Druidry is a living, breathing, experiential spiritual practise, it cannot be defined accurately by another’s experience of it, we can only be inspired by another’s journey through the dappled groves. To truly understand the nature of Druidry one must experience it first hand. The shadowy path through the primordial forest of our cultural continuum may seem confusing, even frightening at times, but our journey through Druidry is in essence a lonely one. We move silently through our own connection to the realm of energy and spirit, the ancestors and the Gods, forming our own individual connection to the spirits that move and inspire us. It is here, deep in our vision and unique connection that we learn our Druidry, and it is from this connection that we move to inspire others to find their own path through the forest, offering only a gentle hand towards the humming air that sings at the forests edge. As the forest envelops us, so it is that we are then compelled to move onwards and forwards, stumbling at times, occasionally falling flat on our faces. No one has ever claimed that learning is easy, but it is a progressive and wonderful journey where we embrace not only ourselves, but also an entire universe of wonder that hides behind a silk thin veil.
When people first find their feet on the path of Druidry, it is inevitable that they stumble across the myriad of Gods that inhabit our spirituality. The concept of the Gods may at first seem confusing, conflicting and sometimes contradictory. Which Gods do we work with? What in fact are the Gods?
There is no true definition of our Gods, to define them would be to limit them, and a limited God is no God at all! The only true understanding we may establish is that which we learn through connection, it is deeply personal, moving, inspiring and above all, true. What we experience within our Druidry need no justification or explanation, if you experience something yourself it is your truth, embrace it. I can only speak of the Gods within the parameters of my own personal relationship with them, and I think that word relationship is the fundamental tenet of deity connection. They are not concepts or throw away words that we spill at ritual; they are entities that we have a meaningful and mutual relationship with. To frivolously call upon a deity when one has no connection to it is foolhardy. If we are drawn to them it our responsibility to know them, to understand them as best we can.
Our relationship with the Gods does not happen overnight, it takes years to develop a connection with these elusive beings, and even more years to gain an understanding not only of their nature, but of their role in our spiritual practise, of their origin and past worship or reverence. I cannot attempt to define the Gods in this article, but rather offer simple techniques of connecting with them, allowing you, the practitioner the opportunity to explore them in your own personal space, in your own time, one to one.
You may find yourself confused when researching the old Gods to find that human beings have been deified over time, attained the rank of God or Goddess. This is due to process referred to as Telesmatics, where the personal attributions of an individual or historical figure are exalted to the point that they rise above and beyond the imaginer. They become something that they initially were not, and ultimately developing into an entity that seems superior to its initial creator, they become deified. This is a process that has occurred to many of the common known Gods of Britain. However this is not to suggest that the entities involved are superior, they are not, they are simply different to ourselves, they do not (I believe) require our attention or worship, but they will commune with us and inspire us, its just that we have to make the first move.
Developing a relationship with the Gods is a truly inspiring and moving aspect of our spirituality, an aspect well worth pursuing. The Gods have been here forever, their names change every now and again, and they may adopt a different face, some may once have been just like you. Enjoy working with the Gods, experiment and allow yourself to become lost in the blissfulness of not being and being all at once.
MEETING
During our first and sometimes awkward steps through the realms of Druidry, many fall into the trappings of complacency. Complacent with the explanations they derive from an elder or teacher, failing to experience their spirituality first hand. Meeting with the Gods can seem tricky, if not almost impossible to many, but I believe its simply a matter of perspective, we can all commune with them, and develop a lasting and honourable relationship with them. We only need to find the key that opens the door. The nature of the Gods are non conceptual, and we cannot reach them with our conceptual, finite minds, we must adopt techniques of “Loosing our minds”, of breaking free from the restrictive, sensible, conscious mind and venturing into the unknown and murky terrain that lies behind our conceptual brains. Over the years the Gods have been conceptualised, compartmentalised and categorised, given attributions that simply reflect one individuals relationship with them. To gain a true relationship, one must meet them face-to-face, spirit-to-spirit, only then can we truly claim to know them.
During our physical incarnation we are trapped within the density of matter, locked tightly into corporeal form, the Gods are not restricted in this way. We cannot physically meet them, touch them and feel them. In order to reach them our consciousness must be dampened to a degree that we are able to break free of our dense, material forms and soar into the realms that lie just beyond perception. Our finite minds no longer hold us to ransom and our infinite minds are able to connect with the infinite aspect of deity. It is here, free from restrain that we meet those entities that will inspire our journey through the forest of Druidry.
We have countless deities in Britain alone that we may work with, at first try not to fall into the trap of being attracted to the obvious, to those deities that are ‘fashionable’. Begin by researching the Gods that appear in these lands, learn whatever you can about them. Where is their locality, which were the tribes who revered them? What legends exist that express their nature and relationship with humanity? Read the ancient chronicles of our ancestors, such as the native tales of Wales, the Mabinogion etc. Eventually a God or Goddess will naturally draw close to you, an attraction will develop, gradually, with time. Allow this process to take as long as it requires.
When you find yourself inexplicably drawn to a deity, begin your relationship with them, paint them, draw them, re-write their tales in your own words, visit the places where they were revered, feel the pulse of ancestry beating in that place. Listen to the echoes of the past that speak of their connection to mankind. In my opinion one should never idly call upon a deity in ritual when one has no relationship with them. If we do one of two things will happen; nothing at all, or we find ourselves overwhelmed by an entity we have no understanding of. This is unstable ground for any Druid to be upon. Be secure, be honourable and develop your relationship first, alone, spirit-to-spirit. Try not to attempt to intellectualise the Gods or render them as mere cerebral exercises and concepts, they are so much more!
When you are ready to further your relationship, begin to plan ahead. Pick a day and time that is significant to you, perhaps a festival of the turning year, a phase of the moon applicable to what you know of the deity from your research. Use astrological attributes, solar and stellar movements. Immerse yourself in your desire to know them, loose yourself in small rites and rituals that lead up to the big day. On the day itself take yourself to a place where you will not be disturbed for at least an hour. If you have, take with you a drawing or sculpture you have created to express the deity, or anything that pertains to your connection so far. Be confident that you will meet your deity and connect to it.
Remember you don’t need anyone’s permission or guidance for this exercise, it is your time to be with your deity. Trust in your own spirit to be able to leap from your body and commune. For this exercise it is sufficient to utilise the simple techniques for liberating the mind. You can choose several methods for altering your consciousness, these range from repetition; where you use a mantra like chant to focus the mind on the intent at hand. Drumming, traditionally the most conducive beat for mind shifting effect is four beats per second. Sensory deprivation, blindfolded and wearing ear plugs. There are also those that require supervision, excessive heat, Hyperthermia (sweatlodge), and excessive cold, Hypothermia. Do not attempt these two techniques without adequate training and supervision. Refrain from using mind-altering narcotics.
When you are ready, prepare your ritual area to your preference, and begin by focusing your mind on the task at hand, if you have a visual representation, gaze at it. If the deity has a name, begin to repeat that name over and over, until it consumes your being. The main aim here is to push all thoughts aside except for those pertaining to the deity you wish to connect with. Verbalise your intention, call to the deity, dance and sing them, loose yourself in focus and intent. Next initiate one of the techniques mentioned in the previous paragraph. Chant or drum, holding the deity in your finite mind. Keep your intention steady and focused throughout the exercise. If other thoughts invade, don’t waste energy attempting to discard them, simply observe them like a stranger, give them no power over you. All that matters is you and the deity.
What you will experience will be similar to this, at first you will doubt that the exercise will work, be confident, it will, only your own prolonged doubtfulness will render the exercise meaningless. Next you may feel stupid and silly, enjoy it, we’re nor odd, just special!! Next, your breathing and focus will synchronise, and you will begin to feel comfortable with the process. Suddenly, something will simply click, your chant, drumming, breathing, focus, whatever, will begin to melt one into the other. This state may seem confusing, even scary, ignore those thoughts. Keep your deity in mind, keep your intention. At some point (which may take up to 20 minutes to achieve) an ‘automatic pilot’ sense will take over, and you will sense an inexplicable expansion of your senses, you are finally loosing your mind. The mundane world will feel lighter and distant, although you will still be aware of it yet simultaneously aware of the infinite nature of ‘mind’. This is where your deity will present itself to you, commune with you. I cannot offer an explanation or description of this process, for this, you must travel there, alone. Immerse yourself in being with your deity; allow that experience to burn into your spirit, searing your concepts, shattering your preconceptions. Be with your deity, and allow that connection to inspire and move you beyond comprehension.
When you sense the need to return, and that the experience has drawn to its natural conclusion, simply become aware of your body, of the withdrawing of your infinite mind, back into the restrains of your skull. Sense your surroundings, the chant in your dry throat, the drum beating in your hands. Settle, and ground yourself, eat, drink, be merry! You have just met your deity!
How long does this take, will it happen the first time? Possibly, possibly not. We can’t determine how long this process takes, all we can do is persevere, intent is all that’s required and the ability to loose your mind. What we do know is that the experience enriches your spirituality and makes future communications a damn sight easier.
Remember that I draw these techniques from my own early explorations and they worked for me. Be inspired by them, don’t accept them as written in stone, explore and develop your own unique method of connection. Us it all by all means, or twist and tweak them to your own suiting. Above all, enjoy the process, loose yourself in a relationship that will last forever.
When people first find their feet on the path of Druidry, it is inevitable that they stumble across the myriad of Gods that inhabit our spirituality. The concept of the Gods may at first seem confusing, conflicting and sometimes contradictory. Which Gods do we work with? What in fact are the Gods?
There is no true definition of our Gods, to define them would be to limit them, and a limited God is no God at all! The only true understanding we may establish is that which we learn through connection, it is deeply personal, moving, inspiring and above all, true. What we experience within our Druidry need no justification or explanation, if you experience something yourself it is your truth, embrace it. I can only speak of the Gods within the parameters of my own personal relationship with them, and I think that word relationship is the fundamental tenet of deity connection. They are not concepts or throw away words that we spill at ritual; they are entities that we have a meaningful and mutual relationship with. To frivolously call upon a deity when one has no connection to it is foolhardy. If we are drawn to them it our responsibility to know them, to understand them as best we can.
Our relationship with the Gods does not happen overnight, it takes years to develop a connection with these elusive beings, and even more years to gain an understanding not only of their nature, but of their role in our spiritual practise, of their origin and past worship or reverence. I cannot attempt to define the Gods in this article, but rather offer simple techniques of connecting with them, allowing you, the practitioner the opportunity to explore them in your own personal space, in your own time, one to one.
You may find yourself confused when researching the old Gods to find that human beings have been deified over time, attained the rank of God or Goddess. This is due to process referred to as Telesmatics, where the personal attributions of an individual or historical figure are exalted to the point that they rise above and beyond the imaginer. They become something that they initially were not, and ultimately developing into an entity that seems superior to its initial creator, they become deified. This is a process that has occurred to many of the common known Gods of Britain. However this is not to suggest that the entities involved are superior, they are not, they are simply different to ourselves, they do not (I believe) require our attention or worship, but they will commune with us and inspire us, its just that we have to make the first move.
Developing a relationship with the Gods is a truly inspiring and moving aspect of our spirituality, an aspect well worth pursuing. The Gods have been here forever, their names change every now and again, and they may adopt a different face, some may once have been just like you. Enjoy working with the Gods, experiment and allow yourself to become lost in the blissfulness of not being and being all at once.
MEETING
During our first and sometimes awkward steps through the realms of Druidry, many fall into the trappings of complacency. Complacent with the explanations they derive from an elder or teacher, failing to experience their spirituality first hand. Meeting with the Gods can seem tricky, if not almost impossible to many, but I believe its simply a matter of perspective, we can all commune with them, and develop a lasting and honourable relationship with them. We only need to find the key that opens the door. The nature of the Gods are non conceptual, and we cannot reach them with our conceptual, finite minds, we must adopt techniques of “Loosing our minds”, of breaking free from the restrictive, sensible, conscious mind and venturing into the unknown and murky terrain that lies behind our conceptual brains. Over the years the Gods have been conceptualised, compartmentalised and categorised, given attributions that simply reflect one individuals relationship with them. To gain a true relationship, one must meet them face-to-face, spirit-to-spirit, only then can we truly claim to know them.
During our physical incarnation we are trapped within the density of matter, locked tightly into corporeal form, the Gods are not restricted in this way. We cannot physically meet them, touch them and feel them. In order to reach them our consciousness must be dampened to a degree that we are able to break free of our dense, material forms and soar into the realms that lie just beyond perception. Our finite minds no longer hold us to ransom and our infinite minds are able to connect with the infinite aspect of deity. It is here, free from restrain that we meet those entities that will inspire our journey through the forest of Druidry.
We have countless deities in Britain alone that we may work with, at first try not to fall into the trap of being attracted to the obvious, to those deities that are ‘fashionable’. Begin by researching the Gods that appear in these lands, learn whatever you can about them. Where is their locality, which were the tribes who revered them? What legends exist that express their nature and relationship with humanity? Read the ancient chronicles of our ancestors, such as the native tales of Wales, the Mabinogion etc. Eventually a God or Goddess will naturally draw close to you, an attraction will develop, gradually, with time. Allow this process to take as long as it requires.
When you find yourself inexplicably drawn to a deity, begin your relationship with them, paint them, draw them, re-write their tales in your own words, visit the places where they were revered, feel the pulse of ancestry beating in that place. Listen to the echoes of the past that speak of their connection to mankind. In my opinion one should never idly call upon a deity in ritual when one has no relationship with them. If we do one of two things will happen; nothing at all, or we find ourselves overwhelmed by an entity we have no understanding of. This is unstable ground for any Druid to be upon. Be secure, be honourable and develop your relationship first, alone, spirit-to-spirit. Try not to attempt to intellectualise the Gods or render them as mere cerebral exercises and concepts, they are so much more!
When you are ready to further your relationship, begin to plan ahead. Pick a day and time that is significant to you, perhaps a festival of the turning year, a phase of the moon applicable to what you know of the deity from your research. Use astrological attributes, solar and stellar movements. Immerse yourself in your desire to know them, loose yourself in small rites and rituals that lead up to the big day. On the day itself take yourself to a place where you will not be disturbed for at least an hour. If you have, take with you a drawing or sculpture you have created to express the deity, or anything that pertains to your connection so far. Be confident that you will meet your deity and connect to it.
Remember you don’t need anyone’s permission or guidance for this exercise, it is your time to be with your deity. Trust in your own spirit to be able to leap from your body and commune. For this exercise it is sufficient to utilise the simple techniques for liberating the mind. You can choose several methods for altering your consciousness, these range from repetition; where you use a mantra like chant to focus the mind on the intent at hand. Drumming, traditionally the most conducive beat for mind shifting effect is four beats per second. Sensory deprivation, blindfolded and wearing ear plugs. There are also those that require supervision, excessive heat, Hyperthermia (sweatlodge), and excessive cold, Hypothermia. Do not attempt these two techniques without adequate training and supervision. Refrain from using mind-altering narcotics.
When you are ready, prepare your ritual area to your preference, and begin by focusing your mind on the task at hand, if you have a visual representation, gaze at it. If the deity has a name, begin to repeat that name over and over, until it consumes your being. The main aim here is to push all thoughts aside except for those pertaining to the deity you wish to connect with. Verbalise your intention, call to the deity, dance and sing them, loose yourself in focus and intent. Next initiate one of the techniques mentioned in the previous paragraph. Chant or drum, holding the deity in your finite mind. Keep your intention steady and focused throughout the exercise. If other thoughts invade, don’t waste energy attempting to discard them, simply observe them like a stranger, give them no power over you. All that matters is you and the deity.
What you will experience will be similar to this, at first you will doubt that the exercise will work, be confident, it will, only your own prolonged doubtfulness will render the exercise meaningless. Next you may feel stupid and silly, enjoy it, we’re nor odd, just special!! Next, your breathing and focus will synchronise, and you will begin to feel comfortable with the process. Suddenly, something will simply click, your chant, drumming, breathing, focus, whatever, will begin to melt one into the other. This state may seem confusing, even scary, ignore those thoughts. Keep your deity in mind, keep your intention. At some point (which may take up to 20 minutes to achieve) an ‘automatic pilot’ sense will take over, and you will sense an inexplicable expansion of your senses, you are finally loosing your mind. The mundane world will feel lighter and distant, although you will still be aware of it yet simultaneously aware of the infinite nature of ‘mind’. This is where your deity will present itself to you, commune with you. I cannot offer an explanation or description of this process, for this, you must travel there, alone. Immerse yourself in being with your deity; allow that experience to burn into your spirit, searing your concepts, shattering your preconceptions. Be with your deity, and allow that connection to inspire and move you beyond comprehension.
When you sense the need to return, and that the experience has drawn to its natural conclusion, simply become aware of your body, of the withdrawing of your infinite mind, back into the restrains of your skull. Sense your surroundings, the chant in your dry throat, the drum beating in your hands. Settle, and ground yourself, eat, drink, be merry! You have just met your deity!
How long does this take, will it happen the first time? Possibly, possibly not. We can’t determine how long this process takes, all we can do is persevere, intent is all that’s required and the ability to loose your mind. What we do know is that the experience enriches your spirituality and makes future communications a damn sight easier.
Remember that I draw these techniques from my own early explorations and they worked for me. Be inspired by them, don’t accept them as written in stone, explore and develop your own unique method of connection. Us it all by all means, or twist and tweak them to your own suiting. Above all, enjoy the process, loose yourself in a relationship that will last forever.
Poster side not( Guardians take): I do know that Druidery is "dead" or "closed" religion due to many reasons. But the concept of the article is good for "any" pagan path you may follow, any gods that you "honor".
