“Your skin doesn’t separate you from the world;
Alan Watts
it’s a bridge through which the external world flows into you
and you flow into it.
What you are basically—
deep, deep down, far, far in—
is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself.”
Druidry means many things to many people. In the bronze age, Druidism was not a singularly-defined concept or lifestyle; it varied among regions, cultures, and even simply among different groups of people. The same holds true today. Modern Druidic paths take inspiration from the past (both the more recent past and the ancient past). The ancient cultures that created what we call Druidry kept oral histories rather than written ones. Cultures between then and now wrote down some histories, leaving their own inspirations and impressions in the material. We have to hunt and piece together information as best we can, but we are finding there is much more available than previously thought.
A reconstructionist lens aims to follow certain ancient ways as closely as possible, or to recreate what Druidry could be today had it continued uninterrupted. The modern mystery lens looks to the past as inspiration for today, drawing on the myriad and mingled pathways of the past (sometimes inspired by aspects of the Druidry revival period of a couple centuries ago). Many modern Druids, groves, an organizations pull from both concepts, and so does Baird Point Druidry. In addition to the path we have followed and forged over the years, we are also a seed group of The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) (as of Summer Solstice, 2020). Our Druidry is informed from many different historic and modern resources; OBOD is one such resource.
A Note About the Gods: Our grove walks an old Celtic path on which we honor and praise the ancestors, the gods, and the spirits of nature. We actively pray to and honor deities from Irish and Gallic cultures, and some of our members also regularly pray to gods from Nordic and Hellenic cultures. Our practice includes acknowledging and honoring the ancestors (our direct ancestors and the ancestors of our spirituality), and we regularly share space with spirits of nature who provide counsel and guidance.
~~~
Our Purpose and Promise: Our Druidry is a spirituality and philosophy that seeks to establish a balanced way of life where we fully recognize ourselves as an integral part of nature and its divinity. Furthermore, we turn to the natural world as an inspiration for creativity, a foundation for honoring our past and our ancestors, a vantage point to create a better world for tomorrow, and a center of peace within our present-day selves. Through our work, we aim to instill passion for egalitarian ethics, to celebrate the diversity life offers, to challenge one another to grow, and to find our place and balance with the rest of the natural living world.
Baird Point Druidry is based in the small rural Oregon town of Falls City, in the foothills of the coast range mountains. We rely on teachings from the past, including from the three traditional schools of studies: the bards (inspiration, creativity, and storytelling), the ovates (spirit, journeying to the Otherworld, and healing), and the druids (philosophy, code, and creed). “Baird” comes from the Irish baird, the plural of bard (with the same meaning as the English word). It has also been used in the surname Mac an Bhaird, meaning “son of the bard.” Despite the namesake’s singular gender, please note we are an inclusive group. Diversity makes us all stronger, and we support the equality and inclusion of LGBTQ+ folk, diverse cultures/ethnicities, races, exceptionalities/disabilities, and more. We are a safe space for those who share this Druidic path.
Rather than acting as a church or club, we are a community. We come together to celebrate the eight-fold wheel of the year. We also gather for other occasions such as meditation, topic discussions, sharing our creations and inspirations, and encouraging each other to define and reach our goals. While we acknowledge the crucial aspects of seeking knowledge and learning, we also emphasize doing. When we’re not gathered together, we tend to the never-ending work of implementing our thoughts into practice. Just as a gardener nurtures their garden, we nurture our path of doing Druidry, not just merely being a Druid.