What Do Druids Believe? (What Do We Believe)

by Philip Carr-Gomm

Druidism as a spiritual path appeals to all kinds of people, all over the world, because it directly concerns itself with the three most pressing problems of our age: the destruction of the environment, the alienation of the individual, and the commercialization and mass production of culture.

Any study of the druids must begin with a process of demystification … Jean Markale, The Druids – Celtic Priests of Nature

The achievements of a notable male figure in any movement often depend upon the less publicized achievements and influence of a woman, and for Ross this was the gifted writer Vera Chapman, who helped him to found the Order and who provided him with the sort of peer support and intellectual stimulus that he needed. Born in 1898, she was one of the first women to matriculate as a full member of Oxford University. In her later years she achieved success as an author with a trilogy which focused on the role of women in the Arthurian tales. Recognizing the importance of J. R. R. Tolkien, she founded the Tolkien Society in 1969.

They were attracted to Druidism because their spirituality was founded in a passion for Nature and history, mythology and ancient monuments. And each – in their own way – can act as an inspiration for us if we, too, have such passions.

Above all else, Druidry means following a spiritual path rooted in the green Earth. It means embracing an experiential approach to religious questions, one that abandons rigid belief systems in favour of inner development and individual contact with the realms of nature and spirit. John Michael Greer, The Druidry Handbook

Druids share a belief in the fundamentally spiritual nature of life.

Rather than stressing the idea that this physical life is temporary, and that we should focus on the after-life, Druidism conveys the idea that we are meant to participate fully in life on Earth, and that we are meant to express and share our creativity as much as we can.

Druidry also encourages the love of story and myth, and many people today are drawn to it because they recognize the power of storytelling, and sense its potential to heal and enlighten as well as entertain.

Druidism also recognizes the forming power of the past, and in doing this encourages a love of history and a reverence for the ancestors. The love of trees is fundamental in Druidism, too, and as well as studying tree lore, Druids today plant trees and sacred groves, and support reforestation programmes. Druids love stones, too, and build stone circles, collect stones and work with crystals. They love the truth, and seek this in their quest for wisdom and understanding. They love animals, seeing them as sacred, and they study animal lore. They love the body and sexuality, believing both to be sacred.

Druidism also encourages a love of each other by fostering the magic of relationship and community, and above all a love of life, by encouraging celebration and a full commitment to life – it is not a spirituality which tr...

The two attitudes of Peace and Love, which many Druids hold as fundamental to their conduct in life, are the same two ideals that were championed by the alternative culture of the 1960s – whose proponents are now the middle-aged generation of ‘baby boomers’. This is no coincidence. The ideals of the sixties were informed by Romanticism, and Romanticism drew upon the two sources of inspiration of the Druids: the world of Nature and the world of Story.

This we know: The Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

But there is another type of magic that is much more interesting and which involves at its heart sensing life as awe-inspiring, as magical in the best sense of the word. From this perspective Druidism offers ideas and techniques that can enhance one’s awareness of life as magical, and can make the practice of magic a conscious attempt to assume responsibility for our thoughts, words and deeds. The world then becomes a magical place, and one’s life a magical journey that takes place within it.

Known as Awen in Welsh, and Imbas in Irish, Druids sense this as a universal force which flows through the world and which can be encouraged to flow through us to bring us these gifts. The words ‘Imbas’ and ‘Awen’ are chanted in ceremonies or meditation, and the study of this force, and how to encourage it in our lives, forms the basis of much Druid training. Another force is said to exist too – Nwyfre, which is a Welsh word, deriving from an ancient Celtic word Naomh, meaning ‘firmament’ or ‘heavens’. Nwyfre is the life force that flows through the Universe, and which is called Chi or Qi in China and Prana in India.

Druidry asks us, above all, to open ourselves to the inspiration and beauty of Nature and Art, through its celebration of creativity.

the contemporary Druidry that has emerged out of Britain over the last forty years favours a different and more egalitarian approach, in the belief that attempts to create a ‘priest/esshood’ are fraught with difficulties, with the risks of ego inflation, mystification and the disempowerment of those not within the ‘inner circle’ of the ‘elect’.

The call to go on a pilgrimage has been felt by people of all spiritual traditions throughout history. In times of crisis or stagnation, or to mark special events, or simply in response to an inner urge, Druids will go on pilgrimages.

This may be as simple as taking a long walk in their local landscape, in a spirit of reverence and ‘questing’ – seeking solace or inspiration not simply in the attractions of the countryside and the physical exercise, but through the process of walking consciously on the sacred earth.

an adage found in tales from the Scottish Highlands runs, ‘Ask the wild bee what the Druids knew’.

Many more simply begin to adopt Druid beliefs and practices because they find that they reflect feelings and beliefs they already hold about life. When they read or hear about Druidism they experience a sense of familiarity – as if they knew these ideas already, and they just needed to hear them fully articulated from the ‘outside’ to recognize what they already knew ‘inside’.

Druidism is based upon a love of Nature – to such an extent that it is sometimes called a Nature or Earth religion. Druids view Nature as a perpetual source of physical and spiritual nourishment, which can teach us as well as inspire us.

What attracts people to Druidism is what has attracted people to all forms of mystery schools throughout the ages. It is the search for greater understanding,

we are not separate from Nature, but part of it.

Although there is no historical evidence that the Druids built megalithic monuments, the fact is that modern Druids love stone circles and like to perform ceremonies in them. For the last two hundred years they have been creating them and celebrating in them. In Wales stone circles are often built for the Eisteddfod celebrations, and one of the most well-known examples of a modern circle stands in a field used each year for the Glastonbury music festival. Though some Druids (and their critics) continue to deny the validity of this by-now traditional activity, most enjoy it.

The Druids’ Voice magazine, published by the British Druid Order, has a broad public readership.

the Druid Network was launched in 2003 to provide a new way of presenting and uniting Druids, relying solely on the Internet.

the Avalon College of Druidry was founded in the USA with the intention of creating a university specializing in Druid studies.

an environmental spirituality that cherishes all life on Earth, and that seeks to preserve and protect it for the benefit of all beings.