Reformed Druids of North America

The Reformed Druids of North America, or RDNA, was formed at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1963, and marked the start of the American branch of neo-druidism. This congregation is called the Carleton Grove, sometimes the Mother Grove. There are over 40 groves and proto-groves of the RDNA, throughout the United States and Canada. As of 2005 there were approximately 400 grove members, between 2500 and 4000 Druids. and about 100 priests and priestesses.

Origins

Reformed Druidism began at Carleton College in the spring of 1963 as a protest of the college’s requirement that all students attend a certain number of religious services or meetings per term. One way of fulfilling the requirement was to attend services of one’s own religion. The Reformed Druids of North America proposed to test the degree of freedom permitted under this clause. Druidism was ideal for this attack: it had a perfect combination of exotic ritual with some relevance to the Judeo-Christian tradition. If religious credit were granted, the religious requirement could be exposed as essentially pointless. If, on the other hand, credit were denied, the college could be accused of bigotry. After extended discussion with the Druids, the college recognized that its position was untenable, and, in part because of the challenge from the Druids, the religious requirement was dropped in June, 1964. But in creating an effective vehicle to challenge the requirement, the founders had unwittingly fostered an environment for spiritual exploration that many found rewarding. For many Druids the movement had come to represent a valuable part of their spiritual lives, and the founders were stunned to discover that the demand for Druid services continued even after the college requirement disappeared.

Principles

Druidism boasts its lack of institutionalized dogma. Each Druid is required only to adopt these Basic Tenets:
*One of the many ways in which the object of Man’s search for religious truth can be found is through Nature.
*Nature, being one of the primary concerns in Man’s life and struggle, and being one of the objects of Creation, is important to Man’s spiritual quests.

In Reformed Druidism, the natural world is personified as the Earth-Mother. The transcendent essence of the universe, working through the natural world, is called Be’al, from a word the ancient Celts applied to an abstract supreme being. The "object of Man’s search" is called "awareness."

The original group were not Neo-Pagan; many would have called themselves Christian or Jewish, and the movement still includes many who do not consider themselves Neo-Pagan. But the principles and ritual were carefully designed not to exclude any particular religious persuasion. From the beginning it was emphasized that religion does not succeed through coercion: people must come to spiritual awareness through their own individual spiritual search. Toward that end the services in the early years frequently drew from many religious traditions, notably Hinduism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism.

Ritual

In accord with the Basic Tenets, Reformed Druid worship is directed toward Nature. Services involve gathering in a wooded place periodically (the original group met weekly during warm weather) and on the festival days of Northern European Pagan tradition. Services typically include:
*The ritual consumption of "spirits" (Scotch whisky blended with water), called "the Waters-of-Life".
*The singing of religious songs.
*The performance of ceremonial chanting.
*Prayers and meditations.The written [http://orgs.carleton.edu/Druids/ARDA/ARDA-03.pdf RDNA liturgy] calls for a "sacrifice of life". An early disagreement, recounted in "The Druid Chronicles", was resolved by limiting the sacrifice to plant life, whence the term "Reformed" was adopted as part of the group's name.

According to ancient Druid custom, the officiating Druids, and others who so wish, traditionally wear long white robes, the robe of the Arch-Druid having a distinctive decoration or color. The Waters-of-Life are usually passed to all present as a symbol of the link man has with Nature. Incantation recalling ancient Celtic mythology is also used. In order to focus attention on Nature, various aspects of it retain the names of corresponding Celtic gods and goddesses. For example:
*Dalon Ap Landu - the grove
*Grannos - healing springs
*Braciaca - malt
*Belenos - the sun
*Sirona - rivers
*Taranis - thunder and lightning
*Llyr- the sea
*Danu - fertility

Festivals

Druid festivals correspond to the important dates of the old Celtic year. Celebration begins at sundown the previous evening, and may include feasts, bonfires, and revelry appropriate to the season.The RDNA adopted the ancient Celtic fire days, or solstice festivals.

Season of Geimredh (Winter)
*Samhain - Oct. 31
*Winter Solstice - Dec. 21Season of Earrach (Spring)
*Oimelc - Feb. 2
*Spring Equinox - Mar. 21 Season of Samradh (Summer)
*Beltane - May 1
*Summer Solstice - June 21Season of Foghamhar (Fall)
*Lugnasadh - Aug. 2
*Autumn Equinox - Sept. 21

(The original group, and "The Druid Chronicles", did not include the equinoxes — for which there is little evidence in ancient Northern European tradition — but they are now observed by many Reformed Druids.)

The phases of the moon are also followed closely. The night of the full moon is considered a time of rejoicing; while the night of the new moon is a solemn occasion, calling for vigils and meditation.

Organization

There are two types of groups within the RDNA: groves and proto-groves. A grove is a group of Druids who have been established, and have a third order Druid as their Arch-Druid. The Carleton grove established the tradition of three officers (though this structure is not mandatory):
*Arch-Druid, a third order priest, to direct worship;
*Preceptor, a second order Druid, to handle business matters;
*Server, a first order Druid to assist the Arch-Druid.A proto-grove is a beginning grove that has no third order Druid; these are typically smaller than a regular grove.

To become a first order Druid, a person must partake of the Waters-of-Life, and affirm their acceptance of the Basic Tenets. To become a second order Druid, one must pledge themselves to the service of the RDNA, as well as have an understanding of basic Druidism. To become a third order priest, one must dedicate oneself to a life of Druidic inquiry, starting with an all-night, outdoor vigil.

Higher orders of the priesthood (up to the tenth) recognize outstanding insight and dedication over a period of time. They are similar to academic degrees in that they represent recognition of personal achievement, but carry no special authority. Each order of the priesthood is dedicated to one of the eight aspects of Nature.

Council of Dalon Ap Landu

The Council of Dalon ap Landu is the collective body of all Third Order Druids. In it rests the legislative authority of the movement, and is chaired by the current Arch-Druid of Carleton. From 1964 to 1977, several proposals were considered by the Council, which by tradition has operated by consensus. The last resolution, passed in 1971, unequivocally gave equal status to female and male Druids in the Third Order and higher orders. ("The Druid Chronicles" had originally restricted voting to men, and limited the number of orders a woman could belong to.)

During the Isaac Affair of 1974-1977, disagreement over the future of the Reform led to several schisms, new Councils, and the end of the practical use of the Council of Dalon Ap Landu, due to the rising number of priests, the difficult logistics of voting, and the tradition of consensus. The Council of DAL remains in existence, but is effectively in permanent abeyance, acting both as a rhetorical muse to address in letters, and as a brake on any further organization of the Reform on a national level.

Purpose

On a superficial level, it might now seem that the purpose of Reformed Druidism is merely to delve into the strange customs and rituals of the ancient Celts, and to have some fun doing it, and also to serve as a new and different type of protest movement. But, on deeper examination of the RDNA, it might be said tohave an important purpose:
*In communing with Nature, it seeks to promote a spirit of meditation and introspection, aimed ultimately at awareness of religious truth.
*It encourages all to seek their own spiritual path through active engagement.

Branches of the Reform

In 1966, Robert Larson, an ordained priest of the original Carleton Grove, moved to Berkeley, California, where he and Isaac Bonewits founded a small Druidic group with connections to various wiccan covens, and groups which practiced ceremonial magic. This became known as the Berkeley Grove.

In the mid 1970s, due to dissatisfaction with the difficulty of making rules through the Council of Dalon Ap Landu, as well as resistance from older Druids, several groves broke off to form "Branches" of Reformed Druidism. From the RDNA, in 1976, a new order formed called the NewRDNA (NRDNA), which organized under a Council of Arch-Druids, specifically to have a national body more responsive than the Council of DAL. Some NRDNA groves wanted to make adaptations, restrict membership to Neo-Pagans, and experiment with changes to ritual and the structure of their groves; these became the Schismatic Druids of North America (SDNA). Groves not participating in these changes or schisms were, by default, considered the RDNA. The definition of "Reformed Druidism" stretched to include these variants, not just the RDNA, but the NRDNA, SDNA, and independent folks who just believed in the Basic Tenets.

Each of these branches generally followed the same ordination formula for 1st through 3rd Orders; members of each branch would enter Higher Orders too. Third Order members of each Branch was still a member of the original Council of Dalon Ap Landu; but this Council had already stopped functioning at a practical level. Other means of interaction were quickly devised, but they also faded away.

Many members of the SDNA groves left in the 1980s to form the Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), taking a few lessons from Reformed Druidism with them. Currently, in most RDNA and NRDNA groves, members can belong to any or no religion; and due to the emphasis on Grove autonomy, and resulting Grove diversity, there is now little to distinguish between RDNA and NRDNA.

Today Ár nDraíocht Féin has groves present across the United States, in Canada, and in some other countries. There is also another group which was an offshoot from the RDNA, the Henge of Keltria. They also have various groves and groups around North America.

Diversity of Reformed Druidism

Until 1983, except for a few fraternal Druid organizations with branches in the USA, Reformed Druidism was really the only publicly known type of Neo-Druidism in America. ADF provided a training program for Neo-Pagan Druids interested in Indo-European religious concepts, a strong central church-like structure, a liturgical formula, and a great number of council and rules. Over the years, many aspiring Druids joined ADF, borrowed some ideas and produced dozens of new groups of their own. Henge of Kelria was the largest off-shoot, when this group split off for reasons of protest over training programs, charges of ineptitude, and a preference for only Celtic sources of inspiration.

Similarly, the Order of Whiteoak borrowed material from ADF, RDNA, and Keltra, but produced primarily a core of material based on their own research. The Order of the Mithril Star is the newest group in Reformed Druidism, being a blend of the Church of All Worlds, RDNA, and their own invention.

References

* [http://orgs.carleton.edu/Druids/ARDA2/ARDA2part1.pdf Reformed Druid Anthology: Chronicles of the Foundation]
* [http://orgs.carleton.edu/Druids/ARDA/ARDA-02.pdf Reformed Druid Anthology: Books of the Apocrypha]
* [http://orgs.carleton.edu/Druids/ARDA/ARDA-03.pdf Reformed Druid Anthology: Books of the Liturgy]

ee also

*Neo-druidism
*Druid
*Sacred grove
*Celtic mythology
*Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism

External links

* [http://orgs.carleton.edu/Druids/ Reformed Druids of North America - Carleton grove]
* [http://www.geocities.com/mikerdna/ Reformed Druids of North America - main website]
* [http://www.geocities.com/mikerdna/wheregrove.html Reformed Druid Grove Locations]