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What Neopagan Druids Believe
(c) 1984 P. E. I. Bonewits
Reprinted from "The Druids' Progress" #1
Here's a brief introduction to the basic beliefs that I expect
will characterize most members of ADF (a Neopagan Druid organiza-
tion). These spiritual beliefs are similar to most of those held
by other Neopagans (see Margot Adler's book, "Drawing Down the
Moon") and the similarities are far more important than whatever
specific distinctions of doctrine or ethnic focus there might be
between us and other Neopagans. I should also mention that not
all Neopagans who consider themselves Druids will necessarily
agree with every point of the following list. Nonetheless, these
beliefs will be the roots of ADF's polytheology, the source of
the spiritual grove we seek to plant.
1) We believe that divinity is both immanent (internal) and
transcendent (external). We see the Gods as being able to mani-
fest at any point in space or time, including within human
beings, which they might choose, although they may often have
their preferences. Often this develops among some Neopagans into
pantheism ("the physical world is divine") or panentheism ("the
Gods are everywhere"). We tend more towards the latter position.
2) We believe that divinity is as likely to manifest in a
female form as it is in a male form, and that therefore women and
men are spiritually equal. We insist on a dynamic balance between
female and male deities honored and/or invoked at every ceremony,
and a strict gender balance in whatever theories of polytheology
that we eventually develop. We're "liberals" about women's rights
and gay rights, but not "radicals;" that is to say, we're unwill-
ing to subordinate all our other principles in order to promote
this particular principle. People who wish to make feminism or
gay activism the absolute center of all their spiritual activity
will probably be happier in other groups.
3) We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, all of
whom are likely to be worthy of respect, love and worship. Some-
times we believe in these divinities as individual and inde-
pendent entities; sometimes as Jungian "archetypes of the collec-
tive unconscious" or "circuits in the psychic Switchboard;" some-
times as aspects or faces of one or two major deities (the "High
God/dess" and/or "the Goddess and the Horned God"); and sometimes
as "all of the above!" We feel that this sort of flexibility
leads to pluralism (instead of monism), multi-valued logic sys-
tems and an increased tolerance of other people's beliefs and
lifestyles. All of these are vital if our species is ever going
to learn to live in peace and harmony amid a multiplicity of
human cultures.
4) We believe that it is necessary to have a respect and love
for Nature as divine in her own right, and to accept ourselves as
a part of Nature and not as her "rulers." We tend to accept what
has come to be known as "the Gaia hypothesis," that the biosphere
of our planet is a living being, who is due all the love and
support that we, her children, can give her. This is especially
important in our modern era, when 3000 years of monotheistic
belief that "mankind is to have dominion over the Earth" have
come close to destroying the ability of the biosphere to maintain
itself. Many Neopagan groups refer to themselves as "Earth reli-
gions" and this is a title which we believe Neopagan Druidism
should proudly claim, and which we should work to earn. Thus we
consider ecological awareness and activism to be sacred duties.
If the ecology, conservation and anti-nuclear movements are ever
to have "chaplains," we should be among them.
5) We believe in accepting the positive aspects of western
science and technology, but in maintaining an attitude of wari-
ness towards their supposed ethical neutrality. The overwhelming
majority of Neopagans are technophiles, not technophobes. We tend
to be better scientifically educated than the general population,
and thus we have a religious duty to speak out about the econo-
mic, political and ecological uses and abuses of science and
technology.
6) We share with most other Neopagans a distaste for monolith-
ic religious organizations and would-be messiahs and gurus. Ob-
viously, this places the founders of Neopagan religious tradi-
tions in a complex position: they need enough religious authority
to focus the organizations they're founding, but not so much as
to allow them (or their successors) to become oppressive. Since
the pluralistic approach denies the existence of any One True
Right and Only Way, and since Neopagans insist upon their own
human fallibility, we expect to be able to steer ADF between the
Scylla of tyranny and the Charybdis of anarchy.
7) In keeping with this, we believe that healthy religions
should have a minimum amount of dogma and a maximum amount of
eclectism and flexibility. Neopagans tend to be reluctant to
accept any idea without personally investigating both its practi-
cality and its long-range consequences. They are also likely to
take useful ideas from almost any source that doesn't run too
fast to get away. We intend ADF to be a "reconstructionist"
tradition of Druidism, but we know that eventually concepts from
nonDruidic sources will be grafted on to our trees. There's no
harm in this, as long as we stay aware of what we are doing at
every step of the way, and make a legitimate effort to find
authentic (and therefore spiritually and esthetically congruent)
parallels in genuine Indo-European sources first. As for flexi-
bility, Neopagan Druidism is an organic religion, and like all
other organisms it can be expected to grow, change and produce
offshoots as the years go by.
8) We believe that ethics and morality should be based upon
joy, self-love and respect; the avoidance of actual harm to
others; and the increase of public benefit. We try to balance out
people's needs for personal autonomy and growth, with the neces-
sity of paying attention to the impact of each individual's
actions on the lives and welfare of others. The commonest Neo-
pagan ethical expression is "If it doesn't hurt anyone, do what
you like." Most Neopagans believe in some variant or another of
the principle of karma, and state that the results of their
actions will always return to them. It's difficult for ordinary
humans to successfully commit "offenses against the Gods," short
of major crimes such as ecocide or genocide, and our deities are
perfectly capable of defending their own honor without any help
from mortal busybodies. We see the traditional monotheistic con-
cepts of sin, guilt and divine retribution for thought-crimes as
sad misunderstandings of natural growth experiences.
9) We believe that human beings were meant to lead lives
filled with joy, love, pleasure, beauty and humor. Most Neopagans
are fond of food, drink, music, sex and bad puns, and consider
all of these (except possibly the puns) to be sacraments. Al-
though the ancient Druids appear to have had ascetics within
their ranks, they also had a sensualist tradition, and the common
folk have always preferred the latter. Neopagan Druids try to
keep these two approaches in balance and harmony with each other
by avoiding dualistic extremes. But the bedrock question is, "If
your religion doesn't enable you to enjoy life more, why bother?"
10) We believe that with proper training, art, discipline and
intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing
most of the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need.
This is done through the use of what we perceive as natural,
divinely granted psychic powers. As with many other Neopagan
traditions, the conscious practice of magic is a central part of
most of our religious rituals. Unlike monotheists, we see no
clearcut division between magic and prayer. Neither, however, do
we assume an automatic connection between a person's ability to
perform "miracles" and either (a) their personal spirituality or
(b) the accuracy of their poly/theological opinions.
11) We believe in the importance of celebrating the solar,
lunar and other cycles of our lives. Because we see ourselves as
a part of Nature, and because we know that repeating patterns can
give meaning to our lives, we pay special attention to astronomi-
cal and biological cycles. By consciously observing the sol-
stices, equinoxes and the points in between, as well as the
phases of the moon, we are not only aligning ourselves with the
movements and energy patterns of the external world, but we are
also continuing customs that reach back to the original Indo-
European peoples and beyond. These customs are human universals,
as are the various ceremonies known as "rites of passage" --
celebrations of birth, puberty, personal dedication to a given
deity or group, marriage, ordination, death, etc. Together these
various sorts of observations help us to find ourselves in space
and time -- past, present and future.
12) We believe that people have the ability to solve their
current problems, both personal and public, and to create a
better world. Hunger, poverty, war and disease are not necessary,
nor inevitable. Pain, depression, lack of creative opportunity
and mutual oppression are not necessary either. What is necessary
is a new spiritual consciousness in which short-sighted greed,
power-mongering and violence are seen as absurd, rather than
noble. This utopian vision, tempered with common sense, leads us
to a strong commitment to personal and global growth, evolution
and balance.
13) We believe that people can progress far towards achieving
growth, evolution and balance through the carefully planned
alteration of their "normal" states of consciousness. Neopagans
use both ancient and modern methods of aiding concentration,
meditation, reprogramming and ecstasy. We seek to avoid being
locked into single-valued, monistic "tunnel realities," and in-
stead work on being able to switch worldviews according to their
appropriateness for each given situation, while still maintaining
a firm spiritual, ethical and practical grounding.
14) We believe that human interdependence implies community
service. Neopagan Druids are encouraged to use their talents to
help others, both inside and outside of the Neopagan community.
Some of us are active in political, social, ecological and chari-
table organizations, while others prefer to work for the public
good primarily through spiritual means (and many of us do both).
As Neopagan Druids we have the right and the obligation to
actively oppose (physically and spiritually) those forces which
would kill our planet, oppress our fellow human beings, and
destroy our freedom of religion. Also, however, we have a con-
stant need to evaluate our own methods and motives, and to make
sure that our actions are coming from the depths of our spiritual
beings, and not from petty or short-sighted desires for power.
15) We believe that if we are to achieve any of our goals, we
must practice what we preach. Neopagan Druidism should be a way
of life, not merely a weekly or monthly social function. Thus we
must always strive to make our lives consistent with our pro-
claimed beliefs. In a time when many people are looking for
something solid to hang on to in the midst of rapid technological
and cultural changes, Neopagan Druidism can offer a natural and
creative alternative to the repressive structures of mainstream
monotheism. But our alternative will not be seen as such unless
we can manage to make it a complete lifestyle -- one with con-
cern, if not always immediate answers, for the problems of every-
day life, as well as the grand cosmic questions.
Obviously, there's a great deal more to Neopaganism in general
and our version of it in particular. The details of Neopagan
polytheology will take years to develop. The section of the
"Druid Handbook" dealing with beliefs will consist of statements
with commentaries (and even arguments) about the meanings of the
statements. The purpose of this format is multiple: to emphasise
that there are no final answers to the great questions of human
existence; to express clearly that Neopagans can disagree with
each other about subtle details of interpretation, while still
remaining members of the same religion; and to allow the belief
system to grow and adapt to changing cultural and technological
needs. Neopagan Druidism is to be a religion of the future, as
well as of the present and the past.