Are there any practicing druids on this form? And if so would any like to share their experiences with this path?
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Not that I know of but what is a druid?
I don’t really know much about druids other then them having something to do with nature.
Is it cool if ya give me a brief explanation of what a druid is?
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Sure! To start there is not much know about the Druids but most all agree they were the ruling class of gallic society and operated in sacred groves of europe. They filled the role of every professional class in their cultures they were judges, magicians, diviners, and soothsayers some say they heavily revered plant and trees (specifically Oaks) if not worshiped them these would be the spirits of nature like the greek Dryads and the Fae of celtic nations.
They followed a belief of animism mixed with the philosophy of the hindu brahmins with many gods of place like wells, river air, land, fire etc. They were very skilled with enchantment/incantation being masters with language and poetry contributed to this. They could control weather to a very skilled degree, Like summoning fog to hide from enemy armies.
They summon the power of the elements and were great diviners through Augury and the way trees moved and by scrying into bowls of water.
Some Roman historians remark on how their magic skill rivaled that of the Persian magi as well as the Vedic brahmins. They were knowledgeable about the temple technology through sanding stones and artificial mounds and round towers of the Celtic isles. The word druid is believed to come from the the hypothetical proto-Celtic word when reconstructed as *dru-wid-s (pl. *druwides) meaning “oak-knower”.
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Thanks man
And that’s pretty cool!
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It’s a fascinating topic! 
I wonder if the tree symbolism related to the “World Tree”/axis mundi concept?
To “know” this is to know more than simple “low magick” spells and incantations, for sure.
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Oh definitely,
They were no strangers of “high magic” whether it was conjuring tempests to sink enemy ships to stop them from coming ashore or to the sacrifices they made to the gods when evoked.
They were also absolute masters at Hypnotism and altering their consciousness to reach the otherworlds, Dreamwalkers if you will.
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Your very welcome.
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I also believe that they had contact with the germanic and nordic tribes at some early point and shared a similar idea about the “World Tree” the only difference being druids used the Oak and nordic vitkis used the Ash I believe.
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It’s sad for us modern people that so little of Druid practice and belief was recorded, since they passed their knowledge down orally.
I would love to know more about them. I’ve studied a little into the Ogam and Celtic pantheons, but can’t call myself a Druidess. I am surrounded by oak trees here in SC though, and my ancestry is over 60% English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh.
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I felt this way too I’m also Irish/Welsh/Scottish/Germanic I felt I had know where to look but couldn’t get it out of my mind. A Little voice in the back my head kept saying “look” “find it” “make it” “do it” and i finally started being able to “channel” or pick up on what my ancestors and the gods were telling me. before I knew it I started to rediscover lost arcane knowledge.
While we will never be able to reconstruct the old system to 100% we can still reconstruct something just as good if not better as long as we stay in tune with the culture and its nature. I often wonder if the ancient druids were around nowadays what might they think about all the new sciences (esoteric and exoteric) things like alchemy, herbalism, psychology, parapsychology, and astronomy.
My instinct leads me to believe that they would shun what is useless and keep what is useful. I think they would actually be quite good friends with the Vedic traditions, Shinto priests, and Daoists. while retaining the core identity of their gnosis.
I’m currently working on a system of druid magic that builds from the things we know about them with the things that can be used given the new world we live in. Things like temple technology (the manipulation of ley lines with magnetic or “living” stone) to hypnosis, herbalism, mycology, and electromagnetism. Through this new built upon cosmology guided by ancestors and gods of old I believe once fully fleshed out people will once again be able to bear the title of Druidess and Druids.
This is my purpose as a member of the clan Ó Súilleabháin descendants of The Sons of Mil. Took a lot of discernment to find this path and I plan on walking it to the end and would be happy to share what I discover with any who would listen.
If your looking for some inspiration read The Song of Amergin
“I am the wind on the sea;
I am the wave of the sea;
I am the bull of seven battles;
I am the eagle on the rock
I am a flash from the sun;
I am the most beautiful of plants;
I am a strong wild boar;
I am a salmon in the water;
I am a lake in the plain;
I am the word of knowledge;
I am the head of the spear in battle;
I am the god that puts fire in the head;
Who spreads light in the gathering on the hills?
Who can tell the ages of the moon?
Who can tell the place where the sun rests?”
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TECHNICALLY, I am eligible for Ovate status (second level) in OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids)but I find the way things are structured to be too dogmatic for my taste.
Ive been drawn to the Druidic path for a while now but I did not get too deep into it with OBOD (some nagging voice in my head said I was better off as a solitary Druid) but I did pay for the whole year and I have a bunch of literature from them. Im sure you already know about OBOD but if you do not, take a look at their organization.
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Yes I have heard of the OBOD I like some of their stuff. I personally don’t see anything wrong with dogma but then again I use that word in the technical sense instead of the religious one. “Technical” being that your dogma is whatever you hold to be true through personal validating experience. Lol you can even have a dogma about not believing dogma. 
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Nice!
Unfettered is the way to go, but I’m really happy to see the druidic orders at work. I get the sense that you know more about their history than I do.
From what I’ve seen, druids were big fans of knowledge and wisdom of every form. I know tales of druids who worked as engineers, poets, politicians, healers, philosophers… Pretty much anything that required education in the ancient West.
I really like the philosophical balance of their traditions. They understand that every agent naturally has the right to seek its own fulfilment, but that there is great value in harmony. They know that young men thirst for glory, but the greatest treasure is a warm hearth and a good story.
Man… I like just thinking about druids. Thanks for bringing that up.
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I was in the OBOD and the ADF for a while when I was younger but wanted to explore other things. Both good groups and worth checking out but I get the feeling your more of a solitary practitioner. They do have some decent correspondence courses.
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Your welcome! @Zapdubious
@AdamThoth Yes I am a solitary practitioner but i’d like to change that. My end goal is to possibly start a druid college based off of what I have discovered and the tradition i’m building upon. Because while all those orders are really good places to start there’s always room for improvement and I’m hoping I can provide that improvement. And i’m always happy to learn more. Thank you for your replies .
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I actually went out and collected pieces of wood from every tree and carved each one into its tree symbol and to uniformity of shape and size and had one hell of a divination system going with it.
I suppose my advice would be to look into Celtic mythology and stories such as the battle of trees (Inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Ents?) its a really cool mythology.
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Oh wow! I love your dedication! That’s really awesome that you were able to do that. Battle of trees sounds right up my ally thanks for bring it to my attention. Ents were always my favorite. 
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http://bardmythologies.com/irish-mythology/
You might find it on this site you might not But it has a nice and quick explanation of the cycles and give you a good overview with summery versions of the stories. Cheers!
Actually I found it and here it is. The Battle of the Trees
I’m actually kind of surprised that more here don’t get into Celtic myths but that shit is pretty fuckin bad ass. It’s all about battles and magical powers in battle it’s definitely a super cool mythology and would have thought more people would get into it.
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Excellent, Thank you AdamThoth!
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OK one more for the road…
PRIMARY BARD TO ELPHIN AM I
AND MY COUNTRY IS THE REGION OF THE SUMMER STARS.
MANY HAVE CALLED ME MERDDIN,
BUT AT LENGTH ALL MEN WILL CALL ME TALIESIN!
I HAVE BEEN A HERDSMAN, AND TRAVELED OVER THE EARTH.
I HAVE SLEPT IN A HUNDRED ISLANDS, GUEST OF A HUNDRED KINGS.
I HAVE DWELT IN A HUNDRED CITIES.
FOR A YEAR AND A DAY I WAS IN FETTERS…
I HAVE BEEN A FIERCE BULL AND A YELLOW BUCK.
I HAVE BEEN A BOAT UPON THE SEA.
I HAVE BEEN THE FOAM OF WATER.
I HAVE BEEN A DROP IN THE AIR.
I HAVE JOURNEYED HIGH AS AN EAGLE.
I HAVE BEEN A TREE-STUMP IN A SHOVEL.
I HAVE BEEN AN AXE IN THE HAND.
I HAVE BEEN A SPOTTED SNAKE ON A HILL.
I HAVE BEEN A WAVE BREAKING UPON THE BEACH
ON A BOUNDLESS SEA I WAS SET ADRIFT.
THEN FOR NINE MONTHS I WAS LITTLE GWION
IN THE WOMB OF CARIDWEN,
AND AT LENGTH WAS TALIESIN.
I HAVE BEEN AT THE THRONE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR.
I HAVE STOOD HIGH UPON THE WHITE HILL.
I WAS FLUENT BEFORE BEING GIFTED WITH SPEECH.
I HAVE BEEN A TEACHER TO ALL INTELLEGENCES.
I HAVE SINGLY BUILT THE TOWER TO NIMRHOD.
I AM THE TETRAGRAMMATON.
I AM A WONDER WHOSE ORIGIN IS NOT KNOWN.
I SHALL BE UNTIL THE DAY OF DOOM UPON THE EARTH,
AND IT IS NOT KNOWN WEATHER MY BODY IS FLESH OR FISH.
LEARNED DRUID,
PROPHESY OF AURTHOR?
OR IS IT ME THEY CELIBRATE?
The sauce if you wanted some… Here it is
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