Getting Started
Modern Druidry, like any well established forest is filled with a huge variety of life and like in any forest this life can be so very different in appearance. This is definitely true of Druidry. A quick search on the internet will turn up any number of druid groups and each one approaches their worship in different ways.
On the surface it may seem very strange that so many people supposedly following the same path can produce so many different variations, yet this is only to be expected, as we, as modern man respond to the call of the Old Gods once again. Our Druid forefathers decided not to write anything down and this has caused some difficulty for those studying the field and yet on the other hand it has been a blessing as it has allowed us to truly listen to the Gods and create something new. No druid group working today is a direct descendent from the early Celtic Druids. We are all just beginning to walk the path again. Many members of the druid community may well be shocked by the idea of Monastic Druidry and maybe rightly so.
Many will ask
“How can a Pagan path include a monastic element?”
Many will say
“Paganism is about freedom how can you choose to live with rules?”
Yet we know many of the world’s religions have a monastic tradition and this is a way of life only really for a very select few. A select few individuals who feel called to a life of contemplation, a life of service, a life of structure and a life of discipline. This by its very nature is not for everyone. Modern Druidry and Paganism in General is a very new phenomenon and most of the members were not born and raised as pagans. They found their way here after much searching. Often these folk have had some negative experiences from the religions of their youth and so have created a path which is often diametrically opposed to that which they grew up in. This is no bad thing. Yet all the other religions have found value in monastic path so why not us? We have known for many years that most of the major world religions have borrowed traditions from us and used them for their own illumination so why can’t we do the same. As our community grows in spirit and years we will see a call to a greater structure in some of our members and this is what we are trying to provide. If you feel this path may interest you then please read on.
On the surface it may seem very strange that so many people supposedly following the same path can produce so many different variations, yet this is only to be expected, as we, as modern man respond to the call of the Old Gods once again. Our Druid forefathers decided not to write anything down and this has caused some difficulty for those studying the field and yet on the other hand it has been a blessing as it has allowed us to truly listen to the Gods and create something new. No druid group working today is a direct descendent from the early Celtic Druids. We are all just beginning to walk the path again. Many members of the druid community may well be shocked by the idea of Monastic Druidry and maybe rightly so.
Many will ask
“How can a Pagan path include a monastic element?”
Many will say
“Paganism is about freedom how can you choose to live with rules?”
Yet we know many of the world’s religions have a monastic tradition and this is a way of life only really for a very select few. A select few individuals who feel called to a life of contemplation, a life of service, a life of structure and a life of discipline. This by its very nature is not for everyone. Modern Druidry and Paganism in General is a very new phenomenon and most of the members were not born and raised as pagans. They found their way here after much searching. Often these folk have had some negative experiences from the religions of their youth and so have created a path which is often diametrically opposed to that which they grew up in. This is no bad thing. Yet all the other religions have found value in monastic path so why not us? We have known for many years that most of the major world religions have borrowed traditions from us and used them for their own illumination so why can’t we do the same. As our community grows in spirit and years we will see a call to a greater structure in some of our members and this is what we are trying to provide. If you feel this path may interest you then please read on.