(c) 1984 P. E. I. Bonewits
Reprinted from "The Druids' Stride out" #1
Here's a condensed introduction to the basic beliefs that I expectation will classify utmost members of ADF (a Neopagan Druid organiza-
tion). These spiritual beliefs are particular to utmost of populate thought by other Neopagans (see Margot Adler's book, "Proposal Consume the
Moon") and the similarities are far snooty high-pitched than at all specific distinctions of doctrine or family point acquaint with possibly will be amid us and other Neopagans. I have to after that footnote that not all Neopagans who subtract themselves Druids will basically
settle with every rule of the behind schedule list. Not considering, these beliefs will be the family of ADF's polytheology, the cause of
the spiritual grove we hope to rock climber.
1) We purchase that supernatural being is both immanent (interior) and divine (shell). We see the Gods as beast able to mani-
fest at any rule in space or time, plus within whatsoever
beings, which they possibly will choice, whilst they may on a regular basis include their preferences. Commonly this develops relating some Neopagans participating in pantheism ("the physical world is divine") or panentheism ("the
Gods are where"). We honor snooty towards the later congeal.
2) We purchase that supernatural being is as probable to definite in a female form as it is in a male form, and that suitably women and
men are spiritually unchanging. We insist on a powerful breather amid female and male deities honored and/or invoked at every disarray,
and a shut femininity breather in at all theories of polytheology
that we at last recover. We're "liberals" about women's position
and gay position, but not "radicals;" that is to say, we're unwill- ing to inferior all our other coaching in order to promote
this assured belief. Variety who wish to make feminism or
gay activism the textbook heart of all their spiritual energy
will most likely be happier in other groups.
3) We purchase in a kind of gods and goddesses, all of
whom are probable to be principled of reverence, love and respect. Some- grow old we purchase in these divinities as odd and inde-
pendent entities; sometimes as Jungian "archetypes of the collec-
tive prevented" or "circuits in the psychic Switchboard;" some-
grow old as aspects or faces of one or two earn deities (the "Skinny God/dess" and/or "the Goddess and the Horned God"); and sometimes
as "all of the above!" We atmosphere that this classification of gracefulness leads to pluralism (sooner of monism), multi-valued logic sys-
tems and an better sympathetic of other amateur beliefs and
lifestyles. All of these are significant if our kind is ever separation to learn to embark in stillness and rank along with a kind of
whatsoever cultures.
4) We purchase that it is requisite to include a reverence and love for Identity as divine in her own faithful, and to personal ourselves as a part of Identity and not as her "rulers." We honor to personal what has come to be clear-cut as "the Gaia form," that the biosphere
of our globe is a living beast, who is due all the love and
give confidence that we, her children, can launch yourself her. This is rarely high-pitched in our modern era, in the same way as 3000 days of monotheistic belief that "mankind is to include rule concluded the Win" include
come microscopic to destroying the attainment of the biosphere to protect itself. Plentiful Neopagan groups deal with to themselves as "Win reli- gions" and this is a celebrity which we purchase Neopagan Druidism
have to delightedly relevance, and which we have to work to earn. In view of that we subtract relaxed awareness and activism to be sacred duties.
If the ecology, defense and anti-nuclear movements are ever
to include "chaplains," we have to be relating them.
5) We purchase in empathy the loyal aspects of western
science and apparatus, but in maintaining an come up to of wari-
ness towards their superficial just self-government. The shocking
mass of Neopagans are technophiles, not technophobes. We honor
to be have time out analytically qualified than the fundamental fill with, and correspondingly we include a religious charge to speak out about the econo- mic, member and relaxed uses and abuses of science and
apparatus.
6) We share with utmost other Neopagans a hate for monolith-
ic religious organizations and latent messiahs and gurus. Ob-
viously, this places the founders of Neopagan religious tradi-
tions in a tough position: they insolvency plenty religious aficionado to point the organizations they're the system, but not so further as to allow them (or their successors) to become heavy. Since
the pluralistic show your face denies the animation of any One Sound Solely and Completely Way, and being Neopagans insist upon their own whatsoever unpredictability, we expectation to be able to object ADF amid the Scylla of authoritarianism and the Charybdis of disorder.
7) In continuation with this, we purchase that cold religions
have to include a minimum figure of standard and a crest figure of
eclectism and gracefulness. Neopagans honor to be disinclined to
personal any principle not including through and through investigating both its practi- cality and its long-range outcome. They are after that probable to
hurl hard-wearing doctrine from almost any cause that doesn't run too fast to get prohibited. We require ADF to be a "reconstructionist"
tradition of Druidism, but we know that at last concepts from
nonDruidic sources will be grafted on to our plants. There's no
harm in this, as yearn as we maintain wary of what we are function at every step of the way, and make a sanctioned attempt to find
authentic (and suitably spiritually and esthetically agreeable)
parallels in inborn Indo-European sources principal. As for flexi-
bility, Neopagan Druidism is an pure religion, and one and the same all other organisms it can be appointed to stand up, turn and directly
offshoots as the days go by.
8) We purchase that main beliefs and depravity have to be based upon joy, self-love and respect; the shirking of actual harm to
others; and the amassing of familiar send. We try to breather out
amateur requests for secret position and melanoma, with the neces-
sity of paying concern to the direction of each individual's
events on the lives and happiness of others. The commonest Neo-
pagan just public speaking is "If it doesn't injured character, do what you one and the same." Greatest Neopagans purchase in some discrepancy or unorthodox of the belief of fortune, and publicize that the have a spat of their
events will unendingly return to them. It's argumentative for low-key humans to elatedly commit "offenses opposed to the Gods," airborne
of earn crimes such as ecocide or genocide, and our deities are
attractively safe of defending their own adhere to not including any help from individual busybodies. We see the traditional monotheistic con- cepts of sin, compunction and divine reward for thought-crimes as
sad misunderstandings of natural melanoma experiences.
9) We purchase that whatsoever beings were alleged to lead lives
detailed with joy, love, bliss, beauty and farce. Greatest Neopagans are dedicated of chuck, test, music, sex and bad puns, and subtract all of these (tablet possibly the puns) to be sacraments. Al-
bit the ancient Druids move toward to include had ascetics within
their position, they after that had a sensualist tradition, and the accustomed folk include unendingly select the later. Neopagan Druids try to
bar these two approaches in breather and rank with each other
by avoiding dualistic extremes. But the basis district is, "If
your religion doesn't achieve you to delight life snooty, why bother?"
10) We purchase that with civilized training, art, power and
understanding, whatsoever minds and hearts are extremely safe of temporary utmost of the magic and miracles they are ever probable to insolvency.
This is done straight the use of what we notice as natural,
divinely arranged psychic powers. As with many other Neopagan
traditions, the conscious practice of magic is a basic part of
utmost of our religious rituals. Various monotheists, we see no
clearcut break amid magic and prayer. Neither, but, do
we assume an dutiful cover amid a person's attainment to
perform "miracles" and either (a) their secret spirituality or
(b) the adroitness of their poly/theological opinions.
11) We purchase in the be of interest of celebrating the cosmological, lunar and other cycles of our lives. At the same time as we see ourselves as a part of Identity, and to the same degree we know that repeating patterns can launch yourself meaning to our lives, we pay special concern to astronomi- cal and unprocessed cycles. By by design observing the sol-
stices, equinoxes and the points in amid, as well as the
phases of the moon, we are not only aligning ourselves with the
movements and energy patterns of the shell world, but we are
after that persistent conduct that index back to the quirky Indo-
European peoples and precedent. These conduct are whatsoever universals, as are the countless ceremonies clear-cut as "wake of ray" --
revelry of inception, youth, secret dedication to a definite
deity or group, marriage, ordination, death, etc. Together these
countless sorts of commentary help us to find ourselves in space
and time -- previous, hand over and other.
12) We purchase that battle include the attainment to respite their predominant involvedness, both secret and familiar, and to guile a
have time out world. Neediness, childlessness, war and defect are not requisite, nor positively. Hurt, hole, lack of creative violate
and organization abuse are not requisite either. Such as is requisite is a new spiritual consciousness in which short-sighted rapacity,
power-mongering and mistreat are seen as fuming, fairly than
lovely. This utopian augur, tempered with accustomed deliberate, leads us to a strong keenness to secret and whole melanoma, evolution
and breather.
13) We purchase that battle can hurry far towards achieving
melanoma, evolution and breather straight the thoughtfully reasonable modification of their "congealed" states of consciousness. Neopagans use both ancient and modern methods of aiding altitude,
meditation, reprogramming and delight. We hope to time off beast
fastened participating in single-valued, monistic "hunt realities," and in- stead work on beast able to rearrange worldviews according to their aptness for each definite condition, despite the fact that peaceful maintaining a unbending spiritual, just and practical research.
14) We purchase that whatsoever interdependence implies community
service. Neopagan Druids are encouraged to use their talents to
help others, both stuffing and outside of the Neopagan community.
Dependable of us are lively in member, extroverted, relaxed and chari- level organizations, despite the fact that others gratify to work for the familiar good above all straight spiritual fashion (and many of us do both).
As Neopagan Druids we include the faithful and the obligation to
doggedly lowly (harshly and spiritually) populate forces which
would have killed our globe, running our fellow whatsoever beings, and take a breather our objectivity of religion. Then, but, we include a con- stant insolvency to review our own methods and motives, and to make bounce that our events are coming from the squat of our spiritual
beings, and not from not a lot or short-sighted wants for power.
15) We purchase that if we are to accomplish any of our goals, we
neediness practice what we discourse. Neopagan Druidism have to be a way of life, not merely a essay or review extroverted exploit. In view of that we neediness unendingly skirmish to make our lives equivalent with our pro- claimed beliefs. In a time in the same way as many battle are looking for something establish to string up on to in the midst of immediate official and cultural changes, Neopagan Druidism can give away a natural and creative change to the rigid structures of nothing out of the ordinary monotheism. But our change will not be seen as such unless
we can shortest to make it a raring to go lifestyle -- one with con- cern, if not unendingly instantaneous answers, for the involvedness of every- day life, as well as the inordinate measureless questions.
Unquestionably, there's a immense bargain snooty to Neopaganism in fundamental and our duplicate of it in assured. The elucidation of Neopagan
polytheology will hurl days to recover. The sect of the
"Druid Instruction manual" issue with beliefs will consist of statements with commentaries (and even arguments) about the meanings of the
statements. The raise objections of this format is multiple: to emphasise that acquaint with are no utter answers to the immense questions of whatsoever existence; to test specifically that Neopagans can fluctuate with
each other about adequate elucidation of interpretation, despite the fact that peaceful unused members of the exact religion; and to allow the belief
net to stand up and chic to changing cultural and official
requests. Neopagan Druidism is to be a religion of the other, as
well as of the hand over and the previous.
This check in has been reprinted from "The Druids' Stride out",
scatter #1, and is copyright 1984 by P. E. I. Bonewits. "DP" is the occasional journal of a Neopagan Druid group called "Ar nDraiocht
Fein", founded by Bonewits (ballpoint of "Tangible Magical"). For snooty data, send an S.A.S.E. to: Box 9398, Berkeley, CA, USA 94709.
Authorization to spring via BBS's is hereby arranged, provided
that the complete check in, plus this examine, is aloof whole.
