help !

[bansidhe]

heyla everyone!
im new around here, and ive been trying to study Druidry for about a year, but as it is, im the only pagan who lives anywhere around here, so that sux. well, if any of you guys would be willing to try to help me learn somwthing, please do, cos at the minute, i have pretty much no idea! if you reckon you can help me, juss mail me or leave a post !
take care and brightest blessings,
bans.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by bansidhe
heyla everyone!
im new around here, and ive been trying to study Druidry for about a year, but as it is, im the only pagan who lives anywhere around here, so that sux. well, if any of you guys would be willing to try to help me learn somwthing, please do, cos at the minute, i have pretty much no idea! if you reckon you can help me, juss mail me or leave a post !
take care and brightest blessings,
bans.


One important thing to keep in mind is that until you are 18, formal groups won't take you as a student unless you have signed permission from your parents. Until then, you are pretty much limited to books. One good place to look is in the history and folklore sections of the library or bookstores. It also depends on what 'kind' of druidry you are interested in. There are 'flavours' of druidry, just as there are of any other religion! <G> Can you tell me a little more of what you are trying to do?

Maggie

[Phrater]

Don't be so sure that you are the only one around... you'd be pleasantly surprised by how many of us there really are. Of course I cannot say this with total confidence, if you live in a town in the mountains where you are related to everyone and you know everyone completely then I may have spoken incorrectly. But assuming that you live in small town usa or the big city... I bet there are more crafty people to be found. If you need any help with anything feel free to contact me. My Grove and I have no age restrictions. In fact we prefer to start teaching at an early age, where parental permission is not required but(usually) the parents are the ones bringing their children to us for instruction.

[bansidhe]

okies maggie, im gonna try to reply to your post, if i can work out how ! lol. well, i understand that there are different 'flavours', i juss dont know what they are ! lol. well, i guess i want to learn from the past but be able to use it in the future ? if you get what i mean. like, try to kep the traditions the same but times have changed, so i guess that its not always possible to keep everything going ? i hardly know what i mean, so i dont know if you will ! well, im gonna cruise now, take care and brightest blessings,
bans

[bansidhe]

lol, i dont know for sure, what i meant was no one that i know of. well, im living in australia at the minute, in adelaide, so if you know of any Groves, or anything like that down here, drop me a line. ive juss worked out a way to learn gaelic, so provided that works out *fingers crossed* thatll be a start. i guess i want to find sort of Druidic teacher, if that makes sense? and i know very little about how to do rituals and stuff like that. i guess i know very little all over ! :) well, take care and brightest blessings.
bans

[Phrater]

Strangely enough, I did know of a Grove in Australia.
It was organized by my friend NightHawk. Very cool guy.
But, he moved to Hawaii over 1.5 years ago. I'll see if he still has ties there or if they simply went poof. Gaelic is a wonderful language. And as far as rituals go. Read my article in the circle poll section. It should help you to understand the philosophies behind druidic ritual and just how it works. One quick thing... we do not prize or even take seriously the rituals. (The Druids I know) a Druid ritual for Beltane in my experiences could be mistaken for a picnic at a quick glance. Since the Roman persecutions we have adopted new tools so as to not give ourselves away. Our Athame could be a butter knife, our chalice could be a regular drinking glass, our wand could be any stick off the ground, our circle could be cast around a picnic blanket, and so on... Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Fare ye well.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by bansidhe
okies maggie, im gonna try to reply to your post, if i can work out how ! lol. well, i understand that there are different 'flavours', i juss dont know what they are ! lol. well, i guess i want to learn from the past but be able to use it in the future ? if you get what i mean. like, try to kep the traditions the same but times have changed, so i guess that its not always possible to keep everything going ? i hardly know what i mean, so i dont know if you will ! well, im gonna cruise now, take care and brightest blessings,
bans

"Try to keep the traditions the same but times have changed...."

You might like to try the Celtic Reconstructionalists, although there's another name going around now. Different groups have differing degrees of how tight they stick to the past, I'm sure you can find one that suits! Try Imbas, that's a very good group for this kind of druidism. There will be links there for others...there's also a group called technopagans that you might like. They published a blessing for a new laser that I just love. I can't find the address at the moment, but a web search on 'technopagan' should turn them up. This happens to be my type of thing.....<G>

Regards,

Maggie

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Phrater
we do not prize or even take seriously the rituals. (The Druids I know) a Druid ritual for Beltane in my experiences could be mistaken for a picnic at a quick glance. Since the Roman persecutions we have adopted new tools so as to not give ourselves away. Our Athame could be a butter knife, our chalice could be a regular drinking glass, our wand could be any stick off the ground, our circle could be cast around a picnic blanket, and so on... Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Fare ye well.


Ah, Phrater--a perfect example of what I meant by 'different flavors'!!!!!!!!!!! No, I'm not laughing at you, but the druids I run with would tell you that your tools indicate wicca, not druidism. Our rituals are important, but we cast no circle, the tools are entirely different--mine as Hearthkeeper are flint and steel.

That's what I have been talking about, that there a whole bunch of different paths all under the same umbrella term 'Druid'. And others would say that there IS no unbroken line since Roman times, and and and.......this is NOT judging the validity of your path, but does illustrate why it's difficult to talk about 'druids' without being a little more specific!

Regards,

Maggie

[Phrater]

Certainly not wiccan. The grove that I grew up in, was taught by and to which I still belong has a clear line back to the tribes of olde Gaul. Our line adopted these ways because we see that it is not the tool that is important, but the will of he(or she) that wields it. All of the tools that I have spoken of are for ritualistic use only. I personally do not believe in the need of any of them. Nor do I see ritual as a necessity. We generally only perform them to commemorate a holiday or another large event, Initiation, Funeral, marriage etc.
And you are certainly right, there are many flavors, I personally like this fact, diversity helps us keep each other in check. And helps to illustrate the lack of universitility in truth and righteousness.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Phrater
Certainly not wiccan. The grove that I grew up in, was taught by and to which I still belong has a clear line back to the tribes of olde Gaul. Our line adopted these ways because we see that it is not the tool that is important, but the will of he(or she) that wields it. All of the tools that I have spoken of are for ritualistic use only. I personally do not believe in the need of any of them. Nor do I see ritual as a necessity. We generally only perform them to commemorate a holiday or another large event, Initiation, Funeral, marriage etc.
And you are certainly right, there are many flavors, I personally like this fact, diversity helps us keep each other in check. And helps to illustrate the lack of universitility in truth and righteousness.

I said something somewhere in my posts (memory is going, I think!) about taking the measure of pagan boards before posting. There are those who would not accept your beliefs as being druidical and wouldn't be polite about it, Phrater. There are others who might, but who would nit pick details--and there are others who might think you don't go far enough. Everyone needs to understand, however, that the term 'druid' has a great many meanings and that they are sometimes hotly contested. As a co-moderator I will try to answer what questions I can about druidism--and those answers will come from the POV of the path in question as far as possible. Answers from me to *general* questions will most likely come from a traditionalist type of celtic paganism because that is what I am BUT--we aren't going to debate which one is 'right', only discuss what the differences in beliefs are under 'druidism'.

In my post to Phrater, I didn't intend any disrespect, but there are those out there who will call ANY path that uses these elements a type of wicca and my comment just popped out, sorry.


Regards,

Maggie

[bansidhe]

ty maggie and phrater....hope i didnt cause an arguement or anything.....
bans

[Maggie]

Originally posted by bansidhe
ty maggie and phrater....hope i didnt cause an arguement or anything.....
bans

I don't think so :D, I didn't mean to either!

Regards,

Maggie

[Phrater]

Lol, I've never considered an exchange or customs and origins to be an argument. I hope I never came across that way. I guess the only way to show how a person feels as they say one thing or another in here is to: :-) and the occasional :-P Lol, I never intended to sound :-(
And Bansidhe, you are most welcome, contact me anytime. You too Maggie.

[mol]

I am not a Druid. I know this. But, I would hope that the Druidic Path allows for more than one way of walking it.

I just want to make sure that all Path's are being considered as equal and right as they can be. Because ultimately, if it is right to the individual...then it is Right.

And while other 'Boards' might condemn a person for being vocal about his/her Path. This Community's goal is to embrace it.

[Twig]

(Mols Quote) But, I would hope that the Druidic Path allows for more than one way of walking it.

{The following is personal conjecture and not the opinion of this club.}

My Brother,the druid way HAS to have different ways of walking the path!(IMHO[YUCK, I Hate that abbv.!]) Why,because the men and women we try to emulate were not just 'druids' , but had to have had other "specialties". One may have specialised toward medicine and another toward divination. I think that if every druid had the exact same training, they would have stagnated very quickly and not lasted so long. Remember that bards, ovates, and druids were seen as 3 distinct different levels. therefor the paths they walked WERE different, but equal. Example- A Bards path to his Gods [say..song]would be different than an Druids path to the Gods [religious] . Also, different tribes had different God[esses]. They couldn't all have been worshiped in the same way.

Although the Druidic college had to have been the epitomy of a liberal Arts college [heheheh], they MUST have had "degrees" and specialties. And a person specializing in ogham wouldn't approch the Gods the same way as a doctor.


Personnally I "specialize" in teaching, healing, and personal counseling using primarily herbs, crystals, and runes, as my tools. Others are more well versed in history, communication, science, etc. And i freely admit I look to them for answers. We approach our paths very differently but, our INTENT is the same, that we are tools of our Gods,trying to help the earth and man.

:confused:Hmmmm!! Well it makes sense to me. :)[shrugs]
Please draw your own conclusions.

Peace,
Twig

PS- What I wrote above was given to me by my spiritual guide. The thoughts came as I wrote. I just wanted to say he has never guided me wrong! I love it when he does that! :D

[Phrater]

These were my thoughts almost-exactly. We are all taught in different ways, when you consider the time that has passed since Gaul, Eireland, and Britania were free for Druid's to practice openly for the coming of the Roman's, it is only natural for the teachers along the way to focus on different elements and therefore focus their students in such a manner... With achieving Druid, in our grove, one of the most important lessons is that tools are simply points on which we focus our mind and will. The color of our robe only denotes the ranks we have achieved. A paper cup is just as symbolic as one of hematite, silver, sodalite or crystal. our wand... a stick will do, but it will do no better than the tip of your finger. When we begin to take the process to seriously we lose sight of it's true methods and ultimately the goal. Just in the same way: If you spend all of your time decorating and admiring your telescope... you miss the wonders of the heavens beyond it. I do not claim that these are universal truths since it would be folly to do so, but they are the truths that I have adopted from my teacher and my own contemplation. All I ask is that you consider them as I consider all that you(in the community sense) say.

[bansidhe]

well, this has been a productive little area since ive last been here ! look, i fully agree with saying that everyone walks a different path. Personally, i believe that every belief is valid to the believer, and altho im only a beginner, sticking to that litlle mantra has helped heaps !
bans