John Michael Greer - Druidry Handbook

THE WEISER CLASSICS SERIES represents the full range of subjects and genres that have been part of Weiser's publishing program for over sixty years, from tarot, divination, and magick to alchemy and esoteric philosophy. Drawing on Weiser's extensive backlist, the series offers works by renowned authors and spiritual teachers, foundational texts, as well as introductory guides on an array of topics.

This edition first published in 2021 by Weiser Books, an imprint of

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Copyright 2006, 2021 by John Michael Greer

Foreword copyright 2006, 2021 by Philip Carr-Gomm

Foreword copyright 2021 by Dana O'Driscoll

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously published in 2006 by Red Wheel, ISBN: 978-1-57863-354-8.

ISBN: 978-1-57863-746-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Typeset in Perpetua

Printed in the United States of America

IBI

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Series Editors

Mike Conlon, Production Director, Red Wheel/Weiser Books

Judika Illes, Editor-at-Large, Weiser Books

Peter Turner, Associate Publisher, Weiser Books

Series Design

Kathryn Sky-Peck, Creative Director, Red Wheel/Weiser

For Sara
Companion on the forest paths

DRUIDRY FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY

A DRUID WALKS THROUGH A LOCAL PARK IN THE city where she lives, breathing deeply in the cool morning air. As she walks, she pauses for a moment to sit on a stone under a tree, spending time observing the first licks of frost glistening on the grass, watching the birds flit between branches, and feeling connected to nature in that moment. After a time, she closes her eyes in quiet meditation, first relaxing her body and attending to her breath before focusing on a meditation exercise. Feeling calm and grounded, she stands and says the Druid's Prayer and chants three Awens. As she makes her way out of the park, she recognizes many of the trees, plants, and fungi that line the path, knowing their names and their ecological functionsknowledge that deepens her sense of connection to this place. These practices offer her connection, wisdom, and balance in an ever-challenging world.

The 17th and 18th centuries marked the beginnings of our modern ecological predicament. In this early age of industrialization, public lands were enclosed and made private, rural families were driven from their lands to work in factories, the skies were darkened with soot and ash, and ancient forests were cut to fuel growing industry. As John Michael Greer notes in the first part of The Druidry Handbook, it was in this age that a new tradition, the Druid Revival, was born. Drawing upon the inspiration of the ancient druids, the Druid Revival offered a response to the ecological crisis of early industrialization, with practices to connect with and rekindle relationships with nature.

If we fast forward to the early 21st century, a not so dissimilar situation is present: we face an ecological and social predicament of unparalleled proportions, where life itself on this planet is threatened due to human action and industry. The Druidry Handbook does for the early 21st century what the Druid Revival did in the 17th and 18th centuries: it offers an alternative worldview by recognizing the inherent sacredness of nature. It offers a practical, experiential, and accessible nature spirituality in a time when it is so needed. And, it offers a powerful method for rekindling a connection to nature and making positive impact on one's local ecosystem.

When I first read The Druidry Handbook, it was just after it had been released some fifteen years ago. As a new druid, I used this book as an anchor to explore an unknown spiritual path. Since that time, I've returned to it again and again for my personal practice, I've recommended it to many people who are interested in nature spirituality, and I've used it extensively in the context of teaching and mentoring these practices as both the Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) and as a community leader supporting groves and gatherings in the Eastern United States.

My experiences are hardly unique and, in fact, represent a common consensus about the impact of this work over the last fifteen years. In the hundreds of application essays and degree exams I've read for AODA and in the many conversations I've had at gatherings and events, druids routinely cite The Druidry Handbook as one of the most important books in helping to cultivate their interest in druidry and in shaping their core practices. New druids describe the accessibility of the text and explain how The Druidry Handbook is the book that has most helped them learn and explore nature spirituality. Experienced druids note the importance of this work in deepening their understanding of the history, symbolism, and practices in our tradition. While its contributions are numerous, there are three major impacts this work has had on modern druidry.

The first major impact is in promoting druidry as a path of nature personality that embraces personal spiritual development, offers accessibility to diverse individuals, and provides opportunities for adaptation to wide-ranging personal paths. Other approaches to druid spirituality often require adherence to a specific set of beliefs or cosmologies, while Greer's approach promotes developing an individual spiritual practice. Both the second and third parts of The Druidry Handbook offer examples of adaptations and options that allow druids to develop flexible, engaging practices that are aligned with their existing belief structures or that allow new beliefs to take shape. That is, a druid with a Christian background will find as much of use in this work as one with a Pagan or Buddhist background, or no background at all. Additionally, this approach requires one to take personal responsibility for one's spiritual practices. The impact of this cannot be overstatedit has opened up a nature spirituality originally rooted in the British Isles to anyone, anywhere who wants to practice and has helped cultivate a global movement in Druidry where a diversity of beliefs is celebrated.

Another reason that The Druidry Handbook has been so impactful is that prior to this work, many experienced Druidry as ecologically bound to the British Isles. John Michael Greer's approach is instead designed to fit into any ecosystem and lifestyle. The Earth Path practices offered in this book are geared towards understanding one's own ecosystem, cultivating a balance with nature in one's own life, and allowing for a personal agency in response to our current ecological reality. The first of the Earth Path practices encourages a person to make lifestyle changes that positively impact the earth and reduce one's own ecological footprint. The simple act of making changes to one's life creates a deepening awareness of the importance, sacredness, and centrality of nature. The second of the Earth Path practices, which includes learning about and spending time in nature, takes nature from an abstract thing that can only be admired at a distance to something that an aspiring druid is part of. Being embedded in one's own ecosystem provides a profound sense of connection. These core Earth Path practices can be done anywhere, with any level of ability, and under any living circumstances making them truly accessible and impactful.