This blog post was prompted by a question that the Druid priest and Author Cat Treadwell recently asked of her audience at a talk I attended at Lin Dhu. The question was, What do you do?
As pagans it seems that many people find this question very difficult to answer. Why is this? Is it because we are ashamed of what we do? Of course not! Is it that we have been made to feel silly about what we do, by modern society and we fear ridicule? Perhaps. Or is it maybe that we find it difficult to answer because paganism is a lived spirituality, not something that happens on a particular day each week and only in a certain building? Maybe
Paganism as a spiritual path is something that colours our everyday lives and so we rarely. if at all, analyse what we actually DO. And it matters not what path we follow, as there are more things that unite us as pagans, than divide us, whether druid, wiccan, heathen, shaman, witch or any other pagan path. We all have a reverance for nature, we all have respect for the old ways and our ancestors, we all view all life as sacred and we all mark the passing seasons. But what is it that we do? If you ask 10 pagans this same question, you will likely get at least 11 answers! So all any of us can do, is answer the question for ourselves, what do I do?
So I will attempt to answer that question for myself, and try to define what it is that I do as part of my Druid path.
We all have small rituals that we carry out everyday, most of them not what we would call spiritual, getting up and making the bed, washing and brushing teeth, getting dressed, that first cup of tea, everyday acts, but rituals none the less. So with all these things going on, how do we define what is a spiritual ritual? What is it that is different about these acts? The difference is the intent. We do things that we would consider ritual acts with reverence, respect and intention. So back to the question, what do I do?
Every morning, one of my first jobs is to go out and check on and feed the ducks and chickens, and while doing this I always salute the morning Sun and make a deliberate connection to my goddess Elen and ask for blessings on my day. I will also often make an offering to Elen on my altar in the garden. When I need to, I light incense to offer up a prayer of light a candle to ask for healing for a person, animal or situation. These are things I do very regularly. Another thing I do, that I consider to be part of my Druid path is to read and try to learn something new each day.. My two current projects are learning ogham and mapping local ley lines, but when I feel I have worked on these things enough, it will be something else.
Creativity is also part of my druid path and this includes writing, poetry, crafting. Trying to live with nature is another thing, so keeping ducks and chickens for eggs which we know have come from happy, well cared for birds. Growing as much of our own food as possible in the garden and allotment and herbs for medicines is part of it too.
To me though, druidry is more about service than personal practise and so much of my work as a druid is in benefitting the community. What I try to do in this respect is to facilitate the coming together of the local pagan community by organising meetings, outings, events and seasonal ritual with our group the Abus Coritani. I also try to offer healing, either through Reiki, crystal healing or herbalsim as theres are the things I am trained in, when I am asked. While this is part of my practise, it is by no means all of it, but I do feel it is important now and again, to just look at it, and attempt to answer the question, What do I do? So what do you do?
Druid Doings 
Like you I have morning rituals and projects to work on. I also create, write poetry etc. I try to see the connection to our Mother Earth in everything I do so much so that it is a way of life. A walk through the park is not just a walk through the park, but an appreciation of nature and a time also of contemplation.
I would love to tell all of my ways but sadly i did that once and found myself riddiculed behind my back when I fell out of favour with the group. I have since vowed never to divulge again because you really cannot trust people with your inner most spiritual self. But am willing to share a recent post on facebook : The only path I follow is my own. Many others follow it also, but my way is the only right way for me. I am a free spirit, a Wanderer between the realms. I dont need fancy man written words or egotistical rites. I merely speak from the heart and soul and listen and learn in silence.
You know what to hell with my above comments and lets look at the question again. What do I do;
Well I am a solitary who has always walked a different path and in my own way. I learned a little from books but mainly for confirmation I was doing it right. Then realised if I continue to listen to my heart and soul it is the right way.
I am not of great intelligence and quite often find it difficult to communicate my knowledge to others but I will give it a go. So here it is.
I work mainly with energies. Be they spiritual, or natural, doesn’t really matter, as I feel they are interchangeable. Take the fae for instance, many pagans claim to see and work with faeries. Quite a number post personifications of fae on social networks as pretty little girls with fragile butterfly wings. All are very beautiful and I too am attracted to and find they set the imgination on a wonderful journey. But truth is these lovely images are not an accurate interpretation of these tiny nature spirits. I see and feel the fae as tiny balls of intelligent spiritual energy. they are shape shifters that can appear to you as your wishes and personal energies dictate. So I suppose yes they can appear as pretty little girls but they are much much more than this. Anyway, that was a rather long way of saying I work with energy but like the fae I absorb and transmit energies into my spells be they black or white or multiple shades of grey. My spirituality is with me at all times as are my familiars and my guides.
I am currently exploring the shamanic path with spiritual guidance. Hope this makes sense. It does to me 😛
Thank you for sharing that! I agree too that faeries are not perhaps what we have been brought up to believe they are.
I know you do but I didn’t actually intend writing about faeries but I do get side tracked so.
yes, I remember
What a blessing to find your blog. I am new to blogging, and this is opening up a whole new world for me. I began walking the Druid path a few years ago. What do I do? Well, each day I try to learn something new about spirituality. Lately I’ve been working with the animal spiritual guides that seem to be popping into my life lately.
Daily spiritual ritual is a necessity for me. I ask for help to help me make a difference in the world each day (I believe that even the smallest thing helps spread positive energy), as well as give thanks for my many blessings.
I feed my husband, my old horse, and my other critters. I make sure I tell each and every one of them how much I love them every day, and I try to do something creative every day. I am looking forward to using blogging as a tool to reach out to others.
For some reason I came across this again and enjoyed the blog once again. Blessings to you Diane.
Thank you! Blessings to you too my friend xx