D is for Druidism

When I first started looking into paganism the first thing I started looking into was Wicca. I had a friend in high school that lent me one of her "Wicca 101" books. And for the first time, I found a religious system that seemed to fit how I viewed the world.

So I started thinking of myself as Wiccan. I read (mostly on the internet) on ritual tools, altars, and holidays. I tried casting circles. I tried dedicating myself to the God and the Goddess.

But it didn't quite fit. I couldn't wrap my head around the need to create a barrier when I was doing a ritual. In my mind I there wasn't just one God and one Goddess (or Lord and Lady).  I wasn't much in to spells and magic (though there is a lot more to Wicca than that). But I kept reading and trying to make it work.

But even with all my research and reading and thinking and trying, Wicca just didn't work. And I was stuck.

Then one day, I discovered Druidism. For all my research I hadn't really realized that there were other traditions that fall under the "Pagan Umbrella". (To this day I am still stumbling on traditions I didn't know existed.) And I as I read about this modern day Druidism things began to click.

There were people out there that still believed in polytheism and viewed each god as an individual. There seemed to be less emphasis about spells and magic, and more about connecting to and honoring the gods. I was and still am particularly attracted to the ADF style of druidry: honoring the Three Kindreds (god/goddess, ancestors, and nature spirits), the three realms, and the emphasis knowing about the ancient druids without trying to reconstruct their religion.

Druidism fits me. I am still learning and trying and thinking about my path. And I am excited for the journey.

Exciting Group-Solitary Druid Fellowship

One of my favorite blogs is Teo Bishop's "Bishop In the Grove." He is a wonderful writer and his posts always leave me thinking. For the past few months, Teo has been writing about creating a fellowship for solitary pagans.

So today I was really pleased to get an e-mail announcing the launch of the Solitary Druid Fellowship website. According to the site

The Solitary Druid Fellowship (SDF) is an extension of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), an independent tradition of Neo-Pagan Druidism. It is organized to provide solitary Druids, as well as any solitary Pagan in the general public, with an opportunity to engage more deeply with their ritual practice, while at the same time forging spiritual bonds with other solitaries through the adoption of a shared liturgical form.(1)

I have spent some time looking around the site. Though there isn't a whole lot there right now, the articles that are up are very interesting. The site is well organized, clean, and easy to navigate. I think that it is an interesting idea that this site will be for information, not a replacement for groves or communities.

I love the idea of being able to share a common ritual with others, but still being able to worship on my own. I believe that this site is going to be a wonderful tool for many Pagans. I am looking forward to reading the Yule ritual and using it my practice.

Notes:
(1) Taken from the "What we are" page- http://www.solitarydruid.org/what-we-are/