The training program of the Ord Draiochta Na Uisnech is designed to teach
a system of druidry that is based on ancient Irish myth and folklore but
is still relevant to our times. It is designed around three colleges and
three grades in each college.
The first college, Birch, is focused on the basics, basic ritual, basic
mythology, and learning about the Gods and the Druid's relationship with
those deities. It allows the student to begin conducting their own rituals,
to build a relationship with the Gods and to find which of several deities
are the most compatible with their personality. They will also be reading
and studying the mythology of the Irish, discovering nuances of the myths,
magickal aspects of the deities and learning stories of their Gods and
the Otherworlds. This college usually takes a year to complete. This college
is as far as a student can progress without an initiation into the ODU.
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Once initiated and the college of Birch having been completed, the member
or student now progresses to the college of Hazel. In this college, more
time is spent studying writing, poetry, mythology, history and other skills
of the Filid (Bard). It is assumed that at this point, the Member is capable
of taking any part of a ritual and acting in the role assigned. They will
also be teaching others somewhat, some of the basic material from the
College of Birch. They will be expected to be active participants in rituals
and in their grove. Normally this college takes a year and a half to complete,
as the initiations to the different grades can only be done every six
months.
Once all the material for the College of Birch is complete, the College
of Willow is next, or the Seer's College. In this college, aside from
the active participation of the member in grove and Order rituals, the
member will be expected to teach those of lower colleges the material
they have already mastered, and to be a mentor if called upon to do so.
The emphasis in this college is on divination and healing skills, as well
as administration and ritual conduct. Completion of this grade enables
the member to start their own grove and pass on the tradition to others.
This college takes two years to complete.
One final college exists, but it is no longer a "student" college,
and that is the College of Yew. These are those who have attained the
"Title" of Druid as well as the leaders of the Order, those
that write the material and study in the areas of their specialty. They
are expected to share that knowledge with the rest of the Order, to write
articles and to make their skills available to all who need them. There
are no grades in this college that one progresses through, but rather
groups of similar specialties.
As a relatively new Order, all the training is done by the student themselves,
at their own pace. There are electronic copies of the training manuals,
and any needed references are available for download. Tests are given
at the end of the various grades and colleges, and they are on your honor
not to use your learning materials. Communication with your mentor is
crucial to continued success, and there are discussion forums available
for learning with other members, as well as newsletters with additional
information.
There are nominal dues required for cost of upkeep of the site and materials,
and soon all required materials and manuals will be available on a CD
for a very low fee. Active participation will still be expected, but it
should be easer for those who only have dial-up Internet connections to
get the materials.
To learn more about the ODU please visit our website at http://www.irishdruidry.org/
or email us info [at] irishdruidry [dot] org
More information about Ord
Draiochta Na Uisnech on this website.
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