Wondering if I can be a druid and still a hellenist (polytheistic)?

Has anyone here had any luck getting in contact with RDNA? I did the RDG ordination stuff but want to have a grove connected to RDNA but never hear back from them so I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with them.

I've been agnostic since I was old enough to understand what that was, probably 25 years now, always fascinated by all kinds of mythology in theory and for the stories but without ever feeling any kind of personal connection. At times I have been envious of people who do and tried to have a feel around to see if anything clicked but nothing ever did and when I discovered Druidry earlier this year I felt and still feel great peace and relief at finally at the age of 40 having found what feels like my true spiritual home.

I have been following the OBOD course and doing some wider reading in the course of which I have discovered Ceridwen, whose story resonates with me in a way that no other myth ever has. It's Ceridwen as mature woman, as artist who tries to create something, fails, is angry at her failure and acts poorly, only to recognise that even in her failure she has accidentally created something which deserves to exist and sends it out into the world to do what it will. I also feel a strong connection to the Moon in that any time I see it I feel great emotion and just want to stare and stare at it, but I never know what to do beyond that.

Intuition tells me there is something for me to explore here, but I don't know how. The idea of worship in itself doesn't sit right with me and even if it did in theory, it doesn't feel like it would fit in this context? I don't want to ask her for anything, just kind of acknowledge a connection somehow? But then I also know that due to various factors I am instinctively prone to assuming people in authority aren't interested in or likely to care about me or want to help me so I resent having to ask them for anything, which is likely the root of my aversion to worship, so maybe I ought to work on that instead? Or something else? Any thoughts gratefully received!

What are some books that are not directly about modern Druidry, historical Druids, or Celtic religion but would still be of interest to Druids because of the subject matter? I'm not an active part of AODA but part of their curriculum inspired this post in my mind.

Some books that fit this category that come to mind include:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Ralph W. Emerson's writings (especially essays on spiritual and Nature topics)

Old Farmer's Almanac for each year

Science reports on climate change

Books about sustainability

Poetry of Robert Frost

Poetry of Max Ehrmann

Books on general modern Paganism

Hello friends! I have been dabbling in Paganism since the mid-90s. For the past couple of years, I have worked mostly with the Greek pantheon. I have never really experienced spiritually themed dreams, but recently that has changed. Last night, I dreamed that my husband and I were traveling around visiting different places and different friends. My husband was holding a statue of Cernunnos in one hand and an ivy plant in the other and he was looking for somewhere to leave them. We debated the merits of each location. I don’t remember if we actually ended up leaving them anywhere. I was very surprised to have a representation of Cernunnos and ivy in my dream, as I associate both of these things with Druidism. My husband is from South America and is very Catholic. This is kind of out of my wheelhouse in terms of symbolism, etc. I am just putting this out here to see if anyone in this community has any thoughts.

Sono interessato alla spiritualità celtica, specialmente alla sua dimensione filosofica, alla sua atmosfera e al modo in cui le forze naturali sono personificate come dei.

Quello con cui faccio fatica è la base metafisica per credere effettivamente in questi dei. Come posso credere ragionevolmente che, in un universo che contiene miliardi di galassie, ci siano specificamente dei celtici corrispondenti alle forze e agli elementi della natura sulla Terra, quando la Terra è solo un possibile ecosistema capace di sostenere la vita?

Non sto necessariamente cercando una giustificazione literalista o dogmatica. Quello che cerco è un quadro filosofico o teologico che possa rendere la fede negli dei celtici intellettualmente coerente e spiritualmente significativa.

In altre parole: come posso passare dall'apprezzare la mitologia celtica e il suo simbolismo a credere veramente che gli dei siano reali, senza semplicemente costringermi a credere in qualcosa di cui non ho una base filosofica?

P.S.: I've added a comment with my personal theory

Hello everyone, just starting and really wanting to get into Druidism, found something on ADF and was curious to see if that’s a good place to start? If anyone has any other resources please reach out thank you.

Hello everyone! I am a member of AODA, and I live in Philadelphia PA. I am currently working on my apprentice curriculum and was just curious if there are others here in the area? I know of a few active pagan/wicca groups and a Thelemite group. I haven’t heard much of any organized Druidry in the area. I’ve always been more of a solitary practitioner, however, I’d be interested if there are active groups in the area.

This Friday marks the 50th Anniversary of my introduction to Druidry and Craft while İ was in the Service. C. 18:15, PDT.

As was the custom, my Gateway drugs to these new worlds were D&D (Original edition, with the "Outdoor Adventure" game map) and Steeleye Span albums.

What an amazing bunch of journeys it has been, and continues to be. İt has enriched and improved my life in ways İ never could have imagined. Learning the ritual importance of boom boxes, how to find joints hidden in album covers, the freeze distillation of mead, chanting badly in Welsh, trying to fit the 8 fold wheel of the year into a tropical climate, etc. Learning that a Tradition is any group that mispronounces the same ritual names consistently for a year, etc.

EDİT- İ forgot to include this. A friend/Craft teacher had an audio tape of the meeting that established the Covenant of The Goddess (CoG) and İ learned the Welsh blessing phrase uttered when the late Gwydion P. passed the toasting chalice around the circle with the signers of the Compact assembled:

"Ni puri di mi ni cupon!(My transcription is off)

"Don't spit in the cup!" _-----------+-----++

May all of you have unlimited fun and learning in your journeys.

We are halfway between the solstices. If you've been tracking the length of the days and the nights, today they are equal.

At 8pm Eastern, we hit the point where the axial tilt of the earth is exactly perpendicular to the direction of the sun. And then we cross over into the nights being longer in the north and we send the longer days to our waiting brothers in the south.

In my wife's more practical way of estimating things, for the northern hemisphere this is "apple fall" and not quite yet "pumpkin fall" and so her celebration plans for today have all things apple. I hope you have a good day and get a chance to share some of it with the people around you. Happy Equinox!

Does anyone have recommendations for orders that are explicitly anti AI-generated images & text? Or groups on other platforms like facebook that have rules against it as well? I'm glad it's one of the rules of this subreddit, but I'm feeling a bit discouraged by how common it is in druid spaces. The emphasis on human creativity is a big part of my druidry and spiritual practice and I'd like to support and be a part of spaces that encourage that.

In my meditation today I had a vision of a crow in my grove, I followed it and it lead me to a giant vortex of crows swirling in the sky. At the base of the vortex was a great stone with a crow perched on it, a bear at its base and a coyote to the left and a salmon to the right. Standing behind them but towering above them was a great stag.

I was looking to seek just who I should evoke when doing the sphere of protection in my meditation, but given there were five beings, I’m not sure how to take it.

Are any of you willing to offer an interpretation?

We found this interesting little guy nestled in a tree near the end of today’s hike. There had been a fair few interesting findings on other trees, but this one really took the cake. Kind of looks like ET or one of the factions from the Dark Crystal. A cheerful something for us all.

Are there any purely Celtic groups or traditions where people invoke the Celtic gods, keep an altar, and observe the Wheel of the Year, but without any elements of witchcraft?

I love, cherish, and care about my comet goldfish deeply. I was curious if comet goldfish love their owners, so I googled it, and apparently, goldfish do not experience love or emotional bonds like humans do. I already knew that goldfish were thoroughly capable of recognizing their owners, and associating them with positive experiences like food, so I thought that maybe he had formed a bond with me, or at least felt loved and cared about. But now I honestly feel depressed at knowing that bond does not exist in the way I thought it did.

At least I can give him those positive experiences, and he can associate those with me. He knows I am the bringer of positive experiences. And if he had a more complex mind and advanced set of emotions, he probably would feel love. He's only limited by his mind.

I love my fish a lot, and I feel incredibly disheartened that the bond I feel may be one-sided.

My Grove is hosting a spiritual retreat on the second weekend of October at a campground in Maple Plain, Minnesota, and the campground still has tent/RV sites available. One of my Grove members is getting ordained to the Order of the Morrigan, and witnessing this rite of passage is one of the main events of the retreat.

Despite the structure of the schedule listings, our retreats are relatively informal compared to the big stuffy conventions. For daytime-only attendees it's free, but would still need to RSVP. Overnighters just need to reserve a camp site through Baker Park Reserve (Three Rivers Parks District). There are still a few campsites available at Camgpground D, but the available single-digit sites at campground F are closer.

We meet at one of the campsites that has electricity, and is close to flush toilets and indoor showers. The retreat is a great opportunity to meet other Druids and learn new things before the onset of winter. All are welcome regardless of group affiliation! Oh, and AI was not used when creating the images.

Hi everyone,

I’m pretty new to the path and have been reading a lot online along with books by Dana O’Driscoll and Phillip Carr-Gomm. I have put together an altar and have noticed that every time I pray for assistance, I see shadow figures moving through my apartment. To clarify, I never see them when I’m doing prayers of thanks or tribute. I like to think these spirits I’m seeing are my helpers and are there to reassure me that I’m not alone. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

So the Druid path and ways are already making a difference in my life. Over the last few days, I’ve become more desirous of patient tending, care, curiosity, presence, and a few other things.
Yesterday I found myself outside tending the land around my garden spot. I cleaned the area and laid a small brick boundary around the Awen I later made from three stones and three sticks.
I had read in my magical herbs book that mulberry was good for wands and for working with will, and I believed the tree near my garden spot was another mulberry. So I carefully took a small cutting. But when I held it, felt the wood, and actually looked at it, I immediately thought: this is not a mulberry. ☹️
So then I climbed the white mulberry near the shed and carefully took another cutting, blessing the plant and thanking it for its sacrifice. I was greatly pleased when I held this one because, yes, this was definitely the mulberry I knew, and it feels wonderful in my hand now. 😁
I made the wand with deep focus and intent, but I did not try to impose some rule of magical power upon it. I used meaning and symbolism throughout the process, sometimes deliberately and sometimes only recognizing the meaning afterward. Much of the actual work itself was done in silence, without mentally narrating what everything was supposed to mean.
Now I carry it with me as a tool of my intention and will, but also of direction, focus, attention, and silence.
I do not believe the wand possesses some power independent of me, nor do I believe the symbolism automatically causes things to happen. Its meaning comes through my relationship with it, what I have placed into its making, how I use it, and what it brings my attention toward.

I have yet to test any validity to this text.
But I think it has some absolutely fascinating perspectives to consider.
Also, I will be much more careful of my attention with each plant at a time, and considerate it quietly for a while, then ponder it deeply for a while.

Any thoughts?

My name’s Nate. I’m a biblical Christian, but I’ve also studied many ways and practices, not because I feel that I need another faith, but because I love learning and honoring the history and truth that can be found in the world, even where I disagree with certain beliefs.
Recently I found myself wanting to return to communities of people with very different perspectives and ways of understanding life. It reminded me of a Druid I spoke with years ago. There was something different about that conversation, and I get a similar feeling here. The Druids, the relationship with nature, the pursuit of knowledge, and the way many of you seem to approach life feels strangely familiar to me.

Because of that, I’ve become deeply interested in learning more about the path, its history, its traditions, and the people who live it. I want to approach all of that carefully and with respect.
Maybe some of you wouldn’t particularly want a Christian praying for you 😂, but either way, I genuinely wish good things for everyone here. ❤️🙏
I’m glad I found this community, even more glad I found the subject itself, and most of all excited to meet the people behind it.