Member Intros: When did you start? Fave place to do druidry? What are your rituals like, if any?

Name & Intro? (not "IDK")

Hello, I'm John. Wanted to give the forum a kick-start and create a thread for fellow druids to start a dialog. You can copy & paste the icebreaker questions above or just type whatever greetings you like.

When did you start practicing druidry, and what inspired you?

I started in 2004 after I visited the tomb at Newgrange. It predates the druids by a few thousand years, but the neolithic people who left their marks in stone were a "sun cult" and it gave me a new appreciation for the (spiritual & physical) importance of sunlight and how we all depend on it to exist at all. Then I went down a wikipedia rabbit-hole and read about how modern druidry was created. It all seemed spiritually compatible with those ancient sun-cults.

Are you solo or part of a Grove?

I'm a member of the Reformed Druids of North America in which I run Oakdale Grove. I'm also a member of a local unaffiliated druid group, Northern Roots Grove.

Are you a member of any of the two-dozen-plus druid orders?

I've been a member of the Reformed Druids of North America since 2011, and a recently lapsed member of ADF.

What's your favorite places to do druidry?

I really miss the woods up in Duluth, Minnesota. There are about 200 acres of wooded deer paths where I'd explore cliffs, carve things into stones, consecrate wine to the sun, and cleanse objects in sacred fires. You can't really do that in the parks around Minneapolis though. Too many people & stuff.

What are your rituals like, if any?

Mine typically follow the format of the Reformed Druids of North America, since I'm ordained in that Order. Express humility for the divine, offer a sacrifice of plant life, seek an omen for its acceptance, consecrate a chalice of diluted whiskey as the "Waters-of-Life," drink and give libations to the Earth-Mother, meditate, and call it a day.