What exactly is the......

[Sea~Chelle]

Druidic Path? I am wanting to learn everything I can about everything I can! Hence the title "Seeker of Knowledge" I have just stated my journey and have come to a place in the road that is way more than just a fork. There are many directions to choose from and I am not sure of which one as of yet. I haven't had a chance to read all of the posts so if there is one that wil explain things to me just point me there.
Thanks so very much:wave:

[Éric]

Heya, Chelle.

You want to know what the "Druidic Path" is, huh? :) Depends on who you ask.

I would submit there are two...the traditional kind, grounded in Celtic cultures, and the newer kind, which isn't. Which are you curious about?

[Twig]

I tend to agree with Éric. In my travels I've found that there are basically 2 camps of thought. There are those that follow the "Traditionial/Celtic Reconstuctionist" or the "Neo-Druid" style. So what the heck are those you ask?

The first are those that try to follow the "archeological" druid. Examples of this would be the ADF and OBOD. I would suggest looking at their websites for a better explanation.

The Neo or "New Age" druid {of which I would be classified} keeps the celtic panthion and tennents of druidry but, follow a looser interpretation of the rituals. Check out www.druidry.org for a good example.

I won't go into the merits or retactables of either as , each person must make up their own mind on their personal path.

Again, welcome to the Druid Forum! :wave:

Peace,
Twig
:elf:

[Sea~Chelle]

Thank you so much. I will check out the site ad if I have any more questions I will be back.
Have a wonderful day. I hope the sun is shining where ever you may be.

[Éric]

Originally posted by Twig
The first are those that try to follow the "archeological" druid. Examples of this would be the ADF and OBOD. I would suggest looking at their websites for a better explanation.

I would expand on this a bit, if I may...those of us in the traditional camp don't follow so much an archeological model as a cultural one. The neo-Druid faction lies outside Celtic cultures, and are by and large aliens to those cultures. As Twig pointed out, they keep some concepts (with their own interpretation) and maybe some words (names, for example), but share little else than the word "Druid". The vast majority of them are not Celts.

The OBOD has nothing to do with us...they're neo-Druid as anyone. The ADF is a little different...they seem to be moving towards a more traditional form under Ian Corrigan, but they're still maintaining their distance from Celtic cultures.

I would say that the main differences are these: in native Celtic society, a Draoi is not of a separate religion. They're a learned and sacerdotal functionary *within* the religion (as is traditional). Neo-Druids see their "Druidism" as a religion of itself, which bears no relation (or very little, and often superficial) to traditional Celtic beliefs. They're not Celts, they don't speak Celtic languages, and so on. In addition, neo-Druids feel free to incorporate and create whatever they like, and call it Druidic. We (traditionalists) preserve the traditions of our ancestral culture, and don't find a need to bring in outside traditions as a whole...our own culture is fine, thanks. :)

As part of another project, I've put together something of an introduction to traditional Gaelic beliefs; if you're interested in Celtic Druidry, it might be interesting. It's at http://www.geocities.com/ericlperkins/gt.html