Some of us find the idea of ritual inspiring – it touches our souls. For others, it can seem empty, superstitious or simpy unnecessary. In Druidry we use ritual to deepen our awareness of the sacred and of the present moment. Our gestures and acts in ritual are symbolic, and designed to heighten our awareness and sense of reverence for all of life.
Our inspiration for ritual comes from the natural world and the old myths and stories. We make our rituals outdoors in Nature as much as we can. We come together in circles rather than in rows, to affirm our unity and equality. The circle in which we stand or sit symbolises the whole world, and as a group of people we symbolise all of humanity – standing as One People on One Earth.
We honour the four directions and the earth below us and the sky above us. We sometimes bless the circle and participants with water and fire. We sometimes make a gateway of a man and woman standing facing each other and walk into the circle through this gateway, symbolizing the way in which each of us is born into the world through a mother and father.
We offer prayers, we chant the word Awen, which calls for inspiration and blessings on our circle, we pray for Peace to each of the four directions, and then for the whole world.
There are many different rituals used in Druidry. In this section of the website you can read about the Eightfold Wheel of the Year, and the eight festival times in which we perform a special ritual particular to each festival. In addition, groups of members perform grove rituals and initiations, tree and grove-planting ceremonies, and Rites of Passage for naming, handfasting, funerals and coming-of-age. Information on these Rites of Passage and a list of celebrants is given in the ‘Resources’ section of this site.