Modern Druidism is a branch off neo-paganism which includes Wicca and Shamanism. Druidry is about exploring nature and finding a connection between ourselves and the earth. It also explores healing, divination skills and sacred mythology. In Druidry there are different sectors of which people belong to.
1. Bards
These are keepers of tradition, who know about the ancient stories, poems and philosophy that go with druidism.
2. Ovates
These are healers that specialise in divination skills and fortune-telling.
3. Druids
The Druids are priests, teachers, philosophere, scientists and poets. They led public rituals and still do today. In history they were thought as being male though now there are druid priestesses as well.
The history of the druids is an ancient one going back 25,000 years ago, with cave paintings of wild animals and humans found in caves in Lascaux, France and Altamina, Spain. In 3000 BC great moulds were built within the earth where initiates would sit in darkness waiting for their rebirth.
Over 20 thousand years ago to the sixteenth century the common theme of seeking spiritual rebirth has been found through people undergoing a death rebirth experience. There is also evidence of rituals that were practiced shown by the preservation of artifacts found in peat bogs across Europe.
Ice Age
This was a time in which building sacred monuments first occured, such as great stone circles like Stonehenge. Evidence has shown that the Druids had a knowledge of astronomy and engineering skills along with the use of Pythagorean mathematics to build their monuments before pyhagoras was even born.
6th Century-Under Roman rule AD
At this time early writings by Julias Caesar show that the Druids had a very organized religious system which consisted of Bards, Ovates and Druids.
With the emphasise of Christianity becoming popular the Druids religion began to dissappear, the schools of the bards became christian schools, ovads became village healers and the druids mostly converted to christianity.
6th Century-16th Century AD
During this time the Druid religion dissappered underground though Celtic and Druid spirituality became preserved through Christian clerics writings.
16 Century-Modern 21st Century AD
Towards the end of this century, scholars in Europe began to re-discover the Druid religion through translation and printing of classical texts on the druids. This caused a time of the revival of the Druidry where groups and societies were formed to study Druidry and Celticism.
One of the founders of Modern Druidry was William Sturkeley who formed a druid society in London. In 1717 the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids was founded which is dedicated to presenting the druid tradition in a modern way that fits todays society but also captures ancestry and heritage.
Druidry has now become part of the modern world and is now respected and practiced all over the world.