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Fifth Edition ADF Membership Guide Page 1 Contents Introduction to ADF………………………

Fifth Edition ADF Membership Guide Page 1 Contents Introduction to ADF……………………………………………… 2 A Vision for Ár nDraíocht Féin…………………………………… 5 ADF’s Organizational Structure…………………………………… 6 Law, Policy, Tradition, and Custom in ADF………………………. 11 Getting Help from the Members’ Advocate……………………… 15 The ADF Standard Liturgical Outline……………………………. 16 The Intentions of Druidic Ritual………………………………… 17 An Explanation of the ADF Liturgy……………………………... 20 The Worlds and Kindreds………………………………………… 23 Choosing a Pantheon……………………………………………... 24 Sometimes We Don’t Solve Everything…………………………… 25 Where to Go from Here…………………………………………. 26 Editor: Heather ‘Vedis’ Koerner Proofreader: Michael J Dangler, Francesca Hedrick, Fifth Edition ADF Membership Guide Page 2 Introduction to ADF by Isaac Bonewits What’s Going On Here? The full name of our association is “Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc.” The first half of it, pronounced “arn ree-ocht fane,” is Modern Irish for “Our Own Dru- idism,” (also “Our Own Magic”) and that’s what ADF is— an independent tradition/denomination of Neopagan Druidism. Neopagan Druids, like our sisters and brothers in the other Neopagan movements, are polytheistic Nature worshipers, attempting to revive the best aspects of the Paleopagan faiths of our ancestors and predecessors within a modern scientific, artistic, ecological, and holistic context. Like our namesakes the original Druids, we’re people who believe in excellence—physically, intellectually, artistically, and spiritually. We don’t make any false claims about an unbroken line going back to the Stone Age, nor insist that we’re the only “real” Neopagan Druids—just (we think) the best. Organizationally, ADF provides a flexible, organic structure for a Neopagan Druidic religion based on the beliefs and practices of the ancient Indo-Europeans, adapted to the needs and sensibilities of modern people. It’s a nonprofit religious, scientific, educational, artistic, and charitable corporation whose members practice the full range of activities practiced by most religious organizations. Spiritually, Neopagan Druidism (as we define it) is a polytheistic, non-dualist, non-sexist, non-racist, scientific, holistic, and ecologically-oriented faith. We are dedicated to the preservation of our Holy Mother Earth, the full achievement of human potential, the revival of the worship of the Old Goddesses and Gods in a modern context, and the creation of a world of peace, freedom, health, and prosperity for all intelligent beings. To accomplish these goals, ADF advocates and practices many different sciences, arts, and disciplines, both main- stream and alternative, within a non-dogmatic, pluralistic context, in order to change ourselves, each other, and the world around us. What Do ADF Members Actually Do? The original Indo-European Druids fulfilled many roles and functions within their tribes. They were the magical and religious leaders, the intellectuals, the artists, the healers, the diviners, the counselors, mediators, and judges. In keeping with these ancient roles, ADF advocates and practices, as an integral part of our faith: Scientific and scholarly research and debate about the ancient Druids, the Indo-Europeans, comparative reli- gion, folklore, ethno-musicology, and other relevant fields of human knowledge; A variety of auditory, graphic, dramatic, movement, li- turgical, and other arts and crafts; The investigation, dissemination, and performance of a wide variety of healing arts and technologies, both main- stream and alternative, including herbal, nutritional, mental, magical, and spiritual methods; The use of the divinatory arts and sciences as tools for spiritual counseling and liturgical guidance; and A variety of counseling arts and methods, both main- stream and alternative, as well as techniques for mediating disputes and judging conflicts between organizations and/ or individuals in the Neopagan community. All of these, of course, are activities that other mainstream religions engage in. Catholic Universities sponsor scientific research, Protestant churches run hospitals and counseling centers, Spiritualist ministries offer advice from the Beyond, Christian Science congregations practice faith healing, and almost every religion has choirs and religious artists in various media. We are also very involved in one area where most other religious groups have been slow to act, primarily for theo- logical reasons. In keeping with our reverence for and wor- ship of the Earth Mother, Neopagan Druids advocate and practice ecological and environmental research, education, and activism (although, as a tax-exempt organization, ADF cannot invest our resources in supporting or opposing particular political candidates). As part of our efforts to achieve these varied goals, members of ADF are designing and performing competent magical and religious ceremonies to change ourselves and the world we live in, including regular public worship of the Old Gods and Goddesses, as well as rites of passage. We’re adapting the polytheologies and customs of both the ancient Indo- European Paleopagans and the Neopagan traditions that have been created over the last fifty years. We’re researching and expanding sound modern scholarship (instead of romantic fantasies or racist nonsense) about the ancient Celts, Norse, Slavs, Balts, Greeks, Romans, Vedics, and other Indo- Fifth Edition ADF Membership Guide Page 3 European peoples, in order to reconstruct what the Old Religions really were. We’re working on the development of genuine composition and presentation skills in the musical, dramatic, graphic, textile, and other arts. We’re creating a nonsexist, non-racist, organic, flexible, and publicly accessible religion to practice as a way of life, and to hand on to our grandchildren. We’re integrating ecological awareness, alternate healing arts, and psychic development into our daily activities. We’re holding regional festivals to help our members meet, study, pray, and play together with other like- minded folks. We’re actively preparing for the day when Neopagan religions will be part of the mainstream culture, with large congregations meeting at temples and sacred groves throughout the Western world. What are We Not Doing? We’re not wasting our time with romantic or ideological pseudo-scholarship by such “authorities” as Lewis Spence, Robert Graves, H.P. Blavatsky, Iolo Morganwg, Barbara Walker, Merlin Stone, or D. J. Conway. Instead, we rely on the work of serious mainstream scholars such as Georges Dumezil, Stuart Piggott, Mircea Eliade, Patricia Monaghan, A. & B. Rees, Anne Ross, C.S. Littleton, Miranda Green, Ronald Hutton, etc. Although our primary focus is on the beliefs and practices of the ancient Indo- Europeans, and on how these can be adapted to modern circumstances, we do not tolerate racism or nonsense about “Aryan blood” or “genetic memory.” The Indo-Europeans were a motley assortment of tribes speaking related languages—not a gene pool. American Neopagans, like most Americans, come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. We see this genetic mixing as a sign of hybrid vigor, rather than something to be upset about. So our members come from a wide variety of ancestries, including European, Native American, and African. We’re not “Celtic chauvinists.” Despite the Irish name for our organization and the use of the Celtic term for clergy (“druids”), we’re Pan-Indo-European in all our interests. Unlike some Druidic organizations, in ADF you don’t have to be exclusively interested in Irish or other Celtic deities and cultures in order to participate in our activities. Our officers, members, and SIGs (“Special Interest Groups”) include folks fascinated by the Paleopagan Germans, Norse, Anglo-Saxons, Slavs, Balts, Vedics, and even the pre-Classical Greeks and Romans. I f you’re sincerely interested in any of the old Indo-European cultures and its deities, arts, and customs, then you’re welcome in our ranks. We’re not basing our internal hierarchy on seniority, nepo- tism, or the ability to tell a good story (except for the bards?). Instead, like most mainstream religions, we’ve set up college-level training for our clergy and other leaders. We’re establishing academic, psychological, performance, and spiritual standards of excellence for anyone who wants to call him or herself an ADF Druid. Although we’re interested in friendly communication with other minority and mainstream faiths, we refuse to white- wash the beliefs and practices of our predecessors. The Paleopagan Druids were not monotheists and we don’t present them that way. They were, and we are, polythe- ists —just as billions of Hindus, Taoists, Shintoists, Native Americans, and members of many other world religions have been and are. Unlike other Druidic organizations, founded in times and places with no real religious freedoms, we see Druidism as more than just a “philosophy applicable to any religion.” We don’t do human or animal sacrifices, despite the fact that the Paleopagan Druids, like the clergy of almost every other religion in human history (including the monotheistic ones) did. Instead we offer the Goddesses and Gods flowers, fruits, wine, music, song, drama, prayer, and—most important of all—our love. The deities seem to find it more than sufficient. We aren’t sexist either. Despite the stereotypes of the ancient Druids as having been long-bearded patriarchs, you didn’t have to be a man to be a Druid back then (it’s hard to have a hereditary caste without both genders!) and you don’t need to be one now. Half of the membership of ADF is female and women hold half of the positions of power in the organization. We have deliberately chosen to make gender and sexual orientation irrelevant to participation in ADF. As worshippers of the Earth Mother, we can do no less. We aren’t “politically correct” except, perhaps, by the stan- dards of mainstream liberal religions. We won’t let ex- tremists of any flavor take over our uploads/Religion/ adf-membership-guide.pdf