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>>ANDREA: Hey, you must be Peter, welcome to my home. I heard from Sarah that you want
to talk about Reformed Druidism? My name is Andrea, I offer my back yard as a place for
their services.
>>PETER: Thanks for inviting me to your home, I don't get off campus very often.
>>ANDREA: Would you like some coffee?
>>PETER: No thanks, I just had some with Sarah. She explained an overview and 2 basic tenets
to me. I am still working through the concepts.
>>ANDREA: Bit short and fancy aren't they?
>>PETER: Oh, Rather. She kept mentioning how disorganized the Reformed Druids were and
a concept of "less is more". She says you could explain this?
>>ANDREA: Well, as you see, my kitchen is not filled with a lot of clutter, so when
I get home from work, cleaning is a snap, I know where everything is, and I've got plenty
of space to do various projects. My kids and husband can use it easily, too. Reformed Druidism
is like that, a very simple kitchen, ready to cook many things, by many people. A basic
template.
>>PETER: That is kind of like Zen, isn't it?
>>ANDREA: I guess a lot of religions ask us to keep it simple and devote more time to
the important things in life. "tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free." and
all that. Reformed Druidism applies that idea to itself.
>>PETER: Could you give me some examples?
>>ANDREA: Probably in about a dozen ways, but it is hard to know where to begin. Reformed
Druidism lacks so many things found in organized mainstream religions and even other Druidical
groups. We are defined, in a sense, by the many things we don't do or have. If we don't
have something, and you need it, then you either seek it in another group, do without
it, or create something to fill the gap yourself. The original Founders intended it to be a
supplement to their spiritual paths, not a substitute.
>>PETER: But some members really only do Druidism?
>>ANDREA: Sure, quite a few. Craig and Tom in our Jack-pine Grove are pretty much "just
Reformed Druid", but Sarah is Catholic, I'm of Hindu upbringing, and Jody, she's our Arch-druid-ess,
well, she's just generally Neo-pagan, I guess. Our Jack-pine Grove isn't large, but has been
stable for about 3 or 4 years now in this college town. We come from diverse backgrounds,
but appreciate the same Earthmother, and share our traditions, and together, make some new
customs and come away more Aware . It can be very beautiful and moving sometimes.
>>PETER: Getting back to Less is More...
>>ANDREA: Yes, I wrote down a list of the more notable points before you came, so I'll
go through it. Mind you, there are some groves that have stronger focus, local customs or
different opinions, but I'm speaking rather generally about Reformed Druids.
>>PETER: Sure.
>>ANDREA: Well, first of all, although we have individual opinions, Reformed Druidism
doesn't have a formal answer to the "Big Questions" of religion. We ask questions, but we differ
on matters of an afterlife, fate, free will, sin, creation, eschatology, abortion, the
nature of prayers and magic. Neither do we have an established canon of morals or ethics,
although most members are familiar with several such codes, and we generally encourage them
to lead a good life, just nothing formalized.
>>PETER: That's rather striking!
>>ANDREA: It sure is. We are creative folk, and of course, could spin up answers quite
quickly, but we don't. The more mandatory beliefs you require of the group, the more
potential members you are also excluding. Some groves will inevitably go down a particular
pathway, developing together, but the overall Reformed Druids remains at Square One, and
allows groves or individuals to choose to evolve into what is a more recognizable religion,
or not. But for some, the big questions have already been addressed by the other spiritual
groups they belong to, and so they focus on what Reformed Druidism offers them in regards
to Nature and the chance to ask freely these kinds of big questions. We also allow new
members to stumble upon us, and we don't evangelize.
>>PETER: So Reformed Druidism doesn't have a lot of theological development on purpose?
It also has rather little infrastructure and organization too?
>>ANDREA: Long ago, Reformed Druidism began as a student protest at Carleton College in
1963 against mandatory attendance of religious services. Therefore, the Reformed Druids tried
to purposely build a group that hinders the natural progression to dogmatism. People do
like to fill in gaps, provide more services, add conveniences, answer dilemmas and produce
stability; that is sensible for a group trying to last throughout ages and grow in size.
The Founders were concerned that this process would distract from actual Druidism, exclude
greater and greater numbers of people, and eventually become the very thing they were
rebelling against. At the time, there were not a lot of models to work with, but they
were inspired by the Quakers, Freemasonry, the Unitarians, Zen Buddhism and the various
counter-cultural paradigms of the 1960s. It still shows, I guess.
>>PETER: Then, what do Reformed Druids not do or not have?
>>ANDREA: Well, as a group, we have no buildings or property and usually meet outdoors in places
of natural beauty. That takes away a lot of maintenance and costs. We do not have a paid
priest-hood or charities. We might pass around a hat for the food and drink at a service
or festival, but usually no fees. No real income or expenses. Most groves operate on
less than a few hundred dollars per year.
>>PETER: So little infrastructure or financial factors. What else?
>>ANDREA: As Sarah explained to you, the Reformed Druids as a whole, straddles the fence on
whether it is a religion or philosophy. That position helps some members to practice Reformed
Druidism, while belonging to mainstream religions that do not tolerate other religions, but
might allow philosophical inquiry. Some members are atheist or agnostic too, or prefer to
think of Gods and heroic myth as metaphors or Jungian archetypes. Some just don't see
a distinct difference between religion and philosophy. So we leave ourselves undefined
on that point. We also have no "holy book" of divine revelation, just lots of anthologies
by past members.
Not to be rude, but you don't look Irish. I understand that the Reformed Druids don't
believe all the customs of the Ancient Druids, so they also do not have to descend from the
Keltic peoples?
>>ANDREA: No offense taken. This is a common misconception about modern Druidism. My friend
Thomas knows the Keltic peoples and languages, but you are correct, modern Druid groups generally
accept people of all races, ethnicity and gender, and no one more so than the Reformed
Druids. Because of the name "Druid" and Keltic terms we use, a larger proportion of our membership
will be of western European background, so we should take time to mention this cultural
diversity when we talk about Reformed Druidism. Now, my ancestors come from India, and yours
from Europe. Perhaps, further back, they shared history in the Indo-European people near the
Black Sea. Go back further, and all modern humans came out of Africa. And along the way,
Nature was an important part of the spiritual lives of all our ancestors throughout the
ages, and it still is. The culture, language and traditions of your ancestors can be a
big help in rooting your spiritual path, and like our religious diversity, spices up our
meetings.
>>PETER: Sarah explained the many characteristics that distinguish you from a cult.
>>ANDREA: Sure, a cult leader would be most frustrated with our rebellious Reformed Druids!
It may disappoint some folks, but we don't do blood sacrifice (only vegetables), don't
brainwash members, have ***, abuse our members, disparage other faiths, or try to
break the law. If you know a crime happened at one of our groves or in another church,
I would recommend you report it to the police.
>>PETER: What mechanisms exist in the Reformed Druidical structure to prevent bad things
from happening and to get rid of problematic members?
>>ANDREA: None.
None?
>>ANDREA: None, formally, and that might seem alarming at first. That is why it is so important
in our tradition to re-iterate the importance of religious freedom, mutual respect, and
talk frequently about ethics, even if our system doesn't allow a practical path for
formal legislation. The need to organize because of this issue was a catalyst for several schisms
in our history, and our expert on that is Brother Richard.
>>PETER: Sure, I'd like to meet Richard. What is the general structure of Reformed Druidism?
>>ANDREA: Well, when you have 3 or more members with a constitution, you have a protogrove.
When the protogrove has a third order priest, it becomes a full grove . Every grove has
an Archdruid and other officers. Every priest belongs to the Council of Dalon Ap Landu and
they rule by consensus in the R D N A and New R D N A. However, unanimous decisions
are difficult with 100 or more members, so no legislation has passed since 1971, although
debates did pop up. As a result, groves have had much more autonomy in deciding matters.
The general tradition is that while a grove can kick out its members, there is no excommunication
or defrocking by the Reform, as a whole. Ordinations are permanent, even if not practiced anymore,
but I suppose they could be given up.
>>PETER: Certainly a dilemma.
>>ANDREA: It is never pleasant dealing with such a member, even in a tolerant community
like the Reformed Druids. From my personal experience, if you have reasonable proof,
share this quickly with many wise people, and then make your opinions known widely.
The other groves should know about your grove's decision on such a serious matter, if privacy
allows. Don't ignore it.
Anything else?
>>ANDREA: We've covered a lot of ground. I'd just add, that attendance at religious services
is encouraged, but optional, and you feel free to attend services of other faiths too.
>>PETER: So to wrap it up, today's lecture's theme was "Less is more." Any advice on what
to do next?
>>ANDREA: Why don't you talk with Craig about the symbols of Druidry?
>>PETER: Alright. Thanks! Bye!
>>ANDREA: Goodbye, take care.