This brief discourse started out some time ago to be a follow up to my earlier one entitled On Making a Druid Community.  In the intervening months, a number of people and events have presented themselves which has taken my thinking to a whole new level.  So the reader will be either the beneficiary or the victim of my shared thoughts, as they wish.

The conversation about a druid community began as an exercise to begin to sort out some issues around the first House of Danu Gorsedd.  I was trying to anticipate various aspects of that temporary community.  However, as I was writing it, I began to realize that this discussion is actually much larger than that.  And world events seem to be bearing that out.  Have you felt, over the last year or two, a change in the wind?  Something is coming, and the signs are beginning to sprout everywhere, even as war and hunger and financial chaos continue.  At first I thought it might be related to the world wide financial problems, but the evidence that is emerging speaks to something more profound.  For instance, our brother druid JP recently posted here the Charter for Compassion http://charterforcompassion.org which represents one aspect of the coming change.  Then there is Playing for Change http://playingforchange.com and http://playingforchange.org which represents another aspect of the coming change.  JP's post about Procyon here in this forum is another aspect of it.

In fact, I think the birth of the House of Danu is related to the coming change.  The coming change, I believe, has a lot to do with people deciding that business as usual hasn't really worked.  The emerging philosophy/spirituality is more ecologically aware and tolerant of differences in people.  The old institutions (government, churches, etc) are not part of the emerging consciousness, which is at right angles to those institutions, and outside of the control of those institutions.  We shall see, but in the meantime, what signs have you each seen and felt over the past 2-3 years that might fit with the coming change?

As druids, we should be able to see and read these signs -- in the patterns of the clouds or in the flight of birds, for instance.  Can you hear it in the waters and rocks?  I think even the wind carries a new scent.  And so here we are again, contemplating making a druid community, which itself is an aspect of the coming change.  How might we conduct ourselves?

The druids of old were the educated class of the Celts.  As it states in Wikipedia, "Similar to the monks of the Christian era following, they combined the duties of priest, judge, scholar, and teacher."  They were the shaman and healers, and practiced divination.  They knew the old stories, family histories, legal agreements.  They knew when to plant seeds for the coming spring, they read the stars, and knew the voices of the trees.  But most of all, they were the spiritual guides for their tribes.

So how should we provide spiritual guidance for the larger pagan community and beyond?  The birth of the House of Danu holds some of the promise of the coming change, but as yet those promises have not been realized.  While it is well that druids from our order and other orders speak their peace at events like PantheaCon, much more can be done.  The Gorsedd holds a lot of promise, especially when seen from a spiritual perspective, and especially if the event itself taps into the spiritual nature of such an event, including speakers and workshops designed to elaborate on that theme.  This forum could be a clearing house for information as to the spiritual, ecological, and community activities of druids and groves.

As it stands now, this forum is largely quiet.  The spiritual nature behind the birth of HoD seems to have been hidden by a focus on grand show events by some, and a lack of care and investment by others.  I am also concerned about the overall image that the HoD is taking on.  What is the House known for?  Putting on one Gorsedd, and engendering some good will in the pagan community through our PantheaCon event(s).  But we also have a dead forum, and too few people to help create, let alone pay for, a second Gorsedd.  Then there is the issue of the broken promises around the Gorsedd DVD and a seriously outdated web site. 

We should keep in mind that many if not most druids, by nature, are a solitary lot.  Druidry involves meditation and the quiet of the grove.  Appeals to druids to come to gala extravaganzas will have limited success.  What is needed is balance between the external, showy, public part and the inner, contemplative, spiritual part.  Druidry is a spiritual path of the first magnitude.  Where is that found in the web pages? -- where is the balance?  What is needed is a group consciousness committed not just to public performance but to the ideals of druidry expressed through an entity like the House of Danu... and if not here, then elsewhere.  We need a coming together of people who see the coming change and welcome it, and who are willing to work together to help make it happen.  While there are those who are mainly inclined towards the bardic arts, for others a Gorsedd theme could be to bring people together to see what kind of committment people are willing to make to Mother Earth, and to the larger community.  An opportunity for these discussions as an alternative to bardic workshops could be included.  This could be much more like a retreat or a summit than a convention.  Unlike the pre-determined discussions of the last Gorsedd, those in attendance could be encouraged to express the issues that are important to them as individuals.  These are druids, after all, and are capable of thinking for themselves. 

What we need are awen and nwyfre on more than one level.  We do not need more of the same... no more business as usual.

As druids, we can, and must, do better.

Bendithion
Brian
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I agree, as druids, we must do better than what I have seen as "business as usual."  Locally, it has been my experience that most of the pagan community are caught up in their adolescent rebellion, and while many of them have qualities and gifts that could really be of benefit to the community as a whole, they choose to remain insular and involve themselves in little more than pumping up their own egos, or waging "witch wars" on someone else in the community.  I have never been able to relate to the local Pagan community for this reason.  I don't want drama...I have worked long and hard to distance myself from this type of thing.  I would much rather put my energy to use building something positive than trying to tear something or someone else down.  I choose not to do that any longer.

I think that we need to recognize the fact that we are all different, and called to different paths.  We have an abundance of talented individuals in the House of Danu (or otherwise associated with us) who have been called to bardic pursuits -- for them, this is their spiritual path.  But for some of us, while we may enjoy the bardic arts, it is not our calling, and we must also accommodate those who are still seeking to manifest their spirituality in a different way. 

I would like to see options available at the next Gorsedd, not just geared towards the bardic arts, but also open forums for people to express what is important to them on an individual basis.  We didn't really get that opportunity at the last Gorsedd.  All the scheduled meetings and discussions -- aside from our guest speakers -- were pre-determined.  We have the opportunity to do something different.

But as for these forums, I think there are a number of people who cannot access them.  And many of those who can, don't...as you indicated, Brian.  Our alleged new website was supposed to correct the issues involving access, but we have not had an update on that for some time now.

In light of the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if the House of Danu divides into at least two factions...those who enjoy the public spotlight and enjoy putting on the "show"...and those who are more introverted and who wish to focus on other aspects of our druidry, including the topics you and JP have proposed.  The problem is, we don't really have enough people committed to either of these interests to make the road easy for any of us.  Also in view of the lack of progress made towards this upcoming Gorsedd (we are much, much farther behind in everything than we were last year at this time)...I am thinking that taking the topic of Making a Druid Community elsewhere may in fact be what we need to do.  Perhaps the House of Danu will only remain functional as that place to connect with other individuals who are called to various actions.  Perhaps we set -- I set -- my vision for what the House of Danu could become too high.  It isn't that I think the goal is unattainable...but perhaps it is meant to be realized through another means.