Starting the OBOD Course,
My materials came in yesterday, after a bit of a long wait for them to travel across the sea (they came from the UK.
I'm happy to finally have them in, not that I feel as though it is the missing link I've been waiting for all of my life, however there is much about Druidry in the form it has taken within the OBOD that I think I had felt in Wicca when I first sought it out. For me, the form of Wicca we learned, which is the most common of Traditional British variety, was more occult in nature and less nature, which is quite fine by me, but it left part of me lacking.
I have had experiences while traveling various spiritual paths. Whether it be Gnosticism, Esoteric Christianity, Judaism or Paganism. No matter what religion I was interested in at the time, the experiences I had were the same: Moving, surreal, life changing. The feeling of a finite yet infinite presence that suddenly was right there… in my presence. The way it felt when it clicked and connected was the same – which is why really I don't think there is One Right Path for everyone.
Religion can be a great tool for helping one connect with true self and divinity. One tool of many. It can also be destructive, depending on the beliefs or dogma.
The form of Druidry that the OBOD offers is rather interspiritual. One does not need to put aside their own beliefs. Rather it can complement the path one is already on. The basis is on creativity, connection to the land around you, taking meaning from myths and applying them, internalizing them. Even though I have a huge interest in Canaanite paganism/polytheism , I feel that these lessons underneath still have value. The myth in Canaanite tradition is AMAZING, and thousands of years old – yet there is merit and teachings in those myths. While genetically my roots are within Ireland , Scotland and England, I was adopted as a child by a Jewish father and was brought up respecting Jewish faith — and I have always had a strong affinity to the outlaying myths of Judaism and more directly the Ancient Near East.
Stories of Merlin and such might not seem to have much in common with my desire to honour Ba'al and Anat, but it all sort of connects when using the underlying principals of Druidry, regardless of where one's path lies. Within the most vocal Canaanite groups, the consensus is Hard Polytheism, and that is something I just don't gel with because of that universal spirit/energy/source I have felt regardless of which deities I am busying myself with.
So, off on a new adventure, I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
Cheers!
#pagan #druid #druidry #obod
