British Druid Order

The British Druid Order is an international organisation, once described by the Spectator magazine as "religion without the boring bits."

From an initial grove established in Sussex in the late 1970s, the BDO developed under the guidance of Philip Shallcrass, a Druid since 1974 and a High Priest of Alexandrian Wicca since 1979. Philip, or Greywolf (his Druid name), was recently described by Prof. Ronald Hutton as "a shaman quite convincingly diguised as a Druid." [In a letter to Greywolf, quoted with permission from Prof. Hutton.] This reflects the fact that the BDO sees the Druids of old as having been the 'shamans' of Britain and Europe, a role they may still undertake today. The process of renewing Druidry as a spiritual system answering to the needs of the 21st century is referred to by the BDO as 'rekindling the sacred fire.' [The title of the BDO introductory book published by the Order in 1992, with revised editions in 1996 and 2002.]

Beliefs and acts

BDO Druidry is animistic, seeing all things as imbued with spirit. It is polytheistic, recognising many gods and goddesses and, therefore, promoting tolerance of other faiths. It offers respect and reverence to our ancestors of blood (our direct physical forebears) and of spirit (those who have walked similar spiritual paths before us). It is Pagan in the original sense of honouring spirits of place, i.e. of hearth and home, village or town.We see the basis the Druid path as being to understand and work with the spirit of inspiration and creativity known in the British Druid tradition as 'awen' (literally, 'the flowing spirit'). Its ultimate goal is that of all mystical paths: oneness with the universe.The BDO promotes the importance of the bardic arts within Druidry, from music, poetry and storytelling to dance and digital photography. The BDO was responsible for establishing the Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri at Avebury in 1993, the Gorsedd of Bards of Cor Gawr at Stonehenge in 1995, and has since seeded other bardic Gorseddau and local groves in Britain and around the world.

A new phase

This year (2008) has seen ceremonies with the World Drum (see [http://www.theworlddrum.com] ) at Dragon Hill in Oxfordshire and at Avebury in Wiltshire. Later this year we are launching a new distance learning course in Druidry, and in the summer we'll be building an Iron Age roundhouse with friends from the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. For more information on these and other upcoming events and activities, and to join our new online Forum, please visit our website via the link below.

Quote: Pete McCarthy in the TV programme, Desperately Seeking Something, 1996, after spending a day with the BDO, said: "The Druids are lovely people, and it's a mystery to me why the powers that be don't just give them Stonehenge."

References

External links

* [http://www.druidry.co.uk British Druid Order website]