A New Path

 I have been looking into Druidry as a spiritual path that can complement my Animist beliefs and my shamanic practice.

Having found the Isle of Wight Druids offer FREE courses in Druidry, I have decided to follow this path for a while and see where it leads.

The first course the IOWD offers is called Druid of The Birch Grove and it is conducted by email and is based around the 13 moons of the year. So it lasts about 14 months. The next 2 courses are Druid of The Yew Grove and Druid of The Oak Grove - both lasting for a similar period of time. I may and may not live long enough to finish this training programme, and, of course, I may just give it up if I feel it isn't right for me.

Anyway, I am prepared to dive into the work and see what happens.

There is an Initiation Ritual that one conducts alone with the Spirits of Nature. I decided to conduct this ritual on August 12th 2026, the day of a new moon and a partial solar eclipse. The UK has been experiencing an unusual and prolonged heatwave for the past few weeks and it was 34C on this morning as I set off to my Axis Mundi - an ancient Yew tree in the graveyard where at least three of my ancestors are buried and a nearby waterfall by a mill pond. 

These are magical places for me - they are in the village where I spent the first 8 years of my life. A lonely but interesting time where I often found myself alone in nature.

The next post will describe my Initiation Ritual. 

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