What is a Druid

A reader of this blog recently asked me to define what a Druid is. This is an interesting challenge because there is no consensus. Ask any three Druids the same question and you will get at least six different answers. That is nowhere more true than in the question of what makes one a Druid. So, the best I can do is explain what a Druid is to me.

My short answer is: A Druid is a wise man who specializes in man's relationship with nature and the otherworld and reminds us that we are fully part of both.

Here are what I think are some fundamental characteristics of Druids. Feel free to add to and take away from this list as your Awen (Spirit of Inspiration) guides you.

A love of nature and wilderness

Creativity: this can take any form you find ethical

Wisdom

Living in harmony with the rest of creation to the best of ones ability

A desire to preserve, disseminate and enhance knowledge

Awareness of the divine in all things including yourself and each other.

Phillip Carr-Gomm's three mystical Druid senses:common sense, a sense of proportion, and a sense of humour

Seeking enlightenment and wisdom from nature and inspiration.

Recognition of the power of words and language; (John 1)

That's enough for now. Feel free to add more in the comment section.

Yours under the non-definitive oaks

Nathair /|\

Prominent Latter-Day Saints who should have been Druids.

The following is a list of a few prominent Latter-Day Saints who I consider to be Druids in all but name. In other words, though they didn't (as far as I know) think of them selves as Druids or use the title, their lifestyles and teachings are consistent with the highest values of Druidry.

Hugh Nibley

An absolutely brilliant man, the Einstein of Mormon Scholarship, He was both warrior (intelligence officer for the Screaming Eagles) and a peace maker, a man of great scholarship and great spirituality, and one who found spiritual solace in wild places. He wrote positively on Hermetics, one of the main influences in the Druid Revival.

Brigham Young

Made the desert blossom as a rose, he knew the power of fertility. Nibley wrote a book on Brigham Young and the Environment and stated that BY lived up to the highest ideals of Hermeticism. The fact that such a book is possible marks Brigham as one of the greatest of my LDS para-Druids.

Spencer W. Kimball

Ephraim K. Hanks

I will add more names and commentary in a future post. Feel free to suggest any others you wish.

Yours under the fellowshipping oaks

Nathair /|\

Intro

I am a Latter-Day Saint and I want to be a Druid. This blog is an attempt to explain how they work together and do not conflict. It will start out as a collection of random ideas and quotes, but I hope to soon make it into a consistent whole. Many, including my parents, are disturbed by my interest in Druidry because they only know about NeoPagan Druidism. They are two different things. Druidry means, for me, a participant in the Druid Revival, which started in the seventeenth century as a response to growing environmental degradation, Cartesian philosophy and the power of established state churches. It is not a religion, but a craft as indicated by the "-ry" suffix. It is spiritual in the same sense as Freemasonry and like that craft, it can be applied to almost any religion. Gordon Cooper, one of the Archdruids of the Ancient Order of Druidry in America even told me in a private conversation about an atheist who found in all he needed spiritually in Druidry. I hope you can help me make this blog informative and readable. Polite comments are always welcome. Vulgarity, profanity and rudeness in comments will be edited or deleted, though I retain the right to say what I find appropriate.