In my last post, I introduced the concept of Druidry and spirituality. Now, let me walk you through a little of what that’s about.
As I mentioned, a friendship had come to an end. I was distraught and in one of the darkest places in my life. What was next? One day, I was doing some work in the garden, still feeling the numbness of depression.
Suddenly, with no connection to anything I was doing, I received a flash of inspiration and a general uplift. Seek out new friends, it said. Your time with that previous group has come to an end. My mood at this point went from 0 to 110%.
I did some research on what can cause such a dramatic uplift in spirit and inspiration. While there are many possible explanations. I most enjoyed the idea that sometimes, when you are feeling off or depressed, the spirit of the place can give you energy or ideas.
Later, at one of my counselling sessions, my counsellor asked where I feel most like myself. I said it when I was outside, feeling the energy of the place. It led me to start writing a poem and explore my spirituality.
Searching online, I found the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. They offered 3 courses :
- Bardic grade – a year-long spirit quest into yourself, your creativity and your own story
- Ovate grade – a study into herbalism and healing
- Druid grade – a study into teaching, advising, mentoring and philosophy
I joined up after a lot of reading, YouTube videos and research.
Very quickly, I found a Grove over in the Kingdom of Fife. The first time I went, I was nervous, scared to go in and stayed quiet most of the meeting as I wanted to understand. Little did I know, the people I met there would become some of my best friends, teachers and advisors. Together with the course, they encouraged me to write poetry and read it to the group (public speaking was not my strong point), helped me understand and accept some of the feelings I had, and generally made the experience hella fun! I’ve also joined another Grove in Edinburgh, which has helped me understand rituals, workshops in exploration, and nature walks and inspired me to write this post.
Finally, one might ask, what do Druids believe? I’ve incorporated a lesson I have learned from What is Druidry? by Philip Carr-Gomm.
- Seek to cultivate wisdom, creativity and love – especially during the lockdown. I have discovered that each person has that little creative talent that they have kept hidden away as they are too busy.
- Life has a fundamentally spiritual nature – you can understand many things by analysing them, taking a step back, and thinking on a higher level.
- Diversity of opinion is celebrated and honoured – no one will tell you what to think or believe. I have encountered groups either shamanic or practical or a mixture of the two.
- The natural world is divine and sacred, and humans are just a tiny part of it. We are not the masters that some want us to believe.
- There is an afterlife – personally, I believe that you go wherever you think you will
- Reincarnation – you can come back to Earth if you feel that you still have more to learn.
- Peace and non-violence – try as hard as possible to prevent violence. In some cases, you have to encounter it and understand it.
- Whatever you put out into the world comes back to affect us
My experiences on this list have led me down many colourful paths, and I embrace them!