An Introductory FAQ to alt.religion.druid

by Elaine Stutt

From 1995, when alt.religion.druid split off from alt.pagan and alt.religion.wicca, the group became the primary open forum for modern Druids, Celtic reconstructionists, and interested observers on the early internet. Elaine Stutt — a long-time participant who followed the group almost from its founding — compiled this FAQ through years of reading and participated discussions. First posted in 1998 and updated repeatedly (this version expanded to twenty-four questions in November 2005), it does not try to define any single truth about Druidry but to map the range of knowledge, opinion, and often heated debate that newcomers would encounter on a.r.d.

A document of remarkable wit, fairness, and scholarship, this FAQ is also a time capsule of the early internet's pagan communities — their arguments about authenticity and history, their bibliographies, their nettiquette wars, their recurring disagreements about whether Druids sacrificed humans, what "Celtic" even means, and who gets to call themselves a Druid.

This is an introductory FAQ for alt.religion.druid.

Alt.religion.druid hived off of alt.pagan, alt.religion.wicca, etc. in the Fall of 1995. It is for discussion about: Druids; Druidry/Druidism; Celtic cultures, history, religion and spirituality. Note that some, who are interested in Brehon Law and Druids as leaders of Celtic society, are only faintly interested in Celtic spirituality; for others it's just the opposite.

I'm Elaine and I've followed a.r.d almost since its inception. Because I wrote this FAQ, it necessarily reflects my interests and biases. However, my aim was neither to give my opinions, nor to give academic definitions but rather to show the range of knowledge and opinion on a.r.d. Thanks to all those who post on a.r.d for their information, opinions and websites. The FAQ consists of twenty four questions.

1. Where can I find information? — Websites, Newsgroups, Books

Websites for Druidic and Celtic Pagan Organizations (checked Nov/24/2005; some of the following have FAQs, listservs, correspondence courses):

— Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD)
— Ar nDraoicht Fein (ADF), Celtic and Indo-European
— Keltria, Druidism, Celtic Earth-based religion
— Imbas, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan
index.htm — British Druid Order (BDO)
— Concentrates on Europe, mostly auf deutsch
— Convocation of Irish Druids
Contents.html — I. Bonewits, History of Druids

Websites with a Celtic cultural emphasis:

www.digitalmedievalist.com — Celtic Studies Resources, reading lists
— Ogam stones and interpretations
celt — University of Cork, Irish texts including translations
~kthomas — Old Irish culture, Eolas na hEireann

Possibly related newsgroups (interest may vary): soc.culture.celtic, soc.culture.irish, soc.culture.scottish, soc.culture.welsh, alt.spirituality.druid, alt.religion.asatru, alt.religion.wicca, alt.pagan, alt.magick, alt.mythology, soc.religion.paganism (moderated), rec.music.celtic.

Books (chosen from recommendations by posters):

On Druids:
"The Druids" — Peter B. Ellis | "The Druids" — Stuart Piggot

Mythology and texts:
"Ancient Irish Tales" — Cross and Slover | "Early Irish Myths and Sagas" — J. Gantz | "The Tain" — trans. T. Kinsella | "The Mabinogi" — trans. P.K. Ford | "Celtic Mythology" — Proinsias MacCana

Modern Druidism:
"The Druid Way" — Philip Carr-Gomm | "Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom" — C & J Matthews | "Druid Priestess" — Emma Restall Orr

2. Who were the Celts?

This is a touchy topic and there are many definitions.

A culture and people defined by the archaeological remains of two cultures now in Austria and Switzerland: Hallstatt (800BC to 250BC) and La Tène (+/- 430BC to 1AD). The Celts, whose language group belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, eventually occupied lands from Turkey to Spain to the British Isles. Names of a few of the tribes were: Arverni, Treveri, Helvetii, Venetes, Silures, Caledonii. Most were conquered by the Romans by 200AD. Remnant peoples in Ireland, Scotland and Wales converted/were converted to Christianity by +/- 700AD. (N.B. This definition excludes the pre-Celtic Neolithic peoples, who built stone monuments, such as Stonehenge and New Grange.)
The peoples living in the modern Celtic "nations" of: Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, Mann, Scotland and Wales. While united in pre-history, they have differences in language, history and culture. (N.B. The Welsh and Scots get really annoyed if you equate "Celtic" solely with "Irish.")
Anyone, living or dead, in an area ever occupied by the Ancient Celts.
Anyone, anywhere with a drop of Celtic blood in their ancestry.

Opinion on a.r.d. tends toward: "The Celts as a people were extinct by 400AD and that's that!" / "Celtic is a style. Anyone can be a Celt, if they really feel it!" / "'Celtic' describes a linguistic group and nothing else!"

3. How do you say ... in Celtic?

Dumb question, unfortunately, because there is no one Celtic language. Ask rather about: Breton (Brezhoneg), Cornish (Kernowek), Irish (Gaeilge), Scots Gaelic (Gaidhlig), Manx Gaelic (Gaelg), or Welsh (Cymraeg). You might also post such a request to one of the related soc.culture groups. There have been occasional naughty mis-translations.

The modern Celtic languages are in two groups: Q-Celtic/Goidelic — Irish, Scottish and Manx Gaelic — derived from Old Irish; P-Celtic/Brythonic — Breton, Cornish and Welsh — derived from Old Welsh. (Note: Don't confuse with "Scots," a Germanic language related to English.)

4. Who were the Druids? Now, who are Druids? Are there different types?

They were religious and social leaders of the continental Celts, e.g. the Gauls, as described by the Greeks and Romans. The Romans later used the same term for leaders of the Britons. It's not certain if all Celtic cultures used a word similar to "druid" or if their social structures were the same. General attributes assigned to Druids: they passed their teachings along orally, not by writings; becoming a Druid required a long period of study; they were excused from military service but could enter battle if they chose; they were members of an elite class which included various occupations.

Today the term is used variously, with some opinion that it shouldn't be used at all because the ancient Celts no longer exist. Currently people using the term "Druid" can be: members of a modern Druid organization; solitary Druids who studied on their own or with others; self-recognized "traditional" Druids who claim family descent; Celtic Wiccans; or simply someone interested in Druids. (On a.r.d., role-playing gamers and historical re-enactors would generally not be approved usages.)

It is a little hard to categorize the Druid organizations as they tend to overlap. The following are some broad categories — maybe stereotypes — of types found in Druid groups:

Traditional or organized Traditional — Derive from folk history in the British Isles and from the Celtic Renaissance/Revival of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They consider that they come from an unbroken line. The European ones have the benefit of living near modern Celtic communities and/or historical Celtic and Neolithic sites. Others complain that their traditions are the result of nineteenth century invention and occultism; that they are more a Christian offshoot than descendants of the Druids. Celtic historicists accuse them of being fluffy bunnies.

Neo-Pagan Druids — This group concedes that they're not sure what the Ancient Druids did but they want to create/recreate a modern version. They study the ancient Celts and Neolithic peoples throughout Europe and also modern interests such as psychology and comparative religion. They are seriously trying to establish a religion. Some others, especially British Traditionalists, accuse them of being fluffy bunnies.

Historically Accurate Druids — They limit their research to Celts only. If there's no text or no archaeological site to back up an idea, they won't consider it. They may be disdainful of modern society and want to recreate something better. Some seem to express little spirituality or sense of humor. They would eat fluffy bunnies, if properly roasted on a historically accurate Celtic hearth, but fear it might give them indigestion.

Eclectic verging on New-Age — They trip through dewy pastures seeking influences from the world round. Choices of ritual or myth are made on an intuitive basis: does it feel right, not, is it related to reality. Some are making serious attempts. Others would be if they could just find the right necklace to match their cape. Some are out and out fluffy bunnies and are loving every minute.

Political Druids — May know a fair amount about ancient Druids and Celts but think a contemporary Druid's emphasis should be on current life. If you don't protest and comment at length about issues, such as the war in Iraq, they will consider you to be an irrelevant fluffy bunny. A possible sub-group are the ones who belabor any discussion of Celtic history and culture as being "bookish." Things must be up-to-date, learned face-to-face, in the flesh. An opinion which makes their presence on a text-based newsgroup somewhat curious.

5. How can you be interested in Druids when they sacrificed humans?

The Romans sacrificed prisoners of war to their Gods but nobody expects to see human sacrifice in Rome today. This question seems to fascinate. Did Ancient Celts practice human sacrifice? The answer is: yes and no.

Some seem to be certain that the answer is a firm "no" and, moreover, that Druids were non-violent. Given the references to fighting prowess by the Romans and Greeks and all the warrior imagery in the old Irish texts, this seems unlikely. The existence of spectacular Wicker Man type sacrifices also seems unlikely, given the only source is Roman military texts.

The Greeks and Romans had practiced human sacrifice sometimes during their histories so it wouldn't be all that surprising if the Celts also did. From what the records show, the Celts took body parts as trophies during war and they most likely executed prisoners of war and criminals. However, we don't know if these acts had religious connotations for them, because Druids of that era didn't believe in writing down their beliefs and practices. Some are sure that the strangled "Bog Men" prove at least small-scale human sacrifice. But reading the difference between "execution" and "sacrifice" in archaeological remains is difficult. If the topic interests you, read up on it yourself.

6. Isn't the "Twenty-One Lessons of Merlyn" marvelous?

A flamebait question, if ever there was one. Approach carefully. It is, evidently, a work of fiction that some admire but which contains a lot of misinformation.

Those charitable toward it say that it's a pleasant work of storytelling that inspired them at the time, even if they now realize that a lot of the details are wrong, sometimes laughably so.

Those who think it's harmful because it spreads lies about Celtic culture loathe it so much that they practically foam at the mouth. Some webpages contain files devoted to pointing out a few errors.

7. Why is Druid group X so inauthentic?

Yeah, well, they probably think you're inauthentic so be polite! (Or, in my case, try to be polite. I do try.)

8. Were there women Druids?

No. Yes, of course! Yes. Well, maybe a few exceptional ones but...

A very small minority of those posting to a.r.d. think that leading Celtic religion is sex-linked. Some think that Druids were men and somewhat military, that the healing was done by women who were witches. This idea is more common among some Celtic Wiccans.

Many think that not only did the Ancient Druids have women Druids but they had an egalitarian society.

Others, more historically inclined, will point out that whereas the Celts allowed their women more freedom than the other cultures of the era, it was hardly equality as we know it. But there certainly were women Druids then and there certainly are now, two thousand years later.

Well... say some others, the position of women leaders is not adequately defined in the Roman texts. There were women military leaders, such as Boudicca, but do we know that they were fully accepted as Druids? They can't have been common. Etc. etc.

9. How do you become a Druid?

There is no one authority on Druids so no one agrees. You can simply declare yourself a druid. Not everyone will agree with you but it's been done before.

The ancient Druids had to study a long time — twelve, twenty years — and were the leaders of their people. Not every Celt was considered a Druid. Those following this model think you have to study a long time and be acknowledged by other Druids before you call yourself a Druid. You'd have to study Celtic history, culture, language and spirituality and maybe demonstrate a special gift such as insight or leadership skills. Some of those who follow this model only believe in teaching face to face, so if you ask on a.r.d about becoming a Druid, you may get silence or cryptic answers.

Several of the Druid groups have descriptions of the qualifications for Druids, some offer lessons or correspondence courses. OBOD's course ends up requiring three to six years of study.

Many figure that if they are interested in the practice of Druidism/Druidry then they are Druids. Some add qualifiers such as: neo-pagan, neo-, solitary, eclectic, true, nature, etc. Others name themselves Druids but only do so after some consideration and study.

10. Why isn't there more talk around here about actual Druid practices?

One reason is that newsgroups are entirely public. Someone may not mind their boss knowing about their interest in Druids and history but might fear getting fired for being religious "weirdos" if any practices were mentioned.

Another reason is that some (but not all) think rituals should be secret and therefore do not belong on newsgroups.

List-servs, mailing lists and websites may be better places for that sort of topic. On the other hand, there have been good threads on what people do and believe. The best way to get talk going on a topic is to post on it yourself. This usually works better than a simple question.

11. Isn't Wicca Celtic?

Check on a Wiccan site for a definition of Wicca. Generally, around here, Wicca is considered to be a modern, neo-pagan religion, with myths and practices derived from many sources. Some of those sources are Celtic but it's usually quite in the minority. Celtic Wiccans try to stick to Celtic sources but still, their core beliefs were handed down from Gerald Gardner and he wasn't trying to be Celtic. Many Celtic Wiccans are excellent scholars but not all are. A lot of things reputed to be Celtic are not.

12. Are Druids polytheists or pantheists? Monotheists?

The ancient Celts seem to have been polytheists. There are many gods and goddesses identified with the Celts. After the Gauls, Belgae and Britons were conquered by the Romans, there were hybrid forms. When the Irish adapted Christianity, the idea of a monotheist father god plus son and saints seems to have fit into a Druid framework fairly easily, at least initially.

There have been on a.r.d.: polytheists, dualists, monotheists, pantheists, atheists and nature worshippers. Also the type of belief varies: are the gods real or are they metaphors?; is faith authoritative or individual?, etc. This can be a very sensitive subject. Agnostic types and true believer types can hurt each other's feelings without even meaning to.

13. Is Nature important to Druids?

"It's everything to Druids."
"Of course it was important to Druids, they lived in the forest, but let's discuss something more interesting."

While people in many parts of the third world are intimately dependent on nature for their survival, few of us are. The Celts had to read the seasons so they could plant their crops; had to know where to find wild plants if the crops failed; had to know birds and their habits for divination; had to know which tree produced good wood for spears or yokes or buckets; had to know the habits of animals for hunting and fishing; had to know the earth so they could find ores for their tools and weapons and jewelry.

Some figure that the modern Druid should know a lot about nature and spend time in the wild, that nature (or Nature) is the true focus of Druidism. Some figure that a well-educated adult should know a fair amount of science including environmental studies but, since most people now live in cities, the focus of Druidic studies and discussion should be history and ethics. Some worship Nature. Some romanticize Nature. Some live in nature. Some mine it as a source for symbols. Some abstract it and assign it a place in their philosophy. Nature definitely pops up in discussion.

14. Didn't the Romans kill all the Druids?

The Romans conquered, and in some cases colonised, Celtic peoples over a period of several hundred years. Some areas, Ireland and most of Scotland, were never entered by Roman armies. Other areas, like Wales and some of the areas now in Germany, were nominally conquered but never consolidated or ruled on a day to day basis. As was common in warfare of the day, the Romans sometimes killed large numbers of the people they conquered: Druids and commoners; men, women and children.

There is frequent reference to a Roman text by Tacitus about a battle in Anglesey, Wales. The idea is that Anglesey was a headquarters of Druids, that many Druids were killed, so that this put an end to the power of the Druids. Countering this are those who say: that Tacitus is misquoted; Anglesey didn't seem important; and that there were Druids mentioned in Roman texts after this time.

Finding Celtic/Druidic cultural elements devoid of Roman or Christian influence is a constant topic and frequently provokes arguments. There is little agreement about which sources are pure enough. Our knowledge of the Celts is felt to be contaminated variously by: Romans, Christians, European Empires, bad academics, all academe, lack of intuitive insight, romanticism, time, wishful thinking, racism and global corporations. ;)

15. What are Meso-Druids?

In the 1800s and 1900s there were fraternal organisations called Druids. These organisations were modelled on the Masons; some of the first of these "Druids" were also Masons. They were a response to the Celtic Revival; Celtic things were cool and a little naughty. In their own mythology, they did have a link to Druids of old but this is hard to see. They remained Christian in thought and considered Druidry a philosophy.

Much of their Celtica was invented not researched. However, this often fanciful interest in Druids did encourage legitimate study of the Celts, a field that had been neglected in favour of the Romans. Years later OBOD was founded by some former Meso-Druids and it now has a more neo-pagan and Celtic outlook.

16. Are there any surviving ancient texts that refer to the Celts?

Yes and no.

Yes, there are Roman, Irish and Welsh texts that are very important because they give us important details about the life and history of the Celts and enable us to interpret and date archaeological findings. Even some of the early Breton and Irish manuscripts on the lives of the Saints contain observations of Celtic society, although some would dismiss all Christian texts as contaminated.

No, because, other than some Roman, Gaulish and Irish stone carvings, no original texts survive. What we have are copies, partial copies and quotes. The copiers were Christian monks. Some assume that the monks cleaned up and Christianized the texts. Others say the monks were pretty conservative about texts and usually just copied them. Some feel that only archaeological sources are trustworthy for information on the Celts, not texts.

Roman Texts — Written over about eight hundred years by people who conquered and colonised the Celts. They were enemies of the Celts, and some of the texts might be considered military propaganda. On the other hand, some Celtic tribes were allies and comrades-in-arms with the Romans.

Key Roman authors (some Greek or writing in Greek): Polybius (c204–122BC); Poseidonius (c135–50BC); Julius Caesar (100–44BC) — a military leader who traveled in Celtic lands including southern Britain; Strabo (c64BC–AD21); Livy (59BC–AD17); Lucan (AD39–65) — wrote a poem including a lurid description of a Druid sacrificial grove; Pliny (AD23–79); Tacitus (cAD55–120) — mentions the battle with the Druids at Anglesey; Dio Cassius (AD155–230+) — describes Boudicca; Ammianus Marcellinus (cAD330–395) — describes Gaulish women fighting.

Irish Texts — The earliest extant Irish texts have Christian content; the Pagan works appear as copies in later collections. Some seem to match the age of the earliest Christian works (about AD700); some may be much older. Collections before the 17th century tend to be more trustworthy as until that time the filid, descendants of Druids in Ireland, still retained some power.

Key source books: Book of the Dun Cow (Lebor na hUide), 12th C; Book of Leinster (Lebor Laighneach), before 1160; Yellow Book of Lecan, late 14th C; Annals of Ulster; Annals of the Four Masters, 1632–6.

Law, geography, grammar: Dindshenchas (History of Places); Brehon law (Senchas Mor, Leabhar na gCeart); Coire Goriath (Cauldron of Poesy); Auraicept na nEces (grammar); Sanas Chormaic (Cormac's Glossary).

Heroic tales, myths, sacred stories: Cath Maige Tuired (Second Battle of Moytura); Tain Bo Cualnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley); Aislinge Oengus (Dream of Angus); Longas mac n-Usnig (Fate of the Children of Uisneach); Fled Bricrenn (Bricriu's Feast); Lebor Gabala (Book of Invasions); Buile Suibhne (Intoxication of Sweeney); various Imrama (voyages), e.g. Voyage of Bran.

Welsh texts — Generally later than the Irish texts: Black Book of Carmarthen (late 12th C); Book of Taliesin (c1275); White Book of Rhyddech (c1325) — contains the Mabinogion; Book of Aneirin (c1250) — the Gododin; Red Book of Hergest (1375–1425).

Somebody is bound to opine that it's better to keep company with trees than sheets of paper, better to look into the eyes of a calf than to turn pages of vellum. Of course, it's possible to do both.

17. What are the festivals of the Druids?

In which Celtic culture? Which era? Okay... Generally, current Druids celebrate similar festivals to other neo-pagans: the solar festivals and the quarter festivals. It seems that the ancient Celts did not celebrate the Equinoxes or Solstices but they were aware of them. The cross-quarter or fire festivals are:

Samhain (Celtic New Year/All Saints) — Nov. 1st
Imbolc or Brigid (Candlemas) — Feb. 1st
Bealtaine (May Day) — May 1st
Lughnasadh or Lunasa — Aug. 1st

These were usually celebrated on the eve: Oíche Shamhna (All Hallow's Evening or Hallowe'en); Oíche Bhealtaine (May Eve), etc. Some feel it is appropriate to celebrate the festivals according to the lunar calendar, on the full moon.

Whereas the quarter festivals are more important, some current Druids also observe the solar festivals. Some tend to socialise with other neo-pagans and join in; others want to honor the earth and find the solar festivals appropriate; another group may want to avoid the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter and substitute the winter solstice and spring equinox. Others are just party animals and will celebrate anything.

(Note: The ancient Celts lived only in the Northern Hemisphere. Their descendants in the Southern Hemisphere follow the seasonality of the festivals and reverse the date, i.e. Bealtaine is celebrated Nov. 1st.)

18. Is Druidism/Druidry a form of: religion, spirituality or philosophy?

Don't ask. If you must, bring your tights, mask and wrestling garb.

Religion includes spirituality, culture, ritual, myth and philosophy. It's a rich mix and if you listened to ME, you could learn the Truth.
Religion is bossy people trying to impose their own views. Spiritual people are peaceful. Religion is responsible for wars! You Are AN IDIOT!
Druidry is a philosophy. We have no need to impose our views like you distasteful lot. A Druid could be a Christian or a Buddhist...
Ayeee!!! Christians are the worst, they're killing the planet! EVIL!
See! You've been corrupted — Evil is a CHRISTIAN concept. Zen Nut!

Etc. etc. etc. Repeat.

19. What are Ogham? Aren't they runes?

Runes are an ancient Nordic/Germanic alphabet, with a symbol for each letter. Ogham were Celtic. They are more of a code or marking system; three lines for one letter, four for another. There were carved in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Mann, roughly between 200 and 600 AD/CE. They were carved in stone with short messages in Old Irish, a few in Latin, usually pertaining to memorials or boundaries. It used to be assumed that the Ogham letters derived from the Roman alphabet but this no longer finds agreement with all.

Irish texts contain references to counting sticks and memory markers that may have been Ogham cut on wood. No archaeological examples have been found. It could be that the wood versions preceded the stone ones by hundreds of years but we don't know.

There are no references in the Nordic Sagas to runes being used for divination but nowadays they are so used. Similarly, while there's no clear-cut example in Celtic texts, Ogham are now used by some for divination, inspiration, spiritual guidance, etc. It is possible that they were so used by Gaelic Druids in ancient times. The Tree Alphabet is used to identify the letters and many long lists of correspondences are possible.

20. What's Imbas? Awen? How about the "Otherworld"?

Imbas is an Old Irish word meaning "poetic inspiration." In current usage it seems to mean: divine inspiration, spiritual understanding and/or inspired knowledge.

Awen is a more recent, Welsh-derived word meaning roughly the same.

The Otherworld could refer to a Druid's belief in reincarnation or an afterlife but here it refers more to a spiritual understanding or realm, arrived at perhaps with imbas. It is a concept held by a variety of opposing groups on a.r.d. — they do not, of course, agree on what it means or what to call it. Having an Otherworld experience could mean: that you have communed with the gods, the elders or with spirits; that you have become one with the cosmos; that you understand and can connect with the basic is-ness of existence; etc. All agree it is something that must be experienced to understand and that it can't be explained.

21. Are you Druids a bunch of racists?

No. Why would anyone think Druids might be racist?

In the early 1900s when there were many minority nationalist groups in the old monarchies and empires of Europe agitating for rights, some of these associated with the Fascists. The Nazis had a minorly pagan flavor and the Nazis were very racist. Some Breton Meso-Druids of that era were Fascist. White supremacists may get attracted to neo-pagan groups focusing on Northwestern Europe; Asatru or Nordic Paganism, more often than Druidism, gets accused of racism and association with pro-Aryan groups. The Druid groups don't seem particularly interested in racism, possibly because several current Celtic nations have been on the receiving end of racist oppression from the British and French governments.

There are some on a.r.d. who are strongly anti-Christian. A few would extend that to any religion based on the Bible: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Generally this is on the level of ideas and not anti-peoples or racist. Most of us are tolerant of others' religious choices.

22. How do current Druids relate to Deity? Who are the Celtic Deities?

Current Celtic pagans generally do not follow the Wiccan tradition of "a Lord" and "a Lady." The Celtic sense of deity is more distinct — many gods, not just two. Nor do they seem to follow a Greek-type pantheon, where each god had a single quality. Celtic deities seemed more all-purpose and may have belonged to just one tribe.

Posters to a.r.d. have shown varying degrees of interest in:

Gods, goddesses, demi-gods, etc.
Things that might be referred to as a deity but that don't have anthropomorphic form
Sacred images or locales such as the sun, wheels, wells or springs, groves
A nameless spirit in (and/or transcending) nature
The guidance of spirits or ancestral ghosts

One reason for all this variety may be the ancient Celts themselves — spread across a thousand years of time and geographically across most of Europe, polytheistic but intermingled with many other ethnic groups and their religions.

From Ireland/Gaelic areas: Boann, Bel, Brigid, Caillech (the Hag), the Dagda, Danu, Diancecht, Goibiu, Lugh, Macha, Manannan Mac Lir, Medb, Morrigan, Nuadu, Oengus Og, Ogma

From Wales: Ceridwen, Govannan, Llew, Mabon, Manawyddan, Pryderi, Nudd, Rhiannon

From Gaul/Continental Europe: Belenus, Brigantes, Cernunnos, Dana, Epona, Esus, Lug, Maponos, Matronea, Noudans, Ogmios, Sucellos, Taranis, Teutates

And if a Celt thought deity/spirit was too sacred to name, that "name" couldn't appear here, could it?

23. Is Druidry necessarily Celtic?

Most people identify Druids as being Celtic. The question is: how Celtic should modern Druidry/Neo-druidism be?

The absolute Celtophiles want Druids to be very familiar with ancient texts, Celtic folkways and Celtic archaeology. Moreover a Druid should study a Celtic language and use it in rituals. Druidry, for them, is inextricably Celtic.
Others say yes, but seeing as most of us don't live in a Celtic country and the Celts have moved on since ancient days, some adjusting is necessary. One should have a good general knowledge of things Celtic but language study isn't needed. The group ADF has decided that totally knowing the ancient Celts would be impossible due to gaps in the record, and admits all Indo-European sources, seeing these as closely related to the Celts — so you occasionally get the oddity of a "Druid" who follows only the Greek gods. A.r.d. wasn't too welcoming to the one who dropped by.
The last group opines that what is important to Druids is a personal relationship with nature and its spirit. Scholarship isn't necessary and may be damaging. You are a Druid because you are a seeker who matches the ethos of the Druids... whatever that is.

24. Netiquette — very briefly, please

Check out: rfc1855.html
Be polite. Be thoughtful. Spirituality and ethnicity are sensitive issues and you know nothing about the person you address.
Don't re-post an entire, long message. Include only the part you are replying to.
Keep your line lengths to 70–80 spaces.
If you enter a thread in mid-stream, check out the beginning on groups.google.com or just be very careful. It can be very difficult to tell who wrote what.
If you must cross-post, limit it to three groups related to the topic.
Post no response to obnoxious, off-topic, multi-cross-posted threads. They can entirely jam a smaller newsgroup. Email a reply, if you must.
If you really need to have a protracted and boring fight with your arch-enemy, take it to email. It's off-topic.
Newsgroups are public; anyone can read them. Therefore post nothing you wouldn't want your current boss, future boss, etc. to see.

If you need more information on anything: research it yourself; read a.r.d.; post a question to a.r.d.

Colophon

Written by Elaine Stutt and first posted to alt.religion.druid in September 1998. Updated repeatedly through 2005; this version, expanded to twenty-four questions, was posted November 27, 2005. Elaine followed a.r.d. almost from its founding in the Fall of 1995 and compiled this FAQ from years of reading and participating in the newsgroup's discussions. She describes it as reflecting not her personal opinions but "the range of knowledge and opinion on a.r.d."

The FAQ circulated as a community document, updated to reflect new debates, new websites, and the evolving landscape of modern Druidism. It represents the collective wisdom of alt.religion.druid's most prolific decade — 1995 to 2006 — before spam and the migration to social media thinned the community.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected]

🌲