Druidry is known today under three broad time periods: paleo- Druids, meso-Druids, and neo-Druids. There is little historical connection between the three, but all have sought to manifest in the world the continuing spirit of Druidism.
Little is know about the paleo-Druids except what was written by those who opposed them: the Roman Emperor and the Christian Church. We do know that the Druids were not only priests, but rather the intellectual elite of Celtic society in the same way that Brahmins were in Indian society. They were polytheistic, based their ritual upon the movements of the sun, and looked to Earth Mother as a source of life. While their gods and goddesses had personalities, the Druids mostly saw the divine manifested in all of nature. Liminal, or boundary, places were important locations of the holy. Gates to the Otherworld were found in sacred wells, fire, and trees.
Meso-Druids appeared in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, and while some were an effort to reclaim ancient Druid practice, for the most part they were little more than Masonic or Christian gentleman's clubs.
Neopagan Druidism is an attempt to recapture the spirit of ancient Druidism in the modern world, even while we recognize that re-enactment of ancient Druid practice is no longer possible. Druidry today embraces the presence of the holy in the Three Kindreds: Spirits of the ancestors, earth spirits (of animals, plants, streams, rocks, etc.), and spirits of the gods & goddesses. We celebrate the fire festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, and Lughnassad, as well as the soltices and equinoxes. We venerate the Three Kindreds, and we inhabit the Three Worlds of Air, Sea, and Land. While Druidry is distinct from witchcraft and Wicca, many neopagan Druids in a spirit of pagan unity incorporate such rites into their personal devotional lives. In general, whereas Wicca tends to be private, small groups oriented, and lunar, Druidism tends to be public, large group oriented, and solar.
If, while walking through the woods, you feel the pull of comradeship from the trees that surround you, and in the singing of a brook you hear the words of the gods, if you have ever understood a rock, or seen the kinship between a human being and a blade of grass, then you have been touched by the timeless spirit of Druidry.
The ancient teachings of the Druids represent one of the well- springs of inspiration of the Western Spiritual Tradition. Druids were magicians and poets, counsellors and healers, shamans and philosophers. In the early days, as pre-Celts, they built stone circles and worshipped Nature with her many faces. Later the Celts blended the inspiring esoteric, mathematical and engineering skills of these megalithic peoples with their own flamboyant artistry and wisdom traditions to create the Druidry described by the Greeks and Romans.
Although partly suppressed with the coming of Christianity, Druidry continued to live through the work of the Bardic schools and the folk traditions and customs of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and Brittany.
The 18th century saw a revival of Druid practice which continues to this day.
"In ancient days there was one great culture, from India to Ireland: the Wise were their healers, counselors and priest/esses. Men and Women devoted their lives to learning and working the accumulated lore of their peoples. They spent years in study, ritual and meditation. They spoke to and with God/desses and Spirits: they made magic and taught wisdom. As well, they were the memory and justice of the folk. These Wise Ones were known by many names in the many tongues of the ancient world. Brahman among the Aryans, Flamen and Flamenca among the Latins, Gothi among the Germans and among the Celts there are called Druidh {singular Drui. Gaelic Draoi, Druidheachd = Druidry.} In our time there are those who are called by these images, these cultural memories. They wish to light the Sacred Fire in the place of the Spirits; they seek the hidden Holy Spring in the forest's heart. They feel called to worship the Old God/desses and to restore Their honor in modern life. Some of us who seek these ways call ourselves Druids in honor of the mighty Wise Ones of old. We seek to walk the Elder Way, though we may not have the skills fo the ancients. The work of Druidry is the work of re-making the connections between our common lives and the wonder and Magic of the Inner Worlds. It is the opening of the Gates of the Soul where before they were closed. Is is the use of every Power of the Self - intellect, feeling, intuition, instinct, and flesh - to seek the good of all folk - health, wealth, and wisdom -and then the secrets of initiation - wisdom, love, and power. We are beginning to relciam the Pagan heritage from the rubble of history. We may never know the forms that the ancient Druidry took. We strive to make a spiritual system - a religion and a Magic - that the Elder Wise might approve and understand. Equally, we seek to make Pagan religion that will serve the needs of today's folk., and the land in which we live."
