Living Druidry
by Emma Restall Orr
Published by Piatkus Books
Description
In Living Druidry Emma Restall Orr opens the doorway to this powerful
and ancient spirituality in a way that is both accessible and inspiring.
Grounded in everyday life and experience this book guides the reader to
find their own vision, and their own deep, personal, ecstatic relationship
with nature.
You will learn about:
The fundamental principles underlying Druidry
The relevance of Druidry and nature spirituality today
The powers of nature that resonate within the individual
Understanding and accepting yourself
How to bring a profound spiritual experience into your everyday life
Simple ways to acknowledge and embrace the wild side of your nature
Reviews
Review One
Review Two
Review Three
Review One
For those of you familiar with the writings of Emma Restall Orr, this
book will flow like the words of a friend. It follows the format she has
used in Spirits of the Sacred Grove, interspersing personal experiences,
with words offering information, ideas and inspiration. But this time
she takes us a little deeper, making the Craft a little more accessible,
leading us further along the path of how she sees Druidry today, and how
she practices her Druidcraft.
Emma begins by gently introducing us to how she became a Priest within the tradition, followed by a brief background to Druidry and some basic concepts inherent within her practice of Pagan Druidcraft. She then leads us to find a firm footing within our selves, allowing us to begin to express our own personal understandings, before taking us through her vision of how to truly express our unique wild soul and our own ideas of the Craft - provoking us to look at how we live our lives, how we handle relationships, and how we interact with all around us. She explores connection with the powers of nature, the powers of the gods, and weaves these explorations into deepening our connection with nature and with ourselves, to find the inspiration to change, to let go of all that holds us back and to find true freedom.
But this is no philosophical treatise, no dry theoretical work asking us to take intellectual concepts of philosophy, or to spend hours undergoing our own psychotherapy. Neither is it a simple, sugar sweet easy read. This is a book that encourages the reader from the very first words to experience what it is to practice the Craft of the Druid. Each chapter takes us deeper into how we can integrate spiritual practice into our own lives to exert profound practical change – if we choose to do it. And fundamental within the whole book is the undercurrent that what you can create is your own vision and practice of Druidcraft, meaningful to the individual, offering the opportunity to find their personal wild spirit, unfettered by modern expectations placed upon us by a society afraid of what is seen as ‘different’, or unexplainable by rational thought or science.
There were times as I read it that I felt I wanted more. I would read a chapter, and find myself drawn into the words, wanting to explore more deeply, yet occasionally I was left a little lost and bemused, thinking:
“Yes!! But how do I actually do it?”
But perhaps that’s the point – the reader needs to work that out for themselves.
Of course, the reader can choose to read this book superficially, as an exercise of the intellect, but to do so misses the point completely and may well leave the reader unfulfilled and disappointed. This is a book where the reader has to actually do something to understand the words, has to put into practice what he or she reads. Some of it may shock, or have no resonance; some of it may call to you on the deepest level. But then, of course, it really is up to reader what they do with the material, and how they do it. This book will challenge you, will challenge your perceptions and your understandings, and will – perhaps - open your eyes to the potential for creativity in all of us.
I have a feeling this book will provoke reaction and stimulate debate as to what Druidry really is today, its relevance to the world we live in and its relevance as a spiritual practice – and that has to be a good thing. I think it is a book that will either sing to you and that you will love, or one that you will reject as irrelevant and meaningless. Either way, it is a book everyone with an interest in Druidry should read…..and for this reader it is inspirational.
Review Two
It's difficult to know how to describe this book. A tour de force would
be one way. I could say that this is not a book about Druidry, it is *the*
book about Druidry. Its very title is open to two ways of reading. It
is about a spirituality, a religion that is living, that exists for today,
not dead and lying with our ancestors but living and breathing in the
mud, the rain and the air of our world. It is also a way of living. I
mean that this book is open to those who want to do Druidry at weekends
and eight times a year for whom it is separate to their ordinary lives,
but it will be better understood by those who want to live Druidry, to
have it in every breath they take, in every step they make, in every drop
of blood and sweat that oozes from their bodies.
This is not an easy book. This is not for the faint hearted who will run
a mile from it, or for the scientific literalist who will condemn its
vision to the dustbin or rant against it, or for one who looks for repetition
and pure form in every act and ritual they do, but this is especially
for those who have vision in the chaos that is this world and seek union
with the web of nature itself. They will read and learn and understand.
Blessed be as blessed is!
Kestrel /|\
Living Druidry is a uniquely wonderful book. Emma Restall Orr (Bobcat) explores
the teachings and history of this ancient, natural and vibrant spirituality
in a compelling and powerful way. The craft of Druidry displays a love and
respect that honours all life, and all relationship.
Emma writes with eloquence and fearlessness about Druidcraft a tradition that
is tolerant of difference and diversity. This beautifully written book helps
us to develop our own sacred relationships with nature, with each other ,
and most poignantly with
ourselves. Emma's writing enables us to accept our own individuality and our
"wildness" and in doing so, we are able to offer understanding and
acceptance to others.
Living Druidry is a glorious book, it helps us to live our lives in the "
Here and Now " with a greater awareness for life and all living beings.
I was inspired , captivated, and nourished by the words and deep teachings
of this book. I found the sharing of Emma's experience to be moving and deeply
affecting. I know that I have been changed by the truth spoken about in this
book.
Living Druidry celebrates the wildness in all of us. May you all find your
own divinely inspired connections in the web of Awen.
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