My Path
I am a Druid

   by Caldebad

For the last three years I have been exploring Druidism, trying to decide if it fits me. A long time to spend deciding I guess. While I studied, I called myself an Eclectic Celt, but I wanted a tag. Something that could encapsulate who and what I am. And Eclectic Celt didn't do that. It said nothing about my ethics. My beliefs. My gods. My celebrations. Well, there was a general sense of what I practiced, but nothing concrete.

I read material by OBOD, the ADF, Reformed Druids, The Druid Network, and Keltria, to name a few. I burned my eyeballs out reading Piggot, Markale, and Beresford Ellis alongside standard Druid writers such as Carr Gomm and Matthews. I hung out with online groups and checked out some grove meetings. And I came to realise that I was a Druid. A Reformed Druid to be exact. At the Fall Equinox I celebrated achieving some balance in my life - the knowledge of what I am at the moment. And the realization that titles change and are actually immaterial.

All this time spent chasing a tag to realize that I don't need a tag. And in the realization I discover that I have a tag. The universe is filled with humor. So, here I am, a Reformed Druid. Kind of sounds like a recovering adict or something.

What is a Reformed Druid? Someone who seeks awareness, or unification, with the immaterial essence of the universe through unity with Mother Nature. By working to develop and achieve balance within each aspect of ourselves (our emotional, spiritual, physical, intellectual, psychic, and artistic selves) and with nature, we can achieve true awareness.

How we do this is up to us. It is an intensely personal journey with no rules or regulations. Many Reformed Druids incorporate aspects of other Paths within their study. I am currently studying some Greek Philosophers and dabbling in Zen Buddhism along with my Celtic beliefs.

It's funny but Reformed Druids don't need to be Celtophiles. In fact, there is no need to be any particular brand of faith at all. The title 'Druid' comes from the role we play, not the tradition we follow. Druid is simply a word for a teacher, a magician, a philosopher, a scholar, an artist...it's the function we fulfill within our community not the gods we worship or the rituals we enact.

It's very freeing letting go of tags and rules and accepting that life is fluid change.
   

What is a Druid?

Not an easy question. Most people would respond with stuff based on Celtic matters. But, as Caldebad showed, a Druid can be anything but a lover of all things Celtic! I think an important part of Caldebad's letter was the comment that "the title 'Druid' comes from the role we play, not the tradition we follow".

This is very true.

Research into the role of Druids in history shows that they held a unique position within society - judge, historian, philosopher, poet, library, mage, scholar - that only the word 'druid' describes. Traditionally, yes, they were grounded within the various Celtic societies. But most Druids today, although descended from Celts are not Celts themselves. We have little knowledge as to what the Druids did and thought and much of what Druids do today is founded upon modern concepts, other religions, and sometimes complete fantasy.

In reality, the modern Druid is not a Celt, and much of what s/he does is not historically Druidic. It is common for Druids to proclaim their Celticism as evidence of their Druidism, but the reality is that a Celtic focus does not the Druid make. Rather it is how one lives one's life. It's refreshing to see a group step away from the obsessive focus upon Celticism (says a Celtophile!)
Catherine M.

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