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I would love to know beyond wishing it to be so, that trees could feel my appreciation for them.
They do nothing but give, throughout their many lives.
I'm pretty disconnected from nature, I have to admit. Unlike when I was a child, I now am more comfortable appreciating nature from behind a protective barrier, and in theory, but not usually up close and personal. I don't how or why I disconnected
But anyway, trees make me happy, and I do thank them, literally. There's something about pine/fir trees especially. I sometimes wonder if I should study a religious path like druidry in the hope that it might help me reconnect to the instincts I had as a child, but it seems like I'd be trying to force it, and I'm not sure that's the right way to pursue any path. I'd be open to any reading suggestions, though.
I consider my primary religion to be Unitarian-Universalist, with my personal spirituality an eclectic mix of Buddhism and Paganism. I'm making efforts to get more into spirituality, and I'm currently undecided as to whether I feel drawn to identify myself (again) as a Druid, a Witch, or both.
I had an interesting experience living in Britain. There are crumbling stone circles all over, off the beaten path that don't get much traffic. It's not like no one knows they exist, they are all catalogued but not much visited.
I made a point to seek them out. I could feel the power, but if I spoke to the gods, they would never answer me. Very rarely a slight irritation at being disturbed but mostly disinterest in me, if they even bothered to look to see who was there.
It makes me wonder if the earth spirits are localized. Maybe you can't call to British spirits from America. I've got Scottish blood and I was standing on Scottish soil, so it is not nationality. I have to wonder where this knowledge of druidry to do a revival is coming from.
I had an interesting experience living in Britain. There are crumbling stone circles all over, off the beaten path that don't get much traffic. It's not like no one knows they exist, they are all catalogued but not much visited.
I made a point to seek them out. I could feel the power, but if I spoke to the gods, they would never answer me. Very rarely a slight irritation at being disturbed but mostly disinterest in me, if they even bothered to look to see who was there.
It makes me wonder if the earth spirits are localized. Maybe you can't call to British spirits from America. I've got Scottish blood and I was standing on Scottish soil, so it is not nationality. I have to wonder where this knowledge of druidry to do a revival is coming from.
Dana O'Driscoll addresses what it might mean to be an American druid (and many other interesting topics) in her blog, The Druid's Garden
Maybe I'm reading something into your question, but if you are asking whether modern druids have some unbroken connection to the ancient ones, "revivalist" druids frankly admit that they don't, while "reconstructionist" druids claim that they do, or, failing that, that they hope to get as close as possible to authentic ancient practices. The revivalists say that they are inspired by the ancient druids, but deny that validity depends on the kind of authenticity that the reconstructionists are concerned with.
"It took many years for Druids to realize that the historical roots of
a tradition don’t affect its spiritual validity—that Druidry’s relevance
depends on the gifts it has to offer here and now. As a living spiritual
tradition with three centuries of achievements to its credit, Druidry
can stand on its own and has no need of ancient lore to prop it up. By
the dawn of the twenty-first century, the most influential Druid
Revival orders had come to terms with their own history and abandoned
inaccurate claims about the past."
--From The Druidry Handbook, by John Michael Greer, Archdruid Emeritus of AODA
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