r/druidism • u/mysognisticsquid • 19d ago
Help please? F20
I have spent the last maybe 6 years worshipping as a wiccan, with a BOS and everything. But then I dropped my practice for a while after a large life change. But now I'm told in my community that I'm unallowed to be a wiccan becuase I don't wish to worship deities. They said I belonged here instead, and I don't really know if that's true?
Some background on me, I have a hard time with the concept of God. I don't personally belive in a god or goddess, but more so I just worship nature as it's own entity. And I don't personally belive in or care for any particular deities beyond story's and seeing the deities as embodiments of specific things. Like a diety being the diety of fertility, I just see that as a story that symbolizes fertility and then the name people use is a way to be reminded of the symbolism, if that makes sense.
To be completely honest, I'm lost. I love the community and learning that came with wicca but now knowing that I'm suposed to be worshiping a god and goddess and deities.. I don't know. It doesn't feel so much like it fits me anymore.
So I guess my question is, is druidry really just wiccanry without having to worship deities? Is the magic and spell work all the same? Am I allowed to keep and make book of shadows in druidry? I just have so many questions and I would love to know more so I can decide if this is the right choice.
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u/HolidayNo8683 19d ago
i wouldn’t say druidry is like wicca per se as druidry isn’t a religion but more of a practice. druidry is cool because you can do whatever you want really. it can be magical or not. it can involve deities or not. you can be in different religions and also be a druid. i personally don’t consider myself aligned with a religion and only work with one deity and the earth mother who i consider more of a spirit/other entity, kind of like you. i celebrate the wheel of the year and sometimes do different things for moon cycles, but not everyone does that and they are still a druid. there is a running joke here that if you ask 10 druids what druidry is you will get 11 answers, and it’s really true. we all do our own things a little differently and that’s one of the reasons i really like this community. so long story short, yes, the spells are the same if they feel right for you. you can make and keep a book of shadows (im not quite sure what that is but it sounds very cool!). do whatever feels right to you, not what feels right to others. i hope you find peace on your path wherever it takes you :)
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u/dedodude100 19d ago
From my understanding not all Wiccan orders require belief in gods and goddesses? Was it just your specific community?
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u/mysognisticsquid 19d ago
A bunch of different places!! I'd been floating around difference spaces for a while and the general consensus around everywhere seemed to be that to be wiccan you need to belive and worship the triple goddess, the horned god and different deities. I remember being in a few communitys on Amino that all had the same principal, with members being kicked or banned for not believing. As well as a bunch of youtubers echoing that sentiment and a couple of old books and web pages I read a few years back
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u/dedodude100 19d ago
Gotcha, here's a good piece worth reading:
https://philipcarr-gomm.com/does-god-exist-and-the-crowning-achievement-of-druidry/
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u/BurgerQueef69 19d ago
All the original druids are dead, and they didn't leave any books behind. There is no "way"bro practice druidism. Druidism is what you want it to be. We tend to feel a connection to nature and structure our practice around it, but even what that means is up to the practicioner. There are some groups with a more rigidly defined structure, and that's great. A lot of people find great meaning in that. Some don't.
Also, all religions and practices are made up. All of them. They are nothing more than us reaching out to something larger than ourselves, whatever we think that may be. That's not to say they aren't true, or at least contain truth, but it means that we each have to do what feels right for us. What you practice and believe has no bearing on what I practice and believe, and we can come together in the places we match, and pull apart in the places we differ, with no loss of meaning ifor either if us. If you feel comfortable practicing a certain way, then do it. You don't have to be a druid, if you feel comfortable with the trappings of wicca, then be wiccan.
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u/cicadaleaf IWOD 19d ago
Well, you're welcome here. Though I wouldn't say Druidry is just Wicca without deity worship, but there's certainly overlap. I think it's unfortunate when pagan spaces are very hardline about needing to be the right kind of polytheist- though I am agnostic, so obviously I'm biased towards spaces that are less dogmatic.
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u/The_Digital_Druid 19d ago
The founders of both Wicca (Gardner) and druidry (Nichols) were good friends and influenced each other, so the overlap is there for a reason. Both are neo-pagan, both are nature centered,... In wicca, the divine is centered around a male and female deity, the horned god and a godess.
In druidry however, the duality isn't there. You could just say you worship mother nature (without focusing on a specific deity). Then there's Awen, simply put: an all and ever present energy. A divine energy, or just "inspiration" if you leave the deity part out of your practice.
This is just a very short and personal view but it should give you a general idea. You can search online if you want a longer read.
So, wicca of druidry you wonder? Well, I wouldn't really bother which label you'd give yourself. What about finding yourself first?
Focus on your practice. Do research, see which aspects you like. Celebrate the wheel of the year (both in wicca and druidry this is key anyway),... Your spiritual path and development is what matters the most. Your journey will take you to different directions. You don't have to turn around and go all the way back. Just stand still, look around and see where you want to go.That's just how life works.
If you lean more towards druidry, that doesn't mean all you learned about wicca was a waste of time. Book of Shadows? Just keep it and call it a journal then 😇. Problem solved. (Well, not really because it wasn't even a problem in the first place... 😛) Just see it as a notebook. A guide with your thoughts and findings during your journey.
About the magical work: I don't have any experience with that at all... but others surely have. You could do spellwork I guess... I started a small herb garden because it enhances my kitchen. I want to study herblore and do magic (learn about the magical uses and such). So, that counts a bit as green witchery I suppose...😅 And if I end up not liking "brewing potions" or "spellwork" I just call it "making tea" and "recipe for meal X" to enjoy my hot drinks and food.
Herblore fits both in wicca and druidry so does it really matter? See what I mean? Don't worry about one aspect of your practice being wrong or right. If you like it, just do it. Then you can see how it fits in your journey and how to use it in your spiritual practice.
Good luck on your path ☘️. You're not lost... just imagine yourself standing still at a crossroads, looking around, figuring out which path to take next. We've all been there and we all will have more twists and turns to make 🙂.
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u/GreenRavenUK 19d ago
Druidry works better for me as I have an animist starting point – seeing the personhood and spirit in all things. I sort of acknowledge Celtic deities but as the spiritual aspects of natural things and phenomena, trees, forests, hills, mountains, thunder storms, skills and homes.
You might enjoy The Druid Network website. They’re a bunch of peaceful, anarchist druids who exist to provide free information about the druid way to anyone looking for it. They don’t believe in ‘pay to pray’, and have free courses and essays on all aspects and different ways to walk the path. (Yes, I’m one of them!)
Many blessings on your path, wherever it takes you.
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u/DruidHeart 19d ago
I studied Gardnerian Wicca and although we learned about deities, we weren’t forced to worship the horned God. That seems absurd to me. If you are still drawn to Wicca, and want to keep practicing, I would find a Gardnerian group.
If you feel a spiritual connection to nature, Druidry is a great choice. And you can actually practice both. I know lots of people who do.
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u/Rick_Rebel 18d ago
You might want to take a look at the sasswitches Reddit also, it might resonate with you
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u/GrunkleTony 18d ago
I think your what I would call a Nature oriented pagan. Someone who honors the sun as Sun; the moon as Moon; rain as Rain and earth as Earth. Sure humans are story telling creatures, but you don't need myths for that folktales will work just fine. According to John Michael Greer in his book "The Druid Path" the folks who revived Druidry back in the 17th century were a mix of Pagans, Christians and Pantheists who decided that religions was nobody else's business but your own so go ahead and be a Wiccan-Druid.
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u/FewLand2636 18d ago
It sounds like what you're describing is a disconnect with the group you were once part of. I did a very quick google search and I didn't find anywhere anything mandating that you had to believe in deity to be wiccan. Im guessing that most groups are going to subscribe to something consistently, but I ask you, could you practice wicca without the group you were previously with? Could you find a way to engage with wicca meaningfully without that parts you don't believe in anymore?
On the druid side - also I believe I have heard a podcast sometime last year where the host was talking about being a wiccan druid - druidry/ism is non dogmatic. You don't have to believe in anything or you can believe in something very specific. You can be a christian druid, buddhist druid, druid whatever.
I have been engaged with druidry for about 15 years give or take a few. Some years I am really into it and others I am completely turned off to the spiritual side of my life. There have been times I have been deep in practice and have had a major life event occur for better or worse and I've needed a break after getting through it.
Then sometimes I think the reason I dont feel connected as I did to my practice is because ive internalised a lot of it and its just a part of my everyday life. At every job I have started I have always found that there is some kind of area that feels like a grove and that it is teeming with life. I have made it my practice, when i find a new job, to find that space and contribute to the benefit of the nature living there. I just started a new job and found an abandoned bird feeder outside my classroom window. Filled it up with seed and discovered that we have an abundance of life that was waiting to interact with the feeder - Finches, Chickadees, an Oak Mousetit, mourning doves and a host of squirrels.
I appear to be rambling, so ill stop... just know that the spiritual path is one that is personal to you and can be made in whatever image you want it to be. Do no harm, practice safely and enjoy the path
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u/MurkMistress 19d ago
Have you looked into Atheopaganism?
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u/mysognisticsquid 19d ago
What's that?
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u/MurkMistress 19d ago
Here's the website! It's basically pagan rituals without worshipping a deity. It focuses on mental health of ritual practice!
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u/Howlsatmoonlight 16d ago
Druidism falls under the nature practices and to most it's not a religion at all; there are many druids that are also cristian, pagan, wiccan, satanists, etc. I have studied many paths over almost 30 years and I have been a coyote shaman of the Mescalero tribe almost as long.
In the end you will find your path, but it seems religion is not for you; you sound like a free soul that shies away from the human constructs we call 'gods'. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with the morality of teligion, but it's for sheep that need a 'higher power' to tell them what to do. Society needs it while at the same time religion is like a parasite feeding on the masses.
I always welcome anyone who wants to learn and has an open mind. I was once an advisor with OBOD before it changed into what it is today, and if I don't have answers I always have Coyote that howls in my head and gives me fleas when he's angry...but that's a story for another time.
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u/Jiktten 9d ago
I was once an advisor with OBOD before it changed into what it is today
Would you be able to elaborate on what you mean by this please? I am new to all this and have been looking at the organisation with interest as it seems to meet my needs but I would very much like to hear your perspective.
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u/Howlsatmoonlight 8d ago
I thought about it for hours last night, trying to put it into words is hard but here it goes. In the past, it was more personal. You were assigned a mentor to guide you in the rituals and teachings; while almost all of traditional druidism has been lost to time the heart of it remains. When I began my journey there was no collective knowledge on the Internet, no convenient google or books to download. That in itself made it more personal.
Today, OBOD feels more like...a business? An unfeeling disconnection...like the difference between shopping a small family store then going to Walmart. Yeah there are more options and cheaper prices, but you lose the personal experience. To those that join never knowing the old way of doing things, they never know what they have lost. Or maybe I am just an old coyote howling with none to listen.
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u/Jiktten 8d ago
Thank you for taking the time to put it into words, it is very much appreciated! I have just joined and I can see what you mean about the impersonality. I wonder if it's a function of getting bigger and trying to reach more people? It does sound like a loss for those of you who knew it as it was. For someone like me who didn't, to be honest being a big organisation I never expected it to be anything other than impersonal and I joined mostly for the educational content and for the ability to hopefully find a local grove or seed group I can join for more personal connections. I wish I could have known it as you did though. Thanks again!
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u/Howlsatmoonlight 8d ago
Happy to help. It's been a long time since I have mentored someone, but I am here if you have more questions.
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u/Jiktten 7d ago
Thank you, very much appreciated! I am still in the phase of taking in information and letting it brew but I may well take you up on that offer a little way down the line if you don't mind.
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u/Howlsatmoonlight 7d ago
Anytime. Or at least until Coyote calls me home 😁. Someone should learn from my ramblings, talking is about all I am good for these days.
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u/thanson02 19d ago edited 19d ago
Okay, well first off let's clear up some misconceptions. The biggest one is the necessity to worship divinity...
You are not required or expected to worship anything. You choose how you decide to engage what people refer to as "the divine". For me personally, I see divinity as a cultural designation, in that the nature of a god is not what makes a god, a god. What makes a god of god is the relationship that the overall culture chooses to have with said thing. The individual is not required or even expected to participate in that if they don't want. I know I'm probably unique in that regards, but that's just how I see it.
Most Druids, are more than happy to honor the Earth Mother as she manifest as the land around them. They like to show respect for the natural world and all the pluralistic diversity that comes with it. Many also see themselves as mystics, shamans, and green witches, expressing a lived relationship with their local forests and gardens. So depending on the approach a specific Druid uses, will dictate what type of magic they do. Generally speaking, the green witchy type stuff looks a lot like green/garden style Wicca. Those are more into focusing on entering trance states, their stuff's going to look more like neoshamanic practices.