British Druid Order (BDO)

Web site: http://www.druidry.co.uk
Contact: sparrowhawk@britishdruidorder.co.uk or
BDO Office, PO Box 635, Halifax, HX2 6WX UK (Please provide a SSAE or IRCs if requiring a reply)

"The British Druid Order was formed in 1979 as part of a personal quest to recreate a native British spirituality and is currently under the guidance of founder, Philip Shallcrass (Greywolf, aka Wolf Walks With Fire) as Chief, with Sparrowhawk taking responsibility for the BDO Office providing administration of a new membership list and coordinating a band of dedicated volunteers.

The BDO works with native British tradition. 'British' is used not in a narrow political or nationalistic sense, but to evoke a time when the two islands of Ierne (Ireland) and Albion (England, Scotland and Wales) were jointly known as the Pretannic Isles, from Pretani, 'the Painted People,' our ancient spiritual and physical ancestors.

Drawing inspiration from the sacred land and from our ancestry whose myths and mysteries are the wellspring of our tradition. Druidry in its heyday was a pan-European tradition, so we seek to recreate an understanding of Druidry as the native spirituality not only of Britain, but also of Europe. This process of restoration involves recovering a sense of the sacred in all areas of our lives so that we can begin to heal our society, our land and ourselves.

Ancestors
Much of our strength and wisdom comes through working with our ancestors of blood and spirit, by establishing creative and healing links with the spiritual and cultural heritage of the land and people, with our own kinfolk who have entered the spirit world before us.

The Threefold Path

The Order recognizes the three traditional areas of Druidic practice.

Bard
• To walk the Earth in a sacred manner and rediscover its holy places; recover its ancient songs and stories, and bring them to life for the renewal of land, life, love, liberty and laughter.

Ovate
• To develop the gifts of prophecy and divination, the healing arts and awareness of the Otherworld, working with the shadow side of life and the processes of death, of letting go, of the mysteries of time, of preparing the ground and facilitating with rebirth the advent of the new.

Druid
• Journeying through and between the worlds to act as a bridge builder between cultures, traditions and peoples, between spirit and form, relating the Awen to the power that permeates the landscape connecting sacred places and times.

Awen
Awen literally means ‘flowing spirit' and is the spiritual energy that underlies the work of the BDO. Those who work with the Order are encouraged to make their own links with this spirit of inspiration, through which they might find their own energy and creativity, and thereby discover and walk their own sacred path to joy, peace, healing, ecstasy and the gods." (1)

(1) From: http://www.druidnetwork.org/groups/groups/directory/groupsengland.html

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