The British Druid Order (BDO) is an international
druid order, founded in 1979 as a religious and educational organisation. Its constitution defines it as a not-for-profit unincorporated association. It is commonly regarded as being one of the first, if not the first, explicitly
neo-pagan Druid Orders. The order draws on medieval
Welsh texts such as the
Mabinogion and other early British/Celtic texts for inspiration and to re-connect with the pre-Christian, indigenous religious and spiritual practices of Britain which it believes to be
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
in nature.
History
Founded in 1979 with the creation of the original Mother Grove, The Grove of the Badger, in Hastings, Sussex, England by
Philip Shallcrass
Philip Shallcrass (born 1953), often known by his Druid name, Greywolf, is Chief of the British Druid Order. He is an English artist, writer, poet, musician and singer-songwriter who pioneered a "shamanic" Druidism.
Background
Philip Shallcra ...
, the current Chief of the Order.
By 1992, the BDO was publishing and disseminating pagan literature focused on the shamanic traditions of the Islands of Britain.
The Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri was co-founded at Avebury in 1993 by the BDO with ritual designed by
Philip Shallcrass
Philip Shallcrass (born 1953), often known by his Druid name, Greywolf, is Chief of the British Druid Order. He is an English artist, writer, poet, musician and singer-songwriter who pioneered a "shamanic" Druidism.
Background
Philip Shallcra ...
In 1995,
Philip Shallcrass
Philip Shallcrass (born 1953), often known by his Druid name, Greywolf, is Chief of the British Druid Order. He is an English artist, writer, poet, musician and singer-songwriter who pioneered a "shamanic" Druidism.
Background
Philip Shallcra ...
was joined by
Emma Restall Orr as joint chief of the order.
The first US Gorsedd, Caer Pugetia, was founded in Seattle during a visit to America by the joint chiefs of the Order in 1997 and the Gorsedd of Bards of Cor Gawr founded at Stonehenge as part of the BDO's work to extend ritual access to the site.
In 2002,
Emma Restall Orr stepped down as joint chief of the order in order to set up
The Druid Network, following which in 2003 the BDO Circle of Elders was formed.
By 2010, the BDO had completed construction of an Iron Age style
Roundhouse which has since been the focus of training, workshops and ritual for the order. 2011 saw the launch of the BDO's Bardic training, with its first Bards graduating in 2013.
2013 also saw the launch of the Druid Hedge Schools initiative, a loose network of pagan Druid trainings intended to promote Druidry as a spiritual practice in the modern world.
Principle beliefs
The British Druid Order follows the contemporary tradition of
neo-druidry
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as well as with nature deit ...
with its threefold division of the Order membership into Bards, Ovates and Druids.
BDO Druidry
* is
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, ...
, seeing all things as imbued with spirit,
* is
polytheistic
Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...
, recognising many gods and goddesses,
* venerates ancestors of blood (our direct physical forebears) and of spirit (those who have walked similar spiritual paths before us) and
* venerates
Spirit of place
Spirit of place (or soul) refers to the unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of a place; often those celebrated by artists and writers, but also those cherished in folk tales, festivals and celebrations. It is thus as much in the invisible ...
.
The order believes that the pre-Christian, indigenous religious and spiritual practices of the original Druids were
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
in nature, and works to reconstruct such practices in a form as a spiritual system answering to the needs of the 21st century where possible and to reconnect with the spirit of them where not, a process referred to by the BDO as 'rekindling the sacred fire.'
Practically, the British Druid Order seeks to understand and work with the spirit of inspiration and creativity known in the British Druid tradition as '
awen
Awen is a Welsh, Cornish and Breton word for "inspiration" (and typically poetic inspiration).
In Welsh mythology, awen is the inspiration of the poets, or bards; or, in its personification, Awen is the inspirational muse of creative artists ...
' through study, ritual, folklore, healing and many other practices to facilitate connections to sources of knowledge, inspiration and wisdom beyond the confines of the human psyche and rooted in the natural world. It also sees political and practical activism, in the areas of ecology, as a spiritual obligation.
Publications
The following is a list of publications that the BDO have produced.
Tooth and Claw is still published on an occasional basis.
* The Druid's Voice: The Magazine of Contemporary Druidry
* Tooth and Claw: The Journal of the British Druid Order
* Gorseddau: Newsletter of the Gorsedd of Bards of the Isles of Britain
References
External links
*
{{Neo-druidism
Modern pagan organisations based in the United Kingdom
Modern pagan organizations established in 1979
Neo-druidism in Britain
Neo-druid orders