In January 2005, Isaac Bonewits — founder of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), the largest Druid organization in North America — posted a message to the Summerlands forum seeking input for his planned book "Stalking the Wild Druid." He proposed three overlapping categories of Druid practice: Druidism (clergy leading congregations), Druidry (artists and craftspeople), and Draiocht (mystics and magicians).
Searles O'Dubhain, founder of the Summerlands and one of Bonewits' primary interlocutors on Druidic theory, responded by proposing an expansion through Fionn's Window — the five-circle Celtic cosmological mandala — adding philosophers and scholars to arrive at five forms of knowledge. Bonewits replied with his own Dumézilian framework of Druid castes.
This brief exchange, reposted to alt.religion.druid by Searles in August 2010 following Bonewits' death, is a window into how two of the most significant figures in modern Druidry worked together to think through what their tradition was — and what it should be called.
Here's another brief discussion that Isaac and I had regarding a book he was planning to write.
Isaac Bonewits (January 23, 2005)
Greetings all,
I'm organizing my notes for a new book about Druids past and present, and I'm thinking (naturally) in terms of three flavors of Druids: those into Druidism, Druidry, and Draiocht.
By Druidism, I mean the view of Druids as clergy leading congregations of Pagans.
By Druidry, I mean the view of Druids as artists and craftspeople who may or may not belong to a group.
By Draiocht, I mean the view of Druids as mystics and magicians, usually solitary.
Obviously, these are overlapping categories and the various symbols showing three entwined circles might well symbolize them.
Giving that I'm really oversimplifying matters, does this seem like a useful approach to Stalking the Wild Druid?
cheers,
Isaac
Searles O'Dubhain (January 26, 2005)
I like the approach that you've taken but I also think there should be categories for Druids as philosophers and Druids as scholars.
The circles of Fionn's Window seem organized to me in this fivefold manner:
- Knowledge of Nature
- Knowledge of Mind
- Knowledge of Spirit
- Knowledge of Magic
- Knowledge of Being
These five forms of knowledge seem to match up with your categories in this way:
- Nature — Crafts
- Mind — (Added topics of Scholars, Poets, Artists)
- Spirit — Priests
- Magic — Magick
- Being — (Added topic of Mastery/Excellence)
I see these circles within circles as being an advancing of knowledge from the physical world through the mind to the spirit, and from there through Magic into a Mastery or Many-Skilled assimilation of everything.
Searles
Isaac Bonewits (January 31, 2005)
Well, using five categories would fit with my "3+1+1/1" extension of Dumézil's castes:
- Royalty/Outsiders
- Druids
- Warriors
- Producers
- Serfs
But remember that I see "Bards, Ovates, and Druids" as all subsets of the Druid caste, each with different specialties and its own subcastes, not a sequence of training.
Hmmmm...
I would see the philosophers as part of the mystics...
Um, maybe we need to distinguish between what would make a good scholarly system for understanding the Druids, vs. what would make a simple organizing pattern for a book about them?
cheers,
Isaac
Colophon
Originally posted on the Summerlands online Druid forum in January 2005. Isaac Bonewits (1949–2010) was the founder of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), the author of numerous books on Paganism and Druidry, and one of the most influential figures in the modern Druid revival. Searles O'Dubhain is the founder of the Summerlands forum and a prolific writer on Celtic spirituality, Ogham, and Druidic practice. The dialogue was reposted to alt.religion.druid by Searles in August 2010 following Bonewits' death.
Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original post index: alt.religion.druid post 65255.
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