Order of Bards Ovates and Druids – Correspondence Course for OBOD Druidry
http://www.druidry.org
Begin your druid path into the forest.
Steeped in tradition of both old and new ideas, you’ll enjoy this journey in a guided format. The OBOD course of study is a path of experiences designed to help the new Druid grow a connection with the world around them. Delivered on a monthly basis, you’ll receive 4 ‘gwersu’ or lessons, which lead you step-by-step in the rich heritage of Druidry as viewed by this British organization. Awen’s Light Grove is a seedgroup of the OBOD path of Druidry.
The ancient Druid Tradition was founded on the premise whereby we hold the Earth as sacred, and in growing this connection, you’ll find purpose and meaning. The first ‘grade’ is that of the Bard, with the goal of balance and finding inspiration in your life. You’ll have opportunity to explore the Elements, guided meditation and your creative abilities in this grade. The grade of Bard is followed by Ovate, whereby the sojourner learns to actively listen to their bodies, Nature and the Otherworld. Druid grade comes next where focus is given to integration, leadership and teaching.
Below are books for your consideration.
The Path of Druidry
Penny Billington
Highly recommended for those curious in Druidry.
Listen to the call of spirit and seek truth in wild groves, the shifting seasons, and the beauty of the Old Ways. Discover how to embark on this sacred green path and enrich your life with its ancient wisdom.
Practicing Druid Penny Billington offers a clear and structured course of study grounded in Celtic history and mythology, and highlights the mysteries and modern practice of this nature-based tradition.
Living With Honour, A Pagan Ethics
Emma Restall Orr
Living With Honour is a provocative and uncompromising exploration of how Paganism can provide the philosophical guidance to live honorably in a twenty-first Western society. Part One explores the history of Paganism, its undercurrents of anarchy, heresy, environmentalism and animism, finding its place within the history of Western philosophy. Part Two addresses key moral issues from that animistic perspective, beginning with the foundation of human relationships and attitudes towards the Other. It book explores how we value life, and firstly human life, looking at dying, suicide and euthanasia, birth, abortion and IVF. It then examines the human abuse of nonhuman animals, discussing sentience, personhood and inherent value. Finally, it focuses on current global crises, exploring need as opposed to desire.
Natural Druidry
Kristoffer Hughes
Natural Druidry is a deeply personal account of one man s journey through the dappled groves of culture and tradition. Exploring the inspiration of Druidry through the eyes of a man in love with heritage and the land, Kris takes you on a journey into the mysteries of the Druid tradition, into the shadows of the past and the magic of Druidry.
Written with simplistic clarity, humour and tears, Kris invites you to share his journey through tradition, descending into the mysteries of Druidry and of its practise in the twenty-first century. Exploring the fundamental principles of Druidry from ritual, connection, mythology, shamanism and finally a personal ride through the Druid year. Share in a world of wondrous beings, of sheer potentiality beyond comprehension, and the awe and childlike surrender one feels when confronted with the enchantment of Druidry.
Inspiration lies at the heart of this book, where the joyous experience of the flowing spirit of Druidry known as Awen; sings through dry ink. Journey with Kris into the magic of the past and the present, deep into the vast cauldron of spiritual enlightenment that sings from the land, that whispers to us upon the breeze as the breath of our ancestors.
What Do Druids Believe?
Phillip Carr-Gomm
Book covering the basics of Druidry from an open point of view. Druidism is free of dogmatism – Phillip Carr-Gomm covers the subject generally enough to ensure the reader understands the ‘Druid Path’ without confining the subject to specific practices that bind the free-spirit nature of the subject.
This is a great ‘primer’ for the person new to Modern Druidry and wishes to survey the overall landscape of this rich tradition. It is also helpful as a touch-stone to experienced path walkers that would like to re-ground to their tradition.
Essential Guide to Druidism
Isaac Bonewitz
A book about Druids unlike any other, Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism not only goes far behind the usual Celtic and Classical references by discussing the evolution and migration of the Proto-Indo-European peoples, from whom the Celts arose, but also discusses the beliefs and ritual practices of both the British and American streams of modern Druidry, as well as providing warnings about deceptive Druid organizations and authors. This is a book that belongs in the library of every modern Druid, regardless of their particular path or style of Druidism.
Awen's Light Grove 