view and of course they can just be ignored, but have others encountered this? What do you make of such claims?

Cool little bit of news from Canada

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/terrasse-vaudreil-quebec-tree-rights-9.7243634

I have Irish and Scottish ancestry and actually visited there recently and recently became friends with someone who is Irish and is a Druid and I was interested. So I am curious as to where to even start with this? I know I can look up websites but it feels smarter to talk to real Druids for the most accurate information. So anyway, please give advice or ask questions I am genuinely considering this as a lifelong practice. Thanks!

Il semble que celui de l'IWOD soit gratuit, qu'en est il des autres?

Hello!

I have scottish and Welsh ancestery, but I grew up in Yorkshire in the North West of England. I would like to know if anyone has any book reccomendations linked to the folklore and practices of these places.

I have also read a few beginner books like Earth magic by Scott Cunigham and the Green Witches Handbook. I've watched some Youtube channles also and historical documentaries on the celts and druids. But I wondered if anyone had any books they could reccomend for going abit deeper into the craft, about spellcrafting and especially circle casting would be a great help.

One thing I’ve been discovering about myself is that I don’t necessarily feel closest to the sacred inside a building, I feel it in places like this.

Sitting among the trees, listening to birds and the wind, brings me a sense of peace that I’m only beginning to understand.

This little woodland gathering place really spoke to me today.

I'd like to get an idea of the range of beliefs people have about Deity on here, though it won't be a scientific survey. Soft and hard polytheism, pantheism, animism, agnosticism/atheism, deism, monotheism, or other?
How many of these fit within Paganism?

I've long leaned toward some form of polytheism and pantheism, but lately also feel inclined to think that there may have been a first or ultimate cause for even a cyclic Universe. I don't interpret that Source as a personal god, so it's more like deism. This would help me to explain an origin for Awen, Nwyfre, souls, consciousness, and the Otherworld.

Me and a friend explored the woods and came across this giant hollow tree with the largest burl i’ve ever seen (for scale i could fit in there as well as someone else and i am fully grown). Someone adorned the tree with white stones and put in this shelf beneath the burl that i used as a temporary altar for the night. The forest spirits seemed especially active and strong around this tree in particular. Several ravens visited the nearby trees and observed us for a while. We also saw two great eagles hunting fish and baby ducks in the lake (i made a small grave for this duck pictured on the last slide). I left the spirits, Earth Mother, and all others around some offerings as thanks for letting me rest here that i saw were taken the next day. Such a magical experience that I had to share. Blessings

Reddit suggested that I share a post I made where I explained that I redefined my belief of lycanthropy while introducing myself.

So I am here to ask and introduce myself here as well and see what happens and what people say and stuff.

I don't understand druidism or know if it is more of a set pagan religion or is an open term like animism and theist. Is it?

I won't go into it too much but lycan in a more realistic sense to me would just be a person who can kinda "shift" their mindset and be more in touch with their animal side n stuff. There's obviously more to it but yeah. What are we thinking?

It's okay either way, and I'll take comments with a grain of salt.

I thought I'd share this because I thought it was deeply meaningful spiritually in my druid path. The other day I went outside to do my morning greeting to the earth and sky, and I saw this little armadillo just cruising through my yard. It was meaningful in two ways, I live in Florida and armadillos aren't native to Florida, they were introduced in the 1920's and two it's the first time I've seen an armadillo that wasn't in captivity. Unfortunately, I was only able to get a picture of his backside. He wasn't frantic, he was very deliberate about what he was doing. I think the message might be about setting boundaries or strengthening present boundaries. What are your take aways on this thought.

Just a reminder of the stunning beauty in our chaotic world. A meditation on beauty and transience. Reaching for the sun, working for the future. The petals will be gone in a day or 2. It'll be hot today, but I remember the ice of January. I try to soak it in and store it for next winter.

Hi all!

I have a question about welcoming in guidance from ancestors or spirit guides. I recently went to a Litha Faire and had a great Druid reading by a helpful and wonderful friend. She recommended that I speak with my ancestral guides, the Tuatha Dé Danann and call them in. Basically letting them know "hi I'm here and I'm ready to learn", and last weekend I knelt down in prayer and did just that.

I asked for guidance and told them I'm willing to hear them. That I want to know what they have to say. But.... I haven't heard anything. I will say I think I've had some animal signs! Like a hare and an endangered tortoise literally walking up my driveway and hanging out in my front porch. And a strange looking kitten. I've also been feeling a lot more rejuvenated by the nearby trees, and have wonderful conversations with them. I haven't had any earth shattering dreams, just my usual craziness that makes no sense. Like last night after a nightmare involving getting stuck in a three house culdesac with people approaching, I dreamt of a wild boar with a mohawk eating piglets, and a woman trying to rescue them. I told her to stand aside and let the boar do as it was meant to do. And then I spawned piglets like in Minecraft and dodged the boar. I literally don't see any symbolism there.

Anyways, I don't know what to listen for. It's not like I'm expecting words in my ears, but I don't know - I guess I'm expecting something more outward than my higher self? They say intuition whispers and anxiety screams. I've been working to unlock my psychic gifts, and it's slow going. Does anyone have any recommendations? I just sort of quietly prayed. Is there something I'm missing?

I made this bowl by hand out of pecan wood I found and wanted to share.

It holds Hungarian Partridge feathers, bobcat fur, and my handmade wooden awen pendant.

To me each piece has a meaning:

The Pecan Stewardship Bowl (Earth) — The land itself. It was once a living tree and is now something I’ve shaped with your own hands. It represents my
responsibility to care for the place where I live.

The Partridge Feathers (Sky) — The bird world. They remind me to notice the creatures around me. The woodpeckers, bluebirds, and all the birds whose calls begin my mornings.

The Bobcat Fur (The land and its creatures) — The wildness of nature. Not just the gentle parts, but the fact that ecosystems include predators and prey. It reminds me that nature isn’t simply peaceful; it’s dynamic and interconnected.

The Awen Pendant (Myself, choosing to seek wisdom and live intentionally)— my own search for wisdom and inspiration.

The cord — Relationship. It binds the pendant together and symbolizes the connection between myself and the living world, or between all parts of an ecosystem.

Came home from doing laundry to find a crow thrashing around my backyard with an injured wing and my favorite neighborhood cat ready to pick a fight it wasn't going to win easily. I managed to prevent the cat from getting to it, but the crow holed up in a bush and even with the help of a friend we just couldn't scare it out to grab it and get it to a care center, and it turns out it's actually very hard to find any sort of animal control help in NYC that doesn't cost more than I can afford to spend.

I really wanted to help this crow, but I feel like I can only leave it to the world's devices, and I fear the cat is going to get hurt too before it's all over.

UPDATE: I appreciate the words here. Even knowing what's been said before I posted, it is comforting to hear it said all the same. The crow is still alive, still in the yard, and still to wily to be caught. I've left out food and water and made a little sheltered tower which so far it hasn't used. Nothing much left to do but keep monitoring it, and maybe an opportunity will arise to catch it and bring it to a care center.

2ND UPDATE: Unfortunately discovered yesterday that overnight my crow friend lost to the local cats. I wasn't even able to take care of the aftermath myself as I was headed to work in the moment and when I came back my landlord had disposed of things. Said a quick prayer before leaving, and took to heart the words people have said here. Can't help feeling a little foolish getting so worked up over a crow, but connection to the world comes in the strangest places.

Most of my life, i felt felt this calling to nature and this sort of recognition of the inherent cycles that affect night everything in existence. Recently, i have grown spiritually as well, having recognized this sort of pull that i experienced as something more than mere enjoyment.

Now, I am looking for places I might connect more strongly, groves and community, though the monetary manner of many online groups seems a tad disconnecting to me. Ive enjoyed reading many resources, but now i seek to learn more from others.

Does anyone know of any groups or groves/nemeton in Michigan USA? Or perhaps any areas you have felt a specifically strong connection?

Hello Beautiful Souls! I hope all of you are doing well. I have been dabbling in photography to capture the birds I see. Going through my pictures I realized that the Cardinal has been making himself known the past few weeks. This is not an uncommon bird by any means, but it is not common for them to sit and pose while you awkwardly take pictures.

One big thing that the Cardinal represents is the Ancestors. It is common the southern United States for someone to connect seeing a Cardinal after a loved ones death, as that loved one coming to visit you. I have been focusing a lot on ancestor work and veneration along side my very folk magic based practice.

The Ancestors are letting you know that they are here and watching over you. You are not alone. They are on your side and the more that you honor and connect with them the stronger that relationship is.

Have you been seeing Cardinals? It could in your waking life, your dreams, or even in media. Let us know in the comments.

Hello everyone,

I recently came to Neo-Druidry through reading a book by John Michael Greer.

I am a solitary practitioner and consider myself very much at the beginning of this path.

Last night, my mother passed away at the age of 88, and I would like to understand how I might honor her passing with a ritual.

What struck me most is that she passed shortly after her birthday, which fell exactly on the night of Alban Heruin. I find that particularly meaningful and magical.

I know that our path is non-dogmatic, but I would be grateful if any of you, my brothers and sisters on the path, could offer some advice or inspiration.

I would be deeply thankful.

For now, considering the role of the Bard, I am thinking of writing a poem in her honor and then burning the paper on which I wrote it.

Thank you to anyone willing to share their thoughts or guidance. /|\