My path to druidry is a long meandering path through the wilderness looking for connections and an outlet for spirituality.
I grew up a fairly devout Catholic, although I’ve always felt that there were a multitude of ways to find divinity. This is how I explained to myself all the different religions of the world. And it still makes perfect sense to me. Why should the divine speak to us in only one way?
I practiced Catholicism up until the actions of the church felt hypocritical with how they dealt with priests abusing children. I left for the Episcopal church which had similar traditions but much more open-mindedness in practice.
Things felt ok until the patriarchy and societal gender inequality was pressing in and I felt like none of my spiritual role models looked like me. For awhile I left all organized spirituality.
Covid hit and I felt so alone and disconnected from everyone I loved. The anxiety was intense and I was starting to experience changes from perimenopause which include super fun panic attacks. I was meditating, spending time on self-care, and all the things you’re supposed to do to experience inner calm, but calm felt so fleeting.
Nature has always been important to me. My zen is listening to the wind rustle the leaves of trees or whisper in pines. I also love the sound of rain in the woods. I started taking long walks down our country road in the woods and looking for ways to connect spiritually with Nature.
First I tried Wicca, but it was just not connecting with me. I did find a connection to Gaia since I view The Universe and all Life on our Planet as Divine. This connection brought me to OBOD Druidry (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids), which originally was a bit of a turnoff because they seemed to focus solely on a Merlin mythology (too male dominated for my tastes). However, as I continued to read about Druidry, I found AODA (Ancient Order of Druids in America) and was intrigued by the non-dogmatic and personalized approach to nature spirituality. I read many of the books suggested on the AODA website, along with blogs and other material and Druidry drew me in.
I signed up for AODA membership and did my initiation ceremony and felt a divine presence that I had not felt since my wedding ceremony. Since then, I have continued to read and learn and meditate and I have grown strong connections to the natural world around me. The daily Sphere of Protection ritual and Inner Grove meditations have calmed my anxiety and have become useful tools to fight panic attacks and find deeper meaning in my life. And I am enjoying building closer connections to Nature and Beings of our shared Earth.
Blessings to you and your lands.