Druidry and authority

(Nimue)

The title of ‘Druid’ is one that suggests authority. Sometimes it feels more comfortable to say ‘I am on the Druid path’ instead, and not deal with that aspect of it. I spend a lot of my time deliberately avoiding presenting myself as an authority figure. I talk about what I’m doing, and how that’s going, in a your-mileage-may-vary sort of way. I write a lot of these posts assuming that readers are in a fairly similar position to me and just like finding out what others are up to.

Sometimes it feels necessary to take a firmer stance and speak with more authority. I only do that when I feel confident that I have the knowledge and experience to back it up. I tend to be more assertive around bard-path issues. Other times there are issues where I feel so strongly that there are right and wrong ways of doing things that I’m prepared to be assertive.

A lot of that comes down to the idea of spirituality based on kindness. So much of how modern life is structured is based on exploitation. This informs our destructive relationship with other beings, ecosystems and the planet. It informs so much on the political side. Being kinder to each other and to the rest of the world is essential for fixing this. So I feel easy about using more direct and demanding language around these topics.

To assume a position of authority is to open yourself up to attacks and criticism. Not that posting in a gentle and understated way will remove all risk of that, but it certainly dials down the agro. Most of the time I’m fine  with that. I don’t feel it’s my job to tell people what to do and I certainly don’t want the drama that comes from ruffling other people’s metaphorical feathers.

Sometimes, not standing in your own power is an abdication of responsibility. Druidry as a path is one that calls to us to act honourably, and that doesn’t always mean taking the easiest path. There are times when it is necessary to speak up, to discomfort the comfortable and to challenge the status quo. Deciding when that really is necessary is one of the things that comes up around deciding what honour means to you.

So what I will say, in an authoritative way is that sometimes you have to be authoritative. Sometimes you have to assert what is true, or fair or needed and stand by that even if it gets difficult. When that will be true and how best to do it are much more personal questions. That’s not something anyone should be dictating to anyone else.