My Druidry is more than a lifestyle, it is who I am, what I do, and what I experience. Druidry is not just a Spiritual framework through which I practice rituals, work magick (when necessary), or what not. Druidry is a part of who I am, the lens through which I see the world, and the manner in which I approach all aspects of my life. There are Druid authors and individuals to whom I look to for inspiration and guidance. Their approach to their own Druidry matters to me because it shows me different experiences and reactions to the world around me, which lets me grow in my own knowledge and experiences.

How about we start with what I consider to be the most obvious perspective, but others may not readily notice. I am no holy-man. My approach to Druidry is my own. I openly express it so that others might see a different approach that they can borrow or steal from as they need to. After all that borrow/steal approach is how I have slowly built my own approach over the last thirty years.

I’m not a re-constructionist in any manner of the word. My idea of how I approach my Spirituality is not about trying to re-create what has come before. Nor am I trying to build something for others. I am flattered when others see something that I do in my approach and adopt/steal/borrow/adapt it for themselves, but my intention was never to create that for others. Its merely a matter of what I do.

Nor am I looking to appropriate something from another culture. I work directly with two First Nations’ Gods, but I do not utilize any ritual aspect of the People in what I do. As I have noted before, the Gods call who They call. Taking from the cultural and ritual aspects of the People was never a part of the bargain I struck.

My Druidry is not about magick and spell-casting. I have never been good at that, and would prefer to leave that to those who are. I use magick and spells only when I have no other recourse available to me. My Druidry is about connectivity – with the land, with my neighbors, with the Gods, with my Ancestors. My Druidry focuses on exploring those connections, finding the wisdom that I can from all of that, and adding it, where suitable, to what I do.

I see my Druidry in nearly every aspect of my daily life. I experience the connectivity to the Wheel of the Year in the local farmers’ fields. I see the birthing cycles of the cows in the pastures I drive past on my way to work. I see the seasons of the year in the trees and fields all around, and in the people I communicate with. The changes in the color of the foliage. The way that people dress. I can feel the changes in their moods throughout their day. I can feel their tense moments, their joys, their difficult moments in life, and yes, even their anger. I always try to make myself available to listen to them, to share in their triumphs, and be there, as needed, for the sad and angry moments. My Druidry is about connections and exploring that.

My Druidry is also about my Ancestors, both the people that have come before, and those that are here. My relationship with my family is not the strongest. I am very different from them. Most are consumed by the politics of the day, and prefer to argue and bicker over such things. Most are ultra-conservative in their perspective, and a few will even utilize that perspective in anger. I have slowly taken the time to listen, ask questions where I can, and let their derision flow past the conversation at hand, and try to focus on the underlying topic. That aspect of finding the focus in a river of anger, mockery, and stubbornness is becoming a part of my Druidry. How can help to heal when I focus on the trigger words that are utilized to cover their wounds? My Ancestors of the Past are easier to work with, though there are the questions on why I stepped away from their Christian faith.

Many people see what has become to be called “the Storm.” I see the swing of the pendulum to an opposite extreme. My Druidry is also about balance. Much like the swing of the clock’s pendulum, the world has a balance between many different sides. Understanding those invisible tides can always be a challenge, but it has become a part of my Druidry. I stand at the edges, ready to defend those that need defense, and to counsel, console, and listen for those that need it. My Druidry is about showing the compassion for those that are seeking it. I am not seeking to change others, but am available to help when they require a steadying hand. My desire for change is within myself, and from that, I can only hope that others will seek change as well.

As I noted in the start of this post, these are aspects of my Druidry. This is definitely not the totality of what comprises my beliefs or my approach. This is just a small part of that entire perspective. In this blog, I have spent a lot of time relating to other parts. I will start focusing on the Wheel of the Year and how I approach that aspect of my Druidry. I’ll start with the most recent stop on the Wheel – Lughnasa and Lammas – in the next blog post.